Interfaith Strength

Is Uri the beginning of the end for Pakistan?

(Originally published on India Facts, September 27, 2016)

Dr. Richard Benkin

Immediately after the Pakistan-backed terrorist attacks in Mumbai, November 26-29, 2008, my country dispatched Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to New Delhi “to ease tensions.”  I was furious and asked if our government sent representatives across the United States to “ease tensions” after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US.  The disparity in our reactions indicated how the US viewed India at that time.  Moreover, I made it known that the region and the world would be better served if a high level of tensions persisted, and India took immediate action in response to the attack.  I recommended surgical strikes against the Lashkar e-Taiba camps across the line of control into Pakistani-occupied Kashmir:

No one would blame India for acting against the terrorists, who committed such a heinous crime against its people.  It would send both the terrorists and Pakistan a clear message that continued violations of Indian integrity and the murder of its people would not be tolerated by India, which would exact a similar or greater cost when such things occurred.

So long as the strikes were pinpoint and against the terrorists, they would not lead to a greater Indo-Pak war or, as opponents of action feared, a nuclear exchange.  The last full-blown war between the two was in 1971, and although India was forced to fight on two fronts, it still handed its rival a humiliating defeat.  Similarly, the last full-blown war by the Arabs against Israel was 1973, which ended in an Arab defeat that would have had Israeli troops in Cairo and Damascus were it not for the Soviet Union’s threat to attack Israel.  In both cases, the aggressors decided that supporting terrorists was far less costly than successive defeats at their enemy’s hands; and since then, they have had Lashkar e Taiba, Hezbollah, and the rest of the rogue’s gallery act as their proxies.

No doubt, I warned, Pakistan would rattle its sabers and protest; and many other countries would condemn the attacks.  After a few days, however, that would all die down, and life would resume as before—except for that “clear message” and Pakistan’s new expectations of a resurgent India. Unfortunately, that is not what happened.  The UPA government, led by Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, stood down.  Compounding the problem, they continued the same behavior for as long as they were in power: sending a different message to Pakistan and the terrorists; that they could expect Indian passivity in the face of additional hostile actions.  I was in India multiple times and witnessed Congress and the UPA consistently cave in to Pakistani intransigence and its refusal to prosecute the 26/11 terrorists.  I can tell you that even as a guest, it was embarrassing for me to witness the Indian government’s ongoing concessions to Pakistan that sought talks of any kind at any price, while allowing Pakistan to set their agendas and refuse any help in bringing the 26/11 terrorists to justice—throwing it in the faces of the entire Indian nation.

Well, as they say in my country, there’s a new sheriff in town; and this can be a seminal moment for Narendra Modi, one in which he has a chance to change the nature of South Asia forever.

When Narendra Modi was running for Prime Minister, he made a speech in Silchar, Assam—a state beset by massive waves of illegal immigration from Bangladesh, in which he said, “The people of Assam are troubled because of Bangladesh and Pakistan is worried because of me.”  That sentiment was a big part of his appeal to the Indian electorate and one reason why the people’s voice was a mandate for change.  While there were numerous dimensions to that mandate, ending decades of submissiveness was a big one.

In a little more than two years in office, Modi has done a great deal to establish India’s new international brand:  a nation that is modernizing; a nation that is a highly desirable economic partner; and a nation that will play an important role in geopolitical events at least for decades to come.  And he has done so without giving his adversaries fuel to push their anti-Modi agenda.  His unprecedented invitation to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other regional leaders to his inauguration helped set a welcoming tone for his tenure to accompany Modi’s reputation as a tough Indian leader.

For some time after that, the Prime Minister traveled the world and established India’s bona fides as an international economic and military superpower; winning the support of many, who previously shunned the man from Gujarat.  At Modi’s first speech in the United States after taking office—on September 28, 2014, at New York’s Madison Square Garden—among the dozens of US lawmakers, who marched onstage to offer congratulations and expressions of support, I counted at least two Congressman, who previously co-sponsored anti-Modi legislation.  His stream of Capitol Hill supporters continues to grow, and Modi was even asked to address a joint session of Congress, an honor not accorded to many.

So what does any of that have to do with the Uri attacks?  As was the case in the aftermath of 26/11, international sentiments are with India.  Israel offered India expertise in securing its borders; Russia has said it would not hold joint military exercises in the disputed areas controlled by Pakistan, and the US Congress introduced a bill to declare Pakistan a terrorist state.  In Islamabad and other capitals, people are waiting expectantly for Modi’s next move.

Surgical strikes?  Yes, with the same result as likely would have occurred if India’s previous government had taken the same action in 2008.  The opportunity, however, goes beyond an immediate reaction.  Pakistan is a conglomerate state, made up of several groups struggling for national rights, dominated by a brutal regime committed to eradicating those other national identities.  These groups are Muslim and Hindu, and are united by nationality, not religion.

From the time Modi declared that Pakistan would have to answer for “its atrocities against Balochistan,” everything changed.  His words of support energized the Baloch community living in Balochistan and in exile, and sources tell me that the declaration of a Baloch government in exile in in the cards.  Modi also referred to Pakistan’s oppression of the Gilgit Baltistanis and in the past has provided a safe haven for Sindhis escaping Pakistani persecution.  In addition to these groups, Pashtun, some of whom fill the ranks of various Islamist groups, have a substantial secular community fighting similar persecution at the hands of the Pakistanis.  And, of course, there is Kashmir—or as it is referred to, PoK, or Pakistan occupied Kashmir.  All of these groups have been energized by Modi’s actions, and the Pakistanis recognize that they cannot push him around as they did his predecessor.

Could we be seeing the breakup of Pakistan and a new age of peaceful cooperation among a new group of South Asian states?  One of Modi’s challenges might be the historical US-Pakistani relationship, which almost stopped East Pakistan’s successful secession as Bangladesh.  That is going to be less of a problem this time for several reasons:

• The current US administration has been withdrawing from international conflicts and likely would not intervene with more than words.  Neither candidate to take office next seems to want the US to involve itself in international issues unnecessarily.
• There is a growing movement on Capitol Hill to recognize Pakistani duplicity, distance the US from that country, and end US aid to Pakistan.
• Narendra Modi has won many supporters in Washington and will have more influence there than his Pakistani counterpart.
• National rights for Baloch, Pashtun, Sindhi, Gilgit Baltistanis, and Kashmiris resonate with our support for human rights, and also support our international interests.

So far, Modi has demonstrated a canny discernment to know when to push his positions and when to be more “diplomatic,” despite some domestic calls for immediate action.  This appears to be a time for the former.  Of course, the diplomatic capital that Modi has built up over the last two years extends beyond the United States to all other world players.  This might be a good way to spend it:  support these groups and their calls for national independence and allow their numbers living in India to demonstrate for it; and explain how their success would mean a significant reduction in support for Islamist terrorists.

Encourage India’s allies in the United States to petition the US to recognize governments in exile and the legitimate national rights of these various peoples, while not intervening in any Indian moves to support them.

By doing so, Prime Minister Modi would honor the 18 soldiers killed in defense of their country, remove a significant obstacle to India’s development and the security of its people, be an international champion of human rights; and strengthen India’s brand as a superpower, a major international force, and no one to be trifled with.

Disclaimer: The facts and opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. IndiaFacts does not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information in this article.

From wgvunews.org, originally published November 21, 2016:

We're joined by Dr. Richard Benkin. Dr. Richard Benkin is an American Jewish human rights activist, a co-founder of 'Interfaith Strength', an Advisory Board Member of Islam-Israel Fellowship, a journalist, writer and lecturer.

The United Nations is a ridiculous organization. It might not have started out as one, but it is now

(Interview originally published on MyIndMakers, September 22nd, 2016)

Dr. Richard Benkin is a human rights activist based in America. He is the co-founder of ‘Interfaith strength’ and is a journalist and author. He has authored various books and is associated with organizations like the ‘Islam Israel’ fellowship. He has raised the issues of Hindus in Pakistan in Bangladesh around the world. MyIndMakers talks to him about his work, books and human rights across the world.

