Dhaka: Amid rising atrocities against minorities, including Hindus, in Bangladesh, another International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) temple was vandalised and set on fire by miscreants on Friday, December 6. According to sources, the temple was being managed by ISKCON Namahatta Mandir.
However, there were no immediate reports of any injuries. The latest incident has marked yet another attack targeting the Hindu minority in the country.
This incident was confirmed by Kolkata ISKCON VP Radharamn Das on his X account. According to Radharamn, the idols of deities and other items inside the temple, were burned down completely. The center, located in Dhaka, witnessed the concerning incident on Saturday morning around 2-3am.
Das said that the religious centre was set on fire by lifting the tin roof at the back of the temple and using petrol or octane.
In a post on X, Das wrotem “Another ISKCON Namhatta Centre burned down in Bangladesh. The Deities of Sri Sri Laxmi Narayan and all items inside the temple, were burned down completely 😭. The center is located in Dhaka. Early morning today, between 2-3 AM, miscreants set fire to the Shri Shri Radha Krishna Temple and the Shri Shri Mahabhagya Lakshmi Narayan Temple, which fall under the Hare Krishna Namhatta Sangha, located in Dhour village, under then jurisdiction of Turag Police Station, Dhaka district. The fire was initiated by lifting the tin roof at the back of the temple and using petrol or octane. Address: H-02, R-05, Ward-54, DNCC, Dhaka 1230. (sic)”
This comes a week after an ISKCON center in Bhairab was vandalised. Eyewitnesses reported that a group of miscreants stormed the temple premises, damaging religious artifacts and structures. This comes at a when the south Asian country is witnessing violence against Hindus following a political upheaval.
Hindus Under Attack in Bangladesh
The situation in Bangladesh remains volatile owing to the ongoing protests by Hindus and minority communities over recent attacks and harassment against them. Following a political upheveal, Bangladesh has witnessed chaos, further aggravated by increasing violence against minority communities following the arrest of a Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das over sedition charges and for allegedly disrespecting Bangladesh’s national flag in Chittagong.
Das, who is associated with the Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote, was arrested in Dhaka on November 25. The arrest followed a complaint filed on October 31 by a local politician who accused him and others of disrespecting Bangladesh’s national flag during a rally of the Hindu community.
Meanwhile, a Bangladesh court denied bail to Das and set January 2, 2025, as the next hearing date for Hindu spiritual leader Chinmoy Das. Das, who was once a member of ISKCON Bangladesh, will remain in jail on alleged sedition charges until next hearing. Chattogram Metropolitan Session Judge Saiful Islam set the new date for the hearing as the defence lawyer was absent from the court.
India-Bangladesh Tensions Escalates
The atrocities against minorities, including Hindus, in Bangladesh has also sparked diplomatic tensions between New Delhi and Dhaka and India. The rising incidents of attacks on members of Hindu community living in Bangladesh led by Mohammad Yunus’s interim government, have also sparked tensions between New Delhi and Dhaka. The diplomatic relations between Indian and Bangladesh are taking a new turn in light of the developments with India expressing its concerns over the safeguard of minorities in its neighbouring nation.
Political Upheaval in Bangladesh With the Downfall of Hasina
The India-Bangladesh ties have strained since August, when a popular uprising – now widely termed the “monsoon revolution” – toppled the government led by Bangladesh’s longest-serving PM Sheikh Hasina . The diplomatic tensions come amid a significant shift in the political landscape of Bangladesh which witnessed the downfall of Sheikh Hasina as her 15-year-long reign came to an end. The tensions spiraled when Hasina fled to India in August following huge violent protests against her government over the job-quota policy. The student protest, which initially demanded reforms to the quota system that governed the distribution of government jobs in the country, intensified and turned violent after Hasina refused to meet their demands, citing court proceedings.
Further fuelling anger among the protesters, Hasina described the them as “razakar”, an offensive term used for those accused of conniving with Pakistan ‘s army in 1971 to betray the country. The entire episode resulted in the political upheaved of the South Asian country with Hasina resigning in the face of massive public protests and fleeing to India. This was followed by the installation of an interim administration under Yunus.
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