Interfaith Strength

Is ISIS in South Asia?

Originally published in The American Thinker, November 11, 2015

Dr. Richard Benkin

Most of the focus on ISIS is in the Middle East, where its worst atrocities occur and where it has seized territory the size of Austria. At this point, the extent of an ISIS presence in South Asia is unclear. Area intelligence agencies including India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) dismiss the notion (at least publicly). The chatter I have heard, however, is not about either of those countries, but about Bangladesh.

Although it is the third largest Muslim-majority country and the only country listed among the world's ten most populous and ten most densely populated, Bangladesh tends to get lost in discussions about South Asia. As a result, radical Islamists along with a passive and sometimes sympathetic government have allowed some pretty nasty thing to happen there under the radar:

• After the initial allied operation in Afghanistan, Bangladesh became a haven for many fleeing al-Qaeda forces, who almost stole the country's aborted 2007 election.
• While posturing as "moderate," Bangladesh has had Islamists in its governing coalition, named roads and bridges after terrorist organizations, and persecuted journalists and authors with impunity. I have defended two accused of "blasphemy."
• When I traveled the country at night, we were in constant communication with friends in the police who warned us which roads to avoid because they were controlled by Islamist terrorists.
• The current prime minister once admitted to a visiting French commander that the country has "anti-minority" laws. Minorities, especially Hindus, have faced constant attack. Successive governments allow the ethnic cleansers to operate with impunity, and as a result, Hindus have been reduced from one in five to one in 15.
• Of late, several secular bloggers have been murdered brutally, with the murderers evading serious prosecution.

So I was not surprised when I was given the address of a house in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka alleged to be an ISIS headquarters, along with the name of an individual who I was told is its chief of operations. ISIS has claimed responsibility for several murders in Bangladesh, and I was given independent confirmation about two ISIS killings: the murder of a blogger and publisher on October 30 and a policeman on November 4, both in the capital. After the November 4 murder, ISIS circulated the following message on social media: "In a security operation, Allah enabled the soldiers of the state in Bangladesh to attack a police checkpoint… the soldiers of the caliphate withdrew safely."

Were these rogue actions, test messages, or part of a more coordinated effort already in place?

The significance of ISIS in South Asia could not be greater. ISIS has demonstrated its ability to intimidate and motivate Muslims toward radicalism, and one in every four and a half Muslims lives in South Asia – more than four times as many Muslims as there are in the Middle East. That a proclivity to radicalism in many areas already exists only makes ISIS's job easier. Moreover, in the past several years, more and more Bangladeshi Muslims have told me that while they don't like the radicals, they no longer can rely on the U.S. for support. "We don't know what Obama will do," one told me recently. "We do know what the radicals will do."

In fact, it would be a mistake for the Obama administration not to recognize this possibly game-changing threat in its fight against ISIS. Foreign policy vacillation, especially in soft Islamist targets like Bangladesh, has abetted the growth of Islamism. To prevent ISIS from establishing itself in this population-rich area, the United States and the West need to act now: pressuring weak governments like the one in Bangladesh to cooperate, and adopting a far more robust foreign policy in semi-radicalized countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan. We also need to recognize that among all the South Asian leaders, our greatest friend and ally in this struggle is Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, who already is battling a multi-front terrorist assault on his country.

Exploring the power of ‘Hineinei’ within Hindu-Jewish relations

Originally published on NewsGram.com, September 2nd, 2015

Dr. Richard Benkin

When I was asked to speak at Hindu Jewish Dialogue: Ancient Cultures, Common Concerns, I knew exactly what I wanted to say.  

I have worked closely with Hindu communities throughout the United States and South Asia for years.  Hindus always have treated me as one of their own, and I always consider myself a part of that community.  The event was held on Sunday, August 23 at the Manav Seva Mandir in suburban Chicago; and all 300 Hindu and Jewish Americans who were there expected that it will be the first of many such events.

The keynote speaker was Dr. Subramanian Swamy, who played a crucial role in opening formal Israel-India relations in the early 1990s—and who is one of the most incisive minds I know.

His description of how that happened provided a clear refutation to those who suggest that the India-Israel relationship is based solely on military sales and security cooperation.  In fact, he contended, the period when India and Israel had no relationship was the anomaly; that the people of India have a deep admiration for Israel and the Jews; and that the twin demons of Soviet influence and a strong Indian left forced that situation on the people of India.  Perhaps that is why it is no coincidence that Israel opened its embassy in India shortly after the USSR fell.

The program moderator was Peggy Shapiro, Midwest Director of StandWithUs, a non-profit organization dedicated to informing the public about Israel and to combating extremism and anti-Semitism. Other speakers included Dr. Bharat Barai, a widely honored oncologist and President of the Indian American Community Foundation; Robert Schwartz, Senior Policy Advisor at the Consulate General of Israel; and Prasad Yalamanchi, Chairman of the Global Hindu Heritage Foundation, which along with StandWithUs sponsored the event.  

All of the speakers spoke about their personal and professional experiences that brought them to this event.  And then there was me—a Jew known for devoting his life to the cause of Hindus in Bangladesh.  I explained how being Jewish was the essential element that led me to fight for Hindus.

In 2007, I returned home from a human rights trip to Bangladesh to meet a man whose life I saved.  He was a journalist who wrote articles positive about Israel (in fact, urging the Bangladeshi government to recognize the Jewish state) and negative about radical Islam (its growing strength in Bangladesh and how it spreads its poison through the madrassas, or Muslim schools.  For that, the Bangladeshi government threw him in prison, tortured him, threatened him with death, and charged him with blasphemy.  The government was determined to silence him, eradicate his ideas, and appease their Islamist masters.  Because I made it do something else—specifically, release him and let him continue publishing as he wished—there was a fax waiting for me when I returned home.

It was from a man named Bikash who said he was a Hindu living near Kolkata.  “My parents brought me to India from Bangladesh when I was eleven years old,” he wrote.  “My people are dying.  Please save us.”  Simply as a human being, how do you turn your back on that?  Moreover, when I was in Bangladesh I heard rumblings about minority persecution.  I even met with several; although they couldn’t speak freely unless we found some out of the way place where we would be safe from government agents, Islamists, and people looking to pick up money as paid informants.

Although it was Bikash’s fax that led me to delve deeply into the matter deeply, none of it would have happened without my Jewish values.

First there is history.  The world now knows what the Nazis did to my people during World War II, but condemning Hitler does not require much insight; and it’s easier to recognize new Hitlers today, such as the genocide-threatening mullahs in Iran and the genocidal actors known as ISIS.  All of the Nazis together would not have been able to implement their Holocaust, however, were it not for the passive complicity of “good” Europeans and others.  All of my training and upbringing told me that those who sat by while their neighbors were dragged away to death camps and killing fields were equally responsible as those who did the actual killing.  

Over 99 percent of Danish Jews, for instance, survived the Holocaust because their non-Jewish neighbors actively opposed their deportation.  Opposition by non-Jews in the Belgian cities of Brussels and Liege allowed many Jews to find hiding and escape the Nazi deportations.  Our Talmud says, “Who can protest an injustice but does not is an accomplice to the act.”  I learned even as a child that I could never sit by and let others be persecuted.

Additionally, we have a word in Hebrew that is a moral guide; a template that sets our feet on the right course.  The word is Hineinei, which literally means “here I am.”  Its real meaning, however, is “here I am for you.”  It’s our answer to a call that appears at critical moments throughout our Torah.  

It’s the answer that Abraham, the father of Judaism, gave when God told him not to kill his son in a religious sacrifice, thus forever marking off our faith as one with a special reverence for life.  It’s the answer given by Moses, our greatest prophet, when God called to him from the burning bush to save His people who were enslaved in Egypt, even though it meant going up against what was then the most formidable military power in his world.

When we say Hineinei we do so unconditionally.  Abraham and Moses said it before they know would  be asked.  Because the value is not in the action itself, although that’s pretty important.  The essential value lies in being there, ready to stand with another, ready to do what is right.  So, when I saw that fax, as a Jew, there was only one possible response:  Hineinei.  And my moral obligation was to do so even before I knew what would be involved with that commitment.

Hineinei’s power is transformative.  As Swami Vivekananda told us, perfection doesn’t come from belief alone but from selfless action.  Saying Hineinei brings us to that.   It’s transformative in the way it frees us to be the best we can be for everyone around us and for something far greater than ourselves; and we all have the power within us to say Hineinei.  As an essential Jewish value, it led me to fight for the persecuted Hindus of Bangladesh.

Unity and Collective Action

Address by Dr. Richard L. Benkin, Hindu Unity Conference, Manav Seva Mandir, Bensenville, IL August 22, 2015

Namaste.  Thank you for having me here today, and for allowing me to share the podium again with one of the most incisive minds I know, Dr. Subramanian Swamy.  My personal gratitude, as well, to the Chicagoland Hindu community and especially three individuals who have supported my efforts, given me faith and confidence, and helped me understand my dharma:  Prasad Yalamanchi, Amar Upadhyay, and Dr. Bharat Barai.

Our theme is “Hindu Unity,” yet even after years of fighting for Hindus, with the utmost respect, I still am not sure what that means.  My understanding of a people’s unity necessarily involves mutual support, mutual defense, a common identity, and whenever needed collective action.  Perhaps that’s not your understanding, and if so I respect that; and if that’s the case, I ask that you humor me and see where this leads.  Let me begin with some history.

How many of you remember the 1970s?  Not hippies and free love, I’m referring to the fact that back then, you couldn’t pass a synagogue without seeing a huge banner that read “Save Soviet Jewry.”  Our people were being persecuted in the Soviet Union, whose leaders wanted to eradicate their Jewish religion and identity.  We in the American Jewish community saw our persecuted brothers and sisters and recognized our obligation to do something to save them.  More importantly, we acted on that obligation.

We lobbied Washington and our local officials; and we prevailed upon other religious bodies to recognize the atrocity and let Washington know their position.  No venue was too small for us; no official too intimidating.  Everyday Jews who you might see at the office or in the supermarket—people just like you—went to Russia at their own expense to smuggle in religious books and other Jewish artifacts at considerable peril to themselves.  Jewish children reaching their Bar and Bat Mitzvah—one of Judaism’s most important rites of passage—were twinned with Soviet children who did not have the freedom to celebrate this most important religious event; so we joined them to our Jewish ceremonies.  And before it was over, we helped get 1.2 million Jews out of that communist hell.   It strengthened our identity, and every Jewish child who was part of that effort never forgot it or their own sense of Jewishness.  We also realized that we could stand strong for our people, and that the only thing that could stop us is ourselves.  The fate facing 12 million Hindus in Bangladesh is no prettier than that which Jews faced in the USSR.  Let them be your Soviet Jews.  Recognize what’s at stake, mobilize, and imagine what it will mean for real Hindu unity when we succeed in saving them.

Before going on, however, I want to make it clear that I would not presume to lecture this assemblage or be so full of myself to believe that my world view is the only one.  If anyone got that impression, my apologies.  Plus, my personal duty to stop the ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh, given the fact that I have seen it with my own eyes, is part of my dharma.  To be sure, we’ve made a lot of progress.  The issue has been raised and discussed several times in the US Congress, which can take action on trade (something I’ll get to in a moment).  The Hindu American Foundation has taken up this cause, and other Hindus have joined the struggle.  However, every day that we do not take effective action, another Hindu child is abducted, another Hindu woman is raped, another Mandir destroyed, and another day that Hinduism in Bangladesh comes closer to being nothing more than a memory.

Understand, too, that being united has nothing to do with total agreement.  We Jews are notoriously divided amongst ourselves.  Do you know that when the US military rolled into Kabul, Afghanistan, they found two Jews there—and they refused to attend synagogue with each other.  We argue with each other about everything, and actually I think that is one of the things that keeps us strong.

Unity, however, does require a common identification that trumps our divisions.  So, for instance, even though the Israeli Right and the Israeli Left hate each other passionately—you should read the things they say about each other—they are united in their opposition to the recently-negotiated Iran deal, because they agree it places Jewish survival in jeopardy.  In 2002, when the Israeli army surrounded arch terrorist Yassir Arafat’s compound, an American named Adam Shapiro went there to stand with him in solidarity.  I consider Shapiro horrible for that, as I do Baruch Goldstein who open fired on unarmed worshippers in a mosque; but I recognize both of them as being Jewish.  They face opposition for their actions, which deserve opposition; but if they faced it simply for being Jewish, I would see my obligation to fight that.

So let’s get back to how we translate that history into action that saves 12 million Bangladeshi Hindus.  By now, I’m sure everyone’s familiar with the facts:  Hindus have gone from almost a third of East Pakistan in 1951, to less than a fifth of the Bangladesh population in 1971, to less than a tenth 30 years later, to around one in 15 today.  And we know that during the entire time, Bangladeshi governments regardless of party, have been complicit in the atrocities that are driving Hindus out of the county, forcing their children to convert, or outright killing them.

