Attack on Hindus in Bangladesh during Durga Puja and betrayal of Bengali Hindus of West Bengal

The attack on Hindus and their religious institutions in Bangladesh is nothing new. In Bangladesh, attacks on temples, demolition of idols (Pratima), forcible possession of temple and cremation ground have become a routine affair and happen throughout the year, every year. Reports of these incidents often appear in local media, in some cases complaints go to court. But nothing happens. The cycle repeats . Especially, the attack on Durga idols (Pratima) begins a few months before Durga Puja every year and has become a permanent feature. 

Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, a well-known eminent educationist and writer of Bangladesh, has just written in his social media post: “When the time of Durga Puja comes, the work of making of Durga idols begins all over the country, I feel a kind of suppressed turmoil within myself. I inevitably get the news that the idols are being demolished here and there in the country. When the puja begins, I hold my breath, those who are ready to bomb the Sholakia Eid gathering are capable of doing devastation at the puja ceremony too. When everything (Puja) is over, I breathe a sigh of relief”. This is a true description of the lives of Hindus in Bangladesh.

So what has happened this year is nothing new. Unlike previous years, news of this year’s incidents could not be suppressed as they reached thousands of people almost immediately due to social media with video shots capturing the mayhem. Especially the attack on the ISKCON temple and the killing of the sadhu workers there have elevated the news to the international stage. Protests have erupted in various parts of the world due to the efforts of ISKCON devotees.

What happened

On October 13, 2021, on the morning of the second day (Ashtami) of Durga Puja, a Muslim mob attacked a Durga Puja mandap in Comilla, a city of half a million in southeastern Bangladesh. The name Comilla was derived from Kamalanko (কমলাঙ্ক), meaning the pond of lotus. The excuse provided by the Islamists was that a copy of the Islamic holy book Koran was placed under the feet of Hanuman (the monkey god). Everyone knows that the Hindu community in Bangladesh, living under the constant threat of Islamic persecution, can never dare to commit any such misdeed. The security camera later revealed the truth. It captured the picture of a Muslim youth committing the misdeed. But the damage has been done before that. The news of sacrilege of the Koran was out at 7 am in morning. The organizers of the Puja immediately contacted local police and asked for protection. Police did nothing to protect the Puja pandal, instead waited there for four hours to enable Islamists to gather their followers. At 11 am Islamists started their action –  vandalizing the idols (murti) before throwing them in a nearby pond. The Officer-In-Charge (OC) of the local police station was present there during the violence but did nothing to stop the rioters. 

This was not an isolated incident. Taking a cue from Comilla, violence spread all over Bangladesh which showed the extent of hatred towards Non-Muslims prevalent across the country. These people are not ashamed or afraid to show their jihadi activities in front of the camera as they are aware that the vast majority of the society, administration and political parties support them. 

The extent of violence against Hindus can be gauged from this widely circulated list of incidents. The list is incomplete and accounts for violence and atrocities committed in just three days (13-15 October) of Durga Puja.

1. Nanua Dighirpar Puja Pandal was demolished in Comilla. 
2. Attack on 15 puja pandals at Banskhali in Chittagong. 
3. Attack on puja mandap in Ghazipur. 
4. Demolition of two pandal idols and pandals and gates of five pandals at Kamalganj in Moulvibazar. 
5. Attack on Kulaura Mandap. 
6. Attack on puja mandap at Ramgati in Laxmipur. 
7. Ulipur in Kurigram: Vandalism and arson in seven temples of three unions. 
8. Chakriya and Pekua in Cox’s Bazar: 200+ Hindu families attacked in 4 unions.
9. Lama Hari temple attack, demolition, looting in Bandarban. 
10. Attack on puja mandap at Jockeyganj in Sylhet. 
11. Attack on puja mandap at Hajiganj in Chandpur. 
12. Chandpur Ramakrishna Mission vandalized. 
13. Attack on Noakhali ISKCON temple. (Killing of 2 sadhus).  
14. Ramthakur’s ashram, Chaumuhuni, Noakhali. 
15. J. M. Hall (YatraMohanHall), Chattagram. Mandap vandalized. 
16. Comilla Sadar Kalibari attacked. 
17. Attack on Karunamayi Kali Temple under Chowkbazar police station.
18. Attempts to attack the famous Dhakeshwari temple in Capital Dhaka. 
19. Bombs recovered from the entrance of Crematorium ghat in Rupsa, Khulna.
20. In Noakhali villages of Trishul, Mangala, Navdurga, Vijaya Puja Pandal, Temples and houses have been attacked, vandalized and even set on fire. 
21. Hindu houses have been attacked, vandalized and set on fire in Bargram, Chhanibazar, Begumganj, Sonaimuri.

