From Sonar Bangla to Bangladesh

BY RAZI AZMI

In the euphoric early days following independence, the chant across East Bengal was “Sonar Bangla” (Golden Bengal). Some nationalists in both Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal even dreamed of “one Bengal” and cried “epar Bangla, opar Bangla” (Bengal on this side, Bengal on that side). Now, however, it is plain Bangladesh — Third World and Islamic, and very nearly as much Islamic as it is Bengali. While West Bengal has just elected a Leftist-Communist government for the seventh consecutive term, Bangladesh has been busily infusing Islam into its body-politic, not quite sure how much is enough. If imitation is a form of flattery, then the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the mother-country from which Bangladesh violently seceded in 1971, can take satisfaction from this Islamisation. Pakistanis can also derive a perverse kind of pleasure from the fact that Bangladesh’s formative years resembled Pakistan’s own: 10 presidents, nine prime ministers, two periods of martial law and the assassination of two presidents (including its founding father) in its first 20 years. Born as a fiercely secular state in 1971, Bangladesh officially became an Islamic one in 1988. Gradually, as in Pakistan, state patronage of religion has virtually gone out of control with the usual deleterious results. Some fundamentalist groups are now attacking the minority Ahmadi sect and its places of worship and demanding that it be suppressed. As in Pakistan, Islamic political parties and fringe groups wield influence in the country far in excess of their votes or support base. In another similarity with Pakistan, Bangladeshi politics is dominated by two deceased rulers, Sheikh Mujib ur Rahman and General Zia ur Rahman, and their respective parties, the Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The Sheikh’s daughter, Hasina Wajed, has been prime minister (1996-2001) and is now leader of the opposition, while the general’s widow, Khaleda Zia, is now in her second stint as prime minister (1991-96 and since 2001). Unlike Pakistan, however, Bangladesh has been free of military interference since 1990 and there is a constitutional provision for the holding of elections by interim, neutral, non-party governments. Martial law, a constant threat in Pakistan, seems to be a thing of the past in Bangladesh. The country has also done considerably better than Pakistan in education, health and population control. But Bangladesh’s economic progress has been significantly hampered by the scourge of hartal (strike). Hardly a day passes without traffic in some part of Dhaka being disrupted by a hartal. A strike could be on the call of the main opposition party, but it could also be on account of, say, the death of a student in a road accident. A dozen or so Bengalis getting upset by anything under the sun are not merely inclined to, but also capable of, disrupting traffic to vent their anger. General Zia ur Rahman’s supporters who dominate the military and political establishments have built an imposing mausoleum for him. By clever design, it is so situated opposite the National Assembly building as to appear to be a part of the complex, although he remains a highly controversial figure. Mujib’s personal residence in Dhaka, where he was killed in 1975 along with his wife and all three sons, has now been converted into a museum by his admirers. An inscription before the spot on the stairs where he fell from his killers’ bullets literally exhorts “Bengalis” (rather than Bangladeshis) to “weep” (kaand Bangali kaand). The AL government’s efforts to build a grand mausoleum for Mujib ur Rahman in his native village have been less successful so far. Mujib may not yet have got the monument that his supporters believe he deserves as the father of the nation, but his soul will be pleased with the spirit of defiance and nationalism imbibed by his people. Zia’s soul, on the other hand, will take satisfaction from the Islamic fervour, tinged with an anti-Indian strain, which permeates today’s Bangladesh. Bangladeshis are fiercely nationalistic, a fact which Pakistanis learnt at their own considerable expense and which Indians have subsequently discovered to their chagrin. I doubt that there is a country in the world whose citizens take more pride in their nationhood. Ethnically, it’s one of the world’s most homogenous nations, with 98 per cent of the population being Bengalis. Unfortunately, the country’s treatment of its dwindling Hindu minority (now 16 percent of the population) leaves a lot to be desired. The small Chakma and other hill tribes of the southeast find their culture and economic livelihoods threatened by encroachments from Bengalis from other parts of the country. On a previous trip to Bangladesh, I visited the National Martyrs’ Memorial at Savar wearing the typical Pakistani shalwar-kameez, curious to see the people’s reaction. Bangladeshis came and went but no one batted an eyelid. For sometime after the 1971 war, the sight of a man in that dress would have attracted lynch mobs, even if the wearer spoke Bengali. How times change! Then, Pakistan was the enemy and India a great friend. Now, the former is irrelevant, perhaps a distant friend, the latter an overwhelming presence, too big and too close for comfort. It’s a kind of love-hate relationship. Bangladeshis love to visit India, study there, trade with it, see Indian films and listen to Indian songs, both Bengali and Hindi/Urdu, but they are deeply suspicious of their powerful neighbor. Also during my last visit, I wanted to see the spot in Dhaka’s Race Course Ground, now turned into a park, where the Pakistan Army had formally surrendered. I was curious to see how this piece of history had been preserved. With considerable difficulty my Bangladeshi friend and I were able to locate a small, neglected plaque overgrown with bush which recorded (in Bengali only): “This is where, on December 16, 1971, the aggressor Pakistan Army surrendered before the Mukti Bahini and allied forces”. For those not familiar with the history, the unnamed “allied forces” (an auxiliary to the Mukti Bahini, according to this account) could have been from Nepal, Bhutan, Burma, or India. National pride and Islamic resurgence probably prevent a direct admission of the crucial Indian military role. Religious fervor now borders on the ludicrous. For example, many if not a majority of the auto-rickshaws in Dhaka proclaim at their back that “Allah is almighty”, while others announce that they are “equipped with a 4-stroke engine”. I noted one that combined both statements, the first followed by the second. Nevertheless, very few women wear the burqa or the full hijab. In fact, during my recent weeklong stay in Bangladesh I don’t recall seeing any. Women are conspicuous by their presence everywhere in the country. One doesn’t get “the feeling that you are on a Planet of the Males,” as a Malaysian who recently visited Pakistan wrote to me. On Dhaka University campus as well as on the adjoining roads and alleys, I could see young men and women walking together, or sitting and chatting, or just enjoying each other’s company in silence, saying nothing but speaking in a thousand tongues. This, the most beautiful of sights in the world, may have vanished from Pakistan but survives in Bangladesh. The keepers of the faith there are apparently not strong enough as yet to drive women out of public places or banish lovers out of sight. (This is the concluding part of a two-part article on Bangladesh. The article first appeared in the Daily Times, Pakistan) Other Articles on Bangladesh Goldman Sachs on Bangladesh When East Pakistan Became Bangladesh On Being a Muslim in America Now Green Crescent over Sonar Bangladesh

The views expressed herein are the writers' own and do not reflect those of DesPardes.com

Have Your Say  >

E-mail it to:Articles@despardes.com

 DesPardesPicks

@ desistore.com
--Quran Ki Azmat Aur Uss Ki Bunyadi Talimaat
--If I Am Assassinated by Z A Bhutto
--Heera Mandi Ki Dar Pardah Saqafat
--Muslim Showers
--Indus Journey by Imran Khan
--Gandhi's Passion -Stanley Wolpert
--More..

@ amazon.com
--Jesus, Last King of Kashmir