Zainul Abedin

One of the pioneers of modern art in undivided Bengal, "Shilpacharya" Zainul Abedin (1914-1976) represents the mid-century "realist" trajectory that began to unfold in many modes and sequences—first in Calcutta (now, Kolkata), then in Dhaka following the partition of India in 1947. The division of Bengal along religious lines resulted in forced migration. Following spates of communal violence, several Calcutta-based artists of all-India fame made Dhaka, the then capital of East Pakistan, their new home. Zainul's life in the new city had to go through a reorganisation. Since the region lacked a modern art institution, he, with the support of his peers, became engrossed in building one. The formation of Dhaka's first art college in 1947, which is now the fully-fledged Faculty of Fine Arts, Dhaka University, was a seminal event. The place of art education soon became the centre of constructive political-cultural regeneration.

Zainul's career became intertwined with the emergent new Bengali identity politics, though his humanist vision remained nonparochial and inclusive. Emerging from the cultural mix of Mymensingh, the rice-producing heartland of Bengali culture, he found himself at the centre of artistic activities in Dhaka carefully choreographing his actions. He aligned with the socio-political struggle against the hegemony of the West Pakistani ruling elite, but, without risking a falling-off from the course he devised.

On the registers of art some remarkable curves provide us with clues through which to appraise the master's impact on the cultural patterns of East Bengal. His insertion of rural art into the urban educational space is an example of his various impactful mediations. Zainul set the stage for the urban, educated artists to be inspired by the art forms of the masses. By inviting rural artists to stage two consecutive fairs in the then government College of Arts, since 1953, he laid out the approach for convergences that would soon begin to preoccupy some of the most talented artists of his time. Works of Novera Ahmed, Quamrul Hassan and Rashid Choudhury since the late 50s are cases in point.

Famine Sketch, brush and ink, 1943

In Zainul's itinerary, the above inclination resulted in the melding of the western and the local traditions. In his own artistic capacity, the linear strategy of shora chitra was brought to bear on formal experimentations. The result was a series of reconfigured human forms—tightly geometric in composition. But he was quick to abandon this new method since the stricture of composition seemed to have stolen the life or verve out of his work, one which he so earnestly wanted to effectuate. Zainul had a clear inkling of his metier which, he realised, lied in realism rather than in attainment of affectation—the latter is always tied to stylistic rigour. As opposed to such visual gambit, a dynamical relationship between lived experience and art informed most of his representational paintings. This was apparently his non-schematised scheme on which his art rested throughout his life. It helped him lay the ground for his life-long attachment to the plebeian life and the existential rhythm the masses blissfully embrace and the fallout they intermittently endure.

Zainul's realism hinged on an unaffected depiction of the sensory realm. Without romanticising the ordinary people, he captured them in their everydayness, glorifying the rural context.

The intervisuality, one which commences from negotiating multiple sources of invention and representation, had little sway over Zainul's oeuvre. Though the academic learning in western illusionism served as the basic premise, his was a "realism" where empathy met with the unreserved pleasure in the ordinary and the mundane. So to define his realism one must resort to the idea of dehierarchised, postauratic image making, in which the authorial control over style never leads to the expression of grandeur. For Zainul, grandeur seemed superfluous—a veil that comes between art and life. Like his tongue, his brush spoke in the vernacular since he had little patience for stylisation via enculturation. The geometric phase mentioned above—one which surfaced since his return from London where he attended the School of Slade for two years—lasted only two years.

Zainul's idea of 'image' precludes aestheticism—a category that lifts the image out of its actual context and places it at the top rung of the hierarchy of taste. He initiated a gaze shift by placing his canvases next to the ordinary people.

The Famine Sketches, responsible for his rise to prominence during his early life in Kolkata, was the result of an empathetic response to a man-made disaster. His preoccupation with humanity's volatile aspects began with the series. He rendered them in 1943 in response to the Bengal Famine of the same year. The tragic event saw the emergence of "historical consciousness" in him which was otherwise absent in Zainul's landscape paintings of the formative years. He was only 24 when he effectively employed his realist vision as well as skill to memorialise the historic human tragedy that brought to light the dismal inconsistencies of the colonial rule. The natural calamities that undercut the very rhythm of life appeared to have enforced similar copulation in the master to respond. In fact, his ambitious works—the memorable masterpieces—are based on the struggles of the people to transcend all kinds of depredations.