Please tell us about your background and how you came to be associated with interfaith issues worldwide? 

My involvement in human rights and interfaith issues is rooted in who I am, that is, an American and a Jew.  American and Jewish values teach me not to stand by idly when others are being violated; and they set a basic optimism that refuses to believe that any people or faith is superior or inferior to another.  So when a Muslim journalist asked me to help educate his people about Israel; when that journalist was arrested and charged with blasphemy; when a Hindu, whose family fled from Bangladesh, told me that "my people are dying there"; when an open Jew-hater was about to hold an anti-Israel conference in an official Australian building with the support of academics and so-called human rights groups; it was impossible for me to turn away and ignore the injustice.  More formally, I hold a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania, and have held several academic and business positions, and serve on the boards of multiple organizations.

Please tell us about your involvement with "Islam- Israel Fellowship”?

Islam-Israel Fellowship is a Jerusalem-based organization of religious Jews and Muslims, all of whom are committed to fostering positive relationships between the two faiths.  I became involved with this organization in part through my Israel advocacy, however, primarily through my defense of the pro-Israel Muslim, Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudury, who was imprisoned and tortured in Bangladesh for advocating relations with Israel and exposing the growth of radical Islam in that country through the madrassa.  For some time, we shared ideas and information extensively, and even after Shoaib was expelled from the group, it continued to have me on its board.  I believe the Jews and Muslims in this organization are genuine individuals committed to interfaith understanding.

You have been the biggest global voice for persecuted Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh. How did you get involved with this project?

In 2007, I was in Bangladesh during a military coup.  Many individuals who felt that they were at risk of arrest contacted me for help and advice.  I also had rather extensive communication with members of the military there.  Additionally, through my human rights work on behalf of Shoaib Choudhury and others, I got the Bangladeshi government to do things it otherwise would not have done, such as freeing political prisoners or refraining from prosecution.  Thus, when I arrived back home, there was a fax from a young man who had gotten my number from one of the attorneys with whom I had worked in Bangladesh.  He told me he was "a Hindu living outside of Kolkata.  My parents came here from Bangladesh when I was eleven.  My people are dying there.  Please save us."  Again, you cannot turn your back on something like that.  Besides, when I was in Bangladesh, I became aware of the anti-Hindu persecution.  It was after getting the fax, however, that I really delved into it.  And once I did, I knew this had to be my mission.

You once famously said that "Kashmir is South Asia's West Bank”!! Wasn't it always a fact but the world never paid attention to what India and Israel had to say?

In 1981, the Israelis bombed and destroyed Saddam Hussein's nuclear plant at Osirik in Iraq.  The world condemned them for it--publicly.  Privately, quite a few world leaders, including the Americans, thanked them for it.  In the sight of others, people pretend to dismiss Israel as a nation that must be condemned.  In reality, however, they know that they are dealing with a great country that works for good in the world.  I believe we are starting to see the same thing happening with India now that Narendra Modi is Prime Minister.  The same people who shunned him with false accusations, now welcome him as a dignitary and desperately seek his cooperation and India's business.  Look at the hornet's nest he stirred up by speaking of Balochistan and of Pakistan's guilt.  Good for him--he is taking the fight to our enemies.

By the way, my comment about Kashmir being South Asia's West Bank indicated how in both cases, people advance fallacious and evil arguments and say their focus is Kashmir or the West Bank (which is really called Judea and Samaria), but what they really want is to take over all of Israel and all of India.  Their cries about Kashmir and Judea and Samaria are just ruses that the gullible accept uncritically. 

You wrote 'Quiet Case of Ethnic Cleansing' (monograph on Bangladeshi Hindus) back in 2012. This was seminal research yet a truly heartbreaking book on the appalling conditions of Hindus in Bangladesh. What if anything has changed or not changed particularly in Bangladesh? Hasn't Sheikh Hasina been acting against Islamists?

Whatever else the Awami League government has done, it has NOT done anything to stop the ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh or extend the full protection of the law to them.  Members of the government at all levels are complicit, part of cover ups, or actively involved in the crimes; and Sheikh Hasina does nothing about it.  The government does not prosecute the offenders or dismiss guilty government officials, even when it knows of the crimes and criminals.  The Awami League has had opportunities to repeal the Vested Property Act, which is the economic engine driving this ethnic cleansing, as well as chances to repeal the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution that makes Islam the official state religion.  But it has refused to do so.  In many ways, the Awami League is a greater danger than its rivals because people believe it is moderate and that it would not countenance the ethnic cleansing of Hindus and other non-Muslims.  The West in particular will accept its soothing words without demanding action.

Having said that, recent events offer some promise.  In July 2016, at a meeting with US Congressman Bob Dold and me, the Bangladeshi government admitted that it did have a problem with the persecution of Hindus.  Prior to that, its representatives always would deny that any problem existed.  When we spoke further, the same official said that Bangladesh is a poor country that lacked resources to solve the problem; at which point Congressman Dold said, "We want to help you solve your problem."  Making those admissions is never easy, especially in front of a member of the powerful US House Ways and Means Committee; and doing so took some courage.  Rather than create more of a problem, however, it created a spirit of cooperation among the three of us; and we have been working positively with the Bangladeshi Embassy in Washington since then.  Of course, if there is no actual change for the Bangladeshi Hindus, I have alternate actions at the ready.  For the first time in almost a decade, however, I have a glimmer of hope.

Dr. Benkin, You are a widely travelled human rights activist who is donning the role of a modern day Peace Messenger (with such limited resources!). Isn't the UN supposed to be doing what you are doing? 

The UN is a ridiculous organization.  It might not have started out as one, but it is now.  It harps on the political fantasies supported by some of the worst human rights violators and rarely supports true democratic rule.  It seems obsessed with a phony "occupation" (that is, Israel), while it ignores a very real and brutal occupation of Baluchistan, Pashtunistan, and Sindhudesh by Pakistan, which has been going on since before Israel was even a nation.  The UN's priorities and values are upside down.  As a United States taxpayer, my dollars contribute significantly to the UN, and I am glad that there is a growing sentiment in Washington to do something about it.

Has the present day INDIAN government invited you to share your experience in their search for long term solutions in that region?

Your wonderful Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spent time with me, and has my book, A Quiet Case of Ethnic Cleansing: the Murder of Bangladesh's Hindus.  He also shares some of my concerns and takes to heart what is happening to Hindus in Bangladesh.  Recently, others in his party have reached out to me, and we are planning some actions in the near future.  Beyond that, I have a great deal of information and insight, regarding both human rights and economic development, that I believe would help; and I am always at the ready to share it and work with the Indian government and people.  Please understand, however, I humbly recognize that I am a foreigner, and therefore a friend and guest.  Anything I say or do is done within that spirit.

(Photo from 2013: Richard Benkin meeting the then Gujarat CM (Now PM), Narendra Modi)

What keeps you motivated? Please tell us about your daily regimen and your current projects. 

As a Jewish child, I learned how 6,000,000 of my people were slaughtered in Europe; among them were many members of my family.  The more I learned, however, the less I focused on the Nazis.  Of course, they were terrible and bear ultimate responsibility for the Holocaust (or more accurately the Shoah); but it does not take much to say that Adolf Hitler and his gang were terrible people.  No, what I came to know is that their murders were made possible by all the "good people" who drew their shutters while their neighbors were being dragged away in the night; who sat by idly while laws made the Jews pariahs and subject to plunder; who ultimately knew about Auschwitz or at least that something akin to it existed and yet did nothing.  Out of the ashes of the Holocaust came a saying:  "Never again!"  And yes, we were determined to make sure it never happened again to us Jews.  At the same time, "never again" meant that we would never want it to happen to anyone.  So when I came to know about the Bangladeshi Hindus, and later the Kashmiri Pandits, and more recently the Baloch, Pashtun, and Sindhi; I refused to sit by idly while they were subjected to atrocities.  That is sufficient to motivate anyone.

