Case Summary

In Bhabna Para village of Nagorpur Upazila, Tangail district, a Kali Mata temple was attacked and looted, with its consecrated idols broken, by Islamists. According to reports, the Hindu temple was constructed with bamboo and wood and lacked strong doors. Taking advantage of this, the Muslim perpetrators broke into the temple in the middle of the night and vandalised the temple. They deliberately broke the consecrated idol and threw it on the ground. A donation box inside the temple was also looted. When local Hindus heard noises coming from the temple, they rushed to the spot, but the attackers threatened them with sharp weapons and fled the scene. After the incident, a police team arrived at the location and spoke with local Hindu residents. However, no arrests were made. This attack is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of targeted violence against the Hindu minority community in Bangladesh. The level of hostility and religious intolerance against Hindus in Bangladesh continues to escalate, with such attacks becoming alarmingly frequent, especially since the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5, 2024. Since then, 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. At least 205 attacks on Hindu temples, shops, and businesses were reported within just three days of Dhaka’s fall. Reports have exposed how Muslim students forced around 60 Hindu teachers, professors, and government officials to resign. Exiled Bangladeshi activist Asad Noor has also revealed that the minority Hindu community is now being coerced into joining ‘Jamaat-e-Islami’. Hindu religious events have been repeatedly targeted. On 6th September, a procession carrying Lord Ganesha’s idol was attacked in Chittagong. Ahead of Durga Puja, multiple incidents of idol vandalism occurred, including attacks in Mymensingh, Pabna, Rajshahi, Kishoreganj, and Dhaka. On 29th November, a violent Muslim mob attacked three temples in Patharghata, Chittagong, immediately after Jumma Namaz. The crackdown on Hindu voices has also escalated. On 30th November, Hindu journalist Munni Saha was arrested in Dhaka. ISKCON leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Prabhu and his aides have been targeted, while attempts to ban ISKCON and suppress Hindu protests through sedition charges highlight systematic persecution under Muhammad Yunus’s interim government. The lack of prompt action by the police further emboldens the perpetrators, which creates an atmosphere of fear and insecurity among Hindus in Bangladesh.

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Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of: - Attack on Hindu religious representations. Within it, the sub-category selected is: - 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 other sub-category relevant here 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 primary category selected here is - Attack not resulting in death. Within it, the sub-category selected is - Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim. In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. This case has been added to the tracker because a Hindu temple was vandalised, with its consecrated idols deliberately broken and thrown on the ground by the Muslim perpetrators. A temple is an institution that holds immense spiritual importance in the Hindu faith, regardless of how it is constructed. In many rural or economically marginalised areas, temples are built with readily available materials like bamboo or wood, but this in no way diminishes their sanctity. For Hindus, temples are not mere physical structures; they are sanctified spaces that embody the divine presence of Hindu deities. Acts of violence against such spaces are not isolated incidents of destruction but reflect underlying hostility towards Hindu beliefs and identity. The attack also involved the deliberate destruction of the consecrated idol of the Hindu temple. In Hinduism, idols of Hindu deities are not just artistic representations but are deeply revered manifestations of the divine. Their desecration is seen as a direct affront to the religious sentiments of Hindus and an act of profound disrespect. Such acts of violence against Hindu temples and their idols are not just an attack on the temple property; it is an act of violence against the religious sentiments of the Hindu community that derives spiritual, cultural, and social meaning from that temple space. Furthermore, when local Hindus rushed to the temple to protect it, they were threatened with sharp weapons by the attackers. Such intimidation and threats often act as a statement to fellow Hindus that if they try to resist, they will be met with violence or even death. When the act of protecting one’s place of worship is met with physical violence, it exposes the deep-rooted religious hostility behind such crimes. This wasn’t just an attack on a temple; it was an attack on a community’s right to exist with dignity and faith. Although one could argue that there could be an economic motive behind the crime, since the donation box was looted. But if it were the case, why did the perpetrator damage the temple idol? If financial gain were the sole purpose, the destruction of the idol would serve no purpose. This suggests that the economic aspect was incidental, while the primary motive was religious animosity towards Hindus and their places of worship. Additionally, in a Muslim majority country like Bangladesh, Hindu religious places and symbols are often at target of Muslims due to the inherent hostility Islam has towards the Hindu faith. This incident is part of a wider and deeply troubling pattern of persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh. Attacks on temples, threats, and the displacement of Hindu families have become alarmingly common, with authorities frequently failing to protect the Hindu community or hold Muslim offenders to account. This further proves that it was not an isolated act of violence; it was a premeditated attack launched at the Hindu community and their sacred shrines. Since this attack was directed at both the Hindu temple and the temple idols, it is classified as a religiously motivated hate crime against the Hindu community.