This Navratri in Bangladesh
Dear Readers,
This Navratri in Bangladesh saw large scale violence against the Hindus and the Durga Pooja Pandals. They were specifically targeted with intent. Has extremism gone out of hand? This piece below examines some of these issues. Hope you would read and give it a thought.
This Navratri in Bangladesh
In the weeks of Navratri, the pooja pandals in Bangladesh are equally revered as in Kolkata. The atmosphere of cheer and festivity matches any place in West Bengal. Yet this year, the Hindu minority of Bangladesh was in for a rude shock as a spate of attacks ensued on pooja pandals across the country. It started with Commila and spread to Chittagong, Dhaka and Feni; 20 districts witnessed arson against the pooja stalls. 70 places of worship were ransacked by the mobs. At least four Hindus have been killed and 70 injured. The scenes on the videos have been horrific. The trend is not new. Bangladesh has always been a fertile ground for Islamic fundamentalists inciting violence against minority groups and spreading hatred. The trend started after the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman: The father of the nation, and picked it steam during the first and the second military rulers of Bangladesh: General Zia and General Ershad’s time. The former dropped the word secularism from the four principles of the constitution, and the latter introduced Islam as a state religion. Ever since then, extremism and sectarianism have been a feature of Bangladesh politics. Minorities, liberals, atheists, blog writers, and the LGBT community are constantly at the receiving end. But the ferocity with which the pooja pandals were vandalised and Hindus were beaten up this year has invited criticism from all quarters. The Indian media and the international press are equivocal in their criticism of Bangladesh’s trend: Resurgence of the Islamic Fundamentalism.
The government of Bangladesh has been quick to condemn the violence and promise a crackdown on the perpetrators. It has brought some solace to the minority community and is a relief for the Indian government. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed has publicly declared her government’s intention to punish the guilty and stop the violence. She has asked the Home Minister to take quick and conclusive actions. Bangladesh has good relations with India and can ill afford to spoil them. The question on everyone’s mind is who are the perpetrators, and would the guilty be punished?
While there is no word officially word, the usual suspects are the elements of Jamaat-i-Islami. These renegade political organisations operate from the underground and usually targets the Hindus and are anti-India. Their compatriots the political wing: Islamic Movement of Bangladesh is the third-largest political party in Bangladesh. They have opposed CAB and NRC in India. Their ranks are growing as Bangladesh battles the radicalisation of their youth towards the hardcore fundamentalist strain of Islam. The years between 1990 to 2015 have firmly sent Bangladesh on a track of becoming a theocratic state. The intolerance towards other religions and beliefs, insistence on adherence to the sharia and radicalisation of youth through systemic change in school curriculums and sprouting of madrassas have all contributed to taking Bangladesh on this road. The Awami League; the ruling party, stands between the moderates and the fundamentalists.
The Hasina government in Bangladesh has been coming down heavily on the extremist’s organisations, forcing the Jamaat cadres to go underground and sending most of the leadership to the UK. Yet, she has not reigned in all the fundamentalist groups in her country as crushing them may cause more political pain. That leaves adequate elbow space for these hate groups to act whenever they so feel to do so. It is not a coincidence that the attacks in Chittagong started a large Jamaat rally was staged in Dhaka after a long time. The main opposition party, the BNP (Bangladesh National Party) of Begum Khaleda Zia, who has been in and out of jail, has been wiped out. And their space has been taken up by Islamist parties. In a bid to come to power, BNP wholeheartedly embraced the Islamist elements in Bangladesh, explained in the opening paragraph. This embrace has led to the current impasse and put Sheikh Hasina in a precarious position. Should she denounce the Islam based parties, she fears losing the popular support. Thus, she engages with the lesser extremist Islamic parties that she thinks she can control and manipulate. The consistent attacks on Hindus and minorities result from this Faustian agreement that the Hasina government has tacitly reached with the Islamists.
But this time, the Islamic Jamaat and other elements seemed to have gone too far. The occupation of Afghanistan by the Taliban has given a new lease of life to Pakistan and the fundamentalist’s elements in Bangladesh. Slogans like “Bangladesh Banega (will become) Afghanistan” have been reverberating in the confines of the areas controlled by extremist elements. The social media in Bangladesh is full of praise for the Taliban and their victory in Afghanistan. Social media is loose and out of control in Bangladesh. One such fake Facebook video showing the desecration of the Koran by a Hindu boy started the ‘Pooja Pandal’ violence, which got out of hand. It is hard to control such posts for the government, but it is easy for radicals to unleash violent reactions from amongst the Islamists.
Yet, it would be incorrect to say that the Islamist fundamental elements have popular support in Bangladesh. More rallies opposing the violence were taken out than they were in support. Most intellectual and academic institutions have come in support of the Hindus. Dhaka University, in particular, was vocal in its support of the Hindu minority and appealed for peaceful coexistence with all religious groups. Sheikh Hasina Wazed’s government is probably one of the most secular governments of a Muslim majority nation. Yet, there is adequate money and material support from Pakistan, which continues to influence Islamist political parties in Bangladesh.
The Bangla people have to choose; whether to continue the path of progress through peaceful coexistence or allow their nation to become another Afghanistan. Going by the current happenings, the moderates in Bangladesh seem to be losing the battle.