Hindu devotees face state-sanctioned discrimination for conducting religious procession in Bangladesh
Dhaka, Dhaka District, Bangladesh 
22 June, 2025
Case Summary
In Dhaka, Bangladesh, several restrictions were imposed on the minority Hindu community’s religious procession, the Rath Yatra, by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police. These restrictions included not using loudspeakers to imposing a ban on the procession passing through any area where a mosque is located. This situation starkly highlights the state-sanctioned discrimination endured by the Hindu minority in Muslim-majority Bangladesh. The Rath Yatra procession is one of the most important Hindu festivals celebrated by the Hindu community in Bangladesh. On 27th June 2025, Hindus will celebrate this festival all over the world. However, the Bangladeshi state administration imposed several restrictions on Hindus in connection with this event. The Dhaka Metropolitan Police published a post on their verified Facebook page regarding law and order and traffic management for the upcoming Rath Yatra. A meeting was held on 23rd June 2025 at 11:00 AM in the DMP Headquarters conference room, chaired by DMP Commissioner Sheikh Md. Sajjat Ali, NDC. The meeting addressed the measures and guidelines established by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police for the Rath Yatra on 27th June 2025 and the reverse Rath Yatra on 5th July 2025. The police announced that there would be a significant security presence, including picket and patrol parties, CCTV cameras, foot patrols, rooftop units, mobile teams, detective squads in plain clothes, SWAT teams, bomb disposal units, and traffic police. However, they also imposed several restrictions, such as requiring the Rath Yatra to remain on the scheduled route and within a stipulated time frame. Hindus were instructed to refrain from using loudspeakers or microphones for chanting religious slogans, especially during Namaz and Azan, and to recruit self-volunteers. Participants were also prohibited from carrying bags and were requested to inform the police if they noticed any suspicious people or objects. The restriction on chanting religious slogans during Namaz or Azan effectively also meant that Hindus cannot take their religious procession through any area where a mosque is located. The meeting was attended by DMP's Additional Police Commissioner (Traffic), Md. Sarwar, BPM-Service; Additional Police Commissioner (Crime & Operations) SN Md. Nazrul Islam, PPM-Service; Additional Police Commissioner (Logistics, Finance & Procurement) Hassan Md. Shaukat Ali, Additional Police Commissioner (CTC), Md. Masood Karim, Joint Police Commissioner, as well as representatives from DGFI, NSI, SB, South City Corporation, Fire Service, and leaders of the Rath Yatra Celebration Committee. Following this, Hindus on social media raised serious concerns over these restrictions, as it was a medium for the Bangladeshi government to suppress Hinduism and its adherents. These measures not only curtail the religious freedoms of the Hindu community but also reinforce the broader pattern of marginalisation and discrimination faced by Hindus in Bangladesh. This case serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh. 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. 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. Muslim mob attacks have increased in Bangladesh, for example, on 22nd May 2025, a Muslim mob carried out arson attacks selectively on Hindu homes in Dahar Mashihati village in Abhaynagar upazila in Jessore district of Bangladesh. Even ISKCON leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Prabhu and his aides have been targeted, and attempts have been made to ban ISKCON and suppress Hindu protests through sedition charges. These arbitrary actions point to a systematic pattern of persecution under Muhammad Yunus’s interim government.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Restriction/ban on Hindu practices. Within this, the subcategory 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 categorized as a hate crime. The other subcategory selected is- Administration restricting religious practice. In several cases, it is seen that the administration/state disallows a religious practice owing to prejudicial orders and concerns, targeted specifically against the Hindu community. Such restriction/prohibition would be considered documented as a hate crime because the orders are often a result of pressure by groups that harbour animosity towards Hinduism and Hindus. Often, the restriction by the authorities is driven by bias, hostility, or prejudice against the specific community being stopped from holding a religious practice, by pressure groups that harbour animosity towards Hindus, intrinsic to their faith. Since practices are intrinsic to the faith of the Hindus, such prejudicial restriction is considered a curtailing of the fundamental rights of the Hindu community. In several cases, for example, the authorities ban a Hindu religious practice due to pressure from groups opposed to the religion. In other instances