Bangladesh: Radical groups block Durga Puja celebrations in multiple places, force venue change

By Masud Karim
Dhaka [Bangladesh], September 27 : The Hindu community in Bangladesh has been forced to change the venues of Durga Puja festival at some places due to repeated obstruction by the radical groups.
Durga Puja is set to be celebrated from October 9 to 13.
The celebrations will be held in 32,666 pavilions of Bangladesh, the police said.
Though, majorly, there is no issue with organizing Durga Puja festival by the Hindu minority community in Bangladesh. But, Uttara, a suburb of the capital Dhaka, is one of those few places where there have been reports of obstruction.
A week ago, the radical Islamist groups organised several human chains in the name of local people against the Durga Puja in some sectors, including 11, 13 of Uttara, the witness said.
When tension rose in the area, the army and police held a meeting with the local leaders from Hindu and Muslim communities, they said.
Last year, the Hindu community performed Durga Puja in a field in Sector 11 of Uttara, but this time some worshippers of the nearby mosque and students of the madrasas formed a human chain there to stop the puja, they added.
Later, when the Hindu community wanted to organise Durga Puja in Sector 13, there were also obstacles.
Community Police officer, Siraj Mia, 48, who has been serving as a security guard at Uttara Field No. 13 for the past 5 years, opened up on the situation on the ground.
"I heard that there will be a Durga Puja here. But the mosque committee said they will not allow Puja here. So there will be no Puja here", Siraj Mia told ANI on Friday.
"This field is 13 No. sector playground. Usually, people play sports here. Eid prayers of Muslims are held here", he added.
"It is a mosque", Mia said, pointing the corner of the field. "During prayers, everyone goes to the mosque over this field. There is also a Madrasa close to this field."
In the end, the place of Puja was forced to move away through the intervention of the army and the police, the witness said.
Uttara is like an isolated island in Bangladesh, a country of communal harmony. But, this time there is no enthusiasm among Hindus regarding Durga Puja. None of Hindus, organizing Durga Puja locally in Uttara, agreed to speak on record.
The attention of the National Human Rights Commission has been drawn to the news published in "Protham Alo" newspaper on September 26, 2024 titled "Durga Pratima vandalized in Gouripur, Mymensigh, youth arrested", said a statement issued by the Commission on Thursday.
"The commission considers the incident of breaking the idols of religious minorities on the occasion of upcoming Durga Puja in non-discrimination and non-communal Bangladesh post-coup to be highly despicable, reprehensible and gross violation of human rights. The commission has accepted Spontaneous Complaints (Suomoto) in this regard," the statement added.
A review of the published news revealed that an incident of vandalism of Durga idol took place in Gouripur, Mymensigh.
The police arrested the youth from the spot and took them into custody on Thursday evening for his alleged involvement in the incident.
Gouripur Madhya Bazar Puja Celebration Committee organizes Durga Puja every year in Madhya Bazar, it said.
According to the Commission's resolution, "exemplary legal action" should be taken against those involved in the incident. At the same time, "providing overall security to religious minorities on the occasion of upcoming Durga Puja is very important at present. In such circumstances, the following committee has been constituted to inquire into the complaint," it said.
Md Ashraful Alam, Director (Complaints & investigations) (District and Sessions Judge, convener and Sushmita Paik, Deputy Director and Md Mozaffar Hossain, Assistant Director (Complaints & Investigations) are member of the committee. The Committee has to be submitted a report within the next 10 working days after visiting the site of the incident, the statement said.