Bangladeshi Hindus protest outside Huxley

Members of the UK Bangladeshi community gathered outside the Banwgladeshi High Commission on Queen’s Gate to protest the detaining of an influential Hindu leader in Dhaka on Tuesday 26th November. Approximately 50 members of the public joined the protest chanting and holding placards calling for the release of Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das outside the main entrance to the Huxley Building.

The protestors chants were loud enough to be heard on Elvaston Place and Queen’s Gate Terrace. The chants were not in English, but the phrase “Jai Shri Ram” could be heard, a Sanskrit phrase that roughly translates to “Glory/ Victory to Lord Ram”, and is an expression of faith in Hinduism. Variations of the phrase are used as greetings for Hindus across India but it was popularised by India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the 1980s in its campaign to rebuild the Ayodhya temple on the site of the Babri mosque. The temple is believed by Hindus to be situated at the site of the god Rama’s birth.

Das was arrested at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka for sedition at 4:30pm local time on Monday 25th November. He is the newly appointed spokesperson for Sanatan Jagatan Mancha, an advocacy group for Bangladeshi Hindus. He was previously affiliated with the Internatioanl Society for Krishna Consciousness. His arrest has sparked protests across the country as members of Bangladesh’s Hindu minority, which accounts for 8% of the population, demand for his release. The incident is the latest in a period of religious unrest within the country, following former president Sheikh Hasina’s self–imposed exile.