And let’s be real everyone.  We Jews were fighting the mighty Soviet Union.  Here we’re taking about Bangladesh!  Hindus have a lot of adversaries, and if we can’t do this with Bangladesh, what chance have we with those others?  And how many atrocities would that mean?  So, let’s take action.

First, effective action does not require all billion plus Hindus—or even a tiny fraction of them.  There are only about 14 million Jews in the entire world (just a little more than the population of Illinois); and only a small part of that number was involved in saving Soviet Jewry.  So we just need a core group to get started.  Besides, there is an expression:  “Success has a thousand fathers; failure is an orphan.”  I had almost no one with me at first, but with each small victory, a few more joined me.

Second, as Americans, we have particular leverage.  I’ve dealt with Bangladeshi officials before—and was successful; not because I convinced them to do the right thing.  They’ll never act because it’s the right thing to do, but they will act if their financial interests are threatened; and the Bangladeshi economy is inordinately dependent on one thing:  garment exports—you’ve seen those “Made in Bangladesh” labels, right?   Well, we’re their biggest customer.  In 2011 and 2012 alone US garment imports equaled 40 percent of Bangladesh’s annual budget.

Here’s how it will go.  First, they’ll deny things, then act insulted.  Next they’ll accuse the US of something or if it’s a Hindu effort, maybe they’ll bring up the old tired lies about “Hindu extremists.”  Finally they’ll play the “poor me” card.  That’s what happened when I confronted the Bangladeshi Home Minister about it in Dhaka.  He was defiant and tried to be bullying (notice I said “tried”), until I threatened their garment exports.  All of a sudden, he became a poor victim; asking me not to “hurt” the millions of Bangladeshis in the garment business.

“Me!” I said.  “You’re the one bringing the calamity on your people.  And you’re the one who can stop it.”

If we don’t fall for any of their duplicity, we will prevail.  If we demand action and not just words we’ll prevail.  On the other hand, if we believe their expressions of goodwill without demanding action, we’ll be consigning Hinduism in Bangladesh to the historical ashbin.

You can be part of the effort to prevent that, and you don’t have to go to Bangladesh or even leave your homes.  I’m passing out cards and ask that you write your name and email address on them.  I will send you a link so you can email several large US companies like Target and Walmart; not to threaten a boycott but to let them know that their purchases support ethnic cleansing, something they’d rather not have their name associated with.  A bunch of people signed up to do this in a church the other night.  I have to believe that I’ll get an even greater response here.  When we’re done will someone collect them if they pass them to the aisle? Perhaps the Manav Seva Mandir can do this as a community.  Can we talk about this another time?

There’s something else.  One of the things I’m working on would not stop Bangladeshi imports, but it would slow their sales here.  Those buyers you email still need the goods.  So I turn to my good friend Subramanian Swamy and ask if we can take action so Indian companies capture that market and replace them.  If that happens, it really will scare the Bangladeshis into doing the right thing.  It also could boost “Make in India” and so be a double victory.

And next year, we Americans elect the entire House of Representatives, one third of the Senate, and a new President.  Everyone who wants to be elected will be looking for your vote.  We can make this an election issue by telling them we’ll vote for people who take action on it.  At this same time, some already have, and we all owe them our support and our votes; in this area:  Senator Mark Kirk, Congressman Peter Roskam if you’re in his district; and most importantly, Congressman Bob Dold of the Tenth District.  Bob is the first person to address the ethnic cleansing of Bangladesh’s Hindus from the floor of the US Congress.  He actively supports the fight for Bangladeshi Hindus and with Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, co-sponsored House Resolution 396, which calls on the US to protect Bangladeshi minorities and if passed, will be the basis for other action, such as on trade.

I’m going to end with an example of Hindu Unity that we’ve already seen.  I periodically address Hindu groups in Cerritos, California; a town with a large Hindu population that many in the Los Angeles area refer to as “little India.”  During one of my talks, in 2013, I noted that Cerritos is in California’s 39th Congressional District, represented by Ed Royce.  Ed has long been a friend of the Hindu community and strong voice against radical Islam.  He, too, has spoken out about what’s happening to Hindus in Bangladesh—and he’s the Chairman of the powerful House Committee on Foreign Affairs.  I noted that this gave my audience a unique opportunity to take effective action for Hindus.  I helped them arrange a meeting with Congressman Royce, and the next day—THE NEXT DAY—I got a call from the Foreign Affairs Committee, which now has held two hearings about this.  It’s also where House Resolution 396 is; and take a guess about whether or not they send it to the entire House for a vote.

So much that is happening now is due in no small part to those individuals who believe that Hindu unity means standing for all Hindus and protecting those who need it.

We’ve made a lot of progress and still have a lot of work to do; and I am confident that together we can save 12 million Hindus in Bangladesh.

Dhanyavaad.

Jewish Values led me to Support Hindu Human Rights

Address by Dr. Richard L. Benkin, Hindu, Jewish Alliance: Ancient Cultures, Common Concerns, Manav Seva Mandir, Bensenville, IL August 23, 2015

Shalom, Namaste, and thank you for allowing me to be part of this very special event; an event that brings together two communities that have defined civilization since its beginning; two communities that today share both the same challenges and the same values; two communities that are deeply wedged in my heart.

People often ask me how I, a Jew, came to devote my life to fighting for Hindus in Bangladesh, and here’s what I tell them.  I was in Bangladesh in 2007 to meet a journalist whose life I saved.   The government had charged him with blasphemy because he wrote articles favorable to Israel—in fact, he urged the government to recognize Israel; and he criticized radical Islam, exposing its growing power in Bangladesh and how it spreads its poison through the madrassas, or Muslin schools.  By the way, this man, Shoaib, was Muslim.  Worse from their point of view, people there were listening to us, and began talking about Israel and the Jews in a positive way.  Well, the radicals and their toadies in the Bangladeshi government could not stand for that and so threw him in prison where he was tortured and threatened with death.  They were dead set on appeasing the Islamists, silencing this man, and eradicating his ideas; however, with the help of then Congressman Mark Kirk, I forced it to do something else:  release him and let him continue to publish.

Which is why there was a fax waiting for me when I returned home.  It was from a man named Bikash who said he was a Hindu living near Kolkata.  “My parents brought me to India from Bangladesh when I was eleven years old.  My people are dying,” he said.  “Please save us.”

Just as a human being, how do you turn your back on that?  Beyond that, and I don’t want to make this about my personal theology, it seems to me that if God puts something like this in front of us, He means for us to take it up.

So I did.  I heard rumblings about the way minorities were being persecuted when I was in Bangladesh.  I even met with several; although I also recall how they couldn’t speak freely unless we found an out of the way place to meet—where we would be safe from government agents, Islamists, and people looking to pick up some money as paid informants.  Bikash’s fax led me to delve into the matter deeply and realize that I had to do something.

But there’s more I want to share with you:  None of it would have happened without my Judaism or its essential values.

We have a word in Hebrew--that’s really more than just a word.  It’s a moral guide; a template, if you will, that sets our feet on the right course.  The word is Hineinei.

It literally means “here I am,” but its real meaning is “here I am for you.”  It’s our answer to a call, and you can find it at critical moments throughout the Torah, our holy book.  It’s the answer that Abraham, the father of Judaism, gave when God called to him moments before he would have killed his son in a religious sacrifice; and he directed him not to do it, thus forever marking off our faith as one with a special reverence for life unknown.  It’s the answer given by Moses, our greatest prophet, when God called to him from the burning bush to save His people who were enslaved in Egypt even though it meant going up against what was then the most formidable military power in his world.

And notice, when we say Hineinei we do so unconditionally.  We say it even before knowing what is being asked.  Because the value is not in the action itself, although that’s pretty important.  The essential value lies in being there, ready to stand with another, ready to do what is right.

So, when I saw that fax, as a Jew, there was only one possible response:  Hineinei.

Hineinei also keeps you from thinking any of it is about you; keeps you from polluting the action with the outer self, the temporal self and its base motives that limit us from committing to true selfless effort; something that brings us close to some basic tenets of Hinduism, your beautiful faith.

In saying Hineinei, I’m only doing what Abraham, Moses, and countless others did.  Am I any better than them?  Have I done anything unique?  Did not my actions come from something far greater than me?  Saying hineinei is not me; it’s my dharma.

And here’s the really special thing about Hineinei: its power is transformative.  As Swami Vivekananda—one of my personal heroes—told us:  perfection doesn’t come from belief alone but from selfless action.  Saying Hineinei brings us to that.   It’s transformative in the way it frees us to be the best we can be for everyone around us and for something far greater than ourselves; and we all have the power within us to say Hineini.

Think about your own Hineinei moments.  You might have stayed with someone who needed comfort, even though you had other things to “do.”  Maybe you took the time to help a child.  Or perhaps you were part of building relations between two special communities, as you are today.  Think about the potential Hineinei moments yet to come; and how whether or not you seize them is a choice that God has equipped all of us to make.

I want to offer you a Hineinei opportunity: a chance to be a voice for the voiceless, a defender of the defenseless.  Twelve million persecuted Hindus in Bangladesh are calling to us.  Will you say Hineinei?  I’ve spent a lot of time with them, and they believe they are abandoned.

They have been reduced from almost a third of the population to around one in 15.  They have faced and still face atrocities that include murder, rape, child abduction, forced conversion, religious desecration, legalized looting and more.  Much of the evidence, by the way, is in my book A Quiet Case of Ethnic Cleansing: the Murder of Bangladesh’s Hindus, which you can get in the back of the room.  I urge you all to get a copy, see what you won’t see in the media; and support these innocents persecuted because of their faith—something I know hits a nerve with us Jews.

What makes the situation worse is that successive Bangladeshi governments, regardless of party or ideology, have refused to prosecute these crimes.  They’ve even taken part in them or in their cover-ups.  Radical Islam has grown in power there, and no Bangladeshi government has the will to fight it.  It certainly will not do the duty it has to its Hindus citizens because it’s the right thing to do.  That’s the bad news.

The good news, first of all, is that this is Bangladesh, not Iran or North Korea, and if we can’t stand up to Bangladesh, we’ve no chance with them.  Bangladesh officials will act if we threaten their financial interests—which isn’t hard to do.  The Bangladeshi economy is inordinately dependent on one thing:  garment exports.  And guess who their biggest customer is?  That’s right, us.  I’m passing out cards and ask that you write your name and email address on them.  I will send you a link so you can easily email several large US companies like Target and Walmart; not to threaten a boycott but to let them know that their purchases support atrocities and the persecution of people simply because of their religion, something they’d rather not have their name associated with.  A bunch of people signed up here at yesterday’s Hindu unity event and earlier this week at Congressman Bob Dold’s event, “Religious Freedom under Attack.”  If these companies start receiving hundreds or thousands of these emails, they will reduce or at least begin to question their purchases of Bangladeshi goods; and that’s all we need to force action that will save 12 million innocent Hindus.

We also are fortunate today to have several individuals who are leaders of or members of larger organizations.  The Bangladeshi Hindus need you to give all of those people the chance to say Hineinei; to, in the Jewish understanding, save the whole world.  If you give me your groups’ contact information so, as an organization with all of its members, you can tell Walmart, Target, and others that they are paying for the ethnic cleansing of innocent people; the power of our message will be multiplied.

I can tell you how it will go, because I’ve seen it happen.  First, they’ll deny things.  The Bangladeshi ambassador once told me that there was no problem and that the millions of Hindus just went to India to find “suitable matches” for their children.  Then they’ll act insulted.  Next they’ll accuse the US of something; or the other thing I get is ‘oh yeah, what about the Palestinians.’  A door they really don’t want to open.  Finally they’ll play the “poor me” card, like the Bangladeshi Home Minister, who was defiant and tried to be bullying (notice I said “tried”), until I threatened their garment exports.  All of a sudden, he became a poor victim; asking me not to “hurt” the millions of Bangladeshis in the garment business.

If we don’t fall for any of their duplicity, we will prevail.  If we demand action and not just words we’ll prevail.

Will you say Hineinei?

Dhanyavaad and Todah Rabah.

A Quiet Case of Ethnic Cleansing: the Murder of Bangladesh’s Hindus

Address by Dr. Richard L. Benkin “Religious Freedom under Attack” Hosted by Congressman Robert Dold, St. James Lutheran Church, Lake Forest, IL August 19, 2015

Thank you for inviting me here tonight; and thanks to my friend and ally, Congressman Bob Dold, for his unwavering commitment to human rights and religious freedom.  And thanks to Victoria Williams for putting this all together.

Bob’s long advocated that we recognize Turkey’s 1915 genocide of Armenians; he’s not Armenian.  He’s a Congressional leader for Israel and a personal leader for Holocaust survivors; he’s not Jewish.  And he is the first person to address the ethnic cleansing of Bangladeshi Hindus from the floor of the US Congress; no, he’s not Hindu either.  His point is that we don’t have to be part of any group to recognize an injustice done to them.

