"Well, Hyder," Suranjan said, propping himself up in bed, "does your state have the right to create a rift among people conforming to different religious faiths?"
Lifting his feet onto the table, Hyder, who was turning the pages of Suranjan's red-covered books, guffawed. He said, "What do you mean, 'your state'? Don't you think the state is yours, too?"
Suranjan smirked. He said, "I'll put some questions to you. And I expect some answers."
Hyder sat up straight and said, "The reply to your question is no, which means the state has no right to create bad blood among different communities."
Taking a long drag on his cigarette, Suranjan asked, "Does the state have any right to prefer one religion to another?"
There came Hyder's pat reply, "No."
Suranjan fired the third question: "Does the state have any right to show partiality?"
Hyder shook his head.
"Does the parliament have the right to change the policy of secularism enshrined in the People's Republic of Bangladesh's constitution as a fundamental principle?"
Hyder listened to him attentively. Then he said, "Certainly not."
Suranjan let out another salvo: "The country's sovereignty is based on the equal rights of all people. In the name of amending the constitution, isn't the very basis of the constitution being destroyed?"
Hyder, this time, narrowed his eyes and looked at Suranjan. Was he joking? Why raise all these old issues over again?
Suranjan fired his sixth question: "Isn't the declaration of Islam as the state religion going to deprive other religious communities of patronage and acknowledgement?"
Wrinkling his forehead, Hyder admitted that it would. The answers to all these questions were as well known to Suranjan as they were to Hyder. Suranjan was well aware of Hyder's identical views on these points. Hyder won dered what had prompted Suranjan to put these questions to him. Was it a test to find out if Hyder was even remotely communal at a time when the constitution was facing its eighth amendment?
Suranjan stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and said, "My last question is why Bangladesh is being sucked into the whirlpool of a two-nation controversy which was the motivating factor behind the creation of two separate states out of British India? And in whose interest is this attempt being made?"
Hyder this time lit a cigarette and did not make any reply; breathing a puff of smoke, he said, "Please remember, even Jinna rejected the two-nation question by announcing that from now on there would be no separate religious identity for the Muslims, Hindus, Christians and Buddhists. Irrespective of their caste and religion they would be citizens of a single country, Pakistan, and they would be identified solely as Pakistanis."
Suranjan sat up straight and said, "We were better off as Pakistanis, don't you think?"
Hyder jumped to his feet in excitement. He said, "In fact, Pakistan was not good at all. Nor did you have anything to look forward to from Pakistan. When the nation of Bangladesh emerged, you thought you would be getting all your rights because this is a secular country. You were hurt badly when this country became an impediment to the fulfillment of your dream."
Suranjan laughed out loud. He said through his laughter, "So finally you, too, said 'your hope,' 'your dream.' Whom do you mean by this 'you ? The Hindus, certainly. You didn't hesitate to link me with the Hindus. So I've gained this at last after being an atheist all my life."
Suranjan restlessly paced from one end of the room to the other. The death toll in India had exceeded six hundred and fifty. The police had arrested eight fundamentalist leaders, including Murali Manohar joshi and Lalkrishna Advani. All India had observed a massive strike in protest against the demolition of the Babri mosque. People were dying in riots that had broken out in Bombay, Ranchi, Kar- natak, and Maharashtra. Suranjan clenched his fist in abhorrence to the Hindu fundamentalists. If he had the power he would line up all the fundamentalists in the world and shoot them. The communalists of Bangladesh were publicly saying that the Indian government was alone responsible for the Babri mosque demolition. The Hindus in Bangladesh could not be blamed for the Indian government's action. Communal harmony would have to be maintained in keeping with the tenets of Islam. This statement was being publicized in the media.
