Janmashtami celebration disrupted by mob, centuries-old Paddopuran Gaan forced to stop in Daulatpur, Bangladesh
Kushtia District, Bangladesh 
3 September, 2026
Case Summary
In Daulatpur, Bangladesh, a centuries-old Hindu devotional tradition associated with Janmashtami was disrupted after a mob pressured organisers to stop a performance of Paddopuran Gaan, also known as Manashamangal Gaan. The programme was part of Hindu religious and cultural observances and involved performing sacred narratives through devotional song, drama, and traditional instruments. According to media reports, the Hindu religious programme was halted after a group of people objected to the performance and demanded that it be stopped. A video circulated on social media reportedly showed a young man attempting to mobilise people through a live broadcast before the disruption, contributing to pressure against the continuation of the Hindu event. The obstruction forced the programme to fall silent on the occasion of Janmashtami, limiting Hindu devotees and performers' ability to observe and continue a long-standing religious tradition. The programme was later held again on 5 September, but before a limited audience and under significantly reduced circumstances compared with the original celebration. This incident occurred against the broader backdrop of the historical persecution faced by Hindus in Bangladesh. While the Hindu minority has endured discrimination, targeted violence, and religious hostility over decades, such persecution has intensified in distinct spurts during periods of political and social instability. The latest major escalation began after the ouster of Sheikh Hasina’s government in August 2024, continued after the death of Sharif Osman Bin Hadi in December 2025, and resurfaced in the immediate aftermath of the 13th National Parliamentary Election in 2026. Following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina, multiple incidents involving attacks on Hindu homes, temples and religious institutions were documented, alongside intimidation, arson and mob violence targeting Hindu localities. The Hinduphobia Tracker recorded 336 incidents involving the Hindu minority during this period, reflecting the scale of the escalation and the continuing vulnerability of Hindus in Bangladesh. A further spurt of violence followed the death of Sharif Osman Bin Hadi, a Muslim political activist and student leader known for his anti-Hindu and anti-India rhetoric, in December 2025. In the aftermath, Hindu communities were subjected to retaliatory violence, with Hindu homes and properties selectively attacked and several families forced to flee. Among the victims was Dipu Chandra Das, who was lynched and whose body was subsequently 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, further illustrating how existing hostility towards the Hindu minority intensified during moments of communal mobilisation. During the same period, posters and written material calling for the extermination of Hindus were also displayed in public spaces. Such rhetoric, when viewed alongside incidents of arson, vandalism, assault and targeted intimidation, reflected an environment in which hostility towards Hindus was not merely episodic but repeatedly resurfaced in more intense forms during periods of unrest. The most recent escalation followed the 13th National Parliamentary Election in 2026. In the immediate aftermath of the election results, Hindu families in districts including Noakhali, Rangpur, Nilphamari, Sylhet, Thakurgaon and Dinajpur faced attacks involving arson, looting, assault and vandalism of Hindu homes and temples. In several instances, Hindu properties were selectively targeted, and families were threatened with displacement. The present incident therefore occurred within a much longer history of persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh, where hostility towards the community has persisted over time and intensified in repeated spurts. The latest cycle began after the ouster of Sheikh Hasina and continued through subsequent periods of political and communal upheaval, leaving the Hindu minority increasingly vulnerable to targeted violence, intimidation and religious hostility. Daulatpur District Executive Officer Anindya Guha described the obstruction as illegal and stated that the individual accused of mobilising people through social media would be questioned. The incident therefore involved the disruption of a peaceful Hindu religious and cultural programme through organised pressure and intimidation, raising concerns over the freedom of Hindus in Bangladesh to practise and publicly observe their religious traditions without interference.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category selected for this case is: Restriction/ban on Hindu practices. The subcategory selected for this case is: Restriction on the 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 qualified as a religiously motivated hate crime because a peaceful Hindu religious and cultural observance was deliberately obstructed on the sacred occasion of Janmashtami, preventing Hindus from freely expressing and practising their religious identity. Paddopuran Gaan, or Manashamangal Gaan, was not merely a cultural entertainment programme; it was a centuries-old Hindu devotional tradition through which sacred narratives were expressed through music, performance and collective worship. Forcing such an observance to stop therefore directly interfered with the Hindu community’s ability to publicly manifest its faith. Paddopuran Gaan, also known as Manashamangal Gaan, holds deep religious and cultural significance for Hindus as a devotional folk tradition centred on Maa Manasa and the sacred narratives associated with her. Performed through song, storytelling, drama and traditional instruments such as the khol, kartal and khanjani, it serves as a form of collective Hindu religious expression and helps preserve devotional memory and traditions across generations. In this case, its performance on the sacred occasion of Janmashtami further strengthened its religious character, making the obstruction of the programme not merely a disruption of a cultural event but an interference with the Hindu community’s ability to practise, preserve and publicly express its faith. The religious nexus was particularly evident because the Hindu character of the programme itself was the object of the obstruction. The material gave no indication of any provocation by the Hindu participants that could independently explain the hostility. Instead, people mobilised against a Hindu devotional programme and exerted pressure until the performance was halted. The Hindu identity of the gathering and its religious expression consequently stood at the centre of the targeting, bringing the incident within the parameters of Hindus being targeted specifically for their religious identity. The incident also demonstrated how mob pressure can function as an effective restriction on Hindu religious expression even without a formal governmental prohibition. Hindus need not be subjected to an official written ban for their religious freedom to be curtailed; intimidation capable of forcing devotees to discontinue a sacred observance produces the same practical consequence. Although the programme was subsequently held again, it took place before a limited audience and with diminished celebration. The eventual resumption therefore did not erase the original obstruction or the chilling effect created by the intimidation. Taken together, the targeting of a specifically Hindu devotional tradition, mobilisation against its performance, the forced interruption of the programme, and the resulting restriction on the community’s religious observance established the incident's religious motivation. The perpetrators effectively made the public expression of Hindu identity itself the point of confrontation. The case therefore fell within restrictions on the expression of Hindu identity and targeting Hindus for their religious identity, and was consequently documented as a religiously motivated hate crime.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Unknown
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
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