So I’d like you all to engage in a little exercise with me.

If you suddenly found yourself in Germany in the early 1930s, knew what was going to happen in a few short years, and had a chance to prevent it, would you?  Even if doing so was difficult or involved personal sacrifice?  Would you still do it?  Maybe you didn’t even know for sure that you could stop it, but you knew for sure what would happen if you didn’t.  Would you still try, or would you go back to a quiet life and pretend you didn’t know what you did?

Let’s bring it a little closer to home.  If you awoke tomorrow morning and instead of it being August 20, 2015, it was September 10, 2001; you knew what was about to happen and had a chance to prevent it; would you?

In both instances, wouldn’t you do everything in your power to avert these terrible losses of life?

If you answered yes, then history has given you a second chance.  For in many ways, today is September 10, 2001.  Time is running out for 12 million Hindus in Bangladesh, and so far, most people seem content to let it run.

In 1951, Hindus were almost a third of East Pakistan’s population.  In 1971, when East Pakistan became Bangladesh, they were less than a fifth, thirty years later less than a tenth, and around one in 15 today.  Throughout that time, there has been an unbroken torrent of targeted atrocities—murder, rape, the abduction of young women and children, forced conversion, religious desecration, legalized looting, and more—all of it designed to eliminate Hindus from their ancestral land; and all with the tacit approval or participation of successive Bangladeshi governments. 

One third—one fifth—one tenth—one fifteenth.  And if you’re wondering what’s next, look at Pakistan where Hindus are down to one percent or Kashmir and Afghanistan where once thriving Hindu communities are almost gone.  So, how many of you read about this in your morning Tribune or seen it on the news?  Me neither.

We can theorize about why the media, the international human rights industry, the UN, and others seem incapable of seeing what one person can—and I’m happy to share my thoughts about that, but at another time.  The only thing that matters right now is that millions of people are being killed, brutalized, and terrorized simply because they are Hindu; and if we don’t stop it, no one will.

Let’s go beyond the numbers to the sort of thing that keeps me up at night; that keeps me going back to the villages and jungles in South Asia.

In 2009, I met a Hindu family that had crossed into India only 22 days earlier after their Muslim neighbors brutally threw them off their tiny farm.  They told me about an uncle being killed; the father described the beatings he suffered; but what haunts me still is their daughter.  She was probably about 12 or 13 and kept trying to talk. Her mom would push her away, until she blurted out, “the Muslims chased me,” and all eyes turned to her.  She started talking fast, then as she described her ordeal would hesitate and look down, perhaps as the memories became more vivid.  I asked if they ever caught her.

“Yes,” she said.

“What happened?” I asked.

And after a lot of hesitation, she answered, “They did bad things to me.”

I’m sorry, I’m not an investigative journalist; I’m just a guy from Mount Prospect.  By training and temperament and as a father, though, I know a hurt kid I see one, and she was one.  No way was I going to press her.  Besides, everyone knew what she meant.  That’s why her parents didn’t want her to talk about it.

But why should we meddle?  Shouldn’t we let the Bangladeshis take care of their own internal problems?  And, anyway, don’t we have enough to do here?

Good questions, and I like to think I have some answers.

• On a personal level, when you’re hit in the face with something like that, it’s hard to ignore it.  And when you encounter it again and again as I have, it’s even harder to think that all those people somehow matter less than people closer to home.
• On a formal level, it’s an unfortunate fact that minorities are attacked pretty much everywhere.  Whether or not it’s a matter for outsiders depends on one thing:  when those attacks occur, what happens?  Do we have the kind of public angst that we’re going through here?  Does the government treat them as the crimes they are, or does it protect the criminals, thereby telling both victims and victimizers that it approves of these things; that no one’s going to do anything about it.  That’s the situation in Bangladesh.

Now, diplomats and “experts” will tell you from a safe distance that the party in power, the Awami League, is our friend:  opposing Islamists and supporting minorities.  It’s been in control since 2009, so it’s compelling to see how Hindus have fared in these best of circumstances.

• During its first two years in office, major anti-Hindu incidents occurred at the rate of almost one per week.
• The Hindu American Foundation, Bangladesh Minority Watch, and others document a similar level of atrocities in the third year, 2011.
• 2012 began with at least 1.25 a week in the first quarter and ended with one a week in the fourth.  In between, there was a nine day period in May with an abduction, a murder in broad daylight, and two gang rapes, one of a child on her way to a Hindu festival:  four horrific crimes in nine days and no action against known perpetrators.
• I’m still verifying atrocities—three in the first week of this month alone.  They come from local press reports, witness testimony, direct appeals, and my network of associates.

All of these actions were specifically anti-Hindu and not random.  I confirmed them either first hand or with at least two independent sources.  And the government neither prosecuted them nor helped retrieve the victims.  In fact, its officials often participated in the crimes or their cover-ups.  And these are only those I verified with my own limited resources.

Here’s two more.

·      For three days in 2009, hundreds of attackers descended on a poor Hindu community in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka.  They destroyed the community’s modest temple, burned down homes, and sent hundreds to local hospitals.  And here’s the kicker:  it happened right behind a police station.  Did the police even try to stop it?  No.  On the contrary, they joined with the attackers.  In addition to human tragedy, take away these two things:  (1) this organized attack could happen because the attackers knew they’d have police approval; and (2) even though the US State Department recorded both the attack and the police involvement, the administration buried the report and neither said nor did anything about it.

·      Here’s another.  In 2013—the last time the Bangladeshi government didn’t bar my entry—I visited a remote village of 85 Hindu families in far northern Bangladesh.  Several months earlier, the villagers were going about their daily lives when suddenly, more than 100 marauding Muslims attacked; moving from home to home, taking what they wanted and destroying the rest, farm to farm, stealing livestock and destroying crops.  Villagers showed me burnt remnants of their homes.  Women and children talked about hiding in fields while attackers roamed the village because almost all of these events involve rape and child abduction.  As a parent, imagine what it’s like watching your children being carried off, knowing you can’t protect them and those who can protect them, won’t.  Bangladeshi Hindus don’t have to imagine.  They’re living it.

And of course, in both cases, the government neither prosecuted the criminals nor helped the victims.

Before getting to what we can do about this, there’s an important sidebar, which tells us that there is hope—if we show the moral courage other generations of Americans have shown.

Those who attacked the village were whipped into a frenzy by their Imam.  He said the village was on land meant for a mosque and the infidels had to be driven off.  Even now, they threaten to return and finish the job.  The only thing that stands in their way is four Muslim policemen.  They told us that prior to the attacks, police never came to the village but that since then, they get there as often as they can to let the bad guys know if they want to renew the attacks, they’ll have to get through them.  They do this with neither fear nor hesitation and largely on their own because, they said, the government is taking no action.

There’s no question that our enemy is radical Islam—whether the administration wants to say it or not—as well as those who appease it and give it ideological cover.  Also know, however, that some of our bravest allies are other Muslims.

Although radical Islam threatens Hindus in Bangladesh, Christians in the Middle East, and many others; it also threatens us.  If we do nothing to protect these innocents—rather make deals that protect the bad guys and their state sponsors like Iran—we’re telling them that our words do not translate into action; that we have no moral backbone.  We will be abandoning the values that make us who we are.  If we allow them to do this in Bangladesh and the Middle East, there is no doubt that they will be doing it here soon enough.

Here’s some simple things you can do; and let’s remember, this is Bangladesh.  If we can’t stand up to Bangladesh, we’ve got no chance against adversaries like Iran and North Korea.

I’ve dealt with Bangladeshi officials before.  They will not act because it is the right thing to do, but they will act if their financial interests are threatened; and the Bangladeshi economy is inordinately dependent on one thing:  garment exports—you’ve seen those “Made in Bangladesh” labels, right?   Well, we’re their biggest customer.  In 2011 and 2012 alone our imports equaled 40 percent of Bangladesh’s annual budget; so we have leverage.

Here’s how it will go.  First, they’ll deny things, then act insulted.  Next they’ll accuse the US of something; and then they’ll play the “poor me” card.  If we don’t fall for any of that, we will prevail.  If we demand action and not just words we’ll prevail.  That’s exactly how my recent encounter with the Bangladeshi Home Minister went—he was pretty nasty until I mentioned the exports, which is when he played the poor me card.

You can be part of that, and you don’t have to go to Bangladesh or leave your homes.  I’m passing out cards and ask that you write your name and email address on them.  I will send you a link so you can email several large US companies like Target and Walmart; not to threaten a boycott but to let them know that their purchases support ethnic cleansing, something they’d rather not have their name associated with.  Please take this small action that will have a huge impact; and encourage others to do the same.  Perhaps it’s something the church can do as a community.

I also ask that you support Bob Dold and House Resolution 396 that calls on the US to protect Bangladesh’s minorities and will provide the basis for US actions—for instance, on trade.  And please, be a voice for those who have none:  don’t let this issue die; tell others about it.

Saving the Bangladeshi Hindus is not only another human rights issue. It’s also the right thing to do.

Thank you.

[For those reading the speech online, you too can take that small action to bring about huge results.  Below you will find the link to our infographic.  Scroll down to the boldface writing that begins, “Tell companies like Wal-Mart, the Number One importer of Bangladeshi goods that their Bangladeshi purchases support ethnic cleansing and unsafe and unfair labor practices.”

http://bdhindus.tumblr.com/

What follows is a simple way to do that.

One paragraph begins, “If you have a client based email like Outlook or Thunderbird.”  Simply click the four links in that paragraph.  Each will generate an email.  You can send it as is, add your name and town, or edit it; your choice.

The next paragraph begins, “If you have a web based email like gmail or Hotmail.”  Click the links in that paragraph to generate a blank email. Add the subject line noted in the paragraph, and cut & paste the following paragraph into your email (the one that begins, “The United States is a top destination for Bangladeshi exports”); and again, feel free to send it as is, add your name and town, or edit.

Thank you very much.  Your action is helping to save millions of lives.

Dr. Richard Benkin]

Re-constructing the role of Mandir critical for Hinduism in US: Dr. Richard Benkin

Originally published on NewsGram.com, August 1st, 2015

Nithin Sridhar

Hinduism in US: Present and Future: Part 2

According to the recent PEW survey of religious demography in United States, the followers of Christianity is on the decline (from 78.4% to 70.6% between 2007 and 2014), whereas those who identify themselves as unaffiliated with religion (atheists, agnostics) have substantially increased from around 16.1% to 22.8% between the same period.

It further indicates that American Hindus are a flourishing community with their population growing from 0.4% in 2007 to 0.7% in 2014 with around 2.23 million American Hindus currently living in US. But, the real figures may be much higher. According to an estimate given by Hinduism Today magazine, there were 2.3 million Hindus in 2008 itself.

To access the current position of American Hindus in society and the challenges faced by them, and to access the future of Hinduism as a whole in US, NewsGram spoke to various people associated with the Indian Diaspora and Hinduism in US. 

In the second installment of this “Hinduism in US: Present and Future” series, NewsGram spoke to Dr. Richard Benkinabout the perception of Hinduism and Hindu community in the larger American society, the challenges faced by Hindu Americans and how they could be overcome.

Dr. Richard Benkin is an American Jewish human rights activist who is currently working on a mission to stop atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh.

Nithin Sridhar: A recent PEW survey says that the number of Americans who reject religion and don’t identify with any religion substantially increased between 2007 and 2014. The survey attributes this to the declining interest of people in Christianity but also adds that it may be a general trend. Do you view this increase in “non-religious” people as rejection of organized religions like Christianity, or as a rejection of any concept of religion and spirituality?

Richard Benkin: Actually, neither. The phenomena PEW identified tends to be cyclical and often secondary to other social trends. For instance, large-scale immigration from traditional social settings in the late 19th and early 20th centuries inflated US religious identification figures for generations. The current and longstanding breakup of neighborhoods and small communities hastens alienation from traditional religious structures. Those communities which were once built around religious institutions are now diffused.

Moreover, the American experience exercises a strong pull that results in the children of immigrants shedding traditional religious forms, especially as they become better integrated in the larger American society and economy. Ultimately, they reconstruct new ones using the same sort of social adaptations that served them in other social settings. The forms look different, but they are rooted in the same history and values. Cheaper mass transportation and communication, information technologies and social media, the breakdown of inter-faith barriers, and consequent inter-faith relationships are among the social trends that challenge traditional religious identification.

This, then, does not appear to be a rejection of Christianity but its evolution. For all the talk about new religions in the United States, all of them together represent only about four percent of the US population according to the Hindu American Foundation. Nor is that likely to change much with the large influx of Latin American immigrants with an overwhelmingly Christian majority.

The US remains essentially a religious country with Christianity as its dominant faith, and its history has seen periods of lower religious identification and those of religious revivals. We do not know how long term the current trends are and what they will look like on the other side. However, we do know that changing demographics are likely to keep the religious fervor high.

