Hindu temple vandalised in Bangladesh, 5 murtis desecrated

Case ID : 90a0788 | Location : Gopalganj District, Bangladesh | Date of Incident : Mon, 10 February, 2025

Case ID : 90a0788

Gopalganj District, Bangladesh

10 February, 2025

Hindu temple vandalised in Bangladesh, 5 murtis desecrated

Attack on Hindu religious representations

Attack on Temples

Desecration of Hindu religious symbol

Case Summary

In Kashiani Upazila of Gopalganj district, in Bangladesh, a Hindu temple was vandalised. They vandalised the idols of Radha-Krishna, Goddess Lakshmi, and Loknath - in total, 5 murtis were vandalised. The owner of the house, Sushanta Das, said that he returned home after finishing work from the laundry shop at around 8 pm. He went to sleep at around 9 pm after seeing the idols intact. At 6 am, while offering puja at the temple, he found the idols of Radha, Krishna, Lakshmi and Loknath vandalized and the puja equipment damaged. Upon receiving the information, an army patrol team led by Major Rased, camp commander of the temporary army camp in Kashiani Upazila, Additional Superintendent of Police (DSB) Mahbubur Rahman (promoted to the post of Superintendent of Police), Senior Assistant Superintendent of Police (Muksudpur Circle) Abdul Bashed, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Kashiani Police Station Md. Shafi Uddin Khan, officials from the National Security Intelligence Agency and the Special Branch of the police visited the scene. Since the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5, 2024, Bangladesh has plunged into chaos as Islamist extremists have taken advantage of the political turmoil to unleash a wave of terror and violence against the Hindu community. The Islamist mobs have attacked Hindu homes, burned them to the ground, and abducted women in a horrific descent into anarchy. Several temples have been destroyed in various parts of the Islamic country in a major crackdown on Hindus.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the primary category 'Attack on Hindu religious representations'. Due to the dual elements of Hinduphobia in this case, it is being added to two sub-categories. The first sub-category the case is being added to 'Attack on Temples'. In Hinduism, a temple is the abode of the Deity. The Deity in the Temple is consecrated, thereby, making it a real, breathing entity. Hindus believe that not just the Deity but the temple premises itself are sacred to Hindus since Hindus hold the faith that the entire Temple space is an amalgamation of the divine energy of the deity. Given the central significance of Temples in Hindu Dharma, any attack against a Hindu Temple or its peripheral premises is an attack on the faith itself and is born out of animosity towards the faith, of which, the Temple is a central tenet. Any manner of attack against a Temple and/or its premises would therefore be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. The second sub-category the case is being added to is 'Desecration of Hindu religious symbols'. 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. In this case, the idols of the Temple were vandalised and the temple desecrated by the perpetrators. Murtis and Temples are important manifestations of the faith of the Hindus and play a significant role in the expression of Hindu faith and identity. An attack on the temple and/or the idols is a manifestation of hostility towards the Hindu faith itself and is therefore considered a religiously motivated hate crime regardless of the identity of the perpetrators.