Islamists in Bangladesh are constructing a mosque by illegally grabbing land of a century-old Hindu temple. It may be mentioned here that, Kantaji Temple is located in Dinajpur district in Bangladesh, whereas centuries ago, total 156.53 acres of land was registered in the name of Maharaja Jagdish Nath Roy who represented Sri Sri Kantajiu Vigraha and since then the historic Kantajiu Temple has turned into a pilgrimage site for hundreds and thousands of Hindus from Bangladesh and abroad.
Kantanagar Temple, commonly known as Kantajiu Temple or Kantajew Temple at Kantanagar, is a Hindu temple in Dinajpur district in Bangladesh. The Kantajew Temple is a religious edifice belonging to the 18th century. The temple belongs to the Hindu Kanta or Krishna. Built by Maharaja Pran Nath, its construction started in 1704 CE and ended in the reign of his son Raja Ramnath in 1722 CE. It is an example of terracotta architecture in Bangladesh and once had nine spires, but all were destroyed in an earthquake that took place in 1897.
According to media reports, a group of Islamists have grabbed the temple land for constructing a 3-storied mosque complex. Accordingly, a ceremony was organized for laying the foundation of the mosque with Zakaria Jaka, a local lawmaker from ruling Awami League. Hindu rights groups have condemned such acts stating construction of the mosque is being initiated by illegally occupying temple land through falsified documents. At this incident local Hindus have expressed extremely discontent saying, constructing mosque on Hindu temple land is not only illegal but at the same time, such heinous acts clearly prove the state of Hindus in Bangladesh, who are being systematically persecuted for decades – even after Bangladesh was liberated in 1971 as a secularist nation.
It may be mentioned here that Zakaria Jaka, the Member of Parliament from Dinajpur-1 constituency, is actively supporting this notorious attempt of constructing the mosque on temple property. It is alleged that the lawmaker laid foundation stone for the mosque on March 1, 2024 although he is fully aware that the land belongs to Kantajiu Temple.
