As Bangladesh votes on Thursday after a spate of deadly sectarian violence, Suchitra Biswas from the minority Hindu community yearns only for peace and harmony.Her longing reflects the anxiety felt by many of Bangladesh's 13.1? million Hindus, the country's largest religious minority, after at least 70 people were killed in unrest following a student-led uprising.

Only four percent of candidates standing for election come from minority backgrounds in the country of 170 million, according to official data, leaving them poorly represented in parliament."I pray and hope that peace will prevail... that people of all faiths will coexist forever," Biswas, 92, said outside her ancestral home in Abhaynagar, where three generations of her family were born.Biswas returned to her home in Bangladesh many months later but without her baby, who died within two months of her escape.

Elections have long stirred unease among minorities in Muslim-majority Bangladesh following large-scale violence during the 2001 and 2014 polls.Hindus have often been targeted for their perceived loyalty to the now?banned Awami League of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted in the uprising in July 2024. Hasina has since been living in Hindu-majority India, her old and trusted ally.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)