The Bane Of Communal Politics (Editorial In News From Bangladesh)

[nkdat...@my-dejanews.com]

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> News From Bangladesh
> 28th March, 1999
>
> http://www.bangladesh-web.com/news
>
> Commentary
> Communalism - The Black Plague Of South Asia.
>
> By Jamal Hasan
> po...@hotmail.com
>
> Parochialism is often the stepping stone to hatred and prejudice for
> "others." It has torn apart the liberal and humanistic fabric of the society
> in many parts of the world. The information super highway has turned out to
> be a double- edged sword. On one hand it has given those, that are evilly
> inclined, the means to rapidly propagate their venomous philosophy to far
> flung corners of the globe. But, on the other hand, it has also made them
> vulnerable to being quickly exposed for what they are.
>
> To emphasize the point I wish to make, I must revisit the idea that is
> ingrained in the word "communalism." The dictionary provides us with
> definitions that are often quite innocuous. Thus, a dictionary definition
> might be "marked by collective ownership," or "shared or used in common."
> That, of course, is innocuous enough. But, in the subcontinent, it has often
> been used to refer to situations that are quite pernicious to say the least.
> Communalism is anything but innocuous when referring to bigotry, hatred and
> prejudice against those with caste, creed or ethnicity that is different than
> one's own. Religion-based communalism, in particular, has been the bane of
> the subcontinent for better part of the century that is soon about to end.
> Worse still, we are yet to glimpse the proverbial light at the end of the
> tunnel.
>
> It would be at once unfair and dangerous to correlate the religiosity of a
> person with his propensity to be "communal." In fact, a person who is truly
> religious, will never harbor ill will for a community with a different brand
> name for its faith than his own. Conversely, a person who is none too
> religious or even an atheist in personal life might turn out to be extremely
> hateful toward communities other than the one he was born into. In practice,
> we often come across people who swear by their religion but seem completely
> bereft of any humanistic sentiment. They harbor an exclusionist view of life
> in which a good friend or a good neighbor must necessarily share membership
> to the same religious community. Unabashedly, they hold on to the belief that
> the only good "infidel" is a dead one.
>
> Pat Robertson can be rightly viewed as the unquestioned leader of America's
> religious right. It was communalism of the worst type that led Pat Robertson
> to acknowledge openly on Christian Broadcasting Network that he was outraged
> that the U.S. Congress had allowed the recital of an Islamic prayer during a
> session. It is clear from Pat Robertson's knee-jerk reaction to Islamic
> prayers that communalism can afflict even those that wear religion so
> ostensibly on their sleeves. Pat Robertson's behavior negates everything that
> Christian values stand for. In stark contrast, it was the highest embodiment
> of Christian values when Pope John Paul embraced Iranian President, Khatami,
> at the Vatican to mark his effort and determination to foster a meaningful
> dialogue between people of different faiths and civilizations. Communalism
> and bigotry will always stand in the way of such a dialogue but a genuine
> regard for religion never will. The communalist is, thus, like a chameleon.
> He is just as likely to wear his religion on his sleeves as he is likely to
> be an unabashed atheist.
>
> I know an individual who had lived in the western world for many decades. He
> claims to be an atheist who openly scorns conventional social traditions like
> marriages. But time and again, he has let out that his basic philosophy
> centers around communalism in the worst sense of the term. To this day, he
> continues to anchor his political philosophy on the now discredited
> two-nation theory. This person maintained a non-communal secular facade while
> living in the western world; he was involved in ethnic cultural activities
> and befriended numerous Indians of Hindu faith. But as soon as he went back
> to Bangladesh, he discarded his humanistic veneer to became a champion of BNP
> led communal politics. Does that automatically qualify him as a champion of
> Islamic values? I don't think so. Is he a believer in Islam? The answer, I
> know for sure, is a definite no. He openly expresses his disdain for all
> religions.
