COMMUNAL TRAUMA AND MONSTROSITY

(Originally published in The Daily Asian Age, April 22, 2018)

https://dailyasianage.com/news/118045/communal-trauma-and-monstrosity

A Review of A Quiet Case of Ethnic Cleansing

by Mahfuz Ul Hasib Chowdhury

Painfully true that even after the independence of Bangladesh from the repressive Pakistan regime in 1971, the grim nightmares of communal atrocities still hold the religious minorities across Bangladesh in tight grips and whenever political turmoil breaks out in this country, the Hindu people at most times come under the vicious clutches of communal outfits. 

Till today, even after so many years of liberation, the Hindus and other non-Muslim communities of Bangladesh have not been able to get themselves released from communal discrimination and vices. Allegations show that the culprits who carry out attacks on religious minorities often remain out of the reach of administration due to their strong alliance with political higher-ups. 

As a result harmony, political stability and safety are breached every now and then in Bangladesh through unleashing violent outrage on minorities. Bangladesh's fame on the global stage is often downgraded by such instances of communal turbulence. 

Dr. Richard L. Benkin's analytical and research-based book A Quiet Case of Ethnic Cleansing: The Murder of Bangladesh's Hindus is a comprehensive and evidential text portraying the injustice, torture and dispossession the Hindus in Bangladesh had to undergo during last several decades. 

The author has chosen the words "quiet case" because most of the occurrences of communal mayhem are not properly addressed by the authorities concerned. The inactivity of law and order forces to nab the masterminds of communal crimes has all along empowered the radical political fronts in Bangladesh who have a very antagonistic approach to minorities. 

Not just offenses like physical abuse, Hindus have been subjected to forced conversion, displacements from their ancestral households and other types of ignominy by politically bolstered musclemen who use theology as their instruments but silence from those who at present have and who earlier had the power to eliminate the communal gangs have all the while worsened the situation, according to the facts and figures illustrated by Dr. Richard L. Benkin in his book. Dr. Richard L. Benkin is an American author and a prominent human rights activist. He has written a number of articles on South Asian issues. 

For looking deeper into the ordeal of Hindus in Bangladesh, Dr. Richard L. Benkin has made analogical references to the German Holocaust of World War II in which millions of Jews were killed. It's known to all that lots of Hindus were tormented and murdered by the Pakistan army and their local collaborators during the Liberation War of 1971 but Dr. Richard L. Benkin has asserted that Hindus have been continuously oppressed by the influential people even after Bangladesh's independence as a result of which the percentage of Hindu population in Bangladesh has gone down drastically. Huge numbers of Hindus lost their lands and properties to powerful lynchpins in independent Bangladesh, Dr. Richard L. Benkin added. 

The unrestrained rise of communal groups has facilitated the expansion of militants and religious bigots across the country who are clear threats to domestic peace. Bangladesh has already suffered several attacks by fanatic terrorists who have killed ordinary, innocent people in some parts of Bangladesh including foreigners. So, if the government cannot resist the communal organizations, then the bid to terminate militancy may also hit hurdles. Those who kill common citizens in the name of religion are the most terrible enemies of human beings. 

To quote a few lines from Dr. Richard L. Benkin's book, "Finally, abduction, forced conversion and other acts of violence against religious minorities in general and against Hindus in particular remain common occurrences in Bangladesh….For instance, during January and February 2009 alone, there were anti-Hindu actions including murder, rape, abduction, land grabbing, forced conversion and religious desecration at the rate of one a half per week." These lines are sharp reflections of the intensity of the repeated attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh. 

Dr. Richard L. Benkin has supported his points with specific data and bibliographic citations. The author has added a remarkable list of textual sources wherefrom he gathered necessary information for writing this book. This book also contains some letters Dr. Richard L. Benkin sent to the higher officials of Bangladesh government stating allegations of communal crimes against Hindus which happened during 2012 and 2013. 

While speaking on ethnic cleansing, it takes us back to the horrendous carnages executed by the former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in Bosnia, to the massacres that took place in Rwanda, in Cambodia, in Congo and in some more parts of the world. The theme of ethnic cleansing also makes it important for the readers to glance once again over the genocides which have occurred in Myanmar's Rakhine province as a result of which over one million Rohingya refugees have moved into Bangladesh in recent times. 

These instances of mass murders have been able to draw attention from global stakeholders but the incursions on Hindus in Bangladesh have gone on and on in ominous ways which have remained unexposed for the most part under cover of political gambits-this message emanates lucidly from the pages of Dr. Richard L. Benkin's book A Quiet Case of Ethnic Cleansing. 

The reviewer is a literary analyst for The Asian Age

As We Say ‘Never Again,’ Bangladesh’s Hindus Are in Imminent Danger

(Originally published on APRIL 4, 2018, in the Algemeiner)

by Dr. Richard Benkin

A reported rape victim in Bangladesh. Photo: Richard L. Benkin.

A recent op-ed at The Algemeiner suggested that my recent article about Danish heroism during the Shoah was naïve, because no country accepted Jews fleeing the Nazis. However, there are no recorded incidents of Danes turning away Jewish refugees, and it is not equitable to fault a country a bit larger than Maryland for not being proactive in accepting Jewish refugees.

Still, the point is well-made: Jews were largely alone, so we swore “never again” would we allow something like the Holocaust to occur.

Never again also meant that no people should face atrocities while others allow it to happen. Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Biafra, and elsewhere testify to less success on that issue.

We can and must do better.

Today, Bangladeshi Hindus are alone as they face extinction. Pakistan’s 1951 census counted Hindus as almost a third of East Pakistan’s population. When East Pakistan became Bangladesh in 1971, they were under a fifth of the population. Thirty years later, they were less than a tenth. Today’s estimates are about one in 15.

A continuous flood of verified, targeted atrocities have driven that population decline. My book, A Quiet Case of Ethnic Cleansing: The Murder of Bangladesh’s Hindus, documents many of them. The Bangladeshi government is not carrying out these atrocities, but it lets them proceed with impunity. It lets the criminals escape prosecution and even profits from their crimes.

On a just-concluded trip to Bangladesh, I observed these conditions firsthand. Working with human rights attorney Rabindra Ghosh, I saw remnants of destroyed Hindu temples, Hindu properties occupied by Muslims, and heard testimony from witnesses testifying to assaults, gang rape, and murder.

In the capital of Dhaka we toured a Hindu home shortly after it was ransacked and looted. The attack lasted four and a half hours in broad daylight, with no police intervention. We confronted police and secured armed protection for the family, but the promised arrests nabbed only minor participants. The better-connected culprits got away without any sanction.

That same day, we received a call from a Hindu temple. It was under siege by angry Muslims, who claimed the land for themselves and threatened to seize it. Attempts by Hindu religious leaders to get police protection were in vain, and the police officer in charge was refusing to take their calls. We confronted him, got the armed guards, but wondered why it took our intervention.

In my fight against this oppression, I’ve interviewed hundreds of Hindu gang rape victims, families whose children were abducted and forced to convert to Islam, and survivors of attacks. I’ve seen charred remnants of homes, religious desecration, and an entire village attacked. My “baptism by fire” occurred in 2009, when I interviewed a 14-year-old girl who said that she was chased down and raped by Muslim neighbors who seized her family’s land.

With Bangladeshi elections scheduled for the end of 2018, things will get even worse for Hindus there. Targeted anti-Hindu violence always accompanies Bangladeshi elections. We know it will happen, and we have eight months to prepare — to let Bangladeshi Hindus know they are not alone.

While I believe that the Bangladeshi government and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina want all citizens to practice their faith in peace and security, the reality is otherwise. Even police officials are getting frustrated. One lamented that they are dealing with the same challenges that their predecessors faced; and they know that their successors will face them, too.

If we are not to be like those who sat idly by while their Jewish neighbors were dragged away in the night, we must act. We must tell our US senators and members of Congress that lives are hanging in the balance, and the victims are looking to the United States for help.

We have leverage. Bangladesh’s economy needs us to buy its garments and fund UN Peacekeeping missions. Or perhaps those peacekeepers should be returned to Bangladesh to prevent these atrocities if the government will not.

On March 25, Rabindra Ghosh, human rights giant and president of the Bangladesh Minority Watch, became the latest victim of anti-Hindu violence. His home was broken into and looted. Police action has been anemic at best, and Mr. Ghosh and others are fearful of more attacks. Even appeals to government ministers have failed to move them to action.

Ghosh said that the attackers wanted to intimidate him into abandoning his human rights work. It is not the first time that he and his family have been attacked, and he believes that it will not be the last. Still, he told me, it will not change what he does. With anti-Hindu atrocities on the uptick, he has been true to his word.

Richard Benkin is a human rights activist who currently advocates for Bangladeshi Hindus and nationalities fighting for freedom from Pakistan. He holds a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania and is on the board of StandWithUs in Chicago.

AS WE SAY ‘NEVER AGAIN,’ BANGLADESH’S HINDUS ARE IN IMMINENT DANGER

(Originally published in The Algemeiner, April 4, 2018)

https://www.algemeiner.com/2018/04/04/as-we-say-never-again-bangladeshs-hindus-are-in-imminent-danger/

By Dr. Richard L. Benkin

A recent op-ed at The Algemeiner suggested that my recent article about Danish heroism during the Shoah was naïve, because no country accepted Jews fleeing the Nazis. However, there are no recorded incidents of Danes turning away Jewish refugees, and it is not equitable to fault a country a bit larger than Maryland for not being proactive in accepting Jewish refugees.

Still, the point is well-made: Jews were largely alone, so we swore “never again” would we allow something like the Holocaust to occur.

Never again also meant that no people should face atrocities while others allow it to happen. Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Biafra, and elsewhere testify to less success on that issue.

We can and must do better.

 Today, Bangladeshi Hindus are alone as they face extinction. Pakistan’s 1951 census counted Hindus as almost a third of East Pakistan’s population. When East Pakistan became Bangladesh in 1971, they were under a fifth of the population. Thirty years later, they were less than a tenth. Today’s estimates are about one in 15.

A continuous flood of verified, targeted atrocities have driven that population decline. My book, A Quiet Case of Ethnic Cleansing: The Murder of Bangladesh’s Hindus, documents many of them. The Bangladeshi government is not carrying out these atrocities, but it lets them proceed with impunity. It lets the criminals escape prosecution and even profits from their crimes.

On a just-concluded trip to Bangladesh, I observed these conditions firsthand. Working with human rights attorney Rabindra Ghosh, I saw remnants of destroyed Hindu temples, Hindu properties occupied by Muslims, and heard testimony from witnesses testifying to assaults, gang rape, and murder.

In the capital of Dhaka we toured a Hindu home shortly after it was ransacked and looted. The attack lasted four and a half hours in broad daylight, with no police intervention. We confronted police and secured armed protection for the family, but the promised arrests nabbed only minor participants. The better-connected culprits got away without any sanction.

That same day, we received a call from a Hindu temple. It was under siege by angry Muslims, who claimed the land for themselves and threatened to seize it. Attempts by Hindu religious leaders to get police protection were in vain, and the police officer in charge was refusing to take their calls. We confronted him, got the armed guards, but wondered why it took our intervention.

In my fight against this oppression, I’ve interviewed hundreds of Hindu gang rape victims, families whose children were abducted and forced to convert to Islam, and survivors of attacks. I’ve seen charred remnants of homes, religious desecration, and an entire village attacked. My “baptism by fire” occurred in 2009, when I interviewed a 14-year-old girl who said that she was chased down and raped by Muslim neighbors who seized her family’s land.

With Bangladeshi elections scheduled for the end of 2018, things will get even worse for Hindus there. Targeted anti-Hindu violence always accompanies Bangladeshi elections. We know it will happen, and we have eight months to prepare — to let Bangladeshi Hindus know they are not alone.

While I believe that the Bangladeshi government and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina want all citizens to practice their faith in peace and security, the reality is otherwise. Even police officials are getting frustrated. One lamented that they are dealing with the same challenges that their predecessors faced; and they know that their successors will face them, too.

If we are not to be like those who sat idly by while their Jewish neighbors were dragged away in the night, we must act. We must tell our US senators and members of Congress that lives are hanging in the balance, and the victims are looking to the United States for help.

We have leverage. Bangladesh’s economy needs us to buy its garments and fund UN Peacekeeping missions. Or perhaps those peacekeepers should be returned to Bangladesh to prevent these atrocities if the government will not.

On March 25, Rabindra Ghosh, human rights giant and president of the Bangladesh Minority Watch, became the latest victim of anti-Hindu violence. His home was broken into and looted. Police action has been anemic at best, and Mr. Ghosh and others are fearful of more attacks. Even appeals to government ministers have failed to move them to action.

Ghosh said that the attackers wanted to intimidate him into abandoning his human rights work. It is not the first time that he and his family have been attacked, and he believes that it will not be the last. Still, he told me, it will not change what he does. With anti-Hindu atrocities on the uptick, he has been true to his word.

Richard Benkin is a human rights activist who currently advocates for Bangladeshi Hindus and nationalities fighting for freedom from Pakistan. He holds a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania and is on the board of StandWithUs in Chicago.

Pashtun Muslims battle Taliban

(Originally published on March 31, 2018 in American Thinker.)

by Dr. Richard Benkin and Roohul Amin

There is a popular uprising forming against the Taliban, and it is being carried out by Pashtun, a Muslim-majority group whose leaders tell us they share our values.

The Pashtun are a tribal people of about 40-50 million.  The majority live in Pakistan's North and West Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA); Pashtun also constitute Afghanistan's ethnic majority.  The two regions were united until 1896, when the British divided their homeland between Afghanistan and what was then-British India.  The "Durand Line," which was named after Sir Mortimer of the same name, forms the boundary between Afghanistan and Pakistan and has never been recognized by the Afghans as legitimate.

Despite the fact that there are more Pashtun than Poles, few people in the West are familiar with them.  Those who are aware of them tend to focus on their representation among the Taliban.  While it is true that many Taliban are Pashtun, the vast majority of Pashtun are virulently anti-Islamist.  In an exclusive interview in Frankfurt, Germany, Pir Riaz, chairman of the Pashtunistan Freedom Movement, told us, "Pashtuns as a nation is totally democratic and secular – no forced conversions ever in our entire history.  During India's partition [when one to two million people lost their lives in communal rioting], there were no riots in Pashtunistan.  Many people even fled to us for safety, and we still have Sikhs and Hindus living peacefully and safe.  The greatest number of our intellectuals are anti-Islamist, and they reflect the Pashtun people who are very democratic and freedom-loving.  Because Pashtun have always been among the ruling elite in the region, it is not surprising that some turned away from Pashtun values and supported the Taliban.  They and all of their supporters represent far less than one percent of our people."

Over the last few weeks, Pashtun have been battling the Taliban, fighting those radicals who are killing young Americans in Afghanistan.  Thus far, these incidents have resulted in property damage only due to Pakistani military presence.  In the videos linked below, you can see Pakistani military men in the crowd, protecting the Taliban and identifying the Pashtun rioters.

On February 6, in Dera Ismail Khan, hundreds of people attacked the Taliban office and took their weapons, promising more to come.  Ten days after the attack, the local Taliban leader told Pashtun elders: "We are not terrorists.  We are working for Pakistan's military intelligence and ISI.  The state is behind us."

Pashtun long have accused Pakistan of supporting the Taliban.  Now others including President Trump have come to the same conclusion.  On February 6, gleeful Pashtun tore down the Pakistani flag in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunwa.  They never have desecrated the American flag, according to Riaz.

Richard Benkin is an American human rights activist, and Roohul Amin is a former journalist and Pashtun rights activist.  Dr. Benkin's involvement has been partially funded by the Middle East Forum.

PASHTUN MUSLIMS BATTLE TALIBAN

(Originally published in AmericanThinker, March 31, 2018)

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2018/03/pashtun_muslims_battle_taliban.html

By Dr. Richard L. Benkin and Roohul Amin

There is a popular uprising forming against the Taliban, and it is being carried out by Pashtun, a Muslim-majority group whose leaders tell us they share our values.

The Pashtun are a tribal people of about 40-50 million.  The majority live in Pakistan's North and West Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA); Pashtun also constitute Afghanistan's ethnic majority.  The two regions were united until 1896, when the British divided their homeland between Afghanistan and what was then-British India.  The "Durand Line," which was named after Sir Mortimer of the same name, forms the boundary between Afghanistan and Pakistan and has never been recognized by the Afghans as legitimate.

Despite the fact that there are more Pashtun than Poles, few people in the West are familiar with them.  Those who are aware of them tend to focus on their representation among the Taliban.  While it is true that many Taliban are Pashtun, the vast majority of Pashtun are virulently anti-Islamist.  In an exclusive interview in Frankfurt, Germany, Pir Riaz, chairman of the Pashtunistan Freedom Movement, told us, "Pashtuns as a nation is totally democratic and secular – no forced conversions ever in our entire history.  During India's partition [when one to two million people lost their lives in communal rioting], there were no riots in Pashtunistan.  Many people even fled to us for safety, and we still have Sikhs and Hindus living peacefully and safe.  The greatest number of our intellectuals are anti-Islamist, and they reflect the Pashtun people who are very democratic and freedom-loving.  Because Pashtun have always been among the ruling elite in the region, it is not surprising that some turned away from Pashtun values and supported the Taliban.  They and all of their supporters represent far less than one percent of our people."

Over the last few weeks, Pashtun have been battling the Taliban, fighting those radicals who are killing young Americans in Afghanistan.  Thus far, these incidents have resulted in property damage only due to Pakistani military presence.  In the videos linked below, you can see Pakistani military men in the crowd, protecting the Taliban and identifying the Pashtun rioters.

On February 6, in Dera Ismail Khan, hundreds of people attacked the Taliban office and took their weapons, promising more to come.  Ten days after the attack, the local Taliban leader told Pashtun elders: "We are not terrorists.  We are working for Pakistan's military intelligence and ISI.  The state is behind us."

Pashtun long have accused Pakistan of supporting the Taliban.  Now others including President Trump have come to the same conclusion. On February 6, gleeful Pashtun tore down the Pakistani flag in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunwa.  They never have desecrated the American flag, according to Riaz.

Richard Benkin is an American human rights activist, and Roohul Amin is a former journalist and Pashtun rights activist.  Dr. Benkin's involvement has been partially funded by the Middle East Forum.

AT A MERE 7 PER CENT, BANGLADESH HINDUS UNDER THREAT, SAYS US RIGHTS ACTIVIST

(Originally published in The New Indian Express, March 25, 2018)

http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/thiruvananthapuram/2018/mar/25/at-a-mere-7-per-cent-bangladesh-hindus-under-threat-says-us-rights-activist-1792093.html

The minority Hindus in Bangladesh are facing the threat of ethnic cleansing, US rights activist Richard L Benkin has said.