But all these niceties sounded hollow if the waves of violence and terror that swept over this country on the day of the hartal against the Babri mosque demolition were taken into account. On the pretext of protest against the mosque's demolition the offices of anti-fundamentalist organizations like the Committee for the Extermination of Killers and Informers and the Communist party of Bangladesh were plundered and set on fire by the killers of 1971. Why? A delegation of the Muslim fundamentalists, Jamate Islami, had met with the leaders of its Hindu counterpart, the BJP. What had transpired at that meeting? Suranjan could sense the nature of their discussion and conspiracy. Suranjan, as a member of the minority community, could realize how harrowing could be the extent of minoritybaiting and the flames of riots stoked by religious senti ments engulfing the entire subcontinent. No Christian in Bangladesh could be held responsible for what was happening in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Similarly the Hindus in Bangladesh could not be blamed for any mishap in India. But whom would Suranjan convince of the reasonableness of this way of thinking?
Hyder said, "Let's move, we'll have to take part in forming the human chain." The National Coordination Committee had given this call to form human chains all over the country as a symbol of national unity against the murderers and war criminals of 1971, against all the communal forces with strong fascist leanings and to preserve the national unity and the country's sovereignty as a realization of the ideals of the Liberation War. At the same time it aimed at the goal of world peace through regional amity.
"What have I got to do with that?" Suranjan asked.
"What do you mean? Don't you feel any concern?" Hyder really was puzzled. Suranjan was gentle but firm. He said, "No."
Hyder was so surprised at Suranjan's cool rejection that he slumped down on the chair instead of standing. He lit another cigarette. He said, "Could you get me a cup of tea?"
Suranjan stretched himself fully on the bed and calmly replied, "We have no sugar in the house."
Hyder was elaborating on the plan of the human chain stretching from Bahadur Shah Park to the National Parliament House, which meant a two-hour rerouting of traffic in the area; but Suranjan intervened to ask, "What did Hasina say at yesterday's meeting?"
"At the peace rally?"
"That's right."
"She gave a call for setting up peace brigades in every locality comprising representatives, irrespective of their caste, creed or religion, for the preservation of communal amity."
"Will it save us, the Hindus? I mean, will it safeguard our lives?"
Hyder turned to Suranjan without replying. Suranjan's face was unshaven, his hair uncombed. Suddenly, he changed the course of discussion. He said, "Where is Maya?"
"She has gone to Zahannam."
Hyder was taken aback by Suranjan's use of the word Zahannam. He laughingly said, "What sort of Zahannam? Let me hear about it."
"Snakes bite, scorpions sting, the body is enveloped in flames and is gradually burned to cinders, but you don't die."
"Great! You seem to know much more about Zahannam than I do."
"I am bound to. After all, it is we who are engulfed by the flames."
"Why is the house so silent? Have you sent your parents away somewhere?"
"Well, Suranjan, have you noticed how the Jamati fundamentalists on the pretext of protest against the Babri mosque demolition are making the demand for the trial of the notorious Pakistani collaborationist Golam Azam?"
"That's perhaps what they are doing. But I don't share your feelings on Golam Azam. Whether he is hanged or jailed matters little to me."
"You seem to have changed a lot."
"Hyder, Khaleda Zia Begum, too, has demanded reconstruction of the Babri mosque. What deters her from making an identi
cal demand for rebuilding the destroyed temples?"
"Are you in favor of temple reconstruction?"
"You know quite well that I want neither temples nor mosques. But if there is a demand for reconstruction, why should it be mosques alone?"
Hyder lit another cigarette. He found no reason why Suranjan should prefer to remain at home on the day of forming the human chain. The day people's court was formed on March 26 this year, it was Suranjan who whisked away a sleeping Hyder who was enjoying the sound of rain outside while covered with a kantha. Reluctant to move out in this weather, he suggested, "Let's stay at home and eat muri." But a determined Suranjan said, You must go, get ready. If we lag behind now, how will the others feel?" They had gone out braving the thunderstorm. Yet the same Suranjan was expressing his disgust for the meetings and rallies. The human chain formation was just a farce to him. Even after two hours of attempts at persuasion, Hyder failed to make Suranjan take part in the human chain.
Kiranmayee had brought Maya home from Parul's house. Coming back, Maya threw herself on her father's chest, weeping piteously. Suranjan couldn't stand the sound of wailing. Could tears change anything in the world? Rather, the task at hand was now his father's treatment. Suranjan had bought medicine prescribed by Doctor Haripada that would last only three days. How much money would Kiranmayee be able to find in her cupboard? Was there anything at all?
