Dhaka/Kolkata, Dec 7 (UNI) An ISKCON temple was burnt down in Dhaka and the idols vandalised, amid rising tensions between India and Bangladesh over attacks on Hindus and other minorities. The latest incident comes ahead of Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri’s visit to Bangladesh next week.
Spokesperson of ISKCON Kolkata, Radharamn Das posted on X, that the Namhatta Centre of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) was burned down in Dhaka.
“The Deities of Sri Sri Laxmi Narayan and all items inside the temple, were burned down completely,” he posted.
“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 the 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,” he said.
He said that the head of the Interim Government Mohammed Younus held a meeting with the heads of religious minorities. “We were hoping that the situation would change after the meeting but what we are seeing is something entirely different,” he said, adding that he regularly receives threatening videos of ultimatums being given to ban ISKCON in Bangladesh.
He also posted another video of Muslim clerics in Dhaka calling for the banning of ISKCON otherwise threatening to “cut them by our swords…”
“The most baffling thing is why these people are not being arrested? The world is waiting for what?,” Das asked.
He posted another video of a Hindu forum holding a press conference in Dhaka to protest against the recent attacks on Hindu lawyers.
“Hindu lawyers also expressed their deep concern over the court proceedings against Sri Chinmoy Krishna Das Prabhu and how no lawyer was allowed to stand for him,” he said.
The attack on the ISKCON temple comes as Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri is set to visit Dhaka on December 9 for the India-Bangladesh Foreign Office Consultations. This will be the first high-level visit from India since the forming of the army-backed Interim Government headed by Chief Advisor Mohammed Yunus.
Bilateral tensions between India and Bangladesh have risen over the past months since the August 5 overthrow of the Sheikh Hasina government, and the installation of the Interim Government, which has also seen a marked rise in attacks on Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh. India has repeatedly urged the interim government to ensure the safety and security of the Hindu community. The arrest and denial of bail to former ISKCON priest Chinmoy Das in a sedition case has led to protests in India and even abroad.
Matters came to head earlier this week when a Hindu group held a protest at the Assistant High Commission of Bangladesh in Agartala, during which some miscreants tore down the Bangladesh national flag and vandalised the premises. Dhaka summoned the Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma on Tuesday to protest the incident.
India expressed regret over the incident, and beefed up security at all Bangladesh missions in India. India has also stated that its ties with Bangladesh are deep and it should not be limited to a single issue.
The attack on the ISKCON temple comes days after the December 3 attack on Hindus in the eastern Sunamganj district. In a statement on Thursday, the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, the largest minority advocacy group in Bangladesh, has condemned the incident and called for swift government action to hold the perpetrators accountable.
The group said that more than 100 houses and businesses belonging to the Hindu community in Manglargaon and Monigaon East Gunigram were allegedly attacked, looted, and vandalised in Sunamganj district.
The statement added that a temple was damaged and that many minority community villagers fled their homes out of fear.
UNI RN