Empire's Last Casualty

Bangladesh Anti-Hindu Pogrom: 1992

2011-09-01T13:27:00.000-07:00

Glani (The Disgrace) published by the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council documented the atrocities

Throughout the nation an anti-Hindu pogrom was unleashed for no reason at all. Scores of Hindu temples, ashrams, libraries, homes, shops and businesses were destroyed, desecrated, torched, and/or confiscated. A large number of girls and mothers were violated in Bhola Island in southern coastal area.

During this pogrom many cremation areas used by Hindus and Buddhists were destroyed preventing Hindus and Buddhists perform last rites.

Destruction of Jumala Prasad Smasan (cremation area) of Sylhet

The Thakurpara Smasan (cremation area) in eastern Comilla City and the adjoining memorial area was desecrated and partially destroyed.

Here is the memorial area after rebuilding (new-looking structures.) The memorial of the father of the idea of a linguistic Bangla nation parliamentarian Dhirendra Nath Datta was also destroyed.

Memorial to half a dozen aged, pacifist Hindu Gandhians killed by the Army of Islamic Republic of Pakistan and her Islamist allies at Gandhi Ashram, Noakhali District, was damaged.

Bangladesh Anti-Hindu Pogrom: 1990

2011-09-01T12:58:00.000-07:00

Remains of a family home in southeastern Bangladesh

From December of 1990 through January of 1991 there was a large-scale anti-Hindu pogrom in Bangladesh. These are just a few examples.

(Several videos were made during the pogrom and books published documenting the anti-Hindu pogrom.)

(1905 picture of Dhakeswari Mandir -- temple of Goddess of Dhaka

14th Century Dhakeswari Mandir temple was completely gutted, nut-mandir, puja pandal marquee, six Shiva temples were destroyed and/or torched and the old deity of the Goddess was desecrated, never to be found.

Aboy Ashram (of non-violence) in Comilla in eastern Bangladesh, before torching

Aboy Ashram (of non-violence) in Comilla in eastern Bangladesh, after torching

Deity of Mother Godess Durga Destroyed (pre-pogrom weeks, during a relatively tolerant time)

Remains of Aunt Mashi's home

Massacre of Dirt Poor Hindu Birajbala Debnath Family of 8 in Bangladesh

2011-09-01T12:31:00.000-07:00

Massacre of Dirt Poor Hindu oppressed-caste Birajbala Debnath Family of 8 in Muslim-majority -- nation of indigenous Hindus before conversion -- Bangladesh for not giving up their tiny homestead of many generations, free of charge, to a Muslim would-be occupier, and go to unknown (Hindu) India.

Source: Bengali Newspaper of Dhaka, Bangladesh

Debnath Family Memorial

On September 24, 1989 all the Bangladeshi papers printed a story which highlighted the plight of minority Hindu community in that Muslim majority land. The story is about a dirt-poor Hindu Mrs. Birajbala Debnath and her family of Nadirabad village of the Hsrishpur union, sort of parish, of Nasirnagar upazila or police station of Brahmanbaria district of eastern Bangladesh. Local Muslim thugs wanted to evict Mrs. Debnath’s family for India, so that they can take over her small ancestral homestead free of charge. No one pays for Hindu properties as Bangladesh still maintains a law called Enemy (renamed Vested) Property Act through which Hindu properties can be taken over free of charge, without notice by declaring them enemies of state. But Mrs. Debnath had no place to go. She held on to the family’s tiny ancestral land of many, many generations. The Bengali daily Sangbad of Dhaka wrote the following story as narrated by a Muslim boatman, Mr. Abdus Shahid:

Swargiya (In the Heavens) Shujan Chandra Debnath, Age 23 Months;
Abduction September 6, 1989; Recovery September 14, 1989

I had my boat docked at the Nadirabad village. It was in the middle of the night, around 1 am. All of a sudden I saw a group of 15 to 20 men force Birajbala and her five children (into my boat). They were scared to death. They could not even cry. Some had their clothes on, others didn’t. Kidnappers asked me to row the boat. I got scared too. The boat arrived at the destination Dhopajhuri Bill (riverbank). They had already brought drums (empty oil barrels), salt and lime. Killers unloaded them. All of a sudden I saw they were about to cut Mrs. Birajbala into pieces. Birajbala cried at the pitch of her voice. She was begging again and again by clutching the legs of the killers. Killers then cut her into pieces, and stuffed her into a drum. After that they cut into pieces the eldest daughter (Niyati, 17). From distance I watched the younger children (daughter Pranati, 13, and boys Shubhas 13, Shuman 7, and Shujohn 3 years old) were begging for their lives again and again; I can’t express that in words. Oh Allah! Why did you bring me here? I was feeling dizzy. The killers buried both the drums on the river bed and asked me to row the boat.
The drums were discovered accidentally few weeks later when the water level had risen in the river as a school headmaster’s boat collided with the drums which floated up from the riverbed. Mrs. Debnath may not have known that her husband was murdered two years before for the same reason and his body was dumped in a nearby village well that she never knew. The family was abducted on September 6, 1989, and tragically each individual was slaughtered, then cut to pieces, starting with the mother followed by the children older in age, so that they could fit into drums while the younger ones had to watch his horrendous savagery.

Body of Mr. Sasanka Debnath, Mrs. Birajbala’s husband, was never recovered. He was kidnapped earlier, and murdered for not migrating to India. This was the first warning to the poor Hindu families of the area.

Appeal to Bangladesh Prime Minister Wazed for Secular Constitution as Promised in her Election Manifesto

2011-08-25T13:55:00.000-07:00

Here is an appeal by the Indian Subcontinent Partition Documentation Project to Bangladesh Prime Minister Mrs. Hashina Wazed as she and her Awami League Party to bring back secular Constitution as promised in her winning election manifesto. This was written before adopting a Constitution Amendment in 2011.

Indian Subcontinent Partition Documentation Project Inc.: ISPaD
c/o Politics, Economics and Law Department, State University of New York, Old Westbury, NY 11568

February 21, 2011
The Honorable Sheikh Hashina Wazed
Prime Minister of Bangladesh
Government of People’s Republic of Bangladesh Old Sangsad BhabanTejgaon, Dhaka 1215, Bangladesh

Dear Prime Minister Wazed:

We are writing on this auspicious day of 21st February on behalf of well-wishers of Bangladesh living in the U.S. We understand that Bangladesh is planning to keep non-secular Constitution alive with “Islam as State Religion” and keeping an Islamic verse written in Arabic as the national symbol. We respectfully urge you to bring back the secular Constitution that all people of Bangladesh fought for. The proposal also betrays the election pledge made by the Awami League Party, and sacrifices made by language martyrs. This proposal, if adopted, will retain institutional discrimination against Hindu, Buddhist, and Christian minorities and against many secular Muslims making them third class citizens of a country for which they shed their blood. As you very well know that the vast majority killed by Pakistani Army and Bengali Razakars for the liberation of Bangladesh were Hindus, leaving aside Awami leaders and Muslim activists. We believe this effort to keep an unjust Constitution is the mirror image of the efforts made by some to deny the role of Sheikh Mujib in creating Bangladesh, but in this case the unjust Constitution denies the disproportionate sacrifice of one group for independence of the nation. We need the minorities to be equal partners in the development of the nation.
We are pleading to you, to the ruling Awami League and to the Parliament to reconsider the proposal and bring back the secular non-discriminatory Constitution of 1972 that the nation fought for. Please keep “Joi Bangla” in Bengali script as the national symbol. For some reason if you still plan to keep the Islamic verse in Arabic, we would like to suggest that please also include “Bhagaban Amader Desh O Dasher Mangal Karun,” in Bengali alphabet.
Yours Faithfully,

Dr. Sabyasachi Ghosh Dastidar, New York
Dr. Jiten Roy, New York
Mr. Ramen Nandi, New Jersey
Mr. Dilip Chakravorty, New York
Mr. Pratip Dasgupta, New York
Dr. Shefali Sengupta, New York
Dr. Rudtranath Talukdar, Texas
Mr. Ratan Barua, New York
Mr. Pabitra Chaudhuri, New York

Copy: President of Bangladesh; Speaker of the Parliament; Leader of Opposition; Law Minister; Human Rights groups; Minority Rights groups; News media; U.S. Congressmen Crowley and Pallone; USCIRF; Bangladesh Ambassadors in D.C. and U.N.

Woodrow Wilson Center's (U.S.) hosting of Dr. Sharmila Bose, Bangla Genocide Denalist

2011-08-25T13:23:00.000-07:00

On March 15, 2011 the eminent Woodrow Wilson Center of Washington D.C. hosted Dr. Sharmila Bose, a denialist of Bangladesh Genocide by the Army of Islamic Republic of Pakistan and by its Bengali- and Urdu-speaking Islamist killers. Their main target was the entire minority Hindu community, the pro-Independence Muslim leaders and the activists of Awami League party -- Muslim and non-Muslim. Bose also denied that there were rape and abuse of women, and asserted that Urdu-speaking people were victims, not Bengali -- Hindu or Muslim.

Here is a response to that by Dr. Sachi G. Dastidar to the Woodrow Wilson Center, their response, a few other comments to Woodrow Wilson:

Dear Dr. Hathaway:

Thank you for your response. I am sorry that I could not write to you sooner because of mid-terms, grading, Spring Break, and a conference. Because it is of one of the issues of utmost importance to me and because Woodrow Wilson Center is involved, I thought I would send you this note. You are welcome to share this with Dr. Bose and others. I have also taken liberty to share your earlier response with my colleagues and friends. Here’re a few issues Dr. Bose raised:
(A) The Casualty: As I mentioned to you in my letter I have been working at the grassroots level in Bangladesh and India for over 30 years, (and to work with 26 schools our foundation supports.) I have traveled to almost every district and sub district in Bangladesh, sometimes traveling by boat or on the back of motorbike. What got me interested in my last book project is that every Hindu and every Hindu-majority village told me stories of ethnic cleansing in 1971. Almost everyone was a first hand witness to Hindu killing by the Army of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and by its Bihari and Bengali Islamist Razakar killers. (Even Pakistan Government’s Hamoodur Commission asked if there was an order for ‘extermination of Hindus’ to which officers said, ‘No,’ of course. “He (Lt. Gen. A. A. K. Niazi) Denied the Allegation that he ever ordered his Subordinates to Exterminate the Hindu Minority” and “…915 men were just slain by a flick of one Officer’s fingers should suffice as an example….There were verbal instructions to eliminate Hindus.” See, March 27/28 1971 Massacre report at Comilla Cantonment.) All pro-secular Muslims and Awami activists were target, no doubt, but every Hindu, from peasant to professor, was targeted. As I did a reverse estimation of Hindu loss between 1961 Census and that of 1974, the loss was at least 6.3 million, which is higher when adjusted for Muslim loss. We Hindus do not just “vanish in thin air.” (From 1961-1974 rate of growth of Bangladeshi population was 38.35%, with Hindus constituting 18.5% of the population. In 1974 Hindu population came down to 13.5%; thus 6.3 million loss. Source, Bangladesh Census, as quoted in my Empire’s Last Casualty… book, p 43 and 51.) Many of the survivors have suggested to me that they won’t be surprised if the numbers of Hindus killed surpass three million. People have cited two difficulties in counting the dead, especially for Hindus. One is that they cremate their dead, and second, bodies dumped into the world’s largest delta were washed away. I heard of such dumping in Bhairab Bridge, in Barisal, Dhaka and from other places. Even after field work for 30 years, I am amazed to find new victims, not recorded in Bangladeshi documents, on a regular basis. (My Empire’s Last Casualty: Indian Subcontinent’s Vanishing Hindu and Other Minorities [Firma KLM Publishers, Calcutta, 2008] book is an attempt to document that loss, but from 1946 through 2001.) In 2008 when we opened a new building at Shahid Smriti (Martyr’s Memorial) Girl’s High School at SwarupKathi the local residents gave me a list of 136 Hindus, 42 from the school’s village, who were corralled and murdered by Pakistan Army and local killers: thus the name. The year before when I opened a girl’s dorm in Kochua in Khulna region I was invited by a young man whose father and two siblings were murdered. In Gandhi Ashram school of Noakhali that we support seven aged Gandhi associates were shot dead for being Hindu. In Prabartak Sangha Ashram of Chittagong 14 teachers, including one Muslim, were shot dead. The Comilla Boy’s Orphanage we support contains several memorials to Hindus murdered in 1971, including Parliamentarian Dhirendra Nath Datta and his son, who were dragged from home, tortured and killed by the Islamic Republic’s army, their bodies never found. (I have interviewed a granddaughter who was abused.) Madaripur Ashram School we support was destroyed along with the temple, student dorm and residences. Our Partition Documentation Center in New York is now recording narratives of refugees and survivors – from 1947 through the present. We are yet to find a Hindu whose family and home was neither attacked nor was there any loss in the family in 1971. It was essentially a Hindu genocide within a Bengali genocide (similar to WWII Europe and Rwanda.) The genocide began with attack on Dhaka University’s Hindu Jagannath Hall dorm by killing 64 Hindu students and teachers (see the on-site memorial tablet and NBC’s John Chancellor’s clip on YouTube); and by destroying the 9th Century Ramna Kali Temple, then mutilating and torching 100 Hindu devotees and priests (check the on-site memorial tablet). Recently we interviewed two Muslim brothers whose father Serajuddin Husain, Editor of Ittefaq, was dragged from home at 3 AM by Urdu-speaking gang but never to return. We are also recording narratives of Muslims who were victimized, or displaced from West Bengal. These are just a few examples. I can go on and on. (Unrelated to this I visited two dozen districts in Bangladesh during anti-Hindu pogroms in 1990 and 1992. Ambassador Milam was our ambassador then.)

My family and I have traveled to Pakistan, with our own funds, the last one being in 2007 to participate in the 150th Anniversary of War of Independence organized by Peshawar University. There were scholars from all of Pakistan’s universities and think tanks. Learning that both my parents and my in-laws were Hindu refugee, I found no hesitation on the part of scholars to condemn the atrocities perpetrated by their army in 1971. A few years ago a Pakistani immigrant pumping gas in my New York City neighborhood told me as a matter of fact that “as army men we were ordered to kill Hindus and Awamis.” I am not sure how can one miss such day-to-day experience and not seek justice.
• (2) Rape: Unless someone is completely oblivious to the Bengali and Indian culture one would know that estimating rape victim is very complex, and 250,000 victims could be an undercount as well as overestimate. Dr. Nilima Ibrahim in her books, Aami Birangana Bolchhi (I am the brave woman speaking, Jagriti Prakashani, Dhaka; 1998), tried to narrate rape victim’s story, but gave up after second volume when she was denigrated for bringing shame to the families. Even a liberated Hindu girl’s father in one of her stories asked the victim not to return home before he can protect other siblings. This is not new. After 1946 anti-Hindu pogrom in Noakhali when British Bengal’s Muslim League Premier was Mr. Suhrawardy thousands of girls and wives were abducted and converted. Yet when groups of women like Ashoka Gupta, Sucheta Kripalani, Sneharani Kanjilal and others went to recover the women, the British Administrator MacInerny said those were ‘love marriages.’ Mrs. Sucheta Kripalani – the future Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh – asked “please give me one concrete case of love affairs between the communities from 10th October to this day, after the riot….” The recovered girls Mr. MacInemy investigated were indeed abducted. (See P 62-63, Ashoka Gupta, Noakhalir Durjoger Diney [An Account of the Aftermath of Riot in Noakhali in 1946], Naya Udyog, Calcutta; 1999. Also see Taj Ul-Islam Hashmi, Pakistan as a Peasant Utopia: the Communalization of Class Politics in East Bengal, 1920-1947, Westview, Boulder; 1992). I interviewed Mrs. Gupta and Dr. Hashmi for my project. More recently in my own neighborhood in New York City three teenage girls were victimized. Once the criminal was apprehended and produced at the court two girls came to testify, whereas the third girl, a Hindu, left the area with her family leaving no forwarding address. During the 2001 pre-election violence and anti-Hindu pogrom in Bangladesh large-scale attack took place on minority Hindus, (and Awami supporters) including mass rape of Hindus in Bhola Island. We were asked to provide shelter to 21 recovered girls as our foundation helps many orphanages. Yet the suffering parents took their daughters back as words of their children’s new shelter leaked out. (I also informed our embassy in Dhaka as one of our schools came under attack in Barisal.) And just days ago on March 27, 2011, The New York Times highlighted the plight of educated rape victims in India as victim’s families choose not to bring charges against rapists for fear of family disgrace. The Dhaka (Hindu) Girls’ Orphanage (school) we support in Old Dhaka was completely gutted by Pakistan Army, and by their Bihari and Bengali Islamist supporters with whereabouts of the girls unknown. Why should lives of our daughters not matter?

• (C) Bihari: In my field work among Hindu refugees (1947-1964 period) in India stretching from Jabar Dakhal (forcibly occupied) colonies of West Bengal to settlements in Dandakaranya Forest almost every family ‘blamed’ attack on them in East Bengal/Pakistan first on the non-native Urdu-speaking Biharis. (See, Dakshina Ranjan Basu, Chhere Asa Gram [The villages we left behind]; First published in 1954, Jigansa, Calcutta; Bandyopadhyay, Hiranmoy, Udbastu [Refugee], Sahitya Sangsad, Calcutta; 1970; Prof. Prafulla Chakrabarti, The Marginal Men: The Refugees and the Left Political Syndrome in West Bengal, Lumiere Books, Calcutta; 1990; and more.) Ironically after Bangladesh was liberated many of them were sheltered by Marxists to prove their ‘secular’ credentials, although most of the Marxists were Bangladeshi-Hindu refugees who after partition chose not to live with their Muslim-majority and oppressed-caste Hindu neighbors. Yet after 1992 Hindu-Muslim rioting in Calcutta many of the Left politicians blamed Calcutta riots on Bangladeshi Biharis who were settled “without proper secular education,” as quoted in The Statesman, Calcutta (December 12, 1992). In 1995 when Laloo Prasad Yadav came to power in Bihar State of India by promoting Yadav-Muslim solidarity he too was blamed for giving voting papers to Bangladeshi-Biharis when many of their leaders were accused of atrocities against Hindus and secular Muslims. So some Bihari loss can be attributed to migration to India as well as to Pakistan, but no violence can be condoned.
Just based on these facts, I would urge Woodrow Wilson Center to push for prosecution of war criminals, otherwise, I am afraid, both Bangladesh and Pakistan, and even India, may become destabilized by these mass murderers.

Sorry for the length. If you need additional information, please let me know.
Sincerely,
Sachi G. Dastidar
_______________________________________

Dear Dr. Dastidar,

Thank you for this full and careful response. I commend you for your efforts in trying to bring to light what took place in East Pakistan/Bangladesh in those tragic months.

The Wilson Center seems to have provoked something of a firestorm by holding last month's event. If we have in some small measure contributed to a clearer explication of the events of 1971, then we will have fulfilled our purpose.

Thank you for taking the time to bring the facts before me.

With every good wish,
Robert Hathaway
________________________________________
From Dr. Amalendu Chatterjee of North Carolina:

Dear Dr. Hathaway,
You do not know me. I saw the exchange of emails among you, Prof Dastidar and Jamal Hasan. I thought if I can add some senses to all those controversies regarding Dr. Sarmila Bose. I am nether a historian nor a professor but I am a direct witness of the minority (Hindus and liberal Muslims) genocide in 1971. I was then a Pakistani Officer posted in Kaptai Hydro-electric dam in Chittagong Hill Tract. I am now a business owner in North Carolina. I never met Prof Dastidar or discuss the event in Bangladesh for the last 35 years we live in North America. I heard of Prof Dastidar’s work and frankly admire it for documenting every detail. I may have seen him during the 1960’s student movement in Dhaka. I was pursuing my Engineering Degree and he was in the Dhaka University. I could not dispute a single fact Prof. Dastidar presented in an e-mail to you. If I can add few more facts for your information:
1. I was Hindu Student body President in Dhaka Engineering College and had an opportunity to meet the then Governor Monayem Khan in 1966. In my brief discussion with him I knew fully well what went through his mindset. President G. W. Bush summarized it well in his autobiography ‘Pakistani leaders are obsessed with India’. Similar comment was made by Senator J. Helm who was the senate foreign relation committee chairman. The reason is simple - India is a Hindu majority state with democracy where Muslims (more than what is in Pakistan) live with their full democratic rights (multi-wives, no family planning – part of shariat law). On the other hand Pakistan is a loser and all Pakistani leaders would like to relate Bangladeshi Hindus with the good of India even having many discriminatory laws against Hindus such as enemy property act to capture Hindu lands.
2. As an officer we were not paid for months in 1971 and staying in Kaptai was getting difficult for junior officers like us. Some of us had to leave the place on foot with no money and no clothes. We were very worried for the family’s whereabouts along with it. We have seen dead bodies on road ways but could not stay together for social and financial reasons. I ended up in Barisal from Kaptai where I met many minority leaders and Muslim leaders. We had peaceful but worried life for several weeks and then started the Pakistani military operation with local Rajakars, and Nizami leaders. I have seen Miliatry would go village to village looking for Hindus with the pretence of talking of their security. All Hindus will gather in one place and the army will start shooting them randomly. I was in one such gathering but was smart enough to escape. The military never stayed in the rural area during nights. Rajakars will go to Hindu houses to loot all properties at night. We (muktibahinis) were trusted by many rich Hindu families (doctors, lawyers) with all their gold and cash money (it was in millions). We lost all of them and I had one set of clothing for months before I crossed to India in September/October. I had a beard of 2 feet and lost 25 lbs of weight when I became a refugee in India. On the way, we had many older people but many could not reach India due to torturous travel.
3. I was born Hindu but had to convert first to Christianity and then Islam to survive through the disaster and hide my identity. I know a very close family who could not take the torture of hiding converted to Islam and then had to give away his daughter to a Muslim boy. They were Banerjee family. There were many such events in front of me.
4. My work place in Kaptai was full of Bihari Muslims (engineer and mostly workers) and they could not tolerate a Hindu officer like me to be there. Only two to three Hindu officers of us were there out many hundreds. Yes, there were massacres and Kaptai dam is the witness when hundred of bodies were washed away by Bengali first and then by Biharis. The superintendent engineer of the dam was shot point blank with his colleagues by the military. He was dead on the spot. That was the story narrated to me by one of the survivors, Mr. Saleh. The daughter of the survivor, Ms. Taslima Ahmed, lives in North Carolina.
5. The face of radical Islam stopped briefly after liberation but resurfaced after the assassination of Mujibur Rahman and is still continuing even today – read the latest news what is happening after Dr. Yunus was removed by the Government and court gave the verdict in favor of government.
I can add more eye witness stories but will stop now. I have a serious reservation on Dr. Bose’s research and her views. She is using wrong data from one side. She may need to talk to people like us or visit places where there are proof of events that occurred.

Kindest Regards
Amalendu Chatterjee, PH.DVP-Technology

_________________________________________

Comments by Mr. Akbar Hussain of Toronto

Thanks to Dr.Chatterjee for a first hand account of the chilling acts took place during the Liberation war. The partition of India in 1947 in the name of Islam was a blunder. This reality is now being accepted by many former die-hard Pakistanis also. The infamous Two Nations theory of Mr. Jinnah has been proved as garbage by the events took place right after the creation of Pakistan. The struggle to establish Bangladesh as a secular state was seen as a direct threat to Pakistan because our intentions nullified the veracity of the Two Nations Theory. Since religion can’t be a basis for nationhood successive Pakistani governments, civil and military both used the boggy of Islam to sustain the state. This was a futile attempt and the consequences are right in front of us. The introduction of Islam in India did not bring the purported emancipation for the low caste Hindus who were converted. The mullahs had an agenda to create a section in the society who will be indoctrinated to decline the Indian ancestry.
This was a historical social crime committed by the jealous local Islamic clergy which led the Muslims take pride of a bandit like Sultan Mahmood of Ghuzni who invaded India 17 times to plunder our forefathers' wealth.
The events leading to the resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism in Bangladesh is a tragic one. The political notion of secularism and its implications as a state policy was never really understood by anyone in the political arena in Bangladesh. The intellectual depth required to fathom the meaning of secularism is not there in Bangladesh. Slogans do not make a society secular. Sheikh Mujib who was definitely a dedicated Bengali but did not have any intellectual ability to understand and implementation of secularism in the country.
He had great chances to do that but he joined the Organization of the Islamic countries which was a blunder. The role of Gen.Ziaur Rahman was a vicious chapter in the Bangladeshi political scene. He rehabilitated the defeated Islamic forces and Begum Zia played into the hands of the mullahs. I think it will take a few generations to establish a meaningful secular society in Bangladesh. As long as the Muslims are not free from the drag of a 7th century book and its so called heavenly sources the ideals of secularism will remain illusive.

Akbar Hussain
Toronto
_____________________________________________

Comments of Dr. Gouranga Saha of Lincoln University, U.S.A.

I am an another living victim & witness of the events of “Untold Miseries of Minority Lives during Pakistani and Bangladeshi Regimes after Bangabandhu’s assassination. I will soon send out my vivid witnesses of those shameful discriminations & tortures (both physical & psychological) to this blog.

Gouranga Saha, Ph.D.
Professor of Science & Technology Education

Hindu Tormentor Welcomed in Hindu India: General Ershad of Bangladesh

2009-12-24T18:48:00.000-08:00

General Husain Mohammad Ershad, Bangladeshi Dictator, former President who replaced secularism by making Islam the State Religion in Bangladesh, and who let two anti-Hindu pogroms is welcomed in Hindu-majority India's West Bengal (Paschim Bangla) State in December 2009. It is also said that Ershad expressed his regret that he couldn't bring Islamic Sharia Law to Bangladesh making the indigenous Hindu minority officially 4th class citizen.

Times of India
Ershad on nostalgia trip

Pinak Priya Bhattacharya, TNN 8 December 2009, 05:40am IST

DINHATA: Ailing and bed-ridden, Asit Chakraborty (79) couldn't recognise the face that stared at him at first. Then the man uttered three words "I am Peyara” and Chakraborty instantly knew who the man was. It had been 63 years since Chakraborty had last seen Peyara, the man the world knows as Hussain Muhammad Ershad, the former dictator of Bangladesh. The 79-year-old Ershad returned to his hometown in Cooch Behar's Dinhata to a rousing welcome from the locals. It isn't every day that a former president goes on a morning walk down the dusty streets of Dinhata. Ershad did so on Monday. Accompanied by his son Eric Ershad, he entered India through the border town of Changrabandha. Ershad spent around 30 minutes with Chakraborty, enquiring about his family and other friends who had stayed back in Dinhata. Born in Rangpur (now in Bangladesh), Ershad had studied in Dinhata, his hometown. He left for Rangpur in 1946 after completing his matriculation. Ershad's father left for Bangladesh in 1950. His five brothers remained in Dinhata and have stayed on at their ancestral house. The former president was all praise for India's role in the independence of Bangladesh. "Bangladesh can never repay Indiaâ€™s debt. Without the active cooperation of India, Bangladesh would never have gained independence. India has done a lot for Bangladesh's development and is still playing an important role. After all, India can never deny its responsibility towards its neighbour," Ershad said. Later in the evening, Ershad met two more friends â€” Bijor Roy and Sudhir Saha. Roy recalled that in his schooldays Ershad was a good footballer and played striker. The former president has been savouring local delicacies that includes Boroli, a fish found only in the north Bengal rivers and lasa, a locally grown vegetable which, Ershad claims was his favourite dish. Apart from the local bigwigs who have flocked to his residence next to Dinhata's Forward Bloc office, representatives from the Greater Cooch Behar People's Association "which has been demanding a separate state” met Ershad, seeking his support. The former president remained non-committal. The former Bangladesh president has something else on his mind for his hometown. Ershad wants a rail link between Kolkata and Dinhata, passing through Bangladesh. "I will raise this issue with the Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina and also Indian railway minister Mamata Banerjee," Ershad said. So happy is Ershad with his stay in Dinhata that he has already made up his mind to extend the nostalgia trip to December 10. Earlier, he was scheduled to leave on Tuesday.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Ershad-on-nostalgia-trip/articleshow/5312731.cms#

A letter to Times of India:

Dear Editor:

It is good to know that dictator General Ershad is enjoying a trip to “Hindu India.” Indians in general and Hindus in particular suffer from amnesia. Let us not forget that Ershad let loose two anti-Hindu pogroms in 1990 and 1992 when thousands of Hindu mandirs, ashrams, smasans, libraries and tens of thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed; mothers and daughters abused. During 1992 pogrom I visited at least half-a-dozen destroyed smasans from Chittagong to Sylhet. During 1990 pogrom I visited dozens of mandirs including the Dhakeswari Mandir torched and destroyed with the deity gone forever. No one was punished. Yet he imprisoned Major Deb for years for demanding reconstruction of the 9th Century Ramna Kali Mandir destroyed by Army of Islamic Republic of Pakistan and its Bengali Islamist allies for absolutely no reason. In 1987 I met his Land Minister Sunil Gupta to ascertain why 1.5 million acres of land, thousands of homes, ponds and businesses were confiscated from Hindus through Enemy Property Act by declaring Hindus enemies of the state. It is time that he apologizes to all Hindus and all Bangladeshis for his sin.

Dr. S. G. Dastidar

December 8, 2009

Calcutta : 300 : Kolkata - Memoirs of a Diverse City

2009-11-26T15:05:00.000-08:00

Calcutta : 300 : Kolkata

Memoirs of a Diverse City - Overseas Tribute to Calcutta on Her Tercentenary

Edited by

Sachi G. Dastidar

Published by

South Asia Forum, U.S.A.

October 16, 1992

ISBN 0-9634363-0-9

End

Bangladesh Muslim Cartoonist Gets Hard Labor

2009-11-26T06:18:00.000-08:00

Bangladesh: Muslim cartoonist gets hard labor for hurting religious feelings of Muslim community

http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2009/11/15/bangladesh-muslim-cartoonist-gets-hard-labor-for-hurting-religious-feelings-of-muslim-community/

Name (Naam) by Arifur Rahman

[Frame #1]

Man: Hey boy, What's your name?

Boy: My name is Babu

[Frame #2]

Man: Before your name you have to say Mohammad

[Frame #3]

Man: What's your father's name?

Boy: Mohammad Daddy

[Frame #4]

Man: What's that in your arm?

Boy: Mohammad Cat

AFP/Dhaka

A court in southwestern Bangladesh yesterday found a cartoonist guilty of “hurting the religious feelings of the Muslim community” and sentenced him to two months of hard labour,.
Arifur Rahman, 25, was tried in absence over the drawing, which sparked street clashes and riots in the capital Dhaka when it appeared in a satirical magazine two years ago. Rahman, who was arrested but later bailed, said that he was unaware of the trial. The cartoon appeared in Bengali newspaper Prothom Alo’s weekly and now defunct magazine Alpin. “He has been given a two-month, hard labour jail sentence and a 500-taka ($7.40) fine,” said magistrate Kaisarul Islam, who presided over the case in the city of Jessore. “I am not on the run and have not been told about the case,” Rahman said in Dhaka. “I will speak to my lawyers.” ~ end

An interview with Arifur Rahman at Cartoon News here.

The government confiscated all copies of the now-defunct satire magazine in which the cartoon was printed. Amid a protest by Islamic groups, Prothom Alo’s editor and publisher apologised for printing the cartoon, and fired the cartoonist.

On Feb 4, the High Court ruled Arif’s detention illegal and ordered his immediate release. He was freed on Mar 20 this year. The cartoonist’s arrest and detention also earned criticism from local and international rights groups. In January, human-rights watchdog Amnesty International demanded Arif’s release, terming him “a prisoner of conscience”.

In one of his cartoons published in Alpin (17th September, 2007 issue), an old man was asking the name of a child with a cat in his lap. The boy answered and was scolded for not putting Mohammad before his name, as he was Muslim. Then the man asked about the animal and the scared boy put the holy prophet’s name before the cat as suggested by the elder. Things turned bad the moment it hit the stands. The furious mullahs were on rampage and Arif was suddenly the enemy of the state! His story really starts from here:

So what was the idea behind the cartoon? Why did you draw it?

Well, i never thought this was going to be such a big issue. The joke I used is a common one in our locality, infact in that zone. I heard it when as a kid and even when I grew up. My idea was to highlight the faulty religious teachings by some of our elders where they advise to put the name of our holy Prophet before every name, when they should also clarify where it shouldn’t be used. What surprised me, I learnt after my release that the same joke was used in a publication of Islami Chatra Shibir name Kishorekantha (November, 1998 Issue).

Are you safe? Do you feel the JMB are done with you?That’s the thing still haunt me even in my dreams. I usually keep a low profile; never in anywhere have I introduced myself as Arif. But still I don’t feel safe; they can be anywhere and even kill me if they want. I don’t even work in the shop where I used to.

End

Ai Bangla, Oi Bangla (This Bengal, that Bengal)

2009-11-13T06:47:00.000-08:00

Ai Bangla, Oi Bangla (This Bengal, that Bengal)

a collection of short stories based on lilfe of monorities in Islamized Bengal

Dr. Sabyasachi Ghosh Dastidar

Published by:

Tulat Publilshers

13B Sree Krishna Lane, Calcutta 4, India

Publication Date: Mahalaya B.S. 1398; October 1991

Price: Rs. 50; $10 in the U.S.