My daily regimen?  I need to work.  Human rights does not pay the bills or take care of my family; so many of my days involve getting up and going to work.  Before I do, however, I work on human rights matters, even though that means getting up every day between four and five AM.  What that consists of depends on what I am working on at the time.  Right now, my major human rights issues are justice for the Bangladeshi Hindus, freedom and justice for the Baloch, Pashtun, Sindhi, and Kashmiris, and justice for Israel.  They all involve quite a few specific actions that are being planned together with others or with my own networks.  With Narendra Modi's recent statement about Balochistan, that nation and the others fighting for freedom from Pakistan are finding new support, including among people I am working with in Washington; and I mentioned how we are moving forward on the Bangladeshi Hindu issue.  Understand, however, that "promising" does not mean accomplishment, and as hopeful as I am, I will continue struggling and looking for new ways to further human rights.

I also have a new book coming out, I expect in February or March.  It likely will be called What is Moderate Islam, and went to the publisher last month.  When approached about it, I said that people like to dance at the extremes, saying either all Muslims are jihadis or Islam is not a part of radicals and to say so is Islamophobic.  Both positions are idiotic and prevent a real understanding of how we stop the enemies of peace and civilization.  My book brings together Hindu, Muslim, and Jewish voices in an attempt to help guide us away from the extreme fringes, without failing to address the real and significant issues we face.  We who speak through the book are not afraid of the truth.

Everyone is talking about Bangladeshi Hindus except West Bengal

(Originally published on Uday India, September 22, 2016)

Dr. Richard Benkin

When I started my struggle for the Bangladeshi Hindus, people—including Hindu leaders—told me not to bother. ‘No one cares,’ they said; ‘no one will ever care.’They must have meant themselves, too, because they knew what was happening but failed to do anything about it.  And in all my years in the villages and border areas of Bangladesh and West Bengal, I’ve never seen any of them with the people.  Other human rights activists have said the same thing.  People also tried to tell me that I was wrong, that Bangladesh is the “good” Islamic state in South Asia; and after the 2008 elections they told me that the Awami League would stop the persecution, that it was all the doing of their political rivals.  Last month a Bangladeshi leader tried to tell me the same thing and blamed the opposition. Evidently, those Hindu leaders have more in common with the Bangladeshi government than with their persecuted co-religionists.

Regrettably, since those 2008 elections, in which Hindus supported the Awami League, things have not improved.  The assault on them continues with impunity; with that supposedly friendly Bangladeshi government taking no action on their behalf.  The Awami League had multiple chances to repeal the anti-Hindu Vested Property Act but never did.  It could have made Bangladesh a real secular state by dropping Islam as the official state religion; but it never took advantage of its opportunities to do so.  Late last year, UN special Rapporteur Hans Bielefeldt, said that maintaining the “principle of secularism while at the same time proclaiming Islam as the official State religion gives rise to ambiguities that have a direct impact on human rights in the country, including the protection of religious minorities.”The Bangladeshis still rabidly defend the secular label, even as their “religious imperialism” continues to encroach on West Bengal.  Oh really?  How would the Bangladeshis to react if India called itself secular and declared Hinduism the official state religion?  And so we don’t forget about the war by this “secular” on Hinduism, recall that Hindus were just under a fifth of the population after Bangladesh became independent in 1971; thirty years later, they were less than a tenth; and today, less than one in 15. Throughout that entire time, Bangladesh has seen an unbroken stream of anti-Hindu atrocities; few of them prosecuted by the government and even fewer actually punished.  And let’s dispose of one pleasant fiction:  Hindus faced the same treatment regardless of the party in power.  In turning a blind eye to atrocities against Hindus, the Awami League is no better than the BNP or even Jamaat.  So do the math:  one third to one fifth to one tenth to one fifteenth.  We don’t have to guess what comes next.

Things, however, are changing.  Whereas it once took me lecture after lecture to educate people that this was even a problem; it has now become a recognized fact in many world capitals and elsewhere—everywhere, it seems, with the exception of West Bengal.  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken openly about it, and on a personal note, I can say that he is personally aggrieved by it.  To be sure, the Prime Minister has to balance that personal angst with his effort to build positive relationships with his neighbors as he defines India as an international superpower.  Anti-Hindu activity in Bangladesh—and the government’s refusal to stop it—was highlighted this summer in The Times of India, about as mainstream as media gets.  There have been protests at and from inside the United Nations, and after years of silence on the topic, Amnesty International called for Bangladeshi government action to protect Hindus in 2013. Calls for Bangladeshi actions have come from The Hague, seat of the International Criminal Court, and from the Hindu Council UK.

Significantly, those call are growing louder and more militant from the United States.  From years of fighting walls of inaction, I now find ready audiences in the US Congress and Senate.  Five years ago, Congressman Robert Dold became the first person to address the ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh from the floor of the US Congress; several have followed suit within the past year, including Congressman Ed Royce, Chairman of the powerful House Committee on Foreign Affairs.  This summer, Dold held a meeting with Bangladeshi Ambassador Mohammad Ziauddin and me.  As the discussion became more open and frank, it became clear that the matter was serious and our concerns were not going away.  After some time, Dold finally asked Ambassador Ziauddin, “So you admit that you have a problem [with the persecution of Hindus]?”  The ambassador answered, “Yes.”  A short time later I got him to admit that it was a problem they’re incapable of fixing themselves.  That opened the door for US involvement, which has been proceeding quietly and cooperatively since.

Hindus are also taking a strong position. US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has raised the issue and also started a petition for action.  University of Pennsylvania professor Saswati Sarkar has been active in raising the issue; as has the Hindu American Foundation both in Washington and throughout the community.  More and more local Hindu paper are covering the matter; another change.

Yet, in West Bengal, whose leaders and residents should have been taking the lead on this for decades, things seem to be moving in the opposite direction.  Any mention of actions against Hindus is labeled “communal,” for which people can face fines and prison.  The West Bengal militia remains inactive in effectively patrolling the borders or keeping out illegal infiltrators, who have been changing the state’s demography with assistance from corrupt officials.  Its Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee appeared together publicly with Jamaat e-Islami, a top source of anti-Hindu attacks in Bangladesh and now in West Bengal.  And its police continue to allow anti-Hindu actions to proliferate.  I was in a North 24 Parganas village earlier this year in which police allowed anti-Hindu actions to proceed so long as the attackers did not cross an arbitrary line they enforced.  To be sure, there are West Bengal Hindu leaders, like Tapan Ghosh and Animitra Chakraborty, who have been fighting for Hindus for years; most others, however, refuse even to acknowledge the problem.

With the world awakening to the Bangladeshi government’s involvement in anti-Hindu actions, why is West Bengal complicit with them through its silence?  And with real action proceeding in the United States, imagine the eternal shame that will attach to West Bengal, if we help save Hindus from halfway across the world, while their next door neighbors in West Bengal continue to do nothing.  Saving the Bangladeshi Hindus has been my fight since 2007.  Is it not high time for the State of West Bengal and its people to join me?

(The writer is a human right activist and author.)

Bangladesh's Hindus:  They don't need our compassion--they need our action

Address by Dr. Richard L. Benkin on Hindu Memorial Day, Hindu Mahasabha of America, Houston, Texas, August 13, 2016

Namaste.

On July 12 of this year, a remarkable thing occurred; something that never happened before; and something that gives us the ability to provide Bangladeshi Hindus with help as well as hope.  I’ll get to that in a moment.

Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama once said, “It is not enough to be compassionate.  You must act.”  As we are here to honor the Hindu victims of human rights violations, we need to stop a moment and think about what the Dalai Lama said.  Because when we’re done here today and go back to our homes in suburban Houston, Chicago, and Los Angeles; go back to our relatively safe lives where we don’t have to worry about an angry mob destroying our homes, committing gang rape, or abducting our children; it should be seared in our minds that every day we sit in those homes and do nothing, is another day that one more Hindu life is cut short, or turned upside down through violence; another day that a Hindu woman or child is raped, abducted, or forced to convert to Islam.  Every day we sit, we consign another human being to that.  And I say “we,” because we cannot pretend we don’t know anymore.  If my struggle over the past nine years has accomplished anything, it is bringing to light the ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh and the Bangladeshi government’s complicity in it.  And so I ask everyone here a question that we all must answer through our actions—or lack thereof:  Do you care?  Do you care enough to do something about it?  That’s a question whose answer is not as simple as you might think.

