Bangladesh interim government chief Muhammad Yunus on Monday met leaders of the country’s Hindu community and vowed to promote inter-faith harmony while hosting a reception for them on the occasion of Janmashtami.
The minority Hindu population has faced vandalism of their businesses and properties and destruction of Hindu temples in the days of student violence that followed the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Sheikh Hasina fled to India on 5 August.
During the meeting, Mr Yunus said he wanted to create a Bangladesh where everyone could practice their religion without fear and where there was no need to protect any temple.
“Our responsibility is to establish the rights of every citizen. Our job is to ensure justice for every citizen,” he said while addressing a group of Hindu leaders at the state guest house Yamuna in the capital.
“There can be no division among people in our country. We are equal citizens. The interim government is committed to protecting the rights of every citizen of the country,” state news agency BSS quoted Mr. Yunus as saying.
“Bangladesh is a big family, where the government’s responsibility is to protect the rights of every citizen,” his office quoted him as saying on X.
Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad president Bashudeb Dhar, Dhaka Ramakrishna Mission head Swami Purnatmananda Maharaj and Hindu community leaders including Kajol Debnath and Monindra Kumar Nath were present during the meeting.
“We spoke to Prof Yunus for about an hour and he said all Bangladeshis are members of one family. We will eliminate any feeling of communalism,” Dhar told PTI.
Mr Yunus congratulated the country’s Hindu community leaders and promised to promote inter-religious harmony, the statement said.
The CA office statement said the Hindu leaders congratulated Mr Yunus on the auspicious occasion and said they sought blessings of Lord Krishna for the goodwill and prosperity of the country and the interim government.
“The Hindu leaders appreciated the recent remarks of the Chief Advisor at Dhakeshwari Temple, a sacred shrine in Old Dhaka, saying it would help build a non-communal society in the country and ensure religious harmony in the society,” the statement said.
During the meeting he raised the issue of “usurpation of property of Hindus including land of Hindu temples”.
The meeting between Mr Yunus and Hindu leaders took place at a time when thousands of Hindus gathered at the famous Dhakeshwari temple and other temples and Hindu monasteries to celebrate Janmashtami by chanting Vedic mantras, kirtans and bhajans.
Janmashtami is a public holiday in Bangladesh commemorating the birth of Lord Krishna.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