Book review:

Desh: Ai Bangla, Oi Bangla : This Bengal, that Bengal

2009-11-13T06:35:00.000-08:00

Desh (Bengali Weekly), Calcutta, India

19 August 1989

Oi Bangla, Ai Bangla (This Bengal, that Bengal)

Sabyasachi Ghosh Dastidar

End

Unnatural Disaster: Pogroms have KIlled Hundreds of Bangladeshi Minorities

2009-11-13T06:20:00.000-08:00

Cultural Survival, 1992

Unnatural Disasters: Pogroms have Killed Hundreds of Bangladeshi Minorities; Millions more are Refugees in India

G. R. Chowdhury

End

A Aamar Desh: This is My Home

2009-11-13T06:06:00.000-08:00

A Aamar Desh (This is My Home)

a collection of 24 Bengali essays and short stories by

Dr. Sabyasachi Ghosh Dasstidar

on Bangladesh, West Bengal - India and the United States

Publisher:

Samiran Chowdhury

College Street Publishers (Private) Limited

13 Bankim Chantterjee Street,

Calcutta 700 073, West Bengal, India

January 1998 Calcutta Book Fair

Price: Rs. 40; $7 in the U.S.

A Hindu Monk’s Pilgrimage to Bajitpur, Bangladesh

2009-11-12T12:24:00.000-08:00

A Hindu Monk’s Pilgrimage to Bajitpur, Bangladesh
Swami Amarnathananda

I first visited Bajitpur in 1992 and my experience was not a pleasant one. At that time I was living in Delhi, India so I had to come to Kolkata by train and then to Bangaon border by road. Crossing the border between India and Bangladesh and then another long road journey to Bajitpur of Madaripur District (of former Faridpur District) of Bangladesh (former East Bengal, India) was troublesome. I accepted that journey as part of my spiritual practices and I said to myself that this will be it; I am not coming back here in this lifetime anymore.

Small Bajitpur village is the most important pilgrim center for us, for our monks, for our devotees and to all who love Bharat Sevashram Sangha. In meditation, in jap (japa), in religious discourses and in all other spiritual thoughts Bajitpur village come to our mind as part of all these practices. Because it is the holy birthplace of Acharya Swami Pranavanandaji Maharaj, it is the place of his tapasya and it is the place of the beginning of Bharat Sevashram Sangha monastic order and social work (meaning Order in Service of India-Mankind.) It is the place that gives us the divine touch of the presence of Acharya Sreemat Swami Pranavanandaji Maharaj.

After living for such a long period of time in the West, it is not an easy thought to visit Bajitpur in Bangladesh again, so I gave up the thought to visit there anymore. But recently Swami Subhranandaji was insisting that I must visit Bajitpur once again, he said that he will make sure that my journey will be a pleasant one and spiritually motivated.

According to our plan, I flew out of John F. Kennedy International airport in New York on Wednesday, February 4, 2009 by Emirates Airlines to Dubai. As I was waiting for my flight from Dubai to Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, I was surprised to see the huge number of people waiting to board the same flight. I realized that many people from Bangladesh work in the Middle-Eastern countries and were going back to visit their motherland. The unfortunate thing was after repeated announcement by the airline authority that all passengers has a booked seat and should board the flight quietly and orderly, nobody was ready to listen. As a result, you can imagine the unpleasant situation at the boarding gate. It was a very tiresome boarding for me.

I reached Zia International airport, Dhaka by evening and Swami Subhranandaji who already reached Dhaka from India was at the airport with Brahmachari Swapan Maharaj who was waiting to receive me. Our Meghna’s Barra JamaiBabu (eldest brother-in-law) Mr. Abinash Paul arranged a car to pick me up from the airport. At Dhaka, I was expecting a small airport and lots of hassle, but surprisingly, as soon as I landed at the airport I fell in love with Bangladesh. The airport was huge, clean and the officers and people were very friendly. Honestly speaking, I fell in love with Bangladesh immediately.

Arriving at Dhaka airport from Dubai

DHAKA

Dhaka is the national capital and the largest city of Bangladesh. Here you can find many universities, academies, intellectuals, writers, politicians, business people and it is also the place of origins of many movements. The city witnessed the presence of British, the Pakistanis, its own independence movements and the killings of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the creator of independent nation of Bangladesh. I was shocked to see the present-day Dhaka City. The city has beautiful high rise buildings, well maintained roads, new modern cars, beautiful apartment buildings and I also recognized mass use of mobile phones. Next day we all went to visit some important historical places in the city such as Dhaka University, Ramna (Kali Bari Temple) Maidan (green), Dhakeswari Durga Bari (Hindu temple), overcrowded book fairs, modern parliament house, famous Dhanmandi area and the house of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman where almost his entire family was killed.

Our Ashram in Bangladesh is known as “Shri Shri Pranab Math (Mott).” The office of Dhaka Pranab Math is situated in Tikatuli area. It is actually based at a portion of Dhaka Bholagiri Ashram. With many years of experiences and for some practical reason, I am sure that Swami Digvijoyanandaji who is the in-charge of our Dhaka Center thought it will be in the best interest of the Ashram to lease a place for our office there, and so he didn’t go ahead to purchase a property for our own in Dhaka city.

Entrance of Sri Sri Pranab Mott at Bajitpur

Maghi Purnima was on Monday, February 9th 2009, so without any delay we left for Bajitpur by road. Mr. Abinash Paul and his family very kindly arranged a mini van for us to travel. I must say that since the independence of Bangladesh, I could see that the country has improved tremendously. The transportation system, new roads and new bridges are delightful to look at and the people are very hospitable. This was a great opportunity for me to see the real Bangladesh. Its green rice field, many rivers and canals, mud houses, coconut, mango and kathahar trees, and peaceful village people made the country extremely beautiful. Over all, it was a joy listening to beautiful sweet Bengali languages. It was almost six hours of road journey from Dhaka to Bajitpur. On our way we had to cross the famous Padma River by ferry boat. And crossing the Padma River by ferry boat was a wonderful experience. We have heard so much of Padma River, its destructive nature, its huge size and its inseparable nature from Bangladesh country. It’s indeed a unique experience to be on the ferry boat on the Padma River.

Ferry Boat at Padma River

BAJITPUR

It is almost sixteen years since I first visited Bajitpur. Now I am finally at the gate of our Ashram. Nested in mango, jackfruit, supari and coconut trees and surrounded by a canal, Bajitpur village is one of the most beautiful villages in entire Bangladesh. Here is where Bharat Sevashram Sangha started in 1917. It is the birth place of Guru Maharaj and his mortal body is resting here too. In the Ashram compound and the entire village of Bajitpur you can feel the touch of that great saint. The dust on the roads of Bajitpur are sanctified with his holy foot print, the air of this village is purified by the touch of the divine body of Swami Pranavanandaji Maharaj and the sky up above is the witness of the many wonderful human leela of that great son of this soil.

On the occasion of Maghi Purnima, there were three days of celebration, and tens of thousands of people will be visiting this place. They will be attending puja, havan (fire worship) and partaking of maha prasadam (blessed food.) There were almost twenty five swamijees who came from India to attend this year’s festival. My heart was filled with joy to see them after one year. If I was not away from India, I wouldn’t understand the greatness of India and if I was not away from my brother monks, probably I wouldn’t understand how sweet and dear they are to me.

I did not go to Bajitpur Ashram this year just to attend the festival. I went there for my own spiritual purposes. It was a soul-searching mission for me. I went there to seek the blessings of Shri Shri Guru Maharaj and to be present where our divine Guru Maharaj spent many of his priceless years doing his own tapasya (silent meditation.) All those holy places inside the Ashram such as the Samadhi Bedi (mausoleum), Rajmancha, Pranab Kunda, Dhyana-gumpha (meditation cave), Havan Kund, Ashirvad Manch, Big Tin Chala, Bura-thakurani Sthan, Radha Krishna Mandir, Abhisek Mancha, Guru Maharaj Bishram Mandir, are there where you can feel the divinity of Guru Maharaj. Among all of these, at the Samadhi Bedi Guru Maharaj’s divine body is resting permanently is the most spiritually uplifted place in the entire Ashram compound. Just imagine, to whom we have been worshiping and praying daily, whose divine appearance we have been meditating upon daily and to whom we are offering all of our unuttered prayers, that Swami Pranavanandaji’s divine mortal body is resting right here in this temple of Bajitpur and in this Samadhi Bedi. To all of us monks, devotees and visitors, this is the most sacred place to sit quietly and pray.

Birth place of Sri Sri Guru Maharaj

Famous Tulsi Mancha at the birth place of Sri Sri Guru Maharaj

Then there is the parental home “Bhuiya-bari” of Guru Maharaj. This is the house where Acharya Swami Pranavanandaji Maharaj was born. That famous Tulsi Mancha (holy tulsi-plant pedestal), Chile Kotha (attic room) everything is still there and well maintained. One of the main activities of this three-day Maghi Purnima (full moon on the winter month of Magh) Festival is a religious procession in and around Bajitpur village. The procession usually stops at those places and houses where Guru Maharaj visited and also meeting village people. This was a good opportunity for me to see real Bajitpur village. The first day when we took part at the religious procession, we visited ‘Prince Edward High School’ where Guru Maharaj attended and we also visited Bajitpur Bazar where Guru Maharaj’s name is connected for subduing a bully on the way to Bazar. We also visited many houses and every home we visited people treated us with great affection. At one point Bajitpur was a Hindu-majority village, but the number of Hindus has declined rapidly. The bad side of this procession is that we had to cross couple of bridges made of bamboos. As you know we usually do not walk on bamboo bridges, as we were crossing one of these bridges, I fell down. People took the opportunity to make a joke, they said that “Bangladesh is standing but America fell down.” “America parchhe Bangladesh darraiya ache.” It was very difficult for me to accept that joke.

Second day of the festival was full of activities like Acharya-varon (head-teacher adoration), Abhisekam (installation), lectures, annakut (food grain offering) and arati at several places. On the third morning was the Ashirbad (blessing) ceremony, havan and in the afternoon there was full Dol Mahotsav (festival of colors). Thousands of people attended these three days of festival. They came from far and near to listen to the wonderful words of Guru Maharaj and at the end of the festivity each day they took prasadam (blessed food). Another attraction of Bajitpur Maghi Purnima festival is the mela or village fair. At the mela, people usually get an opportunity to buy many rare village productions. And there are big size rosgollas (syrup-dipped round cheese-balls) and many other essential items.

I observed there were lots of changes in our Bajitpur Ashram. When I first visited Bajitpur Ashram in 1992, apart from the mandir, there were some small houses made from hogla (tall) grasses. There were no proper sanitation and bathroom facilities. Now in 2009 there are almost 100 rooms with attach baths. The entire Ashram compound has concrete wall, a water pond and a beautiful flower and vegetable garden. Thanks to pujya Sreemat Swami Ramanandaji Maharaj, the vice president of the sangha, for his continuous efforts for this great improvement.

Bajitpur gave us the touch of Sri Sri Guru Maharaj. All Guru Maharaj’s children want to visit Bajitpur at least once in their life time to see where Guru Maharaj was born, where he did his tapasya, where the Sangha started and finally where his divine mortal body is resting. As I see the situation, with friendly Bangladesh government, it is easy for us to visit all these memorable places now and have darshan. With the divine blessings of Guru Maharaj, Bajitpur also give you sweet coconut water, fresh khejur rosh (date-palm juice) and famous Bajitpur patali (hard flat molasses bar).

I am with pujya pada sreemat Swami Ramanandaji
Maharaj the vice president of Bajitpur Ashram

MADARIPUR

Madaripur is one of the main cities in the former district of Faridpur. I heard that Madaripur became a district now. Madaripur Ashram was the second Ashram Guru Maharaj built. This Ashram has many memories of Guru Maharaj. The entire Ashram and surroundings is sanctified by the foot print of Guru Maharaj. Unfortunately, after partition of India, the Ashram deteriorated badly. When I came here in 1992 there was couple of sheds only made of bamboos and tin. But with strong determination, good fortune and hard work of our Swami Satyapriyanandaji Maharaj the entire Ashram is now changed to a very beautiful, clean and organized place. It has temple, monk quarter, student hostel and flower and vegetable garden, all these made the Ashram very divine.

In front of Madiripur Ashram, Bangladesh

SREERAMKATHI, BARISAL

We all heard of the huge ‘Kandari’ boat of Guru Maharaj and his preaching mission in the interior villages. Bangladesh is full of rivers and canals. With low lands and lots of rainfall, these rivers and canals overflow with water. Road connections were almost impossible in many villages. Guru Maharaj made a huge boat and named it ‘Kandari’ (leader). He and hundreds of monks used to go from village to village on preaching mission with Kandari boat reaching out to the people all over the country.

Swami Gitatmananda of SriRamKathi Ashram is another dynamic and intelligent monk. He is a visionary too. To reach out to the villagers, he designed a boat with a temple, space to sit down and pray, his living quarter, preaching library, sound system and cooking facilities. In this way he dose not depend on anyone and he could go freely into the deep interior villages for his preaching mission of rural Bengal.

With some devotees, Swami Gitatmananda brought this ‘Kandri’ boat to attend Maghi Purnima festival in Bajitpur. Plan was made that we the Swamijees will travel with this boat to SriRamKathi so that we can feel the touch of real Bangladesh. In this way we can experience how Guru Maharaj used to travel and crossed so many rivers, canals and villages while he was on his preaching mission to many places.

Accordingly, almost eleven of us monks with some devotees started our journey by the ‘Kandari’ boat on the river Kumar. Guru Maharaj travelled this river Kumar many times, so there were lots of memories of Guru Maharaj here. We were all very happy with this Kandari boat journey. It was altogether eight hours of journey by river. On our way we crossed many villages and green farmlands. What we saw at the two sides of the rivers was amazing and it will stay in our memory forever. What shocked me the most is that there are always religious tension between the Hindus and Muslims, but when we saw these simple village people and their families, we did not feel that way at all poor. They were very loving and caring people and were curious to know who we are, because they have not seen so many holy men at one place in a very long time. There were many bamboo bridges across the Kumar River and the adults and children walked on these bridges with no difficulties. I often wondered how difficult life must be for them.

People crossing bamboo bridge over Kumar River

We reached near SriRamKathi Ashram in Pirojpur (former Barisal) district by evening. To our surprise, there were lots of people waiting for us by the canal side where our boat will dock. It was a touching moment to see the school children waiting for us with their band and music. SriRamKathi Ashram is one of the most beautiful ashrams you can imagine. It consists of a mandir (temple), rooms for monks and guests, and a beautiful primary school for the village children. The Ashram is surrounded by devoted neighbors. There are lots of mango, supari and coconut trees and rivers around. It gives the Ashram a serene and divine environment. I need to mention here that the main assets of this Ashram are the dedicated devotees. The way they treated us with unconditional love, respect and gave us what little they have, it is indeed incomparable. Under the leadership of our dedicated Swamiji and the dedicated devotees, one day, surely our SriRamKathi Ashram will be a pride of the organization.

KHULNA

On February 12, 2009 we started in the afternoon for our journey to Khulna by road. We were about thirteen people in our group. We rented two mini vans for this trip, which usually takes about six hours to reach Khulna. On our way we again passed through the villages which were full of coconut and supari trees. Bangladesh changed tremendously since it gained independence. The government built many beautiful bridges and highways. The highways are built in such a way that it made traveling by road very easy. To reach Khulna Ashram we had to cross Bhairav River by ferry.

Khulna Ashram played a very important role at the beginning stage of Bharat Sevashram Sangha. This Ashram produced many famous monks of the organization and Swami Pranavanandaji Maharaj himself visited this Ashram many times. It has a long history and endless memories of the divine leela of Guru Maharaj. Swami Suddhatmananda, the present Swamiji in-charge, is a young intelligent and vibrant monk. He is trying his utmost to preserve and protect this Ashram. The Ashram is situated at the bank of the Bhairav River. It has a serene environment and is a very beautiful place for tapasya. Khulna main city is at the other side of the river. If you stand on the roof of our Ashram and look at the other side of Khulna city, it will remind you so much of famous KashiDham (Varanasi). I know that KashiDham is the heart of Hinduism and a prominent pilgrim center in India. On the other hand, Khulna is a commercial city in Bangladesh, but it has its own beauty. Unfortunately, we could not spend a long time in Khulna Ashram as our plan was to go to Noagoan. Myself, Swami Subhranandaji and few devotees from Jamshedpur left for Noagoan next morning. Swami Suddhatmananda, the monk-in-charge of Khulna Ashram accompanied us to Khulna railway station. But before we get to the railway station, we had to cross the Bhairav River once again by boat. When we reached Khulna the night before it was dark, but now it was morning, very sunny and bright. We were able to see the real beauty of the Bhairav River. It is really similar to KashiDham (Varanasi), except, there are many commercial big boats waiting to carry passengers and goods to other cities of Bangladesh. It is a very busy commercial area.

We are in the boat crossing Bhairav River, Khulna

NAOGAON

We left for Naogaon by Rupsa express train. Swami Subhranandaji was kind enough to book a first class AC chair car seat for me. I must say, after the British left in 1947, there is hardly any improvement in the entire railway system. Road transportation system improved rapidly, but there is hardly any investment in the railway system. Though, many people like me think railway journey is much safer and pleasant. It was almost eight hour journey from Khulna to Naogaon. In-fact, train do not go directly to Naogaon, it stops at a distant station. Swami Digvijoyanandaji Maharaj, the monk-in-charge of Dhaka and Naogaon Ashram arranged to pick us up from the railway station. Swami Digvijoyanandaji is a dynamic leader and an eloquent speaker in Bangladesh. People, especially youth, look up to him as a source of inspiration and for good spiritual guidance. He travelled frequently in and around Bangladesh speaking on the glories of Hinduism. Naogaon Ashram is one of the largest ashrams we have in Bangladesh. It has a hostel to accommodate collage students, then there are guest house, mandir and monks quarter. I heard that Naogaon collge is one of the prominent colleges in Bangladesh. And I also heard that the Hindu and Muslim communities live in harmony and peace for a long time here, even though in other cities there are sometimes religious tensions. In the evening, there was a public gathering, so we were asked to speak for few minutes.

Naogaon Ashram, Bangladesh

Next morning Swami Digvijoyanandaji took me to meet some of the prominent devotes of the Ashram in the city. Swamiji and the devotees were not happy that we left Naogaon so early. But because of limited time, we had to leave for Dhaka by bus. Swapan Maharaj who was always with us came to Naogaon and joined us for our trip to Dhaka. We booked our tickets for Shyamali bus service. I must say that long route bus services are very good in Bangladesh. The highways are up to standard and you have beautiful bridges across Meghna, Yamuna and other rivers. On our way from Naogaon to Dhaka, we crossed one of the longest and most beautiful bridges in the world. We passed through famous Tangil district of which Tangil saris are very much liked by sari lovers. We passed many villages and besides the road I noticed many new garment factories. There were huge number of men and women working in those factories. Most of the productions from those factories are exported to many countries around the world.

CHITTAGONG

Dhaka-Chittagong is one of the very popular bus routes in Bangladesh. Since the country has built bridges on almost all major rivers, journey by road became very easy. Many private companies also introduced luxury bus services. There are also Dhaka-Chittagong rail services, private taxies and if one wishes they can fly also. We decided to travel by bus and accordingly we booked our tickets on Shyamali Paribahan Bus sevice. Chittagong is one of the largest cities in Bangladesh and naturally it is one of the busiest bus routes in the entire country. Chittagong port is one of the prominent seaports in Asia.

On our way, we passed Feny, Comilla, and other towns and we noticed many modern facilities around the road side. This time before I left for Bangladesh, I requested Mr. Jai Prakash Biswas of New Jersey, USA, if he can help me to see Chittagong properly since he came from that city. Accordingly, Mr. Biswas spoke to his brother Dr. Sri Prakash Biswas who is a well known eye specialist in the city, so they arranged everything for us. Mrs. Biswas is also a doctor at a local hospital.

It took us six hours from Dhaka to reach Chittagong. We reached very late, but Dr. Biswas waited for us at his clinic. He received us at the bus stand and we became his guest for three days. Dr. Biswas already planned a detailed tour program for us. He also requested Mr. Basudev Saha, a prominent resident of Chittagong as well as a business man of the city to accompany us and guide us so that we can see everything in and around Chittagong. The Biswas family gave lots of donations to many charitable and religious organizations. The entire family is well known in the city for their charitable work. Dr. Biswas arranged a car for us to travel and also arranged our lunch with few well known organizations.

We first visited Seeta Kund, Chandranath Shiva Mandir, Swayambhu Shiva and Sankar Math. I think among all Hindu holy places in Bangladesh, Chandranath Shiva Mandir is the most famous pilgrim center. It is situated on top of a mountain and to reach there you have to climb many stairs in the mountain. As a matter of fact, the entire Seeta Kund is full of Mandirs, Ashrams and other religious places. Among all the Ashrams here, Sankar Math is one of the most beautiful Ashram. It is situated on top of the mountain and has all kinds of facilities including accommodations for guests. Basudev babu was with us always and he is a very social and friendly person. Most of the people know him and loved him very much. All the organizations we visited, they knew Basudev babu and Dr. Biswas family very well. According to the arrangement Dr. Biswas made, we took our lunch that day at Sankar Math. I learned that at the time of Shiva Ratri almost 200,000 people gather at the Seeta Kund area. It is a very serene and peaceful environment here, and an area where you can be spiritually uplifted. Understanding that it will be difficult for me to climb the high mountain, Basudev babu took me to the other side and we drove through the Botanical garden and all the way to the closest parking place near Chandranath Shiva temple. We climbed almost 50 stairs to reach the temple.

After visiting some of the prominent places of Seeta kund, we went to see Chittagong seaport. Because of the presence of the seaport, Chittagong is not only a large city in Bangladesh, but one of the richest city in the country. Chittagong seaport is very huge and we saw innumerable ships docking here and there. We took a short walk on the seashore, the massive waves were trying to reach us. It was indeed a joyous experience.

Chittagong is well known for its participation of the independent movement to free mother India from the British rule. Among all freedom fighter here, Masterda Surya Sen and his seazer of weapon storage of British is very famous. Basudev babu took us to some of the places where his name was related.

It was an entire day tour, so we were a little bit tired. But our tour continued and while hearing the many past and present stories of Bangladesh from Basudev babu, we reached Kalbalyadham. Kalbalyadham is one of the most famous pilgrim center for all who love Sri Sri Ram thakur and his divine teachings. It is a huge compound and it has many divine memories related to the divine leela of that great saint. This place was vandalized many times whenever tension grew for many reasons in the country. We also met the president of the entire organization. He was very busy answering many letters, but he was kind enough to spend some time with us and offered prasadam.

I am in front of the Chandranath Shiva Mandir situated on top of a mountain, Chittagong

According to the plan of Dr. Biswas, on the second day of our tour we left to see the famous Medha Rishi ashram. It was a long journey, it took almost four hours by road to reach there and the roads were very bad. But the delightful company of Basudev babu and all the information he was giving us made our journey pleasant. We were all happy when we reached at the foot of the mountain. We began to climb well constructed stairs to reach at the top of the Ashram. While we were climbing, we were listening to the past and present history of this place.

Hindus all over the world worship mother Durga as the most regarded Goddess. But Bengali people has a different place in their heart for ma Durga. Durga Puja is the national festival of Bengal and Chandi Path is the very essential part of Durga Puja. Medha Rishi and his Ashram are the center point of Durga Puja and Chandi Path. I had no idea that Medha Rishi Ashram is situated at Chattal mountain of Chittagong. Before I left U.S.A. Mr. Jai Prakash Biswas shared this information with me.

A king and a business man were kicked out of their Kingdom and home by their own people. Even though they were thrown out of their home mercilessly by their own people, they constantly thought of them. They wondered what could be the reason for them to think for those people who were so cruel to them. While they were wandering in the jungle and mountain area, they noticed an Ashram nearby, and a saint performing puja to some Devi. The King and the Businessman entered the Ashram and bow to the saint and asked him if he can tell them why they were still attached to these cruel people who threw them out of their home and Kingdom. The saint replied, it is maya, it is the illusive power of maha maya Durga. The saint described the origins of the Devi, her abode and the divine actions of the Goddess. He also taught them how to worship her. According to the instructions of the saint, the king and businessman made a murti of ma Durga from mud and they began to worship her. Finally, one day the mother appeared in front of them and fulfilled their desire. The King wanted bukti or bhoga. He wanted to re-capture his lost Kingdom and in his next birth he wanted a Kingdom of unchallenged. The businessman wanted mukti, completely annihilation of material desires and continuous bhakti. The mother fulfilled both of their desires.

The saint was none other than the famous Medhas rishi of Saptasati Chandi and the king and businessman were famous King Surath and Samadhi Baisya. It is the place of origin of modern Durga puja into our society and this present Ashram compound where we are standing here today is that ancient place of Medhas rishi. This Ashram is situated on top of the mountain and we had to walk up many stairs to reach on top. The first thing we saw was a beautiful shed called ‘nut mandir’ and at one corner was a memorial statue of the late Mr. Biswas, the noble father of Mr. Jai Prakash and Dr. Sri Prakash Biswas. He donated a large sum of money to re-construct the ‘nut mandir’ and the entire Ashram compound after it was destroyed by the enemy army at the time of 1971 war.

We then entered the main lovely Ma Durga mandir, Shiva mandir and some other mandirs situated at the top of the mountain. While we were walking on the path of these mountains, my mind went back to history of Durga Puja and Medhas rishi Ashram. Many Hindus probably don’t know of this important holy place. While myself and our friendly guide and mentor Basudev babu were exchanging our thoughts, it was time for us to take maha prasadam. Dr. Biswas has already called the people at the Ashram and made arrangement for our prasadam.

From Medhas rishi Ashram, we drove about three hours through villages to reach Aaochia-gram. There we reached at the main gate of a most beautiful temple, we then noticed lots of people waiting at the gate with flowers and garlands in hand to receive us. Many important people of the village were also waiting to meet us. There were beautiful murtis of Mother Kali, Radha Krishna, Shiva Lingam and other Gods and Goddesses in the temple. After few minutes of prayers, we sat down in a room upstairs and discussed many aspects of the temple, future for Hindus in Bangladesh, Hinduism around the world and many other things. After distributing prashad to everyone, I expressed a desire to come here once again and read seven days of Bhagavat Maha Puran Katha.

From Mandir we went to visit Jhuma’s father-in-laws ancestral home. Juma is one of my God daughter presently living in Atlantic City, U.S.A. We spent some time with the remaining family members of Juma and quench our thurst by drinking real Bangladeshi coconut water. It was late and it was time for us to go back to Dr. Biswas home. Later that evening we went to meet all of Juma’s family at their residence in Chittagong city. We spent some time with them and then returned to Dr. Biswas residence. Dr. Biswas and Mrs. Biswas were still waiting for us, we sat down togetherly for a while and discussed a little about Bharat Sevashram Sangha. Dr. Biswas told us about his active involvement with the Lions club and he mentioned that through the Lions club they are doing many social welfare services for the local people.

On the third day of our tour in Chittagong, we started our journey by visiting local Krishna mandir and then we went to Chatteswari Devi Mandir. As Kalighat is famous in Kolkata, as Dhakeswrai Durgabari is famous in Dhaka, similary Chatteswari temple is famous in Chittagong. After that we went to visit Pravartak Krishna mandir, Krishnananda Math and local Kali temple. After a long drive through many villages, we reached the birth place of Annada Thakur, the founder of Adya Peeth Dham in Kolkata, India. Local Maharaj was waiting for us. It was a serene and peaceful environment. The organization has built three temples there, among them one is dedicated to Adya Ma. We also saw the hostels they built for boys and with the financial help of Mr. Jai Prakash and Dr. Sri Prakash family, they built a charitable dispensary inside the Ashram compound. Here we felt the real village environment of Bangladesh. We took Adya Mata maha prasadam there and then took leave to visit Baba Loknath mission.

Adya Ma Mandir at the birth place of Sri, Sri Annada Thakur

It was another long journey from Adyapeeth to Baba Loknath mission. Many people says that Northern India is the place of sadhus and sanyasis, but honestly speaking it is true that Haridwar, Rishikesh and Uttarkashi are loved by the holy men, but Bangladesh is also gifted with holy men: Swami Pranavanandaji, Ramthukur, Baba Loknath, Anandamayi Mata, Annada Thakur, Sadhu Nag Mahasaya, Swami Swarupananda Paramhansa and many other famous saints were born in Bangladesh/East Bengal. These are the names of Hindu saints, surly there are many Muslim pirs and fhakirs who are spiritually enlightened, were born in Bangladesh too.

An entire group of young vibrant people were waiting at the gate of Baba Loknath mission to receive us. I am sure Dr. Biswas and Basudev babu informed them before. Thought came to mind, an organization which has such vibrant volunteers and followers will surely grow rapidly. As we entered the campus, my thought came to reality. The organization is very huge, it has a beautiful Loknath Mandir, Shiva Mandir, prayer hall and a huge building for hospital and school. Here also with the help of Dr. Biswas family, the hospital is under construction. After visiting every corner of the Ashram, we attended a reception ceremony which was organized to honor the guests. They also presented us a beautiful plaque describing our visit to Loknath mission in Chittagong.

On the same night we had railway reservation to travel back to Dhaka. We came back to Dr. Biswas home and took dinner together. We were only three of us traveling, but Dr. Biswas booked all four sleepers in coup compartment, so that nobody can bother us. Dr. Sri Prakash Biswas, Mrs. Biswas, BasudevBabu and some other people accompanied us to the railway station to see us off.

We reached Dhaka next morning. We then attended a family program at the home of Mr. Abinash Paul, the Bara JamaiBabu (older brother-in-law) of our Meghna. Meghna’s three sisters live in Dhaka, so Meghna called her Bara JamaBabu and informed them of our visit to Dhaka. With the help of our Meghna and her entire family in Dhaka, we were able to visit some important places in Dhaka city. We also visited our Uma’s sister Seema’s home in Dhanmandi area. Seema’s husband took us to see the famous Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s house in the area again. The bullet mark’s painful picture of Bangabandhu was at the stairs, it was very pathetic. It looked like a rain of bullets went into his body before he died. We also saw many bullet holes in the wall of the house.

It was time for us to leave Bangladesh and go to Kolkata to attend Shiva-Ratri festival. It would have been impossible for me to travel around Bangladesh without the help of Swami Subhranandaji, Swami Digvijoyanandaji, Swapan Maharaj, swamijis of Bajitpur, Madaripur, Sreeramkathi/Barisal, Khulna and in Chittagong Mr. Jaiprakash Biswas, Dr. Sri Prakash Biswas and his family, Mr. Basudev Saha, Meghna’s family in Dhaka, Mr. Abinash Paul and Uma’s family. My sincere gratitude to all of these wonderful souls.

In conclusion, I have a request for the present Bangladesh government and the people of Bangladesh nation. Our physical appearance are same, we speak same Bengali language in both parts of Bengal, our food habits are also the same, and it is true we pray in different ways, but that cannot or should not make a barrier between us. Let us together live in peace and harmony. Let us respect each other’s culture and let us make this land a more peaceful place to live for our future generations. Let everyone enjoy the great Bangladesh, the gift of God.

See: Pushpanjali, journal of Bharat Sevasram Sangha of North America, New Jersey; September 2009

End

The Saudi-isation of Pakistan

2009-10-27T07:10:00.000-07:00

The Saudi-isation of Pakistan:

A stern, unyielding version of Islam is replacing the kinder, gentler Islam of the Sufis in Pakistan.

By Pervez Hoodbhoy

http://www.newsline.com.pk/NewsJan2009/cover2jan2009.htm

The common belief in Pakistan is that Islamic radicalism is a problem only in FATA, and that madrassas are the only institutions serving as jihad factories. This is a serious misconception. Extremism is breeding at a ferocious rate in public and private schools within Pakistan’s towns and cities. Left unchallenged, this education will produce a generation incapable of co-existing with anyone except strictly their own kind. The mindset it creates may eventually lead to Pakistan’s demise as a nation state.

For 20 years or more, a few of us have been desperately sending out SOS messages, warning of terrible times to come. In fact, I am surprised at how rapidly these dire predictions have come true.

A full-scale war is being fought in FATA, Swat and other “wild” areas of Pakistan, resulting in thousands of deaths. It is only a matter of time before this fighting shifts to Peshawar and Islamabad (which has already been a witness to the Lal Masjid episode) and engulfs Lahore and Karachi as well. The suicide bomber and the masked abductor have crippled Pakistan’s urban life and shattered its national economy.

Soldiers, policemen, factory and hospital workers, mourners at funerals and ordinary people praying in mosques have all been reduced to globs of flesh and fragments of bones. But, perhaps paradoxically, in spite of the fact that the dead bodies and shattered lives are almost all Muslim ones, few Pakistanis speak out against these atrocities. Nor do they approve of the army operation against the cruel perpetrators of these acts because they believe that they are Islamic warriors fighting for Islam and against American occupation. Political leaders like Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan have no words of solace for those who have suffered at the hands of Islamic extremists. Their tears are reserved exclusively for the victims of Predator drones, even if they are those who committed grave crimes against their own people. Terrorism, by definition, is an act only the Americans can commit.

What explains Pakistan’s collective masochism? To understand this, one needs to study the drastic social and cultural transformations that have rendered this country so completely different from what it was in earlier times.

