US COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM (USCIRF) BETRAYS THE HINDU COMMUNITY YET AGAIN

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) issued its annual report that includes a designation of countries as Countries of  Particular Concern (CPC), Special Watch List (SWL), or no listing as religious freedom violators, giving the countries not listed a pass. And once again, it failed to list Bangladesh as a CPC or SWL, despite being in possession of massive, vetted evidence showing the oppression of Bangladeshi Hindus with government complicity. Their willful negligence abets and enables the Bangladeshi government to continue allowing the ethnic cleansing of Hindus while believing it can do so without any consequences.

After so many years of enabling Bangladeshi governments, USCIRF has become complicit in the ethnic cleansing of Bangladeshi Hindus. Shame!

In the months before its decision, USCIRF was provided with extensive and specific evidence of the brutalization of Bangladesh's Hindus, and the Bangladeshi government's complicity; but chose to ignore it for reasons that defy understanding. Yet, they continue to place India on the list of CPCs year after year, even though there is no credible evidence that any alleged or actual actions come anywhere near Bangladesh's atrocities in the level of severity, harm, or purposeful ethnic cleansing.

I have to end this blog entry now because this betrayal of Hindus will require some action; and it is best to plan not when one is not so emotionally distressed.

Ten Bangladeshi Hindus Charged with Murder, Denied Due Process

It is a cherished myth of the international elites that Bangladesh is a "moderate" country.  But would a moderate country allow the ethnic cleansing of its non-Muslim populations; admit to having anti-minority laws and then do nothing about it even when it had a chance; arrest journalists and authors for blasphemy and threaten their lives; allow human rights activists and their attorneys to be attacked or as in my case bar them from entering the country?  No, it would not; and though we need no more proof, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government keep giving us more.  Right now, ten Hindus sit in a squalid prison, charged with murder as collective punishment and denied due process of law.  Perhaps Bangladesh is a moderate country if you tow the line set by Islamists but not if you dare to have a different thought.

In October of 2013, a man entered a religious temple, began destroying holy objects and abusing the women there.  Several men rushed to their defense, and in the struggle that followed, the man was killed.  Now in a moderate country, that might be the end of it except for some press and an investigation; a clear case of self-defense.  But this is Bangladesh, and the dead man was a Muslim, the temple a Hindu temple.  Almost immediately, the local police rounded up eleven members of the Hindu community seemingly at random with no logical connection to the event, and charged them with murder.  The bitter irony is that this same government fails to act even after years when Hindus are attacked.  Local Advocates in Gopalganj, the district represented by Sheikh Hasina where the arrests occurred, were intimidated not to take the case. So the families traveled to the capital of Dhaka and engaged the services of Advocate and human rights activist Rabindra Ghosh.  When he arrived in Gopalganj and asked to see his clients, he was refused.  When he petitioned the local court for justice, he was beaten in the courtroom in front of the judge who allowed it to continue.  When he petitioned the High Court for a change of venue, he was refused.  And now he, his clients, and their families are being threatened if he does not stop his attempt at further appeals.

Oh, did I say eleven men were arrested and charged but only ten sit in prison today?  That's not  typo.  One of the original defendants died while in custody--and of course the Bangladeshis have not looked into that.

The International Commission of Jurists has called on the Bangladeshi government to take "long overdue" action on Rabindra Ghosh's courtroom beating. It also notes that the rule of law has largely broken down in Bangladesh.  And last month in India, I began working on this with Human Rights Defense International, a group of Indian jurists.  I also am working with several staff in the United States Congress on action and am in regular contact with Rabindra Ghosh, who reports that the situation for his clients grows more alarming by the day.  He remains barred from contacting them.

This travesty of justice demands that all who love the law and, in fact, all good people demand due process and a fair trial for the "Gopalganj Ten."  To do so, email me.  Please help; lives depend on it.

Progress in the Fight to Save Bangladesh's Hindus

As Bangladesh slips further into anarchy, approaching its first scheduled elections since changing the constitutional process for them; we are seeing both increased violence against Hindus in Bangladesh, allowed to continue with impunity by Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League government; and progress in the fight to stop the ethnic cleansing of Hindus from the United States.

People do bad things--and especially gross human rights violations--because they believe that no one will notice or even care.  This is what has enabled successive Bangladesh governments to allow their Hindus citizens to be brutalized with impunity.  That is changing, however, and promises to hit the Bangladeshis where they can least afford it if they do not put an end to this "Quiet Case of Ethnic Cleansing."

