A recent article in the Time magazine discussed the position of Muslims in India. According to the article the percentage of rural Indians who earn less than 6 dollars per month are Muslims 29%, Hindus 26% while in urban areas where one third of the Muslim population resides it goes 40% for Muslims and 22% for Hindus. Muslims are 13% of India's total population, however, they occupy only 3% of government jobs. The percentage becomes further lower in private jobs. While only 19% of urban Hindus are illiterate, more than 30% of Muslims are illiterate in urban areas.

It also depicted a horrifying picture of ethnic cleansing by Hindu extremists who killed thousands of Muslims, raped their women and burned them alive to death.

It is a shame for Hindus that they are doing such atrocities to the citizens of their own country. Although Hinduism encourages atrocities against its own followers by systems like 'Narboli', 'Satidaho' etc, we do not expect people to do it in this century.

Apart from frequent riots, Muslims of India are facing a silent social and economic boycott. West Bengal is the most secular state of India. However, I found only one person (a makeup man probably) who managed to get access to the electronic media. If you read Indian newspaper you will find very few Muslim writers there. It is very difficult to find Muslims in places other than in the presidency, cricket and Bombay film industry.

Being curious about the position of Hindus in Bangladesh, I collected a copy of the Address Book of Bangladesh Secretariat Officers. To my surprise, Hindus are occupying more than 12% of these positions. There are Hindu officers in high positions in even the ministries run by two fundamentalist ministers.

I know from my own experience that the ratio of Hindus in some government professions like teaching is much higher than this 12%. We are receiving pretty good share of the private sector job market. A large number of journalists (not less than 30%) are Hindus. Hindus are enjoying a very good share of jobs in electronic media too.

However, if you look at the allegiance of Indian Muslims to India, you will be astonished. They are not only proud Indians; they have been trying to prove that India is doing its best to protect the interests of Muslims. After the shameful riot in Gujrat, no Muslim was known to appeal the Middle Eastern countries to put economic embargo on India. I found Sohan Ramzan in the e-forums who has been frequently writing to prove that 'India is the ideal place for minorities'.

On the other hand, some Bangladeshi Hindus have been actively participating in serious anti-Bangladesh campaign. They even requested India to invade Bangladesh to protect Hindus here. Everyone knows that the law and order situation is not good in Bangladesh. Every citizen of the country is suffering from it. People from all religions are victim of crimes like killings, rapes, hijacking etc. However, some people are portraying these crimes as minority repression and trying to fulfill their political and financial interests. Unfortunately Hindus are either taking part in the propaganda or silently supporting it. No one except Mahadev Shaha is raising his voice against it.

I am doing this comparison to attract your attention to a probable danger that south Asia is going to face within few decades.

There are some factors that encourage migration of Hindus to India. West Bengal has a law that ensures citizenship and other facilities of Hindu migrants from Bangladesh. India is in a better economic position than Bangladesh. India is the biggest Hindu state in the world. Moreover, Bangladeshi Hindus suffer from a sense of insecurity after creation of Pakistan. This is why you will find most of well-off Hindus maintaining an alternative home in India. It is true that many Hindus do business and jobs in Bangladesh and make properties in India. It is the fact. We have to accept it and find out the real reasons behind it. Honourable Opposition Leader, while she was the Prime Minister, once told a Hindu delegation not to put their legs in two boats and become fully Bangladeshi.

Due to the above-mentioned reasons, there is a trend among Hindus to migrate to India. Recently started propaganda of minority repression has intensified the sense of insecurity and acting as a catalyst of increased Hindu migration.

This poses a serious threat towards the stability of this region. These types of migrants usually show hostility towards their previous country. So, an increase in migration will result an increased anti-Bangladesh activities that may sometime lead to an invasion of Bangladesh by India.

On the other hand, Bangladesh has similarities with Israel. Like Israel it is surrounded by a country that has not been seen by Bangladeshis as a friend. It is unfortunate that India has always been hostile and selfish with Bangladesh, even during the Liberation War. Like Israel Bangladeshis have rare homogeneousness. Depleting the Hindu population will make it further homogeneous and weaken the secular forces. The Islamic fundamentalists have been gaining popularity day by day. Even extreme secular intellectuals like Shafiq Rehman of Jaijaidin has started showing his appreciation of the activities of the two Jamaat ministers. The main allegation against the Islamists here was that they are against Bangladesh. In the changed situation, the secular forces have taken the role of anti-Bangladesh activists, making room for them to prove them as the defender of Bangladesh.

It is true that anti-Bangladesh propaganda is helping some quarters falafel their political and/or business interests. However, its long term effect will not be favourable to Hindus in Bangladesh and abroad. It will encourage Hindus to cross the border. Reducing Hindu population will only make it easier for Bangladesh to emerge as a hardcore Islamic state. It will not be good news for either India or Hindus.