Why are minorities more victims of election violence?
Joynal Abedin Shishir :
Whoever wins or loses the election promises violence against minorities, burning down houses, and other misfortunes.
Fear and dread set up among the minority populations while the national parliament election is approaching.
There is absolutely nothing to be concerned about. Rather timely factual events.
Minorities are therefore concerned about the approaching 12th parliamentary election on January 7 this time around as well.
They are never quite able to openly and bravely exercise their right to vote.
The victims of this atrocity do not receive exemplary punishment or justice.
Law enforcement and all administrations must exert pressure to fulfill their appropriate roles in order to stop minorities from using violence during the next elections.
Similarly, individuals who persecute minorities should be brought under due punishment by the state and political parties.
Additionally, experts believe that until the state changes its mentality about preventing violence against minorities, the protection of the minority group will not be guaranteed.
Reviewing the images of attacks on minority communities in Bangladesh at various points in time reveals that the majority of torture occurrences have occurred during, before, and following elections.
This circumstance has had a considerable impact on elections since the 1990s, both in their early and later phases.
The nation’s minority communities experienced violence following the 2001 elections. The attacks on January 5, 2014, following the election, were also widely publicized. The Abhaynagar Malopara of Jessore is the historical record!
Furthermore, this kind of torture occurs on a regular basis on various occasions and for various reasons throughout the nation.
What reaction does the ruling class have to this violence? Similar to the government, society lacks an accountable face.
In addition, there was an increase in violence in places like Gobindganj, Nasirnagar, and Brakshanbaria.
There will be no response to the assaults on the Hindu and Buddhist villages in Ramu, Ukhia, or Cox’s Bazar. What became of their penalty?
Although there may have been instances of victim rehabilitation, how much has the prosecution and sentencing of control the violence?
While victim rehabilitation may have occurred in certain cases, how much has the criminal’s trial and punishment changed? No penalty. This trend is growing throughout society since lawlessness is not penalized.
In or around 2018, the Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee compiled a list of minority-prone seats.
They discovered that there are 96 of these dangerous parliamentary districts across the nation, and more than 12% of the minority population casts ballots in those districts.
The organization determined that 61 of these constituencies were the most vulnerable to minorities.
For the approaching 12th National Elections, the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad has submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission designating zones dominated by minorities as ‘hazardous’.
The memorandum was given on behalf of the organization at the Agargaon election building in the capital on Wednesday, October 12.
The memorandum mentions that the religious and ethnic minorities of the country are scared and worried as Bangladesh has turned into a diplomatic battleground for the superpowers ahead of the elections.
We also hope that all the political parties and alliances in the country will participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections in a festive and joyous atmosphere and make the country’s democratic future brighter.
Apart from this, Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad demanded security of religious and ethnic minorities before and after the election, regular patrolling of RAB and BGB, and the formation of a monitoring cell, along with the deployment of police Ansar to control the law and order situation.
In most cases, the administration, political parties, and powerful members of the state play a silent role when minorities are tortured under the pretext. Therefore, during the twelfth national election, experts fear that terrorist groups may attack religious minorities in monasteries, temples, houses, and ancestral homes, like in the past.
There are only a few days left until the 12th national parliamentary elections. If everything goes well, the parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held on January 7, 2024.
Let us not forget that one of the conditions of democracy is to ensure that minorities can vote freely and be safe in voting for the party of their choice. The presence of minorities means the existence of democracy; if the violence against minorities in elections is not stopped in this country, the country’s democracy will never be sustainable.
