Was Durga Puja in Bangladesh as peaceful as it seemed?

Durga Puja is over. With the immersion of the idols, the goddess has departed for another year. For five days, puja pandals across Bangladesh, in cities as well as villages, drew crowds of people. Visitors came to see the idols, admire the lights and take part in the cultural programmes that accompanied the festivities. Security was tight, with the authorities deploying personnel across the country to ensure that the celebrations passed off peacefully.

But the festival had begun amid concerns over the safety of Bangladesh's Hindu community. In the days leading up to Durga Puja, several organisations representing the community reported incidents of idol vandalism, attacks on temples and other acts of violence. The government maintained that adequate security arrangements had been made. As the festival progressed, the police said their investigations had found no evidence of a planned conspiracy to disrupt communal harmony in the incidents they had examined.

So, how did Durga Puja unfold this year? The celebrations brought moments of joy and cooperation, but the concerns raised before the festival did not simply disappear.

Security measures in full force

This year, Bangladesh had 33,851 puja pandals, around 1,500 more than the previous year. On September 30, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed announced that all preparations for the festival's security had been completed. Intelligence agencies had not identified any pandal as particularly vulnerable or high-risk, he said. Law enforcement agencies, he added, would remain on maximum alert throughout the celebrations.

The security arrangements were extensive. Police were deployed in three tiers, while CCTV cameras, special patrols and checkpoints were used to monitor the situation. Authorities also kept an eye on social media for rumours that might provoke tension. Drones and helicopters were included in the plans for aerial surveillance during idol immersion.

According to a report published by Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha on October 12, surveillance had been stepped up at important locations. Police Headquarters and units across different levels of the force were operating round-the-clock monitoring systems. The scale of the deployment was considerable: 212,834 members of the Ansar and Village Defence Force were mobilised for the festival.

For the authorities, the priority was clear: prevent any disruption and ensure that people could celebrate without fear. But the need for such extensive security also brought the concerns voiced by Hindu community organisations into focus.

34 incidents reported before the festival

Ahead of the celebrations, reports of attacks on temples and vandalism of idols had raised questions about the safety of religious minorities. The number of reported incidents became a particular point of concern.

A The Daily Star report published on October 15, citing the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, said that 34 incidents of idol vandalism, temple attacks and related violence had occurred in different parts of the country before the festival. The organisation said it had received information about arrests in 11 of these cases.

Santosh Sharma, general secretary of the Parishad, stressed that security could not be limited to the five days of Durga Puja. It had to be ensured throughout the year, he said, not just during the festival.

The police, however, offered a different account of what had happened. According to a Dhaka Tribune report published on October 20, investigations into the 34 complaints had pointed to different causes, including local disputes, disagreements over temple management, conflicts over the distribution of government grants, theft and accidental damage to idols while they were being moved.

After examining six incidents, the police said they had found no evidence of a deliberate attempt to undermine communal harmony or of planned attacks targeting religious minorities.

These findings offered one account of the incidents, but they did not erase the wider concerns about minority security. The question also carried the weight of past violence.

In 2021, Durga Puja was marred by widespread violence across Bangladesh. According to a report by bdnews24.com, 204 pandals were vandalised or affected by violent incidents that year. Five people were killed and 301 injured. The scale of that violence remains an important part of the context in which this year's security arrangements and assurances must be understood.

The festive atmosphere and the reality of communal harmony

Despite the concerns that preceded the festival, the authorities said the celebrations had proceeded peacefully. On October 17, Inspector General of Police Ali Hossain Fakir visited Dhakeshwari Temple and said the festival was going smoothly. Leaders of the Puja Udjapan Parishad also expressed satisfaction with the security arrangements.

There were, meanwhile, signs of participation and goodwill beyond the Hindu community itself. Foreign diplomats visited puja pandals in Dhaka and other parts of the country, joining the celebrations.

According to The Business Standard in a report published on October 21, India's High Commissioner, Dinesh Trivedi, visited Dhakeshwari National Temple, Ramna Kali Temple, Jagannath Hall at the University of Dhaka, and the Uttara Sarbojanin Puja Mandap. US Ambassador Brent T. Christensen visited the Sarbojanin Puja Mandap in Amlapara, Narayanganj, to extend his greetings. Switzerland's ambassador also attended the celebrations at the Kumudini Welfare Trust in Tangail.

Political leaders, too, spoke of the importance of preserving Bangladesh's tradition of communal harmony. On October 16, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said Durga Puja was being celebrated with extensive security and in an atmosphere of joy. Two days later, President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir called for the protection of the country's tradition of communal harmony. On October 19, BNP Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi visited the puja pandal at Jagannath Hall, University of Dhaka, where he spoke of the festival's message of fraternity and solidarity among different communities.

Yet, alongside these public assurances, Hindu community leaders continued to raise concerns about what happens after the festivities end.

At a press conference at Dhakeshwari National Temple on October 15, Santosh Sharma, general secretary of the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad and Shubhashish Kumar Biswas, general secretary of the Mahanagar Sarbojanin Puja Committee, said they had received no information suggesting a major security threat to the upcoming celebrations.

They also made it clear, however, that the absence of an immediate threat did not mean that the community felt entirely secure. The failure to bring those responsible for past attacks on religious minorities to justice, they said, continued to fuel a sense of insecurity. They called for a law to protect religious minorities, stronger security for places of worship and punishment for those responsible for crimes against them.

Their concerns went beyond the arrangements made for a single festival. Security during Durga Puja mattered, but so did the assurance that religious minorities would be protected throughout the year.

A festival shared across communities

One of the more encouraging accounts of this year's celebrations came from Shubhashish Kumar Biswas Sadhan. Speaking to the media on October 21, he said members of the Muslim community, along with leaders from different political parties, had helped ensure that Durga Puja passed off smoothly.

The cooperation extended to the everyday work that goes into organising a festival. People from other religious communities helped decorate temples, arrange sound systems and manage shops outside temple premises. A temple compound also provided free medical services to visitors, regardless of their religious or ethnic identity.

There was a sense of shared participation, too, in the distribution of mahaprasad. According to Biswas, around 50,000 people took part in it on the night of Navami.

He described the successful completion of a religious festival with the cooperation of people from other faiths as a rare occurrence.

Such accounts offer a glimpse of communal harmony at the local level, where people come together to organise an event, lend a hand and share in the experience. They are an important part of the story of this year's Durga Puja in Bangladesh.

But the festival's peaceful conclusion does not settle every question raised before it began. Extensive security arrangements, cooperation among communities and the absence of major disruptions are all significant. So, too, is the demand from Hindu community leaders for justice over past attacks and protection that does not end with the festivities.

For now, Durga Puja has ended with reports of peaceful celebrations and examples of people from different communities working together. Whether that sense of security can be sustained beyond the festival remains a question Bangladesh will have to confront.