RAW strategists have cleverly created disagreement and division even over the issue of national ideology. A debate has been going on whether the country should adopt Bangladeshi nationalism or Bengafee nationalism. Unfortunately RAW has succeeded in making this fundamental issue an aging controversy. Bangladeshi nationalism relates to all the people living in Bangladesh. It is a description of the fee1ing of political cohesion which inspires Bangladeshis to be proud of their separateness. Since Muslims constitute more than 85% of the country's population, thererfore, Bangladeshi nationalism in fact, means nationalism of majority of its population. As French nationalism implies not the nationalism of Algerian immigrants settled i~ France but the national feelings of those Frenchrllen who once were affiliated to the Catholic Church.
Bangladeshi nationalism also reflects aspirations of majority community, i.e.
Muslims. The term Bangladeshi nationalism was adopted by President
Ziaur Rahman as a compromise between those secularists who would not favour
any description which savoured of religion and those who wanted that
the nationalism should reflect aspirations and sentiments of majority
community. However, even this secular expression which only indirectly
points at Bangladesh's character as a Muslim country with Muslim
traditions in art, literature and social life, is not to the liking of RAW
influenced intellectuals. They abhor the use of word Bangladeshi nationalism
calling it communal and insist on adoption of Bengalee nationalism.
Much of this campaign is being waged on wink from RAW.
Bengali nationalism encompasses all the Bengali speaking people irrespective of where they live. Going by this definition all Bengali speaking people form one nation.d HOwever, the concept of forming nations on the basis of language has become redundant. If language was the only factor for making of a nation, all Arabic speaking people of the Middle East should have formed one state instead of 22. Going by the logic of language, India has no right to function as a single country as it has 171 languages and 544 sub-languages(RuhulAmin: Our Nationalism: page, 20). Thus the concept of nationhood based on language alone is not in vogue. Besides Bangladesh, the Bengali speaking people are inhabited in West Bengal, Tripura, Assam, Orissa and Behar states of India. In the first two states they are thepredominant ethnic group. They belong to the same BEmgali stock as people of Bangladesh and- in some cases have similar social and cultural behavior . But still they are distinctly different from Bangladeshis in matters of national identity, history, faith, hopes and spirations. This difference is due to religion. Infact, the difference was created the day Islam came in this region. The advent of Islam brought in a new social culture which gave a new identity. to those who embraced Islam. The Bengali speaking Muslims and Hindus became two separate religious-cultural groups. These differences gradually became the reason for pronouncement of Two Nation. Theory and eventual division of India into Pakistan and India. East Pakistan, after separation from Pakistan in December 1971, became Bangladesh.
The basic differences between the two communities (Hindus and Muslims) are as evident today as these were thousands of years ago. Common cultural identity. and common nationalism could never grow between the two communities. British writer John Marshall while. discussing the peculiarities of ancient Indian culture of the Hindus and the Muslims wrote. "It was never seen before in human history that the two religions and cultures coexisted side by side while one could not swallow the other(quote from John Marshal:by Abdul Mobin: Cultural Mischief, page 80).
The separate cultural identities of Bengali speaking Hindus and Muslims remained intact for ages despite conflicts and clashes. Such conflicts rather hardened their separate identities and religious beliefs. The Hindu poets, litterateurs and intellectuals Bever, accepted the Bengali speaking Muslims as Bengalee. They used the term Bengalee only for Benga.li speaking Hindus. The Muslims were not considered Bengalees. Instead they used to be referred as Muslims. On the other hand, the Bengali speaking Muslims did not care much about their' Bangaleeness. They took pride in their Muslim identity and culture. Being a Bengalee came only after their Muslim identity.
Religion based cultural identity in course of time created political conflicts. The differences on political issues specially since the advent of British rule in Bengal led the Bengali speaking Muslims of this region to think that their interests and goals are not the same as of their Hindu neighbours. The Muslims of Bengal opposed the rule of the British East India Company while the Hindus welcomed it and cooperated with the foreign rulers. In ,return the East India Company allotted vast lands of Bengal to the Hindus who emerged as Zamind-ars. The anti-British struggle of Titunrir, Haji Sharlat Ullah and the 1857 War of Independence, all ended in smoke due to the non-cooperation and oppositipn of the Hindus.
