Jabalpur: Taslima Nasreen, Bangladeshi writer and activist, strongly criticised the interim government in Bangladesh and said the country is now occupied by the extremist ‘Jamaat-e-Islami’ group. She was addressing a program organised to mark the completion of 100 years of the Siddhibala Bose Library in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.
Speaking to ANI, Nasreen spoke about the “bleak caricature” of Bangladesh, soiled by the destruction of the country’s history and vandalising of statues of their freedom fighters.”I think that the country is now occupied by the Jamaat-e-Islami jihadi and militant groups and they have been destroying the history of Bangladesh. They destroyed the sculptures of all freedom fighters, and they destroyed the museums of the liberation war in 1971. And also, they destroyed the house of the father of the nation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. And also, whoever was involved in the Awami league party, they were either killed or they’re imprisoned,” he said.’
Nasreen, who has authored several books, currently lives in exile in India. Always voicing against religious extremism and emphasising values of secularism, women’s rights and freedom of speech, she has been at the receiving end of extremist elements in Bangladesh. Last month, a group of madrasa students in Dhaka attacked a stall at the Amar Ekushey Book Fair over the display of a book written by Nasreen.
The author further said that the interim government in Bangladesh is “illegal” and elections should be held quickly so that the rightful party that comes to power rules the country in a ‘democratic’ manner. “It’s not just violence against women in the country. Theft, robbery, terror, rape, murder is all going on. That means law enforcement is not doing anything. So I think elections should be held quickly and the political party that comes into power is in power. It’s good that they run the country. Because this government is illegal, and this government has no right to run the country,” she said.
Nasreen said that the current interim government itself comprises of extremist elements, because of which under their rule, statues are being vandalised, and minority Hindus and free thinkers in the country are being persecuted.
“That is why all the statues of the country are falling apart. Hindus are being persecuted. The free thinkers are being persecuted. So we want the complete destruction of this government to go away. It can happen only if the people there want change. I have been thinking about Bangladesh since the last 6 months. I am writing,” she said.
Nasreen said that apart from women, the “Islamic terrorism” is torturing everyone belonging to Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s party, Awami League.
“Not just women, but the entire country is being attacked- like the Islamic attack. So it’s not just women. [It’s] kind of Islamic terrorism. So there’s not just on the women, but also those who were in Hasina’s party,” she told ANI.
The Lajja author also said that she wants a “pro-liberation workforce” and a strict bifurcation between religion and the state as “religion-based politics is harmful for the society.” “So it would be the pro-liberation workforce we want. We don’t want Jama’at-e-Islami because it is religion-based politics. We don’t need religion-based politics. It is very harmful for society. So we need separation, strict separation between state and religion,” she said.
Nasreen opined that the Jamaat-e-Islamist should be banned again as they don’t believe in democracy and allegedly want to impose the Sharia law. Notably, the ban on Jamaat, put under Hasina’s rule, was revoked by the current interim government last year. “Jamaat-e-Islamist politics, I think, should be banned because they’re very harmful. They’re against women’s equal rights, against humanity, they want Sharia law, and they don’t believe in democracy. They don’t believe in secularism,” she said.
Nasreen said that the political parties who support free thinkers and the liberation war should be elected, and only such parties must participate in the elections, adding that if this happens, only then the country will be able to progress.
“So I think that all the political parties who support liberation war, I think that should be elected, should participate in the election. And the they should rule the country, not Jamaat-e-Islami people who are against liberation war, who are pro-Pakistan and anti-India, and jihadi groups, and the terrorist groups, Islamic terrorist groups. They are now in the power, actually. They are ruling the country, kind of. So I think that they should go,” the author said.
“The progressive people, progressive politicians, who believe in democracy and secularism and women’s equal rights should be in the power and then I think that the country will be really changed and there will be progress,” she added.
Nasreen said that there is “no democracy” in Bangladesh at this point, and the country needs change and restoration of democracy. “There is no democracy there. So we want democracy. So I think that now the situation is so worse in Bangladesh. There should be change in Bangladesh, political changes are needed… But in Bangladesh, you know, whether it will be under Islamic, Islamists and terrorists, we don’t know. So it is very important that democracy should be again established in Bangladesh. Because if there is no democracy, there is no freedom of expression,” she said.
In the absence of freedom of expression, she said, if people say anything against the “fanatics”, they are in danger of being persecuted. “Then whatever we say against the religious fanatics or rulers, you know, against religious fanatics or the rulers, then we will be in jail or we will be killed,” she said.
Talking about the importance of secularism, she said, “So it is very important that there should be democracy and secularism, of course. If there is no secularism, then the women will suffer. There will be religious laws. Under religious laws, women will not get any equality. And the minority also, the religious minority people will suffer if there is no election, secularism and democracy. So democracy and secularism must be restored,” she said, highlighting the potential struggles of women in such a scenario.”
Nasreen said that although she personally doesn’t practise religion, she believes in others’ rights to enjoy freedom of practising any religion. “Muslims go to Kaaba, and Christians go to Jerusalem, Hindus go to Mahakumbh… I believe in secularism, so I think that every people have the right to practice their religion. Personally, I don’t practice religion, but I believe in other people’s right to practice religion,” she said.
She, however, also emphasised that the extremists do not believe in tolerance and may kill anyone who calls out their “fanaticism.”
“But the problem is that the Islamist extremists do not want our right to. That I would not practice religion, they don’t tolerate this. They want to kill us. If we say anything against religious fanaticism, then they come to kill us. So this is a problem. They don’t believe in freedom of expression. I believe in freedom of expression. I believe not only my freedom of expression, I believe my enemy’s freedom of expression… But most of the time, we find that extremists do not believe in freedom of expression of other people who do not accept their ideas,” she concluded. (With inputs from ANI)
