Saraswati idol and Hindu worshippers attacked by Muslim mob in Bangladesh

Case ID : 7f64c81 | Location : Mymensingh, Mymensingh District, Bangladesh | Date of Incident : Wed, 25 January, 2023

Case ID : 7f64c81

Mymensingh, Mymensingh District, Bangladesh

25 January, 2023

Saraswati idol and Hindu worshippers attacked by Muslim mob in Bangladesh

Attack on Hindu religious representations

Violence against religious structures or centres

Desecration of Hindu religious symbol

Attack not resulting in death

Attack against Hindu devotees

Case Summary

In Bangladesh, a group of Islamists disrupted the Saraswati Puja and vandalised the idol of the Goddess. The incident took place at Naraich village in Mohanganj upazila in the Netrakona district in the Mymensingh Division of Bangladesh on the night of January 26, 2023. In what transpired, the accused, who were said to be minors, entered the pandal and began clicking pictures and videos, following which the organisers forbade them from doing so. This agitated the accused, which resulted in a heated argument with the organisers. Soon after, they attacked the Hindu worshippers gathered at the puja mandap and destroyed the idol of the deity in the process. During the assault, two Hindus named Hriday Biswas and Shayan Sarkar were grievously injured. 6 accused, namely, Nishad, Farook Mia, Apu Mia, SM Munna Khan, Sabikul Mia and Anon Mia were apprehended.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This particular case has been classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under two prime categories of the tracker because of the various distinct components that demonstrate the perpetrator's bias against the Hindu faith and their deliberate attempt to alienate the victims from their Hindu identity. The first category which has been chosen is 'Attack not resulting in death' under which the sub-category selected, as per case details, is 'Attack against Hindu devotees'. Hindu devotees are a few of the easiest targets of religiously motivated hate crimes because during the festival/procession/puja etc, for non-Hindus it is easy to profile their victims on the basis of religion. Hindu devotees come under attack on several occasions by individual non-Hindus or mobs of non-Hindus owing to their animosity against Hinduism, its symbols and tradition/practices. There are several instances of Hindu devotees being attacked while they worship in temples or temporary religious structures, during religious processions, doing bhajan/kirtan/puja in their own homes, in the residential society etc. These attacks are perpetrated by non-Hindus primarily because of their animosity towards Hindus and their faith. In some cases, the trigger for the violence may be non-religious, however, there are two elements that make these hate crimes. First, the Hindus who come under attack are attacked violently while indulging in religious activity. Whether they are in a place of worship or not is immaterial to the crime. When individuals are attacked while indulging in religious practices, the attack in itself is a hindrance to their freedom to practice religion and therefore constitutes a hate crime. Secondly, religious supremacist doctrines and ideologies deem the religious practices of Hindus to be offensive ab initio since they are considered “sinful” by these ideologies, worthy to be annihilated by force or coercion. Driven by these religious supremacist ideologies and doctrines, the attacks against Hindu devotees stem from intrinsic animosity towards Hinduism. In some cases, the trigger for the violence may be non-religious, however, it develops into a religiously motivated crime during the course of the violence. Since these attacks stem from animosity towards Hindus and Hinduism, they are considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. The second prime category which has been selected here is 'Attack on Hindu religious symbols', under which two sub-categories have been chosen. The first is 'Desecration of Hindu religious symbol.' Icons and symbols or a religious representation of a spiritual ideal are widely revered in Hinduism. Iconography is of vital significance in the Hindu milieu. It helps connect people’s spiritual beliefs with the real world. Iconography within the Hindu faith takes several shapes and forms. Murtis are of most significance to Hindus, to which daily rituals, prayers and offerings are done. Besides the murtis, there are several other symbols which have deep significance in the Hindu faith – the Om and Swastika for example. Since these Hindu religious symbols hold paramount importance in Hinduism, any desecration of symbols, icons, murtis, religious representations and manifestations, is driven by animosity towards the faith itself which manifests itself through these murtis, icons and symbols. Therefore, any desecration of these Hindu religious symbols and representations is considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. The second sub-category under 'attack on Hindu religious symbols' selected here is 'Violence against religious structures or centres'. In Hinduism, a religious structure is also considered divine. Hindus believe that not just the Deity but the religious structure itself is sacred. In this sub-category, we would document attacks against religious structures which are not consecrated temple spaces. Such religious spaces could be temporary in nature – for example – the religious spaces erected specifically for festivals like Durga Puja etc. This category would also document cases of attacks against religious centres. These spaces in their own right may not be ‘sacred’ per se, however, are often spaces where religious gurus live, religious teaching is imparted, or belong to religious institutions. Any attack against religious structures is a result of animosity towards the religion itself, which manifests itself through the religious spaces and therefore, such attacks are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. Religious centres are also manifestations of the religion, its teachings or gurus and therefore, attacks against such centres would be considered religiously motivated hate crimes. The act of iconoclasm and idol desecration itself is a hate crime against the devotees and the Hindu community. In this case, while the immediate trigger of the violence was an argument which ensued between the devotees and the Muslim group, the fact that the idol was desecrated and devotees attacked speaks to the anti-Hindu nature of the crime. Further, the cause of the argument itself was the Muslim group insulting the faith of the Hindus by entering the pandal not for devotional purposes. It is pertinent to note that Islam strictly prohibits and looks down upon idol worship and the religious doctrine demands that a war is waged against idol worship, idol worshippers and idols themselves.