In a recent development in Pirgachha, Rangpur, a Hindu branch of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party has reportedly been established, naming Bhavesh Chandra Barman, an assistant professor at Mirzapur Degree College, as president and Bijon Chandra Das, a pharmacist, as general secretary. The committee announcement took place Friday evening, October 25, during a meeting at the local Jamaat office, organized to engage the Hindu community. Abdur Jabbar, the union Jamaat chief, made the formal announcement.
The committee includes other Hindu leaders, such as Tapas Chandra Rai of Debi Chowdhurani Degree College as vice president, Kisamat Jhinia as assistant secretary, Sudha Ranjan Barman as head of the Sanatan Sangh, and Probhesh Chandra Barman, an assistant teacher at Deuti School and College, as treasurer.
The meeting was hosted by Union Jamaat’s organizational secretary Hafiz Idris Ali, with Rangpur District Jamaat Secretary Maulana Enamul Haque as the chief guest. Other prominent attendees included Pirgachha Jamaat chief Maulana Mostak Ahmed, Secretary Mostafizur Rahman, Office Secretary Zakir Hossain, Bhavesh Chandra Barman, president of the Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, and Jamaat’s Union Finance Secretary Hossain Ahmed.
Since the opposition movement ousted the former Awami League government on August 5, placing Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus at the helm with Islamist groups like Jamaat-e-Islami and Hizb-ut-Tahrir, violent incidents against minority Hindu communities have escalated. Attacks have been reported, along with instances of Muslim extremists occupying Hindu festival sites to recite the Quran and perform Islamic songs, raising security concerns among the Hindu population.
Many in the Hindu community, fearing for their lives, have reportedly been forced to convert or join extremist groups like Jamaat-e-Islami as a means of protection. The situation underscores the growing fears and pressures facing religious minorities in Bangladesh.