Dhaka: The suspension of the construction of the Lord Ram statue at the Sri Sri Radha Govinda and Kali Temple in Palashbari Upazila of the Gaibandha district in Bangladesh reflects concerns that extend beyond the local setting, according to a latest report.
The report suggests that the project was not halted by any judicial order or government directive; rather, people involved in the construction process mentioned that it was put on hold due to fear.
It noted that several minority rights organisations, including the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, have recorded hundreds of incidents involving attacks on minority communities across the country since the political transition following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government in August 2024.
“On the edge of the Dhaka–Rangpur highway, an unfinished concrete figure rises above the paddy fields of Gaibandha. Steel bars jut from its crown. The planned 81-foot statue of Ram — about 80 per cent complete — stands on the grounds of the Shri Shri Radha Gobinda and Kali Temple in Palashbari and has remained untouched since June 13,” a report in ‘The Borderlens’ detailed.
“For many local Hindus, that frozen construction site has come to represent something larger than an interrupted building project. It has become a measure of how far Bangladesh’s constitutional promise of religious freedom extends when organised opposition pushes back,” it added.
According to the report, while the temple committee maintained that construction was halted in the interest of communal harmony, many within Bangladesh’s minority community viewed the explanation with scepticism.
Citing media reports, it said that sources familiar with discussions between local officials and temple representatives indicated that Bangladeshi authorities had encouraged the committee to halt construction before tensions intensified.
“No written order was ever issued. No government agency has publicly acknowledged those conversations. That absence of any formal directive is precisely the problem: it leaves the statue’s legal status in limbo while providing the government with plausible deniability should its actions be challenged,” the report noted.
The report highlighted the remarks made by Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman following his election victory in February, vowing to build “a safe land for every citizen — Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians — regardless of party, opinion, religion, or ethnicity.”
In seeking permission to resume construction, it said, the temple committee quoted the Prime Minister’s own words, saying that “religion belongs to the individual, but the state belongs to all.”
Students from Jagannath Hall in Dhaka, the report said, marched to Shahbagh, blocked traffic, and called for the resumption of construction of the statue as well as legal actions against those accused of desecrating the image of Lord Ram during earlier protests.
Highlighting the wider concerns over minority rights, the report said, “Whether the statue is eventually completed, permanently frozen, or quietly removed will say much about how the Rahman government intends to navigate the tension between majority sentiment and minority rights.”
Several media reports suggest that Bangladesh has witnessed escalating protests over the alleged desecration of an image of Lord Ram by radical Islamists during a recent demonstration opposing the construction of the tallest statue of the deity in the Gaibandha district.
The decision to suspend the construction of the Lord Ram statue has sparked strong reactions, with critics alleging that the suspension came under pressure from Islamist groups opposed to the project.
(IANS)
