Hindu faith insulted: Muslim leader targets sacred scripture amid continued persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh
Bangladesh 
25 March, 2026
Case Summary
In Bangladesh, an act of sacrilege against the pious Hindu scripture “Bhagwat Geeta” was committed by Muslim leaders in a public forum. On 26 March 2026, during the observance of Bangladesh’s 56th Independence Day and National Day parade in Tanore Upazila, the accused, Rajshahi, Jamaat-e-Islami leader and Member of Parliament Professor Mujibur Rahman, directed the Upazila Nirbahi Officer, Naima Khan, not to include the recitation of the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita in the official programme. The national programme traditionally commenced with recitations from religious scriptures. Alongside the Quran, the Bhagavad Gita had customarily been recited as part of the State event. The directive drew strong objections from Hindu organisations in Bangladesh, including the Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance. The organisation condemned the instruction and stated that it went against the established national tradition followed during Independence Day and National Day events. In a statement issued on 27 March 2026, the organisation’s General Secretary, Dr Mrityunjay Kumar Roy, sought an explanation from the authorities as to how such a direction could be issued in an important State function. The organisation also expressed appreciation towards the Upazila officer for ensuring that the programme proceeded in line with established norms and that the Gita was read by Naima Khan. This incident cannot be viewed in isolation, but in continuity with the escalating hostility faced by Hindus in Bangladesh, particularly since the ouster of Sheikh Hasina’s government, which has been followed by repeated and targeted acts of violence against the Hindu minority. The onslaught of violence against Hindus in Bangladesh unfolded in three distinct phases: first, following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina’s government in August 2024; second, after the death of Sharif Osman Bin Hadi in December 2025; and third, in the immediate aftermath of the 13th National Parliamentary Election 2026. The fresh wave of anti-Hindu violence that followed the 13th National Parliamentary Election 2026 in Bangladesh reinforced a recurring pattern of post-poll violence targeting Hindu minorities. Within days of the announcement of results, Hindu families in districts such as Noakhali, Rangpur, Nilphamari, Sylhet, Thakurgaon, and Dinajpur reported coordinated attacks involving arson, looting, assault, and vandalism of temples and homes. In several instances, Hindu homes were selectively targeted, looted, and families were threatened with displacement. This electoral violence unfolded against the broader backdrop of sustained anti-Hindu hostility that had persisted since the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024. During that period, multiple reports documented attacks on Hindu homes, temples, and religious institutions, alongside intimidation campaigns, arson, and mob assaults targeting minority neighbourhoods. The Hinduphobia tracker has recorded 336 such incidents against the Hindu minority, underscoring the scale and persistence of anti-Hindu violence during this period. A further escalation occurred following the death of Sharif Osman Bin Hadi, a Muslim political activist and student leader known for his anti-Hindu and anti-India rhetoric. Hadi had been involved in political unrest after the fall of the Hasina government and was killed in Dhaka on 18 December 2025 during clashes. In the aftermath of his death, Hindu communities were blamed and subsequently targeted in retaliatory violence. Hindu homes were selectively set ablaze in multiple localities, forcing families to flee and leaving many displaced. The attacks appeared patterned rather than sporadic, with Muslim mobs focusing on Hindu neighbourhoods, properties, and religious symbols. Among the victims was Dipu Chandra Das, who was lynched to death and his body was set ablaze by a Muslim mob over false blasphemy allegations. The Hinduphobia tracker documented 51 incidents of anti-Hindu violence in the period following Hadi’s death alone. Such incidents underscore the vulnerability of the Hindu minority amid rising communal hostility and the weaponisation of religious accusations. Reports further indicated that posters and written materials calling for the extermination of Hindus were displayed in public spaces, signalling an alarming normalisation of genocidal rhetoric. When combined with acts of arson, vandalism, assault, and targeted intimidation, these developments suggest a coordinated environment of hostility aimed at terrorising the Hindu community and reinforcing majoritarian dominance.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category selected in the case is: Hate speech against Hindus. The sub-category selected is: Subversion of scriptures. Subverting the religious scriptures of Hindus has particularly devastating consequences. Subversion of the scriptures of Hindus is often done to justify or promote hatred, discrimination, or violence against specific individuals or groups of Hindus. Religious scriptures are often nuanced and those who harbour religious animosity towards Hindus often misquote or misrepresent the scripture to legitimise their animosity and hate towards the faith and its adherents. Any such misquoting of scriptures or subversion to justify hate, violence and discrimination against Hindus owing to religious animosity is hate speech and is categorised as such. The other relevant category here is- Restriction/ban on Hindu practices. Within this, the subcategory selected is- Restriction of expression of Hindu identity. An example of the state-affected prejudicial and targeted orders against the Hindu community would be a government denying the right of a Hindu or a group of Hindus to hold a religious procession owing to the animosity of non-Hindu groups. Denial of the religious right of the Hindus to assuage the non-Hindu group which harbours animosity to a point where it could lead to violence against Hindus is not only a failure of law and order but is a prejudicial order against Hindus, denying them their fundamental rights to express their religious identity. An example of a hate crime against Hindus by a non-Hindu would be a non-Hindu institution forcing its Hindu employees to abandon religious symbols that a Hindu would wear as an expression of faith owing to inherent prejudice against the faith professed by the victim or a non-Hindu group of people restricting a Hindu group from constructing a place of worship simply because the demography of the area in which the temple is being built is dominated by non-Hindus. Such actions are driven by religious animosity and/or prejudice against Hindus and their faith and would therefore be categorised as a hate crime. This case constitutes a clear instance of a hate crime against Hindus as it involves a deliberate attempt by a public authority to exclude the Bhagavad Gita from an official State function. The Bhagavad Gita is one of the most sacred and foundational texts of Hinduism, and its recitation in national programmes has been part of an established tradition reflecting the religious diversity of Bangladesh. The directive to remove its recitation was therefore not a neutral administrative act but a targeted attempt to undermine the presence and legitimacy of a core Hindu scripture in a public and national space. A key marker in this case is the selective nature of the exclusion. While religious recitations were part of the programme, the objection was specifically directed at the inclusion of the Hindu scripture. This reflects a discriminatory approach where Hindu religious content is singled out for removal, thereby subverting its place in shared civic traditions and diminishing its equal standing. At the same time, this act also restricts the expression of Hindu identity. The recitation of the Bhagavad Gita in a State event is not merely symbolic but represents the visibility and participation of Hindus in the national sphere. Preventing its inclusion curtails the ability of the Hindu community to express its religious identity in a public and institutional setting, effectively limiting its recognition within the broader national framework. This incident must also be viewed within the broader context of sustained hostility against Hindus in Bangladesh. The repeated targeting of Hindu homes, temples, and community spaces, particularly in recent years, has contributed to an environment where Hindu religious expression is increasingly contested. In such a climate, even symbolic acts like the exclusion of a scripture reinforce a larger pattern of marginalisation. Taken together, the deliberate targeting of a sacred Hindu text, the selective nature of its exclusion, and the resulting curtailment of Hindu religious expression establish that the act was rooted in prejudice against the Hindu faith. It reflects both the subversion of Hindu scriptures and a restriction on the expression of Hindu identity, and is therefore documented as a religiously motivated hate crime in the Hinduphobia Tracker database.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
State and Establishment
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
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