Bangladesh PM Tarique Rahman vows equal rights and security for minorities ahead of Durga Puja

Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has assured Hindu community leaders that his administration will guarantee equal rights and security to all citizens, promising direct state protection ahead of the Durga Puja festival.

Speaking during an exchange of views with community representatives at the government secretariat in Dhaka on Monday, Rahman framed the protection of minority populations not as a concession based on faith, but as a fundamental obligation of governance.

"The government is doing its utmost to ensure the rights and security that everyone is entitled to as a citizen of this country, rather than on the basis of religion," Rahman said, according to the state-run BSS news agency. He told the delegation that safeguarding every individual remained his personal duty as head of government and that he would use the state's full administrative authority to uphold it.

Nationwide security plan for Durga Puja

The assurances come as law enforcement agencies mount an extensive security operation across Bangladesh ahead of Durga Puja, the central annual festival for the country's Hindu minority, running from 16 to 20 October.

Police authorities have established an apparatus covering nearly 33,000 pandals and venues nationwide. The measures include round-the-clock physical surveillance, quick-response units, and aerial monitoring using drones and helicopters during the concluding idol immersion ceremonies.

Past tensions and regional concerns

The prime minister's intervention follows recurring international and domestic concern over communal flashpoints in Bangladesh. In previous years, targeted vandalism and attacks on temples and businesses during major religious events highlighted vulnerabilities in law enforcement and damaged social cohesion.

Preserving communal harmony in Bangladesh carries direct diplomatic weight across the region, where New Delhi has repeatedly emphasised the necessity of stability and the physical safety of Hindu shrines and populations along the shared border. Official census figures from 2022 record Hindus as accounting for about 8 per cent of Bangladesh's nearly 170 million people, representing a community of roughly 13 million.

Rahman told the delegation that he treats his premiership as an instrument to deliver stability and equal standing under the law. Whether the extensive police deployment prevents disruption during the five-day celebrations will provide the first immediate test of those administrative guarantees.