Murder/_Rape:

1. The mother, daughter, sister of the same family were raped in Hajiganj, Chandpur. The youngest one is ten years old.

Killed:

1.Manik Saha (killed)–Hajiganj, Chandpur, 

2 Jatan Saha (Mandap Pujari)—Noakhali 

3. Sadhu Nimai Krishna, priest of Noakhali IskconTemple and another sadhu (his name not disclosed).

A Map showing the places of incidents given at the end.

Bangladesh’s respected human rights organization, Law and Arbitration Centre (Ain O Salish Kendra – ASK), informed there had been 3,679 attacks on Hindu communities in Bangladesh in the last nine years. Of these, 1,559 houses were vandalized and set on fire. During this period, 442 Hindu businesses were attacked, vandalized and set on fire. There have been 1,678 incidents of vandalism and arson in idols, puja pandals and temples. ASK says 862 Hindus were injured in the attacks and eleven persons were killed. Apart from this two Hindu women were raped in 2014. Four others were molested. In addition, in 2016, 2017 and 2020, 10 Hindu families were evicted from land and houses. Rana Dasgupta, general secretary of the Bangladesh Hindu, Buddhist, Christian Unity Council, claimed that the actual number was much higher than that. ASK’s report analysis shows that number of attacks on Hinduswas largest in the year 2014. The national election was held in the month of January that year and Hindus were the victims of post-election violence. 761 Hindu houses, 193 businesses and 247 temple pandals were attacked that year. One person was killed.

At a press conference at Dhaka Press Club on 6 November, the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council presented a brief picture of the communal attack that took place from the Mahastami day (October 13) to 1 November 2021. According to their information, 17 temples/puja mandaps, 301settlements and businesses in 27districts and a total of 5 people were killed not including 4 rioters killed in police firing. The fifth victim, Dilip Das, father of Adhara Priya, a member of Comilla’s’ Drishtipat’ theatre group, was seriously injured when he was attacked by Islamists on October 13. He was brought to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where he breathed his last while undergoing treatment on October 21. On the same day, Adhir Saha (80), who was living in a house adjacent to the Chanmani Kali Temple in Comilla, died in a heart attack witnessing the attack on the temple by Islamists with sharp weapons.

An eyewitness account of the attack on the Hindu community in Barkarimpur village of Pirganj Sub-District of Rangpur shows the condition of Hindus in Bangladesh. At around 10.30 pm on October 17, miscreants attacked, looted, and set fire to the houses of Hindus in the village, accusing them of blasphemy. During that attack, the villagers spent most of the night in the forest or in the paddy field to save their lives. Haridas Roy (50 ) said, “When neighbours’ houses were attacked at night, we, three-year-old grandson Sarthak Roy, my sick wife and I left the house and fled to the nearby paddy field. I lie down on the ground and sit quietly with my grandson”. Ms Ranibala (35) of the village said, “When I realized that the village was attacked, I went inside the nearby paddy field with Gautam Roy, my son who studies in eighth grade. Our bodies were itching badly due to cold muddy water in the paddy field. We stayed there the whole night with a great difficulty till the Police arrived in the morning and asked us to come out through loudspeaker announcement. We came home and found the houses on fire. I never thought that such a day would come in life. (Reported in Bangladesh daily Prothom Alo, October 18, 2021 issue).

Protests

Protests were held in Bangladesh and all over the world. Liberal minded people of Bangladesh, though minuscule in numbers has condemned and protested against the heinous attack on Hindus. Students and teachers of Dhaka University and various cultural organizations took to the streets to hold rallies. Major political parties like Awami League, BNP have condemned the incidents, but no one took it seriously as members/ supporters of both the parties were often involved in anti-Hindu activities. Hence, people were not surprised when the Foreign Minister of the Awami League government termed the attacks on Hindus for the past few days as isolated incidents and said that the government has taken appropriate action. The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council has announced a “Protest March” across the country on Friday, November 12, 2021, to condemn the foreign minister’s “irresponsible and senseless statement” on communal attacks in the country. Protests have taken place around the world as well. A major reason for this is the publicity on social media. Another important reason is the attack and burning of ISKCON temples and the murder of their priests. ISKCON is an internationally famous religious institution and has bases and followers in various countries including the US and Europe. Their efforts and public protests have caught the attention of the world. 

