Advocate Rana Dasgupta, acting General Secretary of Bangladesh Hindu Bouddha Oikya Parishad, appealed for international solidarity at a discussion session organised by CAAMB (Campaign Against Atrocities on Minorities in Bangladesh ), Kolkata on 29 December 2007 . The meeting was organised with Rana Dasgupta and Advocate Rabindra Ghosh at he Centre for Research in Indo-Bangla Relations (CRIBR), Jodhpur Park , Kolkata. A selected group of people were invited for due to inadequate space and for in-depth discussion on the latest situation in Bangladesh . The venue was overfilled

Advocate Rana Dasgupta, Acting General Secretary of BHBCOP, speaking at CAAMB Meeting in Kolkata

After introduction of the speakers, Rana Dasgupta spoke in details of the background of development of fundamentalism in Bangladesh . In an hour-long speech he described how the Islamic fundamentalists have been influencing the society and the government since the birth of Bangladesh . He lamented that no political party, including the left, resisted while the constitution was amended to introduce Islam as the state religion. The minorities had no alternative but to form their own organisation to fight for their rights. Citing the examples of anti-apartheid movement in South Africa , he called for international solidarity to strengthen minority rights movement in Bangladesh .

Advocate Rabindra Ghosh, leader of Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM) and Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD), spoke about his experience on documenting and intervening in the cases of atrocities on the minorities. He described how even after this emergency, the administration is helping destruction of Hindu temples and properties.

The Audience at the Discussion Session

A lively question & answer session followed. Eminent writer Sandip Bandyopadhyaya enquired about the need for reform of Hindu personal laws in Bangladesh . Debajyoti Roy, (Secretary, Ambedkar Study Forum) and Bimal Pramanik, Director CRIBR, asked whether a democratic system ensuring minority rights is possible at all in an Islamic society. The speakers and the audience also discussed about the pan-Islamic plan of controlling the eastern India .
Mohit Ray of CAAMB facilitated the discussion and Achinta Gupta of CAAMB thanked all for their participation. The meeting ended at 7 pm .