Hate crimes against minority communities in Bangladesh

Equal protection of the law is a fundamental human right for all Bangladeshi citizens, inserted in Article 27 of the Constitution of Bangladesh. In addition, the preamble of the Constitution provides that the government shall secure the equality for all citizens

The recent death of young Jubo League leader Nurul Islam Nayan in Rangamati has caused a series of arson attacks on the Chakma community. More than 200 homes and shops were wrecked and burned to ashes. People are fleeing with backpacks and handbags crossing canals and hills to safety. Although the district administration has imposed section 144 and prohibited large gathering, but several attacks occurred even after imposing section 144, claimed an English language daily of Bangladesh. People are living in constant fear of further attack. What sign shows this incident? Can we classify this incident as ‘hate crime’?

Let’s see what hate crime is and how it occurs. There is no definition of hate crime in the Penal Code of Bangladesh. However, generally, hate crimes are criminal acts committed with a bias motive. This bias motive makes hate crimes quite different from other crimes. Hate crime is not one offence; it could be an act of intimidation, threats, vandalism, arson, assaults, murder or any other criminal offence. The FBI has defined a hate crime as a “criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.” Hate crime against the indigenous community is not new to us. It can be traced back to the 16th century when European had begun to colonise the world and Native Americans gradually became the targets of bias-motivated violence. Hate crimes in the United States against African American is very common to see as well as in some European countries, race and religious related hate crimes are very common. In Australia, race-related hate crime occurs very often. 
In Bangladesh, the term ‘hate crime’ is not so common to us. We are unaware of this term because we do not have any precise law which is related to hate crimes. Although we often commit hate crime; but the state tries to punish the suspected criminals under the ordinary criminal law of Bangladesh. We have seen so many times communal ferocity against Hindu and Buddhist community as well as against indigenous communities of Bangladesh. But so far, no anti-hate government funded initiatives have been taken to stop racism in Bangladesh. This is where we must work a lot to protect the minorities in Bangladesh. The government is literally silent on this issue. Equal protection of the law is a fundamental human right for all Bangladeshi citizens, inserted in Article 27 of the Constitution of Bangladesh. In addition, the preamble of the Constitution provides that the government shall secure the equality for all citizens. 
Indigenous communities in Bangladesh are facing so many problems including land crisis. To protect their rights, the government of Bangladesh has enacted the Chittagong Hill Track Treaty, 1997. Almost 20 years have passed, but sadly still the treaty has not been implemented fully. Their constitutional rights are being violated regularly. There are so many indigenous groups living in many countries across the world. Regarding indigenous community, Article 2 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples provides that “Indigenous peoples and individuals are free and equal to all other peoples and individuals and have the right to be free from any kind of discrimination, in the exercise of their rights, in particular that based on their indigenous origin or identity.” Article 4 provides that “Indigenous peoples, in exercising their right to self-determination, have the right to autonomy or self-government in matters relating to their internal and local affairs, as well as ways and means for financing their autonomous functions.” The practice of this international treaty can be seen in many countries’ constitutions including Canada and Australia. However, it is so unfortunate to say that we have not recognised our indigenous community in the constitution of Bangladesh precisely. 
Undoubtedly, these minority groups are the citizens of Bangladesh. They have full rights like other citizens of Bangladesh. But sad to say that their rights are being violated, their lands are being grabbed by the settlers and local powerful leaders. They are the common victims of hate crimes. The government should take necessary steps to find out the solutions including common education for all which will learn them to respect others’ culture, language and religion. Although we have our penal law for suspected offenders, I guess we need to formulate a particular legislation relating to hate crime which will make people aware of it. On the other hand, several minority groups will be protected by hate crimes related laws. 

The writer is a Lecturer, Department of Law, Notre Dame University Bangladesh. Email: [email protected] 

Hate crimes against minority communities in Bangladesh

Equal protection of the law is a fundamental human right for all Bangladeshi citizens, inserted in Article 27 of the Constitution of Bangladesh. In addition, the preamble of the Constitution provides that the government shall secure the equality for all citizens

The recent death of young Jubo League leader Nurul Islam Nayan in Rangamati has caused a series of arson attacks on the Chakma community. More than 200 homes and shops were wrecked and burned to ashes. People are fleeing with backpacks and handbags crossing canals and hills to safety. Although the district administration has imposed section 144 and prohibited large gathering, but several attacks occurred even after imposing section 144, claimed an English language daily of Bangladesh. People are living in constant fear of further attack. What sign shows this incident? Can we classify this incident as hate crime? Lets see what hate crime is and how it occurs. There is no definition of hate crime in the Penal Code of Bangladesh. However, generally, hate crimes are criminal acts committed with a bias motive. This bias motive makes hate crimes quite different from other crimes. Hate crime is not one offence; it could be an act of intimidation, threats, vandalism, arson, assaults, murder or any other criminal offence. The FBI has defined a hate crime as a criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offenders bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity. Hate crime against the indigenous community is not new to us. It can be traced back to the 16th century when European had begun to colonise the world and Native Americans gradually became the targets of bias-motivated violence. Hate crimes in the United States against African American is very common to see as well as in some European countries, race and religious related hate crimes are very common. In Australia, race-related hate crime occurs very often. In Bangladesh, the term hate crime is not so common to us. We are unaware of this term because we do not have any precise law which is related to hate crimes. Although we often commit hate crime; but the state tries to punish the suspected criminals under the ordinary criminal law of Bangladesh. We have seen so many times communal ferocity against Hindu and Buddhist community as well as against indigenous communities of Bangladesh. But so far, no anti-hate government funded initiatives have been taken to stop racism in Bangladesh. This is where we must work a lot to protect the minorities in Bangladesh. The government is literally silent on this issue. Equal protection of the law is a fundamental human right for all Bangladeshi citizens, inserted in Article 27 of the Constitution of Bangladesh. In addition, the preamble of the Constitution provides that the government shall secure the equality for all citizens. Indigenous communities in Bangladesh are facing so many problems including land crisis. To protect their rights, the government of Bangladesh has enacted the Chittagong Hill Track Treaty, 1997. Almost 20 years have passed, but sadly still the treaty has not been implemented fully. Their constitutional rights are being violated regularly. There are so many indigenous groups living in many countries across the world. Regarding indigenous community, Article 2 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples provides that Indigenous peoples and individuals are free and equal to all other peoples and individuals and have the right to be free from any kind of discrimination, in the exercise of their rights, in particular that based on their indigenous origin or identity. Article 4 provides that Indigenous peoples, in exercising their right to self-determination, have the right to autonomy or self-government in matters relating to their internal and local affairs, as well as ways and means for financing their autonomous functions. The practice of this international treaty can be seen in many countries constitutions including Canada and Australia. However, it is so unfortunate to say that we have not recognised our indigenous community in the constitution of Bangladesh precisely. Undoubtedly, these minority groups are the citizens of Bangladesh. They have full rights like other citizens of Bangladesh. But sad to say that their rights are being violated, their lands are being grabbed by the settlers and local powerful leaders. They are the common victims of hate crimes. The government should take necessary steps to find out the solutions including common education for all which will learn them to respect others culture, language and religion. Although we have our penal law for suspected offenders, I guess we need to formulate a particular legislation relating to hate crime which will make people aware of it. On the other hand, several minority groups will be protected by hate crimes related laws. The writer is a Lecturer, Department of Law, Notre Dame University Bangladesh. Email: [email protected]