In a recent interview to journalist Mehdi Hasan, Nobel laureate and chief advisor of the interim regime in Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus, dismissed reports of violence against Hindus in his country as “fake news,” attributing them to India’s alleged penchant for misinformation.

These remarks are chilling, not just for their tone, but for the reality they obscure—a systematic campaign of persecution targeting Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh. This assertion also undermines the gravity of the situation but also reflects a disturbing pattern of denialism that has characterized his administration’s approach to minority rights.

The decline of Hindu population in Bangladesh

Historical data paints a grim picture of the Hindu community’s status in Bangladesh. From comprising 28% of the population in 1947, Hindus now constitute approximately 7.95% as per the 2022 census. The mass exodus during the 1971 Liberation War, coupled with sustained persecution and Islamist violence, has left deep scars. Historical census figures illustrate a steady fall: 22% in 1951, 18.5% in 1961, 13.5% in 1971-74, and 7.95% in 2022. This drastic decline is not merely statistical but indicative of systemic marginalization and persecution. An International survey says that during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, an estimated 1.5 to 2.4 million Hindus were killed or went missing, and approximately 8 million were displaced and lost their homes.

Following 2024 jihadist coup that toppled Sheikh Hasina government, the ‘Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist........

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