Jahanara Imam is a celebrated author in Bangladesh, famously known for being the mother of freedom fighter Shafi Imam Rumi, who sacrificed his life for the liberation of Bangladesh from Pakistan. She is also a famous author for her book called Days of 71.
In this book she wrote:
“Life in a Hindu neighborhood was a nightmare each day. Every day they had to live with new fears. We heard rumors about house raids, abductions of young men, and rapes of young women. The fact that made it even worse was that these raids were not all carried out by the Pakistani Army—there were local helpers from our own neighborhood. We called them Razakars, once our next-door friendly faces now turned against our own people just because of their faith. One morning, we learned that a Hindu family known as the Ghosh family who lived close to us had been attacked. They were loved by everyone and had a peaceful reputation. However, that did not seem to matter to the Razakars. They came with the Army and slaughtered the men of the family in the street and burned their house. We could see the smoke and hear their screams, but we too were helpless to do anything. Later, we found out the women of the house were taken. Nobody dared to question where.” [1]
In the 9 months of 1971 during which the Bangladesh War of Independence took place and which Imam writes about, there were three million casualties. Among them, 60–80% were Hindus. These numbers were mentioned in U.S. Consul General Archer K. Blood’s telegram to Washington, which was later declassified. [2]
The perpetrators who took part in this slaughter of their own people later became leaders of a political party called the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh. Some of them became lawmakers and ministers. Later in 2013, the Awami League government formed a war crime tribunal in response to a public uprising for justice. The whole tribunal, however, became very controversial due to the Awami League’s political motivation to eliminate their opposition. Not to mention: The war criminals that were already assimilated into their own party had the protection of the government itself.
As a teenager preparing for university, I did not fully understand the ramifications of the death penalty or how justice could be politically motivated. But I always felt deeply about the injustice committed against the minority of the country. The reason behind Bangladesh’s separation from Pakistan goes deeper than economic and nationalist discrimination. Bangladesh still owes a substantial debt to its minority for their sacrifice, as I personally see it.
There is a regional anti-Indian sentiment among South Asian countries. Mostly, because India is the regional power and has its own form of imperial agenda. Bangladesh, which shares more than 70% of its border with India, faces the biggest part of this Indian influence. I do not find it unusual that there would be some kind of political opposition to this influence within Bangladesh. However, I am always opposed to the popular sentiment that somehow all Hindu people living in Bangladesh are Indian collaborators.
Like many other countries, Bangladesh has had two major political parties: the Bangladesh Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). BNP formed a collation with the Jamaat-e-Islami in 2001. This was an obvious reason the minority voted to side with the Awami League. Many would say it is also because of their contribution during the liberation war. But I think we cannot be sure, as minorities were given no real options to choose from.
Unfortunately, sectarianism often clouds logical discourse among the majority. No matter how many examples of violence, temple demolition, and land-grabbing against Hindus during the Awami League regime are pointed out, they are still convinced that somehow all Hindus are connected to a conspiracy to sell out the country to India with the help of the Awami League. Now that the Awami League is gone, following the student-led takeover of the government, one might think minorities would be left alone. But that would be too much daydreaming. The violence of the Jamaat-e-Islami, other far-right groups, and their followers continues. Temples continue to be vandalized, and conspiracies, including that ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness—a global faith-based organization founded in New York in 1966) temples are hubs for Indian agents, and that whoever is speaking up for a minority is working for the Indian government. These conspiracies are spreading like viruses among young people, likely fueled by the Jamaat-e-Islami and some online far-right activists. [3] There is a viral trend in Bangladeshi social media that says, “There are no minorities in Bangladesh; we are all Bangladeshi.” I think this slogan is supposed to make minority communities feel safe, or at least that is the intention of the people who are sharing it. At the same time, there are attempts by the Jamaat-e-Islami to appear more liberal with the announcement that they will have a Hindu branch of their political party. I don’t think many people in Bangladesh realize how deeply disturbing these signs are. While I may not need to elaborate on the first phenomenon, the second one seems to me like whoever will not join the Jamaat-e-Islami Hindu branch is very likely to be under the spotlight as anti-Bangladeshi. The far-right party Jamaat-e Islami knows this very well: no sensible member of the minority communities will ever join them. But just like any other far-right political party in the world, Jamaat, too, has figured out that it is too easy to make the minority a scapegoat for their own political gains. [4] In a time like this, I remember some of my Hindu school teachers who taught me how to care for people and treat everyone equally. I think of my Hindu colleagues in Bangladesh who risked their lives under the strict censorship imposed by the Awami League. I remember my childhood Hindu friends with whom I learned the meaning of life. I fear that all of these people are at risk of being betrayed once again, just like they were in 1971 by their own neighbors who brought the Pakistani military to their houses. The rest of the Bangladeshi people would probably like the neighbors in Imam’s book who can only watch the smoke once again.
Written by Mahmudun Nabi.
Cover photo by Faisal Akram.
References
[1] Imam, Jahanara (1986) The Days of 71, Shandhani Publication. The original version is accessible here.
[2] Bass, Gary J. (2013) The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide, Random House Publishers India Pvt. Limited.
[3] ANI Report (2024) “Bangladesh: ISKCON condemns misleading information against organisation”, Asian News International, 8 November 2024, accessible here.
[4] TBS Report (2024) “Committee for Hindu wing of Jamaat-e-Islami formed in Rangpur”, The Business Standard, 26 October 2024, accessible here.