– by Rashid Askari
Published in the African Herald express, May 3, 2013
– The current state of affairs in
the political arena of Bangladesh has been constantly gnawing at the
peace-loving people with no immediate hope of catharsis. The rash and reckless
acts of vandalism committed by the Jamaat-Shibir activists; the prolonged tug
of war between the ruling and the opposition parties over power assumption and
political ascendancy; the belligerent attitudes of the upstart reactionary
group called Hefajat-e-Islam; the stubborn resistance put up by the Gonojagaran
Manchya and the large sections of pro-liberation populace; and above all the
untold miseries of millions of people caused by recurrent hartals, blockades
and demonstrations are making people extremely suffer from nerves.
All this is
doing serious harm to the private and public property and having a corrosive
effect on the country’s economy, stability and progress. There are far more
causes for concern. Due to numerous splits in the society caused by trifling
ideological disagreements and lack of mutual respect and political tolerance,
the situation has recently worsened so gravely that the politically partisan
people feel like cutting off their noses to spite the opposition’s faces. To
these have been added myriad internecine feuds which have been crippling
national integrity. And in this troubled waters are trying to fish the rabid
right wingers and religious fanatics. The sudden rise of Hefajat-e-Islam is
nothing but an outbreak of religious fanaticism triggered off by the extreme
right wingers.
We have had enough of reason to
apprehend that Bangladesh is very likely going to be on the track of Pakistan
or Afghanistan—two completely failed countries in the world, worst affected by
religious extremism and militancy. The independent country—Bangladesh, earned
at the cost of 3 million lives, is being made to move far away from the true
spirit of the Liberation War. To realize the dream of the Freedom Fighters– to
create a secular-democratic society and a non-communal and progressive country
as opposed to Pakistan ensuring maximum civil liberty– is increasingly becoming
a far cry from reality. With every day that passes, we are becoming ever more
despairing. And to our great shock and horror, we observe that the major
political parties of Bangladesh are showing more interest in assuming power
than in fighting for establishing the spirit of Independence. The ruling party
Awami League, though pro-liberation and progressive, is trying to handle the
emergent right wingers with kid glove reckoning their profits and losses in the
next election. The opposition—BNP, a party with a progressive face and a
reactionary soul, has jumped on the Hafajat’s bandwagon and completely sided
with the anti-liberation forces to show a striking contrast with ruling Awami
League in order to take advantage of the anti-incumbency public sentiment to
manipulate people in the next polls. The life and soul of the opportunist Jatio
Party, H. M. Ershad, the inveterate political gambler is running with the hare
and hunting with the hound to realize his final wish to get back the pedestal
he was knocked off. In doing so, all are indulging in the religious extremist
groups directly or indirectly. This is where the crux of the matter lies.
Any kind of indulgence in the
activities of the rigidly doctrinaire religious forces may boost their ego and
inspire them to take their hidden agenda much further. Today’s trigger-happy
Talibans are yesterday’s angry activists pampered by indulgent governments and
supported by vested interests. The very same theory can be applied to
Bangladesh also. That the religious fundamentalists of Bangladesh have no
dearth of financial support is an acknowledged fact. Now, if they can carry on
with their operation pretty indulgently, even during the tenure of the
pro-liberation government, it’s for sure that they won’t take much longer time
to transform Bangladesh into ‘Banglastan’ –a Taliban state built after the
fashion of Pakistan or Afghanistan —their dreamlands! Despite being born in the
alluvial soil of Bangladesh, and raised in its lush green vegetation, these
religious bigots dream of a Kabul or a Kandahar in their subconscious. This is
their avowed goal too! So they are thinking this present turbulent situation
would be for them a dream come true. The Long March by the Hefajat-e-Islam
drops a broad hint of a march towards a Taliban state. There are telltale signs
of this on their 13- point demand list. Most of the points are the complete
opposite of the fundamentals of the constitution of Bangladesh and human
rights. Besides they do not practice what they preach. Although avowedly
non-violent, they did not hesitate to raise their hands to a female newswoman.
The acts of homicide and vandalism perpetrated recently by the Hefajatees in
Fatikchhari bear the testimony to the Taliban propensity for violence. Being
worked up by a fake mike announcement, they flew into religious frenzy and came
out of their houses in packs. In broad daylight, in the crowded street, people
were beaten to death and hundreds of motor vehicles were put to the torch.
So, to comply with their
doctrinal resolution is to take a retrograde step. It means demolishing all the
sculptures of our social, cultural and political heritage; bidding farewell to
co-education and co-work and thereby sending women back to zenana for doing
domestic chores only; and introducing the blasphemy law throttling the freedom
of expression. How does it feel if our honourable prime minister and the leader
of opposition are asked to leave their public offices and go back to private
apartments for being women? What would be the future of the country if the half
of its population (women) is forced to stay away from working shoulder to
shoulder with the other half( men)? What the ‘hefajatees’ (the self-styled
caretakers of Islam!) have proposed is simply absurd in the context of 21st
century political life. I can bet my bottom dollar that even the women in their
own families will not agree with their stance on this weird gender separation
concept—the medieval concept of Mardana and Zenana.
To materialize half of their
demand is to go for the creation of a Taliban state which would be the worst
ever political disaster for Bangladesh. So, much as they claim that they are
nonpolitical, the truth is quite the contrary. They have emerged as a diehard
political party to be reckoned with. As a matter of fact, Hefajat-e-Islam is a
cataclysmic regeneration of the endangered political species in Bangladesh called
Jamaat-e-Islami, and the so-called long- marchers are marchers towards
establishing a mediaeval militant state. They are having a phoenix resurrection
from the ravages of Jamaat-e-Islami and spreading like a swarm of locusts to
destroy the crops of the country’s hard-earned independence. This is how the
Jamaat-e-Islami is trying to shoot their last bolt to save their masters
languishing in prison. Again the Jamaat turned Hefajat has called a blockade
programme in Dhaka on next 5 May and is threatening the government with ouster
if their demands are not met. They are trying to assert their authority from
the beginning and have declared that they would be instrumental in the
formation of the next government. The self-proclaimed non-political Hefajatees are
trying to climb up the top rung of the power-ladder with a single jump. If not
nipped in the bud, the whole nation may be infected with this militancy virus
which may find an expression in a Taliban state– a nightmare come true!
————————————————————————————————
Dr. Rashid Askari writes fiction and columns and teaches English literature at
Kushtia Islamic University, Bangladesh. Email: rashidaskari65@yahoo.com
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