Reviving Bangladesh’s secular polity: Impact for subcontinent (Comment)
January 9th, 2010 - 11:24 am ICT by IANS ( 1 comment )
By Amulya Ganguli
The rekindling of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s secularism in Bangladesh will mark a dramatic transformation from the present doom-laden atmosphere of terrorism in the subcontinent as well as in the larger Islamic world.
The change is expected to take place following the Bangladesh Supreme Court’s decision to revive the secular polity of Mujib’s dream. It was a shortlived quest by the Bangabandhu, for his vision was shattered by his assassination in 1975. It paved the way for the assumption of power by the right-wing fundamentalist, Ziaur Rahman, who was then the army chief.
Thus began the retreat from the country’s non-religious identity, which was preferred by its founder to distinguish it from its past as a part of Pakistan. Along with secularism, Mujib also stressed a pan-Bengali outlook with its focus on the distinctive culture which Bangladesh shared with West Bengal.
Zia rejected both. Apart from emphasising Bangladeshi - as opposed to Bengali - nationalism, the constitution drafted during his rule called upon the government to “endeavour to consolidate, preserve and strengthen fraternal relations among Muslim countries based on Islamic identity”. Evidently, Bangladesh’s ties with the countries of kafirs or non-believers were to be less close and cordial.
Zia also lifted the ban on the pro-Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami that had been imposed by Mujib and allowed its chief to return from Pakistan. The indemnity legislation adopted at the time also gave immunity to Mujib’s killers.
The subsequent regression into fundamentalism saw not only an alliance between Zia’s widow, Khaleda Zia, who had replaced her husband as leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), and the Jamaat but also the growth of terrorist outfits like the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (JuM) and the Harkat-ul-Jihad-ul-Islam (HuJI).
Not surprisingly, Begum Zia’s terms as prime minister were marked by a pronounced anti-Indian bias, which manifested itself in the safe havens provided to fugitives from India like the chief of the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), Arabinda Rajkhowa.
The defiant writer Taslima Nasreen, who personified Mujib’s pan-Bengali worldview, was hounded out of Bangladesh by the militant mullahs. Since then, she has chosen Kolkata as her preferred place of residence.
However, the first check on this process of retrogression was provided by a high court diktat in 2005, which invalidated all coups that took place between 1975 and 1979. It also said that “the state must not be seen to be favouring any particular religion, rather, ensure protection to the followers of all faiths without any discrimination, including even to an atheist”.
Now, the judiciary has taken the next step by ordering the restoration of the original constitution of 1972 by shedding the “forced identity” of a Muslim nation which was imposed on it by the fiat of the country’s first military dictator in 1977.
Needless to say the judicial initiative has underlined ideals which are anathema to all Muslim countries from Indonesia and Pakistan in Asia to Saudi Arabia and Iran in the Middle East and to Egypt in North Africa. Given its revolutionary potential, it can set off a churning in the Muslim world if the long suppressed civil libertarians there have the guts to take up cudgels against the mullah-dominated establishments.
The task will not be easy because the powerful military, aging autocrats and crusty theocrats, as in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran, prefer their currently closed societies because allowing free play to democratic and secular aspirations, which include freedom for women, can undermine their position.
It will not be easy even in Bangladesh, where the BNP has already decided to move against the judicial order. Since it has the support of the Jamaat-e-Islami and other minor orthodox parties, the BNP may be able to take the issue to the streets by whipping up popular sentiments.
One of the cards which it is bound to play is the old anti-Indian one. There is little doubt that Begum Zia will accuse Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has always been branded as pro-Indian by the BNP, of bowing to New Delhi’s pressure to dilute Bangladesh’s Islamic identity.
Pakistan is bound to find the turn of events in Bangladesh highly disconcerting because the erosion of hardline Islamism will reduce the scope of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to recruit and station any terrorists there. It is no secret that Bangladesh and Nepal are the two countries which the Pakistan-based terrorists use to enter India.
