Shame: A Novel

by Taslima Nasrin

  A party assignment took him to Mymensingh about four or six years ago. Seeing the flitting images of lush green paddy fields, trees on the skyline, huts, haystacks, children merrily floundering in the marshy tracts or catching fish with the help of handspun towels, the simple, wonder-struck faces of peasants looking at the speeding train, Suranjan, seated on the windowside in the train compartment, could see the visage of his own country on this canvas of impressions. The poet Jibanananda Das, after being charmed with this image of his country, never wanted to see any other scene in the world. Suranjan was jolted out of his reverie, finding the station Ramlaksh- manpur renamed as Ahmed Bari. He also saw to his amazement the continuation of that renaming spree: Kafir bazar had turned into Fatima bazar, and Krishna Nagar had become Aulia Nagar. The process of Islamization now going on all over the country had not spared the small stations in his Mymensingh district. To blot out the Hindu identity from the names of places and institutions, where Muslim names couldn't be immediately found, abbreviation was resorted to. Thus Brahman Baria became B. Baria, the famous Braja Mohan College of Barisal turned into B.M. College and Murari Chand College of Sylhet reduced to M.C. College. What Suranjan feared was that these educational institutions, too, would soon be called Mohammad Ali College or Serajuddaula College. Twenty-one years after the renaming of Jinnah Hall of Dhaka University after the great revolutionary Surya Sen in the post-in dependence period, those who were opposed to the country's freedom were now describing that martyr as a dacoit and questioning the rationality of associating the name of a dacoit with the university. This obviously implied the veiled demand of restoring the old name. One was not too sure about the possibility of the government's bending to the demand.

  The ruling Bangladesh nationalist party had come to power aided by the fundamentalists. That was why its leaders, too, were looking after the interests of their allies.

  Walking in the old Dhaka areas, Suranjan found all the Hindu shops closed. On what assurance would their owners raise their shutters? Still, they opened the shops after the riots of 1990, and perhaps they would this time also. The skin of a Hindu was perhaps as thick as that of a rhinoceros. Otherwise, how could they possibly rebuild their broken homes? How could they reconstruct a plundered shop? Even if it was conceded that shattered houses and shops could be repaired with the help of building materials, how could broken minds be mended?

  In the riot of 1990, Brahma Samaj at Patuatuli, the Shridhar temple of Shankhari Bazar and the Snake temple of Kayet tuli were sacked and then set on fire. The famous homeopathic medicine shop of M. Bhattacharyya at Patu- atuli, the Hotel Raj, Dhakeshwari Jewelers, Kashmiri Briryani House, Rupashree Jewelers, Fergreen Jewelers, Alpana Jewelers, New Ghosh Jewelers, Manashi Jewelers, Mitali jewelers, some stores of Shankhari Bazar, Anannya Laundry, Krishna Hair Dresser, Tire Tube Repairing, Saha Conteen, the floating hotel at Sadar Ghat called Ujala, Pathanibas, all these were looted and burned down. The same thing happened to the municipal sweepers colony at Naya Bazar, and the slums of sweepers near Dhaka district court, Chunkutia Purbapara Harisabha temple of Kerani- gunj, the Kali temple, the temple of Meer Bag, Gosham Bazar akhra, the Durga temple of Shubhadya, Gosain's Bagh temple of Chandranikara, the Kali temple of Paschim Para, the cremation ground, the Ramkani temple of Tegharia Pubanadi, the Durga temple at the market of Kalindi Barishu, Kali temple, the temple of the snake goddess Manasa-all had been subjected to looting and image smashing. Fifty rented houses at Shubhadya Khejurbag, including the residence of Rabi Mishra, son of Pyari Mohan Mishra, were burned down. The same fate befell the houses of Bhabatosh Ghosh and Paritosh Ghosh, of Tegharia, the Hindu areas at Mandail of Kalindi, and three hundred houses of Rishipara in Bangaon. Suranjan had witnessed much of this carnage, and he had heard about some from others.

  Suranjan had been walking around aimlessly for some time now, but he did not really know where to go. Who was close to him in this city of Dhaka? With whom could he sit and talk for a while? Today Maya had given him one hundred takas after overcoming her initial hesitation. He was reluctant to spend the money in his front pocket. He thought of buying a packet of Bangla Fives. But that would only start the process of spending and use up the money in no time. He never cared about money. What he received from Sudhamay to pay the tailor's bill had been spent on his friends. If one of them wanted to run away and get married, it was Suranjan who would provide the finances. Once he had given money to a boy named Rahmat. The poor chap's mother was in the hospital and he didn't have money to buy medicines for her. Suranjan unhesitatingly gave him the money he had been keeping to pay his examination fees. Could he now possibly go to Ratna's place? Ratna Mitra? Could not Ratna, even after marriage, stick to her maiden name? What prompted girls to change their surnames after marriage? Must they always tie themselves to the shirt tails of their fathers before marriage and to the husband's afterward? All nonsense. Suranjan wanted to drop his surname Dutta. The caste and religious differences were indeed bringing doom to man. The Bengalis, irrespective of being Hindu or Muslim, should maintain their Bengali identity in their names. Many times he had thought of renaming his sister "Neelanjana Maya." What then could his own name have been? "Nibir Suranjan"? "Suranjan Sudha"? "Nikhil Suranjan"?* If he pursued this way, he wouldn't have to be smeared with the color of religion. He had noticed a propensity among the Bengali Muslims to go in for Arabic names. Even the most progressive-minded among them, who would ceaselessly proclaim Bengali culture, would invariably call his own child outlandish names like Faisal Rahman, Toudihul Islam or Abu Bakar. Why should it be so? Why should a Bengali have an Arabic name? Suranjan would not name his daughter Srotashwini Bhalobasa (River of Love) or Athai Neelima (Boundless Azure). The second name came closer to Maya's other name, Neelanjana. This name could be kept exclusively for Maya's daughter.

