A mob attack on the ancestral home of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, who is also the author of the national anthems of India and Bangladesh, in the Sirajganj district of Bangladesh, is despicable and clear evidence of the rising intolerance in India’s eastern neighbour. The attack is part of the growing intolerance towards secular values and shared heritage that connect Bangladesh with India, since the Sheikh Hasina government was overthrown in August 2024. According to a report by the Bangladesh police, 1,769 attacks have been reported on religious minorities in the country since August 4, 2024. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have claimed there have been over 2,000 attacks on religious minorities. Several temples have been desecrated or set ablaze. There have also been reports of atrocities against Hindu women as well. Anything linked to India has become an anathema for the Jamaat-e-Islami-backed chief adviser Muhammad Yunus’ government. While the attacks in Bangladesh have been confined to religious minorities since the Yunus government took over, that on Tagore’s ancestral home on June 8 appears to be an act copied from the book of Bangladesh’s erstwhile masters in Pakistan. These incidents of extremism are not conducive to the economic growth of Bangladesh, as demonstrated in the case of Pakistan even. The Bangladeshi foreign ministry asserted that the country respects Rabindranath Tagore for his remarkable contributions to its cultural heritage, and both the government and the people of Bangladesh will continue to cherish his legacy. However, it would be naive on the part of the Yunus government to expect ordinary people to respect Hindu personalities and culture when it does not demonstrate the same in its own actions. The reaction in India was along expected lines, as it united Indian ruling and Opposition blocs in their condemnation. However, the Indian government must be vigilant about extremist Bangladesh, as these are growing signs of its “Pakistanisation”.
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