Bangladesh, despite being a land of diverse faiths and belief systems, is still prone to witnessing communal hatred crop up occasionally. Just recently, the incident of miscreants performing Islamic songs at a Durga Puja mandap in Chittagong, further exposed just how long we still have to go to ensure true communal harmony in Bangladesh.
While it is good to know that the Chittagong incident is being investigated and that multiple perpetrators have been detained and cases lodged against them, merely making examples of those who still harbor communal hatred is not enough.
A more inclusive Bangladesh needs leaders who not only understand the value of inclusivity but also the plight of some of our most marginalized minority communities. To this end, Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus’ statement -- which he delivered during a visit to Dhakeshwari National Temple -- that the interim government is working towards a Bangladesh where the rights of every citizen are fully protected and equal, was aptly made.
As things stand, Bangladesh has been given a rare chance to fix some of its most egregious societal ills, communalism being one of them. This will require not only punitive measures against those who seek to stoke communal unrest but also policy-level support to give historically marginalized communities a platform to uplift themselves economically.
The student movement which resulted in the end of more than 15 years of authoritarianism was built with anti-discrimination as its central pillar, and it is upon that which we must build the Bangladesh of tomorrow -- free of discrimination not only when it comes to employment but indeed every facet of our governance and indeed our society.