NS: How do common Americans perceive Hinduism and Hindu Americans? How does the rise of Hindu Americans as shown in PEW survey, affect the American society?

RB: People often ask me if Hindus are vegetarian. I tell them, “Hindus are vegetarian like Jews are Kosher.” Hindus, like Jews, have a strong identity distinct from American Christianity. They maintain that identification and others recognize it as well. In both cases, however, many of their adherents do not follow their faith’s identifiable dietary laws that are rooted in religious principles. That is the paradox of non-Christian American religions.

It is embarrassing to admit that a small number of Americans know anything of substance about Hinduism.

When my synagogue decided to have a year of inter-religious outreach, they at first considered only Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. I objected that this ignored the many Americans who belong to non-Abrahamic faiths. It was not that people were bigoted; the other faiths just did not occur to them. The people at my synagogue, however, are especially good people who welcomed the new insights, and ended up devoting half a year to Abrahamic faiths and half a year to non-Abrahamic faiths. The Hindu American Foundation and other Hindu groups have made great strides in educating Americans about their faith. Americans are a third of a billion people, and many Americans are not engaged in this sort of education. It is going to take time. I’m still shocked at how little some Americans know about Judaism, and we’ve been here in numbers for a century and a half. Hindus are arguably the most successful ethnic-religious group in the United States. Individual Hindus are excelling in all walks of American life and already are making an impact on the US.

In 2012 we elected our first Hindu Member of Congress, Tulsi Gabbard, who took the oath of office on the Gita. A lot of Americans might not have realized the significance of Congresswoman Gabbard’s action, as distinct from “former” Hindus like Governors Bobby Jindal and Nicki Haley.

Hindu Americans will witness a lot of social change and adaptation as they become part of the US landscape, and non-Hindus will come to know more about them as they change that landscape. I am very proud to know of Hinduism’s beauty and be associated with the Hindu community in the US and elsewhere. How wonderful if more non-Hindus had that in their lives.

NS: What are the challenges that Hinduism is currently facing in the US that will have long term consequences for its future?

RB: The biggest challenges are the same, that other religious groups especially minority groups face. Life in America is great and attractive. History has taught us that with every successive wave of immigration. US born Hindu children interact with non-Hindu Americans and like all kids take on the identities of their age cohort groups. The answer is not to push back against that. The challenge is to figure out as a community what is essential to Hinduism that is compatible with a more general US culture.

Today faith communities, except for fundamentalists, recognize that unlike their older generations, current ones do not see faith adherence as something they have to do simply because it is the faith of their parents. They might not reject it outright or embrace another faith. However, they are likely to opt out of their religious identity and participation if it does not confirm with the other elements of their lives. To take a simple example, most High School football games are held on Friday night; yet, most Jewish youth will participate even though it violates traditional religious rules about Shabbat.

Insisting on a way of life that is in conflict with what these youngsters know and see in their friends will alienate them from Hinduism. The only way is to find a symbiosis of the two, but that takes time and a great deal of thought and experimentation. It is not an exaggeration to say that we are witnessing the birth of new forms of Hinduism, different from what we have known, yet born of social adaptations not changes to the essence of the faith and the core values of its adherents.

NS: How should the American Hindu society deal with these challenges?

RB: An effective response to these challenges has to come out of the Mandir (temple).Jews are famous for forming organizations and for this synagogues are the key. Synagogues were the central institution in the community wide effort to save Soviet Jews; they also are central to Israeli education; and many have added social events that bring Jewish singles together.

For US Hindus, re-constructing the attitude and the role of the Mandir will be critical. I have seen how Hindu temples are centers of community activity that inculcates pride in being Hindu.

What would attract young Americans who are also Hindu to make the Mandir part of their lives? While I would not presume to tell Hindus how to run their faith, I will throw out suggestions that have helped American Jews deal with the same challenges.

• The Jewish community has Jewish summer camps around the nation, which help build a sense of solidarity and identification, while giving youngsters more ways to stay connected, including going from camper to counselor as they get older and forming friendship and other relationships.
• When Jews in the USSR were being persecuted, the community as a whole fought for them, and freed over 1.2 million. Much of the effort came from “average” Jews who you might see at work or in the market. It strengthened Jewish identity and solidarity and saved lives. Children and youth, especially in religious schools, were part of that effort and got that same feeling.
• We sponsor “birth-right” trips to Israel for young Jews—chaperoned but without their parents (very important) and have a tremendous impact on youth who go.
• The first and most widely attended part of a Jewish child’s education culminates in a religiously and socially significant ceremony and party: the Bar or Bat Mitzvah. These young people get a sense of accomplishment, and it gives some structure, tie-in, and goal to the education. The Bar Mitzvah is recognition that a child has come of age, began in Biblical times. The ceremony we know did not develop until the Middle Ages, and American Jews have added their own elements.

These could be the examples for the Hindu American community. Hindus face so many challenges around the world. My focus is Bangladesh, but I recently spoke at a protest against the abduction and gang rape of a young Hindu woman in West Bengal. I have also have been at events for Kashmiri Pandits. A successful community effort that stops these anti-Hindu activities will grow pride and strengthen identity. Many of the elements are already there in the community; it takes someone or something to galvanize them.

NS: Why is there a negative portrayal of Hindus and Hinduism in certain quarters of the American media and academics?

RB: Some people will tell you that it’s related to Christian or Islamic efforts; but that is not the reason for these portrayals. The essential reason is ignorance, not mal-intent. Where there is ignorance, people without knowledge (and even those with a political agenda) can fill in the blanks.

Most Americans have never met a Hindu. When one educated American heard about my work for Bangladeshi Hindus, she asked me: “Hindus. Are they Muslim?” Believe me, that is an exact quote, and I was aghast as I am sure you are. Admittedly, academia in the US as in India has a decidedly leftist tinge, and part of that is solidarity with international movements that oppose US influence, one of which is Islamism.

Academics then become many of the “experts” that media and others interview, and their bias spreads and is accepted by those who have nothing with which to counter it. Please do not take the wrong interpretation. Americans who have that contact with Hindus and Hinduism tend to be very positive about it, and most of the others have no opinion.

NS: What are the measures that American Hindus must adopt to counter these negative portrayals that are rooted in ignorance?

RB: There are four measures to be adopted: general outreach and education, interfaith outreach, political activism, and strong public outrage as needed. Some of that is happening already. I reject the argument of those who claim that there is something flawed in Hindus themselves or that Hindus are innately passive.

• General Outreach: As noted above, most Americans are ignorant about Hinduism, and aggressive efforts by groups (Hindu and otherwise) to provide missing information is critical. The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) is doing a great deal in that respect, however, the US is a large country and they cannot do it alone. (They did a great and effective job opposing bias in school books.) These are the people—not the academics mentioned above—they should be the ones that media go to for interviews and expert advice. I know that the US Congress does. For years, HAF has been building relationships in Washington where it is recognized by many there as the source of expert opinion on Hinduism. Though not a Hindu, I too, have been asked for advice and information by US lawmakers. More needs to be done, and every Hindu can be an ambassador for his or her faith by being the person who informs the ignorant, who shows people the beauty of Hinduism.

• Interfaith Outreach: Next month, I will be part of a Jewish-Hindu event at a Mandiroutside of Chicago. It is one of several events we have held that is building a strong Hindu-Jewish coalition. Goodwill between the two religious groups is as high as is their mutual admiration. Hindus can do so much more. What a beautiful religion! Most US houses of worship are looking for inter-faith opportunities, and an aggressive outreach by Hindus would be welcomed by many. We need to know where the opportunities are and take advantage of them.
• Political Activism: Over the past three election cycles, I have been working with the Chicago area Hindu community in supporting those candidates for Congress and other offices that support those issues and values of concern to the Hindu community. I remind people that there are only about a million more Muslims in the US than Hindus, and we can make sure candidates know about our influence at the polls. Charitable groups are barred by law from engaging in such activity, however, others can and should take part. Jews, Muslims, and Christians do it. There is nothing wrong with it, and Hindus have the same right. The growing prominence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the US and elsewhere is also helping those of us who are emphasizing the importance of Hindus to our elected leaders.
• Strong Public Outrage: Recently, I was part of public protests over the abduction of a young Hindu. It was successful, and similar protests were held in other cities; however, attendance was low. Most Hindus stayed home, and even some of those who attended tried to excuse the others by saying that those who did not attend had other things to do—which I find a terrible indictment. I have been meeting with Washington lawmakers and media for years discussing the ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh, and I am often met with the response that if it is not important to Hindus, how bad can it be? When Jews are persecuted, don’t the Jewish turn out in their defense? When Muslims are offended, don’t they? Hindus should be at least as enraged as I am (and certainly enraged as the people at HAF and those few who were at the protests with me). And they should act on that outrage.

International Affairs: Will a new India evade Pakistan’s trap?

Originally published on NewsGram.com, July 27th, 2015

Dr Richard Benkin

Pakistan again delayed its prosecution of 26/11 terrorist Zakiur Rahman Lakhvi.  Not two full days after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif reached an understanding on this contentious issue in Ufa, Russia, Pakistan reneged.  It was not the first time that Pakistan backed off its commitments to prosecute Lakhvi, who is also a leader of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

Pakistani foreign policy adviser Sartaj Aziz’s statement that India had to provide “more evidence” for the probe to continue was only the latest delaying tactic by the Islamic Republic.  Aziz might have claimed that what he said was consistent with the Modi-Sharif meeting, but it was a clear slap at India’s position that it already has given Pakistan all the information in its possession; and further, that what it has provided is compelling evidence that Lakhvi was the 26/11 mastermind.  Considering that Lashkar and Lakhvi are responsible for the murder of thousands of Pakistanis, logic would dictate that Pakistan would want to bring LeT’s reign of terror to an end.  After all, the primary duty of every government is to protect the nation’s people.

Evidently not for Pakistan.  Its official sponsorship of LeT, especially as an unofficial arm of its fight with India over Kashmir, has long been established.  Ashley Tellis, Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, noted “It is important to end the farce of treating [terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba] as if they are truly free agents, acting on their own accord”; states like Pakistan give them “protection, succor, and support.”

Most knowledgeable observers long ago concluded that the Pakistani government, and especially its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), were involved in the 26/11 attacks. Lakhvi’s trial would make Pakistani involvement official and force its government to take real action or face international censure.  So they demur.

However, a particularly important fact this time is that India has a different leader with a well-deserved reputation for being tough and thoroughly committed to ensuring that the days of Indian weakness and meekness are behind for its 1.25 billion people.  Modi foreshadowed this in a campaign speech he gave in the far northeastern state of Assam.  The people of Assam were concerned that the large influx of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh was destroying the state’s physical and cultural environments.  He told them:  “The people of Assam are troubled because of Bangladesh,”  and noting that he was from Gujarat which borders Pakistan he continued, “Pakistan is  worried because of  me.”

Pakistan is worried about Modi, however, they might be testing him with this latest salvo.   During his first  15 months in office, Modi’s foreign policy has focused on building bridges  with other countries, including  neighbors Pakistan and Bangladesh, beginning with his  unprecedented invitation for the leaders of both  countries to attend his swearing in  ceremonies. Given their contentious history, Modi’s attempt to re-set  relationships based  on a bold, assertive, and mutually beneficial Indian future takes a great deal of agility.    Traditional allies and adversaries need to see an open hand of friendship at the same time  knowing that it can turn into a clenched fist.  Modi has been doing that, all the time having  to demonstrate that he is neither the bully some foreigners and domestic opponents believe him to be, nor the foreign policy weakling his predecessors often proved to be.

In 2010, I was in South Asia and observed the ongoing farce that culminated with the Indian Congress government’s capitulation.  India and Pakistan were supposed to hold talks aimed at resolving the 26/11 issue.  Shortly before the talks were to be held, however, Pakistan said it would not participate.  In a rambling diatribe, then-Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that Pakistan was not behind attacks on its neighbor; India was.  India, he said, was collaborating with the Taliban to de-stabilize.  It is difficult to believe that Qureshi expected anyone except delusional partisans to believe what he said.

This was really a Pakistani shot across India’s bow; a strategic move intended to make themselves appear reasonable (‘we are in favor of talks’) without actually doing anything (such as resolving this issue or ending its support for terrorist attacks on India).

The Indian Congress government tried again and a “reasonable” Pakistan agreed; and true to form, only a few days before the talks, it threatened to break them off if they included discussion of the 26/11 allegations.  Congress gave in and agreed to the meaningless talks that are not even a footnote in the subcontinent’s history.  Worse, it reiterated that India—perhaps until now—would not press the issue of Pakistani connivance in the third deadliest attack in India’s history and one that killed more people than all attacks in the previous year combined.

