ISKCON welcomes remarks by Bangladesh on no ban; continues protests demanding release of monk

ISKCON welcomes Bangladesh government's statement, protests in Kolkata for monk's release, amid security concerns at Deputy High Commission.

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) has welcomed the remarks by a senior official of the Bangladesh government that no discussion was held to ban the religious organisation, but continued with protests in Kolkata demanding release of Chinmoy Krishna Das, a monk associated with the organisation who was arrested by the Bangladesh police earlier this week.

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The monks and supporters of ISKCON led by vice-president Radharaman Das held a ‘protest kirtan’ at its Albert Road centre in Kolkata. The monks of ISKCON held protests with posters, “We are not terrorists”.

“This is a welcome step. We were disturbed when we heard a statement from the A-G (Attorney General) of the Bangladesh government about a possible ban. Now if the government is saying this, we welcome this,” Mr. Das said.

The remarks by ISKCON come in the backdrop of remarks made by Syed Rizwana Hasan, adviser to the Government of Bangladesh, that the government was not mixing the offences of organisations with the offences of individuals.

“No discussion was held in the government to ban ISKCON in Bangladesh. Many may raise demands. People may undertake programmes to press for their demands. But we are not mixing the offences of organisations with the offences of individuals,” Ms. Hasan had said in Dhaka on Thursday (November 28, 2024).

The ISKCON representative, however, said certain centres of the organisation were being targeted in rural areas of Bangladesh. ISKCON has over 100 centers in Bangladesh. “Whenever we get calls from our people in Bangladesh, they say that it seems the world has forgotten about us. Through our kirtan here we want to tell them that they are in our prayers,” Mr. Das said.