Six Hindu men slain in 18 days: Bangladesh’s grim tally reveals how governance voids ignite minority persecution. A probing report connects the dots—Hindu merchants flourish financially but falter socially, becoming prime targets when authority frays.
Mani Chakravarty’s market slaying in Narsingdi epitomizes the peril. Despite witnesses aplenty, no arrests followed, a recurring motif in assaults on community shops in high-traffic zones.
Sheikh Hasina’s exit shattered a monolithic rule that, for all its repression, kept communal fires in check through vigilant forces. Yunus’s transitional setup battles a disjointed legacy, where police crave explicit political backing now absent.
District squads dither, grappling with fractured command lines honed under centralized diktats. This vacuum assures attackers of leniency, eroding public faith in the state’s protective role.
Unlike prior instabilities, today’s turmoil fuses bureaucratic inertia with communal venom. Each killing, from Chakravarty onward, isn’t mere violence—it’s a verdict on state incapacity. Reinstating robust mechanisms is imperative to halt the slide and affirm Bangladesh’s commitment to all citizens.