The Holocaust stands as one of humanity’s darkest crimes—but it is not the only atrocity whose shadow still stretches across generations. My thoughts turn to the ethnic cleansing during the 1971 Liberation War in Bangladesh, when between 200,000 and 400,000 women and girls were imprisoned and raped by the Pakistani army. This violence was not only an instrument of war—it was driven by a racist ideology that sought to “purify” society by targeting Hindus.
Political scientist R. J. Rummel once described how the Pakistani army viewed Hindus much like the Nazis viewed Jews: “scum and vermin” to be exterminated. Victims came from both Hindu and Muslim communities in what was then East Pakistan. Bengali Muslims were also seen as impure simply because of their close cultural ties with Hindus. UN investigators later confirmed that Pakistani officers openly referred to Hinduism as a stain on the supposedly “pure” Muslims of West Pakistan. And so the army set up rape camps—systematic sites of torture, humiliation, and ethnic cleansing. Survivors recalled that many Hindu women were executed afterward; some who could recite a Quranic verse were spared.
What disturbs me deeply is not only the violence itself but also the way it is remembered—or rather, forgotten. Too often the mass rapes are framed solely as wartime brutality, while the racist motive behind them is ignored or deliberately softened. Despite UN reports and extensive research highlighting this intent, public discourse frequently remains silent about it.
And the pattern of persecution did not end in 1971. Today, systematic violence against Hindus continues in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Their populations are shrinking year after year. In Afghanistan, a community that once thrived has almost entirely disappeared. Yet discussions of Hindu persecution rarely make headlines. Meanwhile, stories of Hindu nationalism—often important and valid—dominate global media, creating a distorted picture in which one form of extremism is magnified while another is routinely minimized.
This imbalance is painful. It feels like a double injustice: the violence itself, and the refusal to acknowledge its roots. Extremists in Bangladesh and Pakistan are responsible for ongoing oppression—but the silence, neglect, and selective outrage in global media and progressive spaces also play a role. Too often, the Hindu becomes a convenient scapegoat, while the suffering of persecuted Hindu and Bengali Muslim communities goes unnoticed.
History demands honesty. Justice demands visibility. And healing begins only when we are willing to confront the full truth—even when it challenges our narratives.