For three decades, deep tectonic forces have been silently tearing Pakistan away from the Indian subcontinent and driving it towards the Arabian peninsula. This continental drift is not physical but cultural, driven by a belief that Pakistan must exchange its South Asian identity for an Arab-Muslim one. Grain by grain, the desert sands of Saudi Arabia are replacing the rich soil that had nurtured a magnificent Muslim culture in India for a thousand years. This culture produced Mughul architecture, the Taj Mahal, the poetry of Asadullah Khan Ghalib, and much more. Now a stern, unyielding version of Islam (Wahhabism) is replacing the kinder, gentler Islam of the Sufis and saints who had walked on this land for hundreds of years.

This change is by design. Twenty-five years ago, the Pakistani state used Islam as an instrument of state policy. Prayers in government departments were deemed compulsory, floggings were carried out publicly, punishments were meted out to those who did not fast in Ramadan, selection for academic posts in universities required that the candidate demonstrate a knowledge of Islamic teachings and jihad was declared essential for every Muslim. Today, government intervention is no longer needed because of a spontaneous groundswell of Islamic zeal. The notion of an Islamic state – still in an amorphous and diffused form – is more popular now than ever before as people look desperately for miracles to rescue a failing state.

Villages have changed drastically; this transformation has been driven, in part, by Pakistani workers returning from Arab countries. Many village mosques are now giant madrassas that propagate hard-line Salafi and Deobandi beliefs through oversized loudspeakers. They are bitterly opposed to Barelvis, Shias and other sects, who they do not regard as Muslims. The Punjabis, who were far more liberal towards women than the Pukhtuns, are now beginning to take a line resembling that of the Taliban. Hanafi law has begun to prevail over tradition and civil law, as is evident from the recent decisions of the Lahore High Court.

In Pakistan’s lower-middle and middle classes lurks a grim and humourless Saudi-inspired revivalist movement that frowns on any and every expression of joy and pleasure. Lacking any positive connection to culture and knowledge, it seeks to eliminate “corruption” by regulating cultural life and seizing control of the education system.

“Classical music is on its last legs in Pakistan; the sarangi and vichitraveena are completely dead,” laments Mohammad Shehzad, a music aficionado. Indeed, teaching music in public universities is violently opposed by students of the Islami Jamaat-e-Talaba at Punjab University. So the university has been forced to hold its music classes elsewhere. Religious fundamentalists consider music haram or un-Islamic. Kathak dancing, once popular with the Muslim elite of India, has few teachers left. Pakistan produces no feature films of any consequence. Nevertheless, the Pakistani elite, disconnected from the rest of the population, live their lives in comfort through their vicarious proximity to the West. Alcoholism is a chronic problem of the super rich of Lahore – a curious irony for this deeply religious country.

Islamisation of the state and the polity was supposed to have been in the interest of the ruling class – a classic strategy for preserving it from the wrath of the working class. But the amazing success of the state is turning out to be its own undoing. Today, it is under attack from religious militants, and rival Islamic groups battle each other with heavy weapons. Ironically, the same army – whose men were recruited under the banner of jihad, and which saw itself as the fighting arm of Islam – today stands accused of betrayal and is almost daily targeted by Islamist suicide bombers.

Pakistan’s self-inflicted suffering comes from an education system that, like Saudi Arabia’s system, provides an ideological foundation for violence and future jihadists. It demands that Islam be understood as a complete code of life, and creates in the mind of a school-going child a sense of siege and embattlement by stressing that Islam is under threat everywhere.

On the previous page, the reader can view the government-approved curriculum. This is the basic road map for transmitting values and knowledge to the young. By an act of parliament passed in 1976, all government and private schools (except for O-level schools) are required to follow this curriculum. It was prepared by the curriculum wing of the federal ministry of education, government of Pakistan. It sounds like a blueprint for a religious fascist state.
Alongside are scanned pictures from an illustrated primer for the Urdu alphabet. The masthead states that it has been prepared by Iqra Publishers, Rawalpindi, along “Islamic lines.” Although not an officially approved textbook, it is being used currently by some regular schools, as well as madrassas associated with the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), an Islamic political party that had allied itself with General Musharraf. These picture scans have been taken from a child’s book, hence the scribbles.

The world of the Pakistani schoolchild remained largely unchanged, even after September 11, 2001, the event that led to Pakistan’s timely desertion of the Taliban and the slackening of the Kashmir jihad. Indeed, for all his hypocritical talk of “enlightened moderation,” General Musharraf’s educational curriculum was far from enlightening. It was a slightly toned down version of the curriculum that existed under Nawaz Sharif which, in turn, was identical to that under Benazir Bhutto who had inherited it from General Zia-ul-Haq. Fearful of taking on the powerful religious forces, every incumbent government has refused to take a position on the curriculum and thus quietly allowed young minds to be moulded by fanatics. What may happen a generation later has always been a secondary issue for a government challenged on so many fronts.

The promotion of militarism in Pakistan’s so-called “secular” public schools, colleges and universities had a profound effect upon young minds. Militant jihad became part of the culture on college and university campuses. Armed groups flourished, they invited students for jihad in Kashmir and Afghanistan, set up offices throughout the country, collected funds at Friday prayers and declared a war which knew no borders. Pre-9/11, my university was ablaze with posters inviting students to participate in the Kashmir jihad. Post-2001, this ceased to be done openly.

Still, the primary vehicle for Saudi-ising Pakistan’s education has been the madrassa. In earlier times, these had turned out the occasional Islamic scholar, using a curriculum that essentially dates back to the 11th century, with only minor subsequent revisions. But their principal function had been to produce imams and muezzins for mosques, and those who eked out an existence as ‘maulvi sahibs’ teaching children to read the Quran.

The Afghan jihad changed everything. During the war against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, madrassas provided the US-Saudi-Pakistani alliance the cannon fodder they needed to fight a holy war. The Americans and Saudis, helped by a more-than-willing General Zia, funded new madrassas across the length and breadth of Pakistan. A detailed picture of the current situation is not available. But according to the national education census, which the ministry of education released in 2006, Punjab has 5,459 madrassas followed by the NWFP with 2,843; Sindh has 1,935; the Federally Administrated Northern Areas (FANA), 1,193; Balochistan, 769; Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), 586; the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA), 135; and the Islamabad capital territory, 77. The ministry estimates that 1.5 million students are acquiring religious education in the 13,000 madrassas.

These figures appear to be way off the mark. Commonly quoted figures range between 18,000 and 22,000 madrassas. The number of students could be correspondingly larger. The free boarding and lodging plus provision of books to the students, is a key part of their appeal. Additionally, parents across the country desire that their children be “disciplined” and given a thorough Islamic education. The madrassas serve this purpose, too, exceedingly well.

Madrassas have deeply impacted the urban environment. Until a few years ago, Islamabad was a quiet, orderly, modern city different from the rest of Pakistan. Also, it had largely been the abode of Pakistan’s elite and foreign diplomats. But the rapid transformation of its demography brought with it hundreds of mosques with multi-barrelled audio-cannons mounted on minarets, as well as scores of madrassas illegally constructed in what used to be public parks and green areas. Now, tens of thousands of their students, sporting little prayer caps, dutifully chant the Quran all day. In the evenings they swarm the city, making women minus the hijab increasingly nervous.

Total segregation of the sexes is a central goal of the Islamists, the consequences of which have been catastrophic. For example, on April 9, 2006, 21 women and eight children were crushed to death and scores injured in a stampede inside a three-storey madrassa in Karachi, where a large number of women were attending a weekly congregation. Male rescuers, who arrived in ambulances, were prevented from moving the injured women to hospitals.

One cannot dismiss this incident as being just one of a kind. In fact, soon after the October 2005 earthquake, as I walked through the destroyed city of Balakot, a student of the Frontier Medical College described to me how he and his male colleagues were stopped by religious elders from digging out injured girl students from under the rubble of their school building. This action was similar to that of Saudi Arabia’s ubiquitous religious ‘mutaween’ (police) who, in March 2002, had stopped school girls from leaving a blazing building because they were not wearing their abayas – a long robe worn in Saudi Arabia. In a rare departure from the norm, Saudi newspapers had blamed and criticised the mutaween for letting 15 girls burn to death.

The Saudi-isation of a once-vibrant Pakistani culture continues at a relentless pace. The drive to segregate is now also being found among educated women. Vigorous proselytisers carrying this message, such as Mrs Farhat Hashmi, have been catapulted to the heights of fame and fortune. Their success is evident. Two decades back, the fully veiled student was a rarity on Pakistani university and college campuses. The abaya was an unknown word in Urdu. Today, some shops across the country specialise in abayas. At colleges and universities across Pakistan, the female student is seeking the anonymity of the burqa. And in some parts of the country she seems to outnumber her sisters who still “dare” to show their faces.

I have observed the veil profoundly affect habits and attitudes. Many of my veiled female students have largely become silent note-takers, are increasingly timid and seem less inclined to ask questions or take part in discussions. They lack the confidence of a young university student.

While social conservatism does not necessarily lead to violent extremism, it does shorten the distance. The socially conservative are more easily convinced that Muslims are being demonised by the rest of the world. The real problem, they say, is the plight of the Palestinians, the decadent and discriminatory West, the Jews, the Christians, the Hindus, the Kashmir issue, the Bush doctrine – the list runs on. They vehemently deny that those committing terrorist acts are Muslims, and if presented with incontrovertible evidence, say it is a mere reaction to oppression.

The immediate future does not appear hopeful: increasing numbers of mullahs are creating cults around themselves and seizing control of the minds of worshippers. In the tribal areas, a string of new Islamist leaders have suddenly emerged: Baitullah Mehsud, Maulana Fazlullah and Mangal Bagh. Poverty, deprivation, lack of justice and extreme differences of wealth provide the perfect environment for these demagogues to recruit people to their cause. Their gruesome acts of terror are still being perceived by large numbers of Pakistanis merely as a war against imperialist America. This could not be further from the truth.

In the long term, we will have to see how the larger political battle works out between those Pakistanis who want an Islamic theocratic state and those who want a modern Islamic republic. It may yet be possible to roll back those Islamist laws and institutions that have corroded Pakistani society for over 30 years and to defeat its hate-driven holy warriors. There is no chance of instant success; perhaps things may have to get worse before they get better. But, in the long term, I am convinced that the forces of irrationality will cancel themselves out because they act at random whereas reason pulls only in one direction. History leads us to believe that reason will triumph over unreason, and the evolution of the humans into a higher and better species will continue. Using ways that we cannot currently anticipate, they will somehow overcome their primal impulses of territoriality, tribalism, religiosity and nationalism. But, for now, this must be just a matter of faith.

The author teaches physics at Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.

DhirendraNath Datta: The Father of the Idea of Bangladesh

2009-10-06T15:18:00.000-07:00

Children of Comilla Ramakrisha Orphanage Playing in front of Rebuilt Desecrated and Destroyed Memorial of the Father of the Idea of Bangladesh DhirendraNath Datta. Other Rebuilt Memorials are of Hindus and Buddhists going back to Centuries. The adjacent Cremation Ground was aslo Destroyed during Anti-Hindu Pogrom.

DhirendraNath Datta: The Father of the Idea of Bangladesh

Sabyasachi Ghosh Dastidar

While visiting his memorial at the smasan (cremation ground) in Thakurpara of Comilla City, behind the Ramakrishna Ashram Orphanage that our Probini Foundation of New York supports (http://www.probini.org/,) it reminded me again of amnesia that we Bengalis suffer from.[1] Sri DhirendraNath Datta, a Hindu, was the first to propose in Pakistan Parliament in 1948 for Bengali to be made a national language, and that love of language eventually created Bangladesh. With that speech unknowingly DattaBabu became the Father of the Idea of the Bengali nation that the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman made that dream a reality. Datta and his son were dragged by the Army of Islamic Republic from their Comilla home. Their remains were never found. Yet his home and homestead were confiscated, without compensation and notice, through Enemy Property Act in free Bangladesh, comparable to declaring George Washington’s homestead as ‘enemy property’ in the newly independent United States. Let us see what he spoke at Pakistan Parliament.

Speech by Mr. DhirendraNath Datta, Member of Pakistan National Assembly,
Held at Karachi, Sind Province of West Pakistan, On February 25, 1948
Seeking Bengali to be a National Language of Pakistan[2]
(This is contained in Pakistan Gazetteer, February 25, 1948)

Note: At the time of birth of Pakistan in 1947 her territory included East Bengal, then called East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, and four West Pakistan provinces: Baluchistan, Northwest Frontier Province, Punjab and Sind. East Bengal then contained 55% of Pakistani population.

Mr. Datta, a Hindu of Comilla, introduced an amendment to a discussion to include Bengali as a language for debate in the National Assembly. Discussion followed that motion.

Mr. DhirendraNath Datta (East Bengal: General)
Mr. President, Sir, I move: “That in sub-rule 29, after the word ‘English’ in line 2, the words ‘or Bengalee’ be inserted.”
May I move the other notion as that can be considered together because that relates to the same rule?
Mr. President: I think you take them separately and not together. You may take item No.2 on the agenda — your first amendment.
Mr. DhirendraNath Datta: May I speak, Sir?
Mr. President: Yes, speak.
Sir, in moving this — the notion that stands in my name — I can assure the House that I do so not in a spirit of narrow Provincialism, but, Sir, in the spirit that this motion receives the fullest consideration at the hands of the members. I know, Sir, that Bengalee is a provincial language, but, so far our state is concerned, it is the language of the majority of the people of the state. So although it is a provincial language, but as it is a language of the majority of the people of the state and it stands on a different footing therefore. Out of six crores and ninety lakhs of people (69,000,000) inhabiting this State, 4 crore and 40 lakhs of people (44,000,000) speak the Bengalee language. So, Sir, what should be the State language of the state? The State language of the state should be the language which is used by the majority of the people of the State, and for that, Sir, I consider that Bengalee language is a lingua franca of our State. It may be contended with a certain amount of force that even in our sister dominion the provincial language has not got the status of a lingua franca because in her sister dominion of India the proceedings of the constituent Assembly is conducted in Hindustani, Hindi or Urdu or English. It is not conducted in the Bengalee language but so far as the Bengalee is concerned out of 30 crores of people (300,000,000) inhabiting that sister dominion two and half crores (25,000,000) speak Bengalee language. Hindustani, Hindi or Urdu has been given an honoured place in the sister dominion because the majority of the people of the Indian Dominion speak that language. So we are to consider that in our state it is found that the majority of the people of the state do speak the Bengalee language then Bengalee should have an honoured place even in the Central Government.

I know, Sir, I voice the sentiments of the vast millions of our State. In the meantime I want to let the House know the feelings of the vastest millions of our State. Even, Sir, in the Eastern Pakistan where the people numbering four crores and forty lakhs speak the Bengalee language the common man even if he goes to a Post Office and wants to have a money order form finds that the money order is printed in Urdu language and is not printed in Bengalee language or it is printed in English. A poor cultivator, who has got his son, Sir, as a student in Dhaka University and who wants to send money to him, goes to a village Post Office and he asks for a money order, finds that money order form printed in Urdu language. He can not send the money order but shall have to rush to a distant town and have the money order form translated for him and then the money order, Sir, that is necessary for that boy can be sent. The poor cultivator, Sir, sells a certain plot of land or a poor cultivator purchases a plot of land and goes to the Stamp vendor and pays him money but cannot say whether he has received the value of the money in Stamps. The value of the Stamp, Sir, is written not in Bengalee but is written in Urdu and English. But he cannot say, Sir, whether he has got the real value of the Stamp. These are the difficulties experienced by the Common man of our State. The language of the State should be such which can be understood by the common man of the State. The common man of the State numbering four crores and forty millions find that the proceedings of this Assembly which is their mother of parliaments in being conducted in a language, Sir, which is unknown to them. Then, Sir, English has got an honoured place, Sir, in Rule 29. I know, Sir, English has got an honoured place because of the International Character.

But, Sir, if English can have an honoured place in Rule 29 that the proceedings of the Assembly should be conducted in Urdu or English why Bengalee, which is spoken by four crores forty lakhs of people should not have an honoured place, Sir, in Rule 29 of the procedure Rules. So, Sir, I know I am voicing the sentiments of the vast millions of our State and therefore Bengalee should not be treated as a Provincial Language. It should be treated as the language of the State. And therefore, Sir, I suggest that after the word ‘English,’ the word ‘Bengalee’ be inserted in Rule 29. I do not want to detain the House but I wish that the Members present here should give a consideration to the sentiments of the vast millions of over State, Sir, and should accept the amendment that has been moved by me.

Mr. President: I may read out the amendment again as some Members might not have it.
Amendment moved: “that in sub-rule (1) of Rule 29, after the word ‘English’ in line 2, the words ‘or Bengalee’ be inserted.”

I have had many conversations with DattaBabu’s granddaughter Srimati Aroma Datta in Bangladesh and in New York about her struggle to save the memory of her grandfather and her uncle. It may not be out of place to mention how the person who can be considered as the Father of the Idea of Bangladesh was treated by his nation. Mr. DhirendraNath Datta, a Hindu, was a Member of Parliament in the first Pakistan Assembly after Pakistan was created in 1947, as mentioned in previous paragraph. Mr. Datta chose to live in his Muslim-majority homeland after partition instead of migrating to Hindu-majority partitioned India. Most of the atheist and secularist Bengali Hindus of Congress Party and Communist Party chose to migrate to India abandoning their Muslim-majority homeland of their ancestors. Actually Datta returned back to his Comilla homeland from western Bengal that became part of India. On February 25, 1948 he was the first to propose in Pakistan Parliament then held in Karachi in southern Pakistan, that Bengali be given the status of national language of Pakistan as majority of Pakistanis spoke that language as mentioned earlier. Although the idea was rejected by the Parliament, attempts to establish Bengali as the official language would lead to eventual independence of the Bengalis. In 1971, an elderly Datta at age 87 was arrested by the Pakistan Army for being Hindu and accused him of supporting Bangladesh’s independence. Datta was dragged along with his teenage son Dilip from their home in Comilla in front of his daughter-in-law Pratiti Debi and grandkids Aroma and Rahul. Datta and his son Dilip were both murdered by the Army of Islamic Republic after gruesome torture. Their body bodies were never found, and no one was prosecuted for that cold-blooded murder, and for the targeted attack on rest of the family.[3] Yet, in the newly liberated secular Bangladesh, his homestead and rest of the property were confiscated through Enemy Property Act, a law that allows confiscation of (only indigenous) Hindu property by declaring Hindus as ‘enemies of state.’ A man who produced the idea of Bangladesh and gave his life for independence of the nation was made ‘enemy of the state’ for being Hindu! In American context it will be comparable to declaring George Washington homestead as ‘enemy property.’ One of his young granddaughters, Aroma, seeing this injustice promised herself to fight the unjust law. In 2000 a publication house she is associated with, PRIP, published a historic book: An Inquiry into Causes and Consequences of Deprivation of Hindu Minorities in Bangladesh through the Vested Property Act. Bangladesh Government had earlier changed the name from ‘Enemy’ to ‘Vested’ keeping rest of the law as before. The book was edited by Professor Abul Barkat, a Muslim of Dhaka University Economics Department, at considerable personal risk, while co-edited by Shafique uz Zaman, Azizur Rahman, Avijit Poddar and Subhas SenGupta. Zaman and Rahman are Muslim, while Poddar and SenGupta are Hindu. Sensing her imminent arrest for publishing the book, Ms. Aroma Datta had to bring a court injunction on December 24, 2002 preventing her arrest. Her research found that in the 1990s through this Act “2 million acres of land, property and other resources (tens of thousands of homes, shops, businesses, ponds, and the likes — author) were confiscated.….. The total loss of assets by Hindus ….would be Taka 1,505,204 million which equals to 88 percent of current GDP of Bangladesh” the book highlights.

Mr. Dhiren Dutta holds a special place in the hearts of pro-tolerant Bangladeshis. One of many tributes paid to that missing man was S. M. Ali, a Muslim, the founder-editor of The Daily Star, a Dhaka daily on May 21, 1993 and again on November 2, 2003.[4]

Sadly during the 1992 anti-Hindu pogrom in Bangladesh his memorial was vandalized and desecrated along with scores of other Hindu memorials – some dating back centuries – for no reason other than being indigenous Hindu of the land.

Let us hope as the nation prepares for the trial of war criminals that no stone remain unturned to catch the criminals who murdered DattaBabu, The Father of the Nation Mujibur Rahman, and 3 million brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, neighbors and friends of our towns and villages. In his memory let us hope that we can build an institute devoted to preserve the indigenous cultures, an academic institution and/or a human rights center.

[1] Sabyasachi Ghosh Dastidar “bangalir amnesia – smritilop byadhir protikar darker” in Ai Bangla Oi Bangla, Tulat Publishers, Calcutta, 1991; 86-91
[2] Sachi G. Dastidar, “Appendix F” in Empire’s Last Casualty: Indian Subcontinent’s Vanishing Hindu and Other Minorities, Frima KLM, Kolkata, 2008; 296-298; quoted from Pakistan Parliament Gazetteer.
[3] Pratiti Debi, ‘Jaydikey takai shey deekei beebhishikar chinho’ (Wherever we look we find signs of horror), Prachi, Puja journal of Bangladesh Hindu Mandir, New York, October 2003; 35-37. Her article mentions attack on Hindus and pro-independence Muslim leaders on the first days of Hindu and secularist Awami League Party members’ extermination campaign by Pakistan Army
[4] Op cit, Empires Last… 169-171

See Stuti 2009: New York Puja Udjapan Parishad, New York, USA

---------------------------------

Respected:

I very much like the article on “Dhirendra Natha Datta: The Father of Begali Nationhood and Bangladesh." I was in tears. I am very grateful to you for establishing the original history, but the history has been diverted towards a wrong direction, and intentionally has been distorted, which pains me very much. The entire Nation should remain grateful to “Shaheed (Martyr) Dhirendra Nath Datta,” but hardly they remember him, neither recognize his contribution, instead systematically erasing his contribution from history. Anyhow, Sachi Da, I am very grateful to you for acknowledging Dhirendra Nath Datta’s contribution in creating Bangladesh. My pronam and love to you and Boudi. I will be looking forward to hear from you at your convenience. With warm regards.

Sincerely yours,

Aroma Dutta

October 11, 2009

...................

Sent: Saturday, October 24, 2009 7:37 PM

Dear:

Very belated Bijoya greetings - pronam neben!

But, it was heartening to learn about Probini's effort to restore Mr. Dutta's memorial.regards,

Prithviraj

................................

Sent: Sunday, October 25, 2009 5:37 AM

Dear:

Thank you sir. This is nice and I have a collection of copy of his whole speech.

Ananta

..................................

Sent: Sunday, October 25, 2009 1:12 PM

Dear:

Thanks, it was enlightening to read.

aninditagd

........................

Sent: Monday, October 26, 2009 3:22 AM

Dear:

Thank you very much for sending the great D. Dutta's speech in the parliament. I will send it to all my friends.

Sincerely,

Khorshed

................

Sent: Monday, October 26, 2009 10:57 AM
FW: DhirendraNath Datta

Dear:

Thank you for writing such an historic article honoring our Dadu and his eventual casualty.

Best wishes,

Mrinal C

---------------

October 27, 2009

Dear Dr. Sabyasachi Ghosh Dastidar:

Please allow me to extend my hearty thanks and gratitude for your Article in memory of the most respected late Dhirendra Nath Datta. It is a great opportunity for me to pay my respect and honor to this great undisputed leader of the then Pakistan (East Pakistan) now Bangladesh. Through you, I send my respect and heartfelt prayers to the family members of Late Dhirendra Nath Datta especially his grandson and granddaughter, Aroma. I feel for them this social injustice and non-recognition, and inhuman land grabbing of his homestead and hold property.

Undoubtedly, Dhirendra Nath Datta is the “Adi-Pita / Father” like the ancient Biblical Father “Abraham” of the Jews, the Christians and the Muslims. Mr. Datta was only the member of the Parliament who raised the voice, argued, and proposed for amendment as Bangla one of the state language of Pakistan.

He was sharp, devoted and keen parliamentarian, and he even caught the playing type recorder which was by passing, and he requested to play the type recorder. He is the symbolic secular leader for the then Pakistan, now Bangladesh. Due to him, the Minorities of Bangladesh have raised their head as their symbolic leader, and the minority leader of Bangladesh are not basically nimok haram, alBadar, Munafek or Be-iman. He is proud of us and our new generation has to respect him.

It is my personal view that we have a great responsibility to put him in the right place of our history. Since after Partition of India, and subsequently, Bangladesh, the minority communities of Bangladesh have been segregated and treated as the second or the third class citizens. It seems to me that a little change of mind is being signaled into the minds in place of Arabic way of approach. As a humanitarian worker you are doing your best which is a great effort for humanity.

Thank you for your valuable efforts and works.

Sincerely,

Michael B. Malo

Colonization of Non-Muslim Indigenous Tribal Land

2009-10-06T13:22:00.000-07:00

Bangladesh Chittagong Hill Tracts Indigenous Non-Muslim Tribal Area

Deputy Commission of Bandarban issued unlawful letter to Headmen

On 23 September 2009 Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Bandarban district Mr. Mizanur Rahman issued a letter to all Headmen of Bohmong circle ordering not to issue any land deed to any person without permission from him. Issuance of this letter is contradictory to the rights of indigenous Jumma peoples in CHT. He also threatened that Headman would be removed from his headmanship if any Headman handed over such deed.

It is mentionable that according to Chittagong Hill Tracts Regulation of 1990, Headmen of CHT region have the rights to give settlement of 0.30 acre of land to any mouza resident and accordingly to issue land deed to him.
It is also worth mentioning that the land lands under the jurisdiction of mouza are regarded as common property of mouza residents. The common lands are those which belong to the indigenous community with shared rights of access. The indigenous people have right to these lands and its resources, by virtue of their common ownership of these areas, and traditional economic activities such as fishing, hunting and gathering are carried out in these areas. Jum lands fall within this category, as do the lands used for orchards, grazing and for growing sun grass (used to make thatched roofs). The forests are also included within this category of mouza commons, and are the common property pf the indigenous community with equal rights of access, use and extraction.
However, Deputy Commissioner of Bandarban issued this letter violating the rights of indigenous Jumma peoples and rights & responsibilities of Headmen. He one-sidedly claimed these lands as state-owned. He also indiscriminately alleged against the Headmen to have involved with corruption.
DC also issued a letter to Mr. Loyal Devid Bawm, a member of CHT Regional Council to stop construction of building for tribal museum at Shita Pahar (Chimbuk-Thanchi road) of Pantala mouza under Ruma upazila in Bandarban district. He claimed that construction of building on government land without permission is illegal. However, Mr. Bawm got permission/ recommendation from Mr. Lumlai Mro, Headman of Pantala mouza & local Jumma villagers and accordingly applied for registration for this land.
Local residents believed that DC of Bandarban district starts these activities when the possibility of functioning of land commission for resolution of land disputes in CHT is seen.

Please find the two letters of DC of Bandarban district.

-- Kapaeeng Foundation House # 13/14, Babar Road, Block # B, Mohammadpur, Dhaka-1207E-mail: kapaeeng.watch@gmail.com, kapaeeng.foundation@micico.ch
October 04, 2009

End

Hindu Minority Right Declining in Bangladesh even in Secularist Rule

2009-10-06T13:11:00.000-07:00

RSC ANJAN/DrikNEWS
October 2-8, 2009

The right to religion

by Khamin

Khamin writes about the dwindling rights and freedoms of the minority Hindu population of the country, from the failure of secularism to prevail in its true essence

Like any other day, Rikta Devi arrives at the Dhakeshwary Mandir – perceived as the most symbolic and significant Hindu temples in the country – with her two young daughters. However, the zest and enthusiasm with which she usually approaches her religious rituals seem to have waned considerably in recent times, especially when she recalls the vile sexual harassment her daughters are routinely subjected by loafers, en route to the temple. The particular issue has turned into something of a commonplace as many Hindu women attest to walking, with their heads held low, past such distasteful taunts which seemingly condemn them for their religious affiliations, especially during the time of Durga puja. Even as the ceremonial rites are being performed at temples, there have been instances where insults and abuse have been hurled at Hindus from fanatics which have even resulted in bloody fights. There have also been conflicts of interest in terms of religious practices, especially in areas where mosques and temples stand in close proximity. ‘Sometimes, the timing of the azaan and the start of a puja coincide and whenever this happens, we always stop all our activities in respect of the other faith but there has been no reciprocity on their part. There have been various examples of peaceful coexistence between followers of both these religions from years gone by and that had continued for a long time. However, it seems that a high level of negligence and intolerance towards other religious practices have developed in the Muslim community and the prospect of facing more troubles while performing our rituals will only increase during this month,’ says Rina Bhattacharya, a caretaker of Joy Kali Mandir in Wari. ‘Such unsavoury issues are occurring quite frequently and this is due to the lack of respect some misguided people are showing towards other religions,’ says Pradip Kumer Chakrabarty, chief executive of Dhakeshwari temple. ‘The mandir is a holy place where people come for worship and this kind of behaviour only points to the intolerant and fundamentalist approach certain people have started to adopt,’ he adds. Such circumstances would justifiably warrant the need for order and security to be ensured, however, there is a visibly distinct lack of any law enforcer patrolling the premises of the temple. ‘First of all, we need to consider the threats that are being posed to the large number of female devotees that frequent the temple but moreover, valuables such as gold ornaments are also being carried and served as offerings by various devotees to decorate the deities. This also poses the threat of robberies,’ explains Chakrabarty. According to a census in 2001, Hindus account for nearly 9.2 per cent of the religious population in the country and there are around 150 temples in Dhaka city. While the numbers may not seem too significant, they undeniably represent and contribute largely to our heritage and culture. However, hundreds of temples urgently require reconstruction and renovation, including the historic Kalibari Mandir in Ramna, the Shanir Mandir in Shanir Akhra, the Shiva Mandir in Dhaka University and the Dhakeshwari Mandir are more or less in the same state as they were when built. While mosques receive government funding via the Islamic foundation for maintenance, there is only the Hindu Kalyan Trust to look after temples. ‘The government must take initiatives to preserve mandirs through renovations and reconstruction even if it is only done for the conservation of heritage,’ says Pranabesh Dash, a student of Dhaka University. Instead, there have been various allegations levelled at ruling parties in the past, of its musclemen grabbing land and properties, including robberies of idols from mandirs. There have also been allegations against henchmen belonging to the ruling Awami League government, of trying to occupy a temple as well as damaging the deity inside, at the RM Das Road, Sutrapur in old Dhaka on September 11. ‘In previous years, the government accorded proper protection to temples around the country. However, for the first time it seems that this year it has failed to do so as temples are being attacked while deities are being demolished weeks before festivals, when it should be, and this does not reflect well on the present government,’ says Lokkhon Chandra, a member of the puja committee in Sutrapur. ‘The minority population of Hindus are looking to the Awami League again to restore their freedoms which they had lost during the tenure of the previous BNP government. We have not had any evidence of the government doing so as yet,’ says Delip Roy, a secretary of Hindu parisad at Shakahari Bazaar. Delip believes that the situation will not change for Hindus in Bangladesh until the preambles of the 1972 constitution - which had been altered following the eighth amendment - based on the four principles of nationalism, secularism, democracy and socialism, are not reinstated. ‘We feel that we are treated as second class citizens of Bangladesh following the declaration of Islam as the country’s state religion. We feel discriminated. The failure to implement secularism in political and social life is a matter of great regret,’ concludes Noresh Kumer, the president of Joy Kali Mandir committee.

End

Durga Puja in Bangladesh: 2009

2009-10-06T12:59:00.000-07:00

Over 21,900 Durga Puja Pandals come up across Bangladesh: Aswin 1416 - October 2009

Over 21,900 `mandops' (marquees) have come up across Bangladesh as Hindus Thursday began Durga Puja celebrations. The number of marquees was higher than last year, a media report said.

President Mohammed Zillur Rahman of the Muslim majority nation described Bangladesh as 'a bright example of communal harmony' and in a message on the occasion urged that all must work together to 'uphold the tradition'.
Separated from India in 1947 and from Pakistan in 1971, Bangladesh has had a chequered history of harmony between the majority Muslims and the Hindus, who form roughly 11.2 percent of the population.
A message from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, currently at the UN, harked back to the 'spirit of the Liberation War' - a reference to the 1971 freedom movement against Pakistan.
Hasina said: 'The government is pledge-bound to uphold the spirit and values of the war of liberation. We are aware of our constitutional obligation to protect rights of people of all religions.'
Opposition leader Khaleda Zia also issued a message wishing the Hindu community.
Durga Puja is the biggest annual religious festival of the Hindu community in which devotees worship the Hindu goddess Durga.
The origin of public celebrations of grand Durga Puja, also known as Durgotsab, can be traced back to the 15th century.
'With the ascent of the Mughals, Durga Puja became more of a status symbol those days,' The Daily Star newspaper said Thursday.
As a festival, Durga Puja was first organised by Raja Kangshanarayan of Taherpur in Rajshahi in the month of Aswin in the Bengali year 887 and then by Bhabananda Mazumdar of Nadiya in 1606, by the Gregorian calendar.
According to one version of the Hindu mythology, goddess Durga appeared in the midst of the commoners following the prayer of King Kansa.
Marking the occasion, the first Durga worship was held at Taherpur king's palace. The Puja this year has come soon after Ramzan and Eid-ul-Fitr of the Muslims.

http://sify.com/news/international/fullstory.php?a=jjylEcdadfb&title=Over_21%2C900_Durga_Puja_marquees_come_up_across_Bangladesh

-- Mouli Ghosh Bengal Voice Communications http://www.bengalvoice.com/

Tradition Continues: Durga Puja Festivities in U.S.A.

