Hindus in Bangladesh targeted over religious identity; candidates barred from civil service exams due to links with ISKCON
Dhaka, Dhaka District, Bangladesh 
15 April, 2025
Case Summary
Three months after the Ministry of Public Administration recommended the appointment of 171 out of 227 excluded candidates from the 43rd Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) exam, the recruitment process remained stalled, pending clearance from the Chief Adviser's Office. The recommendation followed a meeting in mid-January where representatives from intelligence agencies assessed the backgrounds of the excluded candidates. Based on the findings, the ministry determined that 171 individuals met the necessary criteria for recruitment. However, the appointments of the remaining 56 candidates were blocked on the grounds of affiliation with either the Chhatra League or the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). While the Chhatra League was considered a banned organisation, several Hindu candidates were labelled as ISCKON affiliates simply due to their religious identity. Since Sheikh Hasina’s ousting, 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 ?
Firstly, this case has been added to the Hinduphobia tracker under the primary category of- Attack not resulting in death. Within this, the sub-category selected is- Attacked for Hindu identity. In several cases, Hindus are attacked merely for their Hindu identity without any perceived provocation. A classic example of this category of religiously motivated hate crime is a murder in 2016. 7 ISIS terrorists were convicted for shooting a school principal in Kanpur because they got ‘triggered’ seeing the Kalava on his wrist and the tilak that he had put. In this, the Hindu victim had offered no provocation except for his Hindu religious identity. The motivation for the murder was purely religious, driven by religious supremacy. Such cases where Hindus are targeted merely for their religious identity would be documented as a hate crime under this category. The second category under which this case has been placed is- Restriction/ban on Hindu practices, and under this, the sub-category selected is- Restriction on 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. The persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh has intensified since the ouster of Sheikh Hasina on 5th August 2024, with at least 205 attacks on Hindu temples, shops, and businesses 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. Now, this report suggests that several Hindu candidates were barred from participating in the 43rd Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) recruitment process, merely on the grounds of their alleged association with ISKCON, a globally recognised and respected Hindu spiritual organisation. This case exemplifies a deeply entrenched pattern of anti-Hindu prejudice and institutional discrimination in Bangladesh. It reflects a targeted attack on individuals solely for their religious identity. Despite being found otherwise eligible, these Hindu candidates were denied appointments not because of any legal or procedural disqualification, but because of a presumed connection to a Hindu faith-based group. This demonstrates a clear case of individuals being penalised for their Hindu identity, making it an act of religiously motivated exclusion. Moreover, this action amounts to a deliberate restriction on the expression of Hindu identity in public life. By treating affiliation with ISKCON as a crime, the authorities effectively criminalised the open practice or support of Hindu beliefs within the context of state employment. This reflects an alarming effort to suppress Hindu representation and visibility within government institutions, sending a broader message of intolerance and exclusion. In light of the widespread anti-Hindu violence unfolding across Bangladesh, marked by attacks on temples, destruction of homes, and persecution of individuals, this form of bureaucratic discrimination only reinforces the systemic nature of the hostility. It is not merely an administrative decision but part of a larger campaign of religious bias, where Hindus are deliberately marginalised and denied equal civic participation, underlining the need to document this as a clear instance of religiously motivated hate and bias.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
State and Establishment
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
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