Construction of a Bhagwan Ram murti has been halted amid threats by radical Islamists in Palashbari upazila of Gaibandha district, Bangladesh, reflecting spiking anti-Hindu hostility against the minority community.
A few days ago, radical Islamists threatened Hindus to stop the construction of the Bhagavan Shree Ram statue at a temple complex in Palashbari upazila. However, the construction of the giant Shree Ram Statue has been completely halted as the Hindu temple committee was forced to do so by the radical Islamists who intimidated the minority community with violence and vandalism.
One of the members of the temple committee said in a statement: “We are suspending the construction of the idol of Lord Ram in your interest and that of the nation and the society. We are stopping this work to maintain communal harmony. In the future, if we feel the need, we will call you, take the suggestions of all stakeholders, and resume the work.”
In fact, Palashbari region, in the Rangpur division of Bangladesh, has a dark history of repeated attacks on Hindu temples and vandalism of idols.
During the construction of the Bhagavan Shree Ram murti, social media platforms of Bangladesh were flooded with Hindu-hate comments, inciting violence. “If the construction of the Hindutva God Ram’s idol continues in Palashbari Upazila without obstruction, it will mean there are no cherished Islamic scholars in this country. In this case, Muslims in Bangladesh deserve genocide at the hands of Hindutwadis.”
Many other radical Islamists also threatened to demolish the idol of Bhagwan Ram while it was under construction: “An idol of Ram statue is being built in Palashbari. Destroy it with a bulldozer. The government should demolish the idol.”
Exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen strongly condemned the hostility and questioned the state of religious freedom in Bangladesh: “When there are hundreds and thousands of mosques across Bangladesh and new mosque construction happens every day, why can’t there be a single Hindu temple or Ram idol in Bangladesh?”
“No individual or group acquires the right to demolish another community’s place of worship simply because they dislike it,” Taslima Nasreen sharply condemned the violent acts of radical Islamists against minority Hindus.
Construction of the Bhagavan Ram murti halted in Bangladesh amid Islamist threats, exposing escalating anti-Hindu hostility and denial of religious freedom to the Hindu minority.
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