The Hindu minority in Bangladesh continues to face mounting pressure, with a growing number of teachers being forced to resign from their government posts since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government.
Amid a wave of targeted attacks on minorities, at least 50 Hindu educators have been compelled to leave their jobs. India Today accessed a list of teachers who have quit under duress. However, the actual number of forced resignations could be much higher.
One of the most high-profile cases involved Shukla Rani Halder, the principal of Bakerganj Government College in Barishal. According to Bangladeshi daily Prothom Alo, on August 29, a mob of students and outsiders stormed her office, demanding her resignation.
After hours of intimidation, a distressed Halder had no choice but to comply, writing down "I resign" on a blank piece of paper.
On August 18, around 50 students of Azimpur Government Girls' School and College cornered principal Geetanjali Barua and sought her resignation, along with those of assistant head teacher Gautam Chandra Paul and physical education teacher Shahnaza Akhter.
"Before August 18, they never sought my resignation. That morning, they stormed my office and humiliated me," Barua told the Daily Star.
Similar incidents have occurred across the country. Visuals circulating on social media show teachers and academic administrators being coerced into signing resignation letters while surrounded by jeering and chanting students.
In an increasingly dire situation, there is a palpable feeling of fear and helplessness among Hindu educators in Bangladesh.
Shanjay Kumar Mukharjee, an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Administration and Governance Studies at Kabi Nazrul University, reached out to India Today, saying, "I was forced to resign from the post of Proctor and Head of the department. We are very vulnerable at this time."
The Bangladesh Chhatra Oikya Parishad, the student wing of the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad, condemned these actions during a press conference on Saturday, and addressed the growing intolerance faced by the Hindu community.
Exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen took aim at the military-backed Muhammad Yunus government for not safeguarding minorities as student protesters run riot.
“In Bangladesh, teachers are forced to resign. Journos, ministers, officials of the former government are getting killed, harassed, imprisoned. Gen Z burned down industries of Ahmadi Muslims. Mazars and dargahs of Sufi Muslims are demolished by Islamic terrorists. Yunus says nothing against it,” she tweeted.
Source: India Today