Chinmoy Krishna Das | The monk who defied the mob

The case against Chinmoy Krishna Das goes back to October when, against the backdrop of attacks against growing mob violence, which often targeted minority religious communities in Bangladesh, he provided leadership and direction to the Bangladesh Sammilito Sanatani Jagaran Jote, an umbrella organisation of the Hindu community in the country.

A case against Mr. Das was lodged on October 31, days after three separate rallies were convened under his leadership in different parts of the country, where the national flag was reportedly disrespected.

Mr. Das was arrested in dramatic circumstances on October 25 from Dhaka’s Shah Jalal International Airport, and the next day, while he was produced in a court in Chittagong, violent clashes broke out between hundreds of political activists and the police that left a young lawyer dead.

Ever since, the allegations against Mr. Das have compounded as he was also accused of encouraging the clashes on the court premises.

Mr. Das first shot to the limelight with his fiery speeches demanding protection for the Hindu community in Bangladesh in the aftermath of the fall of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s regime on August 5, 2024.

Bangladesh has an old history of anti-minority violence, dating back to its days as East Pakistan, which found its worst manifestation in the Operation Searchlight of March 25, 1971, when the Pakistan military began killing Hindus and progressives in Dhaka and other parts.

The Hindus and Buddhists of East Pakistan had begun mobilising themselves in the 1960s, when Gen. Ayub Khan was in power, leading to the formation of the Bangladesh Hindu Bouddho Oikyo Samiti (BHBOS). The BHBOS survived the 1971 crackdown by the Pakistan military and emerged as a political force in the 1980s when it participated in the pro-democracy protests that eventually overthrew the military regime of Hossein Mohammed Ershad.

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But in the subsequent years, the BHBOS faced criticisms for alleged inaction when violence against the minority communities flared up, from time to time. One such incident took place during the Durga puja season of 2022, when a number of puja pandals were violated in Comilla, Brahmanbaria, Chittagong and Rangpur.

Chinmoy Krishna Das was at this time the leader of ISKCON [International Society for Krishna Consciousness] in Bangladesh. He emerged as a strong voice that supported the mobilisation of the minority community. Mr. Das, whose real name is Chandan Kumar Dhar, has overshadowed the older community leaders such as Rana Dasgupta and Manindra Kumar Nath.

Rise of Islamists

Though in jail since October 2024, he remains a crucial figure in the post-Hasina Bangladesh where there is a spike in the activities of the fundamentalist Islamist movements. On Saturday, Hezat-e-Islam held a major meeting in Dhaka’s Suhrawardy grounds as a show of strength even as the interim government continues to argue that the bulk of the attacks that targeted the Hindu community members in August-September 2024 were “politically motivated” and not communal in nature.

An appellate court in Dhaka will take up the case of Mr. Das on Sunday.

The High Court in Bangladesh granted Mr. Das bail on April 30 in the case of sedition and his advocate Apurba Kumar Bhattacharjee expressed hope that his client would be released within a week. But The Supreme Court stayed the High Court decision immediately and fixed Sunday for further hearing. One factor that has worked in favour of Mr. Das is that, despite the promise of an investigation into the activities of Mr. Das and the rallies and the violence of October 26, 2024, the interim government has not carried out any probe so far. Mr. Das had earlier applied for bail in the High Court after a lower court rejected his plea on January 2.

The decision on the Vaishnav monk will be keenly watched in the region as he has emerged as an important figure in the political terrain of Bangladesh that is getting ready for election later this year.