Title: Religious minorities in panic as ruling party men run riot
Author: Morshed Ali Khan
Publication: The Daily Star (Bangladesh)
Date: Oct 18, 2001
URL: http://www.dailystarnews.com/200110/18/n1101801.htm#BODY7

New faces of terrorists-2
Religious minorities in panic as ruling party men run riot

Like many other Hindu shopkeepers of Deuatala Bazaar at Morrelganj, Mukundu Das also passes his days in uncertainty as gangsters belonging to the ruling party let loose a reign of terror in the area. 

At Ziodhara Union, about 25 kilometres away from Morrelganj, the predominantly Hindu population was in panic. As local Awami League leaders left just after the election, they were feeling extremely insecure. Young men and women, in hundreds, sought refuge elsewhere. Those who had stayed back clinging to their last belongings were subjected to intimidation.

At Deuatala bazaar, Hindu shopkeepers said, BNP activists were constantly threatening them. The Haldar family, which owns a small sweetmeat shop in the bazaar, said they could not sleep at night. Gangs of young men would come to the area and keep banging on the doors with sharp weapons. The gangs would also shout 'communal slogans' and terrorise the area, asking the Hindus to 'go away'.

"We are very worried about our future, we have not seen anything like this since 1971," said Kamalesh Haldar, head of the nine-member family. His wife said it was not possible for many Hindu families to run away leaving behind their lands and last assets. So they chose to stay but not out of choice.

Ramendranath Roy, assistant headmaster of the Ziodhara High School, said that most Hindu students were not attending classes since the election. Many left the area and those who did not stayed home, Roy said.

Just near Haldar's sweetmeat shop an abandoned AL office stood locked up. Local UP member Mosharraf had built the smart office with a garden and life-sized marble statues of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the unknown freedom fighter.

Former chairman of Ziodhara and BNP leader Khan Altaf Hossain alleged that Mosharraf was responsible for creating a 'tense situation' in the area. Mosharraf had created several gangs and silenced the opposition, Altaf said.

"Mosharraf was responsible for creating the notorious Ramen Bahini. About six months ago, former AL MP Dr Mozammel influenced the police to release a gun to him which was recovered from Mosharraf's possession," Altaf said. "How can you expect a peaceful atmosphere when your adversary is so autocratic?"

Throughout Morrelganj and Bagerhat, wherever this correspondent went, the AL offices were abandoned. Their activists had left the areas and the Hindu community was coming under threat from a new breed of hoodlums.

On October 10, at Bagerhat, this reporter found a small Christian community, consisting of people from various professions such as cobblers, barbers, washermen and milkmen, preparing for the day's business. The Kristanpara with a population of nearly 1,000 Christians showed no sign of tension at all. Michael Biswas, Uttam Mistry, Jacob Sarkar, Babul Mistry, Paritosh Mistry and others said they had no problem whatsoever before or after the election. 

"We have our community at Khanpur, Chakshi and Gillatola, none has reported any trouble anywhere involving the Christian community," said Paritosh Mistry from Gillatola. 

Michael Mistry, a barber by profession, said the reason for this "peace" was that the Christians had representatives in both the AL and the BNP.

"We have supporters of the BNP as well as the AL in our community so there is no scope of thinking that we only support one single party," Michael Biswas said.

At Pirojpur, about 25 kilometres away from Bagerhat, a new breed of party activists had already filled up the vacuum created by the AL disappearance from the district town. Reports of intimidation on the Hindu community came from Inderkani, Golpur, Gorgata, Charkhali, Sikdar Mallik, Baroibunia and Narkhali Shariktala. In most cases, members of the Hindu community were intimidated by BNP and Jamaat activists and asked to pay toll. 

Local journalists and residents said that although the situation was calming down in the district, many Hindu families had to pay huge amounts to the new 'guards' to carry on with their livelihood. 

"They are sending notes to these families asking for money or face the wrath of terrorism. They are also threatening chil- dren of the minority groups in the area," said Mohammad Aslam Sheikh. 

On October 11, local people in Pirijpur town said that they were not sure if the Durga Puja, one of the most important religious festivals of Bengali Hindus, would be observed. Members of the Puja committee had expressed their concern about the prevailing situation the day before. In many parts of the country hoodlums had destroyed the images of Durga.