Bangladesh's ability to attract international donations, provide UN peacekeeping troop, and sell its garments on the international market depend on the continued belief that Bangladesh is a moderate nation that does not persecute its minorities--both of which are contrary to the facts.  Now, from the United States, a major player for all of those goodies, comes the following over the past several months:

• Staff for two Congressmen--one Democrat, one Republican--approached the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) about focusing on the ethnic cleansing of Hindus when making its determination.  USCIRF agreed, and I am working on follow up.
• The US House Foreign Affairs Committee is looking seriously into the ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh and working with me on it.
• The Chicago suburb of Mount Prospect recently became the first US locality to formally recognize the ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh.  More such proclamations are expected from other localities.
• Two major US organizations dedicated to the fight against genocide and associated with no political causes, are now looking closely into the ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh.

The European Parliament, representing another major force on which Bangladesh depends, is currently considering an extensive report about that nation's complicity in the persecution of its Hindu citizens.

If Bangladesh officials continue to think that people will accept their blanket and disingenuous denials of responsibility, they are mistaken.  Already, questions are arising about how donations, peacekeeping receipts, and the purchase of Bangladeshi goods support the ethnic cleansing of Hindus.

Those questions are only getting louder.

Bangladeshi Human Rights Giant, Rabindra Ghosh, attacked; Demand Action

On July 27, 2013, human rights activist, Rabindra Ghosh and his colleague were attacked, poisoned, and needed emergency medical care to save their lives.  Thus far, the Bangladeshi government has taken no action to find and punish the perpetrators.

Ghosh and his colleague, Ganesh Rajongshi, were returning from one human rights fact-finding trip in Khulna and reached Natore, where they were to investigate another case of anti-Hindu activity.  At that point, a group of perpetrators attacked them with some sort of poison; and emergency personnel had to rush them, unconscious, to Natore Sadar Hospital. Rajbongshi remained unconscious and had to be transferred to Rajshahi Medical College on the Indian border.  Doctors said his condition was precarious.  Both men are still receiving medical care for their injuries.

The incident has been confirmed and published in at least three Bangladeshi newspapers.

Ghosh has been attacked by Islamist radicals and government operatives on several occasions, including May and June of last year.  In April 2012, Ghosh’s 87 year old mother was attacked in retaliation for his unrelenting human rights actions.  None of the perpetrators were ever punished.

In light of the Bangladeshi government’s history of allowing attacks on Rabindra Ghosh to go unpunished, documented cases where government operatives warned human rights activists to stop investigating cases of anti-Hindu human rights abuses, and the decades-long ethnic cleansing of Hindus that the Bangladeshi government tacitly supports; it is clear that Rabindra Ghosh and Ganesh Rajongshi cannot expect justice from the Bangladeshi government without outside intervention.

Justice’s best chance will come if those receiving this release contact their US Senators and Members of Congress and ask them to send a formal letter of inquiry to the Bangladeshi embassy in Washington.  Ask them to inquire (formally) about the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators, as well as government actions to protect Rabindra Ghosh and other human rights activists from attacks by radicals and government operatives.

I have worked with lawmakers before and am happy to supply needed information, a mocked up sample letter, or anything else they might need.  I know both victims personally and have traveled with them to investigate anti-Hindu actions throughout Bangladesh; I can vouch for their integrity and the integrity of their cause.  If you need help with contact information for your Senator or Member of Congress, contact me or go to:  http://www.contactingthecongress.org/.

Effort to Save Bangladesh's Hindus Gaining Ground

On May 28, 2013, the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) executives and activists spread across Capitol Hill in Washington to urge US lawmakers to act to stop the oppression and slaughter of Hindus in Bangladesh.   HAF has been documenting atrocities against Hindus in the small but heavily populated South Asian country annually for several years.  (Bangladesh is the only nation to rank among the world's ten most populous and the ten  most densely populated nations.)

Samir Kalra, HAF Director and Senior Fellow for Human Rights, has noted that "according to Odhikar, a Bangladeshi human rights group, there were nearly 1,200 incidents of violence directed against religious minorities (mostly Hindus) between 2008 and 2011"; and that "Islamic extremism is not a fringe phenomenon" in Bangladesh.  The period Kalra cites, by the way, all transpired under the rule of the supposedly "pro-minority" Awami League, which like its predecessors has not prosecuted crimes against Hindus.

