Indian Cultural Centre Vandalised, 4 Hindu Temples Suffer 'Minor' Damages in Bangladesh

An Indian cultural centre was vandalised by an unruly mob in Bangladesh’s capital and four Hindu temples suffered “minor” damages across the country on Monday, eyewitnesses and a community leader said.

Kajol Debnath, Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council leader, said he has received reports that at least 4 Hindu temples were damaged across the country.

“These are minor damages,” he said. However, some Hindu community leaders are afraid in the wake of the tense situation after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ouster.

The Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre located in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi area was damaged by the unruly mob, according to eyewitnesses.

The protesters also set fire to several key locations in Dhaka, including Bangabandhu Bhaban, also known as the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, at Dhanmondi 32, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.

The museum was dedicated to Hasina’s father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who was assassinated while serving as president in 1975.

Yudhistir Govinda Das, head of communications at Iskcon, India, shared on X: “As per the info I have received, one of our ISKCON center (rented) in Meherpur (Khulna division) was burnt including with the deities of Lord Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra Devi. 3 devotees who lived in the center some how managed to escape & survived.”

The development comes as a massive protest forced Prime Minister Hasina to resign and leave Bangladesh. Army Chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman announced that an interim government was being formed and urged protesters to end the violence.

The Centre, formally inaugurated in March 2010, promotes bilateral cultural linkages between India and Bangladesh by organising cultural programmes, cultural seminars, workshops and engaging India based Gurus professionals and trainers for Yoga, Hindi, Indian classical Vocal Music and Indian Dances such as Kathak and Manipuri.

It also engages high class professionals from Bangladesh who had their training from Indian Gurus or in Indian Universities.

The Centre, a Cultural Centre of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations of India, has a library with over 21,000 books in the fields of Indian art, culture, politics, economics and fiction.

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