[ALOCHONA] Re: Re: Bangladesh/Failed/State

Re: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/alochona/message/15142

>Bongobondhoo’s cherished dream of building the foundation of the
>nation on the basis of a secular ideology, has gone up in the smokes.

   Let me give some bitter pills of truth here. As much I share with you the
   concern about "the proliferation of the Islamic extremism and
   fundamentalism", I disagree that a nation based on secular ideology was
   Mujib's cherished dream. Secularism was never a part of AL manifesto ever
   before independence. You will not find it in AL's 6 point programme that
   Mujib had always championed. The secularism clause was added by leftist
   student leaders of DUCSU during the student/mass movement prior to March 25,
   1971. Secularism was a selling point then as both the Hindu and Muslim
   Bengalis had a common enemy in Pakistan. So sure it made political sense to
   Mujib to adopt secularism, although he did not himself initiate it nor was it
   his idea, as I mentioned above. In fact he never championed socialism either.
   Secularism and socialism were both imposed on the AL manifesto by the hot
   blooded leftist students. Secularism for them and Mujib was an idea that came
   from political expediency, not from heart. To justify a mass movement against
   Pakistan they had to adopt an ideology that would be antithetical to the
   ideology that Pakistan symbolized. Hence secularism and socialism. I can bet
   my last dollar that had Pakistan been a strictly secular and a Soviet leaning
   state and exploited East Pakistan and dominated it like it did, then AL's
   manifesto would have been to end the evils of secularism and socialism,
   restoring the rule of Islam and free market. After all Sheikh Mujib was a
   devout Muslim, he always bragged about him being a Muslim and not fearing
   anyone except Allah (He used to state that in rallys to indicate he wasn't
   afraid of Pakistani police crackdown on him/AL). He also used to end his
   declarations with Insha Allah. AL/Mujib must have felt bad for not being able
   to use Pro islam and pro free market slogan as that had already been hijacked
   by the Pakis!, so they could not use those slogand to sell their cause
   against the Pakis to the mass. When the expediency dictates otherwise they
   will morph and adopt a different ideology. No wonder AL's motto now is Allahu
   Akbar now, and not too long ago they had allied with Khilafat Majlish (A much
   more radiacal Islamic group than Jamat). Here are some more bitter pills. If
   you think that Islamization had happened due to Mujib's elimination consider
   the following :

  1. It was Mujib's gov. which established Madrasha Board and Islamic
     Foundation, Bangladesh Seerat Mission, allocated land for Tablig
     Jamaat at Tongi, handed over Kakrail Mosque and its adjacent lands
     to Tablig Jamaat and registered three acres of land to Baitul
     Mukarram mosque. (never happened under Pakistan before Bangladesh's
     indpendence). We now see the fruits of that. Islamic foundation has
     been the breeding ground for Islamic movements in BD. Millions throng
     Tongi Ijtema river causing great danger to environment and the security
     of Dhaka, costing Taxpayers millions to support it. Baitul Mukarram
     mosque has since then beocme a hotbed of Islamic extremism, something
     unheard of in Pakistan days.

  2. It was Mujib's gov. who enacted laws banning gambling at racecourse
     and import and sale of liquor. (Prior Pakistan gov. never did this)

  3. It was Mujib's gov that aggressively pursued for BD membership in OIC
     to boost it's image as a Muslim nation. He even offered Bhutto(An
     atheist albeit) a red carpet reception in 1974(The then Idian HC in
     Dhaka Subimal Dutta resigned in protest), SO he could get Pakistan's
     recognition, SO he could join OIC, SO he could project BD as a
     Muslim state.

     As J.N. Dixit mentions in his book "Liberation and Beyond" about
     Mujib:
     "He was also clear in his mind that the national identity
     of the newly created Bangladesh can be sustained only if the
     Muslim identity of Bangladesh forms a primary ingredient in
     Bangladeshi nationalism" (Quoted in the New Nation of 25 August
     1999)

Now consider the following about Hasina's AL. (If Hasina could do
these, imagine what Mujib would have done had he been alive today
considering 1-3 above, if he faced the same challenge to stay/grab
power):

  1. She bragged about all that mentioned in 1 above.
  2. After return to power in 1996, Hasina government allocated Tk 33
     crore 9 lakh for religious affairs against Tk 31 crore 35 lakh of
     previous BNP government.

  3. The number of gov enlisted Madrashas increased to 7146 during
     Hasina's Awami League rule from 5977 of BNP times.

  4. It is during the Awami League government that a welfare trust was
     constituted for Imams and Muazzins. Besides, a Madrasha Teachers
     Training Institute was established at Gazipur at a cost of Tk 1.37
     crore.

  5. She allied with Jamat prior to 1996 election to topple Khaleda Zia.
     Even in 1994 Al had accepted Jamat as a legit political group and
     sent AL presidential Noninee Badrul Hasan Choudhury to sit with
     Golam Azam for possible alliance against BNP. Motiur Rahman Nezami
     even apologized to the people in a meeting in Chapai Nababganj for
     having acted in cohort with AL against BNP in the past.
     (Prothom Alo Dec 12 1998) in a mass meeting. All these paved the
     way for and made it legit for BNP to ally with Jamat later in 2000
     election.

  6. She did nothing in 1996-2001 (no sign of doing that now either) to
     reverse the Ershad amendment of constitution declaring Islam as the
     state religion nor the Ershad's introdcution of Friday as a holiday,
     causing huge loss to busineeses dealing with export/import
     (Mounong Shommoti Lokkonong). Not only that AL now has Allahu Akbar
     as their motif slogan.

   - Jamil Asgor

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