The Kolkata phase of his career, the 1930s onward, in the short span of his student years followed by his stint as a teacher, saw Zainul emerge as an accomplished draughtsman. He soon became well known amongst his peers for his extraordinary artistic ability. The graduation from a devoted learner to an accomplished artist took only a few years of rigorous training. As a student of art whose occasional engagement with social-political activism subsequently made him re-adjust his focus on the art-life nexus he persistently relied on, Zainul survived by way of contributing artworks and illustrations to the newly established newspapers and periodicals in Kolkata—those that answered to the needs of the emerging new Muslim educated middleclass. Every issue of Millat, a weekly, carried Zainul's landscape. The daily Azad also employed Zainul and many other Muslim artists in their effort to bring out an Eid issue.1 These networks coupled with his stint as a teacher at the Government Art School since 1938, re-affirmed his position in Kolkata.

Freedom Fighter, ink and wash

As for his humanist position, his proximity with the other two Bengali Muslim intellectuals who stood for a mixture of "secular and broad-based philosophy"2 and the cultural ferment of East Bengal he indentified with, emboldened his voice. In Kolkata Zainul's link to his birthplace saw its affirmation through his association with his deshi or local brethrens—singer Abbasuddin and poet Jasimuddin. If his political vision sprang out of his love of the land and its people, the influence of the left-lenient writers, artists and political activists, helped him develop a humanist position, which in turn prepared him for the memorable series of drawings that now comes under the rubric of Famine Sketches.

Zainul's role was of precursorial nature: his praxis set the stage for what we now understand as the dominant patterns of Modern art which gradually emerged in the urban centres across the region. If his influence is relatively less palpable in the outward-looking modern artistic dictions, expressed in the "excessive subjectivity" of their languages, to quote John Berger, it is clearly legible in its indigenous variants.

After surveying the works of Zainul's entire career spanning little more than four decades one is able to notice several interconnected oeuvres that appeared in sequence. One sees a beginning when Zainul became known for his acumen in portraying the bucolic life; the early signs of change in 1943 when in his powerfully brash linear method was employed to memorialise the victims of man-made calamity that was the Bengal famine; the short-lived geometric phase in 1953 following his return from a two-year sojourn in England; and lastly, the return to the immediacy of bold brushworks and expressive figural motifs which saw a new technique at work—sketchy lines achieved through candlestick overlapped with stark black sweeps of brush dipped in Chinese ink. The final method first appeared in the panoramic Nabanna (1969), and later in Monpura'70 (1973), where sparsely applied brown and yellow comingled with the linear rendition of humans and other recognisable forms. He applied the same technique which redefined his language through the simultaneous application of negative and positive lines in some of the portraitures including the famous visage of Maulana Bhasani, and in a particularly murky version of the raging bull, as well as various other types of formal experimentation with human figures. In one of the few works that Zainul did on the theme of muktijuddhas or freedom fighters one is witness to the impassioned application of the candlestick employed to achieve the fluid cluster of figures.

Women, oil colour, 1973

Zainul Abedin's patronage and organizational capacity spread across a wider field of cultural interests. His collection of rural art objects testifies to his acute awareness about the ravages of time. His love of the folklores turned him into an unapologetic connoisseur of the traditional crafts, kanthas and clay-dolls. And this growing habit finally extended to the establishment of the Lokoshilpa Jadughar, or Folk Art and Craft Museum in Sonargaon, launched in 1975. His efforts gradually made the cultural elites of Dhaka aware of the value of the rural crafts. By organising the first-ever mela or fair of folk art at the art college premises in 1955, he sensitised the urban minds to the vigour and relevance of the existing rural art forms.

Zainul Abedin, the Shilpacharya, or the Master of Art, will remain forever etched in our collective memory for his art as well as his love of the land and the people, and also decisively for his appreciating eyes. As an artist with his eyes set on the "present", his sustained effort in transcending the limits of socio-economic constraints will continue to be relevant. Especially in the age of digital reproducibility—when image seems outrageously ubiquitous, yet utterly devoid of meaning, Zainuls's proximity to the natural rhythm of life serves as a way to revive the value and verve we once we associated with painted image. The indomitable spirit with which Zainul approached both art, education and life still seems infectious after all these years. Even amidst the chaos of media exploitation and political parochialism, he stands tall amongst all people. He breathed his last on May 28, 1976.

