Hinduism in Bangladesh

For Hinduism before indepence in United Pakistan, see Hinduism in Pakistan.

Hinduism is the second largest religion in Bangladesh after Islam. It is followed by 8.5% of the population.^[1] In terms of population, Bangladesh has the third-largest Hindu population after the Republic of India and Nepal.

Religion in Bangladesh (2011 census)
Religion			Percent
Hinduism			8.5%
Islam			90.4%
others			1.1%

In nature, Bangladeshi Hinduism closely resembles the forms and customs of Hinduism practiced in the neighboring Indian state of West Bengal, with which Bangladesh (at one time known as East Bengal) was united with that country until the Partition of India in 1947. The river Ganges is a sacred holy river that flows into the country from India.

• 
  The Temple at Puthia, Rajshahi
• 
  Distribution of Hindus by percentage.
• 
  Puja celebrations in Dhakeshwari Temple is the national temple of Bangladesh

Demography

Bangladesh population is 149,772,364 of which, hindu population according to 2011 census of Bangladesh is 12,730,651 constituting 8.54% of the country's population.^[2]

Bengali Hindus celebrating a Hindu festival in Bangladesh

However, at certain times different leaders and the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics have given different numbers estimation based on their research.

Number of Bengali Hindus residing in Bangladesh (2013-2021 est.)

Source/claimed by	Population (%)	Year
2019 report on International religious freedom: Bangladesh[3]	15,280,000 (10%)	2013
Claimed Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics[4]	15,500,000 (10.3%)	2014
Claimed Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics[4]	17,000,000 (10.7%)	2016
Claimed by Ravindra Ghosh, Chairman of Bangladesh Hindu Janajagruti Samiti[5]	18,000,000 (11.04%)	2019
Claimed by KMS leader Akhil Gogoi[6]	19,000,000 (11.65%)	2019
Claimed by Bangladesh grand Hindu alliance leader Govinda Pramanik[7]	25,000,000 (15.7%)	2019
Claimed by Bangladesh official introduction article page[8]	27,000,000 (16%)	2021

• Note: This was just their claim based on their estimation research and is not related to any government census authority.

References

1. Mahmud, Faisal (26 October 2020). "Do Hindus feel threatened in Bangladesh?". Do Hindus feel threatened in Bangladesh?. TRT World. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
2. Pew Research Center (2 April 2015). "Projected Changes in the Global Hindu Population". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. Pew Research Center. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
3. OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM (2019). "Bangladesh". United States Department of State. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
4. PTI (23 June 2016). "Bangladesh's Hindus number 1.7 crore, up by 1 p.c. in a year: report". The Hindu. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
5. Goswami, Bhupen (25 December 2019). "Atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh: Now, 1.8 crore Hindu Bengali citizens of Bangladesh are ready to go to India, said Ravindra Ghosh, Chairman of Bangladesh Hindu Janajagruti Samiti". APN News. APN News. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
6. "Protests across Assam over Citizenship (Amendment) Bill". The Hindu. 2019-12-06. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
7. "As per as Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, there are around 2.5 crore Hindus living in the country, constituting 15.7 percent of the population as of the 2019 year". Apn news.
8. "Culture of Bangladesh - history, people, clothing, traditions, women, beliefs, food, customs, family". www.everyculture.com. Retrieved 2021-06-15.

Further reading

• Blood, Archer K. (2005). The cruel birth of Bangladesh: Memoirs of an American diplomat. Dhaka: University Press.
• Benkin, Richard L. (2014). A quiet case of ethnic cleansing: The murder of Bangladesh's Hindus. New Delhi: Akshaya Prakashan.
• Dastidar, S. G. (2008). Empire's last casualty: Indian subcontinent's vanishing Hindu and other minorities. Kolkata: Firma KLM.
• Kamra, A. J. (2000). The prolonged partition and its pogroms: Testimonies on violence against Hindus in East Bengal 1946-64.
• Taslima Nasrin (2014). Lajja. Gurgaon, Haryana, India: Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd, 2014.
• Rosser, Yvette Claire. (2004) Indoctrinating Minds: Politics of Education in Bangladesh, New Delhi: Rupa & Co. ISBN 8129104318.
• Mukherji, S. (2000). Subjects, citizens, and refugees: Tragedy in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, 1947-1998. New Delhi: Indian Centre for the Study of Forced Migration.
• Sarkar, Bidyut (1993). Bangladesh 1992: This is our home: Sample Document of the Plight of our Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, and Tribal Minorities in our Islamized Homeland: Pogroms 1987-1992. Bangladesh Minority Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, (and Tribal) Unity Council of North America.