Pastor Darpan continues:
“Situated in the northeast shoulder of India, Bangladesh is the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and became independent in 1971; there were lots of freedom fighters who fought against the Pakistani government for nine months to make this independence possible. East Pakistan became independent Bangladesh when Bangladesh snatched away the victory on 26th March 1971, and then East Bengal became independent Bangladesh on the world map. This newborn country was around 148,560 square kilometers (57,321 square miles) with a population of about 70 million; Dhaka became the capital city. After going a long time with troubles, the population eventually exceeded 165 million in the same area (Bangladesh is now the 8th most populous country in the world). In the course of time, Bangladesh was declared a Muslim country and Islam became the state religion. Only a miniscule fraction of this multitude is Christian.
After the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, a lot of people and ministries were started to implement the Great Commission and this endeavor has been continuing since then. If we go back more in history (before independence) – we can also find saints who worshipped God, and the Holy Spirit was present through them.
At the same time, after the independence of Bangladesh, we found the Islamic extremists’ power growing and pressuring the minorities in Bangladesh who weren’t allowed to worship rightfully. Many people were feeling insecure, as minorities were becoming more and more powerless. Day-to-day the Hindus are silently migrating to Kolkata (West Bengal) and day-to-day this Hindu community is becoming a minority; in much the same way Christians are also declared minorities here. At the same time the Tribal groups are also isolated here, as aboriginals are powerless to own their own land; in this way the religious national diversity is declining. We found the latest census says the majority of the Bangladeshi population identifies as Muslim (89.1%), while the second largest religion is Hinduism (10.0%). A remaining 0.9% of the population identifies with some other religion (including Buddhism and Christianity), and according to the 2018 census still Christianity is 0.4% out of 160 million people.