With growing reports of targeted attacks, desecration of temples, and a sharp demographic decline, the plight of Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh has sparked concern across the subcontinent. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), India’s largest nationalist organisation, has now formally raised its voice in solidarity with those affected. At its recently concluded annual meeting in Bangalore, the RSS passed a resolution calling attention to the systematic and escalating violence against minority communities in Bangladesh, urging international intervention to ensure their safety and dignity.
The annual meeting of the RSS, held in Bangalore on 21, 22 and 23 March 2025, resolved to stand in solidarity with the persecuted Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh. The nationalist outfit also appealed to the international community to engage with the current regime in Dhaka to ensure the safety and security of religious minorities in the Muslim-majority South Asian nation. Expressing serious concern over the unabated and targeted violence, injustice, and oppression faced by Hindus at the hands of radical Islamist elements, the RSS’s Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS) 2025 termed the atrocities a serious case of human rights violation.
Addressing a press conference at Keshavdham in Guwahati, the outfit’s Uttar Asom Pranta Sanghachalak Dr Bhupesh Sarma, Karyabah Khagen Saikia, and Prachar Pramukh Kishor Shivam highlighted that following the recent regime change in Bangladesh, there were multiple incidents of attacks on maths, temples, Durga Puja pandals, and educational institutions. These included desecration of deities, barbaric killings, looting of properties, abduction and molestation of women, and forcible conversions. The ABPS also pointed to the continuous decline of the Hindu population in Bangladeshā€”from 22% in 1951 to just 7.95% todayā€”as a stark reflection of the severity of the ongoing crisis.
It is worth noting that the ABPS, considered the highest decision-making body in the Sangh system, drew nearly 1,500 Karyakartas, including representatives from Pranta and Kshetra levels, as well as national presidents, general secretaries, and organising secretaries of all RSS-inspired organisations. The event was inaugurated by Sarsanghchalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat and Sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale, who offered floral tributes to Bharat Mata at the premises of Janaseva Vidyakendra. As the RSS begins its centenary year from this year’s Vijayadashami until Dussehra 2026, an extensive outreach initiative has been planned to involve people from all walks of life. The annual Baithak also saw in-depth discussions on Panch Parivartanā€”social harmony, Kutumb Prabodhan (family awakening), environmental awareness, assertion of selfhood, and citizen duties.
The Guwahati press briefing further underlined the alarming level of organised violence and the passive response of the Bangladeshi administration over the past several months. The authorities, the RSS said, continue to deny the religious motivation behind these attacks. What was once idealised as Sonar Bangla, the organisation stated, is steadily descending into a “Ruined Bangla” as religious fanaticism fuels massacres and systemic targeting of minorities. It expressed fear that if this trend continues, the country could witness either the elimination of Hindus or mass forced conversions. The RSS also reminded that Bengali Hindus made an immense contribution to the formation of Bangladesh and were equally victimised by the atrocities committed by the Pakistani armed forces. Despite their continued involvement in Bangladesh’s development, Hindu communities have been subjected to relentless persecution by radical elements.
The RSS meeting also voiced concern over the growing anti-Bharat rhetoric emerging from terror outfits such as Jamaat-e-Islami, Ansarullah Bangla, and others in Bangladesh. This trend, it warned, threatens to damage the deep-rooted historical and cultural ties between the two nations. Bharat and its neighbours share a common civilisational heritage, and communal discord in one region inevitably disrupts harmony across the subcontinent.
The Sangh also urged international bodies including the United Nations, global human rights organisations, and those who identify as defenders of human rights, to take note of these inhumane acts and put pressure on the Dhaka administration to implement effective measures to protect Hindus and other minorities.
The press conference concluded by reiterating the Hindu society’s long and profound journey toward achieving human unity and universal wellbeing. With the blessings and efforts of saints, sages, and visionary leadersā€”including remarkable womenā€”Bharat has continued to move forward through centuries of upheaval. As a civilisation rooted in rich traditions and experiential wisdom, Bharat has the ability to create a harmonious world. The Sangh, founded in 1925 by Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar and later nurtured by its second Sarsanghchalak Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar, believes that Hindu society will be able to fulfil its global responsibilities only through an organised and collective life, guided by Dharma and strengthened by self-confidence.