By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The minority Hindus in Bangladesh are facing the threat of ethnic cleansing, US rights activist Richard L Benkin has said. Delivering a lecture organised by the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) here the other day, he said the Hindu population there had witnessed a major decline and it is even likely the entire community will be wiped out in the future if there is no effective intervention.

Benkin said he is carrying out an indepth research on the Hindu population’s dwindling numbers which now stand at a mere 7 per cent  as per the 2016 figures. Compared to this, the Hindus accounted for 35 per cent of the population in the then Eastern Pakistan in 1947 which slumped to 20 per cent following the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971.

“The Hindu population is suffering a major fall in the numbers. The ethnic cleansing of Hindus in that country should be opposed tooth and nail. The global community should put pressure on Dhaka on the issue,” he said while blaming this on the intolerance shown by the majority Muslim population.

According to Benkin, rights activists world over, who highlight the abuses in Syria ,Yemen, and Afghanistan as well as other parts of the globe, remain tight-lipped on the  plight of Hindus in Bangladesh.
“Bangladesh’s Hindus face a constant onslaught of government tolerated  murder, rape, abduction, forced conversion, land grab and more, including a 2009 pogrom, which took place right behind a Dhaka police station. Yet, the world has remained silent until now,” he said.

Benkin’s tome ‘A Quiet Case of Ethnic Cleansing: The Murder of Bangladesh’s Hindus’ which has accounts of the horror by Hindus in Bangladesh may well bring the issue into public focus and trigger meaningful intervention. SJM state convener  Ranjith Karthikeyan  presided over the meeting.

Indian Politics and Polity shift to the Right and Away from Europe

(Originally published on March 22, 2018 on NewsGram)

by Dr. Richard Benkin

• India is world’s largest democracy

• Indian politics is always under international coverage

• India is witnessing political shift due to its leaders and their transformation

The great democracy was electing its national leader.  It was a fight between the party in power with a leftist tinge; and the more conservative opposition with its upstart candidate. The media was rooting openly for the leftist candidate and would stop at almost nothing, even vilifying the conservative upstart as evil, not just wrong.  The candidate on the left seemed to feel entitled, that being head of state was all in the family.  And, as you probably have guessed, that candidate lost.  You might or might not have guessed that, despite the familiarity to American voters, this was not the United States.  It was India.

India’s 2014 election was a clear rejection of the long serving Indian Congress Party and its soft socialism.  Its candidate, then 43 year old, Rahul Gandhi, was the son, grandson, and great-grandson of Prime Ministers; and though India is the world’s largest democracy, not the world’s largest monarchy, it was “his turn” to take the nation’s top spot.

Narendra Modi’s win in 2014 elections stunned the whole nation. Wikimedia Commons

The similarities between the Indian Congress Party and the US Democrat Party stop, however, with how the two parties and their dynastic candidates reacted to their defeats.  While there is ample evidence that the Democrats are moving further to the left, India’s Congress, and especially its former candidate, seem to have taken the lessons of their defeat to heart.  Moreover, we too often gauge a polity’s position on the left-right spectrum by which major party dominates.  In the Indian case, however, we get a deeper understanding by examining changes in the out of power party.

The Indian National Congress Party was founded in 1885 and, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, was the principal leader of the movement that led to India’s independence from Great Britain in 1947.  It has ruled India for roughly 57.5 of its 70.5 years as a modern nation (81.6 percent of its entire existence).  Congress fashions itself left-center party with “democratic socialism” as one of the party’s guiding principles; and over the years, I have written a number of articles, criticizing what I believe to be weak Congress policies.  It has followed the lead of soft left European parties, in contrast with the Indian nationalism of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  Amitabh Tripathi is a well-known Indian political commentator.  I caught up with him in New Delhi in February and asked him about how the Congress Party was reacting to its crushing 2014 defeat.

RB:  So, was the 2014 election a strong statement about traditional Indian politics?

AT:  Definitely.  Till 1991, Indian politics was at a status quo with socialist, leftist, and communist stances prevalent.  After 1991, right wing politics emerged as a political force.  Since then, Indian politics has shifted to the right; and from time to time for more than two decades, left and right engaged in direct political confrontations.  Congress led the coalition of leftists; and the BJP emerged as the leader of the right.  The BJP ruled the country for six years (1998-2004) and its policies swung to the right, including a vocal and unapologetic relationship with Israel, moving forward strategically with the United States, and exploring India’s role in the Indian Ocean to contain China and its imperialistic ambitions. When the BJP lost power to a Congress led coalition in 2004, the Indian polity again shifted left; and Congress became a complete replica of its 1960s self—a totally leftist party.

Rahul Gandhi traveled to many Hindu temples during the campaign (something he avoided in his unsuccessful 2014 run). It is believed he also did not go to any Muslim places of worship, which was unusual for any top leader from the Congress Party.

in 2014, when elections occurred, the Indian polity moved on to the right on issues from economics to culture.  Before the election, Congress did not read the undercurrent of the people and moved even further left on those issues.  This has been widely acknowledged as the reason for its crushing defeat.

RB:  So it was a real shift to the right among Indians, which sounds a lot like our own experience in 2016.  In the US, the losing Democrat party has reacted by moving further left.  Has India’s Congress tried to understand the reasons behind its defeat?

AT:  The latter statement is correct.  Immediately after losing the elections, Congress realized it was not simply an electoral defeat.  Its ideological stagnation led to the historical loss.  And it tried to rectify that and re-invent itself.

RB:  How have they done that?

AT:  I observed it on three fronts, three major decisions.  First, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, the former party President and current head of the dynastic family, took an almost “voluntary” retirement.  She had become the face of hard left and anti-Hindu policies.

RB:  Sounds familiar.  Democrat leader Nancy Pelosi has become the same here, but she does not seem to be going anywhere.

AT:  Second, in ten years of Congress rule, they openly flaunted themselves as very pro-Muslim, which irritated the majority Hindus in India.  But last year, in prestigious elections in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Gujarat), Sonia Gandhi did not address a single rally.  Plus, Congress Party Vice-President (now President) Rahul Gandhi traveled to many Hindu temples during the campaign (something he avoided in his unsuccessful 2014 run).  We believe he also did not go to any Muslim places of worship, which was unusual for any top leader from the Congress Party.  Some people might say it was an opportunistic political move, but I would say it was a well-calculated shift in the party to shed the tags of pro-Muslim and anti-Hindu.

Third, since the days of the freedom movement before independence, and during the rule of Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi (almost the entire period from independence to 1984); Congress followed the policy of demonizing the wealthy and glorifying the poor.  It seems, however, that Rahul Gandhi wants the population to know that he strongly favors the wealth generating middle class and capitalism; he opposes only crony capitalism.  He says the poor should aspire to become wealthy through greater opportunities and employment.

RB:  What about Rahul Gandhi himself?  Does he have a future in Indian politics?

AT:  Since 2014, we have watched his evolution from entitled politician to serious politician who understands the people’s aspirations and country’s need.  Perhaps most importantly has been his understanding of foreign policy and India’s role and responsibilities at a global level.  He has said that he’s ready to take the responsibility of the office of Prime Minister if elected, and he could make a formidable candidate. 

RB:  I’ve heard a lot of people talking positively about him and his growth in my time here.  I believe you also told me he has spent a lot of this time really listening to people from all classes and communities.  Thank you, Amitabh ji, it’s always a pleasure to hear your thoughts, and always a pleasure to be in India.

In a larger context, we have seen a reaction against decades of leftist overreach worldwide:  Donald Trump’s election; Brexit; and a number of elections in Europe rejecting the European Union and loss of national identity (most recently in Italy).  There has been little focus on Asia perhaps because it has not been in the orbit of traditional left-right equations in the West.  India, however, has become a major player on the world stage under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  It has historical conflicts with both Pakistan and China, and can be a major bulwark against Chinese expansion westward.  India also has strengthened its alliances with both the United States and Israel while maintaining relations with Iran.  The rightward movement there is highly significant in plotting future Indian geopolitical moves.

[Richard Benkin is a human rights activist and author with a strong concentration in South Asia.  Amitabh Tripathi appears often on Indian television and in other media.  He is also a contributor to What is Moderate Islam, edited by Richard Benkin.  This interview was conducted in New Delhi on February 27, 2018, while Benkin was there as part of a recently-concluded human rights mission.]

INDIAN POLITICS AND POLITY SHIFT TO THE RIGHT AND AWAY FROM EUROPE

(Originally published in NewsGram, March 22, 2018)

https://www.newsgram.com/indian-politics-and-polity-shift-right-and-away-from-europe

India’s 2014 election was a clear rejection of the long serving Indian Congress Party and its soft socialism. Read more at:

By Dr. Richard L. Benkin

The great democracy was electing its national leader.  It was a fight between the party in power with a leftist tinge; and the more conservative opposition with its upstart candidate. The media was rooting openly for the leftist candidate and would stop at almost nothing, even vilifying the conservative upstart as evil, not just wrong.  The candidate on the left seemed to feel entitled, that being head of state was all in the family.  And, as you probably have guessed, that candidate lost.  You might or might not have guessed that, despite the familiarity to American voters, this was not the United States.  It was India. Narendra Modi’s win in 2014 elections stunned the whole nation. Wikimedia Commons India’s 2014 election was a clear rejection of the long serving Indian Congress Party and its soft socialism.  Its candidate, then 43 year old, Rahul Gandhi, was the son, grandson, and great-grandson of Prime Ministers; and though India is the world’s largest democracy, not the world’s largest monarchy, it was “his turn” to take the nation’s top spot. The similarities between the Indian Congress Party and the US Democrat Party stop, however, with how the two parties and their dynastic candidates reacted to their defeats.  While there is ample evidence that the Democrats are moving further to the left, India’s Congress, and especially its former candidate, seem to have taken the lessons of their defeat to heart.  Moreover, we too often gauge a polity’s position on the left-right spectrum by which major party dominates.  In the Indian case, however, we get a deeper understanding by examining changes in the out of power party.