The Hindus of Bengal once again stated in 1905, at the time of partition
of Bengal, that their interest and that of the Muslims are not the same. Not a single Hindu political leader or intellectual rose above his communal feelings and interests to support the partition of Bengal in 1905. Rather, inspired by Hindu nationalism, they vowed to fight for annulment of partition.The very inimfcal attitude of the Hindus towards Muslims gave them a chance to unearth the real face of Hindus. They realized the necessity of preserving their own religious, cultural, economic and political interests.
The Bengalee Hindus had shown more affinity with non-Bengalee Hindus and developed Hindu nationalism. The anti-Muslim attitude of the Hindus made the Muslims of.Bengal to welcome the Two Nation Theory of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Based On this theory the resolution for partition of India to create separate home-land for the Muslims was adopted in 1940 in the All India Muslim League's annual session at Lahore.
Just before the partition of India in 1947, some Muslim leaders of the then Bengal like Suhrawardy, Abul Hashem and lone Hindu Leader Sarat Bose worked for a united'.Independent Bengal. Bq.t the Hindus, led by Ghandhi and Nehru, vetoed the scheme and thus neutralized the last chance of keeping Bengal united. Had it materialized, it could have formed the basis for emergence of Bengalee nationalism. But the Hindus, who preferred Hindu nationalism, themselves gave final burial to the Bengali nationalism.
Pakistan was created on the basis of Two Nation Theory Partition of India also led to partition of Bengal on the insistence of Congress. Bengal's Muslim majority area i.e.East Bengal joined Pakistan as its province named East Pakistan, while West Bengal, the Hindu majority area went with India. Thus there remained no chance for a nationalism based on language to take roots.The Bengali nationalism, however, did find currencyduring movement against Pakistani ruling junta. But in actual fact the separatism was an expression of regionalism; phenomenon also noticeable elsewhere. The people of East Pakistan felt deprived due to the expoitation and usurpation of their rights by an administration dominated by West Pakistanis. Their demand for emancipation found expression in Bengalee nationalism. This was purely in the context of Pakistan and at no stage the people intended to part with the Two Nation Theory. The emergence of Bangladesh is in consonance with Lahore Resolution of 1940. The resolution says, "It is the considered opinion of this session of the All India Muslim League that no constitutional arrangement would be workable or acceptable to the Muslims unless they would be based on the following principles viz. (a) that the contiguous geographic areas have to be demarcated as a region. (b) that the territorial adjustments should be such that the Muslim majority areas in the north-west and Eastern India should constitute independent states and © that the states should be autonomous and sovereign".
After the emergence of Bangladesh, RAW and its stooges have been relentlessly preaching that dismemberment of Pakistan has proved that the Two Nation Theory has failed. Once renunciation of Two Nation Theory is accepted reunification of India becomes obvious.
Indians advise that Bangladesh should give up its Muslim identity and adopt so called Bengalee nationalism. RAW's aim In promoting Bengalee nationalism is to pave way for merger of Bangladesh into West Bengal. One may ask that why Hindus of West Bengal do nqt support Bengalee nationalism against Indian (Hindu) nationalism. Why the idea is being drummed to people of Bangladesh only? During the Pakistan period we used to be known as Bengalees on the basis qf race and language as we did not then have an independent country named Bangladesh. After the establishment of Bangladesh our territorial identity and sovereignty overrode the linguistic and racial identity. Bengali speaking Hindus and the Muslims could never become one nation in the past. Now that the ideological, cultural and political differences between the two have grown further, how can 'there be any rationale for a common Bengalee nationalism.
Basant Chatterje, an Indian journalist said in his book 'Inside Bangladesh', "The Bengali language had been used as political weapon in the struggle against Pakistan and with the establishment of Bangladesh its usefulness had been exhausted. The Muslims had made no contribution to the culture called Bengalee culture which was essentially an upper caste Hindu culture. It would be impossible for Bangladesh to preserve its sovereignty by insisting on the Bengaliness of its political chara1ter".Another problem with Bengalee nationalism is that it excludes those citizens of Bangladesh whose mother tongue is not Bengali. When Sheikh Mujib insisted' on tribal leaders of Chlttagong Hill Tracts, (CHT) to accept Bengalee nationalism, it back fired. RAW capitalized the issue and helped Chakmas to form Shanti Bahini which is continuing to wage armed movement for separation of CHT from Bangladesh.
RAW's propagation and promotion of Bengalism is a conspiracy against the very foundations of Bangladesh which must be snubbed and neutralized with the contempt it deserves.
azimkhan1983@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment