Amid rising tensions between India and Bangladesh, 54 ISKCON devotees were denied entry into India at the Benapole border on November 30, despite possessing valid passports and visas. Bangladeshi immigration authorities cited the lack of specific government authorization as the reason for their decision. Benapole Immigration Police officer Imtiaz Ahsanul Quader Bhuiyan explained that higher authorities had instructed them to block the group’s passage, despite the devotees having all necessary travel documents. The group, traveling from various districts in Bangladesh, had planned to attend a religious ceremony in India but were forced to return after hours of waiting.
This incident follows increased scrutiny of ISKCON activities in Bangladesh. On November 27, ISKCON spokesperson Chinmoy Krishna Das was arrested in Dhaka on sedition charges for allegedly raising a saffron flag above the Bangladeshi national flag during an October rally. His arrest has sparked protests, leading to violent clashes in Chattogram, where a lawyer lost his life. Authorities have also frozen the bank accounts of 17 ISKCON-affiliated individuals, including Das, for 30 days. The tensions escalated further with the arrest of two ISKCON monks, Adi Purush Shyam Das and Ranganath Das, who were detained after visiting Das in prison to deliver prasad.
The growing pressure on ISKCON coincides with heightened concerns over violence against Hindu minorities in Bangladesh, especially after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government in August. While the Bangladesh High Court recently declined to issue a suo motu order to ban ISKCON, providing temporary relief, Hindu minorities and ISKCON devotees face increasing restrictions on their safety and religious freedom. These developments have raised alarms about the deteriorating situation for minority communities in the country.
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