When I started my struggle for the Bangladeshi Hindus, people—including Hindu leaders—told me not to bother.  ‘No one cares,’ they said; ‘no one will ever care.”  And I believe they included themselves in that category—or at least it would seem that way given their lack of action and blasé acceptance of these atrocities; given the fact that in all my time in the villages and border areas of Bangladesh and West Bengal, I’ve never seen any of them with the people.  Other human rights activists have said the same thing.  So, for almost a decade, people tried to tell me that I was wrong, that Bangladesh is the “good” Islamic state in South Asia.  Or they would warn me not to listen to what I hear since, as Bangladesh’s ambassador recently told me, these people “spin tales.”  You see, people like him think Americans like me are naïve and that we get all our information from TV and the movies or maybe Google; which is why I knew that if I was going to be of any value, I had to go there myself. 

And just in case we need a reminder of what it is we’re supposed to care about, here it is:  Pakistan’s 1951 census counted Hindus as almost a third of East Pakistan’s population.  When East Pakistan became Bangladesh in 1971, they were just under a fifth; thirty years later, less than a tenth; and today, less than one in 15.  Throughout that entire time, Bangladesh has seen an unbroken stream of anti-Hindu atrocities; few of them prosecuted by the government and even fewer actually punished.  And let’s dispose of one pleasant fiction:  Hindus faced the same treatment regardless of the party in power.  In turning a blind eye to atrocities against Hindus, the Awami League is no better than the BNP or even Jamaat.  So do the math:  one third to one fifth to one tenth to one fifteenth.  We don’t have to guess what comes next.

When numbers seem impersonal, I think of people like Eti Biswas, whose family traveled from Barisat to Dhaka a few years ago to ask me for help in recovering their 22 year old daughter.  She was abducted after her family refused to abandon their small plot of land, which would enable it to be seized under the Vested Property Act.  More than three and a half years later, she’s still missing, even though I placed the matter before the Bangladeshi Home Minister and other high officials.  I think of Koli Goswami, an honors student, who’s been missing since 2009.  Police refused to take any action, calling her abduction “a love affair,” even though the “lover” had to ransack her home in the middle of the night and needed the help of others to carry her away screaming.  That cover up went as high as an Awami League MP.  And I think of the ten Hindus facing a death sentence for defending their mandir and the women there; ten Bangladeshi citizens who have been deprived due process of law simply because they’re Hindu; and whose attorney, human rights giant and my friend Rabindra Ghosh, was beaten in the courtroom when he tried to represent them.  These and other anti-Hindu atrocities all were committed under the Awami League and confirmed by eyewitnesses, including my own team of investigators.  I could go on and on, but why bother.  Time is limited, and we have to do something before Hinduism in East Bengal is just a memory—and not just East Bengal; it’s happening in West Bengal, too, where Jamaat operates with the approval of Chief Minister Momata Banerjee, and where I have encountered a growing ISIS cell.

Okay, so let’s first review what we’re up against.  Four years ago, I met with the Bangladeshi ambassador in Washington to try and resolve his nation’s ethnic cleansing of Hindus.  I presented the overwhelming facts, including the disappearance of five crore Hindus, and noted how demographers have said that this massive decline could not have occurred without the sort of deadly actions I brought to his attention. Do you know how he responded?  “No, no, no,” he said. “Hindus in Bangladesh cannot find suitable matches for their children.  So they go to India where there are more Hindus.”  He must have figured I was one of those “naïve Americans,” or just an idiot.  Put aside the fact that of the hundreds of Bangladeshi Hindus I’ve met, not one said they fled to India to find matches for their children.  The important point for us is that the Bangladeshis feel so confident that we’ll never call them to account, that they don’t even try to come up with credible denials.

And why should they be concerned?  This May, I was in the Washington office of a US Senator and was told that some months earlier, he was visited by a delegation of Hindus from his state.  They talked about H1B1 visa issues and the like, and he wanted to help.  Then, they started talking about how Hindus were being persecuted in Bangladesh; and again, he wanted to help.  So he asked them to put things in writing with facts and evidence so he could take action.  He’s still waiting.  They were great at shaking their fists but at little else.

Some things have changed for the better, though, which brings me back to what I alluded to at the beginning of my address.  What remarkable thing happened on July 12?  On that day, the Bangladeshi government finally admitted that its Hindu citizens were being persecuted; something it had been denying for years.    

I’ve mentioned Congressman Bob Dold (R-IL) before.  He’s the first person to address the ethnic cleansing of Bangladesh’s Hindus from the floor of the US Congress; he has also worked with me over the years to help victims of human rights abuses.  A few months ago, I told him I needed a champion on Capitol Hill if I was going to take things to the next level, and I asked if he would be that person.  A man of high moral principles and a longtime friend of the Hindu community, he said yes; and in less than two months, we were sitting with Bangladesh’s ambassador in a meeting room connected to the House Ways and Means Committee—which shows you how strategically Bob thinks.  Ways and Means is probably the most powerful committee in Washington because it controls much of our government’s money.  Bob’s a member of it, and I’m sure that was not lost on the Bangladeshi ambassador.  It also controls tariffs, additional fees imposed upon imports—and we’ll see in a bit why that’s especially important to Bangladesh.

            So, we started talking.  At first, the Ambassador reacted the way other Awami League officials have:  denying that any of these things happened—I corrected him; then, then saying they were done under the opposition—I corrected him again. But Ambassador Ziauddin impressed me as someone a cut above his predecessors; a career diplomat, even while being an Awami League partisan.  So we continued debating the matter without acrimony and provocative allegations; and I continued pressing our case with facts to counter his generalities.  Then Bob looked at him and said, “So you admit that you have a problem with what’s happening to Hindus in your country.”  And the Ambassador said “yes.”  Then, he started saying that Bangladesh is such a poor country with so many problems to battle; and attacks on Hindus even if one per week (the figure I provided) is such a small proportion of the population.  At which point I said, so you admit you have a problem that you’re unable to solve yourself—which opened the door for foreign intervention.  Then Bob said, “We want to know how we can help you solve your problem.  We have had several interactions since, which I believe will lead to something concrete for Bangladesh’s Hindus and perhaps as a result Hindus in West Bengal as well.

            So how can we make that happen?  First understand that the only way Bangladesh’s leaders are going to do something about this is if we make it in their interests to do so; and we can.  The Bangladeshi economy is inordinately dependent on the export of readymade garments, and guess who their biggest customer is.  That’s right, us.  I’m passing out cards and would like you all to write your name, email address, and mailing address on them.  If you know your Congressional district or Representative, include that, too.  Over the next several months, I’ll be emailing you a set of instructions with an easy way to inform Bangladesh’s major buyers (Wal-Mart, Target, and others) that they are supporting ethnic cleansing.  We will have even more power if you each get others to do the same thing.  I can tell you from personal experience, the Bangladeshis will do almost anything if they believe their exports are in jeopardy, which means extending the full protection of the law to their Hindu neighbors.

            You can do one more thing.  You have a Congressman in the Houston area, Ted Poe.  Not only is he a friend of the Hindu community, he also chairs the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee that can play havoc with those tariffs I mentioned earlier; and if the tariffs are raised, so will the cost of their goods; and we know that others will be happy to undercut them and take away their share of the market.  So, you can do two things:

·      First, support Ted Poe’s re-election, and let him know what the Hindu community wants from him once he’s back in Washington.

·      Second, after the election let’s together set up a time for a group to meet him personally and make our issues known; I did this with a Hindu group in California with Congressman Ed Royce, and it’s worked out well.  We can meet him in his Washington office or his local one; if Washington, I suggest we use the time to see others, like Pete Olson and Louis Gohmert.  We can talk about it.  I know how to structure these things, what to emphasize, what to avoid, and how to do it.  I’m especially counting on the leaders of the community here.

