| by Swadesh Roy
( April 29, 2013, Dhaka, Sri Lanka Guardian) Two things have been happening in Bangladesh concurrently; one, Bangladesh has achieved a good number of modern educated citizen including women, second, Islamic education has spreaded in Bangladesh in a large scale. Those boys and girls achieved modern education, there education standard may not be up to the international level but they got into the present era of world. Besides, modern technology has made them more advance. The major sections of the modern educated people are liberal in thinking. They want a modern state; they believe in own inheritance based culture and want pluralisms in the all section of state and society. If anyone goes back in the history of the freedom struggle of Bangladesh, he will find the same beliefs.
Once Bangladesh was as a part of Pakistan, before that when it was under the British rule the majority people of the then East Bengal (now Bangladesh) casted their vote in favor of Pakistan. After achieving Pakistan, within short the people of East Bengal felt that, they are under in a cultural menace. In the name of Pakistan, the ruler class and a group of Islamic fundamentalists wanted to impose fundamentalism in their culture but traditionally the people of Bengal is never fundamentalist. Majority population is here Muslim, they have converted into different religions to Islam but they accommodated their heritage-based culture in their daily- lives. In this soil, there are many type of songs, music, dance and other festivals, they never give-up it in the name of religion. From the very beginning of this society, women are always free for all type of works and in decision-making position. Besides, it is a monolinguistic nation.
The ruler of the Pakistan wanted to impose Urdu language in place of Bengali language on the people of this country. On the other hand, the Islamic fundamentalists want to make the Pakistani nation as a religion base nation, not a nation on linguistic base. From the very beginning of this attempt, the people of East Bengal started to resist it. This resistance turned in to freedom struggle movement and within twenty-four years, East Bengal (the then East Pakistan) seceded from Pakistan and became Bangladesh by a bloody birth. As a free nation, people of Bangladesh got all the right to make everything for their own way but it has to admit that, the main aspect of the people was that, they got the right to save their culture and to make a nation on the base of their culture. The heritage of Bengal contains secularism and pluralism in the all section of the society. They want to make everything base on their tradition.
The people of Bengal got their country by the cost of immeasurable blood but they did not save the spirit of freedom rather they lost it before dried out the blood of the martyrs. Bangladesh became free in 1971 and it lost the spirit of freedom by the counter-revolution in 15 august 1975. Since the counter-revolution, the two military governments provided all the facilities to the fundamentalists for nursing Islamic fundamentalism in the society because they knew that the secularism and the pluralism or the traditional culture is the spirit of the Bangladesh so they occupied the power against it. So, they had nourished the Islamic fundamentalism against the heritage based culture. For nursing Islamic fundamentalism, they set up Islamic education institutions. Most of the Islamic countries of the Middle East and Pakistan helped the Military ruler in Bangladesh to set up Islamic education institute; and they are continuing it. These Islamic education institutes are the breeding ground of the fundamentalism of the politics and the society of Bangladesh. Last thirty-nine years they have produced huge number of people who have no idea about modern education, their belief do not fit with the present era. Besides, after the counter-revolution, two military rulers ruled the country and they lunched two political parties. However, two political parties show that they are moderate Muslim party but they run the politics on the way of radical Muslim fundamentalism. These two parties also helped the party named Jammat-E-Islami, which was against freedom struggle of Bangladesh. This party is totally a terrorist party. They have organized many Islamic terrorist groups in Bangladesh. So, Islamic fundamentalism has been cultivating in the politics of Bangladesh for last thirty-nine years. On the other hand, the Islamic education institutes have produced a huge number of boys who are not enlightened in present knowledge rather their belief lay in very old age so they always used by the fundamentalist. Besides, they are poor and due to their poor education, they do not get good job, so they have to pass their life with poverty. Therefore, the fundamentalist can use them by the money very easily.
However,in last twenty years Bangladesh has made a tremendous success in female education sector, Noble laureate Amarty Sen has written in his many write-ups and has told in his many lectures that, in South Asia, Bangladesh is in the top position in female education. Besides education, a huge number of female have come out from the home; they are working in the various sectors, and doing well. One of the main sources of the country’s GDP is garment sector; this sector depends on the women workers. They are not educated but they are modern in thinking, which has made them through work. One of the examples is that, Bengali New Year is a very secular and religion pluralism festival in Bangladesh. The fundamentalists never take it easily. They have tried to stop this festival in many ways. In Bangladesh a part of the media is run by the fundamentalists, their voice is always rough against it. Besides, they attacked by bomb and killed many people to make a panic or stop the festival. In spite of that, the participation of the garment workers is increasing every year in this festival. More than an half million-garment workers observe Bengali New Year by gathering on the road in the capital of the country with colorful dresses and in various festive moods like participate in singing, dancing, joining the rally and decorating their bodies with different type of Bengali traditional symbols. The modern educated youth also do it. Besides, another big secular and religion- pluralism base festival in Bangladesh is the 21 February, which is now recognized by the UN as the mother language day of the world. The modern educated youth and the common people also observe it like Bengali New Year. On the other hand, the fundamentalist are never in favor of it.
