Bangladesh: Hindus Asked To Halt Durga Puja Activities During Namaz And Azaan By Muhammad Yunus's Interim Government

The Muhammad Yunus-led interim government in Bangladesh has asked the Hindu community to pause Durga Puja activities, especially the playing of music, during azaan and namaz.

Home Affairs Advisor Lt Gen (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury stated that puja committees have been instructed to turn off musical instruments and sound systems during these times, and they have agreed to comply.

"Such activities need to cease during offering namaz, and the pause will have to be followed from five minutes prior to azaan," Chowdhury was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

The announcement was made after a meeting on the law and order situation in the country ahead of Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of the minority Hindu community in the country.

Amid attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, Chowdhury assured security around puja mandaps and claimed 32,666 puja mandaps will be erected across the country this year, down from 33, 431 last year.

"Measures will be taken to facilitate celebration of puja without any hindrance and prevent the evil activities of miscreants," the Lt Gen was quoted as saying by Dhaka Tribune.

Yunus also emphasised communal harmony and said, "No one shall do any act that destroys religious harmony. No one should take the law into their own hands."