He had never earned anything from a steady job. In fact, all the jobs looked like various forms of slavery, which was repugnant to him. Musing over whether he would renew his business venture with Hyder, he felt quite hungry. But to whom should he reveal his hunger at such an odd time? Neither Maya nor Kiranmayee was expected to come to his room immediately. Nobody was counting on him, as he was unemployed and worthless. He didn't like to inquire about the kitchen. He had not gone to see Sudhamay today. The outer doors of his room, the usual entry point of his friends, were open. He had shut the door facing inside the house. Was it for that reason no one was caring to knock at his door, presuming he was engrossed in conversation with his friends? Why should Suranjan expect so much? What had been his contribution to the family? He had only roamed about with his friends, and when at home he had made a fuss over trivial matters or had remained totally aloof. He had only taken part in one agitation after another. He had followed the party directives just like an obedient servant. Returning home late one night, he had studied hard the writings of Marx and Lenin. What had he gained from all this? Of what benefit had this been to his family?
Hyder had gone away, let him. Suranjan wouldn't go. Why should he take part in the human chain demonstration? Would it free him from his feelings of isolation? He couldn't believe it. Suranjan these days was losing his faith in everything. This Hyder had been his longtime friend. For days together, they had sharpened their power of reasoning, intelligence, and conscience. They had called upon the people of this country to unite on the basis of the consciousness of the Liberation War. How many years had they spent in the struggle to preserve civilization and hold aloft the ideals of human values? All these now appeared to Suranjan as futile exercises. He could have lived much better with little suffering if, just like other mortals, he would drink to his heart's content, watch movies or blue films on the VCR, indulge in teasing the girls; or if he could have pursued the conventional rut of married life, keeping accounts on the consumption of onions and potatoes, and buying fish after being sure of its freshness by pressing its belly. Suranjan picked up a slender book from the table and browsed its pages. The book dealt with the extent of terrible incidents during the 1990 riots. He had never cared to open it earlier. He just didn't feel any urge. But today he applied his full attention to its contents.
At one in the morning of October 30, the residents of the Panchanandham hermitage suddenly were jolted out of their sleep by the roar of an approaching procession. The processionists broke open the gate and boundary walls, abused the residents in filthy language, and set fire to the adjoining sheds by sprinkling kerosene. The residents fled wherever they could. One by one, they smashed all the idols, the dome of the memorial temple of Sad- hubaba and finally made a bonfire of religious books. They also set fire to the library books of the Sanskrit institution outside the hermitage and looted whatever money they could lay their hands on. On the same day at around midnight, a mob of two and a half thousand attacked the Sadarghat Kalibari. Using crowbars, they demolished the image in the main temple as part of their macabre plundering mission. The rows of shops and houses on either side of the temple of Mother Chatteshwari were sacked first, then set on fire. The cremation ground at Golpahar was plundered and set on fire. Then they destroyed the image of the presiding deity of the cremation ground.
Agitated over a Voice of America broadcast the night of October 30, a communal group launched an aggressive campaign against the Kaibalyadham hermitage. After smashing each and every idol in the hermitage, they set fire to all the things within. The residents of the hermitage were forced to take refuge in the adoining hills. Thousands made repeated attacks. The raiders disfigured the structure by striking it with crowbars and pickaxes. In the Hara- gouri temple, after hurling down the images, they looted whatever cash and other valuables were there. All the religious books were consigned to the flames. The residents of the entire area around the temple, the families living in the Malipara, were forced to live under the open sky. They had no means of sustenance. At around nine at night, armed mobs attacked the Krishna Gopalji temple on Chatteshwari Road. They carried away two thousand grams of silver and two hundred fifty grams of gold ornaments besides many other valuables from the temple. They demolished the image of the sacred cow atop the decorated entrance arch. They even uprooted the pine trees in the temple compound. The idols made for the coming Rash festival were not spared from this maniacal fury either. The attackers looted and ransacked each and every Hindu house in the Ilias Colony and physically tortured all the men and women. They even twisted the blades of the ceiling fans to make them inoperable.
The Dashbhuja Durgabari on the College Road in Chittagong, Baradeshwari, the Kali temple of Quorbanigung, the Paramhansa Mahatma Saharinha temple of Chakbazar, the Kali temple of Dewanbari, the Barsha Kalibari of North Changaon, Durga Kalibari, the Siddeshwari Kali temple of Sadar ghat, the Uttar Patenga cremation ground, Kalibari of Katghar, the Magadeshwari image of Purva Madarbari, the Rakshakali temple, the Milan Parishad temple of Mo- galtuli, the Durga temple of Tiger Pass, the Shib Bari and Hari temple, Rajrajeshwari Thakurbari of Sadarghat, the Kali temple of Jalalabad, Durgabari, the cremation ground temple at Napitpara of Kulgaon, the Karunamayee Kali temple of Katalgunj, the Jaikali temple of Nathpara, the Dayamayee Kali temple of Nazirpara, the Magadheshwari Kali temple, Kalibari of Paschim Baklia, Brahmamayee Kalibari of Katalgunj, the Bara Bajar Srikrishna temple of Pashchim Bakalia, Brahmamayee Kalibari of Katalgunj, the Bara Bajar Srikrishna temple of Pashchim Bakalia, the Shiva temples of Himangshu Das, Satindra Das, Ram Mohan Das and Chandi Charan Das, the Krishna temple of Manomohan Das, the Tulshidham temple of Nandan Kanan, the Dakshin Halisahar temple of the port area, Gol- pahar's great cremation ground and Kalibari of Panchlais, the Jelepara Kali temple on Aman Ali Road, and Anan- damayee Kali temple on the Medical College Road were looted and set on fire in the blazing trail of violence.
Bura Kalibari at Nalua in Satkania, the community Kalibari and Durga Mandap in Jagaria, Chandimandap of Dakshin Kanchan, the Magadeshashwari temple, Madhya- para Kalibari of Dakshin Charati, the community Kalibari of Madhyanalua, the temple of Charati, the Rup Kalibari and Dhar temple at Banikpaara in Dakshin Charati, the Jwalakumari temple of Paschim Matiapara, the Krishna- hari temple of Badona Deputi Haat, the Buddhist monastery Mahabodhi at Durnigar, the tradition-rich Mi- lanmandir of Boal Khali Kadhurkhil and its adjoining Krishna temple, the Jagadananda Mission of Aburdandi, the community Magadeshshawari temple of Pashchim Shakpur, Mohinibabu's hermitage of Madhya Shakpura, the Kali temple of Dhorla Kaliahaat, the community Ja- haddhatri temple of Kadhu
rkil, Kok Dandiya Rishidham Adhipati, Shashwata Chowdhury's family deity temple at Kadhurkil, Magadehshwari of Dhanpota, Sevakhola, the community Kali temple of Patia, the Hari temple and Ja- gannathbari of Dwijendra Das at Nalua of Satkania, the Dakshinbari community Kali temple at Charati in Satkania, the community Kalibari at Dakshin Kali temple-all these Hindu and some Buddhist religious places, too, were also destroyed in that fiery whirlwind of destruction.
About one hundred communalists raided Mirzapur Jagannath hermitage in Hathajari subdistrict at about eleven on the night of October 31. The raiders hurled all the images to the ground, smashing them, and looted all the ornaments of the main image of Jagannath. Next day another hundred came to set the hermitage on fire with the help of an inflammable powder. A police guard, which had been posted there for protection, simply moved away to facilitate the marauders' objectives. Later, when complaints over lack of security were lodged, the police pleaded their inability due to limited resources. The same night, more than forty armed persons attacked the cowering inhabitants of Mekhal village. Like commandos, they first frightened the Hindus by exploding fire-belching Molotov cocktails. As the people ran away in terror, the attackers broke into their homes, plundered everything in sight, and smashed all the family deities. All the idols of Madannath's temple and Magadeshwari bari were subjected to identical treatment. The image of the Hari temple at Dhairhaat in Chandanaish subdistrict, the chariot of Jagannath were broken in the same manner. Matri Mandir in Pathandandi village under Bara Kal union and Radha Govinda temple were attacked.
Shame: A Novel Page 11