How Prime Minister Modi responds will tell us a lot about his administration going forward.  He cannot afford to risk the relationships he has built thus far, which would be an outcome favorable to Islamabad; nor can he afford to let the matter drop.  Do not expect him to wage war over it, though proof of Pakistani involvement would constitute an act of war on its part.  But do not expect him to capitulate as did his predecessors.  He already tried the UN Security Council on a related matter; and although China blocked him, Modi found a great deal of international consensus in his favor, even from nations that generally find themselves on opposite sides of an issue including the US and Russia.

A more fruitful avenue would be an aggressive campaign to Pakistan’s most important sponsor:  the United States.  Modi has built up a tremendous amount of goodwill on Capitol Hill where it would not be difficult to convince key lawmakers in both the Senate and House to hold public hearings on the matter.

That public airing of the evidence should tilt in India’s favor and could end with a strong statement by the Congress—something Pakistan could not ignore without serious consequences to it relationship (and financial pipeline) with the US.  This is also a Congress that is bound and determined to oppose terrorism and the states that sponsor it.  Modi has made serious inroads on US policy in South Asia.  The hearings would further damage Pakistan’s standing in the US.  He might also appeal to President Barack Obama, who fashions himself as a peacemaker and might be induced to broker India-Pakistan talks on 26/11.

US Commission silent about ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh

Originally published on NewsGram.com,  July 14th, 2015

Dr. Richard Benkin

On April 30, 2015, the United States joined with the Taliban and other South Asian jihadis by supporting the ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh. On that date, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) issued its annual report that deliberately ignored the evidence it had about the ongoing atrocities against Bangladeshi Hindus and the current government’s complicity in it.

Since Bangladesh’s independence in 1971, Hindus have gone from almost a fifth of the population to an estimated one in 15 in this country, which has world’s eighth largest population and fourth largest Muslim population. Throughout that time, Hindus have faced ongoing atrocities including murder, rape, child abduction, forced conversion, religious desecration, and pogroms. Through a racist law taken in whole cloth from Pakistan, the Vested Property Act, successive Bangladeshi governments have plundered Hindu property and seized most of it.

The atrocities themselves are horrible enough to cause outrage in all decent human beings and spur them to take action. It’s the Bangladeshi government’s complicity, however, that demanded a stern rebuke from USCIRF and recommendations for US action.

Instead, the Commission did not even place Bangladesh on what it used to call its “Watch List” of nations that do not take action when religious freedom is threatened. A product of the International Religious Freedom Act, USCIRF was passed during the administration of US President Bill Clinton. Its specific mandate involved identifying situations like this and recommending US government action so that we are not complicit in them. Its recent action not only failed to meet its mandate; it also consigned 12 million Bangladeshi Hindus to a terrible fate.

For the past eight years, I have been going to South Asia, comforting victims and confronting victimizers. Had USCIRF acted courageously instead of cowardly, it would have made a difference. The Bangladeshi economy is inordinately dependent on its imports from the US and other western nations, and the powers in Bangladesh will react if any of those states take a strong stand on an issue. I’ve seen it happen before, I’ve been part of it. Bangladesh took action when those nations started objecting to the terrible and dangerous conditions for workers there.

Unfortunately, those same western elites including USCIRF consistently give Bangladesh’s government a pass when it comes to Hindus. Their position in part comes from their naïve belief that the ruling Awami League of Sheikh Hasina Wajed is different from its out-of-power rival, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, and they will do anything to support the Awami League’s ongoing false claim of being “moderate.” Yet, under their watch jihad against the dwindling non-Muslim population has intensified.

• I personally confirmed unpunished anti-Hindu atrocities at a rate of about one per week under the Awami League rule;
• Bangladeshi human rights activist Rabindra Ghosh and his Bangladesh Minority Watch investigate atrocities and fight government inaction. They face regular attacks either by the government or by those supported by it;
• The Hindu American Foundation and others have documented the anti-Hindu
• Hague based Global Human Rights Defence’s 2013 film, “Culture of Impunity: The rise of Bangladeshi religious extremism,” documented how government inaction enables anti-Hindu atrocities and the rise of Islamists.

The US Congress has begun voicing concern about Bangladesh’s war on Hindus. Bob Dold of suburban Chicago has now been joined by Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed Royce and the only Hindu member of the Congress, Tulsi Gabbard. I also have been working with several Senators through their staff, including Presidential candidate Marco Rubio.

Yet, USCIRF continues down a discredited and deadly path. It had an opportunity to take a moral stance against jihad and instead took the route of silence.

At one point, it looked like things would be different. Chairwoman Katrina Lantos Swett assured me that USCIRF would address the issue. Its representatives reached out to me for contacts inside Bangladesh who could substantiate the ethnic cleansing of Hindus and the government complicity. I connected them with Rabindra Ghosh, who met with a USCIRF staff person in Bangladesh and gave compelling evidence of the atrocities and the Awami League’s complicity. He knew that the government would target him for doing so but told me it was worth the risk.

Yet, USCIRF is more invested with vilifying India than the truth when it comes to Hindus. Their report said precious little about the terrible atrocities against Hindus. In its report on Pakistan, for instance, where Hindus continue to face ethnic cleansing and have been reduced to one percent of the population, USCIRF calls violence against Hindus “allegations,” while it did not similarly question the claims of any other minority group. In 2014, I arranged a meeting between Dr. Swett and Indian officials where we agreed on a path of dialogue that gives equal respect to the US and India. Months later, however, Swett rejected that course telling me she would take another. That choice was clear in the report, which used questionable material to claim religious freedom abuses in India. When USCIRF staff brought the allegations to me for my advice, I provided evidence refuting it. Despite that evidence, USCIRF continued its diatribe and attributed the alleged problems to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election and “Hindu nationalist groups.” It also called forced conversion of Hindus “media propaganda.”

Why USCIRF chose this anti-Hindu, anti-India approach is something for which they must answer, because if they cannot be of any value in stopping Bangladesh’s war on Hindus, what value do they have at all?

As a patriotic American, I have to challenge my government and ask how, if we cannot stand up to a rump state like Bangladesh, we will confront countries like Iran and North Korea? And what does all of that say about our new role in the world?

Dr. Richard L. Benkin is an American human rights activist whose current mission is to stop the war on Hindus in Bangladesh.

Address to Chicago Rally for Tuktuki Mondal

Dr. Richard Benkin, July 11, 2015

Namaste.

What happened to Tuktuki Mondal is terrible—but it’s nothing new.  In 2013, I met another young woman in West Bengal.  For months, local Islamists had been pressuring her and her disabled brother to leave their small plot of land.  Why?  Because they are Hindu.  They threatened; they attacked.  She showed me how they cut down their fruit trees and drained the small pond where they raised fish, because if they couldn’t scare them out, they would starve them out.  And why?  Because they are Hindu.  Still they resisted.  This was their home, she said, their family legacy; and she would not abandon it.  Despite the challenges, the difficulties, and the cost; the she and her brother traveled to Kolkata and sought help from West Bengal strongwoman Momata Bannerjee.  They met with her personal assistant who promised help; but it never came.  Why?  Because they are Hindu.

Then, one night after previous criminal action and official inaction failed, those same attackers broke into their home, tried to abduct the young woman, and threatened to gang rape her.  Somehow, she fought them off, kicking and screaming, using what she could find to fight—and I say somehow because if you saw this daughter of Bengal you would see that she was so frail, almost childlike in her appearance.

But not in her strength of will.  She would not be denied justice.  Knowing that her life was in danger, the next day she filed charges against her attackers.  But the West Bengal police was in cahoots with the criminals and when they made an arrest, they arrested her—charged her with making a false claim, all the while knowing that their own claim was false.  And why?  Because she is Hindu.

For years, I’ve been fighting the persecution of Hindus in East Bengal, what we know as Bangladesh, all the while warning that jihad is spreading to West Bengal, as well.  Each year, I travel Bengal’s villages; and each year I find more of them that were once home to both Hindus and Muslims, now empty of Hindus who were driven off or worse.  Each year, I see more roadside temples, once strewn with fresh flowers now strewn with garbage, abandoned and desecrated.

Our enemies are already in Kolkata.  I’ve seen Jamaat’s office there and fought Islamist actions that spew from the Tipul Sultan Mosque.  Right now, Bangladeshi schoolchildren are being taught that Kolkata is theirs; and if we let that happen, what’s next?  New Delhi?  London?  And how soon before they’re in New York and Chicago?

When I first raised the issue of Bangladesh’s Hindus, people told me that no one cared, that no one ever would care.  And while we still have much to do, that’s changed.  It’s now been raised in the US Congress and other official circles; and more action is pending.  We can make a difference if we have the will.

So, what we have to do for Tuktuki is difficult—very difficult—but it’s not impossible.  Moreover, it’s our dharma.

Honor Tuktuki and that brave young woman I met by making today a new beginning.  Do more than just shake your fists in anger.  Join with me.  Make our enemies fight a multi-front war.  Make them take off their shoes at the airport.  Make a noise so loud that Mamata can’t ignore it; and neither can those here who will be looking for our votes next year.  Join with me in this struggle, and we will succeed.  Join with me—for Tuktuki and for our own daughters.

Nasmaskar.

Chicago protests the abduction of Tuktuki Mondal in front of the Consulate General of India

Testimony to US House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific

Dr. Richard Benkin, April 30, 2015

TO: US House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific Thank you for allowing me to testify about the ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh. I want to thank Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed Royce and committee staff for working with me over the past year and a half to make these hearings happen.

In 1951, Hindus represented almost a third of East Pakistan’s population. When East Pakistan became Bangladesh in 1971, they were less than one in five; thirty years later fewer than one in ten; and according to reliable estimates, only one in 15 today. If anyone is cannot see where this is going, look at Pakistan where Hindus are down to one percent; or at Afghanistan or Kashmir, where once thriving Hindu communities are all but gone.

The difference between those places and Bangladesh is that we have a chance to prevent the total destruction of the Hindu community there; and each of us has a moral imperative NOT to sit by idly. Let us start acting like moral individuals and stop sitting by idly; stop hiding behind our fear of loud ideologues; stop hiding behind a topsy-turvy world view in which their ideology is more important than people’s lives; stop hiding behind the studied non-involvement of others; stop hiding behind the excuse that the “right” people have to confirm what we know before we act; stop hiding behind the let’s-pretend-world in which ethnic cleansing is all right as long as we cover our eyes.

There is no question that Bangladesh’s Hindu population is dying; neither is the fact that Hindus face ongoing attacks in Bangladesh. There are, however, some comforting myths to which people cling rather than face the rest of the truth. Unless we grow up and cast them aside with other childhood myths; then Hinduism in Bangladesh will be nothing more than a memory and we will be as shameful as those Europeans who closed their shutters in the 1940s while their Jewish neighbors were being carried off to their deaths. So, what are those deadly myths that must be cast aside?

Myth #1: That somehow identifying the ethnic cleansing of Hindus in a Muslim-majority country is anti-Islam. What a deadly bit of nonsense that is. It comforts the cowardly into believing that standing still while others die is the moral thing to do. Fighting this evil is not the province of any religious community. It should move all decent people to action. I have stood shoulder to shoulder with Muslims who have been beaten by Bangladeshi police and by Islamists because they protested the ethnic cleansing of Hindus. I have spent time with Muslim police who on their own guard a Hindu village from Muslim attackers because, they told me, the government will do nothing. If recognizing the Nazi Holocaust is not anti-German, then this is not Islamophobic.

Myth #2: That Bangladesh is a “moderate” Muslim country. The word, moderate, has been misapplied so frequently that I really do not know what it means anymore. I DO know, however, that it does not apply to Bangladesh. Is a country that permits the ethnic cleansing of its non-Muslim population moderate? How about one with a radical Islamist party that is the third most powerful and a former and possibly future member of the ruling coalition? What about a country that silences journalists and authors by charging them with blasphemy, a capital offense (and I have been involved in defending at least two of them)? Is a country with laws that makes blasphemy a capital offense and allows forced conversion moderate? Is it even civilized? And what about a country that persecutes human rights activists or prohibits its citizens from simply visiting Israel? I could go on, but no need. Clearly, calling Bangladesh moderate is about as accurate as calling a cat a dog.

Myth #3: That the Awami League is any different from other parties in Bangladesh or that Hindus could expect justice under its rule. This could be the most pernicious lie because of its break on our will to save these innocents. Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League have had numerous opportunities to change their country’s anti-Hindu laws and practice and in each case decided that Hindus just were not worth the effort. In May 2009, for instance, she told French naval commander Gerard Valin that her government would repeal the country’s anti-minority laws—perhaps becoming the first sitting Prime Minister in modern times to admit that her country has anti-minority laws. True to form, she made that promise with no thought of keeping it.