The Indian National Congress Party was founded in 1885 and, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, was the principal leader of the movement that led to India’s independence from Great Britain in 1947.  It has ruled India for roughly 57.5 of its 70.5 years as a modern nation (81.6 percent of its entire existence).  Congress fashions itself left-center party with “democratic socialism” as one of the party’s guiding principles; and over the years, I have written a number of articles, criticizing what I believe to be weak Congress policies.  It has followed the lead of soft left European parties, in contrast with the Indian nationalism of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  Amitabh Tripathi is a well-known Indian political commentator.  I caught up with him in New Delhi in February and asked him about how the Congress Party was reacting to its crushing 2014 defeat.

RB:  So, was the 2014 election a strong statement about traditional Indian politics?

AT:  Definitely.  Till 1991, Indian politics was at a status quo with socialist, leftist, and communist stances prevalent.  After 1991, right wing politics emerged as a political force.  Since then, Indian politics has shifted to the right; and from time to time for more than two decades, left and right engaged in direct political confrontations.  Congress led the coalition of leftists; and the BJP emerged as the leader of the right.  The BJP ruled the country for six years (1998-2004) and its policies swung to the right, including a vocal and unapologetic relationship with Israel, moving forward strategically with the United States, and exploring India’s role in the Indian Ocean to contain China and its imperialistic ambitions. When the BJP lost power to a Congress led coalition in 2004, the Indian polity again shifted left; and Congress became a complete replica of its 1960s self—a totally leftist party. Rahul Gandhi traveled to many Hindu temples during the campaign (something he avoided in his unsuccessful 2014 run). It is believed he also did not go to any Muslim places of worship, which was unusual for any top leader from the Congress Party. In 2014, when elections occurred, the Indian polity moved on to the right on issues from economics to culture.  Before the election, Congress did not read the undercurrent of the people and moved even further left on those issues.  This has been widely acknowledged as the reason for its crushing defeat.

RB:  So it was a real shift to the right among Indians, which sounds a lot like our own experience in 2016.  In the US, the losing Democrat party has reacted by moving further left.  Has India’s Congress tried to understand the reasons behind its defeat?

AT:  The latter statement is correct.  Immediately after losing the elections, Congress realized it was not simply an electoral defeat.  Its ideological stagnation led to the historical loss.  And it tried to rectify that and re-invent itself.

RB:  How have they done that?

AT:  I observed it on three fronts, three major decisions.  First, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, the former party President and current head of the dynastic family, took an almost “voluntary” retirement.  She had become the face of hard left and anti-Hindu policies.

RB:  Sounds familiar.  Democrat leader Nancy Pelosi has become the same here, but she does not seem to be going anywhere.

AT:  Second, in ten years of Congress rule, they openly flaunted themselves as very pro-Muslim, which irritated the majority Hindus in India.  But last year, in prestigious elections in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Gujarat), Sonia Gandhi did not address a single rally.  Plus, Congress Party Vice-President (now President) Rahul Gandhi traveled to many Hindu temples during the campaign (something he avoided in his unsuccessful 2014 run).  We believe he also did not go to any Muslim places of worship, which was unusual for any top leader from the Congress Party.  Some people might say it was an opportunistic political move, but I would say it was a well-calculated shift in the party to shed the tags of pro-Muslim and anti-Hindu. Third, since the days of the freedom movement before independence, and during the rule of Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi (almost the entire period from independence to 1984); Congress followed the policy of demonizing the wealthy and glorifying the poor.  It seems, however, that Rahul Gandhi wants the population to know that he strongly favors the wealth generating middle class and capitalism; he opposes only crony capitalism.  He says the poor should aspire to become wealthy through greater opportunities and employment.

RB:  What about Rahul Gandhi himself?  Does he have a future in Indian politics?

AT:  Since 2014, we have watched his evolution from entitled politician to serious politician who understands the people’s aspirations and country’s need.  Perhaps most importantly has been his understanding of foreign policy and India’s role and responsibilities at a global level.  He has said that he’s ready to take the responsibility of the office of Prime Minister if elected, and he could make a formidable candidate. Rahul Gandhi can potentially cause a shift in Indian politics due to his transformation. Twitter

RB:  I’ve heard a lot of people talking positively about him and his growth in my time here.  I believe you also told me he has spent a lot of this time really listening to people from all classes and communities.  Thank you, Amitabh ji, it’s always a pleasure to hear your thoughts, and always a pleasure to be in India. In a larger context, we have seen a reaction against decades of leftist overreach worldwide:  Donald Trump’s election; Brexit; and a number of elections in Europe rejecting the European Union and loss of national identity (most recently in Italy).  There has been little focus on Asia perhaps because it has not been in the orbit of traditional left-right equations in the West.  India, however, has become a major player on the world stage under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  It has historical conflicts with both Pakistan and China, and can be a major bulwark against Chinese expansion westward.  India also has strengthened its alliances with both the United States and Israel while maintaining relations with Iran. The rightward movement there is highly significant in plotting future Indian geopolitical moves.

[Richard Benkin is a human rights activist and author with a strong concentration in South Asia.  Amitabh Tripathi appears often on Indian television and in other media.  He is also a contributor to What is Moderate Islam, edited by Richard Benkin.  This interview was conducted in New Delhi on February 27, 2018, while Benkin was there as part of a recently-concluded human rights mission.]

INTERVIEW/DR RICHARD BENKIN : HINDU POPULATION DWINDLING IN BANGLADESH

(Originally published in Organiser [Kerala], March 19, 2018)

http://www.organiser.org//Encyc/2018/3/19/Interview-Dr-Richard-Benkin-Hindu-population-dwindling-in-Bangladesh.html

by Arun Lakshma

World renowned Human rights activist, professor and academic Dr Richard L Benkin, while on a visit to Kerala spoke to Organiser Correspondent Arun Lakshman on a variety of issues relating to the Ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh. Excerpts from the interview

Hindu population of Bangladesh is diminishing fast. What is the real cause in your opinion?
Hindus in Bangladesh are of course dwindling in size and if protective measures are not taken with an immediate nature, there are possibilities of the Hindus being totally cleansed in that country. I am doing studies at a miniscule level on this issue wherein the population of Hindus is reducing at an alarming rate from 35 per cent in 1947, to 20 per cent during 1971 and to 7 per cent  in 2016. The Hindu population is on a great fall. This is leading to the total cleansing of the Hindus in this country which has to be opposed tooth and nail and there has to be international pressure on this matter. The intolerance of the Muslims is the major reason for the dwindling Hindu population of Bangladesh.

Hindus should form a self defense force in Bangladesh : Dr Richard Benkin

Dr Richard Benkin, noted academic and human rights activist from the USA has said that the Hindus of Bangladesh should form a self defense force among themselves under the law of that land to save themselves from being extinct. Dr Benkin was speaking at a function organised by the Fraternity of Trivandrum professionals and Swadeshi Jagaran Manch here at Thiruvananthapuram
Dr Benkin further said that the Hindu population is fast dwindling in Bangladesh. The learned scholar attributed this dwindling of size to the atrocities it faced from the radical Islamic elements of that country. He said that the Hindus will soon be ethnically cleansed in Bangladesh if the international community including India does not act with immediate effect. He said that he would be reporting to the US state department on the ethnic violence faced by the Hindus of Bangladesh and said that he has already sounded the Indian Prime Minister on the same.
He also said that Bangladesh is turning into a haven of Islamic radicals and the action taken by Sheikh Hasina against the Jamat Leaders has not much effect as all those who are given capital punishment are old while the young generation is equally or more dangerous in radicalising the country and attacking the minority Hindus. Swadeshi Jagaran  Manch state convenor Ranjith Karthikeyan  welcomed the gathering and H Ramakrishnan of Fraternity of Trivandrum professionals  proposed a vote of thanks .
Another programme was held at Kozhikode under the auspicious of the Bhratheeya Vichara Kendram on March 10, 2018. Dr Benkin spoke at length in the programme on the above mentioned subject. Prof KP Somarajan, President of Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram, Kozhikode unit, presided over the function  in which Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram Kozhikode unit  secretary VG Mohankumar and treasurer MN Sudenraj spoke.    n

Bangladesh is a democracy with Awami League and Bangladesh National Party ruling the country regularly. Even during this democratic rule, how can you feel that Hindus are being victimised?
It can be said to be a democracy but not in the term attributed to democracy. People may think that Begum Khalida Zia of the Bangladesh National Party is more dangerous to Hindus but in reality Sheikh Hasina is also a trouble maker to Hindus as both these leaders look the other way when Hindus are systematically attacked and raped and killed. 

Can you attribute some of the incidents of attack against Hindus in Bangladesh?
The Hindus of Bangladesh are living in constant fear of being attacked any time by the majority Muslims of the neighborhood and this is exactly what is happening there for the past several years. The Hindu temples are being regularly desecrated and under aged Hindu girls are being raped and killed and Hindu children are also being attacked and killed. The Hindus’ business establishments are forced to pay money to these people and there are several instances of Hindu families being forcefully made to vacate the land. Their properties are being grabbed by powerful Muslims with the law enforcement agencies turning a blind eye towards these atrocities. This has created a fear psychosis among the minority Hindu community and they are coming in large numbers to India but sadly this is not news for International media as those who are subjected to these atrocities and crimes are poor Hindus.

