New Delhi: Days after the arrest of ISKCON monk Chinmoy Krishna Das on sedition charges, the Dhaka High Court on Thursday declined to immediately ban the International Society for Krishna Consciousness amid mounting calls from various quarters to outlaw the Hindu religious organisation.
Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, meanwhile, condemned the arrest of Das and demanded his immediate release by the Bangladesh interim government.
The high court dismissed a writ petition filed by Supreme Court lawyers, who labelled ISKCON as a “religious fundamentalist organisation” following violent unrest allegedly triggered by Chinmoy Das’s arrest.
The petition was lodged after clashes erupted in Chittagong following the arrest of the monk which led to the death of a Supreme Court lawyer.
The judge directed the Attorney General to provide additional details regarding the government’s position on ISKCON’s activities.
The July Martyrs Memorial Foundation, which was instrumental in the protests that led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in August, has accused the ISKCON of trying to “implement Delhi’s agenda on Bangladesh”.
Meanwhile, ISKCON Bangladesh distanced itself from Das, who had been expelled from the organisation earlier.
Charu Chandra Das, the organisation’s general secretary, clarified that Das was no longer a representative of ISKCON and that his recent actions were entirely personal. ISKCON stated that Das had aligned himself with a separate group, the ‘Bangladesh Sanmilito Sanatani Jagoron Jot,’ which advocated for the rights of Hindus in Bangladesh.
He also clarified that Chinmoy Krishna Das was expelled from all positions within the organisation due to a breach of discipline. At a press conference Thursday, he emphasised that ISKCON does not take responsibility for any of Chinmoy Das’s actions or statements.
In a separate statement Thursday by its headquarters in India, ISKCON reiterated that though Chinmoy Das does not officially represent the Bangladesh chapter, it “has not, and does not distance itself from supporting Chinmoy Krishna Das’s rights and freedom for peacefully calling for protecting Hindus and their places of worship”.
“We also support, along with all other sanatani groups, protection and safety of Hindus, and re-establishing an atmosphere of peaceful co-existance with minorities in Bangladesh. Many of our press statements and interviews have made this fully clear. We have only clarified, something that was already said by us in the past many months, regarding him not officially representing ISKCON in Bangladesh,” it asserted.
Calls for ban from student groups, Muslim outfit
At a rally in Chittagong on Wednesday, student leaders warned of a conspiracy to destabilise the country, insisting that the ‘minority theory’ would not divide Bangladesh. Sarjis Alam, member of Jatiya Nagorik Committee and General Secretary of July Martyrs Memorial Foundation, condemned the alleged attempts to create unrest by inciting ISKCON. “Peace-loving Sanatanis will not let this happen,” he said.
In another such event at Dhaka, Abdul Hannan Masud, chief organiser of July Martyrs Memorial Foundation, accused ISKCON of pushing Delhi’s agenda at the behest of Sheikh Hasina and vowed to resist any attempts to stoke Hindu-Muslim tensions. Umama Fatema, spokesperson of July Martyrs Memorial Foundation, claimed that after 5 August, Hasina’s strategy was to provoke attacks on minorities.
Fatema accused Sheikh Hasina of attempting to portray an Islamic revolution in Bangladesh, claiming that she wanted to paint Muslims as a threat to Hindus and depict Hindus as unsafe in the country. She further alleged that this narrative was orchestrated by India, and that since 5 August, the Indian media has aggressively pushed the minority issue in Bangladesh, Dhaka Tribune reported.
She also criticised the interim government for failing to counter the alleged Indian propaganda. “It was the government’s duty to expose India’s media campaign against Bangladesh, but instead, they were lenient toward India,” the spokesperson added.
Mahin Sarkar, the central coordinator of July Martyrs Memorial Foundation, reiterated the demand for a ban on ISKCON, calling it a “militant organisation,” but urged caution, advising that the public should remain calm and not be provoked by any schemes from the Awami League.
Similarly, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Bangladesh also demanded a ban on ISKCON. At a press briefing in Dhaka, it clarified that “criticising the orgainsation is not akin to criticising the Hindu community”.
Chinmoy Das was arrested in Dhaka, Monday on charges of dishonouring Bangladesh’s national flag during a Hindu community rally in the New Market area of Chattogram on 25 October. The next day, the Chattogram Sixth Metropolitan Magistrate Court sent him to jail.
Hasina condemns arrest
On Thursday, the Awami League, in a post on ‘X’, said that ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina condemned the arrest of Chinmoy Das, calling it ‘unjust.’
“If the unconstitutionally usurped Yunus government fails to punish these terrorists, it will also face punishment for human rights violations. I appeal to the people of the country to stand united against this kind of terrorism and militancy. It is important to ensure the safety of the common people’s lives and property,” Hasina said.
The post also criticised the interim govt for its “failure in all areas” and called for protection of religious freedom.
“The current power grabbers are showing failure in all areas. Strongly condemn these tortures directly and indirectly on common people. Religious freedom and security of life and property must be ensured for people of all communities,” the post, originally written in Bengali, said.
This is an updated version of the report
(Edited by Tony Rai)