Bengali trial

Something has been going on in Bangladesh for quite some time now. People spilled out onto the streets not because they are worried about their future but because they don't want their past to be falsely represented. It's not a revolution though. Far from it, in fact. It seems apt the honour it deserves. Without getting into the nitty-gritties of this South Asian aberration—if you will—let's look at the bigger picture. No matter what happens there, B'desh will always be known as a Muslim majority nation. Albeit it's true, we must acknowledge the ground realities and distinctions between a Muslim and the Arab culture. Most of the time, they are confused to be similar. (One doesn't have to look very far for a taste of this historical baloney. By the way, the country on our west is paying an exorbitant price for the same.) To rub it in, the case doesn’t help either when a lot of these so-called Islamic countries actually aspire to be counted as an extended version of Arabs themselves. On the very contrary, Bangladesh is firmly rooted in its indigenous culture, languages (yes, there are other tongues spoken too apart from Bengali) and outlook. The restless days and nights at Shahbag Chowk in Dhaka rechristened as Projonmo Chottor or New Generation Circle where mostly young B’deshis are craving for the death of the main 1971 war crimes accused is an example. Notably, most of them haven’t witnessed the ghastly acts that eventually led to liberation. And it doesn't matter as they are hellbent on removing the stains of the past. This movement shows that there's much more to come. Especially with the youth reasserting its identity and a not-so-pleasant election on its way.

Ekla Chalo. Knot.

The recently inaugurated event Maitree Bandhan—a joint initiative by the Times of India and Prothom Alo, a leading Bangladeshi daily, to explore cross-cultural camaraderie—went more or less unnoticed. Understandably, it doesn’t have the aura that Aman ki Asha has (or had?) but it’s a brave campaign and a much-needed alarm. There is this undeniable call for deeper interaction with a country with which we not only share the longest land boundary but also linguistic and cultural ties. Hence it’s necessary to bring these aspects to a broader public consciousness, especially to the non-Bengali spread of India.

Also, typecasting Bangladesh as just a Bengali-speaking nation would be more myopic than tagging India as a Hindu state. B’desh, like us, harbours some very complex cells that presumably hinder her homogeneity. She hosts many ethnicities, common to both of us, including the indigenous Santals, Khasi, Garo, Meithei, Tripuri/Kokborok, Kuki/Mizo/Lushai, Chakma, etc. These commonalities better not to be overlooked. On the cultural front, both Rabindra Sangeet and Nazrul Geeti are wholeheartedly venerated on either side of the border.

So what needs to be done? A lot. Like enhance communication, trade and trust. But that’s not it. A lot more needs to be done. Likewise, the same goes for our other immediate neighbors: Pakistan, Nepal, China, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Bhutan.