'Yunus Says Nothing': Forced Resignation Of Hindu Teachers In Bangladesh Draws Scrutiny, Taslima Nasrin Reacts

Bangladesh’s interim government is facing backlash after reports emerged that dozens of teachers from minority communities were forced to resign from their positions in education institutions in the aftermath of political chaos in the country that ended with Sheikh Hasina’s ouster last month.

At least 49 teachers from minority communities were forced to resign across the country amid a student-led uprising on August 5, according to the Daily Star newspaper. Prof. Shukla Rani Halder, a former English teacher at Government Brajmohan College, Barisal, was among those compelled to resign.

‘Wholesale purge of teachers’

“Within less than a month by setting the never seen before predicament of a wholesale purge of teachers from #minority communities in #education institutions, the mob leaders has marked the institutionalisation of intolerance among students, a shot in the arm for toxic narratives,” Hasina’s Awami League said in a post on X on Saturday.

‘Yunus Says Nothing Against It’

After Hasina’s ouster, religious and ethnic minorities have faced attacks, looting, vandalism of temples, attacks on homes and businesses, and other targeted killings. Award-winning Bangladesh author Taslima Nasreen, who has been vocal about violence against minorities, stated that officials from the former government are being “harassed, imprisoned and killed.”

“In Bangladesh, teachers are forced to resign. Journos, ministers, and officials of the former govt are getting killed, harassed, imprisoned. GenZ burned down the industries of Ahmadi Muslims. Mazars & dargahs of Sufi Muslims are demolished by Islamic terrorists. Yunus says nothing against it,” Nasreen said in a post on X.

On Friday, the United Nations Human Rights Office said it will dispatch a fact-finding mission to Bangladesh to probe human rights violations during recent deadly violence in the country. Last month’s anti-government protests, which began as a student-led movement against public sector job quotas, escalated into the deadliest violence since the country’s independence in 1971.

The unrest left more than 1,000 people dead and prompted Hasina to resign and flee to India. An interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus replaced Hasina’s administration, helping quell the violence as security forces also cracked down on protests.