Students of Dhaka University brought out a torchlight procession to protest against the alleged desecration of an image of Lord Ram during a demonstration in Gaibandha. The protesters also demanded the resumption of construction work on a statue of Lord Ram in Gaibandha.
Minority groups in Bangladesh are demanding action against the threats of a project to build the country’s largest statue of Lord Ram in Gaibandha’s Palashbari upazila. The project’s initiators have announced a temporary suspension of construction work following growing tensions over the project. The decision was announced at a press conference earlier this month.
“We are building a statue of one of the main sources of strength of Sanatan Dharma, Lord Ram. In the 81 feet statue, we have completed around 80% work, but some radical groups are now pressurising us to stop construction. We are scared and in fear and out of fear we have kept the work suspended. I want to appeal to the PM, Honourable Tarique Rahman and to law and order authorities and to civil society to ensure we can complete the work,” Haridas Chandra Das, Founder and President of the Temple Committee of the Gaibandha Palashbari Komorpur Sri Sri Radha Govinda Temple, told NDTV.
Bangladesh: People from minority Hindu community organised a protest against the demolition of a statue of Lord Shiva, saying that the act is against fundamentalism. Fundamentalists continue to target minorities in Bangladesh. pic.twitter.com/98L11SvBRE
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) June 15, 2026
The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council Central Committee has asked the government to curb ongoing communal threats and strongly urged the government to take immediate and effective measures to bring these incidents to an end.
The minority rights body expressed grave concern over the continued threats by a vested group to demolish the Radha-Gobinda Temple in Gaibandha and warned that such developments could seriously undermine communal harmony throughout the country.
“In this regard, the meeting called upon the Government, the administration, civil society, and political leaders at both local and national levels to take prompt and appropriate initiatives to preserve communal peace and harmony. The meeting further demanded that those responsible for inciting communal hatred and provocation be brought to justice and awarded exemplary punishment,” a statement from the council told NDTV.
At the Dhaka University students’ protest, Ram Prasad Saha Topu, social welfare secretary of the Jagannath Hall Students’ Union, said Lord Ram is one of the most revered deities in Hinduism.
“Recently, one extremist group spread rumours involving Lord Ram, and then another extremist group desecrated the image of Lord Ram. These acts have hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindu community,” he said.