2009-09-24T15:10:00.000-07:00

On Way to Festivity

Mother Goddess Killing Demon

Puja in My Mind
Sabyasachi Ghosh Dastidar

For the first decade of our arrival in these shores four decades ago we celebrated Puja in our minds. It was Ma’s letters from home with occasional gifts of dhuti-punjabi reminded me of our Puja. Did I miss Puja? Leaving home seven in the morning returning at six, then showering, cooking, dining, washing dishes and heading back to library by eight, and returning back after midnight didn’t leave any time for “missing.” Telephone reminders from a handful of Bengali Hindus kept Puja alive in our minds, with occasional invitation to puja dinner. In the 1970s it was common to call our friends on Bijoya Dasami, and visit some families who would prepare Bengali sweets expecting our visit: Swati and TriptiDa in Alabama, KalyaniDi in Florida. That practice continued also in Tennessee until we came to New York. In those days we celebrated Bijoya initiated by Bengali Hindus helped with delicacies by all Hindus, participated by non-Hindus including Americans.
Bengali Hindus are known for opportunism, naturally devoid of conviction and morality. New York opened our eyes again. Not only that Puja was being held on a “convenient” weekend, but our first puja was marred when one group took “jabar-dakhal” possession of puja —a tradition brought back from home—to perform a play. “Puja is irrelevant to us atheists.” As the police arrived we soon learned that “jabar-dakhal” would not be permitted while puja-loving group battled revolutionaries taking all the fun away from the joyous occasion. We celebrated in our minds! In the 1980s our fun increased as new groups competed bringing multiple pujas in New York each holding on different weekends “for convenience.” So, our tradition of celebration in our minds also continued. American lifestyle barely allowed multiple weekends of fun! However no Bengali Muslim, Bengali Christian or Bengali Buddhist held their festivities “at convenient weekends.” 1980s was opportune for our children to show off their talents in song, poetry, play and skit learned at Bangla pathshalas; Indian dance; playing of flute, sitar, veena and other instruments. Puja provided us and our children knowing many families intimately as we practiced with our children week after week for upcoming events. Pujas brought us a bit closer, unknowingly.
In the 1990s our Puja scene turned as for the first time Bangladeshi Hindus started observing Puja according to Hindu calendar, not on opportunistic weekends. Now that number has reason to over half-a-dozen in New York City alone. In spite of busy schedule hundreds of devotees came to puja each day, with many times that on weekends, which also attracted a large number of Muslims. This year some West Bengalis will celebrate Puja by Hindu calendar, while others will chant “Joi Ma Durga” on different weekends while celebrating at home in their minds on actual days keeping a tradition alive.

See, "Keeping Tradition Alive," The Hindustan Times daily of India, September 24, 2009; Puja Scope 02; www.hindustantimes.com

Bangladesh Hindus Want Rights And Justice Not Puja Dole

2009-09-17T12:35:00.000-07:00

http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2009/09/15/bangladesh-hindus-want-rights-and-justice-not-puja-dole

Bangladesh Hindus Want Rights And Justice Not Puja Dole

By Rabindranath Trivedi

Eminent Indian writer and journalist M J Akbar speaking as keynote speaker at a seminar titled 'Meaning of Minority Politics' organised by Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) in the city in December 2007, said he was saddened that Bangladesh's birth principle of 'language-centred nationhood' "was incapable of finding a polity." and said stay true to the country's founding principles.
"Out of all the countries in the Muslim world, Bangladesh had the greatest opportunity to build a modern Muslim country," he said, adding that the question of Biharis and the gradual assimilation of Jamaat-e Islami into national politics have to be addressed.
Otherwise the results will be felt long into the future, he added. Akbar disagreed with the dominant view that a minority is a group of people who are demographically outnumbered in a particular area, stressing that the category is based on perceptions. Outlining the history of Bengali Muslims to illustrate his point, he said they were affected the most as a 'minority' in the last century that have transformed their history, and in effect their lives.
Akbar said the partition of Bengal in 1905, the Indo-Pak partition in 1947 and Bangladesh's independence in 1971 were the three key events that affected Bengali Muslims as minorities. "In 1947, the Bengali Hindu Bhadrolok didn't accept Bengali Muslims because they said they were not Bengali enough, then in 1971, West Pakistanis thought Bengali Muslims were not Muslim enough," he added. ( D S 17 December 2007)
I raised my voice of descent and argued with Mr Akbar . I told him, the word minority has different connotation, particularly in Bangladesh and India. Muslim Minority in India is underprivileged but equal citizens of India. There is no constitutional bar against Muslim rights, property and state religion.
Our submission is that the word minority has its own connotation and definition. By 'minority' today we mean a disadvantaged group of citizens, who are not the privileged ones, at the top, but the under-privileged at the bottom. (Atlantes Magazine, 29th January 1975). It was thought that the Liberation of Bangladesh marked the end of a chapter of communal politics, opening up newer possibilities for the Hindus and other ethnic minorities and they would be able to play a more effective role in the political process. Minorities had also thought that Bangladesh would put an end to discrimination against them, and their loyalty to the country would no longer be questioned. But in the present-day Bangladeshi the Hindu's loyalty to the state is very much questioned. So the question arises: whither Bangladeshi Hindus?
We appeal to all of your kind attention to the very word "minority".
We mean rights granted to minorities as safeguards of their interests and help prevent discrimination against them by the majority. The U.N. Charter also recognizes the status of 'minority' and 'minority rights'. Bangladesh is one of the signatories to that charter. "The minority that desires assimilation but is barred is a 'minority by force'. The minority that refuses assimilation is a ' ‘minority by will'. The Negro-American exemplifies the former, while and the French-Canadian represents the latter. Bangladeshi minority has its own definition, they are the sons of the soil, they belong to the civilization of the soil, they are made minority by politics, policies and persecutions. It needs greater observation on the problems squarely, analyzing them in-depth. The present-day Bangladesh was a part of Pakistan until its independence in 1971.
India was partitioned on the basis of the "two-nation" theory, and Pakistan came into existence as a Muslim state in 1947. But this Muslim state was left with a large non-Muslim minority, particularly in East Bengal. The name of East Bengal was changed into East Pakistan with the introduction of the 1956 constitution in Pakistan. The Hindus constituted the bulk of the non-Muslim minority; 13 out of 14 people in the minority were Hindus. But the present-day Bangladeshi Hindus are the remnants of the partition and migration.
Keith Callard in his 'Pakistan: A Political Study' predicted that the 'Hindu community was likely to diminish in size, in wealth, and in talent' (p-265). It is true in the present context of Hindus. But the present-day Bangladeshi Hindus are classless and caste-less, the remnants of the partition and migration had participated in the creation of Bangladesh and sacrificed a lot for the cause of Bangladesh. They are not Babu Communist to quit Bangladesh only by threat, they will die –but not surrender to humiliation. They are sons of the soil, but equal rights of citizens in Bangladesh are not granted to them.
History tells us, we learn from history that we don't learn from history.In India the Sachar Committee Report on Minority in India submitted to the government on Nov.17,2006 the report gives a new dimension In Bangladesh we are also facing the acute type of crisis .
In Bangladesh, there was no such Committee for minorities in Bangladesh to identify the issues facing 2 crore minorities in Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, being a minority means being a victim of oppression, torture and discrimination.
The educated Hindus, who could play a leadership role in the community, left the country. The poor, who lacked leadership qualities, stayed back. Eminent personalities of the minorities who stayed on in Bangladesh live in the cities, so there are none to look after them in times of distress. If any body raised the issues of Hindus in Bangladesh, he would be termed as ‘Communal’ or anti-Muslim. He should be condemned. Thomas Edward Brown (1830-!897) noted: “No man can justly censure or condemn another, because indeed no man truly knows another.”
The Sachar Committee Report on Minority in India submitted to the government on Nov.17,2006. The report gives a new dimension and In Bangladesh we are also facing the acute type of crisis .
M J Akbar writes: “ Will reserving seats for Muslims as category help? The instant answer is yes, if this is the way the political game is being played, then why should Muslims and Christians be excluded from the game? Almost everyone else has been allotted a piece of the cake, so why not them? Are they paying the price for being "foreign faiths," that is, religions that originated outside the Indian subcontinent? If that is the truth, then the establishment should change the truth before the people change the establishment. If that is not the truth, then someone should let us know what the truth is. (DS, 20Dec.06)
But in Bangladesh we are even lacking arguments In another piece published in the daily Star on 13 Sept 09,What has M J Akbar observed that "Indian Muslims need jobs and justice, not iftar parties." In case of Indian Muslims he genuinely asked for jobs for Muslims 'and added: Perhaps the most cynical patron of iftar parties was the late P.V. Narasimha Rao, who insisted on hosting them even after presiding over the destruction of the Babri mosque.
Maybe he was not the most cynical: worse surely were the Muslim acolytes who fawned around him, desperately trying to catch his eye to seek some reward for their presence. Rao was good at throwing handouts towards anyone who had the look of a beggar.Indian Muslims need jobs and justice, not iftar parties he added . ( DS 13 Sept 09)
Sheikh Hasina in her first term in PMO in 1997 allowed Sharadiya reception at Bangabhaban Since then the Bangladesh Government also has been organising Sharadiya Reception for Hindus. Here in Bangladesh like M J Akbar, Hindus also demand jobs and justice not dole for puja The fate of minority remains under the same wheels over sixty years.
The Hindu leadership under the umbrella of Durga Puja is a farce and a great mockery. The Durga Puja has lost its religious fervor and festivity in Bangladesh. It becomes a political bargaining factor for a class of beneficiaries. The celebration of Puja festival committees under the so-called Hindu leaders in Bangladesh is tutored and cared for by the elected Governments and army regimes.
The Puja committees in the capital and other parts of the country depend on doles and protection of law enforcing agencies. They usually organize Puja mondaps and display communal harmony in the name of Puja once a year like other festivals but in reality, besides begging, there is no security and political and economic power to earn for them.
We don't find any difference of behavior, particularly on minority issues, in administration and the nature of humiliation whether democratic regime or autocratic regime or Caretaker Government run by Emergency backed by Army rules in Bangladesh. The appeal by the Hindu leaders, contained in an advertisement published in Sangbad in January 1979,has not yet been conceded, the same demand has been orcherested over three decades.
The excerpt is given below: “It is a matter of great regret that secularism has not been implemented in political and social life. No help has been given in the reconstruction and renovation of hundreds of temples, Vihara and churches including the historic Kalibari temple of Ramna and the East Bengal Swarasta Samaj which were razed by the Pakistani occupation army. The Ramna kalibari has not been returned despite claims. The Enemy Property Act of Pakistan has been illegally retained in independent Bangladesh under a different name and this has been invoked to make hundreds of thousands of non-Muslims homeless and landless. Severe discrimination has been practiced against non-Muslims in the matter of admission in educational institutions ,trade and government services.”
What is the truth? The Daily Star in its an editorial opined :" Member of the minority community have reasons to be concerned over some recent incidents in which quite a few of their families came under attack. In the latest attempt at grabbing land, some hoodlums attacked three Hindu families in Puthia under Rajshahi district and at least 12 people had to be hospitalised with injuries. It happened only a few weeks after land grabbers, allegedly masquerading as developers, tried to evict a Hindu family from their home in Dhaka city. Such a gross violation of rights of any segment of the society will have to be dealt with an iron hand, because that is where the real test of a democratic and pluralistic society lies. ( The DS ,editorial, 3 Sept 09) .
In September 2009, the government enacted the Vested Property Return Act in 2001 amending the Vested Property Act. But, the four-party BNP-Jamaat alliance government stopped the implementation of the act by issuing an order. The caretaker government later promulgated an ordinance in this regard in 2008.
About 1.2 million households and 6 million people belonging to the Hindu community have been directly and severely affected by the Enemy/Vested Property Act. The community has lost 2.6 million acres of its own land in addition to other moveable and immovable property.
The Hindu who was a member of a joint family left this country for India without taking the share of the property was not an owner of his share. His part would remain with the family and rest of the successors would be the owner of the whole property. But the government illegally declared a part or full portion of the property as enemy property and evicts the owners from their lands. Father is the owner of the property of joint family. Sons are not the owner of the property so long as the father is alive. In this situation, if any son leaves the country for India, he is not leaving any property as enemy property because this Hindu law is still prevalent in the country.
The inheritance of property in a Hindu joint family all over Bengal is being determined by the system of Dayabhaga, not Mitakshara which is primarily practised in India. The former suggests the fact that a son inherits the property after the death of his father while according to the latter system of the Hindu inheritance rule; a son can inherit the property of his father on the very moment of his birth.
If any Hindu citizen with his legal passport was traveling India, he was also declared enemy and his property was taken over by the Government. To the contrary, thousands of Muslims were living and working in England, America and Middle East Countries etc. But their properties were not taken over by the Government. Since then the issue has been rolling with ordinances, amendments, circulars, memos, committee and so on. But no tangible action has yet been taken by the Government to solve the contentious issue of minority Hindus. We are Minorities in Bangladesh also want equal Constitutional rights , opportunities in public offices and justice M.J. Akbar writes in January 2008: The only country where Muslims were exposed to reason and logic was India,
It's an evidential fact that Hindus in Bangladesh unfortunately have been facing the music of great declination in respect of politico-economic and social status today, to the extent to which caste is declining as a social factor; it is reverting itself as a political factor.
Unfortunately for Hindus in Bangladesh they have been facing the music of great declination in respect of politico-economic and social status today. If religion is to be true to itself it must stress the worth and dignity of human personality. They should rise to the occasion and call a spade a spade. In sociological terms, Man is the total circle including both the centre and circumference. He is both self and not-self. Lord Krishna says, "Samoham sarva bhutesu, na me dvesygsti na priyah I am the same for all beings: There is none whom I hate none whom I favour"(The Holy Gita-ix/29). Brave one proudly proclaim, "I am a Hindu, a member of the great civilisation."
The sacrifices of the Hindu leadership were never acknowledged either officially or publicly. Does the nation pay respect to those departed souls? Is there any room for the Hindu leaders in the history who fought for the cause of history and the War of Liberation?In the post-August 1975, Bangladesh, Bengali, Hindu and India are equated with a typical psyche by the ruling cliché. "The existing literature on the history of Bangladesh underplays not only the inner contradictions of the Muslims of Bengal, but also other significant features of her past. It's a 'crisis of confidence'.
Rabindranath Trivedi is a former Press-Secretary to the President and Addl Press Secretary to the Prime Minister. Presently Secretary General, Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities ( HRCBM) an NGO in special Consultative Status with ECOSOC of the United Nations.-

Asian Tribune -

MarichJhapi, West Bengal, India: Communist Killing of Poor Oppressed-Caste Hindu Peasants

2009-08-03T07:07:00.000-07:00

Indian Communists Kill 128 Oppressed-Caste Poor Bangladeshi Hindu Refugees in MarichJhapi Island, Sundarbans Region, West Bengal; 1978-1979

MarichJhapi: West Bengal State, India

Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) and its junior partner Communist Party of India (CPI) came to power in West Bengal State on the backs of massive persecuted Bengali Hindu refugees who fled their ancestral home in East Pakistan/Bangladesh as anti-Hindu pogrom was unleashed in their homeland once it became a part of Islamic Pakistan. Communist parties’ main promise to the refugees was rehabilitation of refugees in the Bengali-speaking state which the Congress Party could not provide and many poor peasants were sent for rehabilitation in central Indian Dandakaranya Forest area, as well as to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal. Communist parties often blocked transportation as the refugees were sent for rehabilitation in those and other areas outside Bengal which made them darling of Hindu refugees. Through a brief coalition government communists came to power in West Bengal in the 1960s, while they received absolute majority in 1977 election. By then the refugee population has reached about a third of the State’s population – giving them winning margin in election – and almost all the ruling elites of all the parties in the State was in the hands of colonizing Hindu elite privileged-caste refugees – also known as bhadralok or gentleman - as well as the bureaucracy, police, education, labor movement, health, media and more. These elites left Bangladesh/East Pakistan not choosing to live with the Muslim majority and with the majority-Hindus of oppressed castes, all the while preaching Hindu Muslim bhai bhai – Hindus and Muslims are brothers together – in India, yet doing just the opposite. Most of the elite Hindu refugees took dole – small amounts of money or land – from the struggling federal government in New Delhi, though minuscule compared to rehabilitation money given to Punjabi refugees coming to north India from West Pakistan.

After the “Friend of the Refugee” Communist government came to power in 1977 some self-motivated 30,000 peasants from the Dandakaranya Forest area migrated to a delta island called MarichJhapi, cleared the land for agriculture without any subsidy from any governments and rehabilitated them to an area much closer to their own flat and humid climate as opposed to the dry climate of Dandakaranya.

Communist-Marxist Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, himself a Bangladeshi Hindu of privileged-caste who chose not to live with his Muslim and oppressed-caste Hindu neighbors in his homeland, then moved against the poor peasants of the oppressed castes to evict them from their MarichJhapi village killing men, women and children. From 1978 to 1979 State Police fired on the unarmed peasants, stopped NGO relief boats trying to reach the island, destroyed all the boats of the villagers having them no escape route in that crocodile-infested water, starved to death men, women and children, and finally confiscated their property and destroyed their homes.
State even imposed a ban on media reporting.

One of the important books on the subject is Jagadis Chandra Mandal’s Marichjhapi: Naishabder Antaraley (Marichjhapi: Beyond silence), Sujan Publications, Calcutta; 2002.
Incidentally, at the annual Calcutta Book Fair the book’s review was published in the Fair’s journal Pustakmela (Book fair) reviewed by Ms. Jhinuk Chakrabarty titled “Ghrina O Lajjar Kalo Itihash” (The dark history of hate and shame) appearing on page 16. Within a few hours of initial distribution all the copies of the journal was confiscated, and in lightening speed appeared copies of new journal. On page 16 appeared a review of Mr. Jyoti Bhusan Chaki’s book for children replacing the review of Marichjhapi book.

Here are some of the facts as appeared in the book:

A. Number of people missing (killed): 128, list of names appear on page 111 through 114 of the book;
B. People kept in Alipur and Basirhat Prisons: 26, list of names appear on page 115;
C. Residents arrested on January 31, 1979 and kept at other prisons: 130, list of names appear on page 116 through 119;
D. Villagers arrested on January 24, 1979 for collecting rice for feeding their families: 30, list of names appear on page 120;
E. Country boats confiscated from January 24, 1079 through February 11, 1979: 163, list of names of owners of the boats appear on page 121 through 125;
F. Personal property confiscated from January 24, 1079 through February 24, 1979: 113, partial list of names of head of household appear on page 126 through 131.
Source: Raiharan Baroi, General Secretary, All-India Refugee Improvement Committee, Netajinagar (Marichjhapi), Post Office: KumirMari, District: 24 Pargana, West Bengal; as quoted in Jagadis Chandra Mandal.

YouTube - Marichjhapi Massacre Part-I http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQfTilDOj-E

YouTube - Marichjhapi Massacre Part-I http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-6nPWknqaE&feature=related

Review of Mandal's book for an Indian human rights publication, 2003:

Marichjhapi: Naishabder Antaraley [Marichjhanpi: beyond silence] in Bengali, by Jagadis Chandra Mandal, Sujan Publications, 7-B Lake Place, Calcutta 700 029, India; Rs. 150; 192 pages.

By Dr. S. G. Dastidar

Once in a rare while a book appears as a landmark in the annals of socio-political history, Marichjhapi: Naishabder Antaraley [Marichjhanpi: beyond silence] is one such book. Marichjhapi is a name of a small island in the Sundarban mangrove swamp of the Ganga [Hooghly] delta of West Bengal. Now it is also the name of an idea: The brutal oppression of the poor hapless peoples by the ruling party of an Indian state, West Bengal. This poor group belonged to the oppressed-caste Bangladeshi Hindu refugees, mostly peasant, fishermen and agrarian working class. While the rulers were the Left Front of the Communist Party of India-Marxist [CPM], in association with several other Communist, Marxist and socialist parties. The ruling class belonged to the elite privileged caste, bhadralok, gentlemen, class, Hindu refugee from Bangladesh.

As Bengal was partitioned in 1947, eastern Bengal became a part of Islamic Pakistan. Pogroms and massacres by Islamists created tens of millions of Hindu refugees, initially mostly belonging to the educated and landed privileged caste. East Pakistan became Bangladesh after a bloody Liberation War in 1971. Communist Party of India led a successful campaign of blaming the partition of the ruling Indian National Congress Party, and in turn, organizing the refugees and catching the imagination of these disenfranchised population[1]. Bangladeshi Hindu refugees, almost a third of West Bengal’s population[2] [and almost 70% of another Bengali-speaking state of India - Tripura,] became the backbone of the Communist and left movements of Bengali-speaking India, West Bengal included. While in opposition, when the state was ruled by the Congress Party, Communist Party opposed any settlement of refugees in Dandakaranya forest area of central India or to the Andaman Islands, in favor of resettlement in West Bengal. This continued till 1975 [p 1]. In 1977 the CPM led Left Front, proclaimed as ‘the friend of the Bangladeshi Hindu refugee,’ came to power in West Bengal. In March 1978 over 100,000 refugees left Dandakaranya refugee camps for West Bengal. This time the refugees used their own resources, unlike the state help received by the elite, privileged castes, to travel and to resettle themselves. 30,000 of them reached the island of Marichjhapi. But to secure their new-found power, the privileged-caste Communists would use the state machinery - police, paramilitary, and party cadre, armed thugs, anti-social elements against the oppressed-caste rural, unsophisticated refugees. During successive armed assaults hundreds of women, men and children were killed, women and girls raped and hundreds more were starved to death. The entire island was quarantined for days, not allowing any food or help to reach them. No journalist or social worker were allowed to visit the dying. This is the only book of this kind which chronologically lists such a tragic event in the Indian, Bengali and of the Left history of India. Marichjhapi: Naishabder Antaraley’s strength is its treasure trove of letters, memos and documents ever published. Its appendix is another great asset. Mr. Mandal has also painstakingly collected names of 123 ‘missing’ individuals [Appendix 3-chhaw], those who were incarcerated at Alipur and Bashirhat jails - 52 [3-jaw], at other jails - 130 [3- jhaw] to the number of country boats destroyed - 163 [3- taw], to the names of girls and women raped - 23 [3 - ooa], to the number of men, women, children and babies were starved to death - 239 [3 - ghaw], and lot more. The author raises the question himself as to ‘Why it is being published 23 years after the mass murder?’ [ p chaw]. One may answer by asking another question: Did it take 23 years to intolerance of the Left to loosen? Possibly not. Incredibly many self-critical Left intellectuals in West Bengal call their situation as ‘fundamentalism and intolerance of the Left.’ When the book was first released in Calcutta during the annual Book Fair, the Publishers and Book Sellers’ Guild’s quarterly newsletter, Pushtakmela [book fair] published a review of the book by Ms. Jhinuk Chakrabarty, “Lajja and ghrinar kalo itihash” [Dark history of shame and hatred, Baisakh-Ashar 1409, April-June 2002; pp 16-18]. Only after distribution of a few copies of the journal, the entire stock was confiscated by the Party cadres and state Communist officials. A new version of the entire journal reappeared with Jhinuk Chakrabarty’s book review completely censored out, with another article appeared on pages 16 through 18, in the progressive-run Calcutta. In its historic importance this book parallels the Marginal Men of Prafulla Chakrabarti. I only wish the book was published in English for a wider readership. This book is not only a labor of love, but also a successful outcome of strong determination in the face of state sponsored terror.

[1] Prafulla K. Chakrabarti, The Marginal Men, Lumiere Books, Kalyani, India; 1990
[2] See S. G. Dastidar, “Demographic Changes in Bangladesh and West Bengal: A Comparative Analysis,” in Women, Development, Devotionalism and Development in John Thorp [Ed], Michigan University Press; 1986.

Globalization of Bengali Literature: Then and now in the 21st Century

2009-07-20T12:39:00.000-07:00

Globalization of Bengali Literature: Then and now in the 21st Century

Sabyasachi Ghosh Dastidar

If one has to talk about globalization of Bengali, or Bangla, as the theme of 2009 Muktadhara New York Book Fair, one may ask is our beloved Bengali becoming more popular around-the-world, or loosing its significance? Are more outsiders learning Bengali these days than before? Let me first look back at the recent past of Bengali literature.

Bengalis and their literature has gone through four distinct and glorious periods of possible “globalization,” or more correctly significant development beginning in the early 19th Century drawing notice from her neighbors – the larger Indian culture to which we belong. Those four periods are (1) the Bengal Renaissance, Indian Renaissance and the Hindu Reform Movement of early 1800s, (2) the Indian Nationalist Movement coupled with anti-1905 Bengal partition – the Banga-Vanga-Birodh – movement, and the Self-reliant or Swadeshi Movement of early 1900s, ending in partition of India and Bengal in 1947, (3) the Bengali Language Movement that began in earnest in 1948 at Pakistan Parliament but culminated on February 21, 1952, the Ekushey or Twenty-first, the Language Martyr’s Day, and finally (4) the 1971 War of Liberation of Bangladesh and post-Liberation pride in all-things-Bengali. The Renaissance led by Raja Ram Mohon and Hindu Reform Movement were influenced by a large number of luminaries like Vidyasagar, Sri Ramakrishna, Brahmo Samaj, Young Bengal and Vivian DeRozio. As this era was associated in pride in Mother Bengal, Mother India and their native culture and their mother tongue, all the luminaries wrote their ideas in Bengali, the language they spoke. Anglicization hadn’t taken a firm hold in Bengali minds yet. For the first time Bengal’s State work was being conducted in Bengali, until then the Muslim rulers of Bengal used Persian for their State business. Exceptions to the rule were the Maharajas of Tripura and Cooch Behar who used Bengali in their administration. Writings of leaders of Renaissance and religious reformers were the beginning of modern Bengali literature. A large part of that discourse was on religion, especially Hindu religion including the rot within Hindu practices. Almost four hundred years after Sri Chaitanya’s pacifist Vaishnavism-driven art, music and literature Bengal witnessed flowering of Bengali literature unparallel anywhere in India since the Middle Ages. The religious movements of Brahmo Samaj and Hindu Reformation competed with each other to capture the Bengali and Indian minds enriching Bengali literature which included questioning the religious practices and Hinduism itself. (Questioning Bengal’s other main religion Islam was not practiced, although Bengali Muslims like Rokeya Begum and Nazrul Islam in the early 20th Century attempted to advance reformist ideas in Muslim culture, as Syed Ahmad Khan attempted in northern India. Their effect on the Muslim society was marginal at best.)

Bengal and Indian Renaissance led to the rise of Indian nationalism where Bengali nationalism complimented Indian nationalism. When people wrote about Banga Mata or Mother Bengal it was not a secessionist mother but a reincarnation of Bharat Mata or Mother India. Bengali nationalists – Hindu and Muslim – often said it is like strengthening an arm strengthens the entire body. Devotion to God played an immense role in the modern Bengali literature of Renaissance and post-Renaissance. This period produced not only writers and philosophers, but also poets, composers, singers and theologians like Bankim Chandra, Michael Madhusudan, D. L. Roy, Rabindranath, Abanindranath, Rokeya, Kazi Nazrul, RajaniKanto, Hasan Raja, Vivekananda, Mir Mosharaf, Sarat Chandra, Dinabandhu Andrews, AtulPrasad, David Hare, Mukunda Das, Swami Pranavananda, Rev. Lal Behari Dey, Sri Aurobindo and so many more. This was a period when rest of India – and Europeans arriving in India and wanting to know Indian and Hindu cultures – learned Bengali to understand the culture of India. One can argue that this was a period of “globalization” of Bengali – if one can use that term. Religion and religious literature played a very important roles for non-Bengalis’ attraction to learn Bengali. And those religions were caste-less Vaishnavism of Hinduism, new thinking of Brahmo religion, and the liberal-reformed Hinduism of Vidyasagar and Sri Ramakrishna. Non-religious secular literature as we understand today was yet to mature and small in volume to attract beyond India. Yet this flowering of Bengali almost stopped with the partition of Bengal in 1947 as if by divine symbolism Kazi Nazrul’s pen fell silent at the same time! This pre-partition period witnessed the rise of Mahatma Gandhi-led Indian Independence Movement and Mohammad Ali Jinnah-led separatist Muslim Pakistan Movement which led to partition of Bengal and marginalization of Muslim-majority East Bengal in Pakistan and Hindu-majority West Bengal in India. Thus marginalization of second-largest linguistic group in India and fifth-largest in the world began.

It seems it was not just Nazrul whose pen froze with partition, but the entire Bengali nation and their literature – Muslim and Hindu – came to a halt. Who can we cite a star similar to those mentioned earlier? A victim of partition was in her religious identity and writings, music and dance on Mother Bengal as it was associated with Hinduism. In East Pakistan pan-Muslim identity took a front seat as opposed to the Bengali-Muslim identity that drew strength from the pre-Islam and post-Islam Bengal, her festivities and rituals rising from its soil. The new mood was a reaffirmation of the rising Islamic identity with the rise of Muslim League’s influence in Bengal. The saying, “We are Muslim, and they are Bengali” meaning Hindu Bengali was reinforced for some time. It would take almost 75 years from a Bengali homecoming revolution started by Roekya, Mosharaf, and Nazrul that was completed by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of the Bengali nation. But this process of reinventing our identity also continued in Hindu-majority West Bengal in India. Ironically there rose a different form of anti-Bengali anti-nativist-Hindu, anti-nationalist atheist politics in the name of Left, secularism and Communism. Strangely the people who promoted this were none other than the East Bengali Hindu refugees who chose not to live with their Muslim-majority neighbors and oppressed-caste poor Hindu neighbors while preaching “Hindu-Muslim bhai bhai” (Hindus and Muslims are brothers together) yet saying to themselves “kintu tader sangey bash nai” (but don’t live with them as neighbors.) Thus two main sources of literature were taken off of the Bengali narratives: Bengal-based devotional and religious literature, and that of nation-based literature which had attracted outsiders to Bengali literature. In post-1947 era two Bengalis were reaching out to the outside world not as leaders in their own right but as part of a larger world of Islam for Muslim East Bengalis and to Marxist world through the Left and Communist politics of Hindus of West Bengal.

1952 witnessed a new assertion of East Bengalis, Hindu and Muslim, especially of Muslim East Bengalis towards their love of the language. Yet because of press censorship, propaganda and restrictions on travel that revolution did not reach the other half of Bengal, or more specifically, Indian Bengalis. But the language nationalism was on yet restricted to East Pakistan only. This march continued until 1971 when the East Bengalis took the center stage of world politics and her courage, culture and language came to the attention of the entire globe. This brought the two Bengalis a bit closer for a short time since the straw curtain of 1947, but soon vitiated by communal politics of West Bengali Communists – most of whom were of Bangladesh-Hindu origin who left Muslim-majority Bangladesh for Hindu-majority India – yet chanting “Yahya-Mujib ak hai,” perpetrator of genocide General Yahya Khan and undisputed winner of Pakistan election Mujibur Rahman leading the persecuted majority-Bengali are the same and one, and “Indira-Yahya ak hai,” mass killer Yahya Khan and liberator of Bangladesh Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi are the same and one. As a result the literary force that could expand as a culturally-unified linguistic group fell victim to a new divisiveness. Still learning of Bengali at home received full State support in Bangladesh ushering a new era in Bengali culture. With new passports Bengalis, especially Bangladeshis, now reached seven corners of the world globalizing them, rather than their science, industry and literature globalizing as many had wished for. The ray of hope was finally quashed with the murder of Sheikh Mujib in 1975 in favor of an Arabic- and Urdu-Islamism rejecting Bengal’s pre- and post-Islam Hindu past and composite Hindu-Muslim literary heritage. It was not really a murder of an individual but an idea. Simultaneously the Communists, led by Bangladeshi Hindus who left their home for “Hindu India,” came to power in West Bengal in 1977 rejecting the idea of Bengali, Indian and Hindu nationalism in favor atheist militancy negating the Bengal’s Hindu and Muslim past and their literary heritage in favor of Marxist literature of China and Russia. Who read those besides fundamentalist Marxists? In this process Bengali literature instead of globalizing, the Bengalis themselves started the process of marginalizing in favor of either Islamism or Marxism. Since then that process of marginalization of the Bengali and Bengali literature is continuing.

The plight of Bengali language and literature can be summed up through the lens of universities in the United States: shrinkage. Thirty years ago universities who offered any Indian language was most likely to be Bengali, excluding Sanskrit and Tibetan. However, thirty years later it is to the contrary. Now there are more colleges who offer Hindi or Hindi-Urdu than Bengali, additionally Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi and other languages are also offered. From 1950s through 1970s if universities offered Bengali it is was less to do with Rabindranath and Bankim – which was important – but it was the literature of Vaishnavism – Sri Chanitanya and post-Chaitanya era, Brahmo literature, writings associated with Sri Ramakrishna and Sri Aurobindo, of Hindu-Muslim puthi literature – mostly related to devotion to God, Islam, Mother Kali, or with native-Bengali-Hindu religion that post-partition Bengal rejected. All the Bengali-proficient American and European friends I personally know fall into this category. Then there are a few who learned Bengali in post-Bangladesh period were anthropologists who went to Bangladesh to learn about the newly emerging post-Liberation society.

