Bangladesh: Durga Puja mandap invites Muslims for ‘cultural performance’, they defile the Hindu festival by performing Islamic songs

While it is true that the radicals were allowed to sing on stage by the joint secretary of Chattogram Puja Celebration Council, he was assured that the group would sing only a patriotic song. No permission was sought to sing proselytising Islamic songs.

On Thursday (10th October) evening, a group of Muslim men defiled the sanctity of a Durga Puja mandap in Chittagong city of Bangladesh by forcibly singing Islamic songs.

The radicals took to the stage of the JM Sen Hall Puja Mandap and sang the proselytising Islamic song ‘Shudhu Musolmaner Lagi Aseniko Islam (Islam did not come to light only for Muslims).’

The Muslim men, who were involved in the desecration of the Puja Mandap, belonged to the Chittagong Cultural Academy. A video of the incident has now surfaced on social media.

Atheist Bangladesh writer Taslima Nasreen, who is living in an asylum in India, remarked, “Jihadis are singing Islami jihadi songs in Durga puja pandal in Chittagong Bangladesh. What if Hindus sing hare ram hare krishna during Namaz inside mosques?”

While it is true that the radicals were allowed to sing on stage by the joint secretary of Chattogram Puja Celebration Council Sajal Dutta, he was assured that the group would sing only a patriotic song. No permission was sought to sing proselytising Islamic songs.

Chittagong Cultural Academy attempted to rationalise the desecration of the puja mandap by claiming that the song was about promoting ‘harmony.’

President Selim Jaman alleged, “Six of our members went there and performed a patriotic song and a song promoting harmony. One of them was ‘Aage Ki Sundor Din Kataitam,’ and another mentioned Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians.”

Following the incident, Hindus took to the stage in protest demanding action against the 6 radicals. Chittagong Deputy Commissioner Farida Khanam went to the Puja pandal and assured all-out support.

She claimed, “No matter who they are and how powerful they are, they will be arrested within the next 24 to 48 hours.” In the meantime, the Puja committee expelled Sajal Dutta from the position of joint secretary of Chattogram Puja Celebration Council.

Hindus miffed over the desecration of Puja Mandap

General Secretary of the Bangladesh Puja Celebration Committee (Chattogram) Sukanta Mohajan Tutul stated, “We can’t take it lightly. This is a heinous act. We are trying to identify them through proper authorities.”

Jamaat-e-Islami has meanwhile claimed that the 6 Muslim men, who desecrated the Durga Puja mandap, were not affiliated with it or its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir.

Attack on Durga idols in Bangladesh

Ahead of the Durga Puja celebrations, a radical Muslim man vandalised the idols of Goddess Durga and other Hindu deities in Gouripur town in the Mymensingh district of Bangladesh on 25th September.

The accused was identified as 22-year-old Yasin Mia. The police arrested him on 26th September for his involvement in the desecration of Hindu idols.

Mia entered the premises of Gobindajew temple in the wee hours of Wednesday and began destroying the idols, which had been sculpted for the past 20 days. While attempting to take the idols away, he was spotted by a Hindu woman named Dolly Rani.

She raised alarm and Mia was quickly apprehended by two locals, Akhil Chandra Bishwasharma and Bipul Ghosh. The accused was then handed over to the police

In the latest series of attacks, idols of Goddess Durga and other Hindu deities were vandalised at the Rishipara Barwari Puja Mandap and the Manikadi Palpara Barwari Pujamandap on 28th September and 1st October respectively.

The attacks were carried out in Sujanagar upazila in Pabna district in Rajshahi Division of Bangladesh. While a total of 4 idols were defaced at the Rishipara Barwari Puja Mandap, another 5 Hindu idols were destroyed at the Manikadi Palpara Barwari Pujamandap.

The attacks have raised concerns among the local Hindus, who have sought immediate intervention from the law enforcement authorities and district administration.

On Thursday (3rd October), 7 idols of Hindu deities were destroyed at the Gopinath Jiur Akhara Durga Puja mandap. The incident occurred in Kishoreganj in the Dhaka Division of Bangladesh.

The vandalism was carried out in the wee hours of the night when the guards, responsible for ensuring the security of the temple, were asleep. The accused scaled the walls and broke off the heads of the idols. The Hindus staged a protest on Thursday evening.

They took to the streets and assembled outside the office of the district commissioner, seeking justice. Despite assurances by Deputy Commissioner Fouzia Khan and SP Mohammad Hasan Chowdhury, no arrests have been made so far.