Please give us some incidents which have taken place against the Hindus in Bangladesh.
A 14-year-old Hindu girl Subarna Karmarkar was abducted by a group of Muslim youths while she was returning home from her school in Kalapara in the state of Barisal. The leader of this gang of Muslims who abducted her was Jewel, a 22-year-old Islamist.They kidnapped her and fled on their bikes and when she cried for help, no one came to her rescue. Her father went to the police station but was said that no kidnapping had occurred and that there was no evidence. Subarna is missing to this day. Another 14-year-old girl named Tanasree Roy was kidnapped from her home in Mohadipur in Barisal by two Muslims, Zikrul Islam (24) and Mohd Razzak Ali (22). Her father Rajendra Nath Roy said that the girl was kidnapped from their house at around 10 am and filed a complaint at Kotwali police station. Even though witnesses identified the perpetuars of the violence police did not take any action. Her father said that they were constatnly under threat from the abductors. She is still missing. There are several thousands of such cases coming out from Bangladesh.

What do you feel is the role of the civic society to stop this violence?
The Civic society of the European and American and Indian governments has to intervene in this. I have already sounded to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on this and the US State Department is properly aware of what is happening there. This will lead to putting pressure on the government of Bangladesh to enforce stricter laws on the atrocities against Hindus. More than that I feel that the Hindus of Bangladesh should resort to self defence under the purview of the law of that country which would give lot of self confidence to the Hindu community of Bangladesh.

 Are there any Hindu organisations in Bangladesh that  look after  the Hindus who are suffering from these atrocities?
Of course there are several organisations in Bangladesh who are working for the welfare of Hindus and supporting them in times of crisis. However, I must say that the Bangladesh Minority Watch led by the mercurial Rabindra Ghosh is the one Hindu organisation which has stood up against the atrocities meted out to the Hindus in a big way and my coming into contact with him has led to the exposure of this issue internationally. He can be called as a saint  devoted to the cause of the suffering Hindus of Bangladesh with the whole life dedicated to this matter and solving most of the issues which are coming before him.

Can you site some examples wherein you have seen or interfered?
Myself and Rabindra Ghosh had been to the police station to aid and support a Hindu family whose land was forciblily grabbed by the Muslims. The policemen looked the otherway round and was clearly hand in glove with the land grabbers and when we forced them that we would complain to the courts and the international community will come to know, they had to relent and action was taken. Tragically, indeed when the Hindu girls are abducted and raped, most of them are not welcomed back in the traditional village Hindu families that leads to a double edged support to the Muslims as these girls totally ostracised even from family end up as the second or third wife of the abductor. The children born to these hapless girls are striclty grown under Islamic beliefs thus leading to a state of horror for them. Of course now things are changing and Hindu families are more poised and accepting the realities.

Were there desecrection of temples in Bangladesh?
Yes, the descrection of temples is a major issue in Bangladesh and for that matter all Muslim dominated places wherein they never allow other faiths to coexist. For example, near Sudrapur a Shiva Mandir was attacked and its idols were broken by a mass of Muslim fanatics supported by the then ruling Awami League cadres. It  may be noted that the Police station was only 18 metres away from the temple and still the police looked the other way. When contacted the local police station in charge Tafazal Hussain, he declared “The temple is intact, only a few idols are destroyed!” This  is the attitude of Bangladeshi police to an attack on Hindu temple. This is only an example and I can point out hundreds of thousands of such incidents of desecreation of temples by the Islamists of Bangladesh to frighten and malign the minority Hindu community.

Bangaldesh is going for elections in around seven to eight months time. What do you feel will be the situation around that time vis a vis Hindus ?
Elections are historically the period in Bangladesh when the Hindus are systemetically targetted and attacked. The world community should arise and information on these attacks should be splashed across the globe so that the perpetuators of violence does not have the will and guts to attack the Hindus during election time as historically happening. More than that the Indian government can also put some pressure on the Bangladeshi administration on the possibilities of violence and bloodshed against the Hindus during election time. According to me, prevention is better than cure and the world Hindu community should act now so that there is no killing and maiming of innocent Hindus in Bangladesh by organised gangs aided and abetted by the Islamist groups of that country. There has to be a wake up call to prevent such attacks and there is no point in lamenting on the plight of the Hindus once such a murderous attack takes place.

We have travelled from Thiruvananthapuram to Kozhikode by road in Kerala, whats your feel on the state?
Kerala is lush green and beautiful and can indeed be considered as a beautiful place with natural beauty. However while driving across the state, I found that the Keralites are unnecessarily  worshipping leaders like Stalin, Lenin and Cheguvera  and they are all over the state in bill boards. They don’t get such reverence anywhere across the globe and theirs is a failed ideology. This I found a bit embrassing for a society  to adore people who have no forebearing on this country. You should adore and worship your own hearoes and heroines which are aplenty in this great country. This, I found, is  one reason that the communists of Kerala could not connect with other groups and people. Here people are in their imaginary world without seeing the real world and the developments which are taking place outside.  

Chinese patronage could be very costly

(Originally published on 11, March 2018 in The Asian Age)

by Dr. Richard L. Benkin

It's a good thing that I'm a naturally curious person. The other day, I was on the road from Dhaka to Tungipara to visit the mausoleum of the Father of the Nation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman; and to pay due respect to the Bangabandhu. While on the road, I saw a huge infrastructure project that was digging an entirely new road and building a new bridge. It was extensive and would make for a much improved experience moving between the two places.

As we were riding, I saw a tin barrier with a logo on them that said "China Power." Then, a little while later, I saw another, then several more. I turned to my traveling companion, the great Bangladeshi human rights attorney Rabindra Ghosh, and asked if this was a Chinese project. He told me it was, and I remarked that there seemed to be an increased Chinese presence here since my last trip to Bangladesh five years ago.

Anyone who has sat in Dhaka traffic knows that this country would benefit from infrastructure modernization. I also know that such projects are expensive. If China offers to help with financing such things, I can understand why a country would agree to one. In light of others' experience, however, we might ask if Bangladesh is mortgaging its children's futures for some immediate relief.

I work with Pashtun, Sindhi, and Baloch who are seeing the impact of the massive infrastructure project, CPEC, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Long term, it ignores the interest of the various peoples who comprise Pakistan and is being done so for Chinese interests not theirs. I also work with a number of Macedonians who tell me that Chinese projects in their country have been at the expense of their own interests. 

Moreover, a report out this month by the Center for Global Development concludes that loans from China's Belt and Road Initiative (CBI) "will significantly add to the risk of debt distress" for borrower countries. The report identifies eight countries at immediate risk. While Bangladesh is not one of them, I suspect that Bangladeshis do not want to be singled out on future reports.

John Hurley, one of the study's co-authors, noted that CBI provides something that smaller countries need terribly, infrastructure financing, but that this can become "too much of a good thing."China's selects projects that favor its own strategic geopolitical interests, and part of that intention seems to be making a string of nations dependent on them and thereby more compliant to their demands.  The report identifies Pakistan as the country most at risk, and my own sources inside that country said that they see Pakistan becoming little more than a Chinese colony once CPEC is completed.

The report also notes that in exchange for the money, China has been charging extremely high interest rates, promising to throw smaller nations further into debt and dependence.It is not coincidental that China is targeting nations that surround India. With the debt piling up (because these infrastructure do not generate income to offset the expenditure), China will be in a position to dictate their strategic decisions and seize the infrastructure-and they'll do that. 

Not only will China build a "Great Wall" surrounding the land mass around India and even some strategic maritime lanes; it also would cut India off as a competitor for the mineral wealth being auctioned off in Afghanistan.  Bangladesh could be especially vulnerable because of the impact of these interest rates (has anyone asked to see what China is charging?), and because it is in Bangladesh's interest to be a prominent ally of India's, not small piece of a federation threatening it. 

Whether it is water rights, trade, succor for the many Bangladesh fleeing land erosion, or cooperation in anti-terrorism; Bangladesh benefits from a good relationship with its neighbor.

Most importantly, Bangladesh's interests lay in maintaining its democracy and independence.
There are better ways to proceed: Demand that debt relief be written into the contracts with Bangladesh making no concessions in return (this would be a great way for China to provide Bangladesh with foreign aid); use the relationship as leverage to gain similar relationships with other wealthy nations like the United States to maintain and even strengthen Bangladesh independence.Today is an auspicious day, the anniversary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's declaration of Bangladeshi independence (this article was written on March 7). 

The writer is an American human rights activist who was recently in Bangladesh

Hindus in Bangladesh fast dwindling: Human rights activist

(Originally published on March 11, 2018, in Business Standard.)

The Hindus of Bangladesh were dwindling with their strength decreasing from one-third in 1947 to one-fteenth in 2016, said a human rights activist and professor.

Richard Benkin, the US-based activist who is also a frequent traveller to Bangladesh, told IANS during a visit here that he was working against the ethnic cleansing of Hindus in the South Asian nation.

"There has been a concerted attempt in that country to see that the Hindu's there are eradicated. The successive Bangladeshi governments under Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia have been unable to take actions against those who are out to eliminate the Hindus," said Benkin.