From Bengal partition of 1947 to 2009 in the 21st Century Bengalis will be hard pressed to find a single individual who has attracted international acclaim for his/her literature. We are fortunate to have stalwarts like Nobel-winning Mother Teresa, Amartya Sen and Mohammad Yunus. Accidentally their work has to do with our poverty and human degradation, and in case of Sen it also had to do with our famine, not popular subjects for globalization of a language, and most of their writings are in English. Even Satyajit Ray’s Oscar fame had to do with poverty through the narratives of Bibhuti Bhusan – a pre-partition story teller. The true beauty of our land, the green-and-gold of the countryside, free-flowing rivers, the dirt paths of rural Bengal, flowering of shiuli during Sarawasti Puja, the baul-matua-murshidi-kirtan songs, the drum-beat of our festivities so eloquently narrated by Jibanananda and Jashimuddin are not attraction enough for globalization of a language in the midst of rising intolerance of Communism or Islamism, and routine violence and daily strikes associated with political extremism. It is not the global community but it is the Bengalis at home who have changed their focus from their own language. Bangladesh which attained a secular nationhood through a language movement – two hundred years since the French Revolution which brought the French-speaking people together – now has her preamble to Constitution written in Arabic replacing Bengali alphabet. When the Communist government of West Bengal opened a new university in North Bengal it chose its emblem in Hindi script over Bengali. Even the Calcutta University and Calcutta Corporation two of the oldest institutions of Colonial British India have Bengali in their emblems but not in Communist-ruled West Bengal who otherwise has banned learning of English and Hindi in schools so that poor Bengalis can’t link up with rest of India or with rest of the world. (Ministers send their kids and grandkids to private English-medium schools. Minister often lectures in English to Bengali audience that I once objected to a minister.) A new generation of Bengali or Bengal-born or Bengal-ancestry – but not with strong linguistic and religious identity – has attained fame lately writing in English. Some of them are Bharati Mukherji, Jhumpa Lahiri, Amitav Ghosh, Suketu Mehta, Vikram Seth, Monica Ali, Chitra Banerji Devakaruni, and Tahmina Anam. Such is the reality. Today in Bangladesh and in West Bengal the trickle of foreign visitors are mainly associated with religion: visitors to Mother Teresa’s mission, visitors from Arab countries wanting to spread the new Wahabi Islam, followers of Srila Prabhupada’s ISKON who consider Sri Chanitanya as their first guru, visitors to Ramakrishna Mission, and followers of Sri Chinmoy. (In 2009 when my Marxist-American friends visited West Bengal, hardly any Bengali Marxist could be found who wanted to have a discourse with him. On the other hand in 2008 when some of my foreign friends visited Bangladesh they found delight in socializing with religious folks.) Some of the foreigners who are trying to Islamize Bengal Bengali literature is inconsequential to them than the literature of the religion written in foreign languages. This is also true who are trying Christianize Bengal, but less so. Once an assistant headmaster of an Islamic madrassa school complained to me the sad plight of Bengali literature in his curriculum as that was considered unimportant. The urge to learn Bengali literature for the last three Hindu-oriented groups is true but they are looked as Bengal-lovers by West Bengali atheist rulers, and are considered as nuisance rather than true friends of Bengal which they are. Nevertheless, one can argue that through West Bengal a little bit of Bengalization has taken place in India. But then again as Bangladesh and West Bengal has different definition of what is “Bengali” this may be challenged by some. The first is “Bengali” name. At one time names like Sabyasachi, Shefali, Shuvo, Joyeeta, Pratima, Amitava, Shiuli, Sujata, Meghna, Januma, Atreyi were known as “Bengali” name. But no more. Now one can find such names from Kerala to Kashmir and from Manipur to Mumbai. Then there are the words like dada (older brother), didi (older sister), ma and baba; and such items like wearing of conch wedding sankha bangles and wearing of “Bengali-style” sari, and men’s dhuti-punjabi popularized by none other than Hindi movies. Even Bengali festivities of Durga Puja of the Mother Goddesses and Kali Puja have gone all-India. I am not sure if these amounts to any globalization of our literature, but in the periphery it creates some attraction to all-things-Bengali. In an age of increasing marginalization, I am happy at least some aspects of our language and culture are still attractive to outsiders. In New York if one sees a white or a black American walking down the street in sari she is most likely to be followers of Bengali Sri Chinmoy or Srila Prabhupada. Same is true when we find an adult attending our pathshala to learn Bengali. One more sign of hope is our second generation who are going in droves to Bangla pathshalas when they are in K-12 school and taking Bengali classes while at college. Through their writing they may not propagate Bengali literature but at least is spreading the knowledge of Bengal. I thank them for this. I thank Muktadhara and Biswajit Saha who have single-handedly kept the flame of globalization of Bengali alive as well as bringing divided Bengalis of the Subcontinent closer. As if he is trying to bring a separated couple back together by retying their wedding knot. For Muktadhara and for rest of us let me pray, “banglar maati, banglar jal, punya houk, punya houk hey bhagaban,” O God, let the soil of Bengal, water of Bengal be blessed for ever!

See Anrarkatik Bangla Utsab (International Bangla Festival) 2009 Smarak Grantha (Commemorative Book), June 26-28, 2009, published by Muktadhara Foundation Inc., New York; 43-45

Hindu Monks and Nuns Killed in India by an-Hindu Mob and by Ruling Communist Activists

2009-07-17T08:24:00.000-07:00

The Side Wall of the Bridge where Some of the Monks and Nuns were Murdered

The Congested Bijan Setu - Kasba Bridge

The Busy Sidewalk next to the Bridge

Kasba-Ballyganj Bijan Setu Bridge

Hindu Monks and Nuns Killed in Hindu-majority Calcutta, West Bengal State, India by an-Hindu Mob and Communist Cadres

on April 30, 1982

at Prestigious Ballyganj Neighborhood;

700 yards from Gariahat Police Station

and 1.5 miles from Kasba Police Station;

Communist-Marxist Chief Minister of West Bengal Jyoti Basu

does not arrest a single murderer

17 monks and nuns were first beaten,

then doused with gasoline,

finally set on fire.

Some of the bodies could not be identified.

DAYLIGHT MURDER OF 17 HINDU SANNYASI/SANNYASINI (MONKS & NUNS [FEMALE MONKS]) ON APRIL 30, 1982 AT BIJAN SETU (KASBA BRIDGE),* BALLYGUNJ, SOUTH CALCUTTA

Avadhuta Ananda Prachete (Nun)
A second nun (unidentified)
Acharya Birendra Brahmachari
Acharya Venkateshswarananda Avaduta
Acharya Jagmohan Brahmachari
Acharya Arteshvarananda Avaduta
Acharya Girishananda Avaduta
Acharya Sutreshvarananda Avaduta
Acharya Bhaveshvarananda Avaduta
Acharya Parashivananda Avaduta
Sri Shriramraghuvar of Jaipur (follower of Marg order)
Acharya Vraja Gopal Brahmachari
Acharya Kamaleshananda Avaduta
Acharya Kripashivananda Avaduta
Acharya Sadavrata Brahmachari
Acharya Adishivananda Avaduta
Acharya Pratistananda Avaduta

Note: Several articles appeared in Calcutta newspapers. A booklet on documenting the killing,

Maron yagyer pariprekshitey kayekti prashna (Some questions in light of the killing spree), A.C. Haramatmananda Avaduta, 527 VIP Nagar, E. M. Bypass, Calcutta 700 098; undated

Illegal Migration and Undeclared Refugees – Idea of West Bengal at Stake

2009-03-27T17:58:00.000-07:00

Presented at National Seminar on ‘Migration and Its Impact on Indian State and Democracy’ – 13 March 2009,
Dept of Politics & Public Administration – University of Pune

Mohit Ray
Mohit Ray, PhD (Engineering) is an independent environmental consultant and visiting faculty in School of Environmental Studies, Jadavpur University. He has been involved in human rights movement for last three decades and now leads a campaign for the rights of minorities in Bangladesh. He can be contacted at mohitray@hotmail.com

I
Idea of West Bengal: Eroded from the Very Emergence

West Bengal was created as a non-Muslim majority state in 1947. On 20 June 1947, Bengal Legislative Assembly got divided into East Bengal Legislative Assembly and West Bengal Legislative Assembly. In the West Bengal Legislative Assembly all the non-Muslim assembly members including the Communists favoured for the creation of this truncated state. [1] One of the two Communist members was Shri Jyoti Basu. After the experience of ten years of Muslim-dominated coalition rule in Bengal between 1937 and 1947 and a series of riots for last three decades, particularly the Noakahli pogrom, the Hindu Bengal was not ready to go with Pakistan." [2] A well-known Left historian had to comment about the September riot in 1918 in Kolkata, which took place followed by a publication in Anglo-Indian newspaper the Indian Daily News, as
‘(that riot) anticipated many of the trends in future Muslim rioting in Calcutta – the mosque as an important rallying point, the upcountrymen as the main component of the violent crowd, the Marwari merchanr as favourite target of attack, and the vernacular press as the main forum for expressing communal animosities’. [3],[4]

The idea of West Bengal was to have a secular democratic entity quite different from what Pakistan was thought to be. Muslim-majority Pakistan and later Bangladesh became Islamic countries while West Bengal emerged as a part of the country with non-religious constitution.

No Exchange of Population

There was no exchange of population in Bengal as it happened for Punjab. Though Punjab passed through the initial months of mayhem, for following 60 years there has been no Hindu-Muslim problem or Sikh-Muslim problem in either parts of Punjab. East Punjab (Indian part of Punjab) had 33.09% of Muslims in 1941 which got reduced to 1.8% in 1951 and has not increased much. [5] In fact it was B. R. Ambedkar who categorically stated long before partition in 1940 that ‘That the transfer of minorities is the only lasting remedy for communal peace is beyond doubt.’ [6]
The Muslim population which stood at 29.5% in 1941 in West Bengal got reduced to 19.5% in 1951, has shot back to 25.5% in 2001. We shall later deal with these figures in a greater detail and its significance for West Bengal. Going back to the advise of B.R. Ambedkar on this issue of numbers: ‘What do these figures indicate? ….. This distribution of the Muslim population, in terms of communal problem, means that while without Pakistan the communal problem in India involves 6 ½ crores of Muslims, with the creation of Pakistan it will involve only 2 crores of Muslims. Is this to be no consideration for Hindus who want communal peace? To me it seems that if Pakistan does not solve the communal problem within Hindustan, It substantially reduces its proportion…..’ [7]

Nehru-Liaquat Treaty 1950 and Two Resignations

After the partition of India in 1947, within a year the situation started to settle down in Western border. It is generally expressed that Eastern part was relatively calm, and initial migration on both sides of Bengal were expected to stop in the coming years. But the situation in East Pakistan (and now in Bangladesh) always remained as a status of ‘gentle push’ even when there is no major pogrom. A simple method is to harass the Hindu neighbours, tease their women, violate the sanctity of their household by polluting their worshipping areas. Many a vivid accounts are available in Bengali writings. [8]

On 8th April 1950 Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India and Liaquat Ali khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan, signed an agreement between two countries to ‘ensure to the minorities throughout its territory complete equality..’ which included ‘freedom of movement’. Shyamaprasad Mukherjee, the minister of Industries and Supply in Nehru’s cabinet, resigned over this issue. In his statement in the Parliament on 14 April, 1950, he said ‘The fact thus remains that inspite of two Inter – Dominion Agreements as many as 16 to 20 lakhs of Hindus were sent away to India from East Bengal. About a million of uprooted Hindus had also to come away from Sind. During this period a large number of Muslims also came away from Pakistan mainly influenced by economic considerations. The economy of West Bengal received a rude shock and we continued as helpless spectators of a grim tragedy.
‘Hindus will continue to come away in large numbers and those who have come will not be prepared to go back. On the other hand, Muslim who had gone away will now return and in our determination to implement the agreement the Muslims will not leave India. Our economy will thus be shattered and possible conflict within our country will be greater.’

Like Ambedkar’s prophetic comment, Shyama Prasad’s comment is true for today. We shall discuss more about it later.

Within a few months another minister from Pakistan government also resigned. Mr. Jogendra Nath Mandal, the minister of Law and Labour, of Liaqut Ali Khan’s cabinet sent his resignation on 8 October 1950. Mr Jogendra Nath Mandal was the leader of Scheduled Castes in Bengal who was the flag bearer of Scheduled Caste –Muslim unity in Bengal. [9] After partition he was rewarded with a Ministership in Pakistan cabinet. After riots in 1950, such a trustworthy person of Muslim League and a minister of the country had to run away from his promised heaven within three years to the ‘Brahminical’ Hindustan and send his resignation from there. Some excerpts from his resignation letter can be useful for this discussion and for the proponents of Dalit-Muslim unity of today. Mr. Mandal wrote: ‘Now this being the overall picture of Pakistan so far as the Hindus are concerned, I shall not be unjustified in stating that Hindus of Pakistan have to all intents and purposes been rendered “Stateless” in their own houses. They have no other fault than that they profess Hindu religion.’

Mr. Mandal foresaw the bleak future

‘After anxious and prolonged struggle I have to come to the conclusion that Pakistan is no place for Hindus to live in and that their future is darkened by the ominous shadow of conversion or liquidation. The bulk of the upper class Hindus and politically conscious Scheduled Castes have left East Bengal. The Hindus who will continue to stay in that accursed province for that matter in Pakistan will, I am afraid, by gradual stages and in a planned manner be either converted to Islam or completely exterminated.’

Two leaders of with so vast ideological differences shared this in common, a bleak future. But the mainstream political parties, Congress and Left and the refugees themselves ignored it to pave the way for today’s scenario.

Leftists Control of Refugee Movement and Stoicism of Upper Caste Refugees
The refugees in ‘50s were mostly from Caste Hindus. They were sure that they had no future in Pakistan and left for good. Even that meant staying in a thatched hut on a marshy land leaving the huge farm house in East Bengal. Their desperation for a good living in this new land made the refugee movement slowly more violent. The Communists used this anger to take control of this movement. A very detailed description of events have been documented by the historian Prafulla Chakraboty. [10]The Left leadership could channelise the movement to their ‘anti-imperialistic’ goal, suppressing the atrocities of Islamic rule in East Pakistan. So the UCRC (United Central Refugee Council) processions started to raise slogans totally irrelevant to refugee problem, like the slogan against Imperialism in Korea or slogan for peace not war and against Anglo-American imperialism. [11] Not only that, one UCRC convention in 1952 adopted a list of resolutions which included: ‘(vii) Exploitation of the country by foreign powers and discrimination against Russia and China in the field of international trade must be ended (vii) Equipment should be imported from Russia for the improvement of indigeneous heavy industries. [12]

The Left-influenced refugee movement not only suppressed the continuous harassment of the Hindus in East Pakistan, they even went ahead in support of Pakistan. On 18 October 1952, UCRC meeting at Wellington Square condemned Shyama Prasad Mukherjee for demanding sanctions against Pakistan. [13] On 7 April 1953, UCRC had a big demonstration and presented a charter of demands to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. Significantly it had one of the demands as ‘Rehabilitation of displaced Muslims and grant of interim relief to them’ [14], but no mention of refugees themselves for safely returning to East Pakistan in accordance with Nehru-Liaquat Pact. The betrayal of the upper caste refugees about their own people in East Pakistan ensured the future illegal migration and continuous flow of today’s refugees, who are mostly what is considered as Scheduled Castes by Indian Constitution. This caste difference sealed the fate of the Hindu refugees for later years, an expression of upper caste Hindu leadership in Left, right and centre and their indifference.

The one-way flow of Hindu refugees continued during the existence of East Pakistan till 1971. Except in 1964 when some riots took place in West Bengal as retaliation to major rioting against Hindus in East Pakistan [15], West Bengal accepted the fate of Hindus in East Pakistan as normal. Throughout 60’s and 70’s, the political scenario in West Bengal was a race towards a communist revolution. The politically conscious people of different left stands were busy in engaging in violent actions against class enemies to bring revolution. The leftists slowly have conquered the total intellectual gamut of Bengali Hindus. The situations of the Hindus in East Pakistan never became any issue of discussion amongst left. Nobody mentioned that even after massive migration of the Hindu refugees in West Bengal, the proportion of Muslim population is on the rise.

Bangladesh War and the end of the legal Refugees

Awami League won the election in East Pakistan and Sheikh Mujibur Rahaman declared independence on 26 March 1971. It was one of the quickest liberation struggles in history, thanks to Indian intervention. However Pakistan army carried out a genocide within nine months. Though many Bengali Muslims were killed, there was a plan to kill as many Hindus as can be done. Hamoodur Rahaman Commission, chaired by Hamoodur Rahaman, Chief Justic of Pakistan, revealed explosive documents which include written order to kill Hindus. [16] R. J. Rummel , the researcher on killings by the state authorities, described a chilling gendercidal ritual, reminiscent of Nazi procedure towards Jewish Males: "In what became province-wide acts of genocide, Hindus were sought out and killed on the spot. As a matter of course, soldiers would check males for the obligated circumcision among Moslems. If circumcised, they might live; if not, sure death." [17]

Bangladesh was liberated mostly on the dead bodies of Hindu Bengalis. Then there were nearly 10 million refugees, about 13% of then East Pakistan’s populations. There were 6797615 refugees in the government camps and 3101660 were on their own as per government record. Out of the refugees in camps 92.7% were Hindus. [18] It can be assumed that the refugees on their own will be mostly Hindus taking shelter in their relatives homes. This makes the total number of Hindu refugees as 9176627. Now Bangladesh census of 1974 shows the number of Hindus as 967300. This means nearly all the Hindu population of East Pakistan took refuge in India. This shows who were the real target of Pakistan Army and its Bengali Muslim collaborators. However Bangladesh war only brought some nostalgic emotions about their lost East Bengal to upper caste Hindu refugees who were then mostly getting settled in West Bengal. This horrible aggression on their own brothers and sisters and their brutal killings evoked no angry response in West Bengal. The West Bengal was getting ready for new types of migration – Illegal migration and Undeclared refugees.

II
Indifferent Community, Invitation to Illegal Migration and Undeclared Refugees: Barrier to critical research

Stunned eerie silence

The left influence on the Bengali Hindu mind was always strong. It has attracted Bengali youth from the days of the IPTA (Indian People’s Theatre Association). By 60’s the West Bengal intellectual world was totally overwhelmed by leftist ideas. The ’68 student rebellion in France, Vietnam War and Cold war between United States and Soviet Union, made the socialist liberation a dream for the youth in the world. Communist Party of India’s prominence (much due to refugee power), the revolutionary zeal of Naxalite movement and the support of the writers, academics, film directors, musicians to all these political movements – all practically turned West Bengal in a leftist state without the state power.

After so much upheaval in a society in such a small period, there is nearly no books, films or literature on this subject of forced migration of such a large number of people. There have been only stories and films made on the misery of refugee lives but never mentioning who made them refugees. Celebrated film maker Ritwik Ghatak’s films are its best examples. Its not the refugees have forgotten their past, rather they flaunt their link with East Bengal ceremoniously. There is a famous football club named ‘East Bengal’ which is religiously supported by the refugee youth and old. There are many societies named after different former districts of East Bengal e.g Chattagram Sammilani (Chittagong Association), Mymensingh Sammilani etc. They organise different programmes but never never they would touch upon any subject related with happenings in East Pakistan or today’s Bangladesh. You may go to any refugee organisation’s meeting, hear fiery lectures about the government’s apathy about the refugees’ demands but never any discussion about their past or the present situation of their own brothers and sisters in Bangladesh. Tathagata Roy sums it up nicely as: ‘In such circumstances one would expect the exodus of Hindus from East Bengal to be a hot issue in the state of West Bengal. One would expect hundreds of books to be written on the subject, articles appearing in the newspapers every now and then, research being conducted on the political, sociological and economic reasons for the exodus, as well as the fallout in these fields, debates on the question ……Indeed one is greeted with a stunned, eerie silence. The subject is never discussed inn polite society, never debated, never written about. If it ever comes up in the course of a discussion, people squirm uncomfortably until the subject is changed, almost in the same manner as they would in a case of incest in the family. Books on the subject are rarer than dinosaur’s eggs, and few that are there have largely gone out of print.’ [19]

No news from Bangladesh is good news

Trend is same today. Average Bengali has no idea about the situation in Bangladesh or about the undeclared refugees. So when Bangladesh changes its secular constitution adopted in 1972 after liberation war in 1977, (known as 5th Amendment) to include “Absolute trust and faith in Allah as guiding principle of all state activities” in Fundamental Principles Clause 8 (1) and removes the whole Clause 12 on Secularism, it is no news in West Bengal. Then in 1988, Bangladesh constitution was amended (known as 8th Amendment) to declare Islam as state religion. In 1990 after an attack on Babri Mosque (it was not demolished then, just hundreds of people climbed it), a countrywide rioting took place in Bangladesh. The Bengali Muslims not only damaged hundreds of temples throughout the country, looted Hindu shops and houses, also famous temples like Dhakeswari Temple in Dhaka, Kaibalyadaham in Chittahong were damaged and ransacked. [20] The pogrom of larger scale took place in 1992 after Babri Mosque was destroyed. 28000 houses, 3600 religious places and 2500 commercial establishments were destroyed. 13 people were killed. [21] None of these news ever reached the West Bengal people. The newspapers observe a self-censor about the Islamic violence. Even the killing of Humayun Azad or assault on Shahriar Kabir did not find any mention in the West Bengal media. A study by BRAC Researcher summed up the situation as ‘violence against minority was in the process being institutionalized in Bangladesh’. [22]

Average Bengali newspaper reader and now TV viewers have no source to know about these incidents. After the election of BNP-Jamat coalition under Begum Zia in October 2001 a massive onslaught came down on the Hindu community. Several lakhs of people fled to India. Hundreds of women were raped days after days. The atrocities on the Hindus continued for next three years. Ekattarer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee (Committee for Resisting Killers and Collaborators of 1971) have published a three volume report on it edited by eminent human rights activists Shahriar Kabir. [23] A case has been filed in The Supreme Court Of Bangladesh in 2006. [24] These were never any news about such on going ghastly incidents in West Bengal though thousands entered West Bengal to take refuge. A 10000 strong procession by those refugees in Kolkata and demonstration in front of Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata made no news in print or electronic media. No human rights organizations ever even gave a press statement on the issue.

Migration Research: Questionable ‘Objectivity’

In this mindset any research on the subject of Illegal Migration and Undeclared Refugees which no doubt would involve the Muslims and Bangladesh is a taboo in West Bengal. When even eminent historians like Amalendu De, an expert in Islamic History and ex-President of The Asiatic Society writes on infiltration, he finds no publisher and had to do with unknown little publisher. [25] Similarly Prafulla Chakraborty, well known for his books on European History, could not find publisher for his seminal work ‘The Marginal Men’ and had to print himself. The most striking aspects of this source book published in 1990 that it has a very brief bibliography – simply because there is hardly any work on this issue. In last decade there has been some work on the issue of migration and refugees due to international funding on this subject. But still the researchers are very careful not to cross the sacred line what is known as ‘secularism’.

Chandan Nandy, the author of one of the few extensively researched treatises on the subject. States: ‘I had to approach the field research with extreme caution lest I ended up “taking sides”, especially because the pernicious debate between the left, centre and right of the Indian political spectrum invariably casts researchers as either “communal” or “secular”..’ [26]

It is difficult to survive in academic field and also get research funding if you are once branded as ‘communal’, especially in Left-run West Bengal. A detailed study of transborder migration from Bangladesh to West Bengal by Ranabir Samaddar provides human stories, theories, some useful data but very careful not to put any attention on the communal nature of Bangladesh. But such a massive reality could not be hidden so he provided a generous subsection ‘The vanishing Hindus of Bangladesh’ in which only Vested Property Act has been shown as the reason for such vanishing trick. [27]Enough literature on the worst riots of 1990, and 1992, the rapes of hundreds of women of Bhola and others were easily available, but you cannot survive in the academic field if you mention those unmentionable which would drag the issue of Islamic violence. So Sammadar was much annoyed when a BSF hindi-speaking jawan reminded him to read ‘Lajja’, [28] to understand the illegal migration. Samaddar was not happy that BSF jawan besides guarding the border should also know about Lajja and its impact. [29] Of course for Samaddar, these riots or vanishing Hindus is a normal historical process which he welcomes as he writes in the introduction of his book, ‘My argument here is that though the human flows are very much a part and product of globalization, they also indicate a return to history, to local history and a past narrative of community, in short, they signal continuity. [30]
And ‘Here I argue that the nation as a configuration is being continuously redefined, not the least through forces such as population flow…… [31] So Mr Samaddar is waiting to see formation of a new nation in West Bengal, we shall see later what the face of that new ‘neo nation’ would be.

On a similar line a paper from Indian Statistical Institute on ‘undocumented migration’ the researcher tries to avoid the religious issue in a peculiar manner. She writes that ‘It is to be borne in mind that Bangladesh is not a secular state. Religion does play a role in migration’ but then goes on to say about the political and economic causes only responsible for four phases of migration from Bangladesh. [32] The paper mentioning religious issue in several parts of the article had. identified the Five ‘Push Factors’ in Bangladesh to be Economic, Demographic, Social, Political and Law and Order. [33] She covers up religion under the wrap of ‘law and order’. Reacting to this article another academic comments,
Migration from Bangladesh to West Bengal has been a continuous process since 1947. The reasons are historical, political, social, cultural, economic, geographical and environmental. [34] Note the list of factors for migration again, citing everything except religious or communal factors.

III
Needed: Differentially Defining Illegal Migration and Undeclared Refugees

Definitions
Let us first clarify the terms ‘Illegal migration’, ‘Undeclared Refugees’ and ‘Infiltrators’.

There have been many discussions on the issue of migration and its legality including the unfettered right of migration of people. Any such theoretical debate is avoided here. It is simply that whoever enters a country without proper legal papers or reside without legal permission after entering legally is an ‘illegal migrant’. There should be no ambiguity in that. How that illegal migrant has to be treated is a different issue altogether.

A Refuggee is defined in Article 1 of the 1951 UN Convention as amended by the 1967 Protocol as: "A person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.."

However India, Pakistan, Bangladesh are not signatories to this convention or protocol. So by international law there have never been any refugees in between these countries. The 2005 UN data shows that in India there are 77200 refugees from China, 50730 from Sri Lanka, 9700 from Afghanistan, 1471 from Myanmar and 104 from Somalia. So UN keeps no data on the refugees of the subcontinent. Recently on 19 June 2007, a minority rights group Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities has filed a writ petition at Calcutta High Court on June 19th, 2007 appealing that Government of India should grant Refugee status to Bangladesh Minorities, who took shelter in India to escape violence in their country. [35]

So the term refugee is considered here following the definition UN convention though India or Bangladesh is not a signatory. By that definition the Hindus from Bangladesh are entitled to be considered as ‘Refugee’. Till 25 March 1971, the Hindus who crossed over to India from East Pakistan were issued a receipt of their entry into the country. This receipt or slip was the proof of their ‘refugee’ status and they were subsequently granted citizenship of the country. These people are considered as legal refugees. Even Government of India’s notes also refer them as ‘refugees’.

On 29 November 1971, Government of India through its Under Secretary C.L.Goyal issued an Express letter No. 26011/16/71-10 to the Chief Secretaries to all State Governments and Union Territories Administrations. Its Subject: Grant of Indian Citizenship to refugees from East Bengal who have crossed over to India after 25th March 1971. Instruction that application from such refugees for Indian Citizenship should not be entertained. [36] According to the Sec 5.1(a) of Citizenship Act 1955, persons of Indian origin who are ordinarily resident in India and have been resident for five years immediately before making an application for registration; [37]. The refugees from East Pakistan naturally became Indian citizens afterwards.

The situation changed from 26th March, 1971, the category of ‘Undeclared Refugees’ came into being.

So the ‘illegal migrants’ other than ‘the undeclared refugees’ can be termed as ‘infiltrators’. By this definition infiltrator is a Bangladeshi Muslim as others like Hindus, Christians, Buddhists or Ahmedias can claim the status of a refugee due to religious persecution.

Citizenship Act 2003 and Undeclared Refugees

Though the provision of obtaining citizenship for these undeclared refugees were stopped by a notice, it was thought to be a temporary affair as there was still no legal bar from obtaining the citizenship. The act has been amended seven times. Till 1986 anyone born in India had the right to be an Indian citizen. Sons and daughters of the ‘undeclared refugees’ could therefore be Indian citizen. After 1986, only son or daughter of an Indian citizen can be a citizen. So the refugees who entered after 1986, not only they but their future sons and daughters are to be all illegal migrants.

The scenario changed further after the passing of Citizenship Act 2003 by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA Government. The act aimed to please NRI Indians by providing them a chance of dual citizenship, but in the process, this party preaching Hinduttwa caused a major harm to the Hindu Refugees from Bangladesh coming after 25 March 1971. It further restricted the chance of getting citizenship for this undeclared refugees by stating that if the father or mother is an illegal migrant, their son or daughter is also illegal migrant. So several millions of undeclared refugees from Bangladesh have lost all hopes of citizenship

What was the reaction for such a devastating act and that too done by ‘communal’ NDA? At the intervention of the state of Gujarat and Rajasthan, citizenship have been given to the several thousands Hindus displaced from Sindh residing in those states following the guidelines of section 18 of the Act and subsequent rules of 2004.

But West Bengal remained silent. The Act which has been passed for 5 years but till now no worthwhile discussion on this life and death issue of millions of undeclared refugees have appeared neither in print media or electronic media. Hundreds of Bengali ‘little magazines’, considered to be heart of Bengali intellectualism, which brings out special issues on ‘Palestine’ to ‘HIV Aids’, never touched such an important issue.

IV
The Numbers: Demographic Disaster in West Bengal and Ethnic Cleansing in Bangladesh. Demographical Disaster

Let us start with some of the most easily available statistics of change of Hindu and Muslim population in Bangladesh and West Bengal. Tables of growth of Hindu and Muslim population in Bangladesh and West Bengal are provided in details below:

Table 1
Hindu and Muslim Population Growth in West Bengal & Bangladesh, 1951-2001

1951 1961 1974

Religions
Total Population (%)
Total Population (%)
Growth Rate (%) 1951-61
Total Population (%)
Growth Rate (%) 1961-74
Bangladesh
All Religions
41933
50840
21.24
71478
40.59

Hindus
9239 (22.0)
9380 (18.5)
1.53
9673 (13.5)
3.12

Muslims
32227 (76.9)
40890 (80.4)
26.88
61039 (85.4)
49.28

1981

1991

2001

Religions
Total Population (%)
Growth Rate (%) 1974-81
Total Population (%)
Growth Rate (%) 1981-91
Total Population (%)
Growth Rate (%) 1991-01
Growth Rate (%) 1951-2001
Bangladesh
All Religions
87120
21.88
106315
22.03
123851
16.49
195.35

Hindus
10570 (12.1)
9.27
11179 (10.5)
5.76
11379 (9.2)
1.79
23.16

Muslims
74587 (86.7)
22.20
93881 (88.3)
25.87
111079 (89.7)
18.32
244.68

1951 1961 1971

Religions
Total Population (%)
Total Population (%)
Growth Rate (%) 1951-61
Total Population (%)
Growth Rate (%) 1961-71
West Bengal
All Religions
24810308
34926279
32.80
44312011
26.87

Hindus
19462706 (78.45)
27523358 (78.80)
41.42
34611864 (78.11)
25.75

Muslims
4925496 (19.85)
6985287 (20.00)
41.82
9064338 (20.46)
29.76

1981 1991 2001

Religions
Total Population (%)
Growth Rate (%) 1971-81
Total Population (%)
Growth Rate (%) 1981-91
Total Population (%)
Growth Rate (%) 1991-01
Growth Rate (%) 1951-2001
West Bengal
All Religions
54580647
23.17
68077965
24.73
80176197
17.84
223.16

Hindus
42007159 (76.96)
21.37
50866624 (74.72)
21.09
58104835 (72.47)
14.23
198.54

Muslims
11743259 (21.51)
29.55
16075836 (23.61)
36.89
20240543 (25.25)
25.91
310.13

Table 2
Districtwise Demographic Change In West Bengal 1951-2001
Population Ratio in Percent (%)

Region

1951 2001
% Change
West Bengal
Hindu
78.45
72.47
-5.98

Muslim
19.85
25.25
+5.4
Darjiling
Hindu
81.71
76.92
-4.79

Muslim
1.14
5.31
+4.17
Jalpaiguri
Hindu
84.18
83.3
-0.88

Muslim
9.74
10.85
+1.11
Kochbihar
Hindu
70.90
75.50
+4.6

Muslim
28.94
24.24
-4.7
Uttar and Dakshin Dinajpur
Hindu
69.30
60.22
-9.08

Muslim
29.94
38.47
+8.53
Maldah
Hindu
62.92
49.28
-13.64

Muslim
36.97
49.72
+12.75
Murshidabad
Hindu
44.60
35.92
-8.68

Muslim
55.24
63.67
+8.43
Birbhum
Hindu
72.60
64.69
-7.91

Muslim
26.86
35.08
+8.22
Bardhaman
Hindu
83.73
78.89
-4.84

Muslim
15.60
19.78
+4.18
Nadia
Hindu
77.03
73.75
-3.28

Muslim
22.36
25.41
+3.05
North 24 Paraganas*
Hindu
77.26 (1971)
75.23
-2.03

Muslim
22.43 (1971)
24.22
+1.79
South 24 Pgs*
Hindu
72.96 (1971)
65.86
-7.1

Muslim
26.05 (1971)
33.24
+7.19
Hugli
Hindu
86.52
83.63
-2.89

Muslim
13.27
15.14
+1.87
Bankura
Hindu
91.16
84.35
-6.81

Muslim
4.40
7.51
+3.11
Puruliya*
Hindu
93.13 (1961)
83.42
-9.71

Muslim
5.99 (1961)
7.12
+1.13
Medinipur
Hindu
91.78
85.58
-6.2

Muslim
7.17
11.33
+4.16
Haora
Hindu
83.45
74.98
-8.47

Muslim
16.22
24.44
+8.22
Kolkata
Hindu
83.41
77.68
-5.73

Muslim
12.00
20.27
+8.27
Source: Census of India, 2001

* Adjusted Data
# Exept Kochbihar, all districts had increase in Muslim Population
# Maldah , a Hindu majority district has been turned into Muslim majority
# South Dinajpur district is on the verge of turning into Muslim majority
# Border districts of Maldah, Murshidabad, Uttar & Dakhsin Dinajpur, South 24 Parganas and Kolkata; Howrah have high increase.