Just before she took office, Bangladesh’s Supreme Court issued a rule nisi asking the government to show cause why Bangladesh’s racist Vested Property Act should not be declared contrary to the constitution and ruled null and void. Bangladesh’s Vested Property Act was taken in whole cloth from Pakistan by the current Prime Minister’s father and supposed “father” of all Bangladeshis. It legalizes official theft of Hindu property and its use to fill the coffers of whatever party is in power. The military leaders in charge at the time of the rule nisi told me that the matter exceeded their charter and that with elections about to be held they were leaving it to the next government to end to this terrible law that has allowed all but a small amount of Hindu owned land to be confiscated. Despite its landslide victory and rule without coalition partners, however, the Awami League ignored the court and left the law as the economic engine driving ethnic cleansing.

In 2011, the Supreme Court again tried to civilize the Awami League, asking the Jatiya Sangsad (or Bangladeshi parliament) to submit substitutes for a series of constitutional amendments passed under the Ershad dictatorship in the 1980s. And it did—for all except one: the Eighth Amendment, which made Islam the official state religion and provided government support for that majority religion with comparative disabilities for minority faiths. Many Hindus and other minorities have complained that this makes them feel like second-class citizens in their own country.

All of that, however, pales in comparison with Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League’s support for deadly attacks on Hindus. In January 2009, a consortium of Bangladeshi Hindu groups asked me to advise them on what to do now that the Awami League was in control. “The last thing you should do,” I said, “is to go back to sleep.” I urged them to push the Awami League to live up to its posturing as “pro-minority,” which won it the vast majority of Hindu votes. Otherwise, I said, “we will see that their words are nothing more than words.” Unfortunately, most of the leaders placed their trust in the new government rather than in themselves: a very bad decision.

• • During the Awami League’s first year in office, major antiHindu incidents occurred at the rate of almost one per week.
• • The number and intensity of anti-Hindu atrocities did not drop the next year, which included one period with anti-Hindu actions every three days.
• • The Hindu American Foundation, Bangladesh Minority Watch, and others document a similar level of atrocities in the third year, 2011.
• • 2012 began with at least 1.25 similar incidents a week in the first quarter and ended with one a week during the fourth. In between, there was a nine day period in May with an abduction, a murder in broad daylight, and two gang rapes, one of a child on her way to a Hindu festival: four horrific crimes in nine days and no action against known perpetrators.

Human rights activist Rabindra Ghosh, my own associates, and I investigated and confirmed these incidents. They were reported in local media, yet major media ignored them. All incidents:

• • Were major crimes: murder, rape, child abduction, forced conversion, physical attacks, land grabs, religious desecration, and more.
• • Occurred under Awami League rule.
• • Were anti-Hindu and not just random.
• • Were neither prosecuted nor did the government help retrieve victims; in some cases, it participated in the actions or their cover-ups.
• • Were confirmed by at least two independent sources.

Life under the Awami League is better for Hindus?

• • In 2009, there was a three-day attack on a poor Hindu community right behind a Dhaka police station. Police accompanied the attackers and supported their actions. Many of the poor Hindus they made homeless still roam the street of Dhaka.
• • In 2012, angry mobs stormed a tiny Hindu village in a remote part of Dinajpur in northern Bangladesh, destroying homes and farms, looting possessions, and abusing women.
• • The government did not punish criminals in either case, participated in cover-ups, and threatened human rights activists investigating the incidents. I went to both places to see for myself, met with victims, and confirmed the attacks and the government’s complicity.
• • In December 2012, 21-year old Eti Biswas was abducted by local toughs and government officials after her family defied threats and would not abandon their land. Her family met me in Dhaka and asked me to help bring back their young daughter. Not only local officials but also high officials including the Bangladeshi Home Minister and perhaps even Sheikh Hasina herself were aware of what happened, including the government’s tacit approval. Eti Biswas remains missing to this day, and the family remains devastated.
• • Koli Goswami (21), Pradip Das (22), Subarna Biswas (17), and many other young Hindu women—taken and still missing, months or even years after their abduction, often forcibly converted to Islam; police justify their inaction by claiming it was “voluntary.” And it continues: Kona Rani Bepari (18) abducted and forcibly converted in March 2015, and many others. The government refused to prosecute and an Awami League berated Rabindra Ghosh, the human rights attorney who asked for his help.
• • Roti Bala Biswas (15), Napur Pandey (11) and many Hindu women and girls raped because the rape of Hindus is rarely prosecuted, punished even less, by this government. I have interviewed scores of women who described being gang raped, often as minors, often with husbands and fathers forced to watch before being killed. There was the 14-year-old girl who just 22 days after she and her family escaped to India described to me being gang raped. In Bangladesh, the rape of Hindu women and girls is de facto allowed if not encouraged.

Despite the egregiousness of these atrocities and the government’s open support for them, the Bangladeshis are so confident of our cowardice that they do not see the need even to appear credible. In May 2012, I met with Bangladesh’s ambassador in Washington, Akramul Qader, and confronted him with evidence I have gathered. It was an interesting encounter in which he issued successive denials after which I would provide evidence that rendered him either an ignorant fool or a liar. Each time that happened, he would act as if he just remembered the well-documented incident or atrocity. At one point, I pointed out that demographers have said that the precipitous population drop in Bangladesh’s Hindu population could not have come about through demographic processes like birth rates or through voluntary emigration. Here was his response. He did not dispute the objective facts but asserted that it is voluntary: that they “cannot find suitable matches for their children, so they go to India where there are more Hindus.” I have interviewed scores of Hindu refugees in India and not one said they left Bangladesh to find their children marriage partners. 

He is not the only idiot in Sheikh Hasina’s government. Not long ago in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi Home Minister, Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir, responded to the overwhelming evidence of atrocities against Hindus by saying that “union membership has declined in the US” and that “33 people were killed in Connecticut.” Is he really that much of a fool or does he think I am? Other Bangladeshi officials admitted the problem, but only if I kept it anonymous as they feared reprisals.

So, what must Bangladesh do to re-join the community of civilized nations? And we cannot let them off the hook until they actually do these things, not just promise them as Sheikh Hasina did in 2009. Empty promises are the Bangladeshis’ stock in trade as it tends to be all they need to win our acceptance.

• • Admit its problem and stop denying it. Addicts know that the first step on the road to recovery is admitting that you have a problem. Is there any doubt that Bangladesh has a problem?
• • Once it does, it can call the UN, from individual countries, and its own citizens for help in its recovery.
• • Announce that henceforth, it will have zero-tolerance for anti-Hindu actions of the sort noted; and that officials who tolerate, cover-up, or participate in them will be dismissed, prosecuted, and punished.
• • Go beyond words and announce a string of prosecutions for the worst of these crimes and for government officials who took part in them or obstructed justice. And it needs to prosecute them vigorously.
• • Introduce in Parliament and use its political muscle to pass final repeal of the Vested Property Act.
• • Empanel an independent commission of academics, activists, and others to return seized property to their rightful owners or, if the latter prefer, provide just compensation for their losses.
• • Extend official and effective protection to human rights activists attacked for their work, and prosecute their attackers.

And we must hold Bangladesh to a tight and specific deadline or impose consequences for non-action.

• • Bangladesh is inordinately dependent on our imports of their goods, especially garments. They will not act because it is the right thing to do, but they will act (and we have experience with this) if they believe their economic interests are at stake. The prospect of trade sanctions for continued human rights violations will scare them straight.
• • Bangladesh provides more UN peacekeepers than any other country. The prospect of losing that was the proximate reason why the military acted and took over the government in 2007—information I received from the military while I was in Dhaka during the coup. We provide a greater share of that support than any other nation and should have substantial influence.
• • An increasing number of Bangladeshis are immigrating to the United States (legally and otherwise) because the country cannot support its population. Directed immigration laws and regulations could make that difficult and again motivate the Bangladeshi government to do the right thing.

We are the victims of our own good intentions: our tendency to accept the Bangladeshis’ empty words, to hang on desperately to the wish that they are moderate and would not allow such things if they could stop it; and our desperate belief that the Awami League would act any better than its rivals.

While most people in my country remain uninformed about what is happening to Hindus in Bangladesh that is changing. Today is evidence of that. While major media still ignore the problem, more local and online media do not. On October 1, 2013, the Chicago suburb of Mount Prospect, Illinois, became the first US locality to issue a formal proclamation that recognized the persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh and the lack of attention this serious issue receives. I urge US citizens to get other localities to make Mount Prospect the first of many to do so.

Just to make sure we do not lose the sense of urgency we need, in Gopalganj (represented by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina), ten Hindus sit falsely accused of murdering a man who attacked their temple and women. They have been denied due process and access to counsel. When the attorney their families hired petitioned the court for help, he was beaten in the court in front of the judge; Rabindra Ghosh has been attacked further for pursuing the matter all the way to the Bangladeshi Supreme Court, so far without relief. The International Commission of Jurists have called on the Bangladeshi government to rectify this breakdown in the rule of law, and the latter has ignored these and other calls. Meanwhile, the ten Hindus face the same fate that once awaited Jews in Iran and proselytizing Christians. Just how real is their danger? There were eleven, but one already has died in custody.

For seven years, I have dedicated myself to stopping this human rights atrocity so we do not become like those who did not take action in time to save Jews in Nazi Europe, Tutsis in Rwanda, Igbos in Biafra, and so many others. Today can be a great first step in getting there—or we can allow our efforts to sit in a drawer and collect dust.

The choice—and history’s judgement—is in our hands.

Thank you.

We Must Act or Bangladesh’s Hindus will not Survive

Dr. Richard L. Benkin, Hindu Mandir Executives’ Conference, Midwest Region, Manav Seva Mandir, Bensenville, IL April 25, 2015

[Note: The actual speech to this group varied from the prepared text, although the basic ideas and many of the specifics were covered in the talk or later interactions.]

Namaste.  And thank you for allowing me to speak here today

How many of you remember the 1970s?  Not hippies and free love, I’m referring to the fact that back then, you couldn’t pass a synagogue without seeing a huge banner that read “Save Soviet Jewry.”

Our people were being persecuted in the USSR, and the American Jewish community realized that if we didn’t do something about it no one else will.  So, we mobilized, contacted our political leaders—politely at first, later not so politely—got other religious communities to join us and contact those same lawmakers, which made our voices even louder.  Everyday Jews whom you might see at the supermarket or the office would put their lives at risk by going to the Soviet Union to smuggle in banned religious artifacts and let our people there know that they were not alone.  In the end, we got 1.2 million Jews out of that communist hell-hole, almost half of the Jewish population there!

The entire community mobilized, however, the Jewish institution that was central to that successful struggle, that touched the widest number of Jews was the synagogue, our religious home, including our religious schools, which is another reason why I’m especially happy to be here with you today.

Did they say it was “political,” and so they better not take part?  No.  Did they say that our Senators and Members of Congress had too many other things to worry about or that we didn’t want to bother them?  No again.  Whatever else the politicians had on their plates, my God, this was a matter of life and death, a moral imperative.  What could be more important than that, and if our religious institutions didn’t see that, well, their attempts to sound pious wouldn’t mean much, would they?

For years now, this everyday Jew has been putting his well-being at risk and giving up his family’s vacations so the Bangladeshi Hindus know that they’re not alone.  I remind audiences like this that they have been persecuted from almost one in three East Bengalis to perhaps as few as one in fifteen.  Sometimes, truth be told, it’s discouraging.  I wonder if people get that moral imperative, if I’m making a difference, if my talks at venues like this have any value.  It’s not so much that no one’s listening; they are and people care.  I just don’t know if they care enough to do something about it.

And that’s a tragedy, because every day that we don’t act, is another day that the bad guys win; another day that a Hindu child is abducted, another day that a Hindu woman or girl is raped, another day that a Mandir—perhaps one just like this—is destroyed, another day that a Hindu is murdered.  And another day that the Bangladeshi government gets away with letting it happen.

Do you want to stop that?

Good, because my personal feelings aside, we have made progress and there is something that you can do.  A year ago, the Bangladeshi government refused to let me into the country, which more than anything else said they are afraid of me.  We must be doing something right. Only last month, human rights attorney Rabindra Ghosh raised the Bangladeshi Hindu issue with one of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s closest confidantes.  He also mentioned me.  And do you know how HT Imam responded—this man who has input into what the Bangladeshi PM does, one of the most influential men in the Awami League and in fact in all of Bangladesh—do you know what he said?  Do you know how he dismissed his government’s need to act?

He told my friend that “Dr. Benkin is working for the interests of the Jews.”  What does he even mean by that, and what’s it have to do with his country’s ethnic cleansing of Hindus?

As I said, we must be doing something right.  Because the first part of any human rights struggle is letting people know that something bad is happening; and we’ve done that to a large extent:  Indian PM Narendra Modi has been public with his support; since Congressman Bob Doldfirst raised the issue from the floor of the House, other lawmakers from both parties have followed; several NGOs, including the Hindu American Foundation are now talking about it; by way of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), our government will recognize the persecution of Bangladesh’s Hindus next  month; and one US Presidential candidate, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, has started taking up the issue.

