Tarique Rahman's Durga Puja Outreach To Hindus Amid Minority Safety Concerns

Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will be visiting several Hindu Temples in the country as Durga Puja festivities begin. Rahman's government has already increased the grant for this year's Durga Puja to 5 crore taka or about 4 crore in Indian rupees and extended the holiday for government employees to five days during the celebrations. The move is being seen as a major outreach to the minority Hindu community in Bangladesh.

Rahman will visit a temple in Rangpur in nothern Bangladesh, an area where the Hindu community has faced attacks. However, in the elections held early this year, the hardline Bangladesh Jamaat-E-Islami won all seats in the area and the Prime Minister's travel across country outside Dhaka is seen as an effort to outline the Bangladesh Nationalist Party's credentials in the absence of the Awami League in the politics.

Rahman is expected to visit the Puja Mandap at the Dharmasabha Temple in Rangpur, also known as Radha Gobinda Temple, on October 20, during the Sharadiya Durga Puja festival.

During his visit to the Puja Mandap, he will exchange greetings with members of the Hindu community, state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sanstha (BSS) reported. He is also scheduled to visit two other Puja Mandaps in Rajshahi and Chattogram on the same day. 

In 2025, Bangladesh's Interim Government's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus visited the Dhakeshwari Temple ahead of the Durga Puja festival. However, he did not attend the actual Durga Puja celebrations in 2025 because he traveled to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) during the festival week.

In 2023, former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also visited the Dhakeshwari Temple during Durga Puja celebrations which was the last Durga Puja before she was ousted from office in August 2024.

The Dhakeshwari Temple is steeped in history. It's one of the holiest of the 51 Shakti Peeth where the gem of Sati Devi's crown fell. The ancient Vigraha or stone idol was relocated to Kumartuli West Bengal during the partition by the chief priest of the temple in a dramatic fashion as attacks on Hindu temples in Bangladesh increased. The temple is state-owned, giving it the distinction of being Bangladesh's 'National Temple'. It is the most important Hindu place of worship in Bangladesh. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh was named after the Devi Dhakeshwari who is considered the presiding deity of the city.

The Radha Gobinda Temple is one of the oldest and most significant places of worship for the Hindu community in Rangpur city. The temple is more than just a place of worship. It has also emerged a s major cultural centre for the Hindu community by hosting cultural and social activities alongside religious functions.  

Earlier this year, Rahman attended a Janmashtami programme in Dhaka to exchange greetings with prominent members of the Hindu community on the occasion of Janmashtami and to distribute honorariums among priests and sebaits. On that occasion, he walked from his office at Bangladesh Secretariat to Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital to attend the Janmashtami programme as the chief guest. 

Bangladesh will see at least 33,851 Durga Puja celebrations across the country this year, even as Hasina has raised concerns over the safety and security of religious minorities in the country.

On Tuesday, Rahman said his government is committed to ensure the rights and security of every citizen of the country irrespective of their religious identity.

"Every people should be treated equally as citizens of Bangladesh rather than on the basis of their faith," BSS quoted him as saying. 

Rahman made the comments during an interaction with members of the Hindu community from the Dhaka-17 constituency. The constituency is represented by Rahman in the National Parliament and includes high profile areas of Dhaka city like Gulshan (including Gulshan Diplomatic Zone), Banani, Baridhara (Residential and Diplomatic Zone) and Dhaka Cantonment areas.