1. Abul Mansur, Zainul Abedin, the main essay in the book Zainul Abedin, from the series Great Masetrs of Bangladesh, published by Bengal Foundation, 2012, p. 26.

2. Ibid, p. 24.

Mustafa Zaman is an artist, writer and art critic.

Photos: courtesy

If you haven't hit 45, you are ideally not supposed to worry about suffering from medical conditions such as brain strokes or heart attacks. Stroke is the leading cause of death for people above the age of 60. Likewise, statistics suggest that you are more prone to heart disease once you cross the 45-year mark. However, as far as Bangladeshi migrant workers are concerned, these numbers do not matter. Most of the workers who die due to strokes or heart attacks are between the ages of 30 and 45. And the reason behind this astoundingly premature trend is an immense amount of stress.

Here is another astounding fact. Never before has the country witnessed the return of so many dead bodies in a single year as in 2017. And this is not entirely due to the rising number of migrants going abroad.

According to government statistics, 2017 has seen the return of more than 3,200 dead bodies to the country until November, and officials expect it to cross 3,500 by December. Of these deaths, 30 percent are attributed to strokes and heart attacks, while another 45 percent died due to workplace accidents. These numbers are based on independent research conducted by organisations in Bangladesh and hence may vary slightly. The government is yet to conduct a thorough examination regarding this issue.

Saudi Arabia sends back the most number of dead bodies to Bangladesh. According to Golam Moshi, the Bangladesh Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, the situation can drastically improve if migration fees are decreased. He also points out that there are unscrupulous employers who do not provide workers with medical insurance—an aspect that employers need to cover according to the country's law. "As per Saudi rules, the medical cost of every worker in the Kingdom should be insured. But there are unscrupulous employers who don't provide the workers with insurance or provide them with insurance of the lowest-possible category," says Moshi.

"As a result, workers are scared of going to the doctors. If they have chest pains, they end up taking a pill for acidity. They have spent so much to come here. They will most definitely not go to the doctor and spend more. I believe that 50 percent of the stress can be eradicated if migration fees are lowered," he adds.

There are many studies that suggest that none of the workers from other South Asian countries have to pay as much as Bangladeshi migrants. Most of the workers who go abroad end up paying a lot more money than the amount set by the government. For instance, the official migration cost to Saudi Arabia, since 2016, is BDT 1.65 lakh. However, despite that figure, a worker ends up paying between BDT 6 to 8 lakhs due to various problems and illegal practices in the recruitment process, which have persisted for years. This isn't only the case for Bangladeshis who wish to go to Saudi—it's the same for those going to places like Malaysia and Lebanon as well.

In order to spend such a huge amount of money, migrants end up taking a lot of risks. From taking loans to selling their lands, the money is collected in various ways. This ends up taking a toll on them—psychologically and physiologically. Certain workers are also cheated abroad and are not given the salary or the kind of work that they were initially promised. Situations like these make things worse.

The other issue that migrant researchers often point out is the absence of a secondary post-mortem of the dead bodies that return to the country. The importance of having a verification process stems from the fact that workers, both male and female, have complained of being tortured. They have reported being forced to work and live in poor conditions. The extent to which these factors play a role in the deaths of the workers is an aspect that is yet to be explored.

"We have tried to tell the government a number of times to do separate post-mortems once the bodies are sent back. It is important to see if there is any other reason for the death. This process is not followed in our country," says Professor Tasneem Siddiqui, the founding chair of Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit in the University of Dhaka.

"The government needs to do research on health in those countries, and give more access to researchers to explore the issue of unnatural deaths. There can be so many reasons behind the deaths. For instance, many workers end up suffering from jaundice because they do not get clean water to drink and from there on, the situation gets worse.

"We need to send a fact-finding team over there and explore the reasons. We also need to highlight this issue on international platforms," she adds.

