Bangladesh: ISKCON officials, 18 others sued over sedition linked with disrespecting national flag.

The next level of Hindu Persecution in Bangladesh: ISKCON Monk & Sanatan Mancha spokesperson, 18 others booked for sedition.

Donald Trump also vocal about Hindu persecution in Bangladesh….

Ratul Dutta | HENB | Dhaka | Nov 1, 2024:: If someone tries to overthrow us and thinks to live in peace, this country will also become Afghanistan or Syria… where there will be no democratic power, the whole country will become a sanctuary of communalism—this is how the spokesperson of the ISKCON Chaittagong Unit, Chinmayakrishna Das Brahmachari, was heard giving a ‘warning’ on the stage of the Bangladesh Sanatan Jagran Mancha’s grand gathering at Laldighi ground in Chittagong last Friday.

The next day, in an interview with a Bangladeshi newspaper, ‘Ei Sampy’, he said, ‘In the last 53 years, no one has given any protection to Hindus in this country. Every time the government has changed, the minorities of this country have been targeted before and after that.’ Before the week was over, a treason case was filed against at least 19 people, including Chinmayakrishna Brahmachari! The accused are several other unidentified people. It is alleged that they have defamed the country by hanging another saffron flag above the national flag at the Sanatan Mahasamavesh on October 25. A person named Firoz Khan filed a case at the Kotwali police station at 7 am on that day. According to police sources, two people named Rajesh Chowdhury and Hridoy Das have already been arrested in that case.

The Chittagong police have prepared a list of  accused in this case as Ajay Dutta, Leela Raj Das Brahmachari, Gopal Das Tipu, Dr Kathak Das, Engineer Amit Dhar, Roni Das, Rajib Das, Krishna Kumar Dutta, Jiku Chowdhury, Newton Dey, Tushar Chakraborty Rajib, Mithun Dey, Rupan Dhar, Rimon Dutta, Sukanta Das and Biswajit Gupta, all are conncted with Sanatan Jangaran anch and ISKCON (International Society For Krishna Consciousness).

Chinmoy Krishna opened up after learning about the case. In a video message on Facebook, he claimed, “The sedition case against us is nothing but an attempt to divert the peaceful movement program of the Sanatani HIndus to achieve their 8-point demands into a different dimension. Our movement is in protest against the ongoing attacks and persecution of the minority Hindu, Buddhist and other religious minorities in Bangladesh. This movement is in no way against the state. It is not for or against any party.” Many local Hindus who do not want to be named say, “Actually, the interim government was scared after seeing the gathering of lakhs of people at the Laldighi ground that day. Otherwise, the place where the flag  hung is at least a kilometer away from the meeting venue. The organizers of the rally should not have even the slightest connection with it.” 

Incidentally, on this very day, US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump spoke out about the persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh. As if wrapping up a last-minute campaign, he said, “The Biden-Kamala duo has consistently ignored the Hindu community not only in America but also around the world. This is the plight of Bangladeshi Hindus… If we come to power, we will teach a lesson to the entire world to stop persecution in the name of religion.”

Local minority people held a protest march at Cheragi Pahar Chattar in Chittagong yesterday to register their descent on the filing of a sedition case against Chinmoy Krishna and the arrest of two Hindus. A rally has been called at Laldighi ground today, Friday, demanding the withdrawal of the case. Protests will be held in all districts.

According to police sources, 15-20 more people have been accused in the sedition case as “unknown”. Like Chinmoy Krishna Brahmachari, the name of ISKCON Sri Krishna Temple principal Leelaraj Das Brahmachari is also on the list of accused. The plaintiff claims that on August 5, the day the Hasina government fell, the leaders and workers of the anti-discrimination student movement tied the Bangladesh national flag to a stick on the Shaheed Smriti (Martyrs’ Memorial) at Zero Point in Chittagong’s New Market. There have been allegations that another saffron flag was hung on it on October 25. The controversy spread after the picture went viral on social media and the saffron flag was finally removed. The plaintiff claims that this insult to the national flag is actually a ‘denial of the integrity’ of the country. At the same time, he claims, ‘by placing a religious flag on top of the national flag, the defendants are engaging in treason, creating anarchy within the country.’

Local people said that to disrupt the Sanatan Jagran Mancha’s movement, the leaders of the Islamic Chhatra Shibir, with the help of the police, are plotting to put the protesting Hindu leaders in jail.