Following the barbaric murder of an ISKCON devotee and five others during the Durga Puja celebrations in Bangladesh.
ISKCON Mayapur and Kolkata members demonstrated on Sunday, demanding action against miscreants who assaulted its temple in Bangladesh two days before, killing one person and injuring several more.
“We feel heartbroken and distressed. Peace and brotherhood are values we embrace. What makes you think a mob would choose us as their target? “All these years, we have always stood on the side of the people of Noakhali (in Bangladesh),” said Radharaman Das, ISKCON’s Kolkata vice-president.
At both locations, demonstrators held a candlelight march, performed kirtans to the accompaniment of ‘khol kartal,’ and chanted ‘Hare Krishna.’
They staged a two-hour protest outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata, with police barricading the door.
ISKCON’s global headquarters are at Mayapur. Many of the protesters carried placards calling for Hindus in Bangladesh to be protected.
“We are anguished and hurt. We promote peace and brotherhood. How could a mob target us? We have always been on the side of the people of Noakhali (in Bangladesh) all these years,” Radharaman Das, the Kolkata vice-president of ISKCON, maintained.