Dr Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh, on a similar note, says that Bangladesh is at an advantage in this scenario and that it needs to play its cards right.

"The contribution of these workers needs to be honoured. We can't say that we don't have the leverage here. Yes, our workers are getting employed there and we are getting revenue, but this can't be one-sided. There is a demand for our workers and we have to use that," he says.

39-year-old Monir Hossain passed away following a stroke in Saudi Arabia earlier this year.

Uncertainties about how their loved ones passed away haunt the workers' families. The case of 39-year-old Monir Hossain, a worker who passed away in Saudi Arabia earlier this year, is typical. According to the report sent, Monir had a stroke; however, his family members are unwilling to trust the report. The reason is that both Monir's uncle Ali Hossain and Ali's daughter had spoken to Monir on the phone, hours before he was pronounced dead.

"He spoke to me at 9 am and my daughter at 1 pm. On the phone he seemed completely fine and was asking me when he should send me money. Later that evening, we got a call from one of his roommates saying that he had passed away because of a stroke," says Hossain.

The problem here is that there is nothing more that Monir's family can do. They have to accept the report which was submitted to them. Monir's family members are not saying that the report is false per se, but back then, they were looking for a confirmation from another source regarding the circumstances of the death—perhaps to calm their minds. But they did not have that scope.

The workers who go abroad are often the sole earners in their families. As a result, their deaths end up affecting multiple people. Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Program (OKUP) recently interviewed 50 relatives of migrant workers who lost their lives abroad.

42 percent of the respondents said that their school-going children experienced additional work-pressure to generate income, whereas, another 32 percent replied that their children had to engage in income-generating activities and thus were forced to leave school.

Also, 90 percent of the families had to curtail their monthly allocation for food grains and 82 percent had to stop any kind of medical treatment they were undergoing.

One of the issues that OKUP highlights is the government's inconsistency in providing the families of the deceased with compensation. As per the current system, families of the deceased are supposed to be given BDT three lakhs as compensation and BDT 35,000 for burial purposes.

A girl cries upon witnessing the arrival of a migrant worker's coffin. Photos: courtesy

According to OKUP Chairman, Shakirul Islam, it takes up to seven to eight months for these families to receive payment, which ends up hurting them. The families of undocumented workers do not get paid any compensation, and have it worse.

There are different kinds of undocumented workers. If someone goes abroad to work without taking the permission of the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) and ends up working in that country under a tourist visa, he or she is considered undocumented.

There are also a number of cases when workers become undocumented despite getting permission from the BMET. Once a worker is permitted to work abroad, he or she is provided a smart card from the government. It is a card made specifically for the workers and should not be confused with the National Identification Card, which the citizens of Bangladesh receive. However, what often happens is that workers, especially those in the Gulf, end up quitting their jobs due to dissatisfaction and begin working in other companies illegally. Their documents—passports and smart cards—though are held with their initial employers. As such, when the body of the worker returns to Bangladesh without the required documents, their families are not given any compensation.

"This practice is not fair. These workers have contributed to our economy in some way or the other and their families should be compensated whether or not they have documents," opines Shakirul.

A mere glance at the trend of the number of dead bodies returning to the country paints an ominous picture. Just five years ago the number of deceased bodies returning to the country was below 3,000. Today we are on the verge of crossing the 4000-mark.

And yet, as several researchers point out, a thorough investigation regarding the matter is yet to take place. If there's no investigation, the major reasons behind their deaths will not be addressed and the toll will only continue to rise. One wonders, how many more dead bodies need to return to the country before a drastic step is taken?

As soon as I left college, I decided to keep long hair. Having studied in Cantonment School and College, I never had the leeway to do this thus far. Whenever my hair grew an inch, it attracted the immediate attention of my teachers. Quite the recreant, I never mustered up the courage to go to school without a haircut.

I have always believed that my hair is and should be a matter of concern to me and me alone. Society does not hold the moral authority to intervene directly or indirectly (i.e. through social conditioning) with my hair. However, I would soon learn otherwise.

As the length of my hair kept increasing, men around me did not give up the chance to raise their eyebrows in skepticism. My family members were hankering after me for a haircut, to which I paid no heed at all. As the tips of my hair began to touch my shoulders, even my friends started to get uneasy. Most of my friend circle started to label it as "effeminate", "egregious" and even "disgusting".

