Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari: Bangladeshi monk calling for a ban on Iskcon | India News – Times of India

Attacks against Bangladesh’s minority Hindu community following the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August this year have sparked widespread concern and caused a wrinkle in New Delhi’s ties with Dhaka. Monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, who was associated with the Bangladesh chapter of Gaudiya Vaishnav organization Iskcon before being expelled in October this year for violating the rules, has emerged as an outspoken critic of the persecution of minorities in the neighboring country . The violence during protests against his arrest on sedition charges prompted a sharp response from the Indian government and led to calls in Bangladesh for a ban on Iskcon, with the interim government in Dhaka saying it was treating the matter seriously.
A popular preacher who started young
Badger is from Satkania Upazila in Chittagong. From 2016 to 2022, he served as Iskcon’s Chittagong divisional secretary. He became popular at an early age for his religious speeches and was nicknamed ‘Shishu Bokta’, or ‘child orator’, Bangladeshi media report.
He is a spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilito Sanatani Jagaran Jot, a Hindu minority organization. Following the overthrow of the Awami League government on August 5 – believed to have created space for the resurgence of right-wing groups – Das has campaigned against targeted attacks on Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh.
Arrested on charges of sedition
Das is reportedly facing a sedition case for disrespecting the Bangladesh flag during a rally in October. He was arrested along with 18 others for hoisting a saffron flag over the national flag of Bangladesh on October 25 in Chittagong. This led to a complaint of “desecration” and “disregard for the sovereignty of the country”. Complainant Md. Feroze Khan alleged that the accused engaged in “activities aimed at destabilizing the nation by promoting an anarchic environment.”
Das was arrested from Dhaka airport on November 25 while waiting for a flight to Chittagong. Earlier, on November 22, he had addressed a large gathering in Rangpur against attacks on Hindus. His detention sparked protests among Hindus in Bangladesh and on November 26, New Delhi and Dhaka had a sharp exchange of words after communal tensions flared in Chittagong – leaving one person dead – after a court denied bail to Das. Iskcon also in Crosshairs The violence in Chittagong prompted the interim government to say that it would determine whether action should be taken in response to the episode. In addition, a lawyer in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh filed a petition seeking a ban on Iskcon, alleging that this organization is a fundamentalist organization. While Iskcon rejected these claims, reports on Thursday said the High Court in Dhaka had refused to ban the organization’s Bangladesh chapter.
The call for a ban on Iskcon has been backed by powerful student groups, a prominent voice in Bangladesh since their successful movement to overthrow Sheikh Hasina’s government.
However, according to reports, the right-wing BNP, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s party, has called for a “fair and transparent” investigation into the charges against Das after alleging the involvement of vested interests in the case.
A worrying trend
While Das’s arrest threatens to further complicate bilateral ties in the wake of the events that have unfolded since August 5 – New Delhi has expressed “deep concern” while Dhaka has noted that it was an “internal matter” – senior Iskcon members demanded the intervention of the Indian and Bangladeshi governments to ensure his immediate release.
In a post on They label every Hindu as ‘dalal’ of Iskcon and attack. I am shocked by the videos I am receiving from the concerned community in Bangladesh.” Rights & Risks Analysis Group (RRAG), a Delhi-based NGO, has filed a complaint with the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention against the “illegal and arbitrary detention of the most prominent Hindu religious minority monk in Bangladesh”. It said there was no evidence that Das of Sanatani Jot was involved in the alleged desecration of the flag of Bangladesh and that “the actual alleged perpetrators were not identified/named”.
The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, an umbrella organization of minority groups, also denounced Chinmoy Das’ arrest. A report titled ‘100 days after the fall of the authoritarian regime’ by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) says that “between August 5 and 20, 2010, incidents of communal violence occurred” leading to “the deaths of nine people from a minority community”. It also notes that the influence of religion-based politics is increasing in the country.
In the run-up to the US elections, newly elected President Donald Trump expressed concern about increasing violence against Bangladeshi Hindus.