Guwahati: As the Hindu population of Bangladesh celebrates Saraswati Puja to worship the deity of wisdom, knowledge, and arts on 3 February 2025, the caretaker government chief greets members of the Hindu community on the auspicious occasion. Chief adviser to the interim government in Dhaka, Professor Muhammad Yunus in a message termed Bangladesh as an abode of communal harmony, where people of all religions, caste and creeds live together for thousands of years.
“The goddess Saraswati is a symbol of truth, justice, and the light of knowledge. She is the omnipotent of knowledge, speech and melody,” said Nobel laureate Prof Yunus, adding, “On the occasion of worshipping goddess Saraswati, I call upon all Hindus to devote themselves to the development and progress of the country by becoming a devotee of knowledge.” He also wished peace, welfare, and prosperity for all citizens of the Muslim majority south Asian nation.
Mentioning about the interim government, which was formed through the ‘unprecedented uprising of the students, workers, and the masses’ in July and August 2024, which compelled the sitting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee from Dhaka and take temporary shelter in India, Prof Yunus stated that his regime has been working tirelessly to improve the fate of all Bangladeshi nationals irrespective of race, religion, and caste ensuring equal rights to them.
Saraswati Puja remains an integral part of Basanta Panchami, which falls in the month of Magh under Hindu lunar calendar and marks the transition from winter to spring season, and it’s believed that Goddess Saraswati was born on the sacred day to bless the human race with her eternal spirit of learning and intellectual pursuits. Besides the Hindu majority Bharat (India) and Nepal, very similar celebrations are observed in Japan, where Goddess Benzaiten is worshiped as the deity of wisdom, music, and learning. Some traditions in ancient Greece and present day China also reflect similar fortitudes.
The festival is widely regarded in eastern India, where the students, academicians, scholars, writers, journalists, painters, musicians and other professionals worship Devi Saraswati adoring a Veena (musical instrument), a manuscript (symbolizing knowledge), a garland (rosary) and accompanying by a divine swan symbolizing the purity and serenity. As Saraswati Puja is a major religious festival of the Hindu community in Bangladesh, they celebrate the occasion every year amid enthusiasm, festivity and religious fervour seeking blessings to enhance their creative endeavours in respective fields.
Hindu temples along with universities, colleges, schools and other educational institutions across Bangladesh organize the festival with traditional gaiety. Jagannath Hall premises of Dhaka University always attract a large number of devotees with more than 70 Puja Pandals by various departments. All-female dormitories on DU campus also worship the deity. Dhakeshwari Mandir, Siddheswari Mandir, Ramna Kali Mandir, Ramakrishna Mission, Maa Anandamayi Ashram, Jagannath University, Stamford University, Dhaka College, Eden Girls’ College, Tejgaon College with many other institutions in north and south Bangladesh also celebrate the festival.
