Attacks against the minority Hindu community in Bangladesh following the ouster of PM Sheikh Hasina in Aug this year have sparked widespread concern and caused a wrinkle in New Delhi’s ties with Dhaka. Monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, who was associated with Gaudiya Vaishnav organisation Iskcon’s Bangladesh chapter before being expelled in Oct this year for violating its rules, emerged as an outspoken critic of the persecution of minorities in the neighbouring country. Violence during protests over his arrest on sedition charges drew a sharp reaction from the Indian govt and triggered calls in Bangladesh for a ban on Iskcon with the interim govt in Dhaka saying it was treating the matter seriously.
A popular preacher who began young
Das hails from Satkania Upazila in Chittagong. From 2016 to 2022, he was the Chittagong divisional secretary of Iskcon. He gained popularity at an early age for his religious speeches and earned the nickname of ‘Shishu Bokta’, or ‘child orator’, reports Bangladeshi media.
He’s a spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilito Sanatani Jagaran Jot, a minority Hindu body. Following the Aug 5 overthrow of the Awami League govt — it is seen as having opened up space for the revival of right-wing outfits — Das has campaigned against targeted attacks on Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh.
Arrested on sedition charges
Das is reportedly facing a sedition case for disrespecting the Bangladeshi flag during a rally in Oct. He was arrested with 18 others for allegedly hoisting a saffron flag above Bangladesh’s national flag in Chittagong on Oct 25. That led to a complaint of “desecration” of and “contempt for the country’s sovereignty”. Complainant Md Feroze Khan claimed the accused en gaged in “activities aimed at destabilising the nation by fostering an anarchic environment”.
Das was arrested on Nov 25 from Dhaka airport while waiting to board a flight to Chittagong. Earlier, on Nov 22, he had addressed a large rally in Rangpur against attacks on Hindus. His detention sparked protests among Hindus in Bangladesh and, on Nov 26, New Delhi and Dhaka had a sharp exchange after communal tensions flared up in Chittagong — which left one person dead — following a court’s denial of bail to Das. Iskcon In Crosshairs, Too The violence in Chittagong prompted the interim govt to say it would determine whether action should be taken over the episode. Additionally, a Bangladesh Supreme Court lawyer brought a petition seeking a ban on Iskcon, alleging it to be a fundamentalist organisation. While Iskcon rejected those claims, reports on Thursday said the high court in Dhaka had refused to ban the organisation’s Bangladesh chapter.
The plea for a ban on Iskcon was backed by powerful students’ groups, a prominent voice in Bangladesh since their successful movement to topple the govt of Sheikh Hasina.
However, reports said that the rightwing BNP, the party of former PM Khaleda Zia, called for a ‘fair and transparent’ probe into the charges against Das after alleging the involvement of vested interests in the matter.
A worrisome trend
While Das’s arrest further threatens to complicate bilateral ties in the wake of the events that unfolded since Aug 5 — New Delhi has flagged its “deep concern” while Dhaka has noted that it was an “internal matter” — senior Iskcon members have demanded the intervention of the Indian and Bangladeshi govts to ensure his immediate release.
In a post on X, Iskcon vice president Radharamn Das said, “Mass killing is going on in Hazari Goli, Chittagong. They are branding every Hindu as ‘dalal’ of Iskcon and attacking. I am shocked by the videos I am receiving from the worried congregation in Bangladesh.” Rights & Risks Analysis Group (RRAG), a Delhi-based NGO, has filed a complaint with the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention against the “illegal and arbitrary detention of the most prominent minority Hindu religious monk in Bangladesh”. It said there was no evidence of Sanatani Jot’s Das being involved in the alleged desecration of the Bangladeshi flag and that “the actual alleged offenders were not identified/named”.
The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, an umbrella organisation of minority groups, also denounced Chinmoy Das’s arrest. A report titled ‘100 Days After the Fall of the Authoritarian Regime’ by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) says “2,010 incidents of communal violence occurred between August 5 and 20” leading to “the death of nine people of a minority community”. It also notes that the influence of religion-based politics is increasing in the country.
In the run-up to the US elections, President-elect Donald Trump expressed his concern over rising violence against Bangladeshi Hindus.