One final point to keep in mind.  Earlier this year, Amrit Nehru and I were part of another seminar that brought together several groups facing the same sort of oppression both in Bangladesh and Pakistan; groups that others might expect to be at loggerheads, but they were not.  Do not assume who will stand with us and who will not.  We have more allies than we think, and it’s time we all acted as one.  We are closer to victory than we ever have been.  If we join together, we’ll get there.

Leaders in Pakistan and Bangladesh allow religious radicalization to take place on their soil

Interview originally published on AtNewsAnalysis.com, July 27, 2016

Dr. Richard L Benkin has become very familiar and a household name from Indian subcontinent to USA among those who follow the human rights issues in Indian subcontinent with clean eyes—not with blinkered ones to create a huge noise about  certain issues and deliberately decide to be silent on some others.  If Human beings are the same across the planet, having the same soul with potential to evolve themselves towards divinity sooner or later, then how can the perspectives on human rights be so different?

Over eight years ago Dr. Richard Benkin landed in India for his first visit,to get acquainted with people in India, bringing a reference from the great Middle Eastern scholar and known ideologue on Islamic history,Dr. Daniel Pipes.  That first visit paved the way for his more frequent visits with a tough task:  to create awareness among people in India on the threat of radicalization of another immediate Indian neighbor, Bangladesh; and the causality for this radicalization was the tolerated persecution of minorities in general and Hindus in Particular . 

Being a Jew from the USA, he was welcomed in India with lot of questions about his motive in taking up this cause, and some of the questions were loaded with apprehension and conspiracy theories,too.

The consistent efforts from Dr. Richard Benkin’s side to make aware people about the systematic and institutionalized radicalization of Bangladesh gradually was seen as serious by audiences among the Indian people as well as Indian establishment due in no small part to the intensity of his commitment to his cause and feelings to make a difference on the issue of oppressed Hindus in Bangladesh.  Because of his commitment and involvement in learning about India, he could foresee the changing Indian political landscape in advance of others, and saw as early as the beginning of 2012 that Narendra Modi would become Prime Minister of India, which he did in 2014.  Back then, many people considered that an insane and cynical thought.  Nevertheless, he decided to be politically incorrect and visited him in Gandhinagar and requested Narendra Modi to do give some serious thought to the growing radicalization of Bangladesh and the worsening human rights conditions for Hindus in India’s neighborhood. (The writer of these lines was present in that meeting where Dr. Benkin told Mr. Modi, “Today I am calling you Mr. Chief Minister but the next time we meet, I will be calling you Mr. Prime Minister.”Unfortunately, Mr. Modi has not been able to take time from his busy schedule to meet Dr. Richard Benkin since he occupied the post of premiership of the country.)

When today we are witnessing the grim situation in Bangladesh which proves Dr. Richard Benkin extremely correct and visionary it also indicates the carelessness and casual approach of the major powers on such an important issue.If his warnings would have been taken seriously, from Washington DC to New Delhi, then another Islamist terror hub in Indian subcontinent would have been avoided.

The volatile security situation in Bangladesh compels us to talk to Dr. Richard Benkin on this issue as he is in a better position than anyone else to guide us. In this regard, the chief Editor of AT News Analysis, Amitabh Tripathi, conducted an online interview with Dr. Richard Benkin covering a wide range of subjects from Bangladesh to US politics and its presidential race.

ATN- Dr. Richard Benkin, I can remember that in 2009 when you met the (now late) retired intelligence Bureau director Maloy Krishna Dhar, and expressed your concerns on the fast growing threat of radicalization of Bangladesh, he suggested you should be more optimistic and supportive to the Sheikh Hasina, as she would do everything she could to stop the radicalization of her country, to accelerate the process of modernization, and to transform the system into one more adaptive to modern world order. Since then, you have been more cautious about Indian sensibilities not to target Sheikh Hasina directly, but you are the only person who despite that caution continued narrating the story to the whole world, of how the systematic and institutionalized radicalization of Bangladesh is in the offing and getting ready to explode.  Now the incidents in last few months have proven you accurate. How would you respond to this situation?

RB-Thank you, Mr. Tripathi.  With all respect to the late Mr. Dhar and others, India, the US, and the rest of the world has been too generous to the Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League, expecting (really hoping) that they would make a real difference in Bangladesh.  Their history almost since the nation’s birth in 1971 tells quite a different story.  Yes, the Awami League will blame its political rivals (the BNP) or the periodic dictatorships or military governments; but things were no better under their periodic rules, including today.  Until we recognize that reality, effective action will be impossible.  For the first step in fixing any problem is recognizing it.

Whether it is western powers like the United States, Asian powers like India, or Bangladesh itself; people have either failed to or refused to recognize the reality.  But people know the truth; they’re just not willing to admit it.  The strongest statements I hear among political and intelligence establishments in support of the Awami League government is that Bangladesh is better than Pakistan and that the Awami League is better than the BNP.  We cannot help Bangladesh solve its problem unless we’re honest about it.  Once that happens, we can craft an effective strategy pretty simply given the limited territory involved and the assumption by our enemies that they can build their infrastructure in Bangladesh while we keep our focus elsewhere.

ATN- In your opinion where does the problem in Bangladesh lie, and what solution do you suggest?

RB-The 1947 division of the Indian Subcontinent was done on the basis of communalism, and that is the root cause of the problems we face today. That critical error provided the circumstances that led to countries whose leaders felt constrained to allow religious radicalization to take place on their soil.  None of the governments of either Pakistan or Bangladesh have ever done anything to change that situation.  (Both Pakistan and Bangladesh are Islamic States with Islam as their major religion.  To its credit, India has never done that or made Hinduism the official state religion.  Big difference!)  Beyond that, all of the parties and their leaders in Bangladesh have placed greater value on own success than on success for the country.  This is how the Awami League was fine agreeing to form a coalition with the radical Islamist group, Khelafat Andolin Majlis.  It took the 2007 military coup to prevent them from making it a reality.  This same lack of a true core of values among Bangladeshi leaders, however, presents the opportunity for changing things; because for them it is all about material interests, including political power for those who take the opportunities that would come with change.

Outside powers can help Bangladesh diversify its economy, which has become inordinately dependent on garment exports and a few other things.  They can help in areas like security, counter-intelligence, and geo-political strategies.  In return, the Bangladeshis would have to be serious about rooting out radicals, and they would have to do the responsible thing and take action (not just mouth words) that extends equal protection under the law to Hindus and other minorities.  If they don’t, well, their unhealthy economy can get lot worse with international action on issues like trade and UN peacekeeping, which would have a legal basis in Bangladesh’s tacit involvement in human rights abuses.  One way or another—the easy way or the hard way—it can be done.

ATN – In most parts of the world, including your country, the United States, and in India, it has been perceived that there is a vast difference between the approaches of Sheikh Hasina and Begum Khaleda Zia in defining the future of Bangladesh; with the former wanting to make it more secular and accommodative to others; and the latter insisting to convert it into another Islamic state ruled by stricter and tough Islamic laws and customs.  But your views are contrary to this perception and suggest that both parties protect the vested interests of radical elements within their society and the only difference is their image makeover. Do you still stick to your opinion?

RB-Yes, pretty much, but with a little more explanation.  As I noted above, all parties will make common cause with the worst elements if they believe it is in their own political interest.  The Awami League and BNP have profited equally from the Vested Property Act and the plundering of Hindu-owned land.  And the verified record of anti-Hindu actions that the government refuses to prosecute is no better under one party than the other.  Earlier this month, the Bangladeshi Ambassador to the United States, Mohammad Ziauddin, spoke to me about the “great” relationship between Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  If the relationship is a good as he says, that’s wonderful; let Sheikh Hasina use it.  Could you imagine if Hindus in Bangladesh and Pakistan were treated the same as Muslims in India?  And to the extent they are not, imagine if the rest of the world make that comparison openly and honestly, based on the facts of that treatment and nothing else?

