Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus has urged Hindu citizens to identify themselves first as Bangladeshis rather than as a religious minority, remarks that the Indian Express featured under a headline critics say was misleadingly framed to imply sectarian intent.
In an interview with journalist Mehdi Hasan, Yunus said his message to community leaders was to assert their citizenship rights, not plead for protection based on religion. “Always say, ‘I’m a citizen of this country. I’m entitled to all the protection the state is supposed to give me,’” he said, adding that unity must rest on equality before the law.
The way Indian Express used the headline “‘Don’t call yourself a Hindu, call yourself a citizen’: Bangladesh chief adviser Muhammad Yunus’s advice to minorities” suggests Hindus should abandon their religion, when Yunus’s actual remarks emphasized equal citizenship, not renunciation of faith.
The 84-year-old Nobel laureate, known for his gentle manner and focus on social entrepreneurship, has proven difficult for Indian media outlets to demonize even as relations between Dhaka and New Delhi have soured since the 2024 fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government.
Yunus also rejected allegations of post-Hasina violence against Hindus, calling them “fake news” generated in India. Indeed, the Indian media ecosystem is rife with fabricated and misleading headlines. Even The New York Times highlighted this problem in a May article titled, “How the Indian Media Amplified Falsehoods in the Drumbeat of War.”