Culture of Bangladesh at cross-roads: Some Reflections

If we go through the history of Bangladesh and its changing trend of politics, it is discernible that the pace of change is very fast in comparison with that of Pakistani period. Why has it happened and how is it possible?

It can be analyzed based on turbulent scenario of socio-political history of Bangladesh during the last fifty years.

It is our common experience that Islamisation has always been, historically, a ‘power concept’; when secular forces come forward to protect social harmony based on dominant culture with a highly powerful assimilatory power, forces of Islamisation might claim their due and finally succeed to carve out a division of the same assertive secular society.

But it was a notion that Bengali liberal cultural values were dominant in the society of newly independent Bangladesh. The concept of Bengali nationalism was not completely able to influence Bangladeshi Muslims. Most of the Muslims were not at all supportive to the idea of Bengali nationalism; it has come to limelight in 1971.

From the very beginning of the newly independent Bangladesh, the values and ideals of Bengali nationalism was eroding fast. After assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, president of Bangladesh in 1975, the relevance of the very Bangladesh concept of 1971 was lost, and Bangladesh became a state tilting towards Islamisation.

During the period of Ziaur Rahman and Ershad, leaders of the rightist Muslim groups were trying to organize and consolidate Muslim masses based on religion and madrassa teachings. The moderate views of a small section of society are gradually being replaced by the radical concept of Islamic supremacy. As a result, the differences between the other religious and cultural sects have become wider. Apart from that, during the last five decades, Bengali Muslims have strengthened the Islamic identity and culture to maintain the sovereign entity of Bangladesh as it is encircled by India. There must be an admixture of Islamic culture and social values with existing Bengali culture. Consequently, Islamisation of Bengali culture is more pronounced among the rich, middle, and lower middle-class people than it was during Pakistani rule. Even the use of Hejab, skull cap and burkha is rampant in school, colleges, and universities. Now the government of Bangladesh has recognized the madrassa education as equivalent to general education so that the madrassa students can be eligible for government/semi-government jobs. It will also have a long-term effect in orienting the Bangladesh society towards radical Islamic ethos. Islam must become the state religion according to its Constitution. There is always a propensity among a considerable section of Bangladesh society to hate the Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians i.e., the non-Muslims. The boys and girls imbibe this propensity from their families at the first level of socialisation which gets further strengthened through religious teachings and madrassa education supported by the state and respectfully acknowledged by society.

All the governments in Bangladesh have been trying to strengthen Islam through robust state patronage within the social milieu of Bangladesh, suppressing other religious communities. A clear cultural transformation in favor of Islamisation has thus been taking place in the society. In this slough of moderate Islam, even the Awami League government, slowly but steadily, has been strengthening the very concept of Islamic Bangladesh by ignoring the secular ideals of liberation war.

Sheikh Hasina, the present Prime Minister of Bangladesh has been implementing a project of model mosques and Islamic cultural centres in all the districts and sub-districts (Upazilas) to facilitate Islamic education and cultural activities. It was an important commitment of the Awami League in its election manifesto before the general election of 2014.¹ Even syllabi of primary and secondary school education have been changed in conformity with this ideological perception.² Apart from that, mosque-based child and mass education programmes under the Ministry of Religion of the government are continuing.

The ground reality of the Bangladesh society has changed much during the last five decades, and there are many Islamic organizations in present day Bangladesh, but the government of Bangladesh is soft towards them. Even a good number of ruling front members have close connections with these Islamic organizations through many religio-cultural activities. Now a deep rooted radical Islamic perception have engulfed the entire polity since independence in 1971³.