Here’s where the Awami League can show that they really are different and committed to the principles they have claimed to be.  On 12 July, Congressman Bob Dold and I met with the Bangladeshi ambassador about the Bangladeshi Hindus.  For the first time, a Bangladeshi official admitted to us both that there is a problem with persecution of Hindus in his country and that Bangladesh does not have the resources to stop it; that is, he not only confirmed my allegations about .  We are to be working together on a solution.  If Bangladesh’s words turn out to be nothing more than words, my opinion will not change.  If they follow up with real, effective action, then I will say that they are different from their political opposition.

ATN – Since 9\11 when the world woke up to the threat posed by the ideological basis for terrorism, the USA in particular has been more vigilant to arrest the evolution of any new centre of terrorism in South Asia even beyond Afghanistan and Pakistan.  Do new developments in Bangladesh frighten the establishment in your country such that it might react based on panic, or are they planning something serious and more thought out to counter this scourge on an ideological basis as well as a military one. As we all can acknowledge that this problem cannot be dealt with by military means alone, but rather the ideas behind it must be countered.  Those who want to find solutions in military alone are only aggravating this problem further.

RB-Events in Bangladesh do not cause much concern in the establishment here for at least two reasons:  (1) Bangladesh occupies little importance in the US consciousness.  Few Americans know much about it, and even major US politicians and officials often visit India and Pakistan while ignoring Bangladesh.  This bothers me in that it is has helped make the task of getting people to look seriously at this before it’s too late extremely difficult.  But it’s not impossible, and we are making small gains continuously.  (2) The other reason is that many of the intelligence and other officials seem to look at things in Pakistan and Bangladesh from the perspective of an old saying:  “The devil you know is better than the devil you don’t know.”  That is, they realize that there are problems in South Asia that could turn into dangers, however, believing that the alternatives are more dangerous, they’re content to deal with those that they face now.  I tend to have intense discussions with them about this and remind them that both, nonetheless, are the devil; and I get no opposition from them on that point.  That suggests to me that one day, the current cast of characters will become unbearable for them.

ATN- In last few years you have given several presentations and been deposed before various US Congressional committees to give testimony on the issue of human rights violations of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh.  How much progress have you achieved in pursuing your policy makers to look into this subject seriously?

RB-As you know, I tend to measure success in terms of concrete results.  Yes, we have made substantial gains in getting quite a few people in Washington to now be aware of the matter.  Some of that went into the formal Congressional record.  A few individual Members of Congress have addressed the issue specifically.  And I frequently refer to a speech by Congressman Bob Dold on 2 November 2011 that addressed the issue Bangladeshi Hindus on the floor of the US Congress.  Additionally, the matter is becoming better known among a larger portion of the general population.  We’ve also had some communication with some of America’s largest buyers of Bangladeshi goods.

The potentially greatest breakthrough came earlier this month and was mentioned above, when Congressman Dold and I met with the Bangladeshi ambassador, and he admitted to us both that there was a problem with the persecution of Hindus and Bangladesh’s failure to do anything about it.  The three of us have been communicating and pledge to work together to stop this persecution of the government’s failure to prosecute it.  I am hopeful that this government and ambassador will take action; but we still have to see.

ATN- US senator Mark Kirk and US Congressman Bob Dold have been very supportive of your cause, and they have been instrumental in bringing this issue to the forefront of public discussion.  What is the latest status of their support?

RB-I noted some of Congressman Dold’s recent actions; he also helps me make my case whenever he sees an opportunity.  I recently was in Senator Kirk’s office planning how to move forward on this.  Both men continue to be strong beacons for human rights and supporters of mine; and both have helped me get other people in Washington involved as well. 

ATN- The issue of Bangladesh’s Hindus is related to ideological radicalization, which ultimately ignites every form of terrorism.  In modern democracies, if any majority community aspires to replace the composite culture of nationality with a monolithic, theocratic nation; it distorts the balance of society.  It paves the way for strife and civil war and opens the floodgates for various militant and terrorist movements that cover themselves in the garb of ideological cover, validated by authorities who countersign their ideology with tolerance for their actions. In this volatile political and ideological churning, the US presidential race has become more than just interesting.  Its outcome is crucial for the future of international relations.  Where do you stand in this heated debate in US politics?

RB-I’ve made no secret over the years in both writings and speeches that I believe United States foreign policy needs to be more assertive and robust and less equivocal and passive than it has been; that we need to recognize the threats we face and act strategically to eradicate them.  This also involves our international allegiances, and I have called a US-Israel-India alliance humanity’s last great hope.  Secretary Clinton has been an architect of the policy I oppose and has stated her intention to keep moving along that path.  Mr. Trump, on the other hand, uses very strong language in how he talks about those international threats, but he is short on specifics, and even shorter on international expertise.  He has been inconstant in what he advocates—which in itself is problematic for strength of character and conviction in the international arena.  He often has found common cause with those that demonize and alienate large segments of the international population who are precisely those with whom we should ally.  He has threatened other countries and suggested he would leave some of our international alliances. 

Where do I stand?  I cannot bring myself to vote for either nominee. (I originally supported Florida Senator Marco Rubio, but he failed to get the Republican nomination.)  The way the presidential election system works, my living in the State of Illinois pretty much makes it a moot point anyway.  I am devoting my time and resources to helping the re-election of strong, principled individuals who can move our nation along the right path, regardless of who occupied the White House.

ATN- You have openly declared yourself as Republican without hesitation, but this election in US has put Republicans in a very difficult situation and much more divided, what is the latest mood in Republican camp particularly after the Republican convention?

RB-Still divided.  Our good friend and mentor, Dr. Daniel Pipes, wrote an article the other day in which he stated that after 44 years, he was leaving the Republican Party after Donald Trump’s nomination.  He believes that a Trump thrashing could be the rock on which Republicans re-build their party so it again resembles the Republican Party of Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan.  It was an excellent analysis that I would want all Republicans to read.

If anything can unite Republicans, however, it is the desire to stop Hillary Clinton from being elected president and bringing us another four to eight years of continued anti-business rule, government overreach, and a feckless foreign policy.  That desire might not be enough.  A large number of Republicans, principled conservatives, are deeply suspicious of Donald Trump’s commitment to the policies that have defined many of us, not to mention his volatility and tendency to make statements that fly in the face of our basic values.

If current polls are at all accurate, Trump will have a long climb back if he is to have any chance of winning in November.  Therefore, many Republicans are resigned to losing the presidency and are focused on holding control of the Senate and Congress.

ATN- Being a frequent visitor to India with deep knowledge and understanding of Indian politics and the nation’s overall situation, in your opinion which US president would be a boost for India in every sense?

RB-That’s hard to say, and I believe Indian officials and especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pursue the best policies that either nominee can be expected to follow.  Regardless, both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have a mixture of plusses and minuses for India.

Donald Trump:  Trump has made the battle against radical Islamism one of the signature elements of his campaign, promising a tough stance against terrorists and terror-supporting countries, which could include some of India’s neighbors.  Recently, he has made several statements indicating his belief that strong US-India relations are in the interests of both countries.  As a businessman, he recognizes the transformation that India is attempting with its economic policies, and he should work well with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard.  It should not go unmentioned that Trump’s largest donor is a Hindu-American with a strong track record of support for Narendra Modi since well before he became Prime Minister.  Shalli Kumar has a consistent history of promoting strong US-India relations as well.

That’s all on the plus side.  The downside is that the Republican nominee has a demonstrated history of putting any and all of that and other issues aside if he believes doing so is better for the issue at hand and as part of a negotiating stance.  So, all of those things could fly out the window if Trump found it in his interest to change course.  Additionally, while I do not agree with those who call Trump a bigot or believe he harbors strong prejudice; he has not hesitated to ignore the bigotry of others at times, nor has he recoiled from using bigoted references when he believes they suit his immediate needs.The future of US-India relations must be predicated on the knowledge that there is no differences between white and brown, and action based on that knowledge.

