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Bangladesh should control the Ram idol row. Ties with India must not deteriorate further

India-Bangladesh ties had soured under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government after the fall of the Hasina regime. Both have been trying to normalise ties ever since.

It just took one statue of Lord Ram to expose the minority problem in neighbouring Bangladesh. Roughly two years after raucous mobs vandalised statues of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman during the July Uprising, a Ram statue in northern Bangladesh has riled radicals and brought rival community groups out on the street against each other.

The work on the 81-foot Ram idol structure, which is pegged as the tallest Ram statue in Asia, constructed within a temple complex in Madhyarampur village under Palashbari upazila of Gaibandha district, has come to a grinding halt.

While India has expressed concerns after reports came out of alleged desecration of Lord Ram’s images in Bangladesh by mobs who want the statue to be pulled down, the issue has led to calls for a separate Hindu homeland in Bangladesh.

Much ado over a statue

The Sri Sri Radha Govinda and Kali temple complex in Palashbari, Gaibandha, has been in the news for some time. According to reports, local devotee Haridas Babu established a temple in Brindaban Para of Madhyarampur village eleven years ago. The complex had idols of goddess Kali and Radha-Govinda. With time, the site expanded and became an important religious centre for local Hindus.

A 30-foot-tall statue of Lord Shiva and a 50-foot-tall statue of Lord Krishna were eventually installed at the temple. The Krishna statue attracted much attention and was officially inaugurated on 25 November 2025 by Manoj Kumar, Assistant High Commissioner of India in Rajshahi.

“Encouraged by the growing prominence of the temple complex, organisers launched an ambitious project to construct an 81-foot-tall........

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