Bangladesh is celebrating Durga Puja under extensive security arrangements, as Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir greeted Hindus at home and abroad, stressing communal harmony and equal rights for people of all faiths.

Mr. Rahman on Friday (October 16, 2026) urged the Hindu community to celebrate the festival with joy, confidence and without fear, while Mr. Alamgir reiterated the government’s commitment to religious freedom and equal rights, the state-run BSS news agency reported.

Durga Puja is the largest annual festival of Bangladesh’s minority Hindu community and is celebrated at thousands of temporary and permanent venues across the country.

A total of 33,851 puja mandaps have been set up across Bangladesh this year, including 258 in the capital city Dhaka, according to the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad. The number has increased by nearly 1,500 from last year, according to BSS.

Bangladesh has put in place extensive security arrangements at the venues, including round-the-clock surveillance, uniformed and plainclothes police personnel and specialised units such as SWAT, quick response and bomb disposal teams.

Monitoring cells are operating at police headquarters and other police units to oversee the security situation and respond to incidents.

Special Response Battalion-2 has also announced enhanced intelligence surveillance, patrols, checkpoints and a 24-hour control room and hotline.

Two helicopters and drones are to be deployed during idol immersion, while a mobile application has been introduced to help people report incidents at puja venues directly to law enforcement agencies.

Religion belongs to individuals, while the state belongs to all: PM Rahman

In his message on Friday (October 16, 2026), Prime Minister Rahman said the celebration of religious festivals reflected Bangladesh’s longstanding religious and social values and cultural traditions. He said friendship, goodwill and fraternity among different communities were demonstrated through religious, cultural and social activities, BSS reported.

“Religion belongs to individuals, while the state belongs to all. Everyone has the right to security, regardless of religion,” Mr. Rahman was quoted as saying by the news agency.

He said the government was committed to building a welfare-oriented, safe and humane country for all citizens, irrespective of their political opinions, religion or ethnicity.

Mr. Rahman is also scheduled to visit a Durga Puja venue in Chattogram on Tuesday (October 20, 2026), BSS reported.

Durga Puja 2026: All set for the beat of the dhak

President calls on authorities to ensure religious communities can celebrate freely

In his message, President Alamgir on Friday (October 16, 2026) said Durga Puja was deeply intertwined with Bengal’s social culture and heritage, beyond its significance as a religious festival. He expressed hope that the celebration would strengthen bonds among people of different faiths, BSS reported.

Mr. Alamgir said the government was supporting the management, renovation and development of Hindu religious institutions and places of worship, as it did for other religions, according to the report.

“Every religion teaches people truth, justice, restraint and the welfare of humanity. It keeps people away from injustice and falsehood and shows them the path to emancipation,” the president said.

Mr. Alamgir called on authorities to ensure that all religious communities could observe their festivals freely and without discrimination, deprivation or insecurity because of religion, caste or communal identity.

Hindus account for about 8%, or nearly 13 million, of Bangladesh’s population of around 170 million, based on the 2022 census.

The Bangladesh government extended the Durga Puja holiday to three days this year through an executive order in response to longstanding demands from the Hindu community. Combined with the regular Friday and Saturday weekend, the extended holiday will provide a five-day break from October 16 to 20.

The government has also increased the allocation for Durga Puja mandaps to Tk 5 crore (₹3.86 crore) from Tk 4 crore and raised the rice allocation per mandap to 600 kg from 500 kg, BSS reported.

Published – October 17, 2026 03:12 pm IST

Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump.
| Photo Credit: AP

Hindu American groups have applauded Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump for promising to protect the human rights of Hindus across the world, including the U.S. and Bangladesh and protect them from the “anti-religion agenda of the radical left.”

In his Diwali greetings on Thursday (October 31, 2024), Mr. Trump strongly “condemned the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians, and other minorities in Bangladesh”, which he said remains in a “total state of chaos.”

“It would have never happened on my watch. Kamala and Joe have ignored Hindus across the world and in America. They have been a disaster from Israel to Ukraine to our own Southern Border, but we will make America strong again and bring back peace through strength,” he said.

“We will also protect Hindu Americans against the anti-religion agenda of the radical left. We will fight for your freedom. Under my administration, we will also strengthen our great partnership with India and my good friend, Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi,” Mr. Trump had said.

Utsav Sanduja, founder and chairman of Hindus for America First, told PTI in an interview that they are very grateful to President Trump.

“I’m very grateful to President Trump, eternally grateful and eternally appreciative. It sucks that Kamala Harris hasn’t said anything about this issue. I think that there’s going to be a big change in this election coming from this,” Mr. Sanduja said.

HinduAction also thanked Mr. Trump for his statement.

“As you rightly pointed out, the situation of the Hindus in Bangladesh is precarious. Below is a summary head with regularly updated data on the atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh,” it said.

“Thank you President Trump for showing moral clarity and unequivocally condemning anti-Hindu pogroms in Bangladesh,” said Indian-American Nathan Punwani.

“Trump is a great man and a great leader, full credit goes to him for wishing all the Hindus, Buddhists, and Jain Sikhs a very blessed Diwali. I think Trump really, really cares about these communities. He really understands what’s going on in Bangladesh. He sees the ongoing persecution of Hindus. He is concerned about religious minorities that are suffering right now in that country,” Mr. Sanduja said.

“He has done such a great favour to millions of Americans who are concerned about human rights issues. To deliver on Diwali, such an auspicious day, such a magnificent thing. I’d like to say that many of us in the Hindu community played a small part in persuading President Trump’s team, talking about this, giving briefings, and putting papers together,” he said.

“We are seeing that 60% of Indian Americans are supporting Kamala Harris. In the last election, I think 68% supported Biden. There’s a dip in support for the Democratic presidential candidate. Trump, last time around, had 22% of the Indian American community. Now he’s at 32%. This is according to Carnegie Endowment’s latest survey on Indian American attitudes,” he said.

“With this statement, it’s going to open up the eyes of more Indian Americans, Hindu Americans, and so on. They’re going to give President Trump the vote,” Mr. Sanduja said.

Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks at Albuquerque International Sunport, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. October 31, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Sending Diwali greetings, former president Donald Trump, who is the Republican presidential candidate, on Thursday condemned the attack on Hindus in Bangladesh, vowed to strengthen ties with India and described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as his good friend.

Bangladesh, he said, remains in a total state of chaos and alleged that his Democratic rival Vice President Kamala Harris and her boss President Joe Biden have ignored Hindus across the world and in America.

“I strongly condemn the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians, and other minorities who are getting attacked and looted by mobs in Bangladesh, which remains in a total state of chaos,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

This is for the first time that Trump has spoken on the issue of Bangladesh. Hundreds of Hindus were killed in July-August in Bangladesh when a students’ agitation turned into massive protests leading to then prime minister Sheikh Hasina to flee the country on August 5.

“It would have never happened on my watch. Kamala and Joe have ignored Hindus across the world and in America. They have been a disaster from Israel to Ukraine to our own Southern Border, but we will Make America Strong Again and bring back Peace through Strength,” he said.

“We will also protect Hindu Americans against the anti-religion agenda of the radical left. We will fight for your freedom. Under my administration, we will also strengthen our great partnership with India and my good friend, Prime Minister Modi,” Trump said.

“Kamala Harris will destroy your small businesses with more regulations and higher taxes. By contrast, I cut taxes, cut regulations, unleashed American energy, and built the greatest economy in history. We will do it again, bigger and better than ever before and we will Make America Great Again,” he said.

“Also, Happy Diwali to All. I hope the Festival of Lights leads to the Victory of Good over Evil,” said the former president, who is in a close fight with Harris for the November 5 presidential elections.