Image

Jewish writer gives Modi a book on ‘atrocities’ against Hindus in Bangladesh; Activists question motive

Published on 19 February, 2012
Jewish writer gives Modi a book on ‘atrocities’ against Hindus in Bangladesh; Activists question motive
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.
Join WhatsApp News
മലയാളത്തില്‍ ടൈപ്പ് ചെയ്യാന്‍ ഇവിടെ ക്ലിക്ക് ചെയ്യുക