I had never imagined that my long hair would vex society so. People on the street would look at me like I was from outer space. I felt increasingly out-of-place. Men chuckled and called out to their friends to have a look for themselves. They treated me like a wild animal that had stumbled into human territory. I could sense that they were criticising me. Facial and body expressions often reveal a lot. Even kids ogled at me and had their share of laughter. Questions were raised about my gender: "Is he a man? And if he is, why does he keep long hair like a woman? He must be aware of how things work in the society!" It seemed as if my long hair systematically distanced me from society.

From early on, we are conditioned to look at things along the lines of the binary: male or female. Pink is a girl's favourite colour; boys are not supposed to like it. Girls play with dolls while boys are to engage themselves with cricket. Right from the moment we are born, it is decided what we will wear, what we will play with, and how we will lead our lives. Once you decide to disregard these constructed ideas, you will find that things are no longer looking so great. A bold attempt at rebellion will be looked down upon and the person will be forcefully excluded, labelled "unsocial". It then becomes almost impossible for the person to lead a life free of explicit interventions.

I have often been subjected to mockery along the streets at university or at the shopping mall. One fine day, while I was travelling in a rickshaw, two men from another rickshaw literally screamed, "Why does this lad have such long hair? Is he a man or a woman?" They cackled with laughter, but thankfully, my rickshaw soon overtook theirs.

On another instance, I had gone out to buy some medicine. It was night time and the lane was quite dark so I could barely see anything. At the end of the lane, a few men had gathered for a chat. They spotted me and the ridicule began. I remained voiceless.

However, it was the last incident that was exceptionally unnerving. I was at a food court, waiting for a friend. As I was seated in such a way that I had no sight of the people behind me, I was a bit puzzled at a sudden outburst of laughter. I tried to concentrate on my book, but the hubbub grew louder. I turned around and I saw a group of college lads—around 30 of them. Unfortunately, I was their topic of discussion. I could easily discern one of them saying, "Is he a guy or a girl? Go and go have a look! She might be hot." One of them actually came forward to inspect me and then returned to share his findings. Another round of merrymaking followed. One of them remarked, "He could have been a lady. Men do not keep long hair, do they? Waht a whore!" I was, yet again, trying to avoid my harasser. In the meantime, another of them took a seat across from mine, as someone from the same group loudly exclaimed, "HEY! Why did you go there? Are you gay? HAHAHA. Our nation does not accept the rainbows!" I got up and left the place immediately.

You may feel uneasy or disturbed after reading this. You must be thinking, "Does this guy lack the courage to stand up for himself?" And that's a pretty natural response. Yes, I have been unable to raise my voice, to put up a fight. But I would like to ask, if I had protested vociferously, would people have joined me in support? Definitely not. I would have had to face counter-harassment: "How can a young man be harassed? Is that even possible?"

Certainly! I am the victim of regular abuse. However, the most important message lies in the fact that we think of women as commodities in our society. Just look at how society is trying to label me as a female for having long hair and treating me for it. As if anyone bearing the slightest resemblance to a woman can be troubled in this way, as if in order to prove one's masculinity, one needs to make fun of the "opposite sex".

I often receive hate messages on Facebook. Many people are of the opinion that I should get a sex change or, alternatively, identify as a hijra. I am a disgrace to masculinity. Some ask me to get a haircut and tell me to be a "man". It seems as if the line between a man and a woman is drawn by the length of one's hair. Get a haircut and you automatically transform into a man!

"Short hair or long hair, it's your choice. My long hair is the symbol of my freedom. I feel free. Society always tries to bring you down. You don't have to give them an explanation. It's your thing. It's your freedom," I tell myself when I feel down. Someday or the other, we will definitely see a solution to the problem. Toleration and survival pay off, as goes the proverb, "One who endures, survives till the end."

Tanveer Anoy is an activist and writer.

