After Hasina' ouster, online campaign demands ISKCON ban in Bangladesh

After a spate of attacks on minority Hindus, a social media campaign in Bangladesh has called for a ban on the Hindu religious organisation, ISKCON or the Society for Krishna Consciousness. The campaign coincides with similar demands by a newspaper editor and allegedly by some radical Islamist groups.

An ISKCON temple was among the first Hindu installations in Bangladesh to come under attack by miscreants after the fall of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government on August 5, 2024.

Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) have since been flooded with posts and hashtags like #baniskcon, #ISKCONmustbebanned, #ISKCONisTerroris, #HindutvaPropaganda, and #HindusPlayingVictim. They also feature anti-Hindu rhetoric.

According to analytics tools, the hashtag #BanIskcon has appeared in over 1,800 posts on X within a week ending November 14. Numerous infographics calling the organisation a terrorist outfit and demanding the ban have also been widely shared.

The online campaign gained momentum after ISKCON members were accused of involvement in the violence on November 5 during a protest that erupted over a Facebook post allegedly calling ISKCON a terrorist organisation.

A majority of accounts participating in the campaign were also part of the #IndiaOut and #BoycottIndia campaigns run before the ouster of the Hasina government earlier this year. Many of these accounts lack identifiable profiles, target India and the Awami League, Hasina’s party.

ISKCON faces several allegations like hoisting the saffron flag above the national flag of Bangladesh at a rally in Chittagong, promoting interests of the Awami League, and being agents of the Indian government. “Bangladeshis are asking to #BanISKCON because it is harbouring indian hindu RSS terrorists,” reads a post on X.

ISKCON Bangladesh has addressed these allegations in the past. ''ISKCON is an international organisation that was not involved in any such incidents anywhere in the world. ISKCON is not an agent of any country's intelligence agency but works solely for the welfare of humanity,” said ISKCON President Satya Ranjan Barai, as per the Daily Star.

Some posts allege a link between ISKCON and Israel, claiming the group operates under Israeli influence. These accounts argue that since Bangladesh does not support Israel, it should ban ISKCON. Many of them have also expressed strong pro-Palestine views.

The campaign appears to involve several recently created accounts with names like “Bangladesh Reborn,” “Post Revolution Bangladesh,” “Bangladesh 2.0,” and “Rising Bangladesh” – many of them are the premium users of X.

Videos on YouTube are also spreading similar messages. A channel named EagleeyesHD posted a video claiming ISKCON is interfering in Bangladesh’s politics and encouraging Hindus to support Sheikh Hasina. The video further alleges that ISKCON is creating a narrative of Hindus feeling unsafe in Bangladesh.