Bangladesh's Hindu minority in fear as attacks rise and a national election nears

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Dipu Chandra Das, a 27-year-old Hindu garment worker, was accused in December by several Muslim colleagues of making derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad. The accusations drew a violent mob to his workplace. He was beaten to death, his body hung from a tree and set on fire.

Across Bangladesh, Hindus watched the recorded images on their phones with dread. Protests erupted in Dhaka and other cities, with demonstrators demanding justice and greater protections. The interim government, led by Muhammad Yunus, ordered an investigation, and police said that about a dozen people were arrested.

But human rights groups and Hindu leaders say the killing wasn't an isolated act, but part of a wider surge in attacks on the minority community, fueled by rising polarization, the reemergence of Islamists and what they describe as a growing culture of impunity. Among Hindus, fear has grown more pervasive as the Muslim-majority nation moves toward a national election on Feb. 12.

“No one feels safe anymore,” said Ranjan Karmaker, a Dhaka-based Hindu human rights activist. “Everyone is terrified.”

Hindus make up a small minority in Bangladesh, about 13.1 million people, or roughly 8% of the country’s population of 170 million, while Muslims make up 91%.

The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, an umbrella group representing minority communities, says it documented more than 2,000 incidents of communal violence since the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a mass uprising in August 2024.

The group recorded at least 61 killings, 28 instances of violence against women — among them rape and gang rape — and 95 attacks on places of worship involving vandalism, looting and arson. It has also accused the Yunus-led administration of routinely dismissing or downplaying reports of such violence.

When contacted by The Associated Press for a response, an official from Yunus’ press team declined to comment. The administration headed by Yunus has consistently denied claims that it has failed to ensure adequate protection for minority communities and insisted that most incidents aren't driven by religious hostility.

Previous elections in Bangladesh have also seen increases in violence, with religious minorities often bearing the brunt. But with Hasina’s Awami League party barred from contesting elections and with her living in exile in India, many Hindus fear the worst as they have long been viewed as aligned with Hasina.

Karmaker, the rights activist, said that Hindus are often perceived as voting en masse for one side, a perception that heightens their vulnerability. He said that the community was also gripped by fear because of a culture of impunity, and near-weekly incidents, warning that in some parts of the country the Hindu community was facing “an existential crisis.”

“The individuals involved in this violence are not being brought under the law, nor are they being held accountable through the justice system. It creates the impression that the violence will continue,” Karmaker said.

The surge in attacks against Hindus has unfolded alongside the reemergence of Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party, and its student wing. After years on the political sidelines because of bans, arrests and sustained crackdowns under Hasina’s government, the party sees the election as an opportunity to reclaim influence.

Jamaat-e-Islami anchors a broader Islamist alliance of 11 parties, among them the student-led National Citizen Party, or NCP, whose leaders played a central role in the 2024 uprising.

As concerns grow over what its return could mean for religious minorities, Jamaat-e-Islami has moved to recast its public image, even though it advocates Shariah, or Islamic law. It has organized public rallies featuring Hindu participants and nominated a Hindu community leader as one of its candidates.

Meanwhile, NCP has pledged to support citizens facing religious discrimination and said that if elected, it would establish a dedicated unit within the Human Rights Commission to protect minority rights.

Political analyst Altaf Parvez said that such decisions were largely symbolic. He said that other political parties, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, had also failed minorities by nominating only a handful of candidates — a move, he said, that didn't reflect a genuine political commitment to inclusive politics.

Parvez said a systematic pattern of attacks was taking place in rural areas to inject more fear among the minorities before the vote.

“It will impact the participation of the voters from the minority communities in the next elections too,” he said.

Attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh have also inflamed tensions with neighboring India, prompting protests by Hindu nationalist groups and criticism from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

India’s Foreign Ministry recently accused Bangladesh of downplaying a “disturbing pattern of recurring attacks” on Hindus, saying such violence was wrongly blamed on personal or political disputes. Bangladesh, in turn, described India’s criticism as “systematic attempts” to stoke anti-Bangladesh sentiments.

The dispute has spilled into diplomacy and sporting events. Both sides have suspended some visa services and accused each other of failing to protect diplomatic missions. Protests in India led cricket officials to bar a Bangladeshi player from the Indian Premier League tournament, followed by Bangladesh’s boycott of this month’s World Cup in India.

Sreeradha Datta, a Bangladesh expert at India’s Jindal School of International Affairs, said that India’s concerns were “legitimate.”

"Hindus in Bangladesh are a very vulnerable group that can’t defend themselves, and Yunus’ administration is in exit mode and deliberately looking the other way,” she said.

For those caught in the violence, the losses have been deeply personal.

When word of Das’ killing reached his home village in Bangladesh’s Mymensingh district, disbelief settled in among relatives and neighbors. Many said they watched images of his killing on their phones.

“When people say they saw it on their phones, my chest feels like it is going to burst,” his father said.

Das was known as a quiet, well-behaved man. He was also the sole breadwinner for his family, relatives said, and his death has left his wife and mother facing an uncertain future.

His mother, Shefali Rani Das, said the family is seeking justice for the killing.

“They beat him, hung him from a tree, and burned him. I demand justice,” she said.

Sheikh Saaliq reported from New Delhi.

Meghna Rani, wife of Dipu Chandra Das, weeps inside her home in Tarakanda village, Mymensingh District, Bangladesh, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

Meghna Rani, wife of Dipu Chandra Das, plays with her daughter outside their home in Tarakanda village, Mymensingh District, Bangladesh, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

Robilal Chandra Das, father of Dipu Chandra Das, 27, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press inside his home in Tarakanda village, Mymensingh District, Bangladesh, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

A portrait of Dipu Chandra Das hangs alongside images of Hindu deities inside his home in Tarakanda village, Mymensingh District, Bangladesh, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

Meghna Rani, wife of Dipu Chandra Das, weeps inside her home in Tarakanda village, Mymensingh District, Bangladesh, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

A tree stands on a road divider where the body of 27-year-old Hindu garment worker Dipu Chandra Das was hung and set on fire by a mob on Dec. 18, 2025, in Gazipur near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

PARIS (AP) — Tennis players at the French Open say they haven’t experienced conditions this hot at Roland Garros since the Paris Olympics.

And the 2024 Olympics were held in July and August.

Temperatures for the opening two days of the clay-court Grand Slam have soared to 33 degrees C (91 F) — far beyond normal for late May in the French capital. And it’s forecast to stay that way for the entire first week.

Besides making it uncomfortable for fans and players alike, the sultry conditions have also created faster conditions on court — changing the pace of the game.

“It is much different. Maybe it was that hot in the Olympics but the balls were different, so I wouldn’t treat it as the same tournament,” four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek said after routing Emerson Jones 6-1, 6-2 in the first round on Monday.

Players have been putting bags of ice around their necks on changeovers to stay cool, while fans are refreshing themselves under sprinklers.

When workers water the clay courts between sets, they have taken to directing their hoses at spectators begging to be doused, too.

“I don’t remember the last time it was so hot at Roland Garros,” Russian-born Australian player Daria Kasatkina said after beating Zeynep Sonmez 6-4, 6-4. “Maybe one day. But we’re going to have it for the whole week.”

Kasatkina said the energy-sapping temperatures made for more up-and-down matches.

“You can suddenly just get out of the bench and feel that your focus dropped,” she said. “So this is a battle which you have to also win. … Whoever adapts better to today’s conditions gets it.”

Canadian player Gabriel Diallo said the heat was the main reason why he retired midway through his match against James Duckworth on Sunday.

Both Andrey Rublev and opponent Ignacio Buse called for the trainer on separate occasions during the second set of their match on Monday.

Buse took a medical timeout and had salts and minerals added to his water bottle as a stethoscope was placed on his chest. Rublev received treatment a few games later.

The French Open is usually cool compared to the heat at the Australian Open and U.S. Open.

But like in Australia and New York, the French Open has adopted an extreme weather policy.

If the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) — which takes into account temperature, humidity, sun, wind and other factors — reaches 30.1 degrees C (86 F) or higher, 10-minute cooling breaks can be installed between the second and third sets for women’s matches and between the third and fourth sets for men’s matches.

If the WBGT hits 32.2 C (90 F), play is suspended. It would require an air temperature of about 38 C (100 F) for play to be suspended.

Some players were embracing the hotter air.

“I’ve always preferred hot and lively conditions to chilly on a clay court, because I feel like I can bring a little bit more of my all-court tennis on this type of surface,” Australian player Alex de Minaur said after beating Toby Samuel 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.

“It’s easier to be a little bit more aggressive. The ball is jumping. I don’t necessarily have to use as much spin or heaviness, and I can let the conditions do the job for me. And it’s quite physical. I don’t mind the heat,” De Minaur added.

Same goes for American player Alex Michelsen, who eliminated Alexander Shevchenko in straight sets.

“It’s definitely good for us Americans,” Michelsen said. “Generally we’re big serve, big forehand, big ground game and like to play offense. When it’s super hot, the ball is moving through the air very fast. … I was so happy when I saw the forecast.”

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

A stadium worker sprays the court with water before the first round men's singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Visitors cool themselves with water from sprinklers during a hot day at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

A woman cools herself with a portable fan during the first round men's singles tennis match between Alex De Minaur of Australia and Toby Samuel of Britain at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Spectators cool themselves with hand fans during the first round women's singles tennis match between Elina Svitolina of Ukraine and Anna Bondar of Hungary at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Poland's Iga Swiatek gestures for a ballboy as he shields her from the sun during a break at the first round women's singles tennis match against Emerson Jones of Australia at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Visitors cool themselves with water from sprinklers during a hot day at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Alex De Minaur of Australia attends a break during the first round men's singles tennis match against Toby Samuel of Britain at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)