ISKCON: Why is Bangladesh cracking down on a global Hindu sect?

Violence in opposition to Hindus and different minorities in Bangladesh has spiked to alarming ranges since then prime minister Sheikh Hasina was deposed on August 5 in a coup. After an extended cycle of assaults by radical Islamists, Hindus began protesting peacefully in massive numbers organised by their social and non secular organisation, mainly ISKCON (Worldwide Society for Krishna Consciousness), a worldwide Vaishnava sect with followers everywhere in the world. The arrest of an ISKCON monk yesterday has drawn criticism from a number of quarters in India.

Iskcon priest and Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote spokesperson Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari was arrested Monday by Dhaka metropolitan police’s detective department. Police spokesperson Talebur Rahman confirmed the arrest however didn’t give particulars of the fees. A distinguished monk main protests in opposition to atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh, Chinmoy Krishna Das was detained at Dhaka airport on Monday afternoon and brought to a police station. He had been scheduled to fly from Dhaka to Chattogram (Chittagong). A court docket ordered to ship him to jail after turning down his bail enchantment.

The explanations for his arrest stays unclear however a number of media stories recommend that the monk has been accused of disrespecting the Bangladeshi flag at a rally he addressed in Oct in Chattogram. A case was filed in opposition to him after that rally. He’s amongst 18 people charged with sedition over the hoisting of a saffron flag. Chinmoy Krishna Das had not too long ago addressed an enormous protest rally in violence-stricken Rangpur on Nov 22, condemning the continuing atrocities in opposition to Hindus in Bangladesh. He has been one of many towering figures amongst Bangladesh’s Hindu minority and has been very vocal in regards to the neighborhood’s grievances amid assaults on Bangladeshi Hindus within the current previous.Hindu communities organised protests demanding enhanced authorized safety and institution of a minority affairs ministry beneath the interim authorities led by Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Peace Prize for 2006.

Uproar over arrest of Hindu priest in Bangladesh

As his followers protested in Bangladesh, Chinmoy Krishna Das’ arrest drew criticism from the Indian authorities in addition to Hindu leaders in India. The exterior affairs ministry voiced critical considerations on Tuesday over his arrest. “We’ve famous with deep concern the arrest and denial of bail to Shri Chinmoy Krishna Das… This incident follows the a number of assaults on Hindus and different minorities by extremist parts in Bangladesh. There are a number of documented instances of arson and looting of minorities’ properties and enterprise institutions, in addition to theft and vandalism and desecration of deities and temples,” the MEA mentioned in an announcement. “It’s unlucky that whereas the perpetrators of those incidents stay at massive, expenses ought to be pressed in opposition to a spiritual chief presenting respectable calls for by means of peaceable gatherings,” it added. “We urge Bangladesh authorities to make sure the security and safety of Hindus and all minorities, together with their proper of freedom of peaceable meeting and expression,” the assertion mentioned.Demanding the speedy launch of ISKCON priest, Vishwa Hindu Parishad termed the motion by Bangladeshi authorities as “cowardly and undemocratic” on Tuesday. VHP additionally acknowledged that the Indian authorities is merely observing the persecution of a giant Hindu neighborhood within the neighbouring nation.ISKCON has referred to as upon India to take swift motion and have interaction with Bangladesh for the discharge of its priest. It has strongly denied allegations levelled stating whcih claimed its involvement in terrorist actions worldwide and referred to as them unfounded and unacceptable. Isha basis founder Sadhguru and Artwork of Dwelling founder Sri Sri Ravishankar too criticised his arrest.Ravishankar mentioned, “We anticipate far more from Professor Mohammad Yunus who has bought the Nobel Peace Prize for bringing peace and safety to individuals and that is why he has been put there as a Prime Minister. We won’t anticipate him to take such motion which might additional create extra pressure between the communities and worry.”Two weeks in the past, amid stories of violence in Bangladesh’s port metropolis of Chittagong over a controversial social media publish, India had urged the interim govt in Dhaka to behave in opposition to extremist parts and make sure the security of Hindus. In accordance with an company report, a neighborhood Muslim youth uploaded a publish on Fb that sought a ban on ISKCON, resulting in protests by the native Hindu neighborhood and clashes with law-enforcing authorities.

