An alliance of multi-faith organizations, human rights advocates, and prominent individuals has issued an urgent appeal calling on the international community to act decisively against the ongoing persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh.
The appeal was authored and coordinated by Hindus Advancing Human Rights Initiative (HAHRI)—an initiative of HinduPACT, an independent nonprofit human rights organization and has now been signed by over 125 organizations and individuals across 15 countries, organizers said in a press release issued February 9, 2026. For more information visit: https://hindupact.org/2026/02/09/global-alliance-of-hindus-and-their-allies-calls-for-urgent-international-action-to-protect-hindus-in-bangladesh/
“The letter documents a systematic, long-running pattern of violence, intimidation, and forced displacement targeting Hindus in Bangladesh, a trend that has intensified following the political transition under the Yunus-led interim government,” the press release said..
“The Hindus of Bangladesh are the indigenous peoples of the country entitled to have their life and culture protected from discrimination under the UN Convention on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 2007. What we are seeing is the exact opposite. It is not episodic violence or isolated lawlessness,” said Rahul Sur, Executive Director of HAHRI. “It is a sustained human rights crisis rooted in impunity. The international community has a moral and legal obligation to intervene before an entire indigenous religious community is erased through ethnic cleansing.”
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The appeal says it has drawn on publicly available reports by international bodies, human rights organizations, and media accounts that chronicle, instances of persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh.
“Bangladesh’s Hindu population has declined sharply from approximately 22% in 1951 to under 7% today, with estimates indicating that hundreds of thousands of Hindus have fled over recent decades into India. Human rights experts point to this demographic collapse as evidence of ongoing ethnic and religious cleansing rather than voluntary migration,” the press release said.
“The numbers alone tell a devastating story,” said Ajay Shah, Founder and Executive Chair of HinduPACT. “A democracy cannot selectively protect rights. When a minority shrinks at this scale under persistent violence and intimidation, it is a failure of the state and of the global system meant to prevent such outcomes.”
The letter from the alliance calls on the US government to:
- Designate Bangladesh as a Country of Particular Concern
- Dispatch an independent fact-finding delegation
- Require regular, public reporting on minority rights by the U.S. Embassy
- Review Bangladesh’s participation in UN peacekeeping operations
- Provide refugee protections for persecuted Hindus
It calls on the European Union to:
- Condition trade benefits on measurable improvements in minority protections
- Initiate parliamentary review of religious freedom violations
On the United Nations and OHCHR to:
- Publicly condemn violations against Hindus
- Establish a fact-finding or monitoring mechanism
- Investigate misuse of blasphemy accusations as a tool of persecution
On the Government of India to:
- Prepare humanitarian measures for displaced Hindus
- Track and publicly document rights violations
- Explore diplomatic and legal avenues to compel minority protections
And the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to:
- Condemn violence against Hindus as inconsistent with stated commitments to human dignity