(Nov. 30, 2011) Minority leaders in Bangladesh claimed victory on Wednesday,
after the passing of a bill that will enable people to reclaim property confiscated
by the state under an old controversial law. “The new legislation enables us to regain
our property. We thank the government,” said Rana Dasgupta, a lawyer and secretary-general
of the Bangladesh United Council for Hindus, Buddhists and Christians, an inter-faith
forum. Rights groups had been battling for years against the Vested Property Act,
which allowed the government to seize lands from individuals, who it deemed an enemy
of the state. The law, initially known as the Enemy Property Act was introduced before
independence by Pakistan and enacted after a brief war with India in the 1960s. Under
the law, the state confiscated property from millions of people who fled to India
during the war and was used as a discriminatory tool against minorities, according
to rights groups. However, the Vested Properties Return (Amendment) Bill 2011 passed
in parliament on Monday will go a long way to redressing the injustices caused by
the old law, Dasgupta said. Bishop Gervas Rozario of Rajshahi said “The new bill
is good news for those whose properties were taken away. If implemented well, it will
ensure justice and land problems with minorities will decline to a great extent,”
the prelate added.