Targeted attacks on the minority communities are at an intense scale in Bangladesh since the ouster of the Awami League and Sheikh Hasina regime and the takeover of the country’s administration by the interim administration under its Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus. The repeated attacks on the Hindu community, arrest of the ISKCON chief Chinmoy Das in Dhaka in November 2024 and other crackdown has been a testament to how conservative, rigid and anti-minority the Bangladesh political landscape is turning into.
The latest anti-minority brutality witnessed in Bangladesh is the crackdown on the Baul community. Recently, the Islamist group named as Towhidi Janata attacked the Baul performers and singers. The supporters of the Baul community had organised a protest against the arrest of their leader Abul Sarkar in Manikganj and Thakurgaon. The protestors were condemning the arrests and were demanding the release of the Baul leader Abul Sarkar.
However, the protestors faced a brutal crackdown in Thakurgaon by Towhidi Janata and other Islamist groups. This led to a clash between the Baul group and the Islamist group that left many people injured. Meanwhile, additional police were deployed to restore peace. Earlier, on November 23, another attack was unleashed on the Baul supporters in Manikganj. Since the arrest of the Baul leader Abul Sarkar many human rights activists have demanded for equality, minority protection and the release of the leader.
Baul singers are the folk performers in Bangladesh, belonging to the minority community. These mystic religious singers are spread predominantly across the Indian state of West Bengal and Bangladesh. This religious sect consists of both Hindu Vaishnavites and Muslim sufi saints. Baul music is an integral part of the traditional and folk ethos of Bangladesh.
Abul Sarkar, the leader and renowned performer from the Baul community was arrested from Manikganj on November 7, over alleged blasphemy charges. He was accused of promoting violence, communal unrest, hurting religious sentiments and corrupting the Islamic belief system. However, the co-singer accompanying Abul Sarkar reiterated that his performance videos were deliberately manipulated and made viral. When the video became viral, Islamist organisations staged a protest that led to the arrest of the folk singer.
The Islamist Group Towhidi Janata had also previously been responsible for calibrating attacks on the minority Hindu community. Tawahidi Janata is an Islamic movement that is responsible for stimulating violence across Bangladesh. It is linked to the radical Islamic group called as Hefazat-e-Islam. This group is responsible for protests during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangladesh in 2021. The organisation has disrupted the durga pooja several times in Bangladesh and has erupted violent clashes causing multiple casualties. In January 2025, Towhidi Janata had also vandalized the sculpture of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh.
The growing anti-minority sentiments and accompanying violence in Bangladesh is a serious concern. The extremist iseologies are being consolidated in Bangladesh, which not just destroys the social and developmental fabric of that country, but indeed has a spillover effect to neighbouring countries such as India. The social, political, economic and secular fabric of Bangladesh has been severely disrupted since August 2024, when the country’s administration was taken over by the interim government.