Betrayal of India and West Bengal

The biggest betrayal of Hindus in Bangladesh came from BJP led Government of India at the very beginning. Two days after the incident, the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India tweeted “We have seen disturbing reports and untoward incidents in Bangladesh. We are in touch with Bangladesh government. The Bangladesh Government has reacted promptly. Our embassy is in contact with local authorities”. What a shameful comment. No mention that minority Hindus are attacked. Hindus have been under attack for two weeks after the first incident, but the Government of India gave a clean chit to the Bangladesh government just two days after the first incident. On the other hand, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in her first reaction, warned the Indian government to ensure that no retaliatory actions are allowed in India.  A few days later, Dinesh Patnaik, the Director-General of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Government of India, tweeted that India’s relation with Bangladesh will not be affected due to these small incidents. Imagine, the cultural representative of the BJP Government of India is saying that these are small incidents. 

Such a shocking and harmful role of the BJP regarding Bangladesh is nothing new. BJP Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the first to congratulate and send his special envoy to Dhaka in October 2001 after the general election victory of fierce anti-Hindu Begum Khaleda Zia. A few days later, 16 Indian BSF soldiers were kidnapped and killed by the Bangladesh army and villagers. Their bodies were later returned hanging on bamboo poles like animals. BJP Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee did not take any appropriate action despite such brutal killings and humiliation of martyrs bodies. For the next five years, Begum Zia continued to torture Hindus. The present BJP government and party seem to be following the same path. Apart from routine lip service from a few, no important BJP central leader spoke to express sympathy and solidarity with the Hindus in Bangladesh. How do these central leaders expect to get Hindu votes in West Bengal? 

The West Bengal BJP, always depending on Delhi to show the way, too could not dare to come out in sympathy for the Hindus in Bangladesh. The weak leadership spoke at a press conference four days later and announced that protests would be organized at the Mandal level the next day. This announcement was a face-saving one only, there was no preparation and mobilisation needed for such protest. There was no central rally despite the announcement. The 17 BJP MPs from West Bengal made no noise in Delhi.

The only beacon of hope was the valiant effort by Shri Shuvendu Adhikari, BJP MLA and leader of opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. Instead of relying on lethargic state party leadership, he wrote to the Prime Minister on the first day to act on this matter. Two days later, he went to the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata and submitted a memorandum demanding justice. Finally, as soon as the Legislative Assembly opened, he moved a resolution on the attack by Hindus in Bangladesh. This was, probably, the first time in many decades a resolution on the plights of Hindus in Bangladesh was moved in the Legislative Assembly of West Bengal. He led a procession in the assembly premises where all the BJP MLAs were present. Supporters of the Refugee Cell of BJP organised protests and candlelight vigils at some locations. Refugee Cell also requested people not to decorate their houses with lights on Deepavali night in line with the decision of The Bangladesh Puja Celebration Council which decided that Kalipuja would be performed on Deepavali day without lighting decoration. Many people in West Bengal responded to the call of Refugee Cell and did not light up their homes. Lack of leadership forced thousands of confused BJP workers to gather under the flags of various Hindu organisations to protest.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Hindu Jagran Manch, whose strength inWest Bengal is very limited, tried their best to organise protests in different parts of West Bengal.

As in the past, leading Hindu organizations of West Bengal like Ramakrishna Mission and Bharat Sevasharam Sangha remained practically silent except to issue a routine press statement. Neither organised any protest nor asked their monks and followers to join the protest anywhere. The temples of other cults like Ram Thakur, Lokenath, Balak Brahmachari, were vandalised too in Bangladesh but their devotees did not protest in West Bengal.

Hindu Bengali in West Bengal is almost guardianless today. Political parties, major Hindu religious organizations – everyone abandoned them in the hour of crisis. Bengali Hindus in West Bengal will have to suffer like Bangladeshi Hindus in the coming days.