Hindus attacked in Comilla during protest march against MP Bahauddin Bahar, who demonised Durga Puja as ‘festival of alcohol’

Case ID : ac55e4b | Location : Dhaka, Dhaka District, Bangladesh | Date of Incident : Thu, 12 October, 2023

Case ID : ac55e4b

Dhaka, Dhaka District, Bangladesh

12 October, 2023

Hindus attacked in Comilla during protest march against MP Bahauddin Bahar, who demonised Durga Puja as ‘festival of alcohol’

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim

Hate speech against Hindus

Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith

Case Summary

On October 13, 2023, a protest march organised by the Hindu community came under attack in the Nazrul Avenue area in the Comilla metropolis of Bangladesh. The said demonstration was led by the Bangladesh Youth Unity Council, Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (HBCUC), Student Unity Council and Women Unity Council against the disturbing remarks made by an Awami League MP (Comilla-6 constituency) named Bahauddin Bahar about Durga Puja. According to Rana Das Gupta, the General Secretary of the Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, on October 4, Bahauddin demonised the annual Hindu Bengali festival as ‘Madjukto Puja‘ (festival of alcohol). On 12th October, he yet again associated ‘Durga Puja with alcohol’. Prior to this, on September 28th, Munshiganj district Mayor Faisal Biplab referred to Hindu MP, Mrinal Kanti Das, as ‘malaun’ (a derogatory term for Hindus), ‘napungshak’ (impotent) and ‘chandal’ (a derogatory term for Dalits). Miffed by the vicious targeting of the Hindu festivals, the members of the community took out a protest march and demanded action against the Awami League MP. However, the demonstration reportedly came under attack from Islamists. A total of 5 people, including one woman, were injured during the attack. One of them also sustained severe injuries to his head. Three of the victims were identified as Aditya Das, Sunil Das and Tanmoy Das.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under two prime categories of the hate tracker. The first is- Attack not resulting in death and under this, the sub-category selected is- Attacked for opposing radicals/or trying to save victim from radicals- 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. The second prime category relevant here is- Hate speech against Hindus. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith- Anti-Hindu slurs and the deliberate mocking of the Hindu faith owing to religious animosity involve the usage of derogatory terms, stereotypes, or offensive references to religious practices, symbols, or figures. One of the common anti-Hindu slurs used against Hindus is “cow-worshipper” and “cow piss drinker”. The intention of using this term is to demean and mock Hindus as a group and their religious beliefs since Hindus consider the cow holy. Additionally, some symbols and the slurs attached to them have a historical context that exacerbates the insult, hate, stereotyping, dehumanisation and oppression against Hindus. Cow worship has been used for centuries to denigrate Hindus, insult their faith and oppress Hindus specifically as a religious group. There has been overwhelming documentation about how cow slaughter has been used to persecute Hindus with cow meat being thrown in temples and places of worship. There has also been overwhelming documentation where cow meat (beef) has been force-fed to Hindus to either forcefully convert them to Islam or denigrate their faith. Apart from cow worship, the Swastika – which holds deep religious significance for the Hindus – has also been misinterpreted and distorted to use as a slur against Hindus. Similarly, the worship of the Shivling has been used by supremacist ideologies and religions to denigrate Hindus owing to religious animosity. Such slurs and denigration stem out of inherent animosity and hate towards Hindus and their faith, therefore, it is categorised as hate speech targeted at Hindus specifically owing to their religious identity. This incident qualifies as a religiously motivated hate crime because the Hindu community was attacked for standing up against a radical who had openly mocked and disrespected their faith. The derogatory remarks made by the Awami League MP, Bahauddin Bahar, who referred to Durga Puja as a "festival of alcohol," was a blatant act of religious denigration, targeting a deeply revered Hindu festival. The protest by the Hindu community, in response to these offensive comments, was a legitimate effort to protect their religious dignity. However, instead of addressing the issue, Islamists violently attacked the peaceful demonstrators, punishing them for opposing the MP's mockery of their faith. This escalation of violence against Hindus for defending their religion underscores the deep-seated religious intolerance and hatred that motivated the assault, making it a clear case of a religiously driven hate crime.