Over the last couple of months, Bangladesh has most regrettably suffered blows to its bright image as a land of communal harmony. It was painstakingly built over the last five decades from the conscious and tolerantbehaviour of the people of this country.
Thus, it is amazing how such a solid reputation of communal good relationship could be so easily harmed by the recent communal attacks on minority Hindus. The homes, temples and assets of the Hindu community were attacked in a scattered manner across the country though these were very quickly brought under control thanks to the vigilance of the law enforcement bodies. Needless to say the people in general had no association with the attacks as was proved by investigation of law enforcement bodies. The same were perpetrated by diehard members of clandestine forces who have vested interests in creating communal troubles to promote their evil designs.
Needless to say, Bangladesh has been winning admiration and appreciation worldwide as a moderate Muslims dominated country. This view of Bangladesh was very appealing to donor countries and agencies which nowadays attach high value to secularism as our state policy.
Foreign investors of various kinds used to look up approvingly at Bangladesh for its moderate policies. The same also was seen as encouraging them to consider investing a greater deal more in Bangladesh out of consideration for its liberal outlook towards minorities in keeping with similar attitude actively shown by them in their own countries.
But the attacks, specially on the Hindus, may come as disincentives to those foreign well wishers of Bangladesh who are vehemently against any type of religious bigotry and orthodoxy in the countries they bless with their trade, aid and investments.
The latest events are only helping to create an image of the country as coming under the influence of religious extremism as in Pakistan. Foreign investors usually tend to go away from a country which get increasingly identified as a safe haven and staging area for Islamic extremists.
Government has blamed the Jammat-i-Islami and its youth wing for the communal attacks. But Jaamat will get no helpful mileage from such attacks which also brings to the fore the great need to identify the real identities of the attackers and make them impotent at the fastest for the sake of the country’s image.
The preponderant number of the dominant Muslims in the country must have felt a deep sense of shame, remorse as well as anger towards the perpetrators of the recent communal crimes against our Hindu brothers and sisters. This view of mine is very likely to be upheld or corroborated if a credible survey is taken all over the country to assess people’s true reactions to the ugly happenings. For the people of Bangladesh have nourished a proud tradition of religious tolerance since the birth of this country five decades ago.
As far as one can remember, communal feelings of the Muslim variety have been a rather subdued force since the sixties of the last century. The last riots against Hindus by Muslims in a few specially communal areas such as Noakhali were noted in the geographical region that comprise Bangladesh in the closing period of British rule.
But after that none can honestly remember any serious strife between Hindus and Muslims and initiated by the latter till the mid sixties in erstwhile East Pakistan and now Bangladesh in the wake of the Indo-Pak war. But these troubles too dissipated as quickly as they started.
Throughout their living memory, Bangladeshis cannot recall any serious communal clashes, attacks or tensions since the creation of Bangladesh. The war of independence of Bangladesh was indeed a galvanizing experience for a great number of Bangladeshis. They were sought to be brainwashed always in the Pakistani era that Hindus and Muslims cannot peacefully coexist or feel kindness or sympathy for each other.
This advocacy was shattered from the experiences of 1971 when over 10 million Bangladeshis and a great many number of them being Muslims found shelter and sustenance in Hindu India from the barbaric pogroms conducted by Pakistani forces. Not only that, they were also aided by all out Indian help to liberate their motherland and reestablish a life of security and dignity for themselves.
During the conflict with Pakistan, Bengali Muslims found refuge in West Bengal dominated by Hindu Bengalis. In contrast to their most brutal attempts at subjugation by their own co-religionists, the West Pakistani forces of occupation, the compassion showed to them at that time by Bengali Hindus only underlined the famous lines of a drama on NababSirajoudoullah– often played in Calcutta’s stages– that ‘ Bengal was not only for Muslims or Hindus but for both and for all other faiths.’
1971 and afterwards therefore marked a metamorphosis for the Muslim majority people of Bangladesh or former East Bengal. They were soaked by new realizations and inspired to new attitudes. Thus, in independent Bangladesh it was no wonder that adoption of ‘secularism’ as a fundamental state policy met with little mentionable opposition.
Of course, a series of post-1975 governments in Bangladesh were considerably tilted to restoring a so called Islamic identity for Bangladesh. But there was never a u-turn or 180 degree swing away from the largely secular spirit thrown up by the liberation war.The people in Bangladesh over the last five decades generally came to appreciate the utility of a secular existence. The secular outlook was also promoted by a better understanding of their own religious dictates in the matter.
Our publicities and interactions must be aimed to absolutely make clear to the international audience the facts that the perpetrators of therecent communal crimes against Hindus were not acting out of spontaneous vibes felt by the general people and that they were instigated by elements hiding behind the wings who are but a tiny speck in the total population of Bangladesh. Successfully doing this is the challenge that lies ahead.