>
> I also knew of another individual who was a great admirer of Bengali
> literature. He was anything but religious in his personal life. He seemed
> close to some of the teachers at Dhaka University who were well known for
> their secular sentiments. That is why what follows might come as a big shock
> to many. During the brutal crackdown on the 25th March, 1971, the Pak army
> had ruined a section of a Sikh holy shrine Gurdwara which happened to be
> within Dhaka University campus. A good portion of the religious site was
> still intact. I was shocked by the insensitivity of this individual who had
> seemed so liberal till then when he burst out,"This is an eyesore, the Pak
> army should have demolished the entire shrine."
>
> We absorb messages from the day we are born - our learned behavior plays an
> important role in defining our view of life. The messages that we absorb
> throughout our life come from various sources - some come from the community,
> some from parents and close relatives and some come from peers. In USA it is
> not uncommon to see even young people supporting white supremacist groups
> like the Ku Klux Klan. They have been molded by the environment in which they
> grew up. These misguided young men often fail to resist peer pressure. It is
> indeed an irony that a man turns into a religious bigot by flouting the very
> teachings of his religion. No amount of praying can ever compensate the
> failings of a heartless person who is lacking in kindness and compassion.
>
> It has been rightly remarked, "It is easy to learn something, but it is twice
> as hard to unlearn it." So we shouldn't be surprised when we hear about a
> prominent Bengali newspaper publisher from the avowedly leftist pro-China
> camp suddenly working hand in glove with the religious right in Bangladesh. I
> have seen many a member of Bhashani NAP and many a leader of the Dhaka Union
> of Journalists to turn their back on liberal politics even as they continued
> to swear allegiance to a leftist ideology. Poet Farhad Mazhar is a prime
> example. He seems to have metamorphosed from a left leaning secular
> intellectual into a mouthpiece of a particular religion in the milieu of
> Bangladeshi culture. The Jamaatis will readily find solace and support in his
> glorification of one religious group in Bangladesh to the point of adopting
> an exclusionist and supremacist stance on all religious matters. Farhad
> Mazhar is outraged by the use of the term "mullah" as a pejorative for the
> religious bigot. He fails to realize that the rising tide of fundamentalism
> poses a threat to even those like him that are engaged in soft selling
> religio-centric politics. Even Farhad Mazhar will not have it easy in a
> Talibanized Bangladesh.
>
> The term mullah can be a pejorative for not just the Muslim fanatic but the
> Hindu fanatic as well. In India, BJP has a very ambitious plan to push the
> agenda of the ultra orthodox Hindu lobby. To coopt the non-Hindus, it has
> made a determined attempt to woo religious minorities. Actor Victor Banerjee
> is from a Christian family. Many will remember him for his lead role in
> Satyajit Ray's "Ghare Bairay." How could he become a supporter of BJP? In
> fact, he was gleefully fielded in the elections as a BJP candidate. Hopefully
> the recent spate of attacks on the Christian minority in India will open the
> actor's eyes to the danger posed by BJP. The party can also boast of a few
> Muslim "leaders" in its fold.
>
> Bangladeshis will be readily reminded of those Bengalis who had sold their
> souls to the devil in 1971. Some had maintained a discrete silence and "strict
> neutrality" even in the safety and comfort of working in America and other
> western nations. And there were others who had blatantly and shamelessly
> lobbied on behalf of Pakistan's military junta in the corridors of the United
> Nations even as their compatriots were being raped and murdered by the
> soldiers.
>
> Religious piety does not stand in the way of humanistic values - in fact it
> bolsters them. But those that wear religion on their sleeves turn out to be
> anything but religious. The truly religious readily exudes love and
> compassion for all of mankind. It is the fake who must fulfill his religious
> obligation by hating all those that do not subscribe to the religion he
> swears by. The Pakistani Army in 1971 was the very embodiment of this unholy
> exclusivity. The Pakistani generals were so "Islamic" that they hadn't the
> slightest hesitation to "cleanse" Dhaka university of students and professors
> alike on that ill- fated night of 25th March, 1971. And it was just child's
> play for these "Islamic" generals to demolish the Hindu temple that had stood
> for so long on the Ramna Race Course. That act of infamy had prompted a
> middle aged Bengali Muslim to comment, "From this night on, no one with even
> an iota of humanity within him, will support the Yahya regime." Hate begets
> hatred. The shameless demolition of the Dhakeshwari temple set an ugly
> precedent. In a couple of decades, that night of infamy at the Ramna Race
> Course would be replicated in broad day light at Ayodhya in neighboring
> India.