Hillary Clinton:  During Clinton’s failed 2008 run for the Democratic nomination, then candidate Barack Obama referred to her derisively as “the Senator from Punjab” because of the Clintons’ longstanding ties with India.  Clinton is more likely to be amenable to negotiating a South Asian trade deal than Trump, who has made dislike of such things another cornerstone of his campaign.  This year’s campaign also has set up a clear divide between the Democrat nominee and the Republican on the issue of immigration; and even if Trump’s anti-immigrant statements focus on illegal migrants, the policies that would likely follow from them will hamper the sort of legal immigration that has become so important for both of our countries.

Clinton has considerable downside, as well.  She was an integral part of the Obama foreign policy decisions that have compromised America’s role in the fight against terror.  Nor did she or the Obama Administration take any action over or even acknowledge Pakistan’s deep involvement with international terrorism, as revealed by—if nothing else—their harboring Osama bin Laden for so long.  To date, she has not distanced herself from them in a critical way and even promised that a Clinton administration would continue along the same course.  She also has said she favors the recent (and horrendous) deal with Iran.

Moreover, it is very likely she will be at the mercy of Democrats in Congress.  No doubt, Republicans will be allied against her actions, so her ability to govern will be dependent on Democrats on Capitol Hill holding solid for her.  That means her administration is likely to reflect the far left, ideological positions that are becoming more common to that party.

Those positions can be characterized as tolerant of Islamist radicalism—in fact, fearful of even naming it as such—and more like those of socialist Europe than capitalist United States.  For years, Muslims in South Asia have told me that they would like to be more outspoken about radicalization, however, since 2009, they have not seen the US as a constant ally and protector.  More than one of them referenced what happened when the US encouraged Iranian moderates only to abandon them and ultimately strike a deal with the mullahs in Tehran.  Will Hillary continue that trend and thereby undermine their efforts to unmask closet Islamists?  That is a very serious question.  Finally, as Secretary of State, Clinton refused to reverse the ban on a visa for then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, as was part of the crowd that continued to demonize your great Prime Minister.  It also means that she is more likely to support those in Congress and the Senate who continue to focus on alleged anti-minority abuses in India, to the exclusion of those in neighboring countries.

No doubt, both candidates (especially Clinton) have some core principles in which they believe, however, both also have shown that they are more enamored with realpolitik and being flexible on ideology when doing so means a better deal for them.  Less rigidity can be a good thing, however, at the same time, their tendencies make both questionable as constant allies in the US-India relationship.

Although the most reliable polls suggest that Clinton will emerge victorious, I would not recommend anyone writing off the possibility of a Trump presidency.  The landslide electoral advantage for Clinton in some states rests on only a few percentage points, and shifts there could change the outcome.  There is also the possibility that continued acts of terror will move support toward the candidate who promises an uncompromising attack vs. the one who was a major architect of the current “lead from behind strategy,” which tends to focus more on the behind part.  Indians would do best to prepare policies that get the most out of either administration; and I think Narendra Modi is the best person to lead that effort.

West Bengal ignoring rising ISIS activity

East Meets West in the Land of Ignorance

Originally published in The Pashtun Times, March 31st, 2016

Dr. Richard Benkin

Daniel Pipes, the great American scholar and expert on the Middle East, Islam, and more recently said in a Times of India interview that, “there’s a tendency in west Asia to blame western powers for whatever happens – be it as large as Islamic State or as small as a traffic jam.”  Having spent years in west Asia’s great cities and remote villages, I can confirm his observation.  Conspiracy theories abound.  They come from street vendors and auto drivers, educators and officials.  Take this exchange between an Urdu journalist (UJ) and me (RB) in Northern India:

          (UJ):  Every Muslim child knows that seven Jews control the entire world’s media.

          (RB):  Really?  I must have missed that meeting of the ‘world Jewish conspiracy.’  Who are they?

          (UJ):  Rupert Murdoch.

          (RB):  Not Jewish.  A good man; friend of Israel; but not Jewish.  [This is a well-established fact, challenged only by openly anti-Jewish sites like “Jewwatch.com.”  Murdoch attends church and holds an honor with the Catholic Church.]   Who else?

          (UJ):  Ted Turner.

          (RB):  Ted Turner?  I don’t think he even likes Jews!  [He is virulently and openly anti-Israel, has run afoul of the Jewish community many times, and in 1996 had to issue a public apology to the Jewish community for comparing Rupert Murdoch to Adolf Hitler, which is another fact making an alleged conspiracy involving the two of them nonsensical.]  It’s really shocking that you, a shaper of opinion and an educated person helps spread these blatant inaccuracies.  You’re supposed to inform your people, not feed them propaganda.

The level of ignorance about the United States especially, a nation that never colonized the region but has shed a lot of blood to save its people from terrorists, is astounding.  I once watched a rising star of India’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lecture a group of PhD students about how US policy was controlled by the Christian Church.  At a different university, I heard a renowned leftist professor suggest a US conspiracy against non-whites by saying that “ninety-percent” of African-Americans are in prison.  Neither even attempted to provide any objective evidence.

Our ignorance about you is equally shameful.  When I started working on human rights in Bangladesh, I was aghast at how few Americans knew where it was or even that it was a country.  At one point, many Americans at least associated it with former Beatle George Harrison; but even that has faded into history.  Then there was the college-educated American who heard I was working to save Hindus and who looked at me and very seriously asked:  “Hindus, aren’t they Muslim?”

Thus, the Pashtun who want Americans to understand their struggle so they can assess where their tax money goes, have to recognize this; the same goes for the Baloch and Sindhi.  For Americans, many of whom know little about Pakistan except the name, mere assertions of nationality are likely to fall on deaf ears.  If you want Americans to know your people and their dreams, you need to:

• Grab us on an emotional level, but not with rantings, wild accusations, and big theories. Let us see you, feel like we know you, so we can experience the same joys, sorrows, and aspirations as you.  This will take time and require a well thought out program of awareness.  As an American, I know what will do it and am anxious to help.  However, it must be done continuously, again and again without becoming boring or repetitious, and we must be proactive in addressing audiences.

• If you are going to allege any human rights abuses, incursions on your ancestral homeland, or other actions; you must make sure you have solid, objective evidence to support it. Through media and internet, we hear so many wild accusations and allegations of bad behavior that people are likely to dismiss them unless there is something else that resonates with them; and so often, the allegations turn out to be exaggerated or false.  More importantly, even if they are true, those who make them often fail to provide the convincing proof when they are inevitably challenged by those being accused.

If you do this, you will see as have so many other peoples, that Americans are the most generous people on the planet.  We have helped in disasters, used our geopolitical influence to stop human rights abuses, and even shed blood for good causes—whether it was stopping the atrocities against Muslims in Bosnia or funding the United Nations, even though it often takes positions against us and our allies.

It will not be easy or without its challenges.  However if it is done intelligently, in an organized fashion, and relentlessly, we will succeed.  You have a compelling story, and Americans are the right people to whom we should tell it.

Writer: Dr. Richard L. Benkin

The writer is an American human rights activist who has a history of success worldwide and has started taking action to tell others about the Pashtun, Baloch, and Sindhi.  He is the author of A Quiet Case of Ethnic Cleansing: the Murder of Bangladesh’s Hindus, available through this web site, http://www.interfaithstrength.com, and Amazon.

ISIS has set up shop in India

Originally published in The American Thinker, March 23, 2016

Dr. Richard Benkin

In November, I asked if ISIS was establishing itself in South Asia and suggested that we will face severe consequences if we ignore this “possibly game-changing threat.” Having just returned from almost a month in South Asia, I can say confidently that this is no longer a question:  ISIS is in South Asia, and it might already have set up shop in India.

My November piece focused on Bangladesh and a suspected ISIS headquarters in the capital of Dhaka.  In the short time since then, more evidence of an increasingly powerful ISIS there has emerged.  Its November claim taking credit for the murder of a Bangladeshi policeman is no longer in dispute.  More recently, ISIS has murdered a Hindu priest in Northern Bangladesh and takes credit for killing a Shiite in Southwestern Bangladesh.  Police dispute the claim, variously attributing the murder to “drug addicts” and “groups aligned with political parties that are in opposition to the current government.”  Statements by the Bangladeshi police should be suspect, however.  They are notoriously corrupt and openly beholden to political parties.  As the ruling Awami League and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed have a strong interest in maintaining the fiction that Bangladesh is a “moderate” country and that any threats to moderation come from their political rivals, the police denial is not unexpected.