Bangladesh has been going through some changes for last four years. After the counter-revolution, the two military rulers changed the constitution of the country, they wiped out the spirit of the freedom struggle from the constitution and through the constitution they made Bangladesh as an Islamic fundamentalist country. One of the main changes in last four years in Bangladesh is that, the present parliament has changed the constitution and got return it more than ninety percent of the freedom struggle spirit. They have started the trial of the war criminals who committed the war crime in 1971 with the collaboration of Pakistan army. Besides, they have made policy for the women, which is helpful for the women to go forward. So, the present government has done some work in favor of secular and progressive force of Bangladesh. However, their big job is that, they have started the trial of the war criminals after 38 years; which was stopped by the military ruler Ziaur Rahaman in 1976. Now the trial of the war criminal is in the final stage. Two of them already awarded death sentence by the International Crime against the human right Tribunal (ICT) and one of them got the lifetime jail. The criminal who has gotten lifetime Jail by the ICT was a ferocious criminal in 1971. That is why after his verdict the youth and the general people come out on the road to protest it. This protest has made a history and started a new chapter in Bangladesh. It is a cultural revolution or a purification struggle of the society and the country. The goal of this struggle is that, the educated young generation wants to run the country and the society of Bangladesh in the spirit of freedom struggle of the country. They want to close the chapter, which was opened by the counter-revolution in 15 august 1975.
To stop this revolution all the anti liberation forces are now flexing their muscles. The government and the educated youth are resisting them but at a stage, they are now using the students of Islamic Education institutes and the person who are educated from these institutes. The anti liberation forces leaders are using them as another cultural rebel force. They could be successful to understand them that, if the modern forces win in the country their culture that they called Islamic culture will be ruin. So, now the two cultures are in a warfare.
However, in Bangladesh, mammoth majority is Muslim, they are pious, they practice all of their religious rules but they never set up religion in the place of culture. They believe in their own heritage culture that is Bengali Culture. At the time of Pakistan, the fundamentalist tried to impose religion in the place of culture but they failed to do it. Although they failed but the cost of the win was very high. Now the character of the struggle of Bangladesh is same so the country has to pay something to save their culture. However, it is true that they have not to pay that much what they pay in 1971 because now the government is with them and the educated young forces are strong, besides Bangladesh has achieved a huge number of educated women and a good number of working class women. These women forces know that, if religion takes place in the name of culture they will be arrested in the home, which is already declared by the Islamic Fundamentalists.
Swadesh Roy, Executive Editor, the Daily Janakantha,Dhaka, Bangladesh he can be reached at swadeshroy@gmail.com
( April 29, 2013, Dhaka, Sri Lanka Guardian) Two things have been happening in Bangladesh concurrently; one, Bangladesh has achieved a good number of modern educated citizen including women, second, Islamic education has spreaded in Bangladesh in a large scale. Those boys and girls achieved modern education, there education standard may not be up to the international level but they got into the present era of world. Besides, modern technology has made them more advance. The major sections of the modern educated people are liberal in thinking. They want a modern state; they believe in own inheritance based culture and want pluralisms in the all section of state and society. If anyone goes back in the history of the freedom struggle of Bangladesh, he will find the same beliefs.
Once Bangladesh was as a part of Pakistan, before that when it was under the British rule the majority people of the then East Bengal (now Bangladesh) casted their vote in favor of Pakistan. After achieving Pakistan, within short the people of East Bengal felt that, they are under in a cultural menace. In the name of Pakistan, the ruler class and a group of Islamic fundamentalists wanted to impose fundamentalism in their culture but traditionally the people of Bengal is never fundamentalist. Majority population is here Muslim, they have converted into different religions to Islam but they accommodated their heritage-based culture in their daily- lives. In this soil, there are many type of songs, music, dance and other festivals, they never give-up it in the name of religion. From the very beginning of this society, women are always free for all type of works and in decision-making position. Besides, it is a monolinguistic nation.
The ruler of the Pakistan wanted to impose Urdu language in place of Bengali language on the people of this country. On the other hand, the Islamic fundamentalists want to make the Pakistani nation as a religion base nation, not a nation on linguistic base. From the very beginning of this attempt, the people of East Bengal started to resist it. This resistance turned in to freedom struggle movement and within twenty-four years, East Bengal (the then East Pakistan) seceded from Pakistan and became Bangladesh by a bloody birth. As a free nation, people of Bangladesh got all the right to make everything for their own way but it has to admit that, the main aspect of the people was that, they got the right to save their culture and to make a nation on the base of their culture. The heritage of Bengal contains secularism and pluralism in the all section of the society. They want to make everything base on their tradition.
