Hindu student Kankan Biswas accused of blasphemy in Bangladesh, Muslims stage protest demanding his expulsion

Case ID : 04aeefc | Location : Bangladesh | Date of Incident : Fri, 6 September, 2024

Case ID : 04aeefc

Bangladesh

6 September, 2024

Hindu student Kankan Biswas accused of blasphemy in Bangladesh, Muslims stage protest demanding his expulsion

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked over 'Blasphemy'

Case Summary

Radical Muslims in Bangladesh accused Kankan Biswas, a Hindu student at Jessore University of Science and Technology, of insulting Islam. On September 7, 2024, students from the university organised a protest march demanding Biswas's trial and punishment for his remarks. During the protest, the Muslim students labelled Biswas a “radical Hindutva” figure, alleging that he recently made an "unacceptable and obscene remark" regarding Islam. The demonstrators formed a human chain during their protest and described Biswas as a "Kulangar" (disgrace) in the university's history, asserting that his insults were offensive and detrimental to their community. They demanded his permanent expulsion. Kankan Biswas is a student in the Biomedical Engineering Department, having enrolled in the 2017-2018 academic session. He also holds the position of President of the Sanatan Vidyathi Sangsad, a Hindu student organisation at the university. The university's General Sanatani Hindu student group expelled Biswas on August 25, prior to the protest, due to the complaints against him. They indicated that they would fully support any legal repercussions under the Bangladesh Penal Code if the allegations were proven true.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of- Attack not resulting in death. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Attacked for 'blasphemy'. Blasphemy essentially refers to the desecration of anything which is held sacred/holy to a group of people. However, for religious supremacist groups, the elements of ‘blasphemy’ are ever-changing, shifting and expanding – leading to infringement on the rights of other religious groups, freedom of speech and expression, threats and even physical violence. There are instances where blasphemy is also used as a dog whistle to target Hindus owing to intrinsic animosity towards Hinduism. There are several instances where stating truths as mentioned in the non-Hindu doctrine itself has led to unmitigated violence against Hindus. There have also been instances where non-Hindus have themselves created a ‘blasphemous’ situation, like placing a Quran in a temple, to use it as an excuse to attack Hindus. Essentially, Blasphemy charges are often made up and/or are used to shut down any form of criticism of non-Hindu faiths and as a tool to target Hindus. Any physical violence over Blasphemy charges against Hindus are foundationally based on animosity for Hindus and their faith owing to religious supremacist ideologies, therefore, such attacks would be documented as religious motivated hate crimes under this category. As seen in several cases, this law is often used as a tool of oppression and violence, leading to false accusations, mob justice, and social ostracisation of Hindus. This law, which is sparingly used in Muslim-majority countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh to attack minority Hindus residing there, has become increasingly common in India too, where bloodthirsty Islamists often twist and use these laws to settle their scores with Hindus. The misuse of blasphemy laws against Hindus is often motivated by religious prejudice. Hindus are targeted because of their religious identity. Here too, the case of Kankan Biswas, a Hindu student at Jessore University of Science and Technology, is a stark example of how blasphemy laws are often misused to target Hindus in Muslim-majority regions. The violent reaction against him and the calls for his expulsion is indicative of how these laws are increasingly used to stifle Hindus. Given that the fundamental motivation behind these actions is contempt for Hindus and their religion, this instance has been added to the tracker under the following category.