Of the present 150 million Bangladeshi population, 90 per cent are Muslims with the Hindu population down at around 9.5 per cent, he said.

Benkin was here to deliver a lecture organised by the Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram.

He also pointed out that in Bangladesh, there were missing cases of Hindu women and children.

The whole idea was to destroy women so that they do not give birth to Hindus and the children were being targeted to finish off the next generation of Hindus, he said.

Benkin opined that the Hindus of Bangladesh should think of forming their own sledge defence forces under the legal methods of that country to ght against this persecution.

He also pointed out that even though there are several Hindu organisations, except for Bangladesh Minority Watch, the other organisations were not active on the ground.

Benkin said he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and apprised him of the atrocities faced by the Hindus there.

--IANS

Interview/Dr Richard Benkin : Hindu population dwindling in Bangladesh

World renowned Human rights activist, professor and academic Dr Richard L Benkin, while on a visit to Kerala spoke to Organiser Correspondent Arun Lakshman on a variety of issues relating to the Ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh. Excerpts from the interview

Hindu population of Bangladesh is diminishing fast. What is the real cause in your opinion?
Hindus in Bangladesh are of course dwindling in size and if protective measures are not taken with an immediate nature, there are possibilities of the Hindus being totally cleansed in that country. I am doing studies at a miniscule level on this issue wherein the population of Hindus is reducing at an alarming rate from 35 per cent in 1947, to 20 per cent during 1971 and to 7 per cent  in 2016. The Hindu population is on a great fall. This is leading to the total cleansing of the Hindus in this country which has to be opposed tooth and nail and there has to be international pressure on this matter. The intolerance of the Muslims is the major reason for the dwindling Hindu population of Bangladesh.

Dr Richard Benkin, noted academic and human rights activist from the USA has said that the Hindus of Bangladesh should form a self defense force among themselves under the law of that land to save themselves from being extinct. Dr Benkin was speaking at a function organised by the Fraternity of Trivandrum professionals and Swadeshi Jagaran Manch here at Thiruvananthapuram

Dr Benkin further said that the Hindu population is fast dwindling in Bangladesh. The learned scholar attributed this dwindling of size to the atrocities it faced from the radical Islamic elements of that country. He said that the Hindus will soon be ethnically cleansed in Bangladesh if the international community including India does not act with immediate effect. He said that he would be reporting to the US state department on the ethnic violence faced by the Hindus of Bangladesh and said that he has already sounded the Indian Prime Minister on the same.

He also said that Bangladesh is turning into a haven of Islamic radicals and the action taken by Sheikh Hasina against the Jamat Leaders has not much effect as all those who are given capital punishment are old while the young generation is equally or more dangerous in radicalising the country and attacking the minority Hindus. Swadeshi Jagaran  Manch state convenor Ranjith Karthikeyan  welcomed the gathering and H Ramakrishnan of Fraternity of Trivandrum professionals  proposed a vote of thanks .

Another programme was held at Kozhikode under the auspicious of the Bhratheeya Vichara Kendram on March 10, 2018. Dr Benkin spoke at length in the programme on the above mentioned subject. Prof KP Somarajan, President of Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram, Kozhikode unit, presided over the function  in which Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram Kozhikode unit  secretary VG Mohankumar and treasurer MN Sudenraj spoke.    n

Bangladesh is a democracy with Awami League and Bangladesh National Party ruling the country regularly. Even during this democratic rule, how can you feel that Hindus are being victimised?
It can be said to be a democracy but not in the term attributed to democracy. People may think that Begum Khalida Zia of the Bangladesh National Party is more dangerous to Hindus but in reality Sheikh Hasina is also a trouble maker to Hindus as both these leaders look the other way when Hindus are systematically attacked and raped and killed. 

Can you attribute some of the incidents of attack against Hindus in Bangladesh?
The Hindus of Bangladesh are living in constant fear of being attacked any time by the majority Muslims of the neighborhood and this is exactly what is happening there for the past several years. The Hindu temples are being regularly desecrated and under aged Hindu girls are being raped and killed and Hindu children are also being attacked and killed. The Hindus’ business establishments are forced to pay money to these people and there are several instances of Hindu families being forcefully made to vacate the land. Their properties are being grabbed by powerful Muslims with the law enforcement agencies turning a blind eye towards these atrocities. This has created a fear psychosis among the minority Hindu community and they are coming in large numbers to India but sadly this is not news for International media as those who are subjected to these atrocities and crimes are poor Hindus.

Please give us some incidents which have taken place against the Hindus in Bangladesh.
A 14-year-old Hindu girl Subarna Karmarkar was abducted by a group of Muslim youths while she was returning home from her school in Kalapara in the state of Barisal. The leader of this gang of Muslims who abducted her was Jewel, a 22-year-old Islamist.They kidnapped her and fled on their bikes and when she cried for help, no one came to her rescue. Her father went to the police station but was said that no kidnapping had occurred and that there was no evidence. Subarna is missing to this day. Another 14-year-old girl named Tanasree Roy was kidnapped from her home in Mohadipur in Barisal by two Muslims, Zikrul Islam (24) and Mohd Razzak Ali (22). Her father Rajendra Nath Roy said that the girl was kidnapped from their house at around 10 am and filed a complaint at Kotwali police station. Even though witnesses identified the perpetuars of the violence police did not take any action. Her father said that they were constatnly under threat from the abductors. She is still missing. There are several thousands of such cases coming out from Bangladesh.

What do you feel is the role of the civic society to stop this violence?
The Civic society of the European and American and Indian governments has to intervene in this. I have already sounded to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on this and the US State Department is properly aware of what is happening there. This will lead to putting pressure on the government of Bangladesh to enforce stricter laws on the atrocities against Hindus. More than that I feel that the Hindus of Bangladesh should resort to self defence under the purview of the law of that country which would give lot of self confidence to the Hindu community of Bangladesh.

 Are there any Hindu organisations in Bangladesh that  look after  the Hindus who are suffering from these atrocities?
Of course there are several organisations in Bangladesh who are working for the welfare of Hindus and supporting them in times of crisis. However, I must say that the Bangladesh Minority Watch led by the mercurial Rabindra Ghosh is the one Hindu organisation which has stood up against the atrocities meted out to the Hindus in a big way and my coming into contact with him has led to the exposure of this issue internationally. He can be called as a saint  devoted to the cause of the suffering Hindus of Bangladesh with the whole life dedicated to this matter and solving most of the issues which are coming before him.

Can you site some examples wherein you have seen or interfered?
Myself and Rabindra Ghosh had been to the police station to aid and support a Hindu family whose land was forciblily grabbed by the Muslims. The policemen looked the otherway round and was clearly hand in glove with the land grabbers and when we forced them that we would complain to the courts and the international community will come to know, they had to relent and action was taken. Tragically, indeed when the Hindu girls are abducted and raped, most of them are not welcomed back in the traditional village Hindu families that leads to a double edged support to the Muslims as these girls totally ostracised even from family end up as the second or third wife of the abductor. The children born to these hapless girls are striclty grown under Islamic beliefs thus leading to a state of horror for them. Of course now things are changing and Hindu families are more poised and accepting the realities.

Were there desecrection of temples in Bangladesh?
Yes, the descrection of temples is a major issue in Bangladesh and for that matter all Muslim dominated places wherein they never allow other faiths to coexist. For example, near Sudrapur a Shiva Mandir was attacked and its idols were broken by a mass of Muslim fanatics supported by the then ruling Awami League cadres. It  may be noted that the Police station was only 18 metres away from the temple and still the police looked the other way. When contacted the local police station in charge Tafazal Hussain, he declared “The temple is intact, only a few idols are destroyed!” This  is the attitude of Bangladeshi police to an attack on Hindu temple. This is only an example and I can point out hundreds of thousands of such incidents of desecreation of temples by the Islamists of Bangladesh to frighten and malign the minority Hindu community.

Bangaldesh is going for elections in around seven to eight months time. What do you feel will be the situation around that time vis a vis Hindus ?
Elections are historically the period in Bangladesh when the Hindus are systemetically targetted and attacked. The world community should arise and information on these attacks should be splashed across the globe so that the perpetuators of violence does not have the will and guts to attack the Hindus during election time as historically happening. More than that the Indian government can also put some pressure on the Bangladeshi administration on the possibilities of violence and bloodshed against the Hindus during election time. According to me, prevention is better than cure and the world Hindu community should act now so that there is no killing and maiming of innocent Hindus in Bangladesh by organised gangs aided and abetted by the Islamist groups of that country. There has to be a wake up call to prevent such attacks and there is no point in lamenting on the plight of the Hindus once such a murderous attack takes place.

We have travelled from Thiruvananthapuram to Kozhikode by road in Kerala, whats your feel on the state?
Kerala is lush green and beautiful and can indeed be considered as a beautiful place with natural beauty. However while driving across the state, I found that the Keralites are unnecessarily  worshipping leaders like Stalin, Lenin and Cheguvera  and they are all over the state in bill boards. They don’t get such reverence anywhere across the globe and theirs is a failed ideology. This I found a bit embrassing for a society  to adore people who have no forebearing on this country. You should adore and worship your own hearoes and heroines which are aplenty in this great country. This, I found, is  one reason that the communists of Kerala could not connect with other groups and people. Here people are in their imaginary world without seeing the real world and the developments which are taking place outside. 

CHINESE PATRONAGE COULD BE VERY COSTLY

(Originally published in Daily Asian Age, March 11, 2018)

https://dailyasianage.com/news/111949/chinese-patronage-could-be-very-costly

by Dr. Richard L. Benkin

It's a good thing that I'm a naturally curious person. The other day, I was on the road from Dhaka to Tungipara to visit the mausoleum of the Father of the Nation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman; and to pay due respect to the Bangabandhu. While on the road, I saw a huge infrastructure project that was digging an entirely new road and building a new bridge. It was extensive and would make for a much improved experience moving between the two places.

As we were riding, I saw a tin barrier with a logo on them that said "China Power." Then, a little while later, I saw another, then several more. I turned to my traveling companion, the great Bangladeshi human rights attorney Rabindra Ghosh, and asked if this was a Chinese project. He told me it was, and I remarked that there seemed to be an increased Chinese presence here since my last trip to Bangladesh five years ago.

Anyone who has sat in Dhaka traffic knows that this country would benefit from infrastructure modernization. I also know that such projects are expensive. If China offers to help with financing such things, I can understand why a country would agree to one. In light of others' experience, however, we might ask if Bangladesh is mortgaging its children's futures for some immediate relief.

I work with Pashtun, Sindhi, and Baloch who are seeing the impact of the massive infrastructure project, CPEC, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Long term, it ignores the interest of the various peoples who comprise Pakistan and is being done so for Chinese interests not theirs. I also work with a number of Macedonians who tell me that Chinese projects in their country have been at the expense of their own interests. 

Moreover, a report out this month by the Center for Global Development concludes that loans from China's Belt and Road Initiative (CBI) "will significantly add to the risk of debt distress" for borrower countries. The report identifies eight countries at immediate risk. While Bangladesh is not one of them, I suspect that Bangladeshis do not want to be singled out on future reports.

John Hurley, one of the study's co-authors, noted that CBI provides something that smaller countries need terribly, infrastructure financing, but that this can become "too much of a good thing."China's selects projects that favor its own strategic geopolitical interests, and part of that intention seems to be making a string of nations dependent on them and thereby more compliant to their demands.  The report identifies Pakistan as the country most at risk, and my own sources inside that country said that they see Pakistan becoming little more than a Chinese colony once CPEC is completed.

The report also notes that in exchange for the money, China has been charging extremely high interest rates, promising to throw smaller nations further into debt and dependence.It is not coincidental that China is targeting nations that surround India. With the debt piling up (because these infrastructure do not generate income to offset the expenditure), China will be in a position to dictate their strategic decisions and seize the infrastructure-and they'll do that. 

Not only will China build a "Great Wall" surrounding the land mass around India and even some strategic maritime lanes; it also would cut India off as a competitor for the mineral wealth being auctioned off in Afghanistan.  Bangladesh could be especially vulnerable because of the impact of these interest rates (has anyone asked to see what China is charging?), and because it is in Bangladesh's interest to be a prominent ally of India's, not small piece of a federation threatening it. 

Whether it is water rights, trade, succor for the many Bangladesh fleeing land erosion, or cooperation in anti-terrorism; Bangladesh benefits from a good relationship with its neighbor. Most importantly, Bangladesh's interests lay in maintaining its democracy and independence.

There are better ways to proceed: Demand that debt relief be written into the contracts with Bangladesh making no concessions in return (this would be a great way for China to provide Bangladesh with foreign aid); use the relationship as leverage to gain similar relationships with other wealthy nations like the United States to maintain and even strengthen Bangladesh independence.Today is an auspicious day, the anniversary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's declaration of Bangladeshi independence (this article was written on March 7). 

The writer is an American human rights activist who was recently in Bangladesh

HINDUS IN BANGLADESH FAST DWINDLING: HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST

HINDUS IN BANGLADESH FAST DWINDLING: HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST

(Originally published in Business Stamdard, March 11, 2018)

http://www.suryaa.com/35730-hindus-in-bangladesh-fast-dwindling-human-rights-activist.html

by Arun Lakshma

Kozhikode (Kerala) March 11 (IANS) The Hindus of Bangladesh were dwindling with their strength decreasing from one-third in 1947 to one-fifteenth in 2016, said a human rights activist and professor.

Richard Benkin, the US-based activist who is also a frequent traveller to Bangladesh, told IANS during a visit here that he was working against the ethnic cleansing of Hindus in the South Asian nation.

"There has been a concerted attempt in that country to see that the Hindu's there are eradicated. The successive Bangladeshi governments under Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia have been unable to take actions against those who are out to eliminate the Hindus," said Benkin.

Of the present 150 million Bangladeshi population, 90 per cent are Muslims with the Hindu population down at around 9.5 per cent, he said.

Benkin was here to deliver a lecture organised by the Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram.

He also pointed out that in Bangladesh, there were missing cases of Hindu women and children. 

The whole idea was to destroy women so that they do not give birth to Hindu and the children were being targeted to finish of the next generation of Hindus, he said. 

Benkin opined that the Hindus of Bangladesh should think of forming their own sledge defence forces under the legal methods of that country to fight against this persecution.

He also pointed out that even though there are several Hindu organisations, except for Bangladesh Minority Watch, the other organisations were not active on the ground. 

Benkin said he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and apprised him of the atrocities faced by the Hindus there.

Benkin meets ministers, AG

(Originally published 05 March 2018, in The Asian Age)

AA Correspondent

minent human rights activist, author and specialist in South Asia Dr. Richard L Benkin visited the Daily Asian Age office on Sunday night. He was accompanied by Rabindra Ghosh, leader of Bangla-desh Minority Watch and global human rights defense and Prof. N.C. Bhawmik, minority rights leader and Adviser to Asian Age.

Dr. Richard L Benkin was received by the paper's Consultant Editor, Mostafa Kamal Majumder, Executive Editor, Mohsin Habib, City Editor Main Uddin Ahmed. Some other journalists and employees were present. During the exchange of opinion with journalists of the paper Dr. Benkin discussed the state of free thinking in Bangladesh. Earlier Dr Benkins visited the Mazar of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujubur Rahman at Tungipara and placed floral respect. 

He met Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Law Minister Anisul Huq and Attorney General Mahey Alam. Dr. Benkins discussed with them freedom of thought, security of intellectuals writers and thinkers in the region in general and in Bangladesh in Particular. He raised the issue of the murder of writers including Avijit Roy, publisher of secular books Faisal Arefin Dipon and attacks on intellectuals including Prof. Zafar Iqbal of Shahjalal University, Sylhet.

BENKIN MEETS MINISTERS, AG

(Originally published in Daily Asian Age, March 5, 2018)

https://dailyasianage.com/news/111076/benkin-meets-ministers-ag

by Asian Age Correspondent

Eminent human rights activist, author and specialist in South Asia Dr. Richard L Benkin visited the Daily Asian Age office on Sunday night. He was accompanied by Rabindra Ghosh, leader of Bangla-desh Minority Watch and global human rights defense and Prof. N.C. Bhawmik, minority rights leader and Adviser to Asian Age.

Dr. Richard L Benkin was received by the paper's Consultant Editor, Mostafa Kamal Majumder, Executive Editor, Mohsin Habib, City Editor Main Uddin Ahmed. Some other journalists and employees were present. During the exchange of opinion with journalists of the paper Dr. Benkin discussed the state of free thinking in Bangladesh. Earlier Dr Benkins visited the Mazar of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujubur Rahman at Tungipara and placed floral respect. 

He met Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Law Minister Anisul Huq and Attorney General Mahey Alam. Dr. Benkins discussed with them freedom of thought, security of intellectuals writers and thinkers in the region in general and in Bangladesh in Particular. He raised the issue of the murder of writers including Avijit Roy, publisher of secular books Faisal Arefin Dipon and attacks on intellectuals including Prof. Zafar Iqbal of Shahjalal University, Sylhet.

The Trump Factor and the Pashtuns

(Originally published February 24, 2018 on The American Thinker)

On February 6, 2018, the New York Times published a piece about social unrest by Pashtuns in Pakistan. It gave some background on how the Pakistanis have been perpetrating human rights abuses against the Pashtuns for decades. Of course, it also missed completely the big story for Americans: the protesters, their leaders, and many of the minority populations there have been inspired by President Donald Trump and his new, tough policy toward Pakistan and his support for human rights in the area.

This is in line with the Times' and the rest of the mainstream media's anti-Trump bias – a bias they seem quite comfortable with in coloring the prism through which their readers get the news.

Roohul Amin is a Pashtun activist who had to flee Pakistan after being attacked by the military and Taliban, leaving his wife and children behind. He currently lives in Germany, where his asylum request could be ruled on as soon as next month. I was able to talk with him about the Pashtun, and while no one is saying the Pashtun are rebelling because of President Trump, most Pashtun you talk to will tell you he has inspired them and gives them hope that the United States will support their aspirations. They believe that recent statements and actions by the president represent a clear departure from former president Barack Obama's foreign policy. It is interesting that as I speak with these people and many more Asians, it is they who are ecstatic about the United States resuming its leadership role on the world scene – more so than many Americans, including, it appears, the editors of the New York Times.

Amin, along with others, said Trump's strong words calling out Pakistani complicity in Islamist terror galvanized Baloch, Pashtun, and Sindhi in their struggles against their Pakistani. His statements led to an avalanche of tweets praising him. This one from Zar Ali Khan Afridi was typical: "We support His Excellency! President Trump. Very bold man. Long live." Trump's positive impact on our respect and international reputation caused at least one village to praise him and pray for his long life. Trump resonates on an official level, too. Former Afghan president (and Pashtun) Hamid Karzai said: "I welcome today's clarity in President Trump's remarks and propose a joint U.S.-regional coalition to pressurize [sic] the Pakistan military establishment to bring peace to ... the entire region."

