Ancestral home of Hindu poet illegally occupied in Bangladesh amid ongoing cultural and religious genocide
Shariatpur District, Bangladesh 
15 June, 2025
Case Summary
The ancestral home of Atul Prasad Sen (1871–1934), a distinguished Bengali Hindu poet, composer, and patriot, has fallen victim to illegal encroachment in Naria Upazila, located in the Shariatpur district of the Dhaka division in Bangladesh. According to a report published in Kaler Kantha, the poet’s residence has been renamed ‘Munshibari’ (House of Munshis), and is currently occupied by an individual named Nannu Munshi, who claims the premises as his own. The situation is a direct consequence of prolonged neglect, absence of government stewardship, and an overall failure to preserve the cultural heritage associated with this revered literary figure. Atul Prasad Sen’s songs and poetry, imbued with deep nationalistic and humanitarian sentiments, resonated powerfully during the 1952 Language Movement and the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, offering strength and identity to Bengali-speaking people in East Pakistan. Ironically, the very nation that once found courage in his verses has failed to safeguard his memory through the protection of his ancestral home. Local sources stated that the property was strategically encroached upon by a powerful and influential local group. A teacher from a nearby school confirmed, under anonymity, that residents are reluctant to speak out due to fear of retaliation. The poet’s house, once a centre of cultural memory, is now a symbol of wilful erasure. A boy named Tanvir, currently living on the property, told reporters that nothing of the poet remains in the house. “Every day, people come here to see the poet’s house. But there is nothing of Atul Prasad Sen here,” he said. Pointing to an under-construction building next to the original home, he added that it was being built by his father, who currently lives abroad. Atul Prasad Sen died in 1934 in present-day Lucknow, India, at the age of 62. Today, his literary contributions are considered an invaluable part of Bengal’s cultural heritage. 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.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of - Attack not resulting in death. Within it, 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 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. While the available evidence does not explicitly confirm a religious motive behind the encroachment of Atul Prasad Sen’s ancestral home, the broader socio-political context in Bangladesh cannot be overlooked. Given the ongoing pattern of targeted dispossession, marginalisation, and cultural erasure of Hindus, each such incident must be viewed within the continuum of systemic religious persecution. Atul Prasad Sen was a prominent Bengali Hindu cultural icon, and the neglect, illegal occupation, and renaming of his ancestral property in Naria Upazila, Shariatpur, reflect more than mere administrative apathy. The strategic seizure of land belonging to a Hindu family, the silencing of local residents through fear, and the failure of state authorities to intervene meaningfully are consistent with the wider pattern of ethno-religious displacement. In the context of an ongoing campaign of religious cleansing in Bangladesh, where Hindu heritage sites, temples, homes, and properties are routinely encroached upon or destroyed, such acts of erasure—whether or not they carry overt religious markings—are understood as inherently driven by communal animosity. The dehumanisation and dispossession of Hindus in Bangladesh has been normalised to the point where the absence of explicitly stated motives does not negate the underlying religious hostility. For the purpose of documenting the 2024 ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh, the Hinduphobia Tracker is assuming religious motivation ab initio. If a case is specifically and beyond reasonable doubt proven to be driven by motivations other than religious hostility, it will post-facto be removed from the hate crime database. Disclaimer: It is important to clarify that the report does not specify the exact date when the encroachment began. Therefore, for documentation purposes, we have recorded the date based on when the incident was reported in the media.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
