Bangladesh Celebrates Krishna Janmashtami — With Bhajans, Kirtans And Religious Discourses

High Commissioner of India Vikram Doraiswami virtually attended a programme organised by Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad to mark the occasion. Janmashtami is a public holiday in Bangladesh.

Janmashtmi 2021 being celebrated in Bangladesh | Image Courtesy: Twitter/@IskconBDH

New Delhi: Hindu festival Janmashtami was celebrated with religious fervour across Bangladesh on Monday. There were, however, no processions and rallies as the festival was low key in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. All the rituals and programmes were held inside the temples.     

Janmashtami, the Hindu festival that marks the birth of Lord Krishna, is a public holiday in Bangladesh.

On Sunday, President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had greeted the Hindu community on the occasion and wished all success of the programmes, local media reported.

“Sri Krishna was a symbol of humanity and social reformer whose main philosophy was to forge the bond of true love and harmony among people, removing injustice, repression, persecution and conflicts from society,” Hamid said, according to a Dhaka Tribune report. 

“We believe that religion is for individuals, a festival for all," Hasina said in a separate message and added that her government is committed to maintaining communal harmony in the country.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, secretary-general of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, also greeted the Hindus on the occasion. 

The country’s religious affairs ministry had ordered all religious rituals to be arranged following health protocols and maintaining social distancing. 

While processions and rallies were not allowed, a large number of people took part in bhajans, kirtans and religious discourses organised in the temples.

The Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad did not hold any processions and rallies that used to mark the day in pre-Covid times, but it organised a programme that was attended by the High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh Vikram Doraiswami, among others.

The envoy attended the programme via video conferencing.

Minister and Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader virtually attended as chief guest a programme organised by the Mahanagar Sarbojanin Puja Committee in Dhaka. The committee also organised a ‘Gita Joggo (yajna or havan)’.

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) marked the festival with a six-day programme at Swamibagh Ashram.

A Gita yajna was organised at the famous Dhakeshwari temple in the capital city also. Chattogram’s annual three-day Janmashtami festival, however, started without the traditional grand procession ‘Moha-shovajatra’, Bangladesh’s official news agency BSS reported. 

Media reports said Tangail, Gaibandha and other cities and towns of Bangladesh also celebrated the day with prayers, sermons and distribution of prasad.