Zillur Rahman :
Bangladesh is one of the cradles and examples of communal harmony. It is a matter of great honour and glory. India, a large neighboring country, claims to be a secular state but has been embroiled in occasional communal riots. But this has not been reflected in our country. The spirit of harmony and brotherhood of the people of this country is quite noticeable. Because there is a conscious mentality among the people, no evil reflection of the extreme communal activities and events of the neighboring countries has been observed in the heart of this country. Hindus, Buddhists, Christians have been living together for a long time with the majority Muslim population.
Not only today, this country has been bearing the example of this shining example of communal harmony since ancient times. Various communities have worked shoulder to shoulder in field-farms, mills-factories, offices-courts. They have shared each other’s sorrows and joys. Deep solidarity and unity among the people of different communities of Bangladesh has become a glorious tradition and history in the national history. Our glorious liberation war and youth uprising of 2024 are shining examples of that. In 1971, the Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists and Christians of this country unitedly joined the liberation war and set a shining example of communal harmony.
But recently it has been alleged that the lovers of the former defeated and fugitive fascist government are using a controversial religious group called ISKCON for political gain by destroying the atmosphere of communal harmony in Bangladesh. In continuation of this, a young lawyer was attacked and killed in broad daylight in Chittagong by the direct instigation of the fascist government and the direct attack of the above extremist group. Their main objective was to create a riot for political gains by destroying the atmosphere of communal harmony, questioning the 2024 revolution or youth uprising and creating a destabilizing situation at home and abroad to embarrass the current interim government. But the government has already arrested a leader of the extremist group and those involved in the lawyer’s murder have also been brought to justice so that the atmosphere of communal harmony is not destroyed in any way.
Bangladesh was declared a secular country in the 1972 constitution, though most of the people in this country are Muslims. Most of the people of this country are religious but not fanatical as Muslims. But the deposed Sheikh Hasina government made many attempts to gain political advantage by destroying the atmosphere of communal harmony and trying to make common religious people known as fanatics at home and abroad. But in the end, their efforts failed and they were forced to flee the country due to the mass uprising of the youth. The people here are bound by the bonds of nationalism.
Violence and anarchy in the name of religion in the world is not supported by Islam. By creating anarchy in the society, no one can enjoy the taste of heavenly air under the cool shade of religion, nor can peace be established. Anarchy can only bring chaos, not peace. Irrespective of the religion we follow, it is the moral duty of all to maintain an attitude of respect and honor towards all religions. Expression doesn’t mean doing whatever you want, everything has a limit. The incident that has happened recently in the name of freedom of religious expression is not acceptable in any way, such incitement and insulting work must be stopped by any means.
It is worth noting that the state-sponsored oppression of minorities in India is, in a word, appalling. What is more terrible is that the media and intellectuals who are supposed to protest and resist against this ferocity of the Indian government have also emerged as the foot-licking slaves of the government. In other countries of the world, journalists and media workers at least play a neutral role, but India is an exception. Most of the media in India is extremely communal. Like the fascist Hasina of Bangladesh, they are staunch supporters of the radical Hindutva policies of the radical Modi government.
Indian media have always played the role of government’s accomplice in steamrolling minorities which is a real shame for the journalism profession. Many people may remember that in December 1992, many people were killed in a Hindu-Muslim riot planned and directed by the fascist Sheikh Hasina to hold the SAARC Summit in Dhaka. This time too, with the help of fugitive Hasina, India is running various misinformation against Bangladesh. Indian media have become an anti-Bangladesh platform and their statements echo the voices of the fascist Hasina government! Fascist Hasina’s strategy has led the Indian government to create an unstable situation in Bangladesh. Hasina’s plan is once again trying to destroy communal harmony in Bangladesh. The religious people of Bangladesh have not fallen for this trap, are dealing with the situation with tolerance and are determined to thwart any such attempt to preserve the communal harmony of Bangladesh.
The writer is a banker and columnist
Satish Sarker Road, Gandaria, Dhaka.
[email protected]
Cellphone 01716733714
