Yusha Rahman, TwoCircles.net

A screenshot of a video showing the rape of a woman went viral on social media. The image was accompanied by a caption suggesting that Islamist forces were celebrating the rape of Hindu women in Bangladesh and calling on other Muslims to confiscate Hindu property there.

This image gained widespread popularity in India as it was claimed that the video showed atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh.

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Many fact checkers exposed these claims and clarified that the viral video is from 2021. Although the victim was actually a Bangladeshi national, the incident took place in Bangalore.

Another video showed a man being brutally beaten to death by the public. It was shared on social media with the claim that Hindus in Bangladesh were being attacked by Muslims.

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Later fact check revealed that the video showed an Awami League leader named Shahidul Islam Hiron.

Not only trolls, but also some Indian media reported that Muslims were killing Hindus in Bangladesh. For example, a well-known media organization posted a video from social media and claimed that a Hindu girl was allegedly attacked by a Muslim mob in Bangladesh.

The report was provocative and included a quote from a BJP leader suggesting that India should prepare to relocate Hindus from Bangladesh while sending Rohingyas and Bangladeshi Muslims back to their homelands.

After the report was exposed as fake news, it was removed. However, the archive is still available. Here.

These are just some of the many posts that went viral in India depicting the atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh following the ouster of Bangladesh’s Sheikh Hasina, amid nationwide student and citizen protests against the government.

Intention to cause unrest among the population?

This communist rhetoric is not new. Social media often portrays the plight of Hindus in neighboring countries where Muslims are the majority. But this time, even the national media reported irresponsibly.

Major news agencies and Hindu extremists used the political unrest in Bangladesh as a scapegoat to polarize Indian Hindus and make them fearful of their Muslim neighbors.

Some articles and media reports also suggested that secularism was a flawed concept when there were Muslims in one’s country, as they were said to show no mercy when it came to killing Hindus.

The consequences of these actions were seen on the ground when Hindu Raksha Dal, a far-right Hindu organization, destroyed the huts of Muslims living near the railway station in Ghaziabad. The far-right extremists also attacked a group of people, calling them Bangladeshi infiltrators. It was later revealed that these people were not Bangladeshis but Muslims from Shahjanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

The situation of Hindus in Bangladesh

There are reports of vandalism, looting and assaults in various places in Bangladesh. There are also reports of communal attacks. However, in many cases, these attacks were politically motivated and targeted those close to the Awami League, the party led by Hasina.

Tanvir Mahatab Abir, senior fact-checker at Rumor Scanner Bangladesh, noted that political attacks are often given a communal dimension, which is worrying. Such rumours influence people and threaten security.

In conversation with TwoCircles.nethe said. “Undoubtedly, such attacks have affected the communities at a time of unrest. However, the people of the Muslim community are spreading messages of enlightenment and promoting harmony in the community. They also guard numerous Hindu establishments at night against looting. This bond of harmony shows the true picture of Bangladesh.”

Another report through the Times of India suggested that minorities were being forced to give up their jobs. Rashad Ahamad, a staff correspondent at New eraan English-language newspaper based in Dhaka, clarified that those forced to resign were supporters of the Awami League. “At least 5,000 people appointed by the ousted dictator Hasina were forced to resign. The number is unknown because after the fall of the government, this happens everywhere. It is based on loyalty to Hasina, nothing else. Only 12 were Hindus, the rest are Muslims,” ​​he claimed.

Jamaat-e-Islami and politics in Bangladesh

Three days after Hasina’s resignation, an interim government was formed headed by Mohammed Yunus. As soon as Yunus took command, he condemned violence against minorities and assured the safety of Hindus and other minorities in the country.

However, many people fear that Jamaat-e-Islami, an extremist Muslim group in Bangladesh, could gain prominence in the country’s politics and thus destroy the country’s secular structure.

Numerous media reports (Here And Here) suggested that Jamaat-e-Islami is supported by Pakistan and was a significant force behind the student protests in Bangladesh that led to social unrest and Hasina’s ouster.

Some predict that Jamaat’s active involvement in Bangladeshi politics will further increase violence against minorities. This prediction is based on the organization’s ideology, which aims to bring the world under Sharia law.

According to a report, Jamaat-e-Islami also rejects Bangladesh’s secular constitution.

Many media reports also mentioned that the Jamaat-e-Islami had a strong alliance with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and was banned by the Awami League for terrorist activities. However, these news reports failed to mention that the Jamaat had alliances with both the Awami League and the BNP at different times.

In the 1990s, the Jamaat maintained a friendly relationship with the Awami League as both parties opposed the BNP government led by Khaleda Zia. Both were critical of the BNP’s governance and electoral practices. In 1996, the Awami League allied with the Jamaat to form a government, but the alliance was short-lived. In 2009, the Awami League declared the Jamaat and its student wing Chhatra Shibir as terrorist organizations.

The interim government of Bangladesh is made up of people from the secular camp. It is a mix of civil society members and retired bureaucrats. Ahmad said, “If Jamaat had too much influence on Bangladesh’s politics, women would not be part of the cabinet as they are against women leadership. The interim government has 4 out of 17 members who are women. This alone is proof that Jamaat does not have too much influence.”

TwoCircles.net also spoke with Deep Halder, a journalist and author of the book entitled ‘Being Hindu in Bangladesh: An Untold Story‘. He said there were reports of violence against Hindus in Bangladesh, but these were independent of Sheikh Hasina’s resignation. He further said, “The current constitution of Bangladesh is secular and Yunus’ statement to stop all atrocities against Hindus is a very welcome step.”

Halder also mentioned that the Jamaat has long been willing to implement Sharia law in Bangladesh, despite the current political situation that could cause concern for minorities and their culture. “Since liberation, there have been cases of Hindus being attacked in Bangladesh, but they need to come together and raise their voice against it. Spreading fake news will only dilute their cause,” he added.

How fake news sows the seeds of polarization

According to a recent report from the World Economic Forum, misinformation and disinformation are linked to the polarization of society, meaning they can reinforce each other. When a society is divided, more people believe information that supports their existing views, even when they are false, deepening mass polarization.

Psychotherapist Hena Faqurudheen said: “One should also keep in mind that those who hold extremist views will try to create conflict scenarios (real or otherwise, as the proliferation of fake news over the last decade shows) to convince group members that they are under threat. Therefore, group members need to reflect on why extremist views are held.”

Many fact-checking organizations in India and abroad are trying to curb the menace of fake news in this and other cases. However, major media organizations have also reported on the incident in a way that confirms existing biases. Therefore, all fact-checking efforts seem to be just a drop in the ocean.