National Unity and its Basis: In 1972, the constitution of Bangladesh was framed. This was a secular constitution. That had been pledged during our liberation struggle. Tajuddin Ahmad was the prime minister of the Provisional Govt in exile. He had pledged the four principles, which were designated as the Four Pillars of the State of Bangladesh. Through the framing of the constitution that pledge was fulfilled. Then there was the need for unity on the basis of that. But that never happened. Even Bhasani stood against secularism. With the assassination of the Father of the Bangladeshi Nation, the endeavour and the initiative to create a secular state in place of a communal one of Pakistan was thrown away. The self-proclaimed killers of Mujib proclaimed an Islamic Republic---The Islamic Republic of Bangladesh. After that the process of jettisoning started. Once that happened in 1947, when every wholesome value of the society was discarded for those allegedly being Hindu values. Shahidullah Kaisar in his fiction: Sansgsaptak has mentioned that. That was the age of discarding values. Post-Mujib era was again another spate of jettisoning values as Indian. The idea of a secular state remained far and distant. The the screws were tightened around the secular constitution. Last straw was the state religion Islam. The Supreme Court has given a verdict repudiating this step of declaring the state religion. But Awami League has not touched that part of the verdict while amending the constitution selectively leaving the issue of secularism hanging. The unity call failed on the basis of secularism. This time another call is issued with Islam as the cementing factor. New unity on Islam. The success of that step needs the state to be free from the Hindus. Jamaat and BNP are out to achiueve that. Is Awami League participant in that? This is a big question. It appears that some face book friends are hinting at such a possibility. So, unity on the basis of secularism: failure. But unity on the basis of Islam: successful? Jinnah had made a sudden turn in his communal politics and declared secularism as his goal despite communal politics and its success through the achievement of Pakistan. He was utterly neglected during his terminal illness. It appears in looking back that some people in power were wanting Jinnah to pass away soon. The negligence that could be seen was directed to his early demise. It was so glaring and obvious that it almost amounted to murder. Secular politics brought assassination for Sheikh Mujib. Any difference between the fates of the two Fathers of two nations? So, no secularism, never talk about it. Rightly, AL does not talk about it. Unity on the basis of Islam. That is the ultimate goal of this republic. We want an Islamic Republic. Unity on that; discord otherwise. That was the motto of Bhasani. That appears to be the motto of many. BNP and Jamaat have been working on that. Would Awami League stand against it? Million dollar question. The answer is most likely to be negative.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Mar 2014 04:05:10 +0000
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