WASHINGTON, DC — HinduACTion, in partnership with the Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM) and Speak Up Without Fear, hosted a high-profile congressional briefing Tuesday to address the mounting threats facing Bangladesh’s democracy, religious minorities, and regional stability.
The event, held at the Rayburn House Office Building on Bangladesh’s National Day, drew members of Congress, advocacy organizations, and journalists. It offered a sobering assessment of conditions in Bangladesh following the Aug. 5, 2024, regime change.
Congressman Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., made a brief appearance, and staffers representing Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, and Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., were also in attendance. Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., called on President Donald Trump to intervene to secure the release of Chinmoy Krishna Das, a Hindu monk imprisoned under the leadership of Mohammad Yunus.
“If current trends continue, these [Hindu] communities will face complete demographic erasure within a generation,” Thanedar said. “The U.S. must work with international partners to establish safe zones within Bangladesh for religious minorities, so they can flourish again, free from violence.”
Keynote speaker Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, urged bipartisan efforts to impose Magnitsky sanctions on Yunus and his Islamist backers. Rubin warned that the suppression of journalists and religious minorities signaled a deeper authoritarian shift and cautioned against ignoring the lessons of Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Rana Hassan Mahmud, a political analyst and community organizer, presented evidence of the resurgence of Islamist extremism, the rising influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and a growing alliance between Pakistan and radical factions within Bangladesh.
Chris Blackburn, foreign affairs expert and communications director of the European Bangladesh Forum, joined the session remotely from the United Kingdom. He outlined concerns that Bangladesh could become a staging ground for global jihad, citing the Yunus administration’s release of individuals linked to al-Qaeda.
Dr. Dilip Nath, a New York-based community organizer, and Priya Saha, a survivor of the 1971 Bangladesh genocide, described escalating violence against religious minorities. Nath noted that within 15 days of the regime change, more than 2,000 incidents of targeted attacks occurred across Bangladesh. Over the next eight months, more than 3,500 police officers were killed.
Former Bangladeshi diplomat Arifa Rahman Ruma recounted threats and harassment she faced after the regime change. Priyotosh Dey, a Hindu community leader from New York, urged policymakers to remain wary of organizations such as the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) and Muslim Ummah of North America (MUNA), citing their alleged ties to Jamaat-e-Islami.
Utsav Chakrabarti, executive director of HinduACTion, warned that without decisive intervention, Bangladesh risks falling under the sway of radical Islamists advocating for Sharia law and a Caliphate. “Given Bangladesh’s vast population, such an outcome could lead to a crisis far more severe than those witnessed in Afghanistan, Syria, and Pakistan combined, destabilizing the strategically crucial Indo-Pacific region,” he said.
The event concluded with a call for policymakers to craft a more assertive, values-driven U.S. foreign policy in the Indo-Pacific, countering radical Islamist narratives and curbing Chinese influence in emerging democracies.
Attendees issued a series of policy recommendations, including:
- Urgent Congressional Oversight: Participants urged the House Committee on Foreign Affairs to hold an oversight hearing examining the State Department’s engagement with Bangladesh in 2024.
- Immediate Action in Bangladesh: Calls were made for the Yunus regime to release Chinmoy Krishna Das and end the ongoing violence against Hindus, Buddhists, and Catholics, which speakers characterized as religious persecution disguised as political reprisals.
- Designation of Jamaat-e-Islami as a Foreign Terrorist Organization: Attendees recommended that the State Department designate Jamaat-e-Islami as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
- De-radicalization of Islamic Education: They urged that U.S. economic aid to Bangladesh be conditioned on the implementation of a monitored de-radicalization process in Islamic education, citing growing concerns echoed by former Congresswoman and current Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
- Protection of Religious Minorities: A clear and actionable timeline must be established to prevent the demographic erosion of Hindu, Buddhist, and Catholic communities in Bangladesh.
Organizers stressed the urgent need for the United States and allies like India to monitor developments closely and ensure that both state and non-state actors are held accountable for human rights violations.
