Ram Puniyani
The acts of violence led by the
Islamists, Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) are tormenting our neighboring Bangla Desh,
more than 50 dead, injuries and destruction of Hindu, Budhha temples amongst
other losses. Its spill over is also being felt in Kolkata to some extent
(Feb-March 2013). In Kolkata a strong crowd owing allegiance to Muslim
communalism, different organizations like Minority Youth Federation, and others
went on rampage. All this in response to the death sentence given to Delawar
Hossian Sayedee, the Vice President of JI by a war crimes tribunal after he was
found guilty for mass killing, rape and atrocities during the nine month war
against Pakistan.
He is the third office bearers of
JI to have been convicted of the crimes during Muktijuddha (liberation war) of
1971 of the then East Pakistan people’s resistance against the atrocities of Pakistan
army. Sheikh Hasina Government has set up the tribunal from last three
years and now the verdicts of the tribunal are being handed down. Currently in
Bangla Desh a large number of youth, believing in democracy are demanding
stricter action through protest at Shahbagh against those who were hands in
glove with Pakistan
army while Jamaat wings are out on streets opposing the sentence to the guilty
of 71 liberation war. In India
also the Jamaat-Islami has opposed the Shahbag movement and is opposed to
punishing the JI elements that are guilty of 1971 war crimes. JI was opposed to
the 1971 liberation war led by Mukti Bahini under the leadership of Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman and supported by most of the people from Bangla Desh. The attack
by Pakistan
army led to the killing of nearly three million people, rape of nearly 200000
women, by rough estimates. During this period the East
Pakistan ’s intellectuals and many political workers were done to
death.
The tragedy of partition has a
long and painful tale, which is refusing to die down even now more than six
decades after the painful event. India
was partitioned on the strange ground, Pakistan
in the name of Islam and India
as a secular democracy, apparently to solve the communal problem. British have
left a long and painful legacy of politics in the name of religion, violence in
the name of religion, which is continuing to dog the sub-continent. The twin
pillars of success of British policy of ‘divide and rule’ were the persistence
of feudal classes, in the face of rising industrialization and the deliberate
British ploy to recognize Muslim League as the representatives of Indian
Muslims right since its formation in 1906. Muslim League was initially formed
by the declining sections of Muslim Nawabas, Landlords and later was joined by
the section of Muslim educated classes and elite. In no way it represented
Indian Muslims. Similarly the Hindu Mahasabha, the body parallel to Muslim
League, came up from amongst the Hindu Rajas, Jamindars and later joined in by
the section of educated classes and elite castes. Their agenda was totally
opposed to the one of Liberty ,
Equality and Fraternity, which was the foundation of freedom movement of the
country.
There are lot of parallels
between both these communal streams (Muslim and Hindu), they could join hands
in forming coalition ministries in Sindh and Bengal just before the partition,
they kept aloof from freedom movement and opposed the social transformation of
caste and gender relations of the society. Their lip service to some social
reforms notwithstanding, they stuck to the status quo in matters pertaining to
social norms and political relations.
After partition the Pakistan (East and West) came to be dominated by
the West Pakistan economic and political elite
who occupied important positions in the army, bureaucracy, economy and polity.
In the elections held in 1970 the Awami League (East Pakistan) led by Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman swept the polls, and emerged as the majority party in Pakistan .
Still, army backed by Zulfiqar Bhutto did not permit the formation of Awami
League Government. Here one can see the difference between religion and
politics. While Islam calls for ‘all men are bothers’ the politics in the name
of Islam coming from Pakistani regime, discriminated not only against people of
other religions, Hindus in particular, but also against the others Muslims.
Muslims of East Pakistan were being dominated and suppressed by the dominant
‘Muslims’ of West Pakistan .
With Awami League being denied
the formation of Government and in the absence of democratic channels of
protest, alienation grew in East Pakistan and
Mujibur Rahman launched civil disobedience movement. Massive protest erupted
all over in East Pakistan and Pakistani army,
cracked down on its own citizens. In East Pakistan ,
army unleashed a reign of terror; murders and rapes. Hindus and Muslims both
were targeted. The citizens from East Pakistan
were regarded as enemies and rampage went on till the Mukti Bahini, with the
help of Indian Army succeeded in defeating Pakistani army to declare the
formation of People’s Republic of Bangla desh.
The formation of Bangla Desh
decisively and irrefutable proved the futility of the theory that Nations are
synonymous with religions, that religion can be the basis of nationalism. The
‘Two Nation theory’ that Hindus and Muslims are two separate nations met its
graveyard in the formation of Bangla Desh. Still the communal elements were not
wiped out from the country and they do keep coming up now and then. We had also
noticed the response of Muslim Communalists from Bangla Desh when they wanted
to march to India ,
in response to the demolition of Babri mosque. The plight of minorities in
Bangla Desh is pathetic. Many of the Hindus and Muslims became refugees and
came to different parts of the country. Part of this contributed to the Hindu
communalist’s propaganda and creation of scare about Bangla Deshi immigrants.
The issue of sub continental politics has been presented on communal lines.
Sixty years down the line the
seeds of communal politics which came up from the declining sections of
landlords, were given ideological veneer by section of elite-upper castes, and
were cleverly nurtured by the British. As such actually it was these communal
elements that fed in to the British policy of ‘divide and rule’ and led to
partition of the country. In the three countries which emerged in the
subcontinent, the degree of communal poison today; is of course very different
in intensity. Pakistan
suffered maximum at the hands of colonial-imperialist powers, the minorities
there, Hindus and Christians are having intimidating time. In Pakistan the
army has become the ally of communal forces and keeps opposing the democratic
aspirations of large sections of society. In Bangla Desh, the democratically
rooted parties have to face opposition from the communal elements.
Thus all the three countries in
the subcontinent have to grapple with this communal demon. To obfuscate the
difference between religion and politics has been the biggest ‘success’ of
communalists, cutting across the religious divides. Criticizing these
communalists can easily give you a label of being against that religion. Does
it need a rethink on the part of the democratic people of these countries to
collaborate with each other to bury the demon of communalism, politics in the
name of religion? Will communalists, who are dominating the scene in India , or Pakistan or Bangla Desh let it
happen? Communalists are adept at creating the tempest of hysteria in the name
of their religions, and can do the intense breast beating that the secular
democratic efforts are a threat to their ‘religion. The task to save or promote
democracy in the subcontinent is a mammoth one. Can those elements yearning for
a freedom and democracy in the sub continent come together on this agenda?
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