On its part, India will have to play its cards with great care because the closeness of the secular ideals of the two countries cannot but promote greater cultural exchanges, especially between the two Bengals. But this, in turn, may arouse the old fears in Bangladesh of Dhaka being overwhelmed by Kolkata’s vivacity.
Much of this lies in the future. What is immediately apparent is that Bengal’s traditionally benign Islamism based in its rain-soaked countryside has stolen a march over the harsher version associated with the deserts of the distant northwest.
(09-01-2010-Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. He can be reached at aganguli@mail.com)
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Tags: amulya ganguli, army chief, bangabandhu, bangladesh nationalist party, bangladesh nationalist party bnp, distinctive culture, dramatic transformation, fraternal relations, harkat ul, huji, islamic identity, jamaat e islami, jum, khaleda zia, muslim countries, religious identity, sheikh mujibur rahman, terrorist outfits, ul islam, west bengal
February 20th, 2010 at 6:07 pm
Advantages of Creation of Bangladesh to Pakistan.
M.Akram Khan, Pakistan
Usually smaller Parts of a country having extraordinary resources tries to break away from the mainland to take the maximum advantage of their resources for their advantage, and to protect themselves from the drain of their resources to majority or dominant section of the country, but in case of Pakistan Majority Part on the basis of population, which was also having scare resources, separated from the other part,Generally,it is regarded as an unfortunate event for Pakistan by people of Pakistan, and no Pakistani tries to see other side of the coin of that event for analysis of the benefits achieved to them by this event
The reason of this is that all literature about that event has been written by those who were living in East Pakistan and they suffered personally by this event, due to which they always indicate their miseries and losses and forget to explain the advantages of that event to whole Pakistani Nation.Therefore, it is necessary to see the real results of this event. With the separation of East Pakistan, following advantages were achieved to Pakistan.
1.Economical
•Separation of Bangladesh was as much beneficial for Pakistan as separation of Pakistan from India.
•As the part of world in which East Pakistan was situated, was having limited resources, and many poor areas of subcontinent are situated in that part, such as Bihar and Assam and West Bengal, Burma and Bhuttan.Technically it was not in the interest of Pakistan, to keep itself attached with East Bengal(Historically one of the most poorest area of subcontinent) .Infact Pakistan after separation saved its future from economic burden of poverty ridden Bangladesh,
• Huge Population and scare resources of East Bengal were clear Indicators, that there will be no extraordinary progress in future in that province and no sensible person may think that it was valuable for Pakistan to keep itself attached with most poverty ridden part of this region.
•Being a part of East Pakistan, rulers were forcing to West Pakistani citizens to become a market of East Pakistan’s low quality Products, such as Tea, Pans and jute on artificial high prices on the name of Patriotism, while now such type high quality Products may be purchased from other countries on very low prices.
•After separation of Bangladesh, it was possible for Pakistan to make its economic policies without having any concern of interests of a far situated part.
•Pakistan Economic Managers relieved themselves from the Economic restrictions due to economic interest of East Bengal. That situation was as much harmful, as today Pakistan start to take care of the economic interest of Myanmar or West Bengal; it is certain that such type situation will be disastrous for Pakistan.
•With the analysis of economic situation of present day Pakistan and Bangladesh, shows that Pakistan GDP and Foreign currency reserves are double than that of Bangladesh and Electricity production is also 5 times more It is obvious, that separation was much more in the interest of Pakistan, Because, the only solution of the Disparity between two parts, was to serve the Bangladesh with the resources of West Pakistan. Otherwise there was no other magic solution to finish that disparity.
•It is still obvious that, there is still no charm in having trade links with countries of South Asia, because it is not in the economic interest of Pakistan, instead of that we should focus on rich and developed areas such as China, Middle East, Far East, Europe and USA.
2.Political Advantages.
