Communalism in Bangladesh

Communalism in Bangladesh

Communalism and fundamentalism are two vital issues of our time. Now we find large parts of south Asia in the grip of the two factors. But people of different communities espousing different religious faiths had been living harmoniously in south Asia for centuries.

In our subcontinent Hindus and Muslims lived harmoniously in an atmosphere of friendship and amity for centuries. In Bengal the activities of vaishnavas, the bauls and sufi saints had helped at one time the growth of communal harmony between Hindus and Muslims. They deliberately emphasized broad humanistic ideals, love for all men irrespective of their religious affiliations and preached the doctrine of freedom.

It was the virus of the British policy of divide and rule.  After that Muslim began to think of themselves as members of a separate entity. Muslim believed that they could survive and prosper only if they were allowed to pursue their interest and aspirations separately from other groups.
jinnah with his two nation theory blown up the difference between the Hindus and Muslims. The disparity existing between the members of the two communities in economic, educational and cultural spheres led to frequent frictions and each community began to build up inflated images of their own heroes. Invasion of communalism in the cultural arena led to build-up of Hindu-Muslim hostility. Clashes were mostly confined to the urban areas and among the literate sections of the people. Though, great harm was done by narrow minded politicians, writers, historians and religious preachers. They created bitterness between the members of the two communities by their regrettable attitudes and deeds. The harm was done by self seeking power-hungry communal political personalities and their organizations.

Today, we cannot afford to waste any more time on futile communal bickering. We must put to effective use without any more delay or hesitation our educational institutions, mass media like the television, radio, cinema and newspapers, and our literary and socio-cultural organizations for the promotion of secular principles. We must project, at once truthfully and forcefully, both Hindu and Muslim heroes who made significant involvement in different fields and at different times towards eliminating communalism and religious fanaticism.

The state should actively encourage cultural festivals that cut across religious and communal distinctions, such as, in the case of Bangladesh, the observance of 1st Baishakh or the Bengali New Year, 1st of Falgun or the spring festival, 21st February or the Bengali Language Martyrs Day, 25th Baishakh or Tagore's Birthday, 11th Joishto or Nazrul's birth day, 16th December or Bangladesh Victory Day, and 26th March, the Independence Day of Bangladesh.

But the image is not all dark. Activities for resisting fundamentalism are gaining ground. Religion is being seen more and more as a private matter between an individual and God. People are gradually more realizing that all kinds of evils arise when the state or society as an organized force acts as a controlling body with powers to direct and oversee the performance of religious duties by an individual or a group of individuals. The progressive fundamentals everywhere are trying to check the growth of fundamentalism and promote tolerance, rationality, peace and universal humanism, in other words, the essence of true religion. The victory of these forces will place religion in its proper standpoint and allow it to play freely its humanizing, civilizing, liberalizing role. Religion will be able to become an important module of the culture of a people in an optimistic way.