It seems there is an evil force at work to stir up trouble and sully the laudable credentials of Bangladesh as a country of communal harmony. We pride ourselves on the syncretic nature of our society, where caste, creed, or religion is secondary to our ethnic identity. At least that's what we think it should be, except that we are given rude shocks sporadically through violence such as that which we've witnessed over the last few days—as if to prove the contrary. 

Often, we find our otherwise peaceful ambience stirred up by acts that evidently are done with ulterior motives. Rituals, places of worship or objects of veneration for the minorities are targeted to infuse mistrust and disharmony. The purpose is well-understood, at least by the more perspicacious ones who can see through the game that is being played here. A disjointed society is a vulnerable society prone to machinations of internal and external foes. 

It was, therefore, most disconcerting that the violence caused by the alleged desecration of Islamic scriptures in a Hindu temple in Cumilla has continued. Such disturbances have reportedly spread to various other parts of the country. We add our voice to the multitude of those who condemned the attacks against the minority community. It is sad to see that logic and judgment have been subdued by spite and rashness. 

We also find it hard to believe that a minority community member would indulge in such an act of perfidy as to place the book that Muslims consider the holiest of all at the feet of a Hindu idol. This, as experts say, could be the work of a fifth columnist to rake up anger and hatred against the minority community. The purpose was to destabilise the society, and sow societal discord. And they have been partly successful at that. 

While we hope that the law enforcing agencies would find out the actual culprits and administer the severest of punishments, we would also like to appeal that we as a society should pause to think why such incidents keep on occurring from time to time. These are not issues that can be explained away by applying a religious veneer to the incidents. Nor can the responsibility be laid entirely at the foot of our education system. The causal factors should not be glossed over. We need to understand the dynamics and inner workings of communal politics, and do something about it. We need to organise inter-communal and inter-faith dialogues to press home the message of communal harmony. Fixing this situation will need a whole-of-society approach, as experts aver, and which we endorse, rather than just a law-and-order approach.