Religious minorities are continuing to march for their rights in Bangladesh following examples of anti-minority violence in the Muslim-majority South Asian nation.

A report published by the religious minority forum Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC) shows that minorities are being attacked in some form or another in at least 52 of the 64 administrative districts around the country.

“At least 200 Hindu homes, business establishments, and temples were vandalised and looted. Even Hindu women were assaulted by the culprits. Some Muslims have grabbed our land, and it is still going on,” Rana Das Gupta, general secretary of the BHBCUC said.

He added, "We call on the United Nations general secretary, international human rights organisations, and the peace-loving people of the world to come forward and protect the minorities of Bangladesh."

On August 5 the former prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, resigned and fled the country, travelling to India along with her sister Sheikh Rehana following huge nationwide protests by student groups.

Protests had started following a demand for the restructuring of government job-quota systems benefitting those linked to Hasina and her party. The Hasina government at first refused the demands of students and attempted to suppress the agitators before continued protests forced her resignation.

She remains in India, having failed to secure political asylum in the UK.

During the students' protests and even after Hasina’s resignation, more than 600 people including women and children were killed by state law enforcement agencies and ruling party members.

However, after Hasina fled, the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), and Jamat-E-Islam Bangladesh, a radical Muslim party, took to the streets in joyous and largely peaceful scenes played out on TV sets around the world. At the same time though, other Muslims were attacking the homes of minority group members around the nation as well as temples, all the time looting as they went.

There has been a mixed reaction to these attacks.

Some say the violent anti-minority response to Hasina’s departure seen in Bangladesh originated with her Awami League (AL) because they wanted to show the world that without Hasina and her party at the helm, Bangladesh would become a radical Muslim outpost.

There were frequent claims that Bangladeshi minorities were not safe without Hasina or the AL in power.

On the other hand, local analysts think Bangladeshi-born radical Muslims opposed to the war of independence in 1971 could be behind the attacks on minorities.

“This attack happened because of oppression over the last 15 years” Shafiqual Islam a university professor, said. “Another reason is that our state religion is Islam. Because of the state religion, Muslims think they are now more powerful, and can therefore attack religious minorities,” he added.

Professor Islam, a Muslim himself, said that minorities in Bangladesh are traditionally AL supporters and that’s why other parties have targeted the minorities. A possible secondary reason is AL’s efforts at trying to portray itself as a ‘minority friendly party’ while other parties are somehow against minorities in the country.

Over the western border of the country in New Delhi meanwhile, as members of Bangladesh’s minority groups were marching in the streets of Dhaka and elsewhere around the country demanding protection, Indian media and so-called online ‘influencers’ took the opportunity to spread misinformation and disinformation about minorities being attacked nationwide.

In the meantime, to fill the void left by Hasina, Professor Muhammad Yunus took an oath as the head of Bangladesh's interim government on August 8. A week later the Nobel laureate is reported to have invited Indian journalists to visit Bangladesh to view the reported attacks on minorities for themselves, on the ground – close up.

To date, there are no indications that Indian media outlets have taken Yunus up on the offer.