Constant attacks on temples and idols in Bangladesh can become a matter of concern for Indian administration

14 temples have been vandalized in Bangladesh by unidentified people overnight. The incident took place in Upazila, a sub-district in Thakurgaon. According to the information, several idols were destroyed while others were found in pond waters beside temple sites. In a statement given to a media house, Thakurgaon police’s Chief Jahangir Hossain said, ‘It clearly appears to be a case of an orchestrated attack to disrupt the peaceful situation of the country. I assure you they will have to face stern legal actions.’ Police investigation was launched immediately after it reached to them.

Hinduism is the second largest religious affiliation practiced by 13.1 million people in People’s Republic of Bangladesh, according to the Official Census 2022. However, it is a minority community in the nation comparatively to Muslims. General Secretary of Upazila’s Puja celebration Council, Mr. Barman said, ‘We are in the dark about their identity but we want to bring them to justice after investigations’, quoted by NDTV. This is not the first time in Muslim majority Bangladesh, where Hindu religion was targeted. A report says, attacks on religious minorities in Bangladesh have increased in recent years. Temple, shops and several houses of Hindu community people have been attacked in southwestern Bangladesh earlier, because of a Facebook post regarding Islam.

Uday Chatterjee is from Murshidabad district in West Bengal but lives in Bangladesh for his work. Religious by nature, he is completely devastated after the incident. He said, ‘It is a shameful act towards any religion. We as a Hindu consider idols and temples very holy and if something bad happens to them, as a community it is a very disheartening day for us. Police should find out who all were behind this as soon as possible and should punish them severely.’ He further added that he goes to the temple every morning or evening to find peace and it really works. Uday practice Hinduism and have some friends from other religious communities. He told EAT news, everybody condemned this incident. ‘I have a bunch of friends who belong to Islam and everybody condemned the incident. They are as angry as I am’, he said.

No official statement has been released by Bangladesh administration. 7.95 percentage of the Bangladesh population consist of Hindu voters which are above other religions such as Christianity and Buddhism. Mr. Chatterjee mentioned past attacks on temples and told EAT news minorities are being targeted for no reason. ‘I remember last year also we had the same kind of incident where temples, shops and even houses were attacked specifically of Hindus. This does not sound safe at all. We are not running with stones and vandalizing their holy places. Nor we are talking or insulting any community then why are we targeted? Why religious places are not respected in this country? The administration should assure the safety and security of our temples and people’, he said.

Is Bangladesh a safe country for tourists or other religious minorities? As per US administration travel guidelines, exercise increased caution in Bangladesh due to kidnapping, crime and terrorism. No specific travel advisory is released by Indian administration regarding safety in Bangladesh, so far. Mr. Chatterjee had lived with his family for 4 years in Bangladesh and has a different experience during that time. He said, ‘I lived here with my family from 2010 to 2014. We never heard of such news. All communities lived together and atmosphere for the children was decent enough to grow. But now they live in India and I am thankful they are not here. I believe this country is no longer safe for other communities. I have seen groups talking negative and violently about Hindu religion, some of them outwardly remain united but when they sit in groups they discuss all sort of disturbing things.’ Mr. Uday Chatterjee has applied for transfer and is waiting for the approval.  

Sheikh Hasina is current Prime Minister of Bangladesh and shares good relation with Indian administration. Political experts say India-Bangladesh relation is in the best phase due to important progress made by Hasina administration in last nine years. There are several pacts signed between both the countries recently including those on civil nuclear energy, defense and electricity. Expert Omnath said, ‘Hasina and Modi administration are working collaboratively over number of sectors. They agreed on multiple points and had signed some of the pacts that are considered significant for both the countries. Bangladesh administration should release a statement about the recent incident of vandalizing of various temples and increase in attacks. India has always condemned such attacks and will continue to do so.’ He further added that both the countries should sign other pacts considering such incidents. India has a large number of Bangladeshi population as an immigrants living in east India.

Overlooking of such issues by Bangladesh administration will no longer strengthen India and the country’s relation in future.