49 Minority Teachers Forced to Resign in Bangladesh, Claim Reports; Taslima Nasrin Reacts

Dhaka: Bangladesh's interim government is under fire following reports that dozens of teachers from minority communities have been forced to resign from their positions in educational institutions. The resignations come in the wake of political turmoil that resulted in the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last month. The targeted pressure on minority communities, particularly Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians, has intensified since Sheikh Hasina fled the country after stepping down from her role. Reports indicate that as many as 49 teachers from these communities have been compelled to resign under the new regime.

Among the victims is Gautam Pal, a well-known mathematics teacher at Azimpur Girls' College, who was forced to resign after a video circulated on social media showing him being mistreated during a scuffle. The video sparked outrage as it highlighted the growing hostility towards minority teachers in the country.

Another educator, Prof. Shukla Rani Halder, a former English teacher at Government Brajmohan College in Barisal, was also pressured to step down from her position.  The incidents have drawn widespread criticism both within Bangladesh and from international observers, who are calling for immediate action to protect the rights of minority communities and to ensure that educational institutions remain free from political interference.  

Taking to X, Hasina’s Awami League said, “Within less than a month by setting the never seen before predicament of a wholesale purge of teachers from #minority communities in #education institutions, the mob leaders has marked the institutionalisation of intolerance among students, a shot in the arm for toxic narratives."

Taslima Nasreen Reacts

Award-winning Bangladeshi author Tashima Nasreen, known for her outspoken stance against violence targeting minorities, has condemned the current situation, stating that officials from the former government are being “harassed, imprisoned, and even killed.”  

“In Bangladesh, teachers are forced to resign. Journos, ministers, and officials of the former govt are getting killed, harassed, and imprisoned. GenZ burned down the industries of Ahmadi Muslims. Mazars & dargahs of Sufi Muslims are demolished by Islamic terrorists. Yunus says nothing against it,” Nasreen said in a post on X.

Violence Against Minorities 

According to the data compiled by the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council and the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad organisations, members of minority communities in the country faced at least 205 incidents of attacks in 52 districts since the fall of the Hasina-led government. 

Over 230 people were killed in Bangladesh in the incidents of violence that erupted across the country following the fall of the Hasina government, taking the death toll to more than 600 since the anti-quota protests first started in mid-July. suggest a subhead