On February 12, 2016, the US State Department issued a travel advisory, “alert[ing] U.S. citizens to the ongoing potential for extremist violence in Bangladesh…. Since September 2015, Bangladesh has experienced a series of increasingly sophisticated violent attacks. These include the murders of two foreign nationals, as well as bombs and other attacks against gatherings of religious groups and security forces. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) publicly claimed credit for many of these attacks.”  State never equivocated about ISIS/ISIL or doubted the ISIS presence, despite its penchant for mollifying local governments.

Pakistan is hardly worth a mention as the ISIS presence is so well-established that even the mainstream media acknowledged it over a year ago.

The most frightening development, however, is the opening of an ISIS center in Kolkata [formerly Calcutta], India.  During my time in that city, I was able to investigate the alleged center, map out entry points and security, and even snap some photos.  Moreover, I was able to walk from that office to the undisguised office the Islamist Jamaat e Islami in less than five minutes during a high traffic time of day.  While some questions remain, it is clear that we are seeing increased Islamist activity and cooperation in India.  The State of West Bengal (where Kolkata is located) has long been hospitable to radical Muslims; and whether under communist rule (1977-2011) or since, the state has refused to plug gaping holes in its border, allowed agents to smooth the illegals’ merger into West Bengal society, and has sat by idly while the process has led to marked demographic change in the state; as documented in my book, A Quiet Case of Ethnic Cleansing: the Murder of Bangladesh’s Hindus.

Officially, the region’s major intelligence agencies (India’s Research and Analysis Wing or RAW; Bangladesh’s Directorate General of Forces Intelligence or DGFI, and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence or ISI, which the US lists as a terrorist group) deny any ISIS presence; however, those public denials do not comport with their private statements.

The danger is serious and growing.  South Asia has more than 4.5 times as many Muslims than the Middle East, which means a greater pool for radicalization.  It is easier for South Asians to enter the US, and it is almost automatic for them to enter the EU, gain citizenship, and take a plane here.  We have opportunities to stop it, especially by supporting the one regional ally as opposed to radical Islam as we are:  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  He faces a host of domestic and regional challenges where we can help (job-creating joint ventures in the growing economy; backing for anti-terrorist actions in Kashmir; and more).  Unfortunately, Modi like Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, is not one of the Obama Administration’s favorites; and that window of opportunity is closing.

Hindu persecution in East and West Bengal: A Failure of Hindu Leadership

Originally published on NewsGram.com, March 14, 2016

Dr. Richard Benkin

There appears to be no better way to describe it:  a complete failure of leadership.  Having traveled to Bengali villages and major power centers for the past ten years, as well as advocating for their interests in Washington and elsewhere, it is clear that the institutions charged with protecting and providing for Bengal’s Hindus have failed them utterly.

To be sure, groups like Tapan Ghosh’s Hindu Samhati maintain a presence among the people and advocate tirelessly for them.  There are also courageous individuals—both Hindu and otherwise—who do not shrink from this crucial human rights battle.  In the decades I have spent all over Bengal’s villages and cities, I have never once seen a member of the recognized leadership anywhere near the people.  Nor have they taken any action or even expressed justified outrage when people (including but not only me) presented evidence of the people’s victimization.

I wondered if that perception was my own failure until late February.  In an out of the way restaurant in Kolkata, I sat with a man I am proud, calls me a brother:  Rabindra Ghosh, the advocate who puts his life on the line every day to document the persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh and to let the Bangladeshi government know that its complicity does not go unnoticed.  Both government and Islamists have attacked him; just as many of them have openly or cravenly tried to vilify me.  During our meeting, Advocate Ghosh mentioned that Hindu and Indian political leaders he addressed responded to his thick dossier of information with, ‘we will see what we can do,’ code words meaning that they will take no action.  He, too, noted that in his decades of on-site investigation of anti-Hindu atrocities and other actions, he has never seen a Hindu leader or heard from any of the people that those who claim to be leaders were there or provided any help whatsoever.

In February, I spent time in Bengali villages where Hindus were attacked, their homes destroyed, and Mandirs desecrated; while governments in East and West Bengal did nothing to stop or prosecute these crimes.  And not once did any of the victims tell me that help arrived from the government, their Hindu leadership, or those political parties that claim to be their protectors.

I am not a Hindu but love the Hindu community as much as anyone does.  My years-long commitment to stopping the ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh and elsewhere is testimony to it.  Good friends, however, are supposed to be able to speak frankly to one another; and it is my sad task to tell my Hindu brothers and sisters that your leadership has failed you—utterly and completely.  While a Jew is Public Enemy Number One for Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina and her advisors because of his struggle to save Hindus in Bangladesh and refusal to stop fighting; Hindu MPs sit mutely in parliament, caring more for their own creature comforts than for justice for their people.  Those of us who continue the struggle have come to recognize that sadly, we cannot count on this leadership and have determined new strategies in the face of it.

As a child, I learned about the Nazi Holocaust that sent a third of my people to horrible deaths.  The more I learned, however, the more I realized that the Nazis were not the real drivers of these atrocities; there were too few of them to do so much evil.  It was those “good people” who remained silent in the face of evil that enabled the holocaust to happen.

I challenge Hindu leaders and Indian political leaders to ask themselves—honestly and seriously—if they are repeating history while Hindus in East and West Bengal are persecuted with impunity and face possible obliteration in the land of their ancestors.  What excuses will they make if the worst happens?

Dr. Richard Benkin is an American Jewish human rights activist who is currently working on a mission to stop atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh. Twitter: @drrbenkin

Bangladesh Continues its War on Human Rights

Originally published on NewsGram.com, February 2, 2016

Dr. Richard Benkin

The government of Bangladesh-the Awami League even more so than the BNP-has a history of assaulting human rights workers who have done nothing other than investigate and report blatant human rights abuses and the brutalization of Bangladeshi citizens.  Advocate Rabindra Ghosh has shouldered a great deal of the government’s anti-human rights activity.  The most recent event took place on 29 January-only three days before the writing of this article.

Advocate Ghosh-who is a highly respected practicing attorney-notified Md. Moshiudowla Reza, Assistant Superintendent of Police (Hathazari Circle) in Chittagong, that he and his team would be visiting the area to investigate allegations that Hindu businessman and Managing Director of Super Stone Manufacturing, Sumon Kumar Dey, was the victim of torture and extortion.  Advocate Ghosh and his Bangladesh Minority Watch have extensive evidence that Hindus are fair game in Bangladesh with no protection by the legal authorities.

Thus, it was in keeping with Bangladesh’s refusal to aid its Hindu citizens when Reza warned Ghosh not to investigate the incident or face physical violence-a threat Reza carried out with the participation of several other police officers when Ghosh came to the area.

Bangladesh’s Awami League government would have you believe that it does not tolerate such actions and that the offending police officers were rogues acting on their own.  Yet, attacks on human rights activists have become common in Bangladesh, and the government has yet to prosecute the perpetrators.

According to Ghosh, “We immediately communicated with highest police officers S.P. DIG of Police, Deputy Commissioner of Chittagong Division, and Home Minister of Bangladesh over phone and kept them aware about the attack on human rights defenders by police officers and constables, but the administration took no action against perpetrators and bad police officers till writing of the report. This is the third alternate physical attack on Advocate Rabindra Ghosh and his team during his fact-finding within 15 days within Bangladesh.” Ghosh also noted that the video his team took of the attack was destroyed and the activist who took it, Titu Shil, was detained by police.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League government have made a very nice living convincing the West that they are the “good” party in Bangladesh; and I have had more than one Washington insider, operative, or NGO admit that the Awami League was terrible but “better than the alternative, by which they meant the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).  Perhaps they need to reassess that opinion and look at the facts.

Dr. Richard Benkin is an American Jewish human rights activist who is currently working on a mission to stop atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh.