Over the last few years, attacking the minority community has become commonplace in Bangladesh. Worse still, the attacks have often been based on mere speculation. It is not to say, however, that it would be justified otherwise.
According to a report published in the Dhaka Tribune on November 2, a large number of miscreants vandalised and torched 26 houses at Bonogram village in Santhia upazila, following rumours that Rajib Saha, a Hindu boy in the area, had posted abusive posts about Prophet Mohammad (SM) on Facebook.
In a similar incident in Ramu last year, some mobs looted and burned down ancient Buddhist temples. The violence and attacks on minority communities were reportedly sparked by rumours of abusive posts on the internet. How do you stop these attacks?
An editorial published recently in the Dhaka Tribune suggests that timely investigation, and prosecution of the perpetrators and inciters of violence, is the most urgently required action.
That’s a great idea. And if the suggestion is followed, we would be avoiding a lot of these attacks from happening in the first place.
But the heart of the problem is the way these people think. And if they don’t change it themselves, I don’t see any solution. We could have timely investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators and inciters of violence, and they would continue to incite violence. Why? Because we could make strict laws, but we still can’t change this mentality.
Everything is in the family. I remember we would study sociology back in school. We learnt that family was the primary institution. In retrospect, when I ponder upon those lessons, I find it to be a universal truth. Family makes us who we are. Family shapes our way of thinking.
While people can become hooligans by chance, sometimes it is a result of the lack of education in the family. It is not as though the parents want to raise their offspring to be murderers, but they are often under the impression that “moral education” is something obvious, and requires no instructions.
I understand that we have religious studies in school in order for students to appreciate their religions, and of course in Islam, the teachings against violence are clear. But that wouldn’t really help with the problem at hand until we introduced a separate subject that could be titled: “Rights of the minority community in Bangladesh.”
And we could have this subject at universities and schools alike. But I believe the earlier this is introduced, the better. Why? Because then, it would become imprinted in their minds. And as a result, they would carry it out in their actions.
Nevertheless, the parents would still have to take the primary role in bringing up their children with the correct morals. At least, they should tell them once in their lifetimes that they should never take decisions which would cause harm to others, be they Hindus or Muslims.
