Dhaka hawks want ancient Dhakeswari temple shifted

The Pioneer ^ | June 8, 2006 | Praymond K. Singh

[Allan]

Dhaka hawks want ancient Dhakeswari temple shifted

Pramod K Singh | New Delhi

In a bid to appease fundamentalist Muslims in the run-up to the 2007 general election in Bangladesh, certain sections of the Begum Khaleda Zia Government are mounting pressure to shift the historic Dhakeswari Kali temple located in the heart of Dhaka to a more nondescript smaller plot.

Assault on faith: Khaleda Govt under Jamat pressure

Ironically, Dhaka takes its name from this 12th century temple, the oldest surviving Kali shrine. The temple complex is based at Romona Park from where Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rehman gave his famous clarion call to liberate Bangladesh from Pakistan on March 25, 1971.

According to sources, hardline Islamist Ministers in Begum Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party-Jamat-e-Islami Government want the historic temple to be "shifted" to a smaller plot without any delay. This demand, voiced by organisations like the Jamat-e-Islami, has been festering for some time. Moti-ur-Rehman, Amir of Jamat-e-Islami, is Industries Minister in the Begum Zia Government.

In the event the Islamists succeed in forcing the Government to shift the temple, they hope to reap a rich harvest in the general election scheduled for next year.

Highly placed security sources say that the attempt to shift the temple is cause for concern. If this were to happen, it would have an impact in the districts along the Indo-Bangla border and elsewhere.

The minority Hindu community of Bangladesh is agitated over the fundamentalists' move. The Hindu Boudha Christian Aikya Parishad, which represented minorities' interests, has petitioned the Begum Zia Government to prevent the shifting of the temple, a declared place of worship (Debottar Bhumi) as it holds a great deal of symbolism for the minority Hindu community in Bangladesh and for Hindus worldwide.

Leaders of the Hindu Boudha Christian Aikya Parishad and the Bangladesh Puja Celebration Committee have reminded Begum Zia's Government of its assurance that the temple would not be shifted.

The president of the Parishad and renowned Bangladesh freedom fighter Major General CR Dutta, while denouncing the move, has said that shifting a temple and its sanctum sanctorum is against Hindu religious tenet.

He said the 2.2 acre plot on which the temple and an ashram exist at present is classified as a Hindu religious place, the nature of which cannot be changed, nor can it be taken over by the Government. The Parishad and the Puja Celebration Committee have chalked out a joint action plan to fight the fundamentalists' move.

The temple was build in the twelfth century by Ballal Sen. Later, sanyasi Gopal Giri of the Badrinath Ashram at Joshi Math, now in Uttaranchal, came to Dhaka and established a religious seat for his guru. Subsequently, devotees of Maa Anandamayi established the Maa Anandamayi Ashram near the temple.

After being mauled by the Indian Army, retreating Pakistani forces had attacked the temple during the 1971 liberation war. More than 100 ascetics, devotees and others were killed by Pakistani troops on March 27, 1971 during that attack.

[Allan]

More tolerance from the Religion of Peace

[Allan]

ping

[2banana]

Well, you got to hand it to the mulsim, they treat all infidels like dirt (Jews, Christians, Nindus, etc.)...

[Waverunner]

you might take a look at the wikipedia entry for Kali before getting your hackles up. The thugee were worshipers of Kali.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali

[Allan]

I don't need any stinking Wikipedia entry
I know who Kali is
in fact I'm not far from a Kali temple right now.

[rod1]

Can't wait until any Islamofascists here insist the Alamo be moved to a more non-descript plot of land.

[Allan]

Your ignorant comment happens to be true.
The thugees were 'worshippers' of Kali
in the same manner as the KKK were 'worshippers' of Jesus.

[Captain Rhino]

While the worship practices of Kali and thugees were indeed odious, there is a larger issue here. The Muslim fundamentalists pushing for the "relocation' of the temple don't care what the structure is as long as it is not a mosque. It could be the Sistine Chapel for all they care.

Relocation means dismantlement.

Want to bet on when and if it would ever be reassembled once it comes down?

Non-Muslim Europeans should contemplate this in the context of the coming of Eurabia and what will happen to the rich architectural and artistic heritage of Western Civilization once these bast#$ds are in charge. Remember the now-destroyed giant Buddahs of Afganistan.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

I'm one of the "Nindus" I never bother anybody!

[Waverunner]

Do you mean in the same way that some muslims are followers of Al Queda.

[ARridgerunner]

Dismantle the temples, then the people.

History repeats itself.

[Gengis Khan]

Most Bengalis (me included) are Kali worshippers and not necessarily all of us are "Thugees". The Kali-Thugee association is mostly a British propaganda.

[Captain Rhino]

I note the distinction you (and Allan previously) are making. I am curious about this part of your post:

"...and not necessarily all of us are "Thugees".

This seems to infer that some current Bengali worshippers of Kali ARE Thugees. Is that what you intended to say? And what distinguishes the practice of Thugee (then and/or now) from the 19th century British propaganda?

I do admit that the negative association I make between the thugees and Kali is mostly due to the 19th century British experience with the group and the reporting on it given in Western history books. There, Thuggee falls in a class with the Jewish Zealots of 1st century AD Roman Palestine, the Assassins of Medieval Islam, and the anti-Western Chinese "boxers" of late 19th century Imperial China.

BTW, since my understanding is that Bangladesh is a predominantly Muslim nation and you note that most Bengalis are Kali worshippers, can I safely assume you are posting from West Bengal, possibly Kolkata? I was stationed there back in the 1971-72 time frame when the city name was still spelled Calcutta. Interesting place then due to the turmoil of the onrushing Bangladesh War, probably unrecognizably better now. At least I hope so.

[Gengis Khan]

I am a Bengali (Hindu) but not from Kolkata or West Bengal and never lived there. I live in Pune (thats close to Bombay). My folks lived through the carnage and came over to India as refugees from East Pak. I was fortunate I wasn't born in that Islamic Third Reich.

"...and not necessarily all of us are "Thugees".
Let me rephrase that.
"...and not necessarily all of us were "Thugees".

Most Bengali Hindus are Kali worshippers. It does not mean they or their ancestors were thugees. I doubt thugees even exists anymore.

Well thugees were firstly equal opportunity killers. They killed for money, jewelery, golden ornaments, wealth etc. Many of them were zealous in their worship of Kali or Durga but religion wasn't the reason why they killed.
They believed (albeit wrongly) they had the blessings of Kali to carry out the killings. Incidentally many of the most famous thugees were actually Muslims. The fact is that the thugees were very small in numbers at any point of time in history. Basically they were only small time bandit or highwaymen.

Now about the British propaganda. A lot of tribal uprising (especially Santhals) and local rebellion against the British rule were passed off as "Thugees" to justify the brutal massacre of the rebelling tribes. Incidentally the tribal populations like the Santhals are also worshippers of Kali. Their numbers and their reach were greatly exaggerated to make them look like a sect within Hinduism that perpetrated brutal crimes in the name of religion. The calumny against Kali worked both ways, they could denigrate native customs and religion and also justify the British rule in India. (The White man's burden to civilize the savages.)

[Allan]

I was stationed there back in the 1971-72 time frame when the city name was still spelled Calcutta.

It is interesting that the name Calcutta is a deformation or the name Kalighat
another famous Kali temple.

Thus both Dakha and Calcutta derive their names from Kali temples.