Bangladesh's Bengali Soul Under Siege: Extremism Threatens Nation's Founding Principles

• Radical Islamist groups like Hizb-ut-Tahrir and Ansar al-Islam are attacking cultural institutions and newspaper offices, challenging Bangladesh's secular, pluralistic Bengali identity.
• A Hindu youth, Dipu Chandra Das, was publicly lynched and burned alive after being falsely accused of blasphemy, with police reportedly handing him to mobs. Another Hindu, Gopal Biswas, was targeted for his identity.
• Islamists are openly waving ISIS flags, chanting jihadist slogans, and attempting to establish a Caliphate, even storming the National Parliament complex and attacking Indian diplomatic missions.
• The interim regime under Muhammad Yunus is criticized for failing to curb the rising extremism, which the author suggests mirrors Pakistan's destabilization tactics.
• The article warns that Bangladesh is nearing a "point of no return," risking its civilisational survival and becoming an extremist battleground if its Bengali identity collapses.

Why It Matters: Islamist extremism threatens Bangladesh's secular Bengali identity, pushing the nation towards a critical point.