Let us look the data carefully. Remember what Shyamaprasad Mukherjee told in 1950 while resigining from Nehru’s cabinet. The unusual growth of Muslim population during 1951-61 bears out his warnings. While Hindu population growth is very high of 41.42% due to huge influx of Hindu refugees from East Pakistan [38], Muslim population growth was higher at 41.82%. No natural growth can explain this except massive coming back of Muslims back to West Bengal. Remember the role of UCRC, demanding rehabilitation of the Muslims and criticizing Shyamaprasad. Though the Hindu refugee influx continued [39], the Muslim growth rate still surpassed that. It is a puzzle nobody bothered to look into. The worst demographic disaster happened during the height of rule of Jyoti Basu, the CPIM’s and country’s longest serving chief minister. West Bengal’s population growth rate was higher than the Indian national average till 1971 due to high influx of refugees. During 1971-81, for the first time West Bengal population growth rate went below the national average. During 1981-1991 again West Bengal population growth rate became above national average. During that period Hindu growth rate decreased from previous decade (you must keep in mind that influx of Hindu refugees never stopped), the Muslim growth was a phenomenal 36.89%. If there were any normal atmosphere of research and study in West Bengal, this abnormal population scenario should have been a major issue of debate, academic study, election issue, planning, environment etc. However it was silence as ever. Only a respected historian like Professor Amalendu De, once a member of Communist Party who married into the family of Fazlul Haq, the legendary leader Bengali Muslim peasantry, braved to write a small book on infiltration which was criticized in CPI(M)’s daily. [40]

In 1991-2001 the growth rate reduced but still had a large gap with the growth rate of Hindu population. So from 19.85% in 1951, Muslim population in West Bengal shot up to 25.85% in 2001. Remember Ambedkar’s visionary comment on numbers, this became the reality after 50 years of creation of the state of West Bengal.

Compare the overall growth rate in 50 years in two parts. In West Bengal, Hindu population growth rate was 198.54%, Muslim growth rate was one and half times higher at 310.13%! In Bangladesh, Hindu population growth rate was 23.16%, while Muslim population growth rate was more than ten times, at 244.68%. A comparative study of the population and the growth details of these two countries can be found in Bimal Praminik’s well-researched book. [41]

Worst Ethnic Cleansing in Peace Times

One can have a comparative look at the situation in Bangladesh. It can only be called ‘the worst ethnic cleansing in recent history’. We have mentioned before the ‘gentle push’ and ‘violent riots’ as the reasons for Hindu exodus. The other major reason was the ‘Enemy Property Act, 1965’ which was in fact an evolution of different earlier acts to grab the properties of the Hindus. [42] The Enemy Property Act of Pakistan was renamed as Vested Property Act after the emergence of Bangladesh. Abul Barkat, Professor of Economics in Dhaka University, has done seminal work on this subject. Even after the Pakistan regime is gone, Vested Property Act is still used to grab Hindu properties, an interesting example is given by Prof Barkat in the preface of his book: The tales of prominent persons who have been affected by the VPA are well known. For example, Mr. Dhirendra Nath Dutta, the veteran politician from Comilla, freedom fighter against the British Raj, and a member of the then-Pakistan Constituent Assembly, raised the first voice of protest in the Parliament against imposition of Urdu as the only state language of Pakistan and demanded Bangla be recognized as a State Language. After dedicating his whole life to the people and fighting to his last breath for the cause of the country, Shaheed Dhirendra Nath Dutta was brutally tortured and killed along with his son Dilip Dutta by Pakistani Armies in 1971 in Comilla Cantonment. The tiny, token village property left to his family after he had donated the rest of his landed property for welfare and educational purposes in his village Ramrail in Brahmanbaria District was grabbed by a group of people under the pretext of ‘vested property.’ In response to the case filed by his family members in the Subjudge Court of Brahmanbaria, the Court demanded that the family produce Shaheed Dhirendra Nath Dutta’s death certificate, an impossibility in the case of a liberation was martyr, Other eminent personalities such as Masterda Surjya Sen, who dedicated his life to the freedom struggle against the British Raj, Mr. Amal Sen, a veteran leader of peasant movement in British India who because of his involvement in the political struggle for freedom and democracy spent about twenty years in Pakistani prison, and Mr. Barin Mazumder, the renowned classical artist who devoted his life to developing the music and culture of this country, had their properties listed as enemy properties by the Pakistani administration. [43]

In his later work, he estimated about 6.3 million missing Hindu population during 1971-1991. These are our undeclared refugees. If two third of these people settle in West Bengal, the number of undeclared refugees will be 4.2 million. Let us see in details about Prof Barkat’s estimation: ‘According to the 2001 Bangladesh Population Census, the total size of the Hindu population in Bangladesh was 11.4 million. Assuming the 1961 population share of the Hindu population (18.4%), the absolute size of the Hindu population in 2001 would have been 22.8 million instead of 11.4 million as reported in the census, i.e., the actual current (2001) size is half (50%) of the expected size, Mass out-migration of Hindu population (mostly of India) during mid-1960s and onward is a reality beyond doubt. Among the various factors responsible for such out-migrations of the Hindu population, the effects of the Enemy / Vested Property Act were important ones. The exact effect of all these factors (e.g., communal riots, Indo-Pak War of 1965, Enemy and Vested Property Acts) is difficult to quantify due to lack of relevant reliable information. Thus, an attempt has been made to estimate the mission Hindu population during 1964-1971, 1971-1981, 1981-1991, and 1991-2001 using appropriate assumptions.
According to the information in the Population Census, the average annual growth rates of the Muslim Population was 3.13 percent for 1961-1974, 3.08 percent for 1974-1981, 2.20 percent for 1981-1991, and 1.7 percent for 1991-2001 periods. Assuming a 13 percent lower fertility rates for the Hindus compared to the Muslims, the average annual growth rates of Hindu population in “no out-migration” situation would have been 2.72 percent during 1964-1971, 2.68 percent during 1971-1981, 1.92 percent during 1981-1991, and 1.48 percent during 1991-2001.

By extrapolating the above rates, the Hindu population in 1971 would have been 11.4 million instead of 9.6 million as reported in the official documents. The Hindu population would have been 14.3 million in 1981 instead of 10.6 million, 16.5 million in 1991 instead of 11.2 million, and 19.5 million in 2001 instead of 11.4 million. Therefore, there were some 1.8 million mission Hindu population during 1964-1971, 1.9 million missing Hindu population during 1971-1981, 1.6 million missing Hindu population during 1981-1991, and 2.8 million missing Hindu population during 1991-2001. Thus the estimated total missing Hindu population was 8.1 million during 1964-2001, i.e., 218,919 Hindus missing each year. In other words, if out-migration of the Hindu population is caused mainly by communal disharmony resulting from the Enemy / Vested Property Acts, the approximate size of the missing Hindu population would be 600 persons per day during 1964-2001. The approximate size of the missing Hindu population was as high as 705 persons per day during 1964-1971, as against 521 persons per day during 1971-1981, decreasing to 438 persons per day during 1981-1991, and rising to 767 persons per day during 1991-2001. [44]

Interestingly, though these missing population have come to West Bengal, the Economics Departments of various Universities in West Bengal never cared to carry out research corresponding to what Prof Barkat has done. The reason is well known.
Now we proceed to the numbers from the Indian side.

Infiltrators - how many

What is the number of infiltrators? Government sources do not segregate between the illegal migrants and the undeclared refugees, only sometimes some figures are given. Let us go by some initial government statistics and the reactions by the Congress and the Left parties.

Home Minister Shri Indrajit Gupta in reply to a question in Parliament on 6th May, 1990 stated that the number of illegal immigrants in India was about one crore. So by 1990, a figure of 10 million comes into discussion. Now see the reaction of Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, an important Congress leader from West Bengal: Mr. Chairman, Sir, I heard in the last two occasions this particular debate on this resolution. Before I participate in the discussion on the resolution, I had the privilege to hear the distinguished Home Minister Shri Indrajit Gupta the other day while replying to a question. I do not know the reason and the logistics which provided him the strength to admit in the House that about ten million foreigners are now residing in India. Having said so on the floor of the House that ten million foreigners are in the country at the moment and also admitting the fact that the people who are to prevent their entry from across the border, are not performing their jobs very efficiently, it really gave a handle to those who have been creating a lot of hue and cry on this issue and to a great extent had communalised this campaign as Shri Banatwalla said just now.

So mentioning the number of ten million of infiltrators irritated Mr Dasmunsi very much. What more to please the infiltrators waiting to enter. Mr Dasmunshi continues:
Sir, it is a fact that historically when India, Pakistan and Bangladesh were together during the days of freedom struggle, when we were all one against the British empire, our cultural, social, and political aspirations and our emotional ties were one. …… Be it a Muslim in Bangladesh, be it a Muslim in Pakistan, their dreams for this sub-continent in the days of the struggle against the British and their cultural, religious, emotional passion, are the same today also. …. Let us take stock of our border States and Provinces. Jammu, Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat border with Pakistan. Whether you like it or not, if anything goes wrong in these four States, a habit has developed in this country just to doubt and cast aspersions on the Muslims of this area, as the agents of Pakistan. ….. If there is a war again, the spies of the Government will start finding out whether the agents might not be anybody other than the Muslims. Let us try to understand in what manner we are cheating them day in and day out. Do you need a Jamat or Muslim league anymore in India while Dasmunshis are there? Mr Dasmunshi goes on even encouraging to violate the Indian Citizenship Act standing in Indian Parliament: Thirty years ago, a daily wage earner of the agricultural field, may be his name is, Shri Ramatulla Khan, could not thrive in his own part and maybe on the side of Tripura or West Bengal or Assam, the big landlords whether Hindu or Muslim, asked Shri Ramatulla Khan during agriculture season to come and work in the field and to give support to agricultural production. Shri Ramatulla Khan went and stayed there for long with his family and children. Now when the time has come to identify, we do not go to the background as to how Shri Ramatulla Khan came in. We go straight to the child and tell like this: "Look here, your father came here as an illegal immigrant. We have enough documents because Rahmatullah used to stay in a village till 16th August 1947 or till such and such a date of August 1950 or August, 1960. You are his child and get out from here." This is the kind of an attitude we have always adopted throughout the country. A Memebr of Parliament standing inside Parliament telling the administration not to disturb the infiltrator family! And then Mr Dasmunsi introduces his background. – I was born in Bangladesh….. One night I came out and found that there was a trouble. My father, mother and sister were staying in the House and the house with all the property was lit. The next day morning, I found that the gentleman and his brother, who escorted us safely to cross the border, were Muslims. After having successfully crossed the border, myself, my mother and my sister arrived by train at the border of India. After seven days, we gathered the news that the great Muslim family which helped us had been killed at the hands of some fanatics. I still remember it….. When I became a Minister, I went to visit their family. What a contribution they have made for promoting brotherhood!

A fantastic account from a refugee boy! The so much celebration of Hindu-Muslim brotherhood. But then why the Dasmunshi family came from East Pakistan and stayed back in India. In some incident, his family house might be burnt, they also could take shelter in another place for a few days but why they did not go back to his ancestral home again!!

The issue of infiltrators also dogged the days of Shri Jyoti Basu, whose government was responsible for this invasion to begin. In an article published in CPI-M’s Bengali daily Ganashakti on 11 October 1992, on the Infiltration problem Jyoti Basu wrote:
..From 1979 the Muslims are also coming to India. Between 1977 to 1992, BSF has identified and pushed back 2,35,529 Bangladeshi infiltrators. Amongst them 68472 were Hindus and 1,64,132 were Muslims. At the same time between 1977 to 1992, Mobile task Force has pushed back 2,16, 985 Bangladeshi infiltrators. Amongst them 56342 were Hindus and 1,69,795 are Muslims. [45]

So we find during 15 years about 4.5 lakhs of infiltrators were pushed back and 73% of them were Muslims. If we consider that only 30% of the infiltrators are caught, then this itself is enough to quantify the problem of Muslim infiltration in West Bengal.

On July 14, 2004, in reply to a question in the Parliament, the Congress Minister of State for Home Affairs Sri Prakash Jaiswal informed that there 1 crore 20 lakhs 53 thousand and 950 illegal Bangladeshi in the country. Out of that West Bengal has 57 Lakhs of the illegal Bangladeshi. The list is given below. As usual when the pro-islamic ‘secular’ media raised a hue and cry, the minister had to say that ‘the reported figures were not based on any comprehensive or sample study but were based on hearsay and that too from interested parties. Therefore, no realistic figures can be given for illegal Bangladeshi migrants in Assam. In the case of West Bengal also the figures are based on unreliable estimates and are incorrect.’ [46] The figure also show that there are 3,75,000 Bangladeshis in Delhi and this may mean that there are more Bangladeshi Bengalees in National Capital than the Indian Bengalees. This also shows the incompetence of BJP governments who ruled both the Delhi State and the Central Government in recent times.

Table 3
Bangladeshi Migrants in India - 2004

State
Estimated Number
Arunachal Padesh
800
Assam
5000000
Bihar
47900
Gujarat
100
Haryana
550
Madya Pradesh
700
Maharashtra
20400
Meghalaya
30000
Nagaland
59500
Orissa
30850
Punjab
150
Rajasthan
2500
Tripura
325400
UP
26000
W Bengal
5700000
Andaman & Nikobar
3000
Delhi
375000

11622850

Chandan Nandy has done excellent work by tracking the infiltrators and their modous operandi, both in West Bengal and Assam, by direct field study and from secondary sources. [47] He provides one nice example: The fact that West Bengal has been and continues to be a favourite destination for Bangladeshi migrants is testified by the results of a pilot project that the Government of India launched in 2003 in the Murshidabad-Jiaganj belt of Muslim-majority Murshidabad district, believed to be home to hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi migrants, as part of its larger scheme to issue multi-purpose national identity cards to citizens. The work on the ground was to be executed by the district administration. The Murshidabad-Jiaganj belt was chosen along with a few other areas in some of the border states of India as a feasibility project whose objective was “quick identification and deportation of illegal migrants in the country as also a credible identification system for multifarious socio and economic use…that would involve a massive exercise of compulsory registration of all citizens and non-citizens”. Although the final report is yet to be submitted to the government, the provisional findings of the Murshidabad-Jiaganj project came up with startling results: Of the 255,000 people covered under the project, only 9.4 per cent or 24,000, could produce “at least one supporting document” of their Indian nationality; 90.6 per cent or 231,000 could not produce even one of the 19 prescribed documents. The newspaper that broke the story had this to say: At first glance, the revelation seems to confirm what critics of the Left Front government have been alleging – that the state machinery has papered over the existence of a huge mass of populace which does not belong to the country but has been allowed to stay on as captive vote bank. [48] Those who could not produce any of the prescribed documents – land deeds, ration card, drivers’ licence, voters’ identity card to name a few – have been put under the category of “citizenship in suspense”. One junior bureaucrat said that over the years, Lalgola. The reaction of the CPI-M was, not surprisingly, similar: “It is a sensitive issue and not possible for the state alone to combat it…But your figures are absurd.” [49] Neither the West Bengal government nor the CPI-M agrees that the estimated number of Bangladeshi illegal immigrants in the state is ‘no fewer than 10 million’.

So the unprecedented scale of the infiltration and undeclared refugee influx is a case in point, though it never received an iota of legitimate attention.

V
Impact: Secular Democratic Society At Stake

Though we do not know the exact figure of either the infiltration or undeclared refugee influx but the scale is clearly perceptible. Abul Barkat’s estimates provide 4.5 million undeclared refugees. Some of them have come with regular visas but mostly without any documents. We find from previous discussions that the Muslim infiltrators are nearly three times the Hindu refugees trying to sneak in to India. Taking that figure, the number of infiltrators will be around 12 to 14 million. We have an illegal population of say 15-18 millions of which many are not recorded in any registrar. So West Bengal’s real population may be between 80 to 90 million, not 80 million recorded in Census 2001. But as the numbers are not specific, the impact can be predicted only qualitatively.

The impact of an unrecorded population of such a magnitude cannot be ignored at social, economic, political or environmental level. Let us first take the issue of any planning for the state which include Food, Shelter, Sanitation, Education – the basic needs. West Bengal is already one of the most underperforming states. NSS 61st Round, July 2004-June 2005 showed that the percentage of rural household not getting enough food every day in some months of the year was the highest in West Bengal (10.6 per cent). [50] So when you have a large number of unrecorded people it is diffcult to plan. From environmental point of view, West Bengal already is the most densely populated state in the country. It is impossible to take more people in it. We have already seen that land is such a scarce resource in West Bengal, it has become the focal point of all development issues. Already the issue of land in Singur and Nandigram villages have caused a political turmoil in the state which has further economic impact in terms future investment of industrial capital in West Bengal. So if these influx of infiltrators and undeclared refugees continues unabetted, the problem will intensify in the coming days.

The alarming increse of population put excess pressure on the natural resources. More the people are poor, more they depend on direct natural resources for livelihood. It can be water from the ponds, wood from the jungle or other house building materials. All these have direct impact on environment and public health. The undeclared refugees living along the train tracks connecting Kolkata to the eastern border town of Bangaon are already creating a havoc on environment and public health. The infiltrators residing on the border villages or working in the towns also face similar problems due to poverty. A poor state like West Bengal is often helpless in the face of such influx.

Planning with a large dose of finacial help can mitigate the economic problems to some acceptable level, but the cultural, political and social environmental impacts are often irreversible.

Expansion of Madrasas and Assault on Secualr Education

After coming to power in 1978, Left-front government went full steam ahead to encourage madrasa education. Their yearly list of successes always include the success of spreading more madrasa education with ever-larger state funding. While students of various other religions study under different non-religious educational boards (West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, Central Board of Secondary Education, Indian School Certificate Examination etc), the Muslims have to study under a Islamic educational board, the rationale is never questioned. This is not a place of detailed discussion on it but these madrasas are the cradles of Islamic fundamentalism. This was publicly admitted by Shri Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, the Communist Chief Minister of West Bengal, while commenting on attacks on US Centre in Kolkata in January 2002. Of course later he had to eat his own words, saying he was misquoted. [51]Again remember the number game mentioned by B R Ambedkar. As the number of Muslims without any progressive leadership increases, there is always an ever-expanding space for bargain for orthodoxy. Now all the political parties from CPI-M led Left Front to Trinamul Congress or Congress – compete with each other promising more Madrasas. Few years back when the case contesting the ban on Taslima Nasrin’s book ‘Dwikhondita’ was being heard in Calcutta High Court, very young boys from different madrasas wearing Palestinian scarfs used to be brought in hundreds to shout insulting slogans against Taslima Nasrin, the rebel writer banished from Bangladesh.

Rise in Muslim Population and Electoral change of West Bengal

As discussed earlier, demographic danger is already a reality. Recent change of electoral constituencies in West Bengal show the impact. While the Hindu-dominated areas have lost the constituencies, seats have shot up in the Muslim-dominated areas. Kolkata, which earlier had 21 state legislative assembly seats now has only 11 seats. Again, Hindu-dominated Purulia and West Medinipur districts looses two constituencies each, one each in Bankura, Burdwan, Birbhum and Hooghly. Muslim-dominated areas e.g in Murshidabad, the number of seats increased by three and for both North Dinajpur and Nadia the increase was by two seats each. Malda, and South Dinajpur gained one each. Now see the demographic change at the 0-6 year level. The amazing 2001 census results show that while the Muslim population in state is 25.25%, their children (0-6 years) constitute 33.17%. Ambedkar’s prophecy came to be true.

Table 4
Religious Proportion of Children (0-6 years) in 2001

Region

Population %
Children %
% Discrepancy
West Bengal
Hindu
72.47
64.61
-7.86

Muslim
25.25
33.17
+7.92
Darjiling
Hindu
76.92
76.18
-0.74

Muslim
5.31
8.26
+2.95
Jalpaiguri
Hindu
83.3
80.44
-2.86

Muslim
10.85
13.8
+2.95
Kochbihar
Hindu
75.50
69.82
-5.68

Muslim
24.24
30.0
+5.76
Uttar & Dakshin Dinajpur
Hindu
60.22
51.67
-8.55

Muslim
38.47
47.0
+8.53
Maldah
Hindu
49.28
43
-6.28

Muslim
49.72
56
+6.28
Murshidabad
Hindu
35.92
29.35
-6.57

Muslim
63.67
70.27
+6.6
Birbhum
Hindu
64.69
58.42
-6.27

Muslim
35.08
41.15
+6.07
Bardhaman
Hindu
78.89
75.0
-3.89

Muslim
19.78
23.62
+3.84
Nadia
Hindu
73.75
66.71
-7.04

Muslim
25.41
32.55
+7.14
North 24 Pgs*
Hindu
75.23
65.52
-9.71

Muslim
24.22
34.0
+9.78
South 24 Pgs*
Hindu
65.86
55.41
-10.45

Muslim
33.24
43.85
+10.61
Hugli
Hindu
83.63
78.94
-4.69

Muslim
15.14
19.53
+4.39
Bankura
Hindu
84.35
81.8
-2.55

Muslim
7.51
10.0
+2.49
Puruliya*
Hindu
83.42
81.62
-1.8

Muslim
7.12
9.26
+2.14
Medinipur
Hindu
85.58
81.36
-4.22

Muslim
11.33
15.36
+4.03
Haora
Hindu
74.98
64.81
-10.17

Muslim
24.44
34.68
+10.24
Kolkata
Hindu
77.68
70.24
-7.44

Muslim
20.27
27.81
+7.54

Source: Census of India, 2001

A Colluding State, Shariat courts and Assault on Democracy

The rising numbers, violent methods and a colluding State has made the practice of democracy in state at stake. The share of Hindu population in border areas of West Bengal are decreasing day by day. Bimal Pramanik has studied the issue of four border districts in details. [52] His findings show the massive population growth, particualrly that of Muslim population in these districts. His extensive interviews also show that the Hindus are living in fear of life, property and dignity. There is a limeric commonly going around in these areas:

Garu Rakhbi Campe, Taka Rakhbi Banke, Bou Rakhbi Kotahy? [You May Keep Your Cows In Camp (BSF camps), Your Money in Bank, But where can you hide your wife?]
Listen to the admission of a district official, Village after village in Murshidabad, which were earlier Hindu dominated, are now Muslim dominated. Take Char Nirmal as an example. It has been completely taken over by Bangladeshis. Elsewhere in Bhagawangola block, Hindus have either sold off their property and left the villages for small towns and urban agglomerates or they have been pushed to the fringes of the villages. Barring the towns, where they have some presence, the Hindus are in a minority in practically all the villages of Murshidabad. The writ of the immigrants runs strong, especially in the border villages. The local administration is practically run by them. They are more vocal in their demands. On the other hand, the Hindus seem to have meekly given in. A section of them, though, is seething at the sudden assertiveness of the Muslim immigrants. [53] The Shariat court is now common in these areas. The Islamic fervour is so strong that such a court in end July 2008 ordered and executed the beheading of a Hindu man. The wife of the man was a local Muslim girl who went to work in Mumbai and met the boy there. They had a son. While the couple came to the girl’s village in Murshidabad, after knowing the religion of the person, the village court ordered to kill him. [54] Muslim girl being lashed for unwed pregnancy (Murshidabad, April 2004) or Muslim bride being nailed into the knee for a claimed adulterous relationship in the absence of her husband, all are verdicts from the shariat courts (Murshidabad, October 2006). These are the tips of the iceberg, could filter through to the national dailies.

In fact the show of Muslim muscle power as mentioned in the beginning, is becoming a common sight. There was a clash between Hindu and Muslims on 8 January 2009 at Medinipur town, during Muharram procession. Medinipur is a Hindu dominated area. Fear of Muslim violence was so serious that three weeks later, holding of Saraswati Puja in the town, a big festival for Hindus, was kept in hold, and was permitted just few days before the puja. [55] The experience of Chandan Nandy during his study can throw more light on the borderlands: ‘In my travel in the West Bengal and Assam borderlands, the “considerable” mushrooming of mosques and Islamic seminaries, funded by money funneled from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries in West Asia, Iran, Kuwait, Pakistan and Bangladesh, was evident and backed up by government documentation which claim that these places of worship and learning have become hot-beds of fundamentalism and anti-India propaganda. When I met an 18 year-old maulana35 at Fakirerbazar in Assam’s border district of Karimganj, who carried a book titled How Sweet and Beautiful it is to Embrace Death, it was evident how easy it is to label Muslims as fundamentalists ready to die in the cause of jihad. The easy availability of audio cassette tapes of Bangladeshi Jamaat-e-Islami clerics like Delawar Hussein Saidi, preaching anti-Hindu and anti-India sermons, and taped eulogies of Osama bin Laden, only reinforce Hindu and official belief of growing Islamic fundamentalism in Bangladesh out to create a Brihot Bangladesh or a Greater Bangladesh carved out of the territory settled by its Muslim population. As one Indian writer explains: “Some of the Islamic militant groups of Bangladesh like the Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami, Shahadat-al-Hikma, Jamait-ul-Mujahideen and the Islami Manch make no secret of their aim to establish a transnational Islamic state comprising Bangladesh, Muslim majority districts of West Bengal, Assam, Tripura and the Rohingya Hills of Myanmar.” [56]

Expulsion of Taslima Nasrin probably signals the beginning of the last days of a democratic secular West Bengal. The Communist government imposed a ban on ‘Dwikhondito’ by Taslima Nasrin, Calcutta High Court rejected the appeasement of Islamic fundamentalists by lifting the ban. While the Calcutta High Court could thwart the Left Front governments’ attempts to Muslim appeasement, the mighty force of fundamentalist violence took law and order in its hand to throw Taslima out of West Bengal. A day-long violence on 21 November 2007, virtually supported by all the major ‘secular’ parties and ‘secular’ intelligentsia showed the shape of society to come.

This ‘neo nation’ again flexed its muscle between 6-8 February 2009 at the heart of Kolkata. It went on rampage by attacking the office of the Statesman, one of the oldest newspapers in the subcontinent. The Statesman published an article by veteran journalist Johann Hari of The Independent, London, on 5th February, 2009, which criticized all religions. To protest, the Muslims started violence and continued for three days. [57] No print or electronic media published any news about it. The Statesman editor was arrested and released later, but there were no sign of any human rights group or journalist’s organization to protest. Of course no political party had the courage to say anything and as usual State colluded with the arsonists.

This is probably the future of West Bengal. And those undeclared refugees, hounded out from home by a violent society and now hounded by a State, see it like this:
‘I had thought that my family and I had seen the last of Islamic fundamentalism in my village in Pirojpur in Bangladesh. But I can’t say the same now that I am here. When we moved here, we had felt we had come to a secure place. Now I find the same Muslims, who raped our daughters and sisters, grabbed our land and homesteads, stole our cattle and agriculture produce, and persecuted us as my neighbour. We find the mosques blaring the same prayers that we had hated. We are told these mosques have now become the centres of fundamentalist activity in India. We are being overwhelmed again, by greater numbers of Muslims. Where will this all lead to? A time will come when we will no longer be as meek and timid as we were in Bangladesh. [58]
The author, on his campaign experience for last seven years, have heard similar views from so many undeclared refugees.

