‘If minority rights are violated, we will boycott national polls’

Advocate Rana Dasgupta, general secretary of Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Oikya Parishad, has said if the minority rights of people are violated anywhere in Bangladesh – not just Jamalpur – they will boycott the general election. He also said they will start a movement if the authorities do not meet their seven demands to protect minority rights, adding: “We will die trying to protect all the debutter properties [properties that have been dedicated to God] and religious establishments including Jamalpur’s Doyamoyee Mandir [temple].” Rana was speaking at a meeting called to protest Jamalpur District Administration’s acquisition of lands and buildings of the 300-year old Doyamoyee Mandir and Radha Mohan Jiu temples. The protest program – jointly organized by Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Oikya Parishad, Bangladesh Puja Udjapon Parishad and the management committees of all the temples in the district – was held at Doyamoyee Mandir premises on Friday. Rana also said they welcomed the government’s initiative of building a cultural village in Jamalpur. “But the Cultural Affairs Ministry’s circular clearly states that no debutter property can be acquired to build the cultural village." “If the decision to acquire Doyamoyee Mandir’s land is not cancelled, we will launch our nationwide movement,” he said. The leaders of the organizations also spoke at the program. According to locals, the historic Doyamoyee Mandir was built during the rule of Murshid Quli Khan, the first Nawab of Bengal, in the Bangla year 1104. The district administration wants to acquire 13 decimals of temple lands and an adjacent commercial building as part of its plan to implement a “cultural village project” and to renovate the town’s infrastructure.