Airline banner seen in US with ‘stop violence’ against Bangladesh Hindus message

An airline banner with an appeal to stop violence against Hindus in Bangladesh was seen fluttering over the Hudson River and circling around the Statue of Liberty in New York.
The banner carried the message “Stop violence against Bangladesh Hindus” and had an image of Muhammad Yunus, the head of the interim government of the south Asian country.
This comes amid reports of violence, lynching and kidnapping of minor girls in the country after Sheikh Hasina was ousted as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
Since August 5, 2024, there have been around 250 verified attacks and over 1,000 reported incidents, ANI had earlier reported. India had flagged concerns regarding the safety of Hindus in Bangladesh after Yunus took over.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with Yunus, who “assured him of the protection, safety and security of Hindus and all minorities in Bangladesh”.
“Hindus in Bangladesh are on the verge of extinction. Hopefully, this will raise awareness among the civilised world and prompt the UN to take action to save the victims of militant Islamic forces in Bangladesh. If Bangladesh becomes Hindu-free, it will become Afghanistan 2.0, and militants will spread to neighbouring India and other parts of the world, including the West. This is everyone’s problem,” said Sitangshu Guha, from the Bangladesh Hindu Community.
Pankaj Mehta, another activist and member of the Interfaith Human Rights Coalition, said it was time to put aside politics and for UN Human Rights Council to officially recognise the 1971 Bangladesh genocide, the largest genocide since World War II.
The 1971 genocide claimed 2.8 million lives and saw at least 200,000 predominantly Hindu women raped. Following the 1971 genocide the Bangladesh’s Hindu population has dwindled from 20 per cent in 1971 to just 8.9 per cent today.