Bengal Classical Music Festival 2017

Organiser: Bengal Foundation 

December 26-30, 5-11pm, Abahoni Matth, Dhanmondi

Walk of Awareness

Organiser: People for Animal Welfare Foundation, Bangladesh

December 22, 9am - 1pm, Bangladesh National Museum, Shahbag

Jolokabbo 

Musings in Watercolor

Organiser: EDGE, the Foundation

December 26, 10am - 8pm, EDGE, The Foundation, Bay's Edgewater, Gulshan

William Carey, a Christian missionary from England, established the first degree awarding university in India. Photo: Courtesy

Just 50 years after the ascension of Jesus the messiah, Saint Thomas, one of Jesus's 12 apostles set foot on the Indian subcontinent to preach the prophet's holy words. In the southern coasts of India, impoverished and marginalised fishing communities, who used to be considered untouchables by the upper caste Hindus, welcomed the message of egalitarianism and converted to Christianity as early as 50 AD. However, it was not until the 16th century that Christianity gained foothold in the geographical boundary of modern-day Bangladesh.

Portuguese missionaries, who entered through Chittagong port and established their mission in the Diang area of the city, were the flag-bearers of Christianity in Bangladesh. They built their first churches in the region in 1600 AD (some say 1599 AD).

The Holy Rosary Church at Dhaka's Tejgaon area, built in 1677 AD, is also one of the oldest churches in Bangladesh. Under the patronage of Mughal and British rulers, Christian missionaries gradually expanded their activities to all parts of Bengal.

However, compared to other parts of the Indian subcontinent, expansion of Christianity was relatively slow in Bengal, which was already populated by another Abrahamic monotheistic religion—Islam. Today, Christianity comprises only 0.5 percent of Bangladesh's 16 crore population whereas Islam comprises 89 percent. However, thanks to their charity-based initiatives, the small Christian community has made notable contributions towards the cultural and economic prosperity of the people of Bengal.

For instance, Christian missionary William Carey's mission at Serampore, West Bengal laid the foundation of the Bengal renaissance in the 18th century. He established Serampore College and took the initiative to spread modern European science-based education among Bengalis. He encouraged village paathshalas and affiliated those to Serampore college to ensure that students could learn modern subjects through traditional teaching-learning methods. He established a printing press at Serampore College and translated numerous English books into Bengali and Persian and vice versa. Later, his missionaries also contributed to promulgate the Bengal Tenancy Act of 1885 which recognised the rights of Bengali peasants and curtailed powers of the zamindars or feudal lords.

Following in the footsteps of the Serampore mission, Christian missionaries in Bangladesh spread their knowledge and charity-based approaches in the remotest parts of the country. They established missions in the impregnable jungle and hilly areas of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Garo Mountains, isolated islands and in the remote northern indigenous villages. Wherever they established their churches, they established a primary school and a charitable dispensary or a small clinic with it for the local people.

The Christian community was also an ardent supporter of Bangladesh's liberation movement. Many Christian missionaries were killed by the Pakistan army for supporting and harbouring freedom fighters. On April 17, 1971 when the Mujibnagar government was being organised in the mango orchards of Meherpur district, the Bhabarpara Catholic Church at Meherpur came forward and donated their furniture and resources to organise the oath-taking ceremony of the Bangladesh Government-in-Exile. Father Marino Rigon, an Italian Christian missionary at Mongla sheltered thousands of freedom fighters and provided medical care to the wounded fighters. Due to his immense contributions during the Liberation War, he was conferred with honorary citizenship in Bangladesh.

However, their contributions became more apparent during the reconstruction of war-torn Bangladesh. Holy Family Hospital, run at the time by the Missionaries of Charity, provided healthcare to war-affected people all over the country. The missions provided food, education and healthcare to the remotest communities where the fledgling Bangladesh government could not reach during the post-war period.

In this regard, the contribution of Caritas, a non-government development organisation run by Catholic missionaries, is mentionable. According to Theophil Nokrek, Director, Caritas Development Institute, Caritas implemented development projects worth BDT 350 crore to rehabilitate people affected by the war in 1972. They also invited 200 Japanese scientists to Bangladesh to produce high-quality rice breeds and introduce them to Bangladeshi agriculturalists and farmers. Till date, Caritas has been contributing to the country's development sector by running 95 projects in the areas of formal and non-formal education, healthcare, women empowerment and financial security. It is now one of the largest development organisations operating in Bangladesh.

