International: The United States said it wants to see the rights of the minority communities protected in Bangladesh as Hindus celebrate their largest festival of Durga Puja. The statement from the US comes in the wake of increasing attacks on the minority Hindu community in Bangladesh following the resignation of then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her escape to India in August.

"Of course, we want to see the rights of minorities protected in Bangladesh as also is true all around the world," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at his daily news conference.

US's first response on Hindu minority

Miller was responding to a question on the threat being posed to the Hindu community by some religious fundamentalists as they celebrate their largest festival, Durga Puja.

It is worth mentioning that this was the first such comment made by Washington ever since hundreds of people including the Hindu minority community were killed in the violent clashes in Dhaka.  New Delhi has raised the issue with Bangladesh on multiple occasions but the condition remained the same.

India has urged the interim Bangladesh government to ensure peaceful religious events for the Hindu community in the South Asian country. More than 600 persons, including Hindus, were killed during violent protests in Bangladesh culminating in the ouster of Hasina-led Awami League government, according to a UN report.

Hindus in Bangladesh

Last month, thousands of Hindus staged protest rallies in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka and the northeastern port city of Chattogram, demanding protection. The Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance in August said the minority Hindu community faced attacks and threats in 278 locations across 48 districts since the fall of the Hasina-led government and termed it as an “assault on the Hindu religion”. Hindus, who made up 22 per cent of Bangladesh's population at the time of the 1971 Liberation War, now constitute about 8 per cent of 170 million.