By TCN News,
Vadodara: Human rights activists have questioned a US-based Jewish
leader Dr. Richard Benkin presenting a book to Chief Minister Narendra
Modi regarding alleged atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh. Benkin is
reported to have met Modi on February 15.
In his book titled as `A Quite Case of Ethnic Cleansing’, Benkin alleged
that Hindus are being subjected to forced proselytisation to Islam in
Bangladesh, apart from sexual assaults and massacre and several types of
atrocities.
Benkin's meet was reported by a popular website
www.deshgujarat.com,
which said Benkin wants “Indian and American governments to come up
with the policies to stop such serious incidents to protect human rights
in true sense.”
The website claims that “Benkin regretted that the central government
believes Hindus don’t have any issues in Bangladesh. According to him
(Benkin), the atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh can spark the
sentiments of any humanitarian’’.
Reacting to it, Peoples’ Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) representative
Dr. J S Bandukwala expressed surprise that an American Jewish writer
should appeal to Narendra Modi for help on the condition of Hindus in
Bangladesh.
“It would have been more appropriate if he had urged Modi to introspect
and apologise for the killings of Gujarat Muslims in 2002’’, commented
Bandukwala. “Incidentally Modi and Benkin should know that the only
places where Jews were safe during the Middle Ages, right up to the
First World War, were Muslim lands. No wonder they found refuge in Spain
after the Crusaders had destroyed Jerusalem in the eleventh century’’,
Bandukwala reminded the US Jewish leader.
“Yet as a true Muslim we have to condemn any injustice done to Jews or
Christians or anybody else, whether it is in Iraq or Pakistan or
Bangladesh. For that is against the basic teachings of Islam’’,
Bandukwala further pointed out.
NGO Sanchetna (Awareness) representative Dr. Hanif Lakhdawala said that
Benkin appeared to have come to Gujarat with some hidden agenda, and
that is, “trying to instigate Modi at a time when the latter has just
finished a month-long `sadbhavna’ (harmony) campaign to improve
relations between communities’’.
Lakdawala said that the Jews had already undergone massacres and
atrocities and Benkin must understand this. “As Muslims, we don’t
support violence against anybody, including Jews’’, pointed out
Lakdawala.
Doubting the intention of Benkin, rights activist Jabir Mansuri said
that Benkin appeared to have come to Gujarat with a view to widening the
gap between communities in India’s pluralistic society. “The whole
approach of Benkin appears to promote the sale of his book among those
Gujarati NRIs and others subscribing to the ideology of hate and
division among societies and don’t approve of the religious and cultural
pluralism in Gujarat, India and the world at large’’, points out
Mansuri.