Durga Puja in jeopardy in Bangladesh as Islamists clamour for stoppage citing environmental concerns
3 min readEver since the ouster of the Awami League government in Bangladesh, the condition of the minority Hindu community has reportedly worsened in the Musim-majority country. As per reports, Hindus — totalling a little over 13 million or 7.95 percent of Bangladesh’s population, according to the 2022 Census of Bangladesh — are facing threats ahead of the Durga Puja. The 5-day festival, to commence on October 9 this year, is the biggest and most popular amongst the Bengali Hindus around the world, including Bangladesh. However, extremist groups are now claiming that they’ll not allow the minority community to hold the Durga Puja, citing a whole host of reasons.
As per reports, the Insaf Keemkari Chhatra-Janta, a radical Islamic group, held a march in Dhaka’s Sector 13 recently. Their demands included “no worship anywhere by closing roads, no pollution to water by idol immersion, no worship to idols”. The group cited environmental concerns while making the 16-point demand, which includes bans on public displays of worship and idol immersions. After the five days, i.e.: Maha Sasthi, Maha Saptami, Maha Astami, Maha Navami and Bijoya Dashami, the idol of goddess Durga and others are immersed, as per tradition.
Bangladeshi Mullahs demonstrating on Dhaka street, they won’t allow Durga Puja in the field where every year puja committee do in Uttara, #Bangladesh.#BangladeshCrisis #SaveBangladeshiHindus pic.twitter.com/P2gWtfBIJb
— Dr. Imran H Sarker (@ImranHSarker) September 24, 2024
Insaf Keemkari Chhatra-Janta also demanded that roads cannot be closed down for religious events. The stipulation also mentioned an end to government assistance funding for festival expenses. The group claimed that since Hindus account for less than two percent of the population — which is contrary to the 2022 census — Durga Puja should be removed from the list of public holidays, as it disrupts the life of Muslims in the Islam-majority country.
ALSO READ: Bangladesh asks minority Hindus to pause Durga Puja music during Islamic prayers
It also called for demolition of temples “built by occupying many special lands in Bangladesh”, while urging Muslims to withdraw support for Hindu celebrations.
VIDEO | “The situation is very critical in Bangladesh. We have received many phone calls from people there saying that Muslim organisations are taking rallies on the ground and demanding the government to stop the Durga Puja celebrations. We saw that in 2021 many people were… pic.twitter.com/N7l8HA8YwJ
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 25, 2024
The group also deemed India as “Bangladesh’s national enemy”, adding, “Hindus in Bangladesh must agree to be anti-India”.
A report from India Today, citing Bangladeshi Hindus, claimed that radical Islamist groups in the country have demanded for 500,000 Bangladeshi taka (USD 4,190) from temples and puja committees as permit for the Durga Puja.
Idols have also been vandalised in several parts of the country. The trend is continuing since the fall of the Hasina government in August, following a mass uprising.
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