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চৈত্র ১৪ ১৪৩০, শুক্রবার ২৯ মার্চ ২০২৪

The only solution is patriotism and cultural renaissance

Ashraful Islam

প্রকাশিত: ০২:৪৪, ১৭ অক্টোবর ২০২১

আপডেট: ০২:৫০, ১৭ অক্টোবর ২০২১

প্রিন্ট:

The only solution is patriotism and cultural renaissance

-Ashraful Islam. Picture: Bahumatrik.com

Communal violence 

The Comilla district of Bangladesh saw the spread of old poison again taking a new turn, yesterday (October 14, 2021). Like a spark of fire, this poisonous vapor was spreading all over the country. The news of a planned incident of desecration of the Holy Qur`an in a puja mandap on the eve of the Durgotsab in the autumn seems to have spread like wildfire.  In many areas of Comilla, it did not take a single day for the so-called protesting mobs to get spread over to at least 20 districts including Chandpur, Moulvibazar and Gazipur. In a matter of hours, it has overshadowed the joy of one of the annual festivals of the Hindu community in many parts of the country in a dark shadow of sadness and panic. The government has already taken some visible steps, arresting one of the `artisans` who had spread the poison. However, as always, the planners or the supporters are still behind the scenes.

On Thursday, the day after the incident, we also saw a delegation from the ruling Awami League going to some of the affected areas. At the request of the field administration, it has been decided to maintain law and order and deploy Border Security Force (BGB) to deal thr with possible threats.

However, the deep connection which this phenomenon has with the pre-independence era is evident in the very fact that, the fanatical group easily gets the support of a large number of people. As a result, no matter what the authorities say, in reality, these incidents happen again and again. As the affected people migrate for fear of death, the minority figures become even longer. As the repression of the colonial rulers came to an end in the face of the bloody resistance of the naughty boys of the country, the power-hungry British flatterers chose to consolidate their power with this communal poison. The people of this place, who have been carrying on the traditional trend of harmony for thousands of years, were the first to succeed in tearing apart their unity.

Yesterday`s Comilla incident is the perfect tradition of the seeds of communalism sown with the direct help of the colonial power. What used to take a few days to spread, has now reached a few minutes or hours with the spread of information technology - the only difference. So the big question is - are the current politicians or rulers carrying on that tradition?  The answer is largely `yes`. The last seven decades have passed for the rulers of this region to rise to power or to prolong it! Some of them may have tried, but they could not persuade the people of their own party or opinion to accept it. That is why in the post-colonial era, radical religious fundamentalism has spread to the present day separate states of historical India. It is only a matter of time before India gained the status of a unique land in the world with its unique combination of languages, religions, castes and values. While there is a lot of hope in the press and in the intellectual arena, the reality is so hard that there is no hesitation in admitting that extremist sectarianism is deeply ingrained in the region.

After the horrific riots of Calcutta in 1946 and the extreme barbarism of Noakhali, partition of the country was inevitable and not only the structure of Bengali cultural heritage was axed but it was also arranged that this violence would continue for many centuries. And as a result, we have to witness the recent violence in Nasirnagar, Ramu or Comilla. It is led by a handful of inhumans, mainly Muslims, Hindus and a large number of other religions, and behind them are the devils with the flags of politics. Even if it can be eradicated, the elements of this riot are carefully nurtured by the clever ploys of politics on how to stay in power by defeating the opposition.

It is with great indignation that I would like to mention today that after the death and displacement of countless people in the Noakhali riots, the fake performance of an MK Gandhi to come there and spread the so-called peace message is nothing but a ridiculous farce against the communal violence of the last seven decades. The real investigation of that barbarism and the punishment of the guilty was the establishment of true justice, no matter what religion they belonged to. We will now sharpen our thinking, what is to be done to restore the heart of historical Bengal and India from this communal aggression of diverse harmony? 

