Israt Jahan: "Above all, man is true, not above him," this word was said by Chandidas many centuries ago. It is the key to communal harmony today. Man is the best creature of nature. Man has intellect, a sense of justice, conscience, humanity. In the creation theory of nature, man has no difference or distinction. But the man himself is creating division of his race, religion, caste, and tribe. Forgetting the ideals of unity, people have resorted to greed, violence, intolerance, fundamentalist narrow-mindedness, conflict, and bloody violence, which has resulted in the untimely loss of thousands of lives, extreme blows to unity, and solidarity. Communalism is the discrimination and conflict based on religion, caste, community. One of the reasons for endangering national unity is communalism. People of every religion or community consider their religion to be the best of all. Some people look down on people of other religions or communities. Violence is born from here. In one word, communalism refers to the conflict that oppresses people of other religions to put one`s religion in the best position. Communal harmony refers to a coexistence where people of all religions live together, where there is no violence against religion, no religion. People do not look down on any religion, where people of all religions are all friends.

One verse of the Qur’an states, ‘Human society! Be careful of (your duty to) your Lord, Who created you from a single being and created its mate of the same (kind). And spread from the two of them, innumerable men and women. (Surah Nisa:1). In cosmology, there is no difference between human beings. Allah the Almighty created a representative from the earth on this earth and then gradually spread this human race all over the world from it. Allah says, “O mankind! I created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes that you may know one another.” (Surah Hujurat:13). In the story, the vulture`s son wanted to eat human flesh from his father. The vulture father collects pork and puts it next to the mosque and a piece of beef next to the temple. The communal conflict started centering on this incident. Countless bodies of Hindus and Muslims fell. The vulture family eats human flesh to satisfy their cravings. The naked expression of communalism turns people into animals. Humanity, civilization, humanity, and conscience are defeated by communalism. Communalism is an obstacle to unity, solidarity, development, and progress in personal, family, social and national life. Communalism destroys peace in society and pushes it to the brink of destruction. Sectarianism is therefore a terrible curse for mankind.

Communal riots can wreak havoc on a country in an instant. It can destroy a nation in an instant. History testifies that one of the great failures and shame of human civilization is the failure to provide effective protection to the minority communities while enjoying their rights. Many of today`s American ancestors have been persecuted as a religious, political, and ethnic minority, leaving their homeland in search of a new world and settling in the United States. In the 21st century Europe, America, the Muslim minority, Asians, and blacks are constantly being persecuted. The situation of the Muslim minority in Myanmar is indescribable. Gandhi`s non-violent India is now a violent India for minorities. There is no way to deny that the minority community in Bangladesh has been oppressed from time to time and has been subjected to horrendous rights violations. After all, the harmony between people of different religions living in Bangladesh is unprecedented compared to many other countries. Here people of different religions are invited to their religious and social ceremonies. People of different religions and communities lead in the political, economic, and social life of Bangladesh. In the anti-British movement, Bengali Muslims-Hindus-Buddhists-Christians fought together in the war of liberation. In the constitution of ’72, secularism has been adopted as the principle of governance. Although there are terrible differences in the politics of Bangladesh, the creation of the same creator, the people of the same country, the same Bengali nation, we have such a feeling of harmony is generally noticeable. But in the wrath of the growing communalism, that harmony is fading. Recently, various puja pandals and temples in Comilla, Khulna, Noakhali, Laxmipur, Chittagong, Kishoreganj, Munshiganj, Feni, and Sylhet have been attacked and vandalized for placing the Quran on the lap of Hanuman in a puja mandapa in Comilla. After Friday prayers in the Chaumuhani municipal area of Noakhali`s main commercial center, protesters vandalized and looted Hindu shops on both sides of the city road. Attacked, vandalized, and set fire to various temples, ashrams, and houses. A man named Jatan Saha, who was at the ISKCON temple, was killed during the attack. Bangladesh does not belong to a single population. Bangladesh is for everyone irrespective of religion and caste. Bangabandhu said, ‘This country does not belong to Hindus, this country does not belong to Muslims. Whoever thinks of this country as his own, this country is his. Whose mind will be filled with joy seeing the welfare of this country? This country will cry for the sorrow of this country. And this country belongs to those who have sacrificed everything for the freedom of the people of this country and will continue to do so in the future.’ The black spot of communalism Communalism does not bring benefits to human society at any time but spreads the poison of unrest by creating divisions among the people. As a result, the country`s economic development, political stability, etc. fell on deaf ears. People are leaving the flute of peace and playing the flute of unrest.  Every moment people are suffering from insecurity. Countless children, teenagers, young and old are being sacrificed on the side of communalism. Instead of promising to make the earth a paradise, people seem to have taken a vow to cremate it today.

It is like seeing communal riots all over the world. Religion-centric riots are taking place in various countries, including India, Pakistan, Yugoslavia, Palestine, Siberia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Myanmar. However, in today`s world, there are scenes of riots against Muslims. The Jewish community in Israel has been conspiring to exterminate Palestinian Muslims for years. All Rohingya Muslims are being persecuted in Myanmar. The same is true of India. Pakistan is embroiled in the Shia-Sunni riots in the Middle East. Thus the communal riots are increasing one after another. At present, the same situation exists in Bangladesh, which is creating a scandalous chapter of the nation.

Everybody became active in defending their interests by inciting communalism. They need to be identified and severely punished, including exposing their faces to the public. Informing the government according to the population of the country, the representation of the people of each community must be ensured. This will increase communal harmony and then increase peace and order in the country. To achieve various objectives, some of the leading lakes of the society spread the poison of communalism among the common people are the main political purpose. A class of people thinks that the purpose will be achieved only if they can move sensitive issues according to religion. Some people do not accept that people of one religion rule or will rule people of other religions. It may or may not be their provocative statement. As a result, destructive activities like riots, riots, fights, murders, etc. started. And then the politicians became active in fishing in muddy water. He immersed himself in the politics of hatred. If communal harmony is not established, political instability prevails in the country. As a result, it is not possible to implement any development plan through long-term investment. Improving law and order in the country is not possible. As a result, patriotism is not awakened in the people. There is a strong fear of external enemy attacks. Only hatred developed in the minds of the people of the country. Violent activities are a major obstacle to the independence and development of the country. To build the country as a welfare state, communal harmony must be maintained. Sectarianism is undoubtedly an abomination to the world conscience. Sectarianism, which is anti-humanitarian and anti-civilization, will not last long. If the people of the country come forward together, it will be possible to eradicate communalism. Only when communalism is removed will the human race be able to live peacefully on earth. From the time of the creation of Bangladesh till now in every field of the country, people of every community have stood shoulder to shoulder with the country to face every problem. But that bond is on the verge of breaking today. People of every community should aim to keep this bond intact forever. Or the Sonar  Bengal acquired at the cost of the lives of 3 million martyrs will face many big problems. Sectarianism is completely forbidden in Islam. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘Those who call people to sectarianism, fight for sectarianism, struggle and sacrifice their lives, do not belong to our party.’ (Sunan Abu Dawood, 5123)

Author: Israt Jahan is a Columnist & student of Department of English at Chittagong College.