Shrinking house for Hindus as democracy declines

As soon as Hindus constituted about 20% of Bangladesh’s inhabitants however now their quantity has shrunk to lower than 9%. For many years, they’ve largely backed Hasina’s Awami League social gathering attributable to its perceived secular picture in distinction to the opposition bloc that features a hardline Islamist social gathering. The minorities in Bangladesh are at all times a simple goal of miscreants and rioters, declare neighborhood leaders. There have been at the very least 3,679 assaults on the Hindu neighborhood between January 2013 and September 2021, together with vandalism, arson and focused violence, BBC reported in August, quoting a Bangladeshi human rights group, Ain o Salish Kendra.

After Hasina’s ouster, Bangladesh faces a dire scenario. The interim govt beneath Yunus has didn’t examine assaults on minorities in addition to Hasina’s social gathering employees. Almost per week in the past, Yunus downplayed stories of rising assaults on Hindus in his nation, claiming that violence in opposition to minorities had occurred “solely in some instances” and most complaints have been “utterly exaggerated”. In a televised handle to the nation, Yunus tried to deflect blame from his govt, attributing the violence to political motives.

In an interview to PTI in September, Yunus mentioned that the assaults on Hindus weren’t communal, however a fallout of a political upheaval as there’s a notion that almost all Hindus supported the now-deposed Awami League govt. “I’ve mentioned this to (PM) Modi additionally that that is exaggerated. This concern has a number of dimensions. When the nation went by means of an upheaval following the atrocities by (Sheikh) Hasina and the Awami League… those that have been with them additionally confronted assaults,” the Nobel laureate instructed PTI. “These assaults are political in nature and never communal. And India is propagating these incidents in a giant means. We’ve not mentioned that we won’t do something; we now have mentioned that we’re doing all the things.”

Lately, there have been requires declaring Bangladesh an Islamic state. The nation’s lawyer common Md Asaduzzaman argued throughout a current excessive court docket listening to that “socialism and secularism don’t mirror the realities of a nation the place 90% of the inhabitants is Muslim”.

Analysts have drawn parallels between Bangladesh’s present scenario and the political landscapes of Afghanistan and Pakistan, each of which have skilled important turmoil lately.

After scholar protests that led to the coup and ouster of Sheikh Hasina, the scenario in Bangladesh has been in comparison with Afghanistan. After the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021, Afghanistan plunged into chaos, marked by a humanitarian disaster, financial collapse, and a extreme curtailment of civil liberties.

For Bangladesh, the chance of descending into an analogous state of disarray is current, significantly if the interim authorities fails to unify the nation and handle the basis causes of discontent. The potential for extremist teams to take advantage of the political vacuum can’t be neglected, as seen in Afghanistan, the place the Taliban capitalized on widespread dissatisfaction with the earlier authorities. However given Bangladesh’s lengthy secular and trendy rule beneath Hasina and a powerful financial system and establishments she has left in her wake, comparisons with Afghanistan, which has been torn with Islamist terror and wars for many years, could appear too alarmist.

Nevertheless, a comparability with Pakistan appears extra logical. Pakistan’s historical past of navy coups, political instability, and the interaction between civilian governments and the navy affords a extra related comparability, although with vital variations. Pakistan’s political system has been marred by repeated navy interventions, which have undermined democratic processes and contributed to a cycle of instability. With the navy assuming management and an interim authorities in place, questions come up concerning the potential emergence of a “hybrid” regime just like that of Pakistan, the place electoral processes exist however navy affect stays paramount.

(With inputs from TOI)