It also is leading to grassroots action where Muslims are battling the Taliban. I have been involved in South Asia for over a decade and believe that it will be where we fight the most critical battles for our planet's soul. Pro-democratic forces in the region have faced violence at the hands of the Pakistani military and intelligence services for decades. According to Amin and other Pashtuns and Sindhis I've interviewed, they now feel they have an ally in President Trump and the United States, after previously considering us part of the problem due to our decades-long support for Pakistan.

In the last few days, Pashtun have been protesting publicly and in large numbers against the actions of Pakistan's military and spy agency. Standing up to the Pakistani government can mean a summary death sentence for the individual doing so and perhaps even his family. Yet, thousands have felt emboldened to take that risk. In part, it was finally too much to bear. In part, it was an expectation that they would find support, perhaps even from the world's strongest nation and Pakistan's former bankroller.

The implications of this could not be greater – and could justify President Trump's more aggressive foreign policy that looks for ways to further both U.S. interests and those of the peoples with whom we team. It also marks a watershed departure from the Obama foreign policy that was so roundly condemned by American allies and potential allies worldwide. Not only is Pakistan supporting the terrorists killing American and Afghan troops by allowing them safe haven, something a free Pashtun people say they will stop, but Pakistan also is engaged in an extensive project with China – the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor or CPEC – that would be ruinous to American and Western interests in the region if unopposed.

How much would an emboldened Pashtun populace force Pakistan to shift its resources and concentration away from these anti-American activities? How much more would they be forced to do so if a successful Pashtun emboldened Baloch, Sindhi, Kashmiris, and other nationalities that have been complaining of Pakistani oppression for decades? And all of it without putting a single American in harm's way.

THE TRUMP FACTOR AND THE PASHTUNS

(Originally published in American Thinker, February 24, 2018)

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2018/02/the_trump_factor_and_the_pashtuns.html

by Dr. Richard L. Benkin

On February 6, 2018, the New York Times published a piece about social unrest by Pashtuns in Pakistan.  It gave some background on how the Pakistanis have been perpetrating human rights abuses against the Pashtuns for decades.  Of course, it also missed completely the big story for Americans: the protesters, their leaders, and many of the minority populations there have been inspired by President Donald Trump and his new, tough policy toward Pakistan and his support for human rights in the area.

This is in line with the Times' and the rest of the mainstream media's anti-Trump bias – a bias they seem quite comfortable with in coloring the prism through which their readers get the news.

Roohul Amin is a Pashtun activist who had to flee Pakistan after being attacked by the military and Taliban, leaving his wife and children behind.  He currently lives in Germany, where his asylum request could be ruled on as soon as next month.  I was able to talk with him about the Pashtun, and while no one is saying the Pashtun are rebelling because of President Trump, most Pashtun you talk to will tell you he has inspired them and gives them hope that the United States will support their aspirations.  They believe that recent statements and actions by the president represent a clear departure from former president Barack Obama's foreign policy.  It is interesting that as I speak with these people and many more Asians, it is they who are ecstatic about the United States resuming its leadership role on the world scene – more so than many Americans, including, it appears, the editors of the New York Times.

Amin, along with others, said Trump's strong words calling out Pakistani complicity in Islamist terror galvanized Baloch, Pashtun, and Sindhi in their struggles against their Pakistani.  His statements led to an avalanche of tweets praising him.  This one from Zar Ali Khan Afridi was typical: "We support His Excellency! President Trump. Very bold man. Long live."  Trump's positive impact on our respect and international reputation caused at least one village to praise him and pray for his long life.  Trump resonates on an official level, too.  Former Afghan president (and Pashtun) Hamid Karzai said: "I welcome today's clarity in President Trump's remarks and propose a joint U.S.-regional coalition to pressurize [sic] the Pakistan military establishment to bring peace to ... the entire region."

It also is leading to grassroots action where Muslims are battling the Taliban.  I have been involved in South Asia for over a decade and believe that it will be where we fight the most critical battles for our planet's soul.  Pro-democratic forces in the region have faced violence at the hands of the Pakistani military and intelligence services for decades.  According to Amin and other Pashtuns and Sindhis I've interviewed, they now feel they have an ally in President Trump and the United States, after previously considering us part of the problem due to our decades-long support for Pakistan.

In the last few days, Pashtun have been protesting publicly and in large numbers against the actions of Pakistan's military and spy agency.  Standing up to the Pakistani government can mean a summary death sentence for the individual doing so and perhaps even his family.  Yet, thousands have felt emboldened to take that risk.  In part, it was finally too much to bear.  In part, it was an expectation that they would find support, perhaps even from the world's strongest nation and Pakistan's former bankroller.

The implications of this could not be greater – and could justify President Trump's more aggressive foreign policy that looks for ways to further both U.S. interests and those of the peoples with whom we team.  It also marks a watershed departure from the Obama foreign policy that was so roundly condemned by American allies and potential allies worldwide.  Not only is Pakistan supporting the terrorists killing American and Afghan troops by allowing them safe haven, something a free Pashtun people say they will stop, but Pakistan also is engaged in an extensive project with China – the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor or CPEC – that would be ruinous to American and Western interests in the region if unopposed.

How much would an emboldened Pashtun populace force Pakistan to shift its resources and concentration away from these anti-American activities?  How much more would they be forced to do so if a successful Pashtun emboldened Baloch, Sindhi, Kashmiris, and other nationalities that have been complaining of Pakistani oppression for decades?  And all of it without putting a single American in harm's way.

REMEMBERING THE DANES' HEROIC HOLOCAUST ACTIONS

(Originally published in The Alegmeiner, February 21, 2018)

https://www.algemeiner.com/2018/02/21/remembering-the-danes-heroic-holocaust-actions/

by Dr. Richard L. Benkin

On February 13, 2018, Prince Henrik — husband of Danish monarch Queen Margrethe — died at the age of 83. Many Jews recall the courage of the Danish royal family, and the entire Danish people, during the Holocaust — specifically how they saved approximately 99 percent of all Danish Jews from the Nazis.

Danish Jews were relatively safe until October 1, 1943, when — after increasing effectiveness in protecting Jews by the Danish resistance — Berlin ordered them arrested and deported. After the order, Danish civil servants started identifying and contacting Jews; but unlike the contacts made by their counterparts elsewhere, these contacts were made to warn Jews and get them into hiding.

Unlike most of Europe, Denmark tried to save the Jews from Nazi clutches, rather than deliver them.

Then, over several nights in October, ordinary Danes — led by the Danish resistance movement — evacuated all of Denmark’s remaining Jews (more than 7,200) across the Baltic Sea to neutral Sweden. This was an event unfortunately unique in the annals of the Holocaust. After that rescue, the Danish government continued to intercede on behalf of the almost 500 Danish Jews in the Theresienstadt concentration camp, saving almost all of them, too.

Remembering the Danes’ Heroic Holocaust Actions

Danes carry flowers to honor the late Prince Henrik. Photo: Richard L. Benkin.

(Originally published FEBRUARY 21, 2018, in the Algemeiner)

by Dr. Richard Benkin

On February 13, 2018, Prince Henrik — husband of Danish monarch Queen Margrethe — died at the age of 83. Many Jews recall the courage of the Danish royal family, and the entire Danish people, during the Holocaust — specifically how they saved approximately 99 percent of all Danish Jews from the Nazis.

Danish Jews were relatively safe until October 1, 1943, when — after increasing effectiveness in protecting Jews by the Danish resistance — Berlin ordered them arrested and deported. After the order, Danish civil servants started identifying and contacting Jews; but unlike the contacts made by their counterparts elsewhere, these contacts were made to warn Jews and get them into hiding.

Unlike most of Europe, Denmark tried to save the Jews from Nazi clutches, rather than deliver them.

Then, over several nights in October, ordinary Danes — led by the Danish resistance movement — evacuated all of Denmark’s remaining Jews (more than 7,200) across the Baltic Sea to neutral Sweden. This was an event unfortunately unique in the annals of the Holocaust. After that rescue, the Danish government continued to intercede on behalf of the almost 500 Danish Jews in the Theresienstadt concentration camp, saving almost all of them, too.

The prince’s death has shaken all Danes, who are proud of a scandal-free royal family that is beloved and honored by its people. His body was lain in state, and I was able to say “thank you” as a Jew. We should all be grateful for a people that could not even conceive of how being Jewish made some of their fellow citizens any different — and then acted on that belief.

Copenhagen is one of the world’s most beautiful cities to walk through; and after about 20 minutes, I arrived at Thorvaldsen’s Museum, where the body was lying. There I saw many Danes who were unable to make the hours-long wait — many with strollers and young children — leave flowers for the prince. The one discordant note was the presence of military guards with automatic weapons. As my hotelier told me, it is an unfortunate feature of life today, as “we face the same threat as you do.”

Since World War II, several myths have grown out of the Danish actions –the most prominent being that Denmark’s king wore the yellow star in solidarity with Jews. (In reality, Danish Jews never were required to wear the yellow star or other markings.)

Still, no myth could come close to what it took to carry out the rescue. Denmark’s heroic action took a social ethic so strong and so pervasive among an entire nation, that were it only common elsewhere in Europe, the Holocaust would not have been what it became.

Dr. Richard Benkin is an American human rights activist in Europe to meet with exiles and others struggling to free their own peoples from the heirs of the Nazis in Asia.