The Christian community's contribution towards the development of Bangladesh's education sector is also significant. Educational institutions like Notre Dame College, St Joseph Higher Secondary School and St Gregory's High School are deemed some of the best educational institutions of the country.

However, Dr Harold Bijoy Rodrigues, Provincial Superior, Brothers of Holy Cross, St Joseph Province, Bangladesh thinks that the main contribution of Christian missionaries' lies in the expansion of primary education in Bangladesh. “When there was no government primary school in the entire Chittagong Hill Tracts, our missionaries spread the light of education by establishing primary schools in the remotest indigenous villages. Currently Christian missionaries in Bangladesh are running more than 5,000 primary schools, most of which are located in the hard-to-reach areas,” says Dr Harold. Over the last few years, the Catholic missionaries undertook a project called Lighthouse, through which they established 1,300 primary schools in remote villages. “Our goal is to hand over the schools to the government so that these schools and the quality of education that is taught is maintained in the long run,” says Theophil Nokrek.

Serampore College established by Christian missionary William Carey was the centre of spreading modern European education in Bengal. Photo: Courtesy

However, these altruistic missionaries are now facing obstacles in continuing their educational services. Dr Harold says, “The biggest obstacle we face is government intervention in our admission procedure. According to the government, we must enrol the students with higher GPA scores on a priority basis, but according to our goals, we have to give equal priority to these students, even if they do not have better grades. We still face a lot of trouble enrolling students from marginalised communities and must defy the government orders to some extent.

“We should realise that the merit of an indigenous student with a GPA of 4.40 who doesn't have electricity at his/her home should not be compared with the GPA 5 scorer who lives in Dhaka and has access to all modern amenities. We must encourage the less privileged by giving them the opportunity to access quality education.”

Besides their contribution to education, the Christian community's support in providing quality healthcare is also notable. Every Christian church or monastery is fitted with a charitable dispensary or a small clinic where everybody can get primary healthcare services for free and medicines at a nominal price. Health workers of these clinics run awareness raising campaigns all over rural Bangladesh. Dr Edward Pallab Rozario, Project Co-ordinator (Health), Caritas says, “Our most prominent contribution to healthcare has been in ensuring quality maternal and paediatric healthcare. In the last five years, more than 80 percent of births in our clinics were normal deliveries and we encourage mothers to go for natural births by informing them about its benefits. We are also the pioneers in providing treatment and care for patients with chronic infectious diseases like small pox, leprosy, cholera, malaria and AIDS.

Christian missionaries now operate in over 10,000 charitable clinics and dispensaries all over Bangladesh. In many districts they have established well-equipped hospitals such as St Vincent Hospital in Dinajpur, St Mary's Hospital in Khulna, Our Lady Fatima Hospital in Barisal and sick shelters and leprosy shelters in all the major cities of Bangladesh.

However, like many other minority communities, the Christian community too is suffering. According to Archbishop Moses Cosa, Metropolitan Arch Bishop of Chittagong, “We don't have any prayer time on Sunday which is our religious weekly holiday. As a result, many of our devotees particularly the youth are becoming less interested in performing religious rituals.” He also adds that in many places missionaries are not allowed to operate and have been evicted with the accusation of forced conversion. “We conduct charitable activities because we believe that providing service to humanity is a form of prayer. We have never converted anyone forcefully,” says the Archbishop.

“More than 90 percent of Christians in Bangladesh are indigenous. They have been facing different types of discriminations for decades. They do not even have rights to their own lands. If we consider their situation, Christians in Bangladesh are not in a good position at all,” he adds.

Over the centuries, Bangladesh's Christian community has set unparalleled examples of providing altruistic humanitarian services through peaceful and harmonious practices, but scores of attacks and threats have been reported against Christian missionaries and several of them have been killed by religious extremists in the last couple of years. Again, most of the members of this religious community are doubly marginalised due to their indigenous identities.

During his recent visit, Pope Francis applauded Bangladesh's religious harmony saying, “Bangladesh is one of the best examples of inter-religious harmony.” Now the ball is in our court to defend this appraisal by fulfilling our constitutional pledge of freedom of religion and social justice.

The writer can be contacted at [email protected].