The new interim government of Bangladesh under its Chief advisor Muhammad Yunus has reportedly urged the Hindu community to turn off the musical during Durga Puja celebrations at the time of namaz and azaan. Bangladesh's Home Affairs Adviser Lieutenant General (retired) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury has asked the puja committees to switch off the musical instruments and sound systems five minutes before the start of prayers in mosques, a report by Times of India said, adding that the organisers had agreed to the request.
"Such activities need to cease during offering namaaz, and the pause will have to be followed from five minutes prior to azaan," the TOI report quoted the home affairs adviser as saying, ahead of Durga Puja, the largest religious festival of the Hindu community in Bangladesh.
As per the report, the puja committees have been asked to keep the music halted during azaan and namaz. "We've discussed how to ensure round-the-clock security at puja mandaps," Chowdhury reportedly said, adding that the measures will be taken to facilitate the celebration of puja without any hindrance and prevent the "evil activities" of miscreants.
A total of 32,666 puja mandaps (pandals) will reportedly be erected across Bangladesh this year, with 157 and 88 mandaps in Dhaka South City and North City corporations, respectively.
Meanwhile, in his speech to the nation on Wednesday evening, noble laureate Yunus said Bangladesh is a nation of communal harmony. "No one shall do any act that destroys religious harmony...No one should take the law into their own hands. If someone takes the law into his own hands and creates a chaotic environment in society, we will definitely bring him under punishment."
As we Yunus, the interim government is determined to shape a democratic Bangladesh so that "we don't fall into the hands of a dictatorship".