'It was built on rail land': Bangladesh ministry defends Hindu temple demolition

A day after India condemned the demolition of a Durga temple in Dhaka, the Bangladesh government on Friday (June 27) said that the shrine was razed along with numerous other unauthorised structures erected alongside railway tracks, but only after the idol was dismantled and submerged in a river nearby. Against the backdrop of a sharp deterioration in bilateral relations since the appointment of a caretaker government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus last August, the external affairs ministry berated Bangladeshi authorities on Thursday for the razing of the Durga temple in the Khilkhet sector of Dhaka.

Bangladesh's foreign ministry, in a press release, said that last year, the local Hindu community installed a temporary "puja mandap" on a plot of land belonging to Bangladesh Railways without taking permission beforehand. The railways had allowed it with the promise that the organisers would dismantle the mandap once the puja festival was complete.

“Regrettably, after the Puja was over in October 2024, the organisers declined to remove the makeshift Mandap violating the mutual agreement. Rather they established a ‘Maha Kali’ (Kali Murti) there,” the statement said. In December 2024, the railway authorities held consultations with local community representatives and organisers of the mandap and issued a notification asking for the removal of all unauthorised installations, including vendors, hundreds of shops and offices of political party “illegally built” on either side of the rail tracks, the statement said.

After repeated reminders to those who illegally occupied the land, Bangladesh Railways asked for the removal of all unauthorised installations during June 24-25. “Finally, on 26th June, following due process, Bangladesh Railways proceeded to peaceful eviction of all unauthorised structures along the rail track in Khilkhet area,” the statement said.

“In the course of the eviction process, the idol of the makeshift Mandap was immersed in the nearby Balu River, in due reverence, with the participation of the members of the local Hindu community,” the statement said. The removal of unauthorised structures to recover government land is a “regular and lawful administrative activity”.

The statement added, “While the laws of the land ensure full protection to all places of worship without discriminating against any built in conformity with law, it is not permissible for any to build any religious structure encroaching public land under any circumstances.”

On Friday, minority groups in Bangladesh held protests in Dhaka on Friday (June 27) after a makeshift temple dedicated to the Hindu deity Durga was demolished by the South Asian nation's rail authorities. India has condemned the demolition, saying extremist groups were clamouring for its destruction, and slamming the interim government of Muhammad Yunus.

The Durga temple located in Khilkhet, Dhaka was demolished by Bangladesh Railway authorities on Thursday. According to reports, the authorities claimed that the temple was built illegally on railway land. The temple committee secretary, Arjun Roy, said there was no prior notice, adding "We are very disheartened over the incident."

According to reports, more than 500 people, carrying sticks, surrounded the temple before its demolition. The mob demanded the temple's removal. Bulldozers arrived at the scene and the Durga temple was demolished amid a large police presence, said the reports. The temple destruction led to widespread anger among Bangladeshi Hindus.

On Friday, a human chain protest was held in Dhaka by minority organisations such as the Bangladesh Sanatani Group and Sanatani Andolan in Shahbagh. Calling the demolition a 'brutal scene that hurt our sentiments’, Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council's Manindra Kumar Nath said, "We condemned such acts of destructive and violent religious frenzy. In protest of this, the Sanatani society has woken up today."

Nath said the government was "instigating a particular community."