The left-leaning British propaganda outlet British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) appears to downplay the severity of the attacks on Bangladeshi Hindus by selectively fact-checking and shifting the blame to India’s pro-Hindu voices. It accused Indian netizens of scaremongering and justified the violence in Bangladesh on the grounds of political tensions rather than religious hostility.

What is happening in Bangladesh?

Since the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina’s government in Bangladesh and Mohammed Yunus took over as chief advisor to the military regime, the Hindu minorities in the Islamist country have been subjected to targeted attacks, their temples have been razed to the ground and people have been killed.

According to the Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Oikya Parishad, there have been more than 205 attacks on Hindu businesses, temples and shops since August 5, 2024.

How does the BBC downplay it?

The BBC attempts to downplay the suffering of Bangladeshi Hindus at the hands of Islamists through selective fact-checking and blames the “extreme right” in India for the violence.

In the article titled “Right-wing extremists spread false claims about Muslim attacks in Bangladesh,” the BBC wrote that right-wing extremist influencers in India were spreading “false videos and information” that presented a “misleading picture of events.”

The BBC claimed that many of the claims circulating online were false. It claimed that the ruling Awami League party, which includes both Hindus and Muslims, was the main target. This narrative subtly justified the violence as a result of political tensions rather than religious hostility.

By portraying the situation in this way, the BBC has effectively set the stage to dismiss the concerns being expressed around the world about the plight of the Hindu community in Bangladesh.

The BBC’s biased experts

The BBC also brought in expert Sayeed Al-Zaman to back up its account. He was quoted as saying that fear-mongering by certain influencers was increasing tensions. Despite widespread international support for the Hindu victims, the British broadcaster continued to downplay the religious aspect of the violence. It even suggested that political affiliation, rather than religious identity, was the reason for the attacks on Hindus.

The channel cited sources suggesting that the attacks on Hindus were politically motivated, as many Hindus supported the ruling Awami League. However, the left-wing propaganda outlet failed to explain why Hindu temples were primarily targeted, rather than mosques, if the violence was purely political in nature. While the article highlighted cases of Muslims guarding Hindu temples, it also overlooked the religious identity of those responsible for the attacks, creating an incomplete portrayal of the situation.

(With contributions from OpIndia)

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