This is in response to some of the comments by A. B. M. Shamsud Doulah and Q. A. Rahman.
While we should look at our history and learn from it, I think we should focus more on the present and the future.
On Mr. Doulah's comments, I would say that for our own corrections and advancement we need to blame our forefathers more than the foreign rulers. If our forefathers were not divisible, the foreign rulers could not divide and rule our ancestral land. In that respect I see two serious problems that we need to work on.
1) Hindu caste system was a serious chronic disease that our ancestors had. It is still there within us. It is going away, but not fast enough.
2) Religion-based hatred was another serious chronic disease. It is also still there. It is also going away, but not fast enough.
The first problem is more clearly recognized, and most outgoing and academically qualified people no longer defend it. The practice of it as a tool for denigrating and depriving people has diminished to a great extent. All indications are that it will continue to go away.
The second one is a more intractable problem in Bangladesh; and I am ignoring Pakistan, because it is too hopeless and quite far from our neck of the woods.
That brings me to Mr. Rahman's comments.
I agree with Mr. Rahman's statement that religion-based hatred is 'codified in Hindu religion/tradition'. However, most Hindus do not care to know and adhere to the codes of their religion/tradition. I see progress when a Hindu eats beef, for example.
Muslims are clearly behind when it comes to giving up the codes of their religion. The purely foolish codes may be OK. But the hateful codes are not. An example of the hateful codes would be to bring Islam into the business of the state, where non-Muslims become secondary at best, and nothing at worst.
To me, creation of Pakistan in 1947 would not have been a problem if Pakistan engaged in a competition with India on fair treatments for religious minorities in the country. Instead, through systematic hatred and atrocities, that country has expelled and marginalized the non-Muslims of the land over the last 65 years. In that respect, Bangladesh has acted as a mini Pakistan for most of its lifetime so far, although the current situation gives a glimmer of hope.
BTW, I have seen a few Hindus who differentiated between Bangalees and Muslims. I did not like it, and corrected them. However, I must disappoint Mr. Rahman by saying that it had some logical basis. Just look at the history of Pakistan, for example. Why was Urdu proposed and accepted as the national language there? Because, to the Muslim elite class, Urdu was the language of the Muslims; the overwhelmingly majority language, Bangla, was not the language of the Muslims.
There is a difference between making a distinction between Bangalee and Muslim, and asking a Bangladeshi non-Muslim, 'where in India are you from?' Non-Muslim (mostly Hindus) elite class never migrated to India voluntarily; they migrated due to real and systematic hatred against them in their homeland of centuries. And here we are talking about the ones that did not migrate in spite of all the hatred they got in their motherland. In any case, the newer generations of Hindus know better, and they do not talk/think like Bangalee and Muslim were opposite words.
Oh, well that is all for now,
Sukhamaya Bain
=======================================================
From: Sukhamaya Bain <subain1@yahoo.com>
To: "mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com" <mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, June 10, 2012 8:23 AM
Subject: Re: [mukto-mona] Akhanda Bharat and South Asian Union are Wishful Thoughts
To: "mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com" <mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, June 10, 2012 8:23 AM
Subject: Re: [mukto-mona] Akhanda Bharat and South Asian Union are Wishful Thoughts
Demographic invasion of India by Bangladeshis would be quite likely if Bangladesh goes mostly under the rising water. That would be involuntary on the parts of both the countries; Bangladeshis having nowhere to go, and India being forced to take people in because of a humanitarian crisis.
For that kind of a crisis, as well as for better times, life in the region would be much more tolerable if people could get rid of their religion-based hatred. In that respect, people who call themselves Muslims need to work much harder than any other religious group; the history of East Bengal over the last 65 years is a testament to that.
I have seen too many academically qualified Bangladeshi Muslims who callously asked me, "Where in West Bengal are you from?" My fault was that my name was in purely Bangla words, and that I spoke Bangla like an educated person, as opposed to like an illiterate person, which is how too many academically qualified Bangladeshis talk. Religion-based division, hatred and discrimination are too deep in them. I would recommend them to unite with India only after they have gone through some serious re-education.
In any case, I think it is too wrong to suggest that a good relationship with Bangladesh would not help India. I think a good relationship between Bangladesh and India would help both the countries. Only by being engaged can India influence life in Bangladesh. Through a good relationship, India could help improve inter-religion relationships within Bangladesh, which would be the key for an India-friendly Bangladesh.
Sukhamaya Bain
===================================================
From: Jiten Roy <jnrsr53@yahoo.com>
To: mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, June 9, 2012 11:13 PM
Subject: Re: [mukto-mona] Akhanda Bharat and South Asian Union are Wishful Thoughts
To: mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, June 9, 2012 11:13 PM
Subject: Re: [mukto-mona] Akhanda Bharat and South Asian Union are Wishful Thoughts
I do not know about the western front, but - I see a very real possibility of merger in the eastern front. Population was less than 50 million in 1971, now it is 150 million after 40 years. What will happen in another 40 years? The ecological change in Bangladesh is scary. I have seen flood-water in our home during many rainy-seasons. We couldn't go from one room to another without a boat during those times. Now, no such water can be found anywhere during the rainy-season. Also, the ocean is rising in the south, and the southern-belt will probably go under the ocean in 40 years. Where will all these people go? Even right now, people are desperate to cross the border, and so many are dying during border intrusion. Yet, intrusion continues. All these tell me that there will be a demographic invasion in the West Bengal in not so distant future. Jiten Roy --- ============================= On Sat, 6/9/12, Sukhamaya Bain <subain1@yahoo.com> wrote:
|
__._,_.___