'Why country becomes so communal despite the party that led the liberation war in power'

Hindu community leaders have raised the question why the country has become so communal although the political party that led the liberation war has been in power for 15 years.

They said this question has to be asked and answered, otherwise the country won’t move forward.

The Hindu community leaders made this remark at a youth workshop organised by Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Committee at Dhakeshwari temple in the city today, Saturday.

Speaking at the event, Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad’s general secretary Rana Dasgupta said, “We did not take part in the Liberation War to be treated as a minority after 52 years of independence…Our struggle is not for living as a minority. Rather we’re fighting to ensure equal civic rights and dignity for generations to come.”

Referring to incidents of communal attacks, Rana Dasgupta said miscreants open Facebook IDs in the name of poor people of Hindu community to spread propaganda. Later they attack houses of Hindu community people using the pretext that religious sentiment was hurt from those Facebook IDs of ‘Hindu people’.

He asked how many of the perpetrators of communal attack were arrested so far and how many of them were punished?

Rana Dasgupta urged political parties not to roll out any political programmes during the Durga Puja festival of Hindu community. Those who announce any programme during Puja would be deemed not friends to the minority community.

He urged all parties concerned not to use Hindus as pawns.

Economist Debapriya Bhattacharya asked why the country has become so communal despite the party that led the liberation war, the party led by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and its alliance partner leftist parties that have been in power for 15 years?

He said, "It is no longer possible to reinstate the constitution of 1972 in the present political reality and so an independent social movement has to be rolled out if we want to see no communalism in the country."

Ramkrishna Math and Mission’s chief Swami Purnatmananda Maharaj said, “We have to bear in mind a planned machination is going on to make the country Hindu-free.”

Chaired by the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Committee’s president JK Bhawmik, Dhaka University teachers Robaet Ferdous, Sanchita Guha and Mahanagar Sarbojanin Puja Committee’s president Manindra Kumar Nath, among others, spoke at the workshop.