‘Voting For Hindus Haram’: Videos Show Clerics Making Inflammatory Calls Ahead Of Bangladesh Polls

Last Updated:January 16, 2026, 21:36 IST

Unverified but widely shared clips feature unnamed clerics urging voters to shun Hindu and non-Muslim candidates ahead of elections in Bangladesh.

Videos circulating on social media show unnamed Bangladeshi clerics making inflammatory remarks against Hindus ahead of elections, though the speakers and context could not be independently verified. (IMAGE: X/@ItzBDHindus)

Videos circulating on social media show clerics and public speakers in Bangladesh making inflammatory remarks against Hindus and urging voters not to support Hindu or non-Muslim candidates ahead of the country’s general elections.

In one such video, an unnamed cleric, speaking during what appears to be a call-in religious talk show, is heard responding to questions from callers.

During the programme, he declares that voting for any Hindu candidate or “kafir" is haram, or forbidden in Islam.

News18 could not independently verify the identity of the speaker or the date of the broadcast.

In another clip, clerics are heard making explicit threats against Hindu religious sites and institutions. “In Bangladesh, temples are meant for destruction, their idols are meant for destruction. No Hindu can live in Bangladesh, no ISKCON can live. Delhi’s brokers should go back to Delhi," one of the speakers says, according to a translation of the remarks.

The references to ISKCON appear to target the Society for Krishna Consciousness, which has a presence in Bangladesh.

News18 could not independently verify the context or timing of the video featuring this speaker.

The videos have surfaced amid a series of violent incidents targeting members of the Hindu minority in Bangladesh in recent weeks, drawing sharp reactions from New Delhi and rights groups.

India has called on Bangladesh to deal firmly with communal incidents in the country following the killing of at least five Hindu men in hostile circumstances over the past few weeks.

“We continue to witness a disturbing pattern of recurring attacks on minorities as well as their homes and businesses by extremists," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in New Delhi.

Such incidents must be dealt with “swiftly and firmly", he said, adding that there has been a troubling tendency to attribute communal attacks to personal rivalries or political differences. “Such disregard only emboldens the perpetrators and deepens the sense of fear and insecurity among minorities," Jaiswal said earlier this month.

Among the recent incidents, a 25-year-old Hindu man, Mithun Sarkar, died after jumping into a canal to escape a mob that accused him of theft in Naogaon district in northwestern Bangladesh earlier this week. Sarkar drowned while trying to flee the attackers, according to Kajol Debnath, a spokesperson of the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council.

Others killed in recent weeks include Moni Chakraborty, a 40-year-old grocery shop owner murdered on January 5 in Palash Upazila; Rana Pratap Bairagi, a 38-year-old ice factory owner and acting editor of Dainik BD Khabar, who was shot dead in Jessore on the same day; and Khokon Chandra Das, 50, who was hacked and set on fire on December 31 and later died in hospital.

The council has also cited the brutal lynching of Dipu Chandra Das, which had drawn international attention.

News world ‘Voting For Hindus Haram’: Videos Show Clerics Making Inflammatory Calls Ahead Of Bangladesh Polls

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