---------------ooooooooooo-------------------
[1] As per the plan, on 20 June the issue of Bengal partition was decided upon by the members of the Assembly. Several rounds of voting were held. On the question of joining the 'present constituent Assembly' (ie, the Indian Union), the division of the joint session of the House stood at 126 votes against the move and 90 votes in favour. Then the members of the Muslim-majority areas (East Bengal) in a separate session passed a motion by 106-35 votes against partitioning Bengal and for joining a new Constituent Assembly (ie, Pakistan) as a whole. This was followed by the separate meeting of the members of the non-Muslim-majority areas (West Bengal) who by a division of 58-21 voted for partition of the province. It must be mentioned that a single majority vote in favour of partition by either notionally divided half of the Assembly would have decided the division of the province under the rule. (http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/P_0101.htm)
[2] Hiranmoy Karlekar, Bangladesh – The Next Afghanisthan, pp 38, Sage Publications 2005
[3] Suranjan Das, Communal riots in Bengal, 1905-1947 pp 74-75, Oxford University Press 1993.
[4] Interestingly same pattern is still followed, as on 6-9 February 2009, the Muslim rioters targeted the Statesman, one of the oldest dailies in the country, in Kolkata because of a published article. The violence continued for 3 days, however no press or electronic media reported, the Bengali intellectuals remained silent.
[5]Census data in Religious Demography of India – Centre for Policy Studies Chennai, 2003
[6] B.R.Ambedkar, Pakistan or Partition of India, pp 116, Babashaeb Ambedkar Writings and Speeches Vol8, Education Department, Government of Maharashtra, 1990.
[7]Ibid pp 118
[8] Prafulla Chakrabarti, The Marginal Men, Lumierre Books, Kalyani, 1990
[9] Mr Mandal said in a meeting in Delhi on 5 November, 1946 – ‘The scheduled castes will prefer to live with freedom and dignity under Muslims or other nations rather living under Hindus’. Or ‘I bow down my head to Quaid-e-Azam Jinnah, President of the Muslim League, for his sacrifice for the cause of Scheduled Caste’. From Mahapran Jogendranath – Jagadish Mandal Vol1 pp 221 & 239. Quoted in Bharat Bivajan Jogendranath O Ambedkar – Bipadbhanjan Biswas, 2003 and Muslim Rajniti O Jogendranath Mandaler Padatyag – Debojyoti Roy, 2008.
[10] Prafulla Chakrabarti, The Marginal Men, Lumierre Books, Kalyani, 1990; Besides the description of different events, the book contains a specific section titled ‘Refugee Power and the Left’ pp 329-404
[11] Ibid pp 94.
[12] Ibid pp 142
[13] Ibid pp 143
[14] Ibid pp 151
[15] 1964 pogrom against Hindus started in East Pakistan after the alleged theft of Prophet Mohammad’s hair from Hazaratbal Mosque in Kashmir, 2000 kilometers away from East Pakistan and it had nothing to do with the Bengali Hindus. Interestingly nothing happened in West Pakistan, the neighbour of Kashmir, probably because there were not enough Hindus to be killed. The blame is generally heaped on Biharis Muslims. However in 1990 and 1992 when Babri Mosque issue took place in Ayodhya, 1500 kilometers away from Dhaka, again there was mass rioting against Hindus in Bangladesh. This time there were no Bihari Muslims to be blamed.
[16] Tathagato Roy, My People Uprooted – pp 227, Ratna Prakashan, Calcutta, 2001.
[17] R. J. Rummel, Irving Louis Horowitz, Death by Government, pp 323, Transaction Publishers, 1997
[18] Refugees from Bangladesh: Facts of the Refugee Problem, Bangladesh Documents, Ministry of ExternalAffairs, Government of India, Printed at B.N.K. Press, Madras (Chennai), 1971, pg.81 & 446.Quoted in Illegal Immigration From Bangladesh To India: The Emerging Conflicts, Chandan Nandy , Brandeis University, 2005
[19]Tathagato Roy, My People Uprooted – pp 292, Ratna Prakashan, Calcutta, 2001.
[20]Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council – Communal Discrimination in Bangladesh: Facts and Documents, pp 431-435, Dhaka 1993.
[21] Ibid pp 479-482
[22] Mohammad Rafi, Can We Get Along, pp 201, Panjere Publications, Dhaka 2005
[23] Ekattarer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee – White Paper: 1500 days of Minority Persecution in Bangladesh – 3 Volumes, Dhaka 2005
[24] In The Supreme Court Of Bangladesh High Court Division, (Special Original Jurisdicion), Writ Petiton No. 3380 Of 2006 BY Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM), Bangladesh Chapter, Represented by its President, Advocate Rabindra Ghosh and Human Rights And Peace For Bangladesh (HRPB) Represented by it’s President of the Executive Committee, by Manzill Murshid – For details see Cry for Justice – Campaign Against Atrocities on Minorities of Bangladesh (CAAMB), Kolkata, 2006.
[25] Amalendu De – Prasanga Anuprabesh (On Infiltration) – Barna Parichay, Kolkata, 1993.
[26]Chandan Nandy, Illegal Immigration From Bangladesh To India: The Emerging Conflicts, pp XV, Brandeis University, 2005
[27]Ranabir Samaddar, The Marginal Nation, pp 92-94, Sage Publications, Delhi, 1999.
[28] Lajja is a novel in Bengali by Taslima Nasrin which for the first time depicted brutal torture on Hindus during the riot inn Bangladesh. She has been banished from Bangladesh and then also banished from West Bengal by the rioting Muslim mob, the demand supported by all the major political parties in West Bengal e,g CPI-M, Trinamul Congress and Congress. The ‘civil society’ also remained a mute spectator
[29] Ranabir Samaddar, The Marginal Nation, pp 11-112, Sage Publications, Delhi, 1999
[30] Ibid pp 21
[31] Ibid pp 13
[32] Pranati Datta, Push-Pull Factors of Undocumented Migration from Bangladesh to West Bengal: A Perception Study The Qualitative Report pp 348-349, Volume 9 Number 2 June 2004 338-339
[33] Ibid pp 348-350
[34]Refugee Watch Issue No. 18, April 2003
[35] See http://www.hrcbm.org
[36] Debojyoti Roy – Keno Udbastu Hote Holo (Why we had to become refugees) –pp 175, Vivekananda Sahitya Kendra, Kolkata 2001.
[37]See Citizenship Act, 1955
[38] Amalendu De pp 3-4
[39] Ibid pp 5-7
[40] Ibid
[41] Bimal Pramanik, Endangered Demography – Nature and Impact of Demographic Changes in West Bengal 1951-2001 Kolkata 2005. The updated Bengali version is named – Paschimbange AshaniSanket.
[42] Abul Barkat et al – Political Economy of Vested Property Act in Rural Bangladesh, pp 19-44. Association for Land Reform and Development, Dhaka, 1997.
[43] Ibid pp xi-xii.
[44] Abdul Barkat et al – Deprivation of Hindu Minority in Bangladesh- Living with Vested Property, pp 66-68, Pathak Samabesh, Dhaka, 2008.
[45]Quoted in Prasanga Anuprabesh – Amalendu De, pp 125-26. Barna Parichay, Kolkata 1993.
[46]Chandan Nandy, Illegal Immigration From Bangladesh To India: The Emerging Conflicts, pp 132-34, Brandeis University, 2005
[47] Ibid, pp 125-147,
[48] Purohit, Devdeep, Bengal’s Masses Without an Identity, The Telegraph, Calcutta, August 11, 2005
[49] Biswas, Anil, West Bengal CPI-M Secretary and Politburo Member, Quoted in Our Bureau, Government, Party Shed Influx Blinkers, The Telegraph, Calcutta, August 12, 2005.
[50]D. Bandyopadhyay, On Poverty, Food Inadequacy and Hunger in West Bengal, 19 June 2007 Mainstream
[51]Indian News On Line, Feb 11, 2002- http://news.indiamart.com/news-analysis/west-bengal-madrasas-4439.
[52] Bimal Pramanik, Endangered Demography – Nature and Impact of Demographic Changes in West Bengal 1951-2001 , pp 65-108, Kolkata 2005.
[53] Chandan Nandy, Illegal Immigration From Bangladesh To India: The Emerging Conflicts, pp 169-170, Brandeis University, 2005
[54] The Telegraph - Sunday , August 3 , 2008
[55] Dainik Statesman, 25 January, 2009
[56] Chandan Nandy, Illegal Immigration From Bangladesh To India: The Emerging Conflicts, pp 173-174, Brandeis University, 2005
[57] See www.thestatesman.net
[58]Told by Babul Boral, at Dakshin Chatra, North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, on July 10,2005. to Chandan Nandy - Illegal Immigration From Bangladesh To India: The Emerging Conflicts, pp 175, Brandeis University, 2005

End of article

Discriminatory laws against Dalits to be repealed, Bangladesh

2009-03-27T17:53:00.000-07:00

Daily Star, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Saturday, March 28, 2009

Says law minister

A colourful procession was taken out from Mahanagar Natyamancha in the city yesterday to mark the International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Photo: STARStaff Correspondent
Law Minister Shafique Ahmed yesterday said discriminatory laws against Dalit and Harijan communities will be repealed, if there is any.
"If you can show me any laws discriminating against your (Dalit and Harijan) communities, such laws will no longer remain in the law books. I will repeal those," he said.
If necessary, new laws will be enacted to remove discriminations and obstacles both the communities have been facing during admission into educational insinuations and in the professional fields, he assured.
"Every citizen of the country has equal rights. So, no one will face any discriminations for economic, educational and social reasons," he said.
The minister made these assurances at the concluding ceremony of a 10-day campaign organised on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
The National Committee to Celebrate the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in association with Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) organised the programme at Mohanagar Natyamancha in the city.
Speaking as the chief guest, the minister said that legal rights of Dalit and Harijan communities will be ensured to establish their rights as people of these communities also participated in the liberation war and sacrificed their lives.
The law ministry is going to set up a directorate soon for providing legal and economic assistance for these marginalised people, he added.
In his keynote paper, PARITTRAN Director Milon Das said though the constitution ensures equal rights of every citizen, but Dalit and Harijan communities are deprived of education, health care, habitation and employment facilities and living in a humiliating condition.
There are about 55 lakh Dalit and Harijan people, who are known as untouchables in the society, live under marginal conditions in the country.
Milon demanded enactment of laws eliminating racial discrimination against them, formulation of a national development policy for incorporating the communities in the mainstream development programmes and ensuring their participation in all social activities.
Speaking as the special guest, lawmaker Rashed Khan Menon said Dalit and Harijan communities live in inhuman conditions.
The constitution ensures their rights, but it is not implemented properly, he said, urging the community members to launch their own organisational move on the rights.
Prof HKS Arefin said this is not racial discrimination, rather the discrimination is ideological and involved with religion, adding that mere formulating a law is not enough, the prevailing social structure that deprives them of their rights need to be changed.
Narrating difficulties the women of the communities face, Dipali Das, a member of Dalit community, said the condition of women in the country is volatile and the condition of women of Dalit community is worst.
“We want to live like other human beings. We have the right to franchise and we want to live with self-dignity. Let us give the right,” she said.
With Bangladesh Harijan Oikya Parishad President Krishna Lal in the chair, the programme was also addressed by Whip Shagufta Yasmin, MJF Executive Director Shaheen Anam and Research Initiatives Bangladesh Executive Director Dr Meghna Guha Thakurata.

In Bangladesh, an Islamic Movement With Al-Qaeda Ties Is on the Rise

2009-02-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

A New Hub for Terrorism?In Bangladesh, an Islamic Movement With Al-Qaeda Ties Is on the Rise

By Selig S. Harrison
Wednesday, August 2, 2006; A15

While the United States dithers, a growing Islamic fundamentalist movement linked to al-Qaeda and Pakistani intelligence agencies is steadily converting the strategically located nation of Bangladesh into a new regional hub for terrorist operations that reach into India and Southeast Asia.With 147 million people, largely Muslim Bangladesh has substantial Hindu and Christian minorities and is nominally a secular democracy. But the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) struck a Faustian bargain with the fundamentalist party Jamaat-e-Islami five years ago in order to win power.In return for the votes in Parliament needed to form a coalition government, Prime Minister Khaleda Zia has looked the other way as the Jamaat has systematically filled sensitive civil service, police, intelligence and military posts with its sympathizers, who have in turn looked the other way as Jamaat-sponsored guerrilla squads patterned after the Taliban have operated with increasing impunity in many rural and urban areas.To the dismay of her business supporters, the prime minister gave the coveted post of industries minister to Matiur Rahman Nizami, a high-ranking Jamaat official who has helped promote the growth of a Jamaat economic empire that embraces banking, insurance, trucking, pharmaceutical manufacturing, department stores, newspapers and TV stations. A study last year by a leading Bangladeshi economist showed that the "fundamentalist sector of the economy" earns annual profits of some $1.2 billion.Now the BNP-Jamaat alliance is rigging the next national elections, scheduled for January, to prevent the return of the opposition Awami League to power. Voter lists are being manipulated, and the supposedly neutral caretaker government and the commission that will run the election are being turned into puppets.The BNP argues that coalition rule helps moderates in the Jamaat to combat Islamic extremist factions. But the reality is that Jamaat inroads in the government security machinery at all levels, starting with Home Secretary Muhammad Omar Farooq, widely regarded as close to the Jamaat, have opened the way for suicide bombings, political assassinations, harassment of the Hindu minority, and an unchecked influx of funds from Islamic charities in Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf to Jamaat-oriented madrassas (religious schools) that in some cases are fronts for terrorist activity.With some 15,000 hard-core fighters operating out of 19 known base camps, guerrilla groups sponsored by the Jamaat and its allies were able to paralyze the country last Aug. 17 by staging 459 closely synchronized explosions in all but one of the country's administrative districts. When the key leaders of these groups were captured, they were kept by the police in a comfortable apartment, where they were free to receive visitors. A cartoon in the Daily Star of Dhaka on July 24 showed them lounging on a rug, conducting classes in bombmaking. Their fate and present place of confinement is uncertain, and all of the major guerrilla groups are back to business as usual.The bitterness of Bangladeshi politics is often attributed to a personal vendetta between two strong women, Prime Minister Zia and the Awami League leader, Sheikh Hasina Wajed. But the roots of the current struggle go back to 1971, when Bengali East Pakistan, led by the Awami League, broke away from Punjabi-dominated West Pakistan to form the nation of Bangladesh. The Jamaat, which originated in the western wing, opposed the independence movement and fought side by side with Pakistani forces against both fellow Bengalis and the Indian troops who intervened in the decisive final phase of the conflict.For Pakistan's intelligence agencies, especially Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the legacy of the independence war has been a built-in network of agents within the Jamaat and its affiliates who can be utilized to harass India along its 2,500-mile border with Bangladesh. In addition to supporting tribal separatist groups in northeast India, the ISI uses Bangladesh as a base for helping Islamic extremists inside India. After the July 11 train bombings in Bombay, a top Indian police official, K.P. Raghuvanshi, said that his key suspects "have connections with groups in Nepal and Bangladesh, which are directly or indirectly connected to Pakistan."A State Department report cited evidence that one of the Jamaat's main allies, the Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami, also headquartered in Pakistan, "maintains contact with Al Qaeda in Afghanistan." Bangladesh Harakat leader Fazlul Rahman was one of the six signatories of Osama bin Laden's first declaration of holy war against the United States, on Feb. 23, 1998. Since the October 2002 Bali bombings led to repression of al-Qaeda, some of its Indonesian and Malaysian cells have shifted their operations to Bangladesh.What makes future prospects in Bangladesh especially alarming is that the Jamaat and its allies appear to be penetrating the higher ranks of the armed forces. Among many examples, informed journalists in Dhaka attribute Jamaat sympathies to Maj. Gen. Mohammed Aminul Karim, recently appointed as military secretary to President Iajuddin Ahmed, and to Brig. Gen. A.T.M. Amin, director of the Armed Forces Intelligence anti-terrorism bureau.The respected journalists in question cannot write freely about the Jamaat without facing death threats or assassination attempts. The U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists has published extensive dossiers documenting 68 death threats and dozens of bombing attacks that have injured at least eight journalists. "We are alarmed by the growing pattern of intimidation of journalists by Islamic groups in Bangladesh," the committee said recently. "As a result of its alliance with the Jamaat-Islamiyah, the government appears to lack the ability or will to protect journalists from this new and grave threat."The Bush administration has yet to speak with comparable candor. The latest State Department annual report on terrorism mentioned only one of the three Jamaat militias as a terrorist group and avoided direct criticism of the BNP for its coalition with the Jamaat, referring only to the "serious political constraints" that explain the government's "limited success" in countering "escalating" terrorist violence. On July 13 the U.S. ambassador called Bangladesh "an exceptional moderate Muslim state."The United States and other donors gave Bangladesh $1.4 billion in aid last year. There is still time for the administration to use aid leverage and trade concessions to promote a fair election by calling openly and forcefully for nonpartisan control of the Election Commission and the caretaker government. In addition to implicitly threatening an aid cutoff if it is rebuffed, the administration should offer the powerful incentive of duty-free textile imports from Bangladesh if Prime Minister Zia cooperates.In Pakistan, the United States has been gingerly pushing Gen. Pervez Musharraf for democratic elections because it needs the limited but significant support he is giving against al-Qaeda and fears what might come after him. But what is the excuse for inaction in Bangladesh, where the incumbent government coddles Islamic extremists and a strong secular party is ready to govern?

The writer, a former South Asia bureau chief of The Post and the author of five books on South Asia, has covered Bangladesh since 1951. He is the director of the Asia program at the Center for International Policy and a senior scholar of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/01/AR2006080101118_pf.html

October 16, 1905: A Forgotten Date of Indian/Bengali History

2009-02-08T08:33:00.000-08:00

October 16, 1905: A Forgotten Date of Indian/Bengali History [1]

Sachi G. Dastidar

October 16 is a very important date in the Indian calendar but very few people in the Subcontinent — India, Bangladesh or Pakistan — will remember this day as mythology- and ancient tradition-influenced Hindu culture is not readily influenced by date-specific historic events. On that day one hundred years ago in 1905 the Colonial British Administration mandated a Muslim-Hindu (non-Muslim) partition of mixed, tolerant Bengal Province in eastern India when there was no such demand from either community. In Indian history this date is possibly more profound than 9/11 for America, but very few in the Subcontinent talk about that. This is may also be the beginning of the modern Islamist movement of the world. In the late 1800s and early 1900s Calcutta, the British Colonial capital, and Bengal of which Calcutta was also the capital, was leading an intense struggle for Indian independence joined by India’s diverse religious and linguistic groups — Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, Brahmo. Bengal was then evenly divided between Muslim and non-Muslim. Colonial ruler Lord Curzon devised a divide-and-rule policy to create a cleavage among Indians, starting with the Bengalis first. He proposed the creation of a majority-Muslim East Bengal Province with extra privileges for ‘backward Muslims,’ and a Hindu-majority (West) Bengal. The British Raj sanctioned huge sums of money to a non-native Urdu-speaking Muslim landlord, Nawab Salimullah, of Dhaka of East Bengal, now Bangladesh, to promote an anti-independence Muslim League Party to counter the more numerous Hindus and other non-Muslims in the independence struggle. After an intense effort by mostly-non-Muslim Indians of the entire Subcontinent the province was reunited in 1912 but that communal impetus gave rise to intolerant, separatist Islamism. Muslim-non-Muslim killings became ‘a part of life’ in Bengal and Indian Subcontinent. Success of the first ever use of divide-and-rule policy would make Britain use that tool later in Ireland, Cyprus, Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. Other European colonial powers would use similar policies elsewhere. The Islamism that the British Raj nurtured in Indian soil eventually partitioned Bengal in 1947, almost along the same geographical line that Curzon devised in 1905, along with partitioning of India, Punjab, Assam and Kashmir and creation of Islamic Pakistan and Bangladesh. One could easily argue that this was the beginning of the making of the minds of extremism. Ironically for the creation of these Islamic states another October 16 in 1946, is intimately associated with. To galvanize public opinion for Muslim-non-Muslim partition of India a ghastly anti-Hindu pogrom was initiated on a Hindu holy day in its remote eastern Noakhali district when Bengal’s Muslim League Premier Surahwardy was in charge of the province. British Army and Police watched as thousands of Hindus were killed and tens of thousands of girls and wives were converted which is known as Noakhali Danga pogrom. Gandhiji went to Noakhali to stop that carnage. This killing followed the August 16 Hindu-Muslim killing also in 1946, known as Great Calcutta Killing, as the British Police, Premier Surahwardy and Calcutta Mayor Osman (Usman) remained in the sidelines. Yet in the typical Indian, Bengali or Hindu psyche there in neither any memorial to those carnages nor to the millions of people killed in the 1947 pre- and post-partition-related violence. Today in Bengal there won’t be any commemoration for that British-invented event that has had untold human sufferings and enormous geo-political impact as Bangladesh is run by a coalition of pro-Islam, pro-Taliban parties and West Bengal by hard-line communists. Since the second British partition of Bengal in 1947 Bangladeshi Hindus have come down from a third of the population to below 10% now, a loss of over 48 million people from Bangladeshi Census! Minority Muslim populations in both Hindu-majority West Bengal and India have risen since 1947; yet feels vulnerable by that partition. On this important day let us take a moment to pray for the innocent victims of that Colonial 9/11. Let us hope that such divisiveness would never be used for national governance.

[1] From a Calcutta, India newspaper

Centenary of Colonial Religious Bengal Partition: 2005

2009-02-08T08:28:00.000-08:00

Centenary of Colonial Religious Partition [1]

Sachi G. Dastidar

A century ago today, October 16, 1905, the Colonial British Administration in India partitioned a multi-religious, multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic, tolerant Bengal into a ‘Muslim’ East Bengal and ‘Hindu’ West Bengal: sort of bureaucratic 9/11 in India with devastating long-term consequences. Its polarizing result was the rise of intolerant Islam and religious politics that the British Administration promoted till it resulted in the partition of India and Bengal in 1947. (Indian provinces of Assam, Punjab and Kashmir were also partitioned.) In 1905 Bengal was not much different from the rest of Colonial India in terms of her Muslim-non-Muslim relation — which was rather amicable — but for its intense pro-Indian independence activism. Bengal of eastern India was the first to be colonized by the British, and she was the first to rebel against colonial slavery. In Bengal, Muslims and Hindus, with their small Buddhist and Christian cousins, shared not only the language but also religious festivals, dress, music, food and social bond. A large number of Bengali Hindus, Brahmos, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists — scholars, social reformers, spiritualists, nationalists, poets, musicians — from early 1800s to mid-1900s championed Mother India’s freedom. Among them were Raja Ram Mohon, Vidyasagar, Bankim Chandra, Rabindranath Tagore, W.C. Bonerjea, Vivekananda, Michael Madhusudan, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Sri Aurobindo, Begum Rokeya and Pritilata Waddedar. Lord Curzon witnessing the rise of Indian nationalism devised the first Colonial divide-and-rule policy by enticing a non-native Urdu-speaking Muslim feudal lord, Nawab Salimullah, of Dhaka, now the capital of Bangladesh, to promote a Muslim party against Indian independence movement with huge funds — 300,000 rupees — from the treasury. He argued that Bengal was too large to govern from its capital Calcutta, also India’s capital then, but no explanation was given why a geographical separation was not proposed instead of communal division when every village was inhabited by Muslims and Hindus. Curzon also proposed to give some favors to ‘backward Muslims’ instead of proposing a one-man one-vote democracy which could have brought Muslim-majority to power through ballot box. Moreover, there were other large provinces which were not partitioned. After much agitation by mostly non-Muslim poets, writers and activists Bengal was reunited in 1912 but that partition would energize a separatist, intolerant Islamist movement and a separatist Muslim identity that would take millions of lives and displace tens of millions from East Bengal, now called Bangladesh, alone. By 1947 the East Bengali Muslim majority would became a champion of partition of India. At India’s independence in 1947 Bengal was partitioned following the same 1905 British-invented line. Later Britain would use divide-and-rule from North Ireland to South Africa, from Ceylon to Cyprus. That tolerant Muslim East Bengal of 1905 is now Bangladesh where ‘Islam is the Official Religion’ with pro-Taliban parties as ruling partners, and West Bengal is a state of India run by hard-line Bangladeshi Hindu privileged-caste bhadralok refugee communists. Since that fateful day in 1905 Muslim-non-Muslim conflict became routine in the Subcontinent. On the eve of India’s independence in 1946, also on October 16, on the auspicious Hindu Lakhsmi Puja day a ghastly anti-Hindu pogrom began in the eastern Noakhali district under the watchful eyes of British Raj, Colonial Army, Bengal’s Muslim League Premier Suhrawady and it’s capital Calcutta’s (Muslim) Mayor Osman to polarize the nation. The pogrom was led by a Muslim Legislator Golam Sarwar that took life of thousands of Hindus and tens of thousands of Hindu girls and wives were abducted and converted. The pogrom followed a Muslim-Hindu riot in Calcutta two months earlier. Both these killings were to convince the British Raj and Indian public that Muslims and non-Muslims cannot live together. Successive anti-Hindu pogroms in East Pakistan/ Bangladesh have dwindled her Hindu minority from a third of the population in 1947 to less than 10% now resulting in over 48 million ‘missing from the Census.’ Minority Muslim population in Hindu-majority West Bengal has risen from 18% to 26% in spite of massive influx of Hindu refugees from Bangladesh. With the steady rise of intolerant Saudi Islamism in Bangladesh (Pakistan and Afghanistan) for the past 100 years common tradition of festivities, literature, food and dress have been changing with serious repercussion for non-Muslims and secularist Muslims. Ironically in 1971 the same Islamically-charged East Bengal/East Pakistan, then the majority of Pakistan, rebelled for a secular state — first ever by a Muslim-majority nation — opposed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, other Muslim nations, China and the Administration of President Nixon-Kissinger. In 1975 Islamists took revenge by brutally murdering the pro-secular Founding Father Mujibur Rahman with 25 others of his family and friends, many there believe, with our support. In a twist of fate from that British-created event, tragedies hit British soil exactly 100 years later in July of this year through the children of Britain’s former intolerant allies. Spirit of Curzon must be wondering if Britain would have been better off with ethnically cleansed, religiously pure society or with pluralism and tolerance.

[1] News-India Times (a New York weekly), October 14, 2005; 2-3

Strike Against Gaza Attacks, Calcutta, 2009

2009-01-26T18:32:00.000-08:00

A state, West Bengal, India, and a city, Calcutta (Kolkata), ruled by privileged-caste Communist elites of Bangladeshi Hindu refugees, and privileged-class opposition Congress Party and Trinomool (Grassroots) Congress Party who chose not to live with their Muslim or oppressed-caste Hindu neighbors in their Bangladesh homeland, goes on for a just protest in the faraway Middle-East, yet since 1947 haven't held even one protest against atrocities on their own Hindu-Buddhist families or for establishing a secular, non-racist regime in Bangladesh. This are examples from 2009.

Bandh (general strike) against Gaza attacks
The Times of India
13 Jan 2009, 0323 hrs IST, TNN

KOLKATA: A four-hour bandh from 12 noon to 4 pm has been called by the Milli Ittehad Parishad West Bengal, a forum of 13 Muslim organisations to protest Israel's strikes on civilian targets in Gaza City of Palestine. Lawyer Idris Ali, who had moved high court against bandhs earlier, is himself a party to the bandh call. On Monday, he and Haji Abdul Aziz gave the call after a rally. The organisers will invite prominent leaders CPM* state secretary Biman Bose, Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee and state Congress working president Pradip Bhattacharya to a downtown protest gathering on Friday, hoping that none of them can ignore the invitation with the Lok Sabha election around. Although Left parties have already condemned the attacks on Palestine, it is not certain whether Bose will join Friday's gathering. Speakers at Monday's press conference came down heavily on Israel for the way it has targeted Hamas, the largest and most influential Islamic organisation in Palestine, killing women and children. They insisted that Israel was leading the attack at the prodding of the US.

* CPM - Communist Party of India-Marxist, rulers of Bengali states of West Bengal and Tripura and of the City of Kolkata (Calcutta), India

webindia 123.com
Kolkata Muslims protest against Israeli air strikes Kolkata
January 03, 2009 12:09:21 PM IST

Muslims here staged a massive demonstration to protest against Israel's offensive in Gaza that has claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent Palestine civilians. The demonstrators, who gathered outside Tippu Sultan's mosque, also set the Israeli flag on fire. Noorur Rehman Barkati, the Shahi Imam of the mosque said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA* chairperson Sonia Gandhi would be urged to snap bilateral ties with Israel immediately. "We have declared Israel a terrorist nation. We will burn their diplomatic offices all over India. If the war doesn't stop now, then their diplomatic consulates will be burnt in India and in other countries also," warned Barkati.

"America and the United Nations are corrupt because Muslims are bleeding and no action is being taken against the Israeli attackers. We Muslims have called it a Jihad. We will eradicate Israel for which plans are going on," Barkati added. In New Delhi , protestors gathered outside the Jama Masjid, to burn the Israeli and American flags, as well as an effigy. The Government of India has joined international calls for a halt to the conflict, and promised a million dollars in financial aid to affected families in Gaza.

Diplomats said the deadliest conflict in the Gaza Strip in four decades appeared close to a crucial stage after four days of cross-border fire had killed over 400 Palestinians and four Israelis.
Foreign powers have increased pressure on both sides to halt hostilities, whereas reports indicate that public anger in Israel could move the Government in Tel Aviv to hit the Hamas even harder. (ANI)

*UPA - United Progressive Alliance, the governing coalition in Delhi

Israeli hanar protibadey pathey Mamata (Protest against Israeli attack)
(Translated from a Calcutta Bengali Paper)

Trinomool (party) leader (Ms) Mamata Bandyopadhyay is begining a street protest today, Tuesday, against Israeli attack. In the afternoon there will be a protest meeting at the foot of Gandhi statue (in Calcutta), then march. At the begining of the protest Kabir Suman will sing songs of humanity. There will be leaders of (protection of) agcultural land, Imam of Tipu Sultan Mosque Nur Barkati and leaders of Trinomool minority (Muslim) leaders. Mamata has given responsibility to Trinomool Youth Congress leader (Mr) Madan Mitra. Trinomool's Youth Brigade will also be on the street.

Udayan (New York), February 1, 2009; 29

Bangladesh Census and Loss of Hindu Population

2009-01-18T16:16:00.000-08:00

Note: Comulative loss adjusted with the rate of growth of population

Note: Cumulative loss is adjusted with the rate of growth of population

Source: Empire's Last Casualty: Indian Subccontinent's Vanishing Hindu and Other Minorities, Firma KLM Publishers, Kolkata (Calcutta), India; 2008

Bombay Massacre 2008 and India's Past

2009-01-18T16:11:00.000-08:00

“Bombay Massacre”

In the aftermath of Bombay massacre many Indian think tanks are urging government of India to invade Pakistan. But in reality that’s not a sensible option. Both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers. At some stage of the war either of the country might consider using this deadly weapon system. It will not only bring total destruction in the region, but also encourage the West to denuclearize entire Indian Sub-continent. In the process, Indian and Pakistan might lose their sovereignty also. The biggest threat to Indian integrity and security does not come from Pakistan or Bangladesh; rather it comes from home-grown terrorism. In recent Bombay massacre only 10 Pakistani terrorists participated and at least 40 or more local sleeper cells supported them on the ground. The best possible remedy for India would be to integrate its Moslem population in the main stream development by enforcing western education system and closing down Muslim madrasas.
Does radical Islam Hate India?Many Islamic revivalists believe that India should be converted into a Muslim country. They argue that IN 712 A.D Mohammad Bin Qasim and his Muslim descendants ruled India until British takeover in 1757. Although Mohammad Bin Qasim had conquered India with only a couple of thousand soldiers, yet they successfully held this vast land for hundreds of years with fierce force and sheer terror. Lack of unity among Hindus and absence of a strong Central government gave Muslim invaders an upper hand over Hindus.
After the end of Second World War, Independence of India became inevitable. But, the British wanted a political control over the region even after independence. So, they planted a permanent trouble in the region by creating the first Islamic Republic state of this planet, Pakistan, before leaving India. To legitimize this misdeed, British organized a referendum in 1946. In that historical referendum 90% of Muslims in undivided India voted for Pakistan and other 10% who did not vote for Pakistan were Punjab and North East Frontier province of Pakistan. Almost one hundred percent Muslims of East Bengal now called Bangladesh voted for Pakistan. Hindus of East Bengal largely voted for a secular state in 1946 for which they were slaughtered by the fundamentalist Muslims after Partition. In other word 90% Muslims rejected the idea of a secular India. That still is the mindset of the descendants of those Muslims who voted for the creation of Pakistan.
The same mindset is seen in Bangladesh and Pakistan also. In spite of voting for the creation of Pakistan, ironically, only 8% of Indian Muslims migrated to Pakistan and the rest remained inIndia with their radical ideology. Indian political leaders exploited minority Muslims in their meanest vote politics. Muslims were never given an opportunity to integrate with the main stream culture; rather Muslim law board was created parallel to western law for a permanent division in the society. The most damage to Indian unity has been caused by Muslim madrasa education system.To turn the page of the history back to pre-British occupation, India militarily created Bangladesh in 1971 without a political and cultural orientation. Because of thousands of year’s Islamic mindset Bangladesh turned anti Indian soon after 1971 and ISI of Pakistan has used this situation in their interest. Because of the mindset, Indian Muslims didn’t support Bangladesh independence / war of cessation in 1971. Bangladesh will soon turn into a proxy battle ground between India and Pakistan. Radical Islam is gaining ground in Bangladesh every day and in a fine morning it will declare itself an Islamic Republic. The aim and objective of Bangladesh and Pakistan aboutIndia are the same, either make it an Islamic republic or disintegrate it. Many in Bangladesh believe that cessation in 1971 was a conspiracy of India to weaken Islam and Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The best way to resist Indian domination in the region is by helping cessations andterrors inside India; that’s what Bangladesh and Pakistan are doing today. Why India has become frequent target of Islamic terror: in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh women and downtrodden are the most vulnerable to physical and sexual torture. Because of religious, social and economical reasons women and poor are defenseless in these countries and forced to submit to the brutality of men. In the process of nonresistance from the victims, menof this region often go wild and take torture as pleasure. Due to passive reaction of people and government, Islamic terrorism in India is a wild fantasy today. Muslim terrorists can strike any target of their choice at any time without the fear of retaliation. After 9/11 America lunched a massive campaign against Islamic terrorism worldwide and kept its land safe from new terror attack.
During cold war Pakistan received military, diplomatic and financial support from the West and used its territory against India and USSR. At that time Pakistan was considered equal or superior to India, but at the end of cold war everything changed rapidly. Afghan mujahedeen onceconsidered an asset to Pakistan, soon turned into liability. After the fall of USSR Pakistan reorganized mujahedeen’s for liberating Indian occupied Kashmir. Srinagar of Indian occupied Kashmir was soon compared with Kandahar of Afghanistan. But everything changed on 9/11. America declared war on terror with zero tolerance and Pakistan soon became a terrorist country. Once Pakistan rupee was stronger than Indian rupee but present exchange rate against US Dollar is 99 Pakistani rupees compared to 49 Indian rupees. You may recall the then Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulficar Ali Bhutto’s call to his countrymen to acquire nuclear weapon even at the cost of starvation to match India. Today Indian is positioned among the top ten economic powers with a trillion dollar economy and on the other hand, Pakistan is considered a failed orfailing state with unmanageable debt. This contrast between India and Pakistan has caused a great deal of frustration among the people of Pakistan, and there will an outburst in the form of terrorism in the region. “If we cannot match India why not to destroy them, since they are incapable of defending themselves and it is very easy for us?” say Pakistanis.The same pattern of mindset is seen within Indian Muslims and that has made the situation worse for the Indian government. There are innumerable homegrown Islamic terrorist cells active in India today. Like Bombay, many more terrorist attacks will be carried out countrywide to demoralize Indian citizens and slow down India’s economic growth. In the process, India will be disintegrated like USSR or will succumb to Militant Islam. In past India never stood firm and united against any foreign aggression. Political parasites will act as fifth columnist in foreign interest like communists did during Chinese invasion in 1962.

Sachin Karmakar
Writer is an ex Defense officer and current affair analyst and comes from a Hindu-Muslim family background
December 03, 2008.
New York

Exhibition on persecution of Minorities in Bangladesh

2009-01-18T07:09:00.000-08:00

* ASRU: Exhibition on persecution of Minorities in Bangladesh. The exhibition has travelled all over India, even in the interior villagesof Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa. A total of 250,000 visitors appreciated the exhibition.

* http://bangladeshiminorities.info <

http://bangladeshiminorities.info/>

Bangladeshs Election 2008: Defenders of the minority vote

2009-01-14T18:38:00.000-08:00

Election 2008: Defenders of the minority vote
Naeem Mohaiemen

http://thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=67244

AT a seminar last week discussing the newly formed National Human Rights Commission, it was pointedly asked why it had no minority members. The chairman had no reply for us, but the question kept percolating in the room.

In another air-con room a week later, the Awami League unveiled its election manifesto. Section 18.1 pledges to improve the condition of minorities, adivasis, indigenous people, and dalits, by removing discriminatory laws, forming land commission to protect their land, creating job opportunities, etc. Section 18.2 talks about implementation of the CHT Peace Accord.

Those who recall the abrupt volte face of the AL-Khelafot Andolon alliance of December 2006, or who are distressed at the alliance presence of JP which inserted "Islam as state religion" into the constitution, will remain cautious. But while guarded, we may still hope for an incremental shift in political parties' commitment to minority rights.

Historically, minority communities have been perceived to vote for the AL (if only because the other parties are increasingly hard-line on religion). This was manifested in 2001, when Hindu voters were prevented from voting in many areas. After the BNP-Jamaat victory, BNP-allied local gangs attacked Hindu villages. According to press reports at the time, the southwestern and southern part of Bangladesh (popularly known as the 'Hindu belt') was worst affected.

Meghna Guhathakurta, in a forthcoming essay (Journal of Social Studies No. 121 January-March 2009), describes a visit to Bhola, one of the worst affected districts: "Among the atrocities committed were charging into households, attacking men, women and children with sharp knives and weapons, in certain cases threatening with guns, terrorizing women and children by beating and chasing them and in certain cases raping and attempting rape. Looting of Hindu households and sometimes Muslim households which sheltered Hindus took place throughout the night and in waves since most householders had fled in terror and their houses were left unguarded."

