258 communal attacks in Bangladesh in the first half of 2025: Bangladesh minority religious group

In the first half of 2025, Bangladesh has witnessed 258 incidents of violence against the minority communities, the largest minority organization of Bangladesh has said on Thursday (July 10, 2025). In a press conference in the National Press Club of Dhaka, Bangladesh Hindu Bouddho Christian Oikyo Parishad said the interim government has not been able to stop violence against religious minority communities and that the inaction of the government has emboldened the miscreants carrying out these attacks.

“The government has denied occurrence of communal violence by describing them as political incidents. As a result, the perpetrators of these crimes have become emboldened increasing the insecurity of the minority religious communities,” a press statement from the Bangladesh Hindu Bouddho Christian Oikyo Parishad enumerating 258 crimes committed during the first six months of 2025.

Out of the total incidents, the Parishad said there were 20 incidents of rape, 59 attacks on the places of worship. The report counted 12 attacks on the adivasi communities of Bangladesh. “Between 4 August 2024 and 31 December 2024, there were 2184 violent incidents targeting minority communities of Bangladesh. This year so far, there have been 258 incidents. That means since last 4 August till now, there have been 2442 incidents of violence against the minority religious communities of Bangladesh,” said the organisation in its press note.

“After the change of government in 2024, communal attacks started in Bangladesh with a new intensity. These barbaric incidents have continued till now,” said the group accusing the interim government led by Prof Mohammed Yunus of inaction. The Bangladesh Hindu Bouddho Christian Oikyo Parishad which is the oldest group of the minority religious communities in Bangladesh started in the backdrop of rising communal incidents in the early 1960s and has been vocal about the safety requirements of the minority groups in the country.

“We have noted with regret that the government has adopted the strategy of describing communal violence as concocted lies,” said the Bangldesh Hindu Bouddho Christian Oikyo Parishad noting that ultimately because of growing public pressure, the interim government on 10 December 2024 acknowledged that the minority communities were attacked. “Already 70 individuals are under arrest in 88 cases of violence,” said the press statement. The interim government of Bangladesh is yet to respond to the report from the Bangladesh Hindu Bouddho Christian Oikyo Parishad.