•Due to extraordinary majority of Bengali Population, it was not possible for any province of West Pakistan to become equivalent to that majority any time in future, and it was certain that representatives of Provinces of West Pakistan will always remain in opposition in assemblies as per modern time democracy principles, this was really a frightening situation and the People of Pakistan were going to be ruled by any ethnocentric Bengali Leader or by any Bengali Military dictator for ever.
•Due to Bengali nationalism and ethnocentrism, on the basis of which People of Bangladesh were victimizing the Urdu Speaking Muslim refugees from India and that is still continue, and their Ethnic Cleansing with aborigines people of CHT, were clearly indicating that people of that area were not sincere and aware of the Ideology of Pakistan, infact attachment of Pakistan with East Bengal was self deception and nothing else.
•Due to agitation style and different culture, the politicians of East Pakistan were always blaming Pakistan for their problems and exploitations, while people of Pakistan were worried about deteriorating condition of people of East Pakistan due to poverty and natural disasters, and they were too much fed up with that situation as they were seeing no end of all this, as this thing was also harming the Basic Ideology of Pakistan, and therefore to get rid of this situation and to avoid baseless allegations it was necessary to separate that area(East Bengal) from Pakistan, and this was the main reason that West Pakistani Military Personnel, even having capability for defending that part decided very easily and conveniently to end their any relation with that land on the basis of the facts that they were tired of all those messy affairs.
• Due to separation of East Pakistan, Pakistan saved itself and its ideology from baseless criticism of Bengalese Politicians, and now on real grounds they are blaming each other for their problems.
•With the separation of Bangladesh, Pakistan Islamic Ideology became more prominent with the introduction of Islamic laws and future scenario of Pakistan became much more firmed with the conversion of population ratio to 98 % Muslims, while with Bangladesh, presence of Huge Hindu minority was having adverse effects on the ideological progress of the country.
Security Advantages:
As East Pakistan was situated in the abdomen and inside the body of India and thousand miles away from West Pakistan, India was using that fact for blackmailing and pressurizing Pakistan from the beginning, In fact burden of huge population of East Bengal was loaded on West Pakistan to make Pakistan a crippled and failed state by Indian National Congress. India used that part as a button for keeping under pressure to Pakistan in 1947, in war of 1965 and again in 1970 with policy to occupy large chunk of land in East Pakistan. Due to 1000 miles distance between both parts and that also filled by enemy land, in such worst scenario even maintaining contacts between security forces and their mobility was in fact a difficult, expensive and life taking task, accompanied with wastage of huge resources, ultimately resulting in weakening of Defense forces and economy of the country. By separation of East Bengal, Pakistan was able to get rid of its weak point which was a most easy and favorite target of India. Due to that now Pakistan Defense is more strong and protected as compared to vulnerable and weak position before 1971.
Social Advantages:
•With the separation of Bengal flow of population from densely populated Bangladesh to parts of West Pakistan stopped, which was a good development for the culture and social set up of West Pakistan.
•Due to two national languages, Cutural evolution of the people of West Pakistan was stopped and their local languages were dying, with the separation of Bangladesh, that process was stopped.
•After separation of Bangladesh huge jobs opportunities were raised for people of different provinces of West Pakistan in both Federal and Provincial Governments. Due to elimination of share of people of Bengalese in civilian Jobs, which resulted in an increase in participation of local population in the affairs of country, by this their sense of depriving was minimized.
•People of Bengal are usually dark skinned, while people of West Pakistan were of Fair Skinned, due to continuous flow of Bengalese from East Bengal was creating racial discomfort and fears in the mind of local populations, that by this they will become minority in their own provinces, specially in the case when Federal Government was encouraging Bengalese to rehabilitate in West Pakistan, By separation of East Bengal this process of migration was also stopped.
It is crystal clear from all above mentioned facts that separation from Problematic East Bengal created new life and new freedom in Pakistan.
Written By M.Akram Khan.
Karachi,Pakistan
E.Mail :akrumniazi@hotmail.com
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