Nearly 30,000 Hindus took to the streets of Chattogram on Friday, calling for immediate government protection against mounting attacks and harassment targeting their community.
The demonstration marked one of the largest Hindu rallies in Bangladesh, as minority groups continue to protest what they describe as a surge in religious intolerance since the recent overthrow of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s secular government.
The gathering was held at a central intersection in Chattogram, where participants, flanked by police and soldiers, chanted slogans demanding equal rights
and protection.
Hindu leaders also called on the interim government, led by Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, to withdraw sedition charges recently levelled against prominent Hindu figures, including priest Chandan Kumar Dhar.
The charges relate to an incident during a 25 October rally, where protestors allegedly placed a saffron flag atop the Bangladeshi flag, sparking accusations of disrespect. Police have since detained two leaders, which has heightened community outrage.
Hindu groups have demanded that all charges be dropped within 72 hours.
“Thousands of attacks have occurred against Hindus since early August, with hard-line Islamist influence growing daily,” said a spokesperson from the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, which reported more than 2,000 incidents since the upheaval.
They attribute the rise in hostilities to the interim government’s struggle to reassert control amid religious tensions.
Muhammad Yunus, appointed after Hasina’s ouster in August, refuted claims of widespread violence, insisting that reports of persecution have been “exaggerated.”
The country’s Hindu population, which comprises approximately 8 per cent of Bangladesh’s nearly 170 million people, remains alarmed by the lack of governmental protections.
Meanwhile, hard-line Islamist groups are perceived to be gaining influence, with minorities voicing concerns over increasing insecurity.
International concern and demands
The rising tensions have drawn international attention. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed concern over reports of targeted violence.
Meanwhile, former US President Donald Trump, now a presidential candidate, condemned the situation, stating on X: “I strongly condemn the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians, and other minorities who are getting attacked and looted by mobs in Bangladesh, which remains in a total state of chaos.”
Amid these rising concerns, Hindu activists have been staging regular protests across Bangladesh, notably in the capital, Dhaka, since August.
Protestors are pressing an eight-point charter of demands, including the establishment of a minority protection law, a dedicated ministry for minority affairs, and a tribunal for prosecuting acts of oppression against religious minorities.
Additionally, they seek a five-day national holiday for Durga Puja, their major religious festival.
Friday’s rally in Chattogram was organised hastily after sedition charges were filed against 19 Hindu leaders.
“The cases are politically motivated, meant to intimidate us,” stated a Hindu leader on Thursday, urging the government to withdraw the cases.
Political ramifications
Following Hasina’s ouster, members of her Awami League party and its ally, the Jatiya Party, report similar incidents of harassment and alleged persecution.
On Thursday, the Jatiya Party’s headquarters in Dhaka was vandalised and set ablaze. G.M. Quader, Jatiya Party chair, responded on Friday, asserting that his party would not cease its rallies despite threats.
Quader announced plans for a rally on Saturday at the party’s Dhaka headquarters, protesting rising prices and charges against their leaders.
However, hours before the event, Dhaka’s Metropolitan Police banned rallies near the Jatiya Party’s premises following pressure from a student group that criticised the police for initially permitting the gathering.
In response, the Jatiya Party postponed the event, citing respect for the law, with a new date to be set.
Meanwhile, unrest among minority communities and political groups continues to test the interim government’s stability.
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