Random
Incidents that took place during
Durga Puja Festivities in 2000
The Durga Puja festivities, celebrating the Hindu Goddess Durga, are a source of great joy for the Hindus of Bengal, particularly the minority Hindu community in Bangladesh. However, with the rapid rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Bangladesh, the Durga Puja festivities have become a horrible nightmare for the minority Hindu community. In recent years, Hindus have been forced to leave their homes on the eve of this auspicious occasion, with Puja Pandals and Durga Puja Mandaps (the setup of the worship services) being frequently destroyed all over Bangladesh. Please read below to see the hardships that the minority Bangladeshi Hindu community endured during this festival.
I. October 1, 2000. town of Gournadi (near the Bangladeshi coast). A shrine to the Hindu Goddess Durga in the home of Harihar Saha was destroyed by a group of Islamic fundamentalists. They also assaulted 12 Hindus and stopped the religious services from proceeding.
II. October 2, 2000. town of Daibagyahati, Maralganj, Bagerhat district (in southwestern Bangladesh bordering the Bay of Bengal). A mob of Islamic fanatics demolished the shrines of the Hindu Goddess Durga, halting the local Durga Pooja services.
III. October 4, 2000. Moularbandar , Baliadangi police station, Thakurgaon district (in northern Bangladesh bordering the Indian state of West Bengal). The local shrine to the Hindu Goddess Durga was destroyeded by an organized group of Islamic fundamentalists.
IV. October 5, 2000. Narsingdi Sub-district. The Mathbari Durga Puja Mandap was attacked by a gang of Islamic reactionaries, who brutally assaulted Sujit Sengupta, the General Secretary of Puja Committee and Bhajan Chakraborty, the Priest.
V. October 5, 2000. Amarpur-Chaprashihat area, police station of Sadar, Noakhali district (in southeastern Bangladesh bordering the Bay of Bengal). A zealous mob of Islamic fundamentalists disrupted the Durga Pooja prayer services. The police helped the mob by demanding protection money in the amount of 50,000 Taka (approximately US $850) from the organizers. When the organizers could not pay the extortion money, they were brutally beaten. The group left the place only after vandalizing the religious grounds.
VI. October 6, 2000. Baniachang, Habiganj district (in northeastern Bangladesh bordering the Indian state of Tripura). An armed group of Islamic fundamentalists attacked the Durga Puja Mandap held by the local Ramakrishna Seva Ashram. In addition to destroying the setup, they beat up all the devotees before fleeing.
VII. October 6, 2000. Jagadishpur village, Kirtipasha Union, Jhalkathi district (in southern Bangladesh). During the night, a group of Islamic fundamentalists attacked the Durga Puja Mandap. In addition to destroying the religious setup, they beat up all the devotees before fleeing.
VIII. October 6, 2000. Abdullahpur area, Tongipara police station, Munshiganj district (proximately southeast of the capital city of Dhaka). A mob of Islamic fundamentalists destroyed the local religious arrangement for the local Durga pooja festival.
IX. October 6, 2000. Sariya Kandi town, Bogura district (in the center of Bangladesh). The local religious layout for the Hindu festival of Durga Pooja was destroyed by Islamic fundamentalists.
X. October 7, 2000. Jaidevpur Bazar, Ghazipur district (proximately northwest of the capital city of Dhaka). A group of Islamic reactionaries led by prominent local Islamic fundamentalists Lalu Mian, Majibar, Badsheh, and Nazrul attacked the Sarbojanin Durga Ma Mandap and desecrated the icon of the Goddess Durga. They all looted the entire Puja premises, including a large amount of cash. The members of the local minority Hindu community filed a FIR in the local police station accusing 48 people of the crime.
XI. October 8, 2000. Village of Singiya, Kotchandpur. A religious procession marking the end of Durga Puja festivities on at the was attacked by a couple of Islamic radicals. They also destroyed the local shrines as well. Over a dozen Hindus were injured in this attack.
Undated Durga Puja 2000 related events:
This year on the eve of Durga Puja, the Islamic extremist Jatiyatabadi Olema Dal (a front of the opposition Bangladesh National Party) issued leaflets castigating the Hindu religion and demanding the stopping of worship of religious icons. As a result, the Hindu community was very low key in their celebration of the Durga Pooja festivities.
Ujipu Kali Bari area, Kaliganj police station, Barisal district (in southern Bangladesh bordering the Bay of Bengal). Local Hindus boycotted the main Durga Puja to register protest over repeated attacks by Islamic fundamentalists on Hindu religious sites. They performed a Ghat pooja (a shortened version of the worship festivities) in protest.
Satkhira district (in southwestern Bangladesh bordering the Indian state of West Bengal and the bay of Bengal). Local Hindus boycotted the Durga Puja at several areas to protest oppression and repression of the Hindu minority in Bangladesh. They only performed Ghat pooja in protest.
Areas of Mollarhut and Faqirhut, Bagerhat district (in southwestern Bangladesh bordering the Bay of Bengal). The local Hindu minority community put black flags and black banners at local Durga Puja Mandaps in the areas to protest the barbaric murder of Advocate Kalidas Boral, a local Hindu Awami League leader. Local gangs of Islamic fundamentalists forcibly removed the black symbols at several places.
Village of Maheshpur, Motubhuyan Union, Daganbhuyan police station, Feni district (in southeastern Bangladesh bordering the Indian state of Tripura and the bay of Bengal). The local Hindu minority community could not celebrate the annual Durga Puja festival when they were unable to pay the Zizia Tax (an extortion levied by Islamic extremists on non-Muslims). The Islamic extremist groups, Mostafa Bahini and Haroon Bahini, patronized by opposition Bangladesh National Party also beat up several Hindu villagers.