ISKCON priest Chinmoy Krishna The arrest: India has expressed “deep concern” over the arrest of Hindu leader Krishna Das Prabhuwho is associated with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), in Bangladesh.
“We have noted with deep concern the arrest and denial of bail to Shri Chinmoy Krishna Das, who is also the spokesperson of the Bangladesh Sammilit Sanatan Jagran Jote. This incident follows the multiple attacks on Hindus and other minorities by extremist elements in Bangladesh… It is unfortunate that while the perpetrators of these incidents remain at large, charges should be pressed against a religious leader presenting legitimate demands through peaceful gatherings,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday (November 26).
Local media reports said that Prabhu, who has been leading rallies demanding security for Hindus, was arrested in Dhaka’s main airport on Monday while travelling to Chattogram in southeastern Bangladesh.
The Sammilit Sanatan Jagran Jot has been calling for minority rights and security, and for the implementation of an 8-point list of demands. Here’s what they are.
Establishment of a Special Tribunal, for swift trials in cases of minority persecution, including compensation and rehabilitation for victims.
In Bangladesh, Islam is the state religion and there has been documented violence against minority communities in the country. While Hindus are the largest minority, there are several other minority groups who have faced violence and persecution due to their religion, language and culture.
According to the 2022 report of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, in the country, 91 per cent of the population is Muslim, while 8.95 percent belong to other faiths, including Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Ahmadiyya etc. Approximately 0.12 percent of the population is categorised as those who follow indigenous faiths, like the Santals. According to Bangladesh’s 2022 census, there are officially 50 indigenous groups that follow indigenous faiths, and fall within the minority classification. Of these, the Chakma are the largest ethnic minority, most of whom follow Buddhism. The second largest minority after the Chakmas, are the Marma who trace their origins to modern-day Myanmar. Other indigenous minorities include the Mro, Tripuri, Oraon, Khasi, Barman, Garo etc.
Human rights advocates and minority community leaders have consistently highlighted how communities are denied justice in the case of violence and persecution on religious grounds within the existing legal framework in Bangladesh.
Enactment of a Minority Protection Law, to ensure security and rights for minority communities.
According to a US State Department white paper for 2009-2017, the Constitution of Bangladesh and other laws protect religious freedom and, on paper, the government is expected to enforce these protections. While the constitution establishes Islam as the state religion, in 2010 a Supreme Court decision reversed a 1975 amendment and reaffirmed secularism as a Constitutional principle. The white paper states that the country’s constitution provides for the right to profess, practise, or propagate all religions, subject to law, public order, and morality.
Although the government publicly supported freedom of religion, attacks on religious and ethnic minorities continued to be a problem during the reporting period (2009-2017), since religious minorities are often at the bottom of the social hierarchy and, therefore, have the least political recourse.
It does not appear that the situation has improved for minorities in Bangladesh, and has perhaps only become more severe post the fall of the Hasina government in August 2024, where there has been a collapse of the country’s law and order. A demand of this kind indicates that minorities believe they will benefit from legal protections under a specific law.
Creation of a Ministry for Minority Affairs, to address the specific needs and issues of minority groups
Bangladesh has a Ministry of Religious Affairs that also oversees religious affairs of minority communities. However, it does not have a specific ministry to address community-specific needs and issues of the country’s many minority groups that fall outside the spectrum of faith and worship.
Upgrade of the Hindu Welfare Trust to a Hindu Foundation, and similar upgrades for the Buddhist and Christian Welfare Trusts.
Connected with the demand to create a ministry for minority affairs, the eight-point demand calls for the creation of a ‘Hindu Foundation’. The Hindu Welfare Trust was established by the Bangladesh government in 1983 for the welfare of the Hindu community in the country. However, according to Banglapedia, a scholarly database dedicated to research on Bangladesh, it is very much a government entity, controlled by the government in power.
Banglapedia says “the main purpose of the trust is to promote the religious activities of the Hindus and help them maintain their religious institutions. There are more than 20,000 Hindu religious institutions throughout Bangladesh. The trust, which receives funds from the government in the annual development programme, gives these institutions financial support for their welfare and maintenance. Every year the trust gives grants for various Hindu religious festivals and for the renovation of Hindu temples.”
A foundation typically operates differently, where it is controlled by private individuals and not the government and is managed by trustees. In this case, the demand for a foundation likely indicates that the control of the institution would be in the hands of Hindus in the country who are private individuals, operating without government interference. The demand for a similar trust for other minority groups would work in the same way.