HAF's efforts come on top of my own to educate Senators and Members of Congress about the human rights travesty perpetrated on Bangladesh's 15 million Hindus.  Last year, I confronted Bangladesh's ambassador to the United States, who tried to deny the evidence with nonsensical responses, like Hindus "cannot find suitable matches for their children, so they go to India where there are more Hindus" in perhaps the most ridiculous attempt yet to explain why Hindus have gone from a third of Bangladesh's population to under eight percent.  In February of this year, I similarly confronted Bangladesh's Home Minister in Dhaka, the nation's capital, who fared no better.  He was left with responses like "33 people were killed in Connecticut," "union membership is declining in the United States," and "I have seen the enclaves of the Red Indians" as his lame attempt to justify his government's complicity in ethnic cleansing.  He also promised to investigate any evidence I sent him--which I found rather strange, and asked him why the Home Minister in the nation's capital is dependent on "some guy from Chicago" for information about hate crimes in his own country.

All of this was dutifully reported to members of both the US House and Senate, several of whom are looking at initiatives to stop the ethnic cleansing of Bangladesh's Hindus.  These US lawmakers are prominent on committees that control trade policy (critical to Bangladesh's economy), foreign relations, aid, and funding for the UN.  The latter is important because Bangladesh supplies the largest contingent of UN peacekeepers of any nation and is dependent on those receipts--so dependent in fact, that the military's fear of losing this cash cow was the proximate cause of its 2007 military coup.

Look, no one is looking to hurt the Bangladeshi people; their government does a thorough enough job of that itself.  But if the government of Bangladesh will not act to stop the ethnic cleansing of its Hindu citizens, the rest of the world must.

Dr. Subramanian Swamy: A Man to Emulate

The day that Dr. Subramanian Swamy left the United States, Gallop published a poll in which the American people said that ending corruption in government was their second most important issue after the economy and job creation.  Someone should have asked him to stay.  South Asia has long been known as a place where government corruption is so endemic, so tolerated that people just have to accept it.  I've personally confirmed massive corruption on India's eastern frontier, extending to all levels of government and having tentacles that reach into almost every area of life in the region.  In one investigation, we found we even found a position at virtually every police station, Dak Master, in charge of collecting graft.  People might remember when Pakistan had a prime minister nicknamed "Mr. Ten Percent" because of the kickbacks he demanded and received.  Or how President Barack Obama was laughed at when he told Afghan President Hamid Karzai that he had to end corruption in his country.

So it had to come as a shock when I arrived in India a couple years ago and found the country awash in open outrage about corruption, media attention about it, and legal cases against corrupt officials.  And it was all leading to successful actions.  What could possibly be behind such a sea change that no one thought possible a mere weeks earlier?  It is 72 year old, former cabinet minister Dr. Subramanian Swamy.  Known to many Indians as a "one man army," Dr. Swamy has never shrunk before a challenged or worried what others might think of him.  "I don't care," he kept repeating to me and others recently outside of Chicago when asked about the reactions of people from Harvard academics to India's strong-woman Sonia Gandhi.

Subramanian Swamy, a Harvard educated economist, has a long list of accomplishments that run from furthering relations between India and China to helping to revamp trade relations between developed and developing nations.  Although Swamy is known for his forthright and unequivocal positions on fighting the continued terror war against India and Islamist terrorism, few people remember that he went on a fast for more than a week in 1987 when Muslim youths were killed in police custody and eventually prosecuted the matter in court.

But in 2008, Swamy's attention turned to overcoming perhaps the nation's most formidable obstacle when he publicly took on corruption.  He filed petition after petition against high officials--having many ignored by the current Congress government--but refused to stop and eventually secured indictments against high officials.  He continues to pursue corruption cases against some of India's most powerful political individuals.

Swamy is able to do this not only because of his skills and intelligence (his is one of the most incisive minds I have ever encountered) but also because he refuses to back down from principle merely because of what others might think.  It is a rare quality among public figures (and is probably one reason why Swamy, though an influential politician, has steered clear of joining either of India's major parties).  It was also on view for two nights outside of Chicago last week.

Swamy was here to energize Hindus and strengthen their ties to their religious and cultural heritage--another issue which many people might despair of taking on.  But under Subramanian Swamy, it seems to be working.  Perhaps most impressive was the fact that Hindu youth (and I saw the same phenomenon in India) flocked to the septuagenarian and expressed tremendous admiration for his personal integrity and strength.

Let's see:  relations between the world's two largest nations; the system of international trade; corruption in South Asia; and strengthening Hindu heritage and intensity world wide.  What's next for this remarkable individual, stopping terror?

Perhaps as he is an outspoken leader in that effort despite threats and more.  And along those lines, in February this year, Dr. Swamy cut short a trip to Sri Lanka and flew back to New Delhi specially to be the principle speaker of my book launch.  The book, A Quiet Case of Ethnic Cleansing: The Murder of Bangladesh's Hindus, documents the ongoing destruction of the Hindu community Bangladesh and the world's tacit approval of it through its silence and inaction.  It also makes the case for understanding this human rights travesty and moral failure on our part as an integral element in the spread of radical Islam.  Dr. Swamy has since complimented the book and me many times, and I appreciate his endorsement.  The book is available online for US, Indian, and other readers.

