Administration’s inaction deepens crisis: Hindu organisations

Various organisations have said the inaction of administration during recent sectarian attacks on houses and temples of the Hindus in many parts of the country has deepened the crisis.

At a human chain and solidarity rally in front of the National Press Club on Friday, members of Projonmo 71, Jatiya Party (Dhaka south), Bangladesh Jatiya Hindu Mohajote and Bangladesh Congress said the violence could have been better handled if the administration had been active from the very beginning.

"Administration's inaction has frustrated us and put us in crisis. The government's lax attitude in protecting minorities has led to the current crisis," said Sudhanshu Chandra Biswas, acting general secretary of the Bangladesh Jatiya Hindu Mohajote, while speaking at the programme.

"The government's solidarity rally seven days after the incident is nothing but a farce," he added.

Spokesperson of the Mohajote Palash Kanti Dey said some Hindu organisations would hold sit-ins from 6am to 12pm on Sunday at Shahbagh as well as all districts.

Projonmo 71 secretary Asif Munir said, "The security system this year in all puja mandaps across the country was lax. Police recovered the Quran from the Nanuar Dighi mandap in Cumilla at dawn. Why was not security beefed up before the incident? This is a failure of law enforcement agencies and the intelligence."

Projonmo 71 gave a call for abolition of religion-based politics, returning to the constitution as it was in 1972 and making a syllabus at the school level which is free of sectarianism.

While speaking at the programme, Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader asked why the intelligence failed to sense the attack beforehand despite coordinated efforts. It is a failure of the government.

It is high time the government looked into the matter deeply to identify the culprits behind this conspiracy, he added.

Bangladesh Congress Chairman Kazi Rezaul Hossain said when it is required to create an election-friendly environment in the country, various types of conspiracies are going on to divert people's attention to somewhere else, using religion. The government must identify them and bring them under the book.

Protest in Shahbagh too

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) and 10 other organisations have also organised human chain and demonstration rallies at Shahbagh in the capital in protest at vandalising and torching temples and houses of the Hindu community.

Bangladesh Puja Udjapon Parishad Secretary Taposh Pal said the government takes action after the incidents take place, which worsens the crisis.

"The government solidarity rallies were just a show-off. We do not want this. We want justice. Our protestation will continue until we get justice," he added.

On the morning of 13 October, the Quran was found in the puja mandapa of Darpan Sangha on the north bank of Nanuar Dighi in Cumilla city. After that, a group of people attacked the mandap alleging insult to religion. Later, puja mandaps were attacked in different parts of the country.