Avoid saffron robes, tilak in public

Kolkata: ISKCON Kolkata vice-president and spokesperson Radharamn Das has urged monks and followers in Bangladesh to adopt measures for their safety amid rising concerns over targeted violence against Hindu minorities in the country.

Das advised ISKCON adherents to avoid wearing saffron robes and ‘tilak’ in public, suggesting they practice their faith discreetly to avoid drawing attention. This caution follows a surge in attacks on the Hindu community and the recent arrests of three ISKON priests in Bangladesh after the political transition that ousted Sheikh Hasina's government earlier this year

“The situation in Bangladesh is alarming. The monks and devotees, who have been calling us, we have told them to hide their identity as ISKCON followers or monks publicly. We have asked them to practice their faith discreetly inside homes or inside the temples. We have advised them to dress in a manner that does not draw attention,” said Das in an interview on Tuesday.

He clarified that the advice was temporary and intended solely for the protection of devotees during this volatile period.

“This is not any advisory or generic guideline but my personal suggestion to monks and devotees who have been calling us frantically over the last few days,” Das added. “Many of our devotees and their families are facing threats and intimidation,” he said, highlighting the ongoing challenges faced by the minority community. Chinmay Krishna, a spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, was arrested at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Monday while traveling to Chattogram for a rally. He was subsequently denied bail and sent to jail on Tuesday.

The plight of Hindus in Bangladesh is a growing concern. Once accounting for approximately 22% of the population during the 1971 Liberation War, the Hindu minority now represents just about 8%, a decline driven by socio-political marginalisation, migration, and intermittent violence over the years.