After the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Constitution of Bangladesh had been changed lock, stock, and barrel. The ideology and concept of the Liberation War had suffered a thorough political and constitutional transformation. The Pakistani ideal was established once again. From all those events most of the Muslim population of Bangladesh have not shunned the Pakistan ideology even after passing through a cruel nine-month stint of liberation war because they were not much influenced by Bengali culture which has been largely blossomed by Hindus of Bengal; outside their daily religious rituals there was no activities allied with fine-arts. The liberation war came to their life as a sudden northwest windstorm which could not make any permanent impression on their social psyche though there is a long tradition among Bengali Muslims to cultivate and cherish liberal socio-cultural traditions.  The rise of the present terror-soaked radical Islamic fundamentalism in Bangladesh has its roots in the above perspective. The seed that was sown during the Pakistani regime has now grown into a gigantic tree. The Bengali culture gradually flourished through a nationalist movement during the fag end of Pakistani regime. Burkha was not at all in vogue among the student community reading in colleges and universities. In the school compound burkha was totally absent; this was the first-hand knowledge of the people in those days who were studying in colleges and universities. But today’s Bangladesh provides a picture of two different trends; one small percentage bear taste and culture based on modernism, and the other steeped in medieval superstitions and religious blindness. Its reflection can be seen in schools, madrassas, colleges, universities, and other walks of national life. It is true that the people of Bangladesh could not be turned totally anti-Pakistan during the nine-month long liberation struggle, and they continued to nurture a pro-Pakistan religion-based sentiment which manifested more vigorously during the post-Mujib era.

The theatre personality Nasiruddin Yusuf observed that today’s societal environment in Bangladesh is more dangerous than that in a religion-based state. It is a period of cultural clash. During the period of azan and namaz theatrical performances must be paused. After magreeb perform namaz of esha i.e, the multiple breaks or pauses due to omnipresent occurrences of Islamic rituals like namaz and azan   hamper the cultural performances and practices.  Due to this kind of impediment the public is gradually losing interest in attending such programmes by spending their hard-earned money. There is mosque beside every theatre hall. Why was construction of mosque permitted beside the place of theatre and musical performances?  It cannot be positioned near each other.

The government is encouraging the expansion of Islamic educational and cultural centres not theatre, jatra, library, etc. to promote liberal cultural atmosphere. How can we expect the expansion of Bengali cultural activities for liberal democratic society ?⁴

It is nothing but a direct fallout of the last fifty years after independence in Bangladesh. All Bangladeshi ruling elites and political parties have deliberately transformed the newly independent country as what their predecessors dreamt at the time of partition of Bengal – an independent Islamic country in the Muslim dominated eastern part of Bengal. Though their aspiration was to include Assam in East Bengal but partially succeeded.

On a different note, another trend of folk and modern songs is emerging fast. Small groups composed of one/two vocalist who may be a boy, or a girl equipped with dotara, dhol and bamboo flute one producer and recorder. A song with a background story (in most cases) is recorded on a rural spot surrounded by common villagers and broadcast through Youtube.com for popular consumption. These entertainment groups are partially feeding the rural masses. The traditional jatrapala, kabir larai, murshidi, marafati, etc, form of rural entertainments is gradually getting extinct from the entire society due to radical Islamic cultural pressure since the last three to four decades. Another traditional form of entertainment, cinema is gradually declining due to TV culture as well as Islamic pressure in the society. Due to the decline of the spectators, number of cinema halls in different parts of the country are also declining.

To fill up the vacuum of rural masses regarding entertainment, some new trends are emerging with several limitations. The traditional Bangla music instruments like harmonium, doogi-tabla are being replaced by dotora, dhol and Bangla flute (bamboo flute), etc. This form of entertainment is gaining popularity through mobile internet as well as frequent rural gatherings.

Endnotes :

1. Amader Shomoy.com, 28.06.2017, internet edition.
2. Kaler Kantha, Dhaka-based Bengali daily, 5 January, 2017.
3. Bimal Pramanik and Mintu Barua, Islamic terrorism in Bangladesh: The Background and Development, Dialogue, 18, No.2, October—December, 2016, p.125.
4. MOTAMOT: Ekta dharmo rashtro theke kharap paristhiti, bdnews24.com, 27 March 2021.