Bangladesh’s Hindu community faces yet another grave threat as radical Islamic extremists openly plan to slaughter 100 cows during Pohela Boishakh, the Bengali New Year, on April 14. The sinister attempt to hurt Hindu religious sentiments is being ignored by the interim Muhammad Yunus-led government, which has consistently turned a blind eye to the persecution of minorities.
With less than two months until the festival, threats continue to escalate on social media. Yet, the government remains unresponsive. Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, cultural adviser to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, shockingly dismissed concerns, stating, “Many people say many things on social media… We cannot respond to everything said there as government authorities.”
When pressed about the real-world consequences of such online threats, Farooki merely assured, “Pohela Boishakh is a big festival. It will be observed in the same manner it has been celebrated all these years.”
The threats cannot be ignored, given the violent history of Islamist attacks against Hindu cultural celebrations. The 2001 Ramna Batamul bomb blasts by terror outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami killed nine innocent people and injured at least 50 during Pohela Boishakh celebrations. Despite convictions in 2014, key terrorists remain at large, evading justice for over 24 years.
Since seising power, the interim regime of Muhammad Yunus has emboldened Islamic hardliners. While Yunus has not explicitly incited mobs, his strategic silence has facilitated growing radicalism. His administration has:
- Released convicted terrorists and Islamic hardliners
- Downplayed attacks on Hindu minorities as ‘fake,’ ‘exaggerated,’ or ‘politically motivated’
- Allowed systematic religious violence to go unchecked
The removal of Sheikh Hasina’s government on August 5, 2024, triggered a wave of state-sponsored and extremist-led attacks on Hindus. Reports indicate at least 205 attacks on Hindu mandirs, shops, and businesses within three days of her ouster.
Chilling timeline of anti-Hindu atrocities:
- September 6: Hindu devotees carrying Bhagwan Ganesha’s murti attacked by Islamists in Chittagong.
- September 25: A radical Muslim vandalised Ma Durga’s murti in Mymensingh.
- September 28 – October 1: Nine Hindu murti desecrated in Sujanagar upazila, Pabna district.
- October 3: Seven murti of Hindu deities destroyed at Gopinath Jiur Akhara Durga Puja Mandap, Dhaka Division.
- November 5: Police and law enforcement attacked Hindus in Hazari Goli, Chittagong.
- November 29: Three mandirs vandalised by a violent Muslim mob in Patharghata, Chittagong.
- December 13: Attack on Mahashmashan Kali Mata Mandir — seven murtis destroyed, gold ornaments looted.
- December 19: Multiple Hindu mandirs attacked in Mymensingh, murtis desecrated.
Additionally, the persecution extends beyond physical attacks:
- Forced resignation of 60 Hindu government officials and teachers
- Hindus coerced into joining the radical ‘Jamaat-e-Islami’
- Arrests of Hindu activists like Chinmoy Krishna Das Prabhu under false sedition charges
Under Muhammad Yunus’s interim regime, Bangladesh has plunged deeper into religious extremism. The Hindu community, facing daily attacks, murti desecrations, forced conversions, and systemic marginalisation, stands on the brink of cultural and religious annihilation.
