Nitai Roy Chowdhury, 77, lone Hindu minister in PM Tarique Rahman-led govt and vice-chairman of Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s central committee, said the administration was committed to ensuring the safety of all minorities and restoring cordial relations with India, asserting that fundamentalism would not be allowed to spread in Bangladesh.Chowdhury spoke to TOI in an exclusive interview over the phone after taking oath as culture minister along with 48 other members, including state ministers, in the cabinet headed by Rahman. He was also among the only four candidates from minority communities, all from BNP, who won in the Feb 12 elections.
Among the 25 newly elected members of the National Parliament from BNP who took oath as ministers alongside the newly sworn-in PM, Chowdhury won from Magura-2 constituency.
Most political parties now realise importance of Hindus in Bangladesh’s electoral politics: Culture minister
He received over 1.4 lakh votes, defeating Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’s Mustarshid Billah, who secured about 1.2 lakh votes. Referring to the state of governance he inherited, Chowdhury said the previous government led by Sheikh Hasina had left the country’s institutions in tatters.
“Almost everything was in disorder,” he said, adding that after being elected to form the new govt, it was their duty to bring the country back on track. He said the BNP did not want to indulge in criticism of the past but aimed to move forward with new hopes and dreams to put Bangladesh on the path of development.Explaining what he meant by institutional damage, Chowdhury alleged that when Hasina fled Bangladesh in 2024, the country was “completely broken”. He claimed the biggest damage was done to the education system, alleging that it had become policy under Awami League to pass 98% of students in exams irrespective of merit. “It was done to falsely show that literacy rate of Bangladesh was increasing along with the passing percentage of students,” he said.He also accused the previous regime of damaging the country’s cultural fabric. During the Awami League govt, he said, “all sorts of obscene dance and music along with hooliganism were encouraged while pushing our actual cultural values on the backburner.” He said the new govt would work to repair these pillars while upholding the ethos of unity in diversity, which he claimed had been ruined.On apprehensions regarding the safety of minorities, particularly Hindus, Chowdhury pointed to what he described as a significant turnout of Hindu voters in the recent elections. He said such turnout was not witnessed in other communities and reflected a shift in political thinking.“Hindus realised that they cannot be treated as mere vote-bank by any party in Bangladesh. They felt that they are an inseparable part of this Bangladesh,” Chowdhury said.He said the PM and other BNP leaders met Hindu voters before the elections to assure them of safety and security. “They realised that they too are independent citizens of this country with equal rights to life and livelihood as mentioned in our constitution. Hence, they voted in large numbers for the BNP, for which we are grateful,” he said.Chowdhury said most political parties had now realised the importance of Hindus in electoral politics, noting that their support was crucial in at least 80 of the total 297 constituencies in parliament. He said that earlier the majority of Hindu voters had supported Awami League, but after its leaders fled, many felt insecure. He credited Rahman with working to remove that fear and win their support.On ties with India, Chowdhury said it was the new administration’s duty to develop good relations with all neighbours, including India. “We want to have ties which have mutual respect, interest, and understanding,” he said. “We will work on issues related to internal security of both Bangladesh and India,” he added.As culture minister, Chowdhury said Bengali culture was rich and that Bangladesh had cultural ties with at least 48 countries, including India. He saidgovt would strengthen these ties by focusing on traditions followed by previous generations while fighting fundamentalism.“We all together will work for a better Bangladesh,” he said.