The minority population in Bangladesh is subjected to relentless persecution that appears to have no end in sight. After the extremists threatened Hindus over “Durga Puja” celebrations and demanded jizyah (tax paid by non-Muslim populations to their Muslim rulers) from them, the native Buddhist monks in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) declared that they would not observe “Kathin Chibar Dan” (Kathina Robe Offering) this year due to the current situation and security concerns. The festival is one of the biggest religious celebrations held by the Buddhist community in CHT every year.
The announcement was made on the 6th of October afternoon at Maitri Bouddha Vihar in Rangamati hill, during a press conference. The President of “Parbatya Bhikshu Sangha,” Shraddhalankar Mahathero, stated that the festival will not be celebrated in any temple within the area owing to the prevailing insecurity and uncertainty. The festival was scheduled to be held in the first week of November.
According to the monks, the development transpired due to the growing violence against the minority community. They charged that law enforcement officials had both active and indirect involvement in the violent occurrences that took place in CHT. The monks added that although investigation committees were established, they were never allowed to look into any of the communal attacks.
Shraddhalankar Mahathero recounted recent violent incidents that happened in the Khagrachari and Rangamati hill areas between the 18th to 20th of September and 1st of October, during which settlers plundered, damaged and set fire to hundreds of shops owned by indigenous populations. These attacks resulted in the gruesome deaths of four indigenous people, one of them a student. Furthermore, donation boxes in Buddhist temples were plundered and Buddha statues were desecrated.
The word “Kathin” or difficult is related to the annual religious event known as Kathin Chibar Dan, where Buddhist followers present monks with “Dan” robes, or “Chibar.” These robes are made of cotton and are woven by the devotees over the course of an overnight period. The celebration was first held approximately 2,500 years ago by Bishakha, a nurse to Gautama Buddha. It comes before Probarona Purnima, a celebration marked by the releasing of skylights and signifies the end of a three-month seclusion for monks who meditate inside their monasteries for self-edification and atonement for mankind.
Attacks on Durga puja pandals
Notably, idols of Goddess Durga and other Hindu deities were vandalized at the Rishipara Barwari Puja Mandap and the Manikadi Palpara Barwari Puja Mandap, on 28th September and 1st October respectively, further adding to the continuous wave of attacks against the minority community, particularly Hindus in Bangladesh. The attacks took place in Rajshahi Division’s Sujanagar upazila in the Pabna district.
Five Hindu idols were demolished in the Manikadi Palpara Barwari Puja Mandap, while four idols total were disfigured at the Rishipara Barwari Puja Mandap. Seven idols of Hindu deities were destroyed at the Gopinath Jiur Akhara Durga Puja mandap on 3rd October. Three temples and sixteen idols of Hindu deities in Bangladesh have been targeted in only six days, ahead of the “Durga Puja” celebrations.
At least 205 attacks on Hindu temples, stores and businesses have occurred since the collapse of former prime minister Sheikha Hasina’s government on 5th August, after the months-long anti-quota protest that turned into a regime change operation.
