The ugly incidents around Puja mandaps on Bijoya have scarred Bangladesh. It’s not something that people would like to see in their own land. Such violence is always manufactured by a group because violence around religious identities has no social basis in peasant societies which is basically what we are –peasants. However, there is a long history of violence of all kinds in this land and this seems like an extension of that. But Bangladesh has been able to neutralize such phases rapidly in recent times . But what we need is prevention.
The recent incident centred on a fake post made by a person who is now in police custody igniting anti-Hindu feelings. This is good but one must identify such elements more and instead of waiting for them to cause mayhem, act before they act. By the time such a person has been arrested the damage had indeed been done.
The question of acting against such persons arises because clearly the Government has an extensive surveillance network. With the assistance of the mobile phone companies, this is huge, if not all comprehensive. We have seen how phone conversations are leaked to the media which proves that many elements must already be under watch.
The Government has the right to decide its priorities but it has focused too much on the BNP front and left these social criminals out from their high scrutiny list. At this point, BNP looks quite unable to muster much strength. However, the Government including the PM seem hugely interested in what BNP is up to. It’s true that the political party is the main opposition to the AL and if there is an election in 2023 but right now they are not a threat that deserves supreme attention.
This has allowed the social criminals to have greater space. What happened is that this lot thought that they could get away by doing what they did and a section in society would support them. In both cases, they were proven right. Not only did they manufacture hate materials but it ignited a series of attacks on the mandap and violence against the Hindu community.
One doesn’t need a master plan to cause such massive disturbance in the digital era. One person is enough to cause massive damage.
The police didn’t look efficient and clearly could have been tougher and better coordinated. It’s possible that they also didn’t want to be seen as hard lining but the image damage caused by the events to Bangladesh is high. It doesn’t look as if the law enforcers are enabled enough. They have disappointed the people and need brushing up and capacitation.
Bangladesh didn’t need this slap on the face by a small bunch of social criminals. The best thing is to keep them under watch and act before they can be damaged. The political space has largely shrunk so the social media space is where politics is on and it’s hardly party based only. There are many enemies and all need to be taken care of. Or the next round could be worse.
