Bangladesh has laudable tradition of religious harmony

A W Mansoor Ahmad

According to the report of UNB news agency, the BNP standing committee member Lt Gen (retd) Mahbubur Rahman on 9 January 2014 demanded punishment of real attackers of minorities. He said,  exemplary punishment must be give to those who were involved in attacks on Hindus and other minority communities at different parts of the country, including Dinajpur. “Bangladesh is a country of communal harmony. The criminals are making various evil efforts to destroy the harmony among the Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Buddhists and other communities. We condemn and protest the attacks on the minority communities,” he said. Mahbub continued: “We demand the government identify the real attackers through fair investigations into the incidents and bring the offenders to justice.” The BNP policymaker made the demand at a press conference at his Banani DOHS residence.
Here Mr. Subroto Chowdhury’s observation is relevant. A news report said after January 5 polls miscreants attacked Hindu minorities in some northern districts leaving many families affected. Subroto Chowdhury, a leader of the “Hindu-Bhuddha-Christan-Oikka Parisad” alleged that it has been a slogan to blame Jamaat-Sibir for the attacks. But we have observed that some AL men in some places were also involved in this heinous attack on Hindu minorities. This is the reality of the day. The government should identify the real attackers through fair investigations into the incidents and bring the offenders to book. (Vide the Naya Diganta, dated December 17, 2013).
It was often seen the cadres of the ruling Awami League (AL), Jobo League, Swechhasebok League and Bangladesh Chhatra League are involved in making bombs. They used firearms and hurl bombs on activists and workers of BNP, Jamaat and the-18 party alliance partners when they bring out peaceful procession during Hartal and blockade.
The minority communities in Jessore, Dinajpur, Satkhira, Chittagong and Thakurgaon districts came under attacks by miscreants following the 10th parliamentary elections held on January 6 amid the boycott by the opposition parties, including BNP. Mahbub, an army officer-turned politician, called upon the law enforcers to take immediate action against those involved in the attacks on the minorities.
“Those involved in the attacks couldn’t have any other identities but criminals. They want to stigmatise our long historic tradition of religious harmony. They also want to instigate communalism, chaos and anarchism,” the BNP leader observed.
Denouncing the attacks on the minority communities in his home constituency Dinajpur a day after the ‘unilateral’ election, Mahbub said, “My village home is at Tehelgazi union in Dinajpur Sadar union. I grew up amid religious harmony and the company of Hindu and other religious communities. The miscreants have attacked minorities in such an area. “It’s a heinous incident.”  He asked the country’s people, including the opposition leaders and activists, to get united for resisting the attacks on the minority communities.

Subroto Chowdhury’s observation
Here Mr. Subroto Chowdhury’s observation is relevant. A news report said after January 5 polls miscreants attacked Hindu minorities in some northern districts leaving many families affected. Subroto Chowdhury, a leader of the “Hindu-Bhuddha-Christan-Oikka Parisad” alleged that it has been a slogan to blame Jamaat-Sibir for the attacks. But we have observed that some AL men in some places were also involved in this heinous attack on Hindu minorities. This is the reality of the day. The government should identify the real attackers through fair investigations into the incidents and bring the offenders to book. (Vide the Naya Diganta, dated December 17, 2013).
It was often seen the cadres of the ruling Awami League (AL), Jobo League, Swechhasebok League and Bangladesh Chhatra League are involved in making bombs. They used firearms and hurl bombs on activists and workers of BNP, Jamaat and the 18-party alliance partners when they bring out peaceful procession during Hartal and blockade.
Earlier, BNP vice chairman Selima Rahman at a press briefing held the ruling party ‘cadres’ responsible for the recent attacks and repression on minority communities and asked the 18-party men to prevent post-election violence against Hindus and other minority groups. Just half-an-hour before her arrest, Selima said, “The ruling party men as part of their strategy to shift the blame on the opposition are attacking the members of minority communities.” Selima, on behalf of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, asked the opposition leaders and activists of all levels to set up area-wise vigil across the country to prevent post-election violence against the minorities and ensure their security.
Meanwhile, Opposition BNP alleged that the ruling party men are carrying out attacks on the minority communities at different parts of the country in a planned way to divert people’s attention from the ‘stage-managed, voter-less election’ to other direction. In a statement, BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said, “In the face of widespread criticism at home and abroad and by different countries and institutions, planned attacks are being made on Hindus and other minorities across the country, including Jessore, Rangpur, Thakurgaon and Dinajpur, to divert people’ s attention from the Jan 5 stage-managed election to other direction.”
He also accused the ruling party ‘cadres’ of carrying out attacks on members of minority communities, the opposition leaders and activists, their houses torching and looting their valuables.
Mahatma Gandhi said, “Islam I do regard Islam to be a religion of peace in the same sense as Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism are. No doubt there are differences in degree, but the object of these religions is peace. I have given my opinion that the followers of Islam are too free with the sword. But that is not due to the teaching of the Koran. This is due, in my opinion, to the environment in which Islam was born. Christianity has a bloody record against it not because Jesus was found wanting, but because the environment in which it spread was not responsive to his lofty teaching.” He fasted against communal riots and wanted Hindu Muslim unity”.
Gandhiji was opposed to untouchability. He wrote in Young India, p. 318-19, “I have never been able to reconcile myself to untouchability. I have always regarded it as an excrescence. It is true that it has been handed down to us from generations, but so are many evil practices even to this day. I should be ashamed to think that dedication of girls to virtual prostitution was a part of Hinduism. Yet it is practised by Hindus in many parts of India.
“I consider it positive irreligion to sacrifice goats to Kali and do not consider it a part of Hinduism. Hinduism is a growth of ages. The very name, Hinduism, was given to the religion of the people of Hindustan by foreigners. There was, no doubt, at one time sacrifice of animals offered in the name of reli­gion. But it is not religion, much less is it Hindu religion. And so also it seems to me, that when cow-protection became an article of faith with our ancestors, those who persisted in eating beef were excommunicated. The civil strife must have been fierce. Social boycott was applied not only to the recalcitrant, but their sins were visited upon their children also. … A religion that establishes the worship of the cow cannot possibly countenance or warrant a cruel and inhuman boycott of human beings. And I should be content to be torn to pieces rather than disown the suppressed classes. As I love Hinduism dearer than life itself, the taint has become for me an intolerable burden.

Source: Weekly Holiday