At the outset of this thought, I would like to emphasize two points: which are the two aspects of our national pride that can be considered first in the world? I will say unequivocally - our pure patriotism and diverse cultural heritage. And I would like to say out loud that these two "infallible weapons" can help us to eradicate this nasty poison of extremist sectarianism. We have so many elements of these two infallible weapons of war that if we grasp them, our beloved motherland will surely return to its original and unadulterated destination. This is not a mere emotional utterance. We must take the lessons of true history today. In the abundance of wealth, the greedy eyes of the greedy rulers of Bengal and India have been seen time and time again, we have been hindered in the shackles of subjugation. But the relentless intoxication of liberation that was ingrained in our consciousness has led to liberation in various eras, from the bonds of the last colonial and neo-colonial power.

I would like to mention in particular the deadly campaign of the Azad Hind Fauj led by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose to finally cut off the roots of almost two hundred years of British exploitation. We can unequivocally say that Netaji`s Azad Hind Fauj was a unique version of the historical India that has become unique in the world by composing people of different religions and castes over the ages. The true friendship of people of all religions, where an epic consonant was created, is truly rare.

Two decades after the establishment of a state called Pakistan by sowing communal seeds and dividing India, we see this unique model of Netaji`s harmony in the struggle for unprecedented liberation in the rise of independent Bangladesh by expelling the juntas of Pakistan. At the call of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the biggest difference in the liberation war of 1971 was that people of all religions and castes fought together to stop the extreme exploitation of a neo-colonial ruler. The aspiration of that bloody struggle that overwhelmed everything was, ‘We are fighting for a non-sectarian, non-partisan homeland’. Returning to his homeland free from Pakistani prisons, Bangabandhu took over the rule but spoke loudly about building a non-communal Bangladesh.

As we will see in the reflection of which, the constitution of independent Bangladesh did not include anything called state religion. Just as Rabindranath`s `Amar Sonar Bangla` was selected as the national anthem by Bangabandhu before he set foot in the free country, so he brought Kazi Nazrul Islam, the symbol of Bengali consciousness, into independent Bangladesh and gave him the status of national poet. But before the development of that consciousness through the assassination of Bangabandhu, it fell on deaf ears. In later times we have witnessed the development of state-sponsored extremist communalism. Bangladesh entered a new era of developing communal consciousness by incorporating the dictator Ershad`s state religion Islam in the constitution by misleading the spirit of the war of liberation. Since then we have seen many more leaps of violent sectarianism.

Gradually we see the forces claiming the liberation war compromising. In the last few decades, almost all the political forces of the country have competed in the race for open collusion with the extreme communal forces to survive in the polls. These extremist communal groups have increased their power and support in the political arena. Many leaders of the ruling party are openly joining hands to bless themselves. In such a reality, when the incident took place in Comilla, the leaders of the political parties were looking very disgusted with the old delicious Kasundi. By stopping the competition for political gain, the parties should first declare themselves free from the shackles of communal power and apologize to the people for their past involvement. At the same time, respecting the blood of three million martyrs of the war of liberation, the provision of secularism in the constitution of independent Bangladesh should be reinstated immediately. To give a chance to the original and genuine cultural heritage of the Bengalis to be widely practiced by rescuing them from the misconceptions that have been inculcated among a large section of the generation for the development of communal power.

The teachings of tolerance and humanity of all religions should be upheld by holding this infallible saying of ‘religion is tolerant’. Political activists should be urged to adopt the great ideal of self-sacrifice for the country without engaging in the competition of mischief and first the leaders should set an example by following it. Let us hold on to the tradition of self-sacrifice left by our great freedom fighters, let us be the direction of liberation, without trying to wipe out the minorities.

Ashraful Islam: Journalist and Researcher. Mr. Islam is the Founder Chairman of International Center for Netaji Subhash Ideology (ICNSI) and Editor-in-Chief of Spacialised News portal Bahumatrik.com

Email: [email protected]

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