>
> It is indeed a paradox that forces of religious bigotry can survive even
> within groups that pride themselves for at least being left of center, if not
> for being on the extreme left. The tentacles of Taliban philosophy have
> managed to reach even the pro-Chinese camp. The renowned journalist Abdul
> Ghaffar Chowdhury has covered this paradox in one of his recent articles. He
> gave a historical account of the chameleons of the pro-Chinese camp. The
> genesis of BNP is a prime example. As an amalgamation of the so-called
> leftists and the religious rights, it is the ultimate melting pot of
> religio-centric politics in Bangladesh. In many ways, BNP of Bangladesh is a
> mirror image of BJP of India. It is indeed apt that the acronyms for the two
> parties differ only in their middle initials!
>
> South Asian politics seem to be going against the tide. The rest of the world
> has embraced the concept of a global village in earnest while communal
> politics seems to be gaining ground in South Asia.
>
> Technological advances are making it more and more difficult to keep people in
> the dark about happenings elsewhere in the world. The Taliban well knows the
> dangers of information explosion. That is why it is trying so hard to isolate
> the Afghans from the rest of the world. Modern gadgets like television and VCR
> have been denounced as tools of Satan.
>
> The Taliban knows that its days are numbered unless it can shut tight all
> windows to the outside world. Uninhibited flow of information will serve only
> to delegitimatize everything that the Taliban has been enforcing in the name
> of God.
>
> The Islamists in Pakistan and Bangladesh and the forces of "Hindutva" in
> India have all set themselves the goal of purifying their respective
> religions. The Muslim communalist is pushing an agenda of ridding the society
> of anything that smacks of Hinduism. He will not rest in peace till he can do
> significant damage to the composite culture that developed and was nurtured
> in the subcontinent over centuries. In the name of religious purity, he is
> advocating the hateful theology of religious apartheid.
>
> Iran had embraced theocracy for a while. It is unlikely that the country will
> turn secular overnight. Nevertheless, Iran now seems ready for democracy. The
> country is turning increasingly toward secular values. It seems more tolerant
> of dissent that it has ever been since the days of the Shah. A pluralistic
> society that tolerates diversity in religious, political and social thoughts
> is an essential hallmark of a modern democracy. While Iran seems ready to
> allow greater cultural and artistic freedom to its people, the Taliban seems
> to be winning the war in Afghanistan and sowing the seeds of obscurantism and
> hatred in the rest of South Asia. I, for one, wasn't surprised to see the
> Iranian film, "The Children of Heaven" as a nominee for the Best Foreign Film
> award at the Oscar award ceremony.
>
> It is possible that South Asia is going through a phase that will not last for
> long. I do hope that good sense will ultimately prevail. I do hope that
> religious bigots and hatemongering politicians will sooner, rather than later,
> yield to those with a more enlightened ideology. But, for the time being, it
> does look pretty bleak in South Asia. The BJP has come to power in India.
> Pakistan has passed the diabolical 15th amendment to its constitution. The
> Taliban has won the struggle for power in Afghanistan. Even distant Bangladesh
> hasn't been able to buck the trend as was shown by the blast in Jessore. The
> unholy alliance of BNP, JP, and the religious right does not bode well for
> Bangladesh.
>
> I am an optimist. I do believe that in this day and age, it is impossible to
> fool all the people all the time. More and more Afghans are getting
> disillusioned with the inhumanity of the medieval order imposed by the
> Taliban. Atrocities against the Christian minority is certainly not endearing
> the Sangh Parivar in India. The rising tide of sectarian strife in Pakistan
> has created an atmosphere where the faithful fear getting mowed down by
> bullets even as they pray in their mosques! It is dawning on all South Asians
> that religion based politics cannot serve the greater cause of humanity. It
> must go for the good of the nation. _________________ Jamal Hasan writes from
> Maryland. His email address is po...@hotmail.com
>
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