According to research done by a rights NGO, based on the National Democratic Institute (NDI) data-set, the 1991 and 2001 Bangladesh election results could have been different given the razor-thin margins by which many seats were won, and the huge number of minority voters that were prevented from voting in those very seats. Out of 300 constituencies for parliament seats, there are 71 where minority voters are significant (ranging from 11% to 61%) and 50 where they are visible (5-10%). According to the 2001 Population Census, the Hindu population was 11,379,000 -- 9.2 per cent of the total.

These statistics do not count other religious minorities, nor ethnic minorities. If we look at the intersection between religious and ethnic minority in Jumma people of Chittagong Hill Tracts, we find these were areas with lowest voter turnout. According to analysis of NDI data by Rahman & Ahamed (Daily Star, Dec 12), there were 850 centres where voter turnout in 2001 was less than half of total registered voters. Of these, 87 centres were in Cox's Bazaar, 49 in Bandarban, 67 in Rangamati, and 36 in Khagrachari. In addition, around 87 centres with less than 50 per cent turnout were in Cox's Bazaar-3. There were 35 polling centres where voter turnout was as low as or lower than 10 %. Of these, 18 were in Rangamati, 8 in Khagrachari, 5
in Cox's Bazaar-3, and 2 in Bandarban.

Looking at specific constituencies in 2001, Rahman & Ahamed (Daily Star, Dec 13) zero in on Bagerhat-4 where 12% voters are religious minority, and Khulna-5 where 40% of voters are religious minority. Looking at the NDI data, there is clear evidence of violence which resulted in Hindu-majority polling centres being closed, Hindu voters staying away from polls, as well as manipulation of vote counting to exclude the Hindu vote. In both constituencies, a Jamaat-e-Islami candidate was declared the winner.

As a result of the tremendous pre- and post-election violence directed at minorities in 2001, this has become an area of specific interest for international election observers in 2008. Local human rights defenders are doing outreach to make sure minority voters do not get intimidated. But so much more is needed, including a public commitment to this from the Election Commission and other administration.

In India's West Bengal, Trinamool and Left Front compete with each other to woo the minority vote (in their case, the Muslims). Of course this is practical politics -- West Bengal has a 27% Muslim population, and there is no law like Bangladesh's Vested Property Act that creates downward pressure on their numbers (in fact the Muslim voter numbers have gone up with each elections). In Bangladesh, as the Hindu
population is going down due to VPA, politicians think the minority vote does not have to be respected, nor do many worry about ensuring that these voters can enter polling booths safely.

A call to protect minority rights must come from the majority. I place my hope on ordinary citizens, the silent majority, the secular Muslim. We can and must defend Bangladesh's secular core, starting with the minority vote.

Naeem Mohaiemen (naeem.mohaiemen@gmail.com) has written about minorities for Ain o Salish Kendra and Drishtipat.

Bangladesh 1972 Secular Constitution to be Restored

2009-01-12T17:26:00.000-08:00

The Daily Star, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Ministers' Maiden Pledges

1972 constitution to be restored

Says Barrister Shafique

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed yesterday said his ministry will take steps to restore the 1972 constitution in order to reestablish the spirits of secularism, the great liberation war, rule of law, human rights and democracy in the country. "As a lawyer and human rights activist I have certain commitments to the people. The government is also committed to restore the Constitution of 1972. If those commitments are fulfilled, the religious militancy and terrorism emerged in recent years in the country will be rooted out," he said.
In an exclusive interview with The Daily Star at his Indira Road residence Tuesday night immediately after taking oath as a minister, Barrister Shafique Ahmed said his ministry will take all necessary legal steps to try the war criminals who committed genocide, rapes and torture against the people of the country during the liberation war in 1971.
The war criminals should be tried in the special tribunal under the International Crimes Tribunal Act 1973, he said. "My first task will be to scrutinize the ordinances promulgated by the immediate past caretaker government to place those before the parliament to pass those into laws. The caretaker government has promulgated more than 100 ordinances and if those are not passed in the parliament within 30 days after the start of its session, those will be lapsed," he said. Replying to a question Barrister Shafique said his ministry will very soon establish an independent secretariat for the judiciary in order to ensure the independence of the judiciary and to effectively execute the separation of the judiciary from the executive.
He said the judges should be appointed to the Supreme Court and High Court as per the rules of the 1972 Constitution so that honest, competent and qualified judges are appointed there as per recommendations of the Chief Justice. "Two vacant posts of judges of the Appellate Division will be filled up soon, as per the recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Commission. The commission on October 16 last year recommended names of four senior most judges of the High Court division for appointment of two of them to the Appellate Division," he said.
He also said at least 20 new competent and honest judges should be appointed to the High Court to dispense fair and speedy justice.

Noakhali Hindu Killing 1946 East Bengal, India

2009-01-12T05:51:00.001-08:00

http://noakhali1946.blogspot.com/

Refugees Tell of Terror in Bengal As Hindu-Moslem Rioting Goes On

Refugees Testify to Bengal Terror

Special to The New York Times Calcutta, India, Oct. 18 (London Times dispatch)-- Unofficial reports reaching Calcutta indicate that acts of violence are continuing on an alarming scale in the districts of Noakhali and Tippera. This is despite the local Government's assurance that the communal situation in eastern Bengal had shown some improvement during the last twenty-four hours. Hundreds of refugees have reached Calcutta from these districts and they have a grim picture of the happenings there during the last eight days. They say that a hundred villages have been burned by hooligans, that hundreds of persons have been butchered or maimed and destitute. They report that both districts are infernos of communal fury, and that unless the Government urgently dispatches more troops and police whole minority populations will be wiped out. [In new Delhi Mohandas K. Gandhi repeated his declaration to Indian women that they should commit suicide rather than submit to dishonor.] Both Noakhali and Tipperah are predominantly Moslem areas. The total population there is just over 8,000,000 and of these only 2,000,000 are Hindus. The latest reports show that the scenes of the disturbances since yesterday have been moving from Noakhali into Tippera and that they are concentrating in the Chandpur subdivision of that district. The capital town, Chandpur, is a large railway and river junction toward which refugees are fleeing in an attempt to escape into western Bengal. But most of the roads and the river exits are being guarded by armed rowdies and a large population of the evacuees has cut into the jungles and swamps to avoid molestation. Thus far police and military action in the affected areas has been confined to about six firings. The casualties from this source are about twenty killed and an equal number injured. The total casualties from the riots will perhaps never be known. Official sources [Moslem in Bengal] remain silent over this point but unofficial reports variously estimate the totals between 5,000 and 6,000 killed and 1,500 to 2,000 injured. It is reported that a further 50,000 to 60,000 have been forcibly converted ot another faith or abducted. There is grave public anxiety in Calcutta over the inadequacy of the police and military forces dispatched to the stricken areas by the Bengal Government. So far only two companies of troops are known to have been sent to an area covering several hundred square miles. During the August Calcutta riots had at their disposal about 45,000 troops to protect the city. Food is another urgent problem. With both railway and river communications seriously dislocated and trade completely at a standstill in most parts of Noakhali and Tippera, thousands face starvation. Local leaders have made urgent representations to the Government to fly food to the starving villages. They have also telegraphed to the Governor of Bengal and the Chief Minister, who at present at the hill resort of Darjeeling, jointly to visit the affected areas. The Secretary of the Bengal Hindu Mahasabha party has just received from the Governor's private secretary a message that the Governor proposed to visit Noakhali soon.

Gandhi Advises Suicide

New Delhi, India, Oct. 18 (AP)- Mohandas K Gandhi, "spiritual leader" of the Hindu-led Congress party, again today advised women in eastern Bengal to take their own lives rather than submit to dishonor. In Bombay the provincial Congress party chief called for halting of all business activity as a demonstration of sympathy for riot victims. Mr. Gandhi said he felt a "call" to go to the trouble areas as soon as the situation in New Delhi permitted. He said that at his request Acharya Kripalani, newly elected president of the Congress party, and Sarat Chandra Bose, recently retired member of the interim Government, had gone to investigate the riot reports. He was most emphatic in his instructions to women, insisting it was "not an idle idea" and he meant every word he said. Last night he advised women to suffocate themselves by holding their breath, but he said tonight that he had been told by physicians that suicide by that means was impossible. "The only way known to medicine for instant self immolation is strong poisonous doses," he siad he was told. He added: "If this is so I would advise every one running the risk of dishonor to take poison before submission to dishonor."

http://www.eastbengal.org/oct19_1946.pdf

Noakhali Hindu Killing 1946 East Bengal, India

2009-01-12T05:51:00.000-08:00

Non-Muslim or Human?

2009-01-11T18:22:00.000-08:00

Please find out the documentary Edited for Campaign Against Atrocities on Minority of BAngladesh's 4th International Conference

By Human Rights Defender William Gomes

"Mallaun Na Manush" (Non-Muslim or Human)

We will be blessed to hear from you .Please Click this to see the documentary:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8GdLZ2MJJ8

Fell free to share this with others.

With Thanks

William Gomeshttp://humanitybd.wordpress.com/

Jagannath Temple on Road to Oblivion - Dhaka, Bangladesh

2009-01-01T17:31:00.000-08:00

Daily Star, Dhaka
August 1, 2008

Jagannath on road to oblivion

The century-old temple faces demolition amid shifting of blames and responsibilities

Durdana Ghias

The partially demolished façade of Jagannath temple stands with a broken pinnacle. Demolition of the frontal façade of Jagannath Mandir at city's Tantibazar is going on while the authorities concerned are still unsure about who has the responsibility to save the 100-year-old temple.A big obstacle in saving the structure lies in the fact that the authorities are yet to make a complete list of city's heritage buildings.

The temple committee started knocking down the structure on Saturday night. A new building is being constructed inside the temple compound. According to locals, the temple was built by Hariprashanna Dey, Kartik Sen and other elite of the trader community of the area. Taimur Islam, conservation architect of Urban Study Group, said the 19th century temple is known for it decorative ceramic tiles and moulded tiles.Corinthian capitals, small ornate domes, pilasters, relief work, decorated cornice and parapets are some of the important features of the temple."Parts of the parapets are broken now. The structure has an oriel window jutting out of the wall. The pinnacle was once broken by the Pakistan Army during the Liberation War. Then it was redeveloped," he said."We are trying to raise funds to save it. The façade can be preserved and partially reconstructed. We have sought one-month time from the temple committee to provide necessary technical assistance to save the façade." Taimur contacted Rajuk's authorised officer of the area when he found that the demolition was going on Sunday. The authorised officer responded by sending an inspector immediately to the spot.Babul Das, head of the temple committee, said they have tried their best to save the façade of the temple but they could not do it due to lack of funds. "We wanted to save the façade but we do not have enough money. The architects told us that they would manage funds but they couldn't. Therefore we are not in a position to save it,” he said. “The best we can do is to reconstruct the whole thing after demolition. But we have to knock it down for the new building," said Das. “The façade stands as an obstacle to the worshippers coming to the temple,” he added. "Due to the rickety façade we are facing problem in worshipping. We have a string of Puja in the next few months -- Jhulon, Monosha Puja, Janmashtami, Bishwakarma Puja and Durga Puja. So we will have to prepare the temple now,” the temple committee chief said. Das said Rathjatra is the most gorgeous religious event at this temple. But in the last Rathjatra they faced problems because they had lots of worshippers who faced difficulties getting into the temple. “Till now we have broken only the pinnacle of the façade which can be reconstructed," he said. Kajal Devnath, president, city unit of Hindu, Bouddha, Christian Oikya Parishad, said he is trying his best to save whatever is left. "I have told the Urban Study Group that if they can take the responsibility and provide technical help in saving the structure then I can convince the temple committee," he said.If a sponsor is not found or the government do not come forward in time then it will be hard for anyone to save it. This is the stark reality, he said.Asked what steps the recently formed heritage committee under the government's Urban Development Committee, will take regarding the matter, one of its high officials said that since their convener is not in the country they are waiting for him to return.On his return, the committee will take action. Official letter will be sent to Rajuk about the buildings which were not listed but are invaluable from architectural point of view."The two main jobs of the heritage committee are to prepare a list of the heritage buildings and to apply to the authorities concerned to save the buildings. But the committee cannot take any action. We are not empowered to stop any demolition work. We can only make a request," said a high official seeking anonymity. "Right now we are observing what the temple committee does. We have informed the concerned Rajuk officer about the demolition," he said. But Aminur Rahman Suman, Rajuk's authorised officer of the area, said none from the committee has contacted him. “I sent a inspector to the spot Sunday evening following a verbal request from an architect. As far as I know they have stopped the demolition. But it would have been easier for me if I had a written complaint,” he said. These buildings are under the jurisdiction of DCC according to clause 111 of the Dhaka City Corporation Ordinance 1983, he said."It would have been of great support to us had there been a list of these heritage buildings. Since I don't have any list how will I know which one is a heritage building and which one is not?”Asked, Sirajul Islam, DCC's town planner, said DCC, Rajuk and Disaster Management Bureau are responsible for the risky structures in the city. He said DCC is responsible for the maintenance of any structures, be it a building or a footpath. DCC has a technical committee comprising representatives from Rajuk, PWD, house building and disaster management committee, for identifying risky buildings in the city. "After identifying a building we make an assessment of the building and serve a notice to the owner for necessary repairs to make it risk-free. If he does not comply, then we serve another notice to knock it down,” he said. "Now the problem is most of the risky buildings are heritage buildings. If we could know which of them are heritage buildings it would have been easier for us to take proper steps. We heard that a list of heritage buildings will be prepared by the Urban Development Committee," he said. Sirajul mentioned that 19 people died in 2004 due to building collapse in Shankharibazar. At that time DCC prepared a list of risky buildings but Jagannath Mandir was not on the list. At that time it was a stable structure.

Bangladesh: The Holy Land of Hindu-Buddhist Tirthas

2009-01-01T12:35:00.000-08:00

Bangladesh: The Holy Land of
Hindu and Buddhist Tirthas

Sachi G. Dastidar

Over the millenniums several places have become famous tirthas or places of pilgrimages in Bengal. Large concentrations of those places are in today's Bangladesh. Many notable monks, rishis, bhikkhus, and famous personalities were born here. Many Muslim tombs of holy pirs and darbeshes exist here, notable among them is the mazar of Shah Jalal in Sylhet. There exist several famous Christian churches.

It is said that in the Golden Age of Bengal, Bengali Buddhist monks spread their faith in Tibet and Sri Lanka, and Hindus brought Hinduism to Shyam [Thailand], Cambodge [Cambodia], and in Jabadwip [Indonesia].

To document the religious heritage of Bangladesh, the Bangla Academy in Dhaka has published several books: on Hindu temples [Ratanlal Chaakraborty, Bangladesher Mandir, Bangla Academy, Dhaka, B.S. 1394,] Buddhist stupas and temples, and Muslim mosques and mazars.
In Bangladesh [Bengal] Hindu traditions of local, vedic, non-vedic, tribal, Mongolian along with Buddhist and Islamic, have all merged to give her a distinctive identity. Here the traditions of the saivaites, saktas and vaishnavs have merged producing many festivities from worshipping of tulshi plants and baniyan trees to snake goddess Manasa to Gods Kali, Shiv and Sri Krishna.
For the convenience of travel and for hotel accommodation, Bangladesh could be divided into six tirtha regions. For example, the Dhaka-Narayanganj-Mymansingh region of Madhya Bangla [central Bangla], the Khulna-Jessore-Kushtia Paschim Bangla [western Bangla], Barisal-Faridpur’s Jal Bangla [marshy Bengal], the Chittagong-Comilla’s Dakhin-Purba Bangla [southeast Bengal], Sylhet, and Uttar Bangla [North Bengal.]

It is worth mentioning here that it is estimated that there are over 20,323 temples in Bangladesh (Ref: Sibsankar Chakraborty, Uddipan, Sri Ramakrishna Mission & Mott, Dhaka, 1986.} Thus it is impossible to write about all these. Many of these are in disrepair, and many have been attacked by Muslim fundamentalists. Bengal temple architecture is a special feature of Indian architecture. Most of the famous styles are as follows: shikhar (steeple), rekha (line) or peerra (flat seat) deul, akchala (single slope), dochala (double sloped), charchala (four slopeed) or aatchala (eight sloped), pancha-rotno (five-jeweled or five-steeple) made out of various materials - the famous one being Bengal terracotta temples. After Lord Sri Chaitanya’s birth in the 15th Century, a new liberal Hindu religious movement started in Bengal, and Sri Chaitanya’s followers have built numerous temples throughout Bengal, notable among them in his native Sylhet, in the village of Sri Chaitanya, and in the birth places of his early disciples.

Pithas:
According Hindu customs, there are only 51 piths, spread from Baluchistan to Bengal, and Kashmir to Kerala. These are the places where the parts of the body of Ma Sati (Ma Kali) fell after her death. However, eight of those sites are located in Bangladesh. There is no such concentration of holy places anywhere else. In these sites one normally finds temples of Lord Shiv and Mother Kali [Bhabani.] Bangladeshi piths are: 1. “Shugandha,” Uttar (north) Shikarpur village, Gour Nadi Thana (police station), Barisal district; 2. “Karatoya Tot,” Bhabanipur village, Sherpur Thana, Bogura; 3. “Srihatta,” Jainpur village, Thana & district Sylhet; 4. “Jayanti,” Baurbhag village, Jaintia, Sylhet; 5. “Tripura,” Radhakishorpur, Comilla; 6. “Jesssoreswari,” Iswaripur, Khulna; 7. “Kirit Devi Kamala,” Botnagar, Elahiganj, Sylhet, and 8. “Chattagram,” Sitakunda, Chittagong. Some individuals believe that the Elahiganj temple is not a pitha but it is the temple at Devikot village, Bangarh, Dinajpur. Of all these, the location of Chattagram at the mountain top at Sitakunda is spectacular, and is in decent shape as a tourist attraction and as a pilgrimage place.

Regions:
In central Madhya Bangla one must mention the thousand-year old Ramna Kali temple. This was partially destroyed by the fundamentalists and by the Pakistani Army in 1971, and later “cleared” by the independent government. Many Hindus still visit this site as a holy place. Then there is 15th Century Dhakeswari Mandir temple in Dhaka. Langolbandh near Dhaka attracts thousands of pilgrims in the month of Falgun [mid-February to mid-March] for a fair and for a holy dip in the Brahmaputra river. In the west of Dhaka, near Savar Memorial, is Dhamrai. Its Rath [chariot] Festival was the second most popular after Puri’s [Orissa] Ratha-jatra of Lord Jagannath, Balaram and Shuvadra. During the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War the eight storey rath was destroyed by the Islamic Army of Pakistan and its Bengali Islamist allies. Now with a smaller rath [chariot], Ratha-jatra and Rather-mela [fair] attracts thousands of people. Incidentally, Dhamrai has a beautiful collection of 18th-20th century buildings dalan and zamindar [land owner] jamidar barris of typical Hindu families.

In the west there are several 3 to 4 centuries-old temples dedicated to Lords Shiv, Kali and Sri Krishna. Jessoreswari of Khulna is the most famous among them. In addition there are Raghunath mandir and Gopinath mandir of Abhoynagar, Ganesh mandir of Jhenaidaha, Krishna and Durga mandirs of Mohammadpur, Shiv mandir of Magura, Kodala Mott of Khulna, LakhsmiNarayan and Jorhbangla Mandir templesof Jessore, Pancha-Rotno mandir of Noldanga, etc. In Kushtia, Shilaidaha of Rabindranath, Bengal’s singing minstrel Lalon’s tomb and Mosharaf Hossain’s homestead is a must-see for all.

There are several mandirs, motts and ashrams in southern marshy Jal Bangla. Indian freedom fighter Charonkobi [wondering minstrel] Mukunda Das has created a place of pilgrimage through his Kali temple in Barisal town. Then there is Sugandha pitha a couple of miles north of Barisal. A few miles north is the 400-year old Maha-Bishnu temple at the LakhsmanKathi village east of Batajore. Adjacent to that is the 16th century Mahilara Leaning Mott or Sarkari Mott. In Madaripur one will find the Pronob Mott, the former head quarters of the Bharat Sevasram Sangha, at Bajitpur village founded by the Indian nationalist and Hindu reformer Swami Pranavananda Maharaj. A large fair is held annually during Guru Purnima [February full moon.]

In the southeast Dakhin-Purba Bangla there are at least 50 famous Hindu-Buddhist temples and viharas in Chittagong city alone. Some of the well known are: Raj-rajeswari Kalibari, Chatteswari Kalibari, Panchanan Dham, Nandan-kanan Buddhist Mandir temple, Brahmo Mandir, Koibalya-dham, Jagatpur Ashram, Sitakunda, Pancha-batika of Swami Vivekananda fame, etc. In and around Comilla there are Abhoy Ashram, Iswar Pathshala, Gandhi Ashram of Noakhali, half-a-millennium old Chandimura temple, 10th century Moynamati Vihara, and more.

Sylhet has hundreds of famous temples dedicated to Lords Kali, Shiv and Sri Krishna. Bagala Matar Mandir temple of Habiganj and Kalibari of Jaintiapur is known throughout the Subcontinent. Sylhet is also a destination of many pilgrims for the Islamic saint of Shah Jalal.
In North Bengal kings and zamindar’s have helped create many temples, mosques, palaces and ashrams. One of the most famous temples is the Kantajir [terracotta] Mandir of Dinajpur. Two 9th and 10th century Buddhist stupas (mounds) are very important attractions there. They are located at Paharpur and at Mahasthangarh. Additionally, Bogura’s Karatoa Tott tirtha, Bardhan-Kuthi Mandir temple of Rangpur, Shiv and Gobindo Mandir temples of Putia is worth mentioning in addition of the well planned of the same name.

2004

Need a Long Term anti-Fundamentalist Policy

2008-12-31T12:34:00.000-08:00

Viewpoint:
Need a Long Term anti-Fundamentalist Policy

Sachi G. Dastidar

For some time, American and Western record against extremism has been inconsistent, especially against Islamic fundamentalism. 9/11 has changed all that. During Cold War we have supported many anti-secular, anti-democratic, pro-fundamentalist regimes contradicting our publicly-stated policy. Recently in order to win Cold War we supported Taliban against a secular Afghanistan, albeit then pro-Soviet. Taliban monstrosity made women non-person and drove her indigenous Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist minorities away. Taliban destruction of ancient Bamiyan Buddhas were well reported, but not the destruction of scores of Hindu-Sikh temples. Now the liberated nation has approved an ‘Islamic Constitution!’ Our anti-Cold War vigor overthrew a secular regime in Iran giving birth to an authoritarian Shah, which led to myopic Islamists. We have supported intolerant, Islamic dictatorships and ethnic cleansing of non-Muslims in Pakistan against a pluralistic India. In 1971 Nixon Administration opposed the first-ever independence movement in a Muslim-majority nation for a secular constitution: Bangladesh. Pakistan’s Islamic dictator embarked on genocide of its Hindu minority and secular Muslims. Army of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and its Bengali Islamist allies killed 3 million mostly-Hindus in 9 months, yet no one was punished at Saudi, Islamic, Chinese and Western pressure. We did not have normal relation with the new nation until the pro-secular president was murdered in 1975 along with his extended family, including a 3-year old grandson. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan recognized the new regime within hours of that killing, and provided heaven for those killers. Those and many other Islamist nations provided shelters of the mass murderers of 1971 genocide. Surprisingly many of those killers found shelter in the U.S. as well. Now Bangladesh is ruled by Islamists, including pro-Taliban parties. They are brazenly attacking minority Hindus, Buddhists and Christians and pro-secular Muslims. In June 2004 they attacked a rally targeting the pro-tolerant former Prime Minister killing 22. In October 2001 pro-Islam parties came to power on the backs of Islamic pride after 9/11 and by systematically attacking and disenfranchising Hindu minorities.

Our public policy of supporting fundamentalist, dictatorial, anti-democratic regimes has been contrary to our pro-tolerant, secular, democratic pluralism that Americans believe in. Rest of the world finds the contradiction of popular belief and public policy with surprise, unease and disbelief. We have been protecting an intolerant, anti-women, anti-non Muslim, jihad-producing anti-democratic regime in Saudi Arabia with which we have nothing in common. After the first Gulf War we gave a liberated Kuwait an Islamic theocracy instead of a secular, constitutional monarchy like Japan and parts of Europe after WWII. Kuwait still restricts its overwhelming majority any form of political participation. Almost all the extremist Islamic madrassa schools in fur-flung nations from Indonesia to India, Pakistan to Philippines, Bangladesh to Nigeria, and from Sudan to Sri Lanka are funded by our ‘friends’ — Saudi and other intolerant Islamists. Before 9/11 we ignored the Saudi-funded extremism as it affected Asia and Africa, not us. Sadly though only two of 50-plus Muslim-majority nations have had secular constitution but enforced though military: Turkey of Kemal Ataturk and dictator Saddam’s Iraq. For tens of millions of victims of Islamic ethnic cleansing like us the post-liberation Iraq’s rise of Islamic extremism is quite disturbing. Liberation from a mad dictator must not end up with even more merciless intolerant society. A large number of Christians who lived under Saddam have already fled the country as attack on churches increased after liberation.

During the unchallenged days of Rule Britannica, the imperial power used divide-and-rule policy to create divisions among groups. Ironically one of their first experiments to divide a people was Islamism in India in 1905 when they partitioned a homogeneous Bengal Province into ‘Muslim Bengal’ and ‘Hindu Bengal,’ where that chasm didn’t exist. Within four decades of that short-term opportunism two intolerant Islamist territories would rise: Pakistan, West (now Pakistan) and East (now Bangladesh.) Colonial rulers planted political Islam in order to divert Indian independence movement involving peoples with multitude of languages and religion. Such colonial divisiveness continued from Ireland to Cyprus, Nigeria to Sudan, Iraq to Fiji, and from Palestine to Ceylon (Sri Lanka.) All those regions are still suffering devastating consequences from that policy adopted for colonial rule. However, Imperial Britain ruled her colonies with long-term objective as if they would be there for ever. Thus even after decolonization she retains significant influence over her former colonies. To win over extremism, including intolerant Islamism, we must devise a long term policy aligned with our national ideals and support local progressives to create tolerant, secular, pluralistic societies.

December 2004
Written for a US Journal

Educating the Poor and the Orphaned in Bangladesh and India: Probini Foundation

2008-12-31T08:06:00.000-08:00

Akondara Santhali Tribal Village School, West Bengal, India:

Probini is Providing Teachers

Tutthamandra Sarajubala Girls' High School, Gopalganj, Bangladesh:

Probini is Building a Girls' Dormitory

Purokonda Orphanage of Oppressed-Caste Peoples, West Bengal, India:
Probini is Providing Teachers

AndharManik Girls' High School, Bagerhat, Bangladesh:
Probini has built the Dormitory

Surya Sen Orphanage and School, Uzirpur, Bangladesh:

Probini is rebuilding Tornado-destroyed School and Hostel, and Providing Teachers

Sahid Smriti (Martyrs' Memorial) Girls' High School, Swarupkathi, Bangladesh:

Probini has rebuilt the Tornado-destroyed School and Dormitory

Kasturba Gandhi Memorial Primary School, Nandigram, West Bengal, India:

Probini is Providing Teachers

Dhowa Danga Santhali Tribal Village School, West Bengal, India;

Probini is Providing Teachers

Mahiskapur Slum School, Durgapur, India:

Probini is Providing Teachers

Tilak Road Basti (Slum) School, Durgapur, India:

Probini is Providing Teachers

Madaripur Ashram School Dormitory, Bangladesh:
Probini has rebuilt Religious-terrorist-destroyed Dorm

Assam Buddhist Vihar School and Orphanage, India:
Probini is Providing Teachers and Supporting Resident Students

Pranab School Probini Building, SriRamKathi, Bangladesh:

Probini has built the School Building

Calcutta Girls' Orphanage, West Bengal, India:
Probini is Providing Scholarship for Resident Students

Monk Nayan's Orphanage Ashram, Netrokona, Bangladesh:

Probini is Providing Teachers, Student Scholarship,

funded Agricultural Self-sufficienncy Projects and Building a New Dormitory

RamaKrishna School at Sweeper's Colony, Dinajpur, Bangladesh:
Probini is Providing Teachers

Jagatpur Ashram Orphanage and School, Chittagong, Bangladesh:
Probini is Providing Scholarships for Resident Students

Vivekananda Bani Prachar Samiti-run School, B-Zone, Durgapur, India;
Probini is Providing Teachers

Dhaka Girl's Orphanage, Bangladesh:
Probini is Providing Scholarships to Resident Students

Gandhi Ashram, Noakhali, Bangladesh:
Probini is Providing Scholarships to Resident Students

RamaKrishna Mission-run Poor Student Programs, Barisal, Bangladesh;
Probini is Providing Scholarships

Mahilara Mott Nihar Kana Bhaktabash School, Bangladesh:
Probini has built the School (on right) and Providing Teacher Salary

(A member has saved the 300-year Old Temple, on background, from destruction.)

RamaKrishna Boys' Orphanage, Comilla, Bangladesh:

Probini is Providing Scholarships to Needy Resident Students -- Probini's First Project

For additional Information, check http://www.probini.org/

Indus Valley Civilization: Harappa

2008-12-31T07:45:00.000-08:00

Harappa: 2,700 - 3,000 BC Indus/Indian Civilization Site

Indus Valley Approximate Sites

Introduction of Harappa Site in Punjab, Pakistan

Ruins of Well

Parts of Harappa City

A Section of the City

A Housing Area

Site of Industrial Neighborhood

Granery Location

Top View of the Ancient City

Pictures: 2007

Stranded Pakistanis Vote in Bangladesh: 2008

2008-12-31T07:28:00.000-08:00

In Bangladesh Biharis (Stranded Pakistanis) cast Vote in General Election-2008: First Time Ever
Stranded Biharis known as Biharis, exercised their franchise for the first time on Monday in the 9 th Parliamentary election in independent Bangladesh, they are treated as minority in Bangladesh. After liberation of Bangladesh those Biharis have not been treated as citizen of Bangladesh.
The Biharis who achieved the voting rights following the High court orders, thronged the polling centers at different places in a festive mood since morning of 29 th Dec, 08.
The Biharis came out of their respective city slums in the sunny morning and cast votes with a high hope that the next elected government would resolve their problems.
They said that only 20 percent Biaris could enlist their names in the voters list and sought co-operation from the next government so that the dropped Bihari voters can register their names in the voter list in January.
Talking to BDMW some of the Biharis said their demands have partially been fulfilled as they are allowed to cast votes in the crucial 9 th Parliament Election. "We should no longer be treated as stranded Pakistanis"
Asked if they have any preference for a particular political party, most of the Biharis said they are not particularly worried about this. They are looking for an honest and patriotic government which will ensure their basis rights.

Through:
Adv.Rabindra Ghosh
Founder President of Banglaldesh Minority Watch (BDMW)
12, K.M. Das Lane, Tikatuly Bholagiri Trust, Ist Floor Sutrapur P.s. Dhaka, Bangladesh
www.bdmw.org

Bangladesh Election 2008 Analysis

2008-12-31T07:23:00.000-08:00

Bangladesh Election Analysis
Asif Saleh; December 30, 08
The Guardian, U.K.

Two miracles happened in Bangladesh yesterday. Firstly, 80% of theBangladeshi electorate – a record number – voted in one of the mostpeaceful elections in the country's history. Secondly, they voted fora party that believes in secularism and by a majority big enough forit to control 85% of the parliamentary seats.It's a resounding endorsement of democracy and an emphatic victory forpluralism in the world's second-largest Muslim majority country.Although International media finds it easy to do a stereotypicalportrayal of the "dysfunctional two begums", the real story ofBangladesh, however, is in the details.In focusing so much on the two Battling Begums and the occasionalstories on Islamic extremism, the media tend to overlook the progressBangladesh has made under the two begums, its vibrant civil societyand its "dysfunctional democracy". Yesterday's election and itsoutcome is a continuation of that progress.What was even more remarkable in the election yesterday was the strongsignal sent to the political parties by the voters: reform or perish.They have abandoned the parties that ran a fearmongering campaign,used religion in politics and showed no intention to reformthemselves. On the other hand, they embraced the party that nominateda group of fresh politicians, talked about a vision of a pluralisticand developed Bangladesh and championed separation of religion andpolitics.However, those who expect an overnight full-scale reform will bedisappointed unless they accept that such reforms come through a slowand iterative process. They should take heart in the fact that theelectorate is aware and powerful and will not hesitate to obliterate aparty to send a message unless they change. No one found this out morepainfully than Khaleda Zia, the head of Bangladesh Nationalist Party,who failed to reverse the downfall of her party even after ahard-hitting campaign where she sought forgiveness from the public forpast mistakes.The public were in no forgiving mood, not only reducing its seats by90% but almost wiping out its alliance partner, Jamaat-e-Islami, whoseleaders have been accused of war crimes.Does this mean a new beginning for Bangladesh? That will depend partlyon how well the secularists can deliver beyond the rhetoric andcontinue the institution-building; and partly on army's staying awayfrom extra-constitutional intervention. Our dreams may be in for arude awakening in a few months like so many other times. But today, asBangladeshis, we are believers. We are daring to dream again.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/30/bangladesh