the prohibition is selectively enforced against one religious group (Hindus) while others are allowed to proceed. There are still other cases where the authorities preemptively restrict a religious practice by Hindus because those who hold animosity towards Hindus may get “provoked” leading to them being violent, thereby assuaging the sentiments of those who hold animosity towards Hindus by curtailing the religious rights of Hindus. Such acts and orders are prejudiced, indicating discriminatory motives owing to the capitulation to groups that harbour animosity towards Hindus and therefore, would be categorized as a religiously motivated hate crime since the original pressure leading to the order itself is a result of hatred/bias/prejudice/religious hate against Hindus. The removal of Sheikh Hasina from power in Bangladesh on 5th August 2024 has dramatically escalated the persecution and marginalisation of the Hindu minority in this predominantly Islamic nation, intensifying what can only be described as a silent genocide. Since her ousting, Islamists have perpetrated unchecked atrocities against Hindus, including brutal physical violence, the destruction of temples and religious symbols, and the systematic displacement of Hindus from their ancestral lands. In the wake of Sheikh Hasina’s removal as Prime Minister, over several attacks on Hindu temples, shops, and businesses have been recorded. Many Hindus have been savagely murdered or injured in these assaults. Amidst this wave of violence, news has emerged of further restrictions imposed on the Hindu community’s Rath Yatra procession, further compounding their suffering. This case has been added to the tracker because the restrictions imposed on the Hindu Rath Yatra procession in Dhaka, Bangladesh, constitute a blatant case of state-sanctioned discrimination against Hindus. The Dhaka Metropolitan Police have enforced a series of prohibitions specifically targeting a Hindu religious procession, the Rath Yatra. These include confining the procession to a fixed route and timeframe, banning the use of loudspeakers and microphones, and forbidding the chanting of religious slogans, particularly near mosques and during Islamic prayers such as Namaz and Azan. Such measures not only curtail the Hindu community’s right to public religious expression but also send a clear message that Hindu religious practices are unwelcome and subject to oppressive state control in Muslim-majority Bangladesh. Restricting Hindus from chanting religious slogans, using loudspeakers, or even passing by mosques during their sacred procession is a direct and deliberate assault on their religious freedom. The Rath Yatra is not merely a cultural event; it is a deeply spiritual observance for Hindus, involving collective worship, the singing of kirtans, and the public celebration of their faith. By prohibiting these core elements, the authorities are effectively criminalising Hindu religious expression in public spaces. The instruction that Hindus must refrain from chanting their religious slogans or using loudspeakers near mosques is a stark demonstration of the marginalisation of the Hindu community and their festivals, reinforcing a hierarchy in which Islamic practices are prioritised and Hindu traditions are systematically suppressed. The state-sanctioned nature of this persecution is undeniable. The formal guidelines issued by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police were discussed and publicised in an official meeting attended by the senior police officials and representatives from various government departments. These restrictions are not isolated incidents; they reflect a systematic and enduring pattern of state-sanctioned discrimination against the Hindu minority in Bangladesh. Such instances are a direct result of entrenched bias and prejudice against the Hindu community, making this a clear case of religiously motivated discrimination. This instance is a stark illustration of how hate crimes against Hindus in Bangladesh are not only tolerated but actively legitimised and enforced by state authorities. The targeting of a peaceful religious procession and the prohibition of fundamental religious practices deliver an explicit message that the Hindu faith must be subdued in public, constituting clear acts of religious animosity. Such state-sanctioned persecution flagrantly violates fundamental human rights and perpetuates a climate of fear and exclusion for the Hindu minority. Importantly, Hindus have never demanded that Islamic events like Eid processions or Friday prayers be altered or silenced to accommodate their festivals. Yet, it is repeatedly Hindu events that are curtailed, revealing a one-sided and state-enabled religious bias that targets Hindu identity and presence in public life. As this case is a clear example of state-sanctioned discrimination against Hindus in Bangladesh, it is being added to the hate crime database.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
State and Establishment
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
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