That accomplished, it’s now time to do something about it, and I need your help.  There are a lot of things each of you can do, but I will focus on just two of them today.

During that effort to save Soviet Jews, every child in Jewish religious school got a Soviet Jewish child as a pen pal.  It was very interesting because they didn’t write each other about politics or persecution.  They wrote each other about the things that make up most kids’ lives:  school, sports, dating for the older kids, and so on.  And it did at least two things:

·        For the Soviet children, they did learn that they were not alone, that kids half way around the world cared about them.

·        For the American children, it strengthened their Jewish identity and their involvement in the Jewish community.  And it helped them see that even the plight of their people far away was their plight, too.

For this to work, for the Bangladeshi Hindus to become your Soviet Jews, you do not need every Mandir in America to take part—not even most; but you do have to begin with you own.  In doing so, you will strengthen the dharma and help save millions of lives.

·        Amar ji, can you (or someone else) get me the number of pen pals each Mandir needs, and let’s get a due date from the group.  (confirm both)

·        Also, I will send each of you an inforgraphic my daughter created so you can get it to your schools as an introduction for the children as to why we’re doing this.  So someone needs to start collecting email addresses.  (Get someone started on that.)

·        Now if anyone needs help in explaining this or introducing it to the schools, let me know.

Okay, good, but I said I would address two things, and let’s move to the second.  According to the Hindu American Foundation, there are two to three million Hindus in the United States.  How many of them do you think shop at Wal-Mart, or The Gap, or Target?  (audience reaction)  Do you think that buying power is important to those companies?  (audience reaction)  Those companies happen to be the largest importers of Bangladeshi goods, mostly clothing, and Bangladesh’s economy is heavily dependent on those purchases.  What do you think would happen if those companies were suddenly flooded with emails that said their support for Bangladesh’s ethnic cleansing of Hindus is causing concern among their customers?  (audience reaction)  I don’t like the idea of boycotts or anything like that.  I do believe, however, that the simple power of your moral outrage will make a difference; 1-2 million emails certainly will make a difference, but so will 1-2 thousand, or even 1-2 hundred.  But we need someone here today to coordinate it with me.  Who will that be?  (Wait for an answer.)  Good.  Give me your contact information; let’s do it.

I’ve worked with the Bangladeshis for years, and I can tell you that they will not stop their persecution of Hindus simply because it is the right thing to do; but they will if we make it a matter of saving their economy, and for their leaders, saving their political lives and cushy jobs.  They will act, and we know exactly what they need to do.

So, I’m not asking anyone to come to Bangladesh with me, or even Washington. I’m not even asking anyone to give up their next vacation or weekend or even a TV show.  I am asking for your commitment to join me today, to take those two small steps that will save millions.

Do I have that commitment?  (audience reaction)

Will you make today a new beginning for all of us?  (audience reaction)

Dhanyavaad.

“Moderate” Bangladesh says human rights activist working for “interests of the Jews”

Originally published on Crime Flash, April 1st, 2015 

Dr. Richard Benkin

Bangladesh likes to market itself as a “moderate” country, committed to principles of freedom and democratic rule.  But would a moderate country:

·         Be complicit in the ethnic cleansing of its non-Muslim minorities, reducing Hindus from almost a fifth of the population to an estimated one in 15?

·         Allow attacks on other religious minorities and attempt to change the ethnic majority where indigenous peoples have lived for millennia by flooding the area with majority Bengalis—much like the old Soviet Union did in the Baltics and elsewhere?

·         Have a Prime Minister admit to “anti-minority laws,” which the Bangladeshi PM did in 2009, then allow them to remain in force?

·         Charge writers and journalists with blasphemy, harass and imprison them for violating religious orthodoxy, and force many of them to flee the country in order to practice their professions freely?

·         Orchestrate attacks on human rights activists, including one courtroom beating with the judge’s approval, and ignore calls from organizations like the International Commission of Jurists to do something about it?

As if we needed more evidence that Bangladesh and its Awami League government are anything but moderate; they keep providing it anyway.  On March 10, 2015, human rights activist and attorney Rabindra Ghosh met with H. T. Imam, Awami League Advisory Council member and one of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's closest advisers, about the persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh.  It is an issue I addressed with Imam four years earlier in Dhaka.

As he did when I met with him, Imam rejected any suggestion that Hindus face persecution under the Awami League government.  When Ghosh raised my name and my eight year activism on the issue, Imam dismissed the notion that any of it could be correct, instead responding that “Dr. Benkin is working for the interests of the Jews.”

Is he serious?  Does he expect a man of Rabindra Ghosh’s stature—or other world leaders and captains of industry—to have any regard for a government whose Prime Minister gives credence to a man who thinks like that?  Four years earlier, when Imam wanted me to get him financial help from Israel, he was as complimentary as can be about the Jewish people.  The Bangladeshis with whom I spoke about Imam’s insult recognized it as such and were not surprised to hear that it came from Sheikh Hasina’s confidant.

I wish I was there so I could have asked Imam what these “interests of the Jews” are; and if a poor elderly Jew from Kolkata has the same interests as a wealthy Jewish financier in New York?  Just what is that common interest that all Jews have?  Evidently, Mr. Imam knows, and it would be helpful if he shared it with us.  I want to know not only because of my involvement with Bangladesh and the fact that Mr. Imam is a very influential man there.  I would like to know so I can explain it to Doris and Robert Fisher, the respective founder and director of The Gap, the second largest importer of Bangladeshi goods in the United States.  I would like to be able to explain it to Senator Dianne Feinstein who is on the Senate Appropriations Committee and previously chaired the Senate Intelligence Committee; and to Senator Charles Shumer who is on the Senate Subcommittee on International Trade and is in line to succeed Harry Reid as Senate Minority Leader.  All four of them are Jewish and no doubt would love to know what Sheikh Hasina’s trusted advisor whispers in her ear.

For years, Bangladesh has come more and more under the influence of radical Islamists who now control many of the country’s social institutions from banking to education.  Yet, the self-styled “liberal” Awami League has refused to counter that for fear of political backlash and the success of its opponent, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.  As a result, if there ever was a difference between the country’s two major parties, it long ago was buried under political interests.  Politics in Bangladesh would be comical were they not deadly.  Statements such as those made by Imam would be farcical if they did not reflect a common opinion among Bangladeshi policy makers even, as in this case, one of the Prime Minister’s closest confidants.

Countries whose donations prop up the dysfunctional Bangladeshi economy should demand that bigots like H. T. Imam be ousted from positions of prominence.  This includes the UN, which consistently awards Bangladesh more positions in its peacekeeping missions than any other country.  Companies including The Gap and other major importers of Bangladeshi goods should take their business elsewhere rather than use their business to pay the salaries of men like Imam and others in power who try to deflect their nation’s sins with outlandish accusations that bring nothing but discredit to their nation. 

And if she really is a civilized leader, Sheikh Hasina ought to tell Mr. Imam that his services—and his bigotry are no longer desired.

Dr. Richard L. Benkin is an American human rights activist who has raised awareness of the ethnic cleansing of Bangladesh’s Hindus, and is working with officials in multiple countries on taking action to stop it.  His book, A Quiet Case of Ethnic Cleansing: the Murder of Bangladesh’s Hindus, is in its second printing as is available on Amazon

Address to Advocates of the Indian Supreme Court

Dr. Richard Benkin, New Delhi, India, February 21st, 2015

(*) The actual meeting involved an extensive discussion about what we can do, and the presentation itself was less formal and more comprehensive.

Namaste. It is always good to speak with you. I hope that in the future, and especially in light of tonight’s address, we can do so more frequently.

The first phase of our struggle has come to a successful close here in India. For decades, the biggest problem for the Bangladeshi Hindus is that few people knew of their plight or wanted to talk about it publicly, which told the Bangladeshi government that they could do what they wanted to do with impunity. They knew that stopping the atrocities came with a political cost, so why should they risk it if there was no cost to inaction.

That has changed, as it has become part of mainstream discussion. While in the past, people often faced catcalls of “communal” or “antiIslam” if they spoke up about the matter, their sting has largely faded and all but a few of the catcalls have, too. Even your Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that Bangladeshi Hindu refugees are welcome in India without feeling constrained to say that his call applied to all refugees regardless of their faith. That was important because it recognized that this is a specific problem that should not be buried beneath a load of qualifiers and political correctness. (His call was much like Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s to the Jews of Europe.)

In the United States, while it has not become exactly mainstream yet, there is more talk about it, certainly in the NRI community and among many members of the US Congress and Senate.

So, I want to ask this august group and your other legal colleagues to take this effort to Phase Two and initiate specific action that will harass any Bangladeshi government that allows these things to continue. And we will frustrate the heck out of them by doing everything legally, properly, and without strong language or negative emotion. Let’s start with something specific (having a focus is much better than a scattershot approach).

In Gopalganj District, Upzila of Dhaka, ten Hindus have been languishing in jail since November 2013, charged with the capital offense of murder. On the previous 14 October, several local people stopped a Muslim who was trying to destroy a Hindu deity and abusing women. As a result of their defense, the individual died. Several days later, district police arrested eleven Hindus—contrast that with the inaction and years of dissembling when Hindus are attacked. There seemed to be no rationale to their arrest or any specific evidence tying any of those specific individuals to the man’s death.

You’ll notice I said eleven; one has died in custody with no explanation or investigation.

Local advocates refused to take their case so the families traveled to Dhaka to ask our colleague and friend, Advocate Rabindra Ghosh, if he would take it. Being the professional he is, as well as the foremost advocate for Hindus in Bangladesh, he accepted. When he went to speak with his clients in Gopalganj, however, he was denied access to them. He tried petitioning the court and was beaten in the court in front of the magistrate—who allowed it to continue.

He petitioned Bangladesh’s High Court for a change of venue, on the basis of his clients’ in ability to get a fair trial in Gopalganj. The court refused, and the poor defendants have been in custody since, facing God knows what deprivations. All attempts to get them bail have been denied, and they and their families are facing continuous pressure to drop their cases for justice—something evidently not guaranteed to Hindus in Bangladesh.

Recently, the International Commission of Jurists, a European based group, demanded that the Bangladeshi government take “long overdue” action on Advocate Ghosh’s beating. They also note that there has been a total breakdown in the rule of law in Bangladesh, which is a foundation of civil society; and that is what led me to think of this group.

I am asking that Indian advocates use their professional ties, legal expertise, and their commitment to the rule of law; and use this case as the “wedge issue” for an all-out offense to stop the murder of Bangladesh’s Hindus—everything legal, everything professional, everything on the side of right. (A wedge issue is one that allows us to place a “wedge” that opens the previously slammed tight door to, in this case, justice.

This group is far more knowledgeable that I am about the methods and resources in your possession. I might suggest generally:

• • Start an international petition for jurists and attorneys worldwide to demand Bangladesh take that “long overdue” action on Advocate Ghosh’s beating and on securing due process for his clients.
• • There might also be some attempt to understand if these arrests were collective punishment and the process contrary to legal standards—and what action might be taken if it was.
• • Raise the issue formally with every international legal organization to which you belong.
• • Start an awareness raising campaign among your colleagues in India and internationally.
• • Are there certain benefits or donations that Bangladesh receives for which they are not qualified if they do not maintain the rule of law, deny citizens due process, or allow their Advocates to be beaten in their courts?
• • Get the press involved on this matter of law.

I know there are more. I also know that Rabindra Ghosh and Rajesh Gogna are in regular contact, so you can validate and verify the specific facts you need.

Use this issue to point out how egregiously Bangladesh violates the rights of its people. Gather others, including the most well-respected legal minds and jurists to your cause. For instance, if you do this, involve me and I will consult the highly respected jurists I know in the US and elsewhere.

And—this could be the most important part—we do not let up no matter what. We do not just drop an email and then wait. We push again and again and again. Things are that serious.

Success here is only the beginning; from there we can address the government’s egregious lack of action for decades on anti-Hindu crimes. Again, work with me.

And now I will take questions.

Indians call Obama 'Sanctimonious'

Originally published in The American Thinker, February 15, 2015

Dr. Richard Benkin

It was too good to be true. India’s Prime Minister and leader of the Indian right, and the most leftist US President in history seemed to be getting along. Then on January 27, the final day of his three-day Indian trip, President Obama spoke to 1,500 people at the iconic Siri Fort, and to the ears of those that heard it, lectured that “India will succeed so long as it was not splintered along the lines of religious faith.” The general reaction among Indians was ‘who does he think he is?’ Religious conflict has been in the forefront here of late and has been one of the ways opponents have tried to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Times of India, about as mainstream as media can get, in a scathing editorial titled, “Papa Don’t Preach,” ripped Obama for it and for using “his annual National Prayer Breakfast address to assert that Mahatma Gandhi would have been shocked by acts of religious intolerance in India” a few days later. “Consider an equivalent scenario where an Indian prime minister, on a visit to the US, uses the occasion to speculate on what Martin Luther King Jr would have thought of the Ferguson shooting last year.” It notes that US-India relations were marred by “such sanctimoniousness” from both countries. “Indian leaders have stopped doing it. So should the Americans.”