Laws to Recover and Protect Debottar (Temple) Properties, alongside proper enforcement of the Vested Property Act
There have been documented attacks against Hindu temples in Bangladesh over the years, but also against places of worship belonging to other minority faiths and idols of deities. However, there is little legal recourse for minorities. The Vested Property Act, 1974, according to Ain o Salish Kendra, a Bangladesh-based national legal aid and human rights organisation, that has been monitoring violence against minorities in the country since 2013, is a much-criticised Act and among the “longest running and most damaging” among all laws that are weaponised against minorities.
According to Ain o Salish Kendra’s explanation, the Enemy Property Act was initially enacted in 1965 after the India-Pakistan war and it authorised the Bangladesh government to confiscate properties belonging to those who had migrated from Pakistan to India, mostly Hindus from what was then East Pakistan and is now Bangladesh. In 1974, the Vested Property Ordinance was promulgated, with the stated justification that it would allow ‘enemy’ property to vest in the Bangladesh government.
Since then, the law has stayed on the books and its provisions have been applied arbitrarily and repeatedly to grab large portions of land owned by both Hindus, Christians, Adivasis and other minority groups. According to Ain o Salish Kendra, in typical cases, property is physically seized by local individuals, often neighbours, usually affiliated with powerful politicians or landowners.
“A case is then filed showing the property to be ‘vested’ in the state. This is a fairly easy process with the complicity of corrupt, local officials. As long as a case is on, lease implementation can continue. Some cases brought under the (Vested Property Act), stay on court dockets for decades, turning minority litigants into landless paupers. Whether the cases are won or lost becomes irrelevant as eventually penniless former land owners have no choice but to give up their claim,” says Ain o Salish Kendra.
Prayer Rooms in Educational Institutions, to accommodate minority religious practices in all schools, colleges, and hostels.
Since Islam is the state religion in Bangladesh, campuses for educational institutions usually have a prayer room or mosques for Muslim students. In 2022, Dhaka University opened its first multi-religion prayer room for minority students, putting up images of Hindu deities, Buddha and Christ for Buddhist and Christian students respectively. There have been no similar measures implemented across the country, however in the last two years.
Modernization of Sanskrit and Pali Education Boards, to enhance educational resources for these communities.
In Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Sanskrit and Pali Education Board is a Dhaka-based organisation that is responsible for conducting educational courses in traditional Sanskrit and Pali education. According to Banglapedia, it was first established in 1915 in Kolkata, prior to Partition, as the Bengal Sanskrit Association and used to conduct examinations for primary, secondary and degree courses.
At the time of partition in 1947, the association was divided into three: Bengal Sanskrit Education Association (that remained in West Bengal), Assam Sanskrit Sabha and East Pakistan Sanskrit Sabha. After 1947, the East Pakistan Sanskrit Sabha conducted all examinations of the Sanskrit and Pali Tols (tols are essentially groups) in East Pakistan.
“In 1962 it was renamed Pakistan Sanskrit and Pali Education Board. After the liberation of Bangladesh, it was renamed the Bangladesh Sanskrit and Pali Education Board. It is an autonomous body and all its expenses are met from a government grant. The government subsidises the salaries and allowances of the teachers of the colleges and schools under the board,” says Banglapedia.
The board conducts examinations for Sanskrit courses in ancient Hindu religious texts, Astrology, Ayurveda etc, and Pali courses in Sutra, Vinaya and Abhidhamma, some of the main religious texts in the Buddhist canon. According to Banglapedia, it also awards primary, secondary and degree certificates, with each course running for a year.
“At one time, the number of toll colleges approved by the board was 110 for Sanskrit and 88 for Pali. There were 50 examination centres. The number of educational institutions has since gone down, and some of the centres have also closed,” says Banglapedia.
The demand is to increase educational resources for the board
Five-Day Public Holiday for Durga Puja, recognising this important religious festival for the Hindu community
In Bangladesh, the festival of Durga Puja is usually a one-day holiday sanctioned by the Bangladesh government. This year, in 2024, following the fall of the Hasina government, the Yunus interim government said it was giving a two-day holiday for the festival, as there were two more government holidays one after the other that same week. The Yunus government had said the Hindu community was therefore getting a four-day holiday to celebrate the festival. During and in the run-up to the Durga Puja festival, Hindu community members have reported the vandalism and destruction of idols, loot of temples and pandals and attacks on Hindus.
