Protection of religious minorities: A cry in the wilderness?

Oh my sweet nation! Can't you hear the scream of the helpless minorities who are left to the street and are compelled to live under the open sky? Can't you notice the horror on the face of those destitute people who are haunted by the nightmare of those dreadful nights? Our dear motherland Bangladesh that emerged in 1971 as a country of communal harmony with new aspiration of Bangladeshi culture and heritage is now distorted by discrimination, insecurity and acts of violence. Vandalism towards the minorities especially religious minorities is also the reason for destroying the harmony between the sects of the nation. Despite majority people are Muslims, Bangladesh is a home of multi religious, multi cultural and multi lingual people. Here live the 'Religious minorities' like Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, the 'Ethnic and Linguistic minorities' popularly known as 'Adivasis' or tribal people (at least 27 different ethnic groups such as Chakma, Marma, Tripura, Garo, Santal, Khasia, Monipuri, Rakhaine etc. lives here). Besides, there are 'Ahmadiyyas or Kadiyanis', 'Biharis', 'Rohingyas' though they constitute a very negligible quantity. People have been living in this region of the sub-continent with peace and harmony from time immemorial. Even in the Hindu and Muslim period, there was hardly any communal riot. Before leaving this sub-continent, the British drastically disseminated the nasty seed of communalism, the legacy of which has been carried away to recent period. Aggression and suppression to the minorities is not a unique or distinct issue for Bangladesh, rather it is a global phenomenon. But Bangladeshis are reputed in the world for their rationality, hospitality and peace-loving spirit. The violence towards minorities is a stigma to that reputation of Bangladeshis.
In Bangladesh, the minorities undergo violent activities and discrimination mainly due to land related disputes, criminal nature of some miscreants and political duplicity and hypocrisy. Violence to minorities took place at regular intervals of which most extensively in 1950, 1958, 1964, 1965 (during the Pakistan period); in 1971 (during our liberation war) and after the independence, in 1975, 1990, 1992, 2001, 2012 and 2013. After the liberation war, the minorities underwent violent massacre several times most of which incidents were unreported, under-reported, or neglected. The Hindus and the Buddhists, being majority among the minority, suffer much and bear heavy loss of property and belongings. The destruction often becomes more severe like murder, rape of females, causing fire to houses and belongings, looting wealth in broad daylight etc. During every unfortunate event, the ruling party or the government of the country failed to provide adequate protection to the minorities which is neither desirable nor consolable.
There are several factors that contribute towards the present violence against the minorities. They are given bellow:

Indirect threat to leave the land or country
Being threatened to life and deprived of social security, the minorities (especially the Hindus) are compelled to leave their motherland and take resort to neighbouring country. This paves the way for some dishonest and insatiable land owners to grab the home-stead and lands of the Hindus in exchange of minimum pecuniary value (or even sometimes, without any value).

Political and communal vengeance
The incidents of 1990, 1992, 2001 and 2013 bear testimony of this type of violence. The vandalism of 'Babri Mosque' in India was reciprocated with the Hindus of Bangladesh in 1992. In 1990, the minorities were tortured to conceal the arbitrariness of the government and to change the course of protest against the government. In 2001, the supporters of the ruling party took revenge on the minorities on the belief that they (minorities) exercised their right to franchise on opposite party. The present violence and vandalism towards minorities in 2013 which is still ongoing is a sign of political duplicity and hypocrisy. The most surprising feature of present violence is that every political party is claiming to offer assistance to the minorities along with the government but unfortunate incidents are not ceasing.

Guilty mind of the culprits, miscreants and opportunity-seekers
There are some people living in the society who are always ready to utilise whenever there arises any opportunity to snatch away the valuable property, wealth etc. of others. Their sole purpose is plundering, robbing and vandalising the household belongings, properties and temples of the minorities.

Failure or negligence of the ruling party and the police
Most of the cases of minority violence often go unpunished since, violence is committed by a group of people who are politically influenced and backed. In some cases, complaints against the perpetrators instigate more violence. The issue, being sensitive, cannot be controlled properly by police or government considering the impact of vote of the majority upon election.
Besides, lack of unity among the minorities, unwillingness of the religious leaders or organizations to protest or come forward strongly, inferiority complex within the minorities themselves, victimisation of rumour etc. contribute more to their helplessness and vulnerability.
According to The Constitution of Bangladesh, All citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal protection of law. [Art. 27] State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, cast, sex etc. [Art. 28] The Constitution also ensures right to equality of opportunity and employment in public offices for all citizens. [Art. 29] It is also stated that the State shall take steps to protect and develop the unique local culture and tradition of the tribes, minor races, ethnic sects and communities. [Art. 23A] Besides, every citizen has the right to profess, practice or propagates any religion and every religious community has the right to establish, maintain and manage its religious institutions. [Art. 41] Thus, the Constitution of Bangladesh leaves no space for any type of discrimination towards minorities; rather confer equal right and status upon them like other citizens of the country.
International Law promotes rights on a collective basis to ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities. Rights of the minorities are globally recognised and guaranteed in 'The Genocide Convention, 1948'; Article 27 of 'The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966'; 'The Convention Against Discrimination in Education, adopted under auspices of UNESCO in 1960'; 'The Advisory opinion of the Permanent Court of International Justice, delivered in 1935 in the Minority Schools in Albania Case'. These international instruments contain two objectives: First, complete equality between nationals of the state belonging to racial, religious or linguistic minorities and other nationals (related to the majority) and secondly, to ensure for the minority suitable means for the preservation of their racial peculiarities, their traditions and their national characteristics.
The Charter of Medina [the Constitution of the first Islamic State, drafted by the Holy Prophet (pbuh)] also guaranteed and established the security and religious freedom of all communities including Muslims, Jews, Christians and pagans. The Charter specified the rights and duties of all citizens and the relationship of the different communities in Medina specifically the Jews and other people.
The government must be committed and sincere enough to provide adequate protection and assistance to the minorities in case of any mishap happens towards them. The government should also provide required compensation for their rehabilitation and re-establishment. The actual culprits, whatever mighty or politically influenced, must be brought under criminal trial for their misdeeds. If necessary, separate harsh legislation controlling communal anarchy may be enacted. Both the electronic and press media must place timely attention and highlight the occurrences so as to create continuous pressure upon the government. Minority leaders and religious organizations must also raise strong and massive protest against such violence. Finally, to promote peace and harmony among the communities of the country, strong and effective awareness raising campaign must be launched and conducted on regular basis.
It should be borne in mind that the religious and ethnic minorities also sacrificed for the independence of our motherland. They contributed and equally participated in the development and promotional building up of our country. Aggression to the minorities may cause imbalance to cultural as well as lingual heritage and diminish intellectual contribution. We have to uproot religious fascism from our soil if we want to preserve our unique language, culture and heritage. Bangladesh is also said to be a country of religious and communal harmony. The inhabitants living here are pious, peace-loving, cordial and co-operative. So, it is our sacred duty to preserve peace and harmony among the communities of the country and uphold the pride and glory of the nation. Long live the country. Long live the aspiration of the Bangladeshis.

The writer is Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, Premier University, Chittagong, Bangladesh.