Why was the leader of Bangladesh’s Hindu Rights Protection Movement, Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, arrested?

Opinion

-Monjurul Haque

Why was the leader of Bangladesh’s Hindu Rights Protection Movement, Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, arrested? The charge against him was that he raised a saffron-colored flag over the national flag, committing an act of sedition. The case was filed by BNP leader Mohammad Firoz Khan in Chattogram. However, the BNP later expelled Khan, declaring the allegation unfounded, yet the case was not withdrawn. As a result, Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari was arrested yesterday at the airport and sent to jail after appearing in Chattogram court.

The National Flag Regulation-1972 (amended in 2010) prohibits the hoisting of any flag or colored flag above the national flag. However, the state has failed to provide evidence of such an act during the rally in Chattogram. So why was he arrested? There are several underlying reasons for his arrest.

1. He is an active member of the Bangladesh Combined Sanatan Jagaran Alliance. He has always been vocal against the attacks and discrimination faced by religious minorities, particularly Sanatan Hindus, in Bangladesh. After the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government on August 5, a well-planned campaign of torture and oppression against the Hindu community began nationwide. Their homes and shops were set on fire, people were killed or injured, and a reign of terror was established. In particular, last month in Chattogram’s Hazari Goli, a joint force attacked thousands of people under the cover of darkness, destroying CCTV cameras.
2. Throughout the history of any government in Bangladesh, the Hindu community has been targeted through various means. However, under the interim government supported by the extremists, oppression has escalated. In response, Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari formed the Bangladesh Combined Sanatan Jagaran Alliance and called for resistance. His call was answered by millions, and people united against oppression, something unprecedented in Bangladesh.
3. Despite government obstacles, rallies in Chattogram and Rangpur saw millions of people protesting. Religious extremists under the banner of ‘Tawhidi Janata’ could not accept this. They have often made public statements such as, “In a country of 95% Muslims, Hindus will not survive, they must be driven out, and those who are agents of India should go back to India.” This time, however, Hindus responded saying, “This country is ours. We are the children of this soil. We did not fly in or drift here. This country, this land is our mother. To a Sanatan, the homeland is as sacred as the mother.”
4. The Hindu Rights Protection Movement in Bangladesh has presented an 8-point demand to the government, saying that whoever agrees to these demands will earn their support. Hindus are not a “voting block” for any party. The Yunus government dismissed these demands with disdain. Hindus have not threatened any violence like Muslim extremists do, nor have they given ultimatums of 24 or 48 hours.
5. After August 5, the religious extremists who plotted Dr. Yunus’s interim government were disturbed by the newfound backbone of the minority community. Many extremists openly threatened, “It won’t take long to eat up the few Hindus left in the country. No one will save you, this is a 100% Muslim country.” In response to Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari’s call, the Hindu Rights Protection Movement gained momentum, organizing large rallies in Chattogram, Rangpur, Gopalganj, and Nagarkanda. The government-aligned extremists could not tolerate this defiance. They could not understand how the Hindus, once seen as weak, could now stand up so courageously.

Was this the reason for his arrest? No, experts believe there are multiple calculations behind this.

Three and a half months after Yunus’s government came to power, it has failed to restore law and order, curb inflation, prevent the closure of hundreds of factories, gain public trust, or improve relations with the neighboring country India. There is widespread skepticism about whether the government can maintain control of the country, and the administration is facing internal strife. Amidst this chaos, Yunus’s government might see Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari’s arrest as a way to serve multiple political purposes.

The arrest could provoke massive protests by millions of Hindus, leading to a response from the joint forces. This could, in turn, trigger communal violence. If violence escalates, there may be international pressure, especially from India, to protect Hindus, which could result in increased diplomatic pressure. The government might use anti-India sentiment as a tool to rally support, distracting from its failures. If India intervenes, even in the unlikely event of an invasion, it could shift public focus from the government’s failures to national defense, thus prolonging the government’s rule.

Ultimately, the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari fits into a larger strategy of creating a crisis, potentially exploiting religious tensions and international relations to gain political advantage. However, this approach could have far-reaching consequences, with the potential to provoke a strong reaction not only from Hindus in Bangladesh but also from the global Hindu community, which would certainly make the government’s actions difficult to justify internationally.