Sekhar Roy: Until first half of 2015, Hindus live in Bangladesh have been considered as friends of the ruling regime, the Awami League led by Sk Hasina. A solid minority vote bank for the league since the days of Sk Mujibar Rahman who was regarded as most secular leader the country has ever produced. Unfortunately, the reading on the largest minority community in the country has registered a radical change. With series of bloody atrocities on Hindus unleashed by the fanatic Muslim majority in 64 districts of the country, a feeling looms large that the country is no more belongs to the minority communities. During the Hasina regime, cross border infiltration by the persecuted Hindus has increased manifold with a view to finding an unsure destiny to an unknown land called India notwithstanding. A radical change in perception is seen to become a political administration to more serve the majority Muslim and to get rid of the old policy of minority appeasement.
What is their fault and why the sons and daughters of the soil are uprooted? How a less than 10% of the population of an independent country could become a threat to the existence of the 90% majority Muslims of this country? Why the secular political platform consists of Awami League, left and communists failed to combat the most dreaded communal outfits in the majority Muslim dominated country? These are the questions often haunt in my mind.
In a keynote address in a Kolkata seminar, Shahriar Kabir, squarely blamed the current Hasina administration largely dominated by the pro-Jamayat and anti-liberation forces planted over the years is responsible for the sufferings of the minority Hindus and others. He also hinted at the planned infiltration of the anti-liberation and pro-Pakistani forces to plant touts in the rank and file of the ruling Awami League. He regretted compromising attitude on the part of the highest leadership of the party has endangered the fate of the minority Hindus. Unless, both party and the departments including law and order machineries eliminate anti national forces and parties are purged to find place for the patriotic and progressive forces, things are not likely to be changed in the near future.
Yet there are no takers to Mr Kabir in his own country. Of late, no effort is there to clean the administration and purge the ruling political outfit to lay a secular road map for the nation. From the union cabinet to the rural union board level, forces detrimental to the security of the minority Hindus have been allowed to represent. The misdeeds done by the previous military ruler HM Ershad who amended the constitution to make it an Islamist Bangladesh has not yet rectified by the Hasina government to make the country a secular by replacing those words of a theocratic state. Non actions on the part of the ruling regime, has encouraged those Islamist attackers to initiate cleansing operation of Hindus from a constitutional Muslim country. Accordingly, persons in the majority Muslim dominated administration find no fault in the maltreatment with the Hindus in delivering natural justice on all common needs. Because they constitutionally feel it’s their country and not for Hindus who should find their destiny to Hindustan or India. Regrettably, no move is afoot to alter the controversial provision of the Bangladesh constitution, nevertheless, demands raised by the non-political outfits of Hindus in Bangladesh for years together.
Interestingly, top ranking leaders in the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad once seen as blind followers of the ruling regime are being suspected as game changers in the political scenario. Other outfit called Hindu Mahajot and its fraternal bodies spread over the districts are being considered a threat to the ruling dispensation. Thus the master stroke given by the Pakistan infamous intelligence agency, ISI is near to accomplish in their once defeated part of the Pakistan nation. Plan A executed to infiltrate in the rank and file of the ruling Awami League by Islamist communal elements those are called hybrids those are planted to tarnish its image of a secular party, Plan B executed to organize criminal assaults on the Hindus and drive them out of their homeland, Plan C executed in ensuring disunity among all secular parties and to generate anti India tirade and Plan D to repeat liquidation of top leadership as committed in 1975 to pave the way for regaining the ground lost in 1971 war with India.
Bangladesh plans of the ISI are gaining ground with making its forever enemy India busy on its western and northern frontiers. Indian home minister Raj Nath Singh cautioned Pakistan to make its rest of the territory into 10 more pieces if it failed to learn lesson from Bangladesh. Supreme leadership in both India and Bangladesh are well aware of Pakistan’s evil designs in disturbing regional peace and harmony and joint defense preparedness of both the nations is on the card. Political and administrative endeavor to re-establish trust and confidence of the Hindus in Bangladesh, amending the constitution to remove Islam to be replaced by secular and to clean the party and the administration from the anti national forces by Sk Hasina would ensure defeat of the Pakistan policy of destabilization of the sub-continent. February ’17 New Delhi visit of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh is likely to sort out many such issues across the table to further strengthen bond of friendship between the two neighboring nations.