The Denunciation From the Hindus in Rome

Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. Rome, 9 November 2021

During the last celebration of Durga Puja in Bangladesh, on 13 October, there were strong clashes between Muslims and Hindus, with casualties.

It seems that the pretext was the provocation of some Islamic extremist groups who hid the Koran at the feet of the idol Hunuman inside the Nanuar Dighir Par Durga Mandir and shared the photos on Facebook: this controlled act of blasphemy sparked the anger of some Muslim groups that have started to attack Hindu temples in the city of Cumilla. Since that time, violence against Hindus and their temples has spread to other places.

As local media reported, more than 315 temples and their idols were vandalized and all valuables were looted in more than 30 districts of Bangladesh from 13 to 16 October.

“They attacked and vandalized nearly 1,500 Hindu homes in Cumilla, Chandpur, Noakhali, Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Feni, Chapai Nawabgonj, and other districts. Hindu-owned shops and commercial sites have been vandalized and looted in Cumilla, Chandpur, Noakhali, Chittagong, Feni, and other districts of Bangladesh” said Dipan Mitra, general secretary of the World Hindu Federation Bangladesh Chapter.

According to media reports, three people were killed on Wednesday during clashes between Muslims and the police in the Hajiganj subdistrict of Chandpur, on the border with Cumilla, while the fourth died from his injuries.

But Hindu sources report about ten people killed by Muslims and many women raped.

 

Hindu religious leaders said this violence was part of the plot to hinder the celebration of Durga Puja, while for Awami League Secretary-General Minister Obaidul Qader, the attack by fanatics actually has a purely political reason.

Recall that Hindus are 10% of Bangladesh's 169 million Muslim-majority population. This is just one of the latest violent attacks suffered by the Hindu population.

This obviously sparked the anger of the Bangladeshi Hindu community in Rome, which met on 9 November behind the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, in Esquilino, for a protest sit-in.

Organized by the Hindu Puja Udjapon Parisad, Rome-Italy, with the support of the Muslim Association Dhuumcatu, the sit-in took place peacefully, gathering about fifty people, with speeches in Italian and Bangladeshi, denouncing the violence suffered. and demanding protection from both the government in Bangladesh and interest from the media and Italian society.

During the sit-in, three important Hindu leaders intervened live through video calls to give their support: Monindro Debonath, Bisnu Saha, and Ranadas Gupta.

 

Italian version