Why is ISKCON being targeted, how many temples are there in Bangladesh, why are the radicals against it?

Bangladesh Hindu Attack: These days, Hindus are being continuously tortured in India’s neighboring country Bangladesh. Chinmoy Krishna Das, head of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), was also arrested. After this, the demand to ban ISKCON has intensified there. The situation in the country is worsening after the coup 4 months ago on August 5, 2024. This happened when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government fell and she fled from there and started living in India. Not only this, it is not just about attacking the ISKCON temple. Other temples present there are being targeted by radical Islamic groups. According to TOI report, there are currently 40,000 temples in Bangladesh.

Let us tell you that amidst the fall of Hasina government and political instability, radical Islamic groups have targeted ISKCON. Online campaigns like #BanISKCON and #ISKCONisTerrorist are being run against it, and it is being described as a threat to the country’s security and communal stability. Earlier, soon after Hasina’s departure, an ISKCON temple in Meherpur in Khulna division was vandalized and set on fire.

Trying to appease radical Islamic groups
The new Yunus government in Bangladesh is accused of appeasing radical Islamic groups and allowing attacks on ISKCON. Bangladesh’s fundamentalist organization Hefazat-e-Islam took out a rally against ISKCON after Friday prayers, in which protesters raised violent slogans against its supporters, demanding a ban on ISKCON. Not only this, hashtags like #BanISKCON and #ISKCONisTerrorist are trending on social media. Apart from this, ISKCON is being accused of inciting violence and being associated with Sheikh Hasina’s party Awami League. Islamic groups opposing the Awami League targeted ISKCON by calling it a supporter of the Awami League.

community tension
Members of Bangladesh Sanatan Jagran Manch and ISKCON organized rallies against the attacks on Hindus. Let us tell you that banning ISKCON will increase insecurity in the Hindu community and the threat to their identity will deepen. ISKCON has a good network in Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, ISKCON temples are present in Dhaka, Mymensingh, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Khulna, Barisal, Chattogram and Sylhet. The number of people who believe and worship the temple here is quite large. Its wealth is also quite high. He helps the poor in Bangladesh every day. The people of ISKCON temple also helped a lot in the flood that occurred in Bangladesh last month.

Also read: What demands is Krishnadas Prabhu making for Hindus in Bangladesh? Why was he arrested, understand here