Practical Jewish-Hindu Cooperation

On Sunday, April 25, 2010, there was a large rally held in front of the Israeli embassy in New York. Its purpose was to show support for the State of Israel and protest the current US administration’s policies that demonize the Jewish State. The day before, I was among three recipients of the Vishwa Hindu Ratna award at the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago. The rally, organized largely by Jewish groups, was notable for the significant presence of Hindu and Sikh groups. The award was given to me, a Jew, for my principled and ongoing defense of Hindus, especially in Bangladesh. Participants at both events recognize that radical Islam and its passive tolerance threaten the very existence of Jews and Hindus respectively. (And for the record, all of us are Americans, too, another favorite target of Islamists.)

I agree with critical thinkers like Dr. Daniel Pipes, who argue against infusing political debate with religion. That can turn rational discourse into zero sum vilification in which each side accuses the other of moral atrocity and believes it is not debating an issue but defending the divine. I am also trained as a social scientist, however, and that training directs me to investigate significant social factors that appear regularly in the same set of events. So, while not all acts of terrorism in this world have been perpetrated by Islamists, that factor has appeared in the overwhelming number of terrorist actions that refusing to look at it sacrifices the scientific method in favor of political correctness. Similarly, Judaism and Hinduism were two very prominent factors helping to organize and explain the events of that weekend.

In Chicago, Hindus were adamant on thanking this Jew for defending their co-religionists; and subsequent to the New York rally, I was part of numerous email chains by Jews wanting to know how we can thank Hindus for their passionate participation. Perhaps it is time to return the favor and save lives at the same time. Just as Israel is facing an existential threat at this moment so, too, Bangladesh’s Hindus are dying. That is not opinion but fact. At the time of India’s partition in 1948, they made up a little less than a third of East Pakistan’s population. When East Pakistan became Bangladesh in 1971, Hindus were less than a fifth; thirty years later, less than one in ten; and some estimates put them at less than eight percent today. If we do nothing about it, they will follow Kashmir’s Hindu population into oblivion in our lifetime.

There are initial discussions underway to hold a rally in defense of these victims of ethnic cleansing, perhaps in New York (not clear yet), that would involve members of those same two religious communities. Clearly, such an event should resonate with all religious communities in the United States, this is simply the initial point of discussion. All individuals and organizations that would like to participate—if not by their presence by their donations—should contact me at drrbenkin@comcast.net; fully tax deductible online donations can be made by going to my web site, http://www.interfaithstrength.com and clicking the “Donate” button.

Genocide in the Making -- and the World is Silent

For over thirty years, Islamist radicals have been engaging in a systematic program of ethnic cleansing in Bangladesh. When they began, Hindus accounted for somewhat less than one in five Bangladeshis; today they are fewer that one in ten. Professor Sachi Dastidar of SUNY has estimated that the number of "lost" Hindus (that is, those murdered and those never born as a result of the ethnic cleansing) could be as high as 35 million!

Nor is it only the radicals who are culpable. The first partner in crime is the succession of governments in Bangladesh. It did not matter if they were right of center, left of center, a dictatorship, civilian or military. Every one of them maintained a blatantly racist law that has been a cornerstone in the Islamist plan: The Vested Property Act.

Imagine if the United States had a law allowing the government to seize the land of non-Christians and distribute it to Christians of their choice. Imagine the outcry not only from Americans (Christians and non-Christians alike), but from around the world. Every NGO; every country on earth; every blogger on the internet would scream "Racism!" And they would be right. While the US has no such law, Bangladesh does, except it seizes the land of non-Muslims and gives it to Muslims close to whichever political party is in power (including the currently ruling Awami League). It has been on the books for 34 years, and there is no effort to repeal it; even though several otherwise cautious Bangladeshi officials have admitted that "it is racist and must be repealed."

But that brings us to the second partner in crime: the rest of us. For 34 years, self-styled champions of human rights have been silent. Amnesty International's web site devotes several articles to Guantanamo but not a single one to this openly racist and jihadist law. The UN, too, has been silent. As its "Durban II" conference opens, millions will be victimized by this legalized form of ethnic cleansing in Bangladesh; this proudly announced form of racism.

And we know--we know with biblical certainty--that the racists who are running Durban II will not even mention this terrible atrocity whose victims will one day dwarf in number those in Darfur, Rwanda, and elsewhere if this is not stopped. And the UN, Amnesty International, and the rest of the world will wring their hands, cry over the victims, and wonder how such a thing could have happened!