So it comes as no surprise that Indians are livid at news that Madison, Alabama police wrestled a 57-year old Indian national to the ground leaving him temporarily paralyzed only two weeks after he arrived in the US to help with his 17-month-old grandchild. According to accounts accepted by the police and the family, Sureshbhai Patel was out for a walk when a neighbor called the police to report “a suspicious character.” Police accosted him, and though Patel clearly gave his son’s house number, his limited English made communication difficult. That is when the attack occurred.

While concern for Patel’s recovery is foremost on people’s minds, news shows and newspapers are focusing on “Obama’s hypocrisy,” playing up every way we fall short along the very lines Obama chose to emphasize. The content almost does not matter. The Times article about Patel, for instance, contained gratuitous information about Alabama’s race relations history and was accompanied by a sidebar about three Muslim students being killed at the University of North Carolina. In an editorial the same day, the Times accuses Obama of purposely raising health care costs, through Obamacare, by pushing a trade deal with India “that would weaken competition from generics… This is not an unintended consequence of an otherwise well-intentioned policy; it is the explicit goal of US trade policy.”

US-India relations have not always been good. With a strongly pro-US Prime Minister who is also a small government capitalist, those relations were improving exponentially. While it is unlikely that this incident will derail that, it is not going away soon. Even while I was writing this article, I saw a television commercial pointedly telling Obama to “stop lecturing India.” I asked people on the street about it today, and they were incensed. More than one person asked me if Obama thought he was the ‘British Raj,” about the harshest thing an Indian can say about a foreigner.

Was Obama trying to assuage some of his far left allies or sticking it to Modi in the same way he treats Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu? Before Modi became Prime Minister, Obama’s team made no secret of their contempt for him. Either way, there is no place for it in mature and sensible foreign policy. One would hope the President of the United States would at least be courteous

The Mission Has Not Changed 

Address to Hindu Samhati 14 February 2015 Kolkata, West Bengal, India Dr. Richard L. Benkin

Nomeshkar. Donyevaad Sri Tapan Ghosh. Dhonyevaad Hindu Samhati.

And now I will speak in a language of foreigners because I am a foreigner. My name is Dr. Richard Benkin from the United States. I am here today because I am trying to save the lives of Hindus in Bangladesh.

In 1943, the Americans and British met on the island of Bermuda to decide how to stop the Nazis’ murder of European Jews. For years, they said, “We know nothing. We don’t know of anything bad happening to Jews in Europe. Mithya. They could not maintain that lie any more. The evidence was clear, and they had to do something about it. Or so we thought. The outcome of the Bermuda conference was cowardice. Neither did anything to stop the slaughter.

Sound familiar? It should.

In 1994, ½ million to one million Tutsis were murdered by their Hutu neighbors in the Rwandan Genocide. For at least two years, many say more, the signs were there and so were atrocities. Yet, those nations that could have done something about it claimed ignorance. “We know nothing. We know of nothing happening in wanda.” Mithya! Former US President Bill Clinton believes that he could have saved at least a third of the people killed if he acted when he should have.

Sound familiar? It should.

Last year, I sat in on several meetings between westerners and the Yazidi community—the only non-Abrahamic religion left in the Middle East. It shares a lot of things with Hinduism, and like Hindus, Yazidis face atrocities for their faith. The Islamic State (ISIS) is committing horror upon horror on them and has made clear its intention to wipe them out. Everyone agreed that we had to do something, but no one has. The Yazidis are no safer today than they were before those meetings.

One meeting involved a Member of the United States Congress, and afterwards I said, “Everything that is happening to the Yazidi, is happening to the Bangladeshi Hindus, only it’s happening to the Yazidi all at once while it has been happening to Hindus in Bangladesh steadily and less dramatically for decades. Women gang raped, made sex slaves, and held prisoner in a life devoted to churning out Muslim babies; women and children abducted and forcibly converted. In the Middle East and next door in Bangladesh, it is a deliberate attack on the gene pool in order to wipe out the infidel.

Jews, Tutsis, and now Yazidis learned—as did so many others—that they cannot depend upon powerful nations to save them. Individuals like me might have a role to play; but in the end, only the victims can defend themselves. We—every one of us—are responsible for stopping the ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh—or we are responsible for letting it happen. That is our choice here today.

For decades the supposed guardians of human rights have denied that anything bad is happening to Hindus in Bangladesh. It’s that same cowardice we have seen so many times before, that same cowardice that has caused millions of deaths. Their denials also come from their need to cling ferociously to the simple-minded fiction that Bangladesh is a moderate country. But:

• • Would a moderate country try to exterminate its non-Muslim population?
• • Would the Prime Minister of a moderate country admit that it has “anti-minority laws,” something Sheikh Hasina did in 2009, then do nothing to repeal them?
• • Would a moderate country arrest authors and journalists for blasphemy and threaten their lives?
• • Would a moderate country allow human rights activists and journalists to be attacked and do nothing about it; or as in my case, do more to stop me from entering the country than it does to keep its Hindu citizens safe?

My friends, I present to you the not-at-all moderate Bangladesh, which now threatens Hindus in West Bengal, too. You know that its Islamist party, Jamaat e-Islami, has an office right here in Kolkata, where it spews its venom with no interference from the government?

So, do not expect help from the international community and realize that Bangladesh will never change simply because it is the right thing to do. Let’s also drop the fiction that Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League are any better for Hindus than Khalada Zia and the BNP. They are two sides of the same vile coin, and neither has done anything to stop the slaughter.

Where does that leave us? Well, it’s not all bad news. In fact, we’re closer to a solution than ever before. First, you finally have a strong government in New Delhi that is willing to do something. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told refugees that India will welcome them rather than abuse them as so often happened under the previous government. Secondly, others are taking notice as well. For instance, the International Commission of Jurists, a European based organization, has formally urged the Bangladeshi government to take “long overdue” action on attacks against lawyer and human rights activist Rabindra Ghosh for his work in protecting Hindus in Bangladesh. The ICJ referred to “a general erosion of the rule of law” in Bangladesh and called out the government for allowing regular attacks on human rights activists.

In the United States, more Senators and Members of Congress are becoming concerned about the Bangladeshi Hindus and are calling for public hearings that could lead to trade and other sanctions. And in May, expect the US Commission on International Religious Freedom’s annual report to mark the first time that the US government formally recognizes the persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh and the government’s role in it.

Our job is to make sure this awareness is not as sterile as the awareness that did not stop the deaths of European Jews, Rwandan Tutsis, and Yazidis in the Middle East. I am asking today that Sri Tapan Ghosh and Hindu Samhati work with me to mobilize its large group of Indian citizens—that’s you—to exercise their rights under the law to petition their elected leaders in New Delhi and Kolkata to take responsible action to stop the ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh. Raise the issue continuously in the ongoing border talks with Bangladesh; demand before the SAARC and other international bodies that Bangladesh face sanctions; petition the UN to ban Bangladesh from peacekeeping missions if it does not change its vile ways; and work with the United States to replace Bangladesh with India as its major source of imported garments.

What is your choice?

• • Are you with me? [wait]
• • Are you with me? [wait]
• • Are you with me? [wait]

Dhonyevaad.

Out of Desperation, Indian Leftists Uniting?

Originally published in the American Thinker, February 11, 2015

Dr. Richard Benkin

Last Spring, India’s Gandhi-Nehru dynasty suffered its worst reversal in history. Its ruling Congress Party, which has governed India for all but a few years of the country’s 67 year history, went from 206 seats to only 44 in the 543 seat parliament. Worse still for India’s elites, this left-center party lost out to its arch rival and center-right Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). State and local elections have offered the party faithful only more bad news, and in the just concluded Delhi elections, Congress failed to win even a single seat. After the debacle in India’s capital, Congress Party General Secretary Ajay Maken was forced to quit, but the Gandhi-Nehru family seems immune. In fact, Congress Party President and strongwoman Sonia Gandhi still plans to anoint her son and serial failure Rahul Gandhi to succeed her, making the party’s chances of revival almost nil.

BJP standard bearer and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a long time free market capitalist. He has championed small government, first as the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gujarat, and now as Prime Minister. From his first day in office, Modi began dismantling the big government structures and programs that were the fruit of Congress’s long socialist reign. He is also openly pro-US and pro-Israel, both positions anathemas to the Indian left.

The leftists might be trying to fight back. According to reliable sources here in India, various elements of the fractured Indian left are attempting to unite. It seems that Congress, modeled after European socialist parties, actually had a restraining influence on most of them; because ever since Jawaharlal Nehru took his nation into the Soviet Union’s camp, leftists knew that Congress ruled governments would implement part of their agenda. Unfortunately, it also kept the Indian people in a constant state of big government slavery, which Modi is trying to change.

And that is why the Indian left is trying to unite. Recently, a group of politburo members (yes, they really do call their leadership councils politburos), met in the South India city of Hyderabad in order to craft a common agenda and political strategy. How long this “comradeship” will last is anyone’s guess. In 1967, for instance, the Indian Communist Party split, and the factions engaged in bloody clashes with one another. So this effort might be as long lasting as the 2010 unity meeting between Indian communists and Islamists in the southern state of Kerala. On the other hand, sources have told me that the leftists might have found a national standard bearer in populist Arvind Kejriwal, victor in those recent Delhi elections. Which outcome prevails likely rests on how soon Modi can turn his free market policies into economic prosperity

Two Sides of the Same Coin?

Originally published in Weekly Blitz of Dhaka, February 4, 2015

Dr. Richard Benkin

I am sure if you suggested to PrimeMinister Sheikh Hasina and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia that their two parties (the Awami League or AL and Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP) were two sides of the same coin; they would recoil and indignantly point to differences between the two. Yet, regardless of the two Begums’ intentions, whether for good or bad, their supposed differences make no difference to their victims. One could make a strong case that the Bangladeshi nation has been their victim and that of what the United States Institute of Peace labeled their “zero-sum politics.” For purposes of this article, however, their victims will be only that nation’s Hindu citizens.

The steady decline of Bangladesh’s Hindu population from almost a fifth to around one in 15 kept the same pace whether the BNP or AL was ruling. The steady stream of anti-Hindu atrocities and the government’s refusal to do anything about them did not vary between the two parties. And according to the classic studies of Dhaka University Professor Abul Barkat those who stole Hindu land seized under the racist Vested Property Act did not vary by party per se but by which party was in power. When the BNP ruled, its minions got more of it; whem the AL was in charge, it stole more. With a growing awareness of this in foreign capitals, including Washington, the strongest argument I hear for the current rulers goes like this: ‘Well yes, we know Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League are bad, but isn’t the alternative worse?’ Hardly a strong endorsement from the international community if this is the best they can muster.

Their tepid and almost apologetic argument stems from the fact that they remember how Khaleda Zia and the BNP brought the Islamist Jamaat e-Islami into their coalition, the anti-Hindu violence instigated by their allies, and the divisive statements made by BNP activists including the former Prime Minister, such as her 1996 public statement that if things did not change, sounds of the Hindu uludhhwani would replace the Muslim call to prayer. Yet while those blatantly anti-Hindu actions are despicable, the Awami League has been no better and refuses to consider the protection of Bangladesh’s Hindu citizens their responsibility—so long as protecting their victimization is more politically helpful.

When the Awami League swept into office in 2008, Hindu groups asked me to advise them, and I urged that they seize the momentum and make sure that their votes for the Awami League went to securing their people’s protection. After all, the AL was not hampered by coalition partners and so could take these actions—if it
 wanted to do so. It did not. During each of the Awami
League’s first three years in office, major anti-Hindu incidents
occurred at the rate of almost one per week. Then, in 2012, it
increased to 1.25 per week, including a nine day period in May with an abduction, a murder in broad daylight, and two gang rapes, one of a child on her way to a Hindu festival four horrific crimes in nine
 days and no action against known perpetrators.  The rate and
intensity of anti-Hindu atrocities that the AL allows to occur continues unabated during its second term in office.

Yet, the BNP has not even tried to seize the initiative on this political and more importantly moral matter. The problem is that I am still waiting for some action on their part. If all we look at is what they do, they are no better than they have been in the past. I have offered a number of suggestions to Khaleda Zia and other BNP activist subsequent to their contacting me, yet never received any response or even a desire to dialogue. I know exactly what Khaleda Zia or Sheikh Hasina can do to gain international legitimacy as a true leader of her people and get the resources the people of Bangladesh need. Whoever shows us (not tells us but shows us) that they will make a difference will get our support with the international community and in specific capitals that can offer help to the people of Bangladesh.Until then, I see no better future for Bangladeshi Hindus under the BNP or Awami League. The empty words I hear again and again from Bangladeshi leaders mean nothing.The next step is up to them.