The people of Bengal got their country by the cost of immeasurable blood but they did not save the spirit of freedom rather they lost it before dried out the blood of the martyrs. Bangladesh became free in 1971 and it lost the spirit of freedom by the counter-revolution in 15 august 1975. Since the counter-revolution, the two military governments provided all the facilities to the fundamentalists for nursing Islamic fundamentalism in the society because they knew that the secularism and the pluralism or the traditional culture is the spirit of the Bangladesh so they occupied the power against it. So, they had nourished the Islamic fundamentalism against the heritage based culture. For nursing Islamic fundamentalism, they set up Islamic education institutions. Most of the Islamic countries of the Middle East and Pakistan helped the Military ruler in Bangladesh to set up Islamic education institute; and they are continuing it. These Islamic education institutes are the breeding ground of the fundamentalism of the politics and the society of Bangladesh. Last thirty-nine years they have produced huge number of people who have no idea about modern education, their belief do not fit with the present era. Besides, after the counter-revolution, two military rulers ruled the country and they lunched two political parties. However, two political parties show that they are moderate Muslim party but they run the politics on the way of radical Muslim fundamentalism. These two parties also helped the party named Jammat-E-Islami, which was against freedom struggle of Bangladesh. This party is totally a terrorist party. They have organized many Islamic terrorist groups in Bangladesh. So, Islamic fundamentalism has been cultivating in the politics of Bangladesh for last thirty-nine years. On the other hand, the Islamic education institutes have produced a huge number of boys who are not enlightened in present knowledge rather their belief lay in very old age so they always used by the fundamentalist. Besides, they are poor and due to their poor education, they do not get good job, so they have to pass their life with poverty. Therefore, the fundamentalist can use them by the money very easily.
However,in last twenty years Bangladesh has made a tremendous success in female education sector, Noble laureate Amarty Sen has written in his many write-ups and has told in his many lectures that, in South Asia, Bangladesh is in the top position in female education. Besides education, a huge number of female have come out from the home; they are working in the various sectors, and doing well. One of the main sources of the country’s GDP is garment sector; this sector depends on the women workers. They are not educated but they are modern in thinking, which has made them through work. One of the examples is that, Bengali New Year is a very secular and religion pluralism festival in Bangladesh. The fundamentalists never take it easily. They have tried to stop this festival in many ways. In Bangladesh a part of the media is run by the fundamentalists, their voice is always rough against it. Besides, they attacked by bomb and killed many people to make a panic or stop the festival. In spite of that, the participation of the garment workers is increasing every year in this festival. More than an half million-garment workers observe Bengali New Year by gathering on the road in the capital of the country with colorful dresses and in various festive moods like participate in singing, dancing, joining the rally and decorating their bodies with different type of Bengali traditional symbols. The modern educated youth also do it. Besides, another big secular and religion- pluralism base festival in Bangladesh is the 21 February, which is now recognized by the UN as the mother language day of the world. The modern educated youth and the common people also observe it like Bengali New Year. On the other hand, the fundamentalist are never in favor of it.
Bangladesh has been going through some changes for last four years. After the counter-revolution, the two military rulers changed the constitution of the country, they wiped out the spirit of the freedom struggle from the constitution and through the constitution they made Bangladesh as an Islamic fundamentalist country. One of the main changes in last four years in Bangladesh is that, the present parliament has changed the constitution and got return it more than ninety percent of the freedom struggle spirit. They have started the trial of the war criminals who committed the war crime in 1971 with the collaboration of Pakistan army. Besides, they have made policy for the women, which is helpful for the women to go forward. So, the present government has done some work in favor of secular and progressive force of Bangladesh. However, their big job is that, they have started the trial of the war criminals after 38 years; which was stopped by the military ruler Ziaur Rahaman in 1976. Now the trial of the war criminal is in the final stage. Two of them already awarded death sentence by the International Crime against the human right Tribunal (ICT) and one of them got the lifetime jail. The criminal who has gotten lifetime Jail by the ICT was a ferocious criminal in 1971. That is why after his verdict the youth and the general people come out on the road to protest it. This protest has made a history and started a new chapter in Bangladesh. It is a cultural revolution or a purification struggle of the society and the country. The goal of this struggle is that, the educated young generation wants to run the country and the society of Bangladesh in the spirit of freedom struggle of the country. They want to close the chapter, which was opened by the counter-revolution in 15 august 1975.
To stop this revolution all the anti liberation forces are now flexing their muscles. The government and the educated youth are resisting them but at a stage, they are now using the students of Islamic Education institutes and the person who are educated from these institutes. The anti liberation forces leaders are using them as another cultural rebel force. They could be successful to understand them that, if the modern forces win in the country their culture that they called Islamic culture will be ruin. So, now the two cultures are in a warfare.
However, in Bangladesh, mammoth majority is Muslim, they are pious, they practice all of their religious rules but they never set up religion in the place of culture. They believe in their own heritage culture that is Bengali Culture. At the time of Pakistan, the fundamentalist tried to impose religion in the place of culture but they failed to do it. Although they failed but the cost of the win was very high. Now the character of the struggle of Bangladesh is same so the country has to pay something to save their culture. However, it is true that they have not to pay that much what they pay in 1971 because now the government is with them and the educated young forces are strong, besides Bangladesh has achieved a huge number of educated women and a good number of working class women. These women forces know that, if religion takes place in the name of culture they will be arrested in the home, which is already declared by the Islamic Fundamentalists.
Swadesh Roy, Executive Editor, the Daily Janakantha,Dhaka, Bangladesh he can be reached at swadeshroy@gmail.com
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