  Suranjan went on walking. Aimless ambling, yet when he stepped out of his house he thought of doing a great deal. But once out he could think of no destination. As if everyone were busy, running frantically on his own errand. Only he had nothing to do. He didn't have anything to occupy him. He wanted to talk to someone in this city of terror. Could he go to Dulal's place at Bangsal? Or to the house of Mahadebda at Azimpur? He could drop in at Kajal Debnath's house in Ispahani Colony. Why was he remembering the names of Hindus today in search of places to go? Belal came to his house yesterday, so he could pay a return visit to him. Hyder also paid him a visit, so his house could also be visited. But if he went to their houses, the topic of the Babri mosque would invariably touch off sparks. The same cycle of what was happening in India, how many died there, what was the latest about the BJP leaders, in which places the army had been called out, who were arrested, which party was banned, what would happen in the future. He no longer cared to hear all this. The Jamat of this country hardly differed from the BJP there. Both had an identical objective: to put fundamentalism on a solid foundation. If only religion-based politics could be banned from both countries! Religion weighed so heavily on the Third World countries, like a massive stone, that their starving, timid, persecuted people perhaps stood no chance of liberation. He cherished a saying of Karl Marx which he muttered as he walked through the crowd. Religious hardship is the other face of real hardship and is also a protest against the real hardship. Religion is the sigh of persecuted beings, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the soul of a soulless society. Religion is the opium of the people.

  Aimlessly wandering through Wari, Nababpur, Nayabazar, the Court area, Rajani Basak Lane, Begumbazar, Suranjan finally went to Kajal's house. As it happened in the case of almost all the Hindus, Kajal was at home. There were only two alternatives for them: either to hide themselves somewhere outside their houses or to stay put at home, making as little sound as possible. Suranjan, craving talk as he was, felt happy to find Kajal at home. Some others were there in Kajal's room: Subhash Sinha, Tapas Pal, Dilip Dey, Nirmal Chatterjee, Anjan Majumdar, Jatin Chakravarty, Zai-ur-Rahman, and Kabir Chowdhury.

  "What's
the matter? I find quite an assembly of Hindus."

  No one but Suranjan laughed at his utterance. "What's the news, why are you in such low spirits, just because of the killing of Hindus?" Suranjan asked.

  "Is there any reason to be happy?" Subhash said.

  Kajal Debnath was actively involved with the Hindu, Buddhist, and Christian Unity Council. Suranjan had considered this outfit also as a communal party. Any support for this organization simply removed the foundation from the demand to ban all religion-based political parties. Kajal, however, maintained that after being disillusioned in the wake of a forty-year wait, he had been forced to join this organization just for self-defense.

  "Has Khaleda even once admitted the continuation of communal riots in the country? Never once has she cared to visit the devastated areas," one member of the gathering said. Kajal immediately intervened, saying, "What has the Awami League done beyond issuing some statements? Such statements have been made by a rabidly communal set-up like Jamat-i-Islami. In the last election, a propaganda program was launched to misdirect the people into thinking that if the Awami League was voted back into power, the religious expression "Bismillah" would be dropped from the constitution. Now unable to capture power, the Awami Leaguers were thinking that their stance against the eighth amendment of the constitution would erode their popularity. It was difficult to say if the Awami League was only targeting votes or was keen on sticking firmly to its ideology. If their choice was the latter, why aren't they now speaking out against the coming bill?"

  "They were perhaps thinking of getting power first. Then changes, if necessary, can be brought about," Zai-urRahman said, trying to defend the Awami League.

  "No one can be trusted. All the parties, once they are seated in the saddle of power, will sing in praise of Islam and adopt an anti-India stance. These are the issues that sway public opinion easily in this country," Kajal said, nodding his head.

  Suddenly Suranjan, sidetracking the course of discussion, swung back to his old query. "But Kajalda, don't you think it would be better to form a noncommunal group rather than this communal association? And why is Zai-urRahman not a member of your council, may I ask?"

  Jatin Chakravarty intervened in a grave voice: "It's not our inability that kept Zai-ur-Rahman out. It's the failure of those people who have planted a state religion. We didn't have to set up such a council for so long. So what is compelling us to go in for such a move? Bangladesh hasn't come into being simply on its own. All the people, irrespective of being Hindu, Buddhist, Christian or Muslim made their contribution to its creation. But to declare state patronage for a particular religion is to invite a feeling of separatism in the minds of people believing in other religions. No one loves his country any less than the others. But seeing their own religion being relegated to second- or third-class status just because of their being non-Muslims is quite a deadly blow to their egos. Can they be blamed for their preference for communalism over nationalism?"

  Since the reply was meant for Suranjan, he said in a low voice, "But what is the point in maintaining such a communal outfit in a modem state?"

  Jatin Chakravarty immediately added without waiting for a pause: "But who has forced the religious minorities to form this sort of community-based organization? Aren't the promoters of the state religion responsible for it? The state loses its national identity the moment the religion of a particular community is declared the state religion. And any state with a state religion can be proclaimed a theocratic state any time. This state is turning into a communal state so rapidly, it will be ridiculous to talk of national integration at this juncture. The minorities, because of their suffering, are realizing that they are being duped by the eighth amendment."

  "Do you think that the Muslims are going to gain from Islam's being declared as the state religion? Or from the state being branded theocratic? I certainly don't think so."

  "That's true. If not today, some day the Muslims, too, will come to realize it."

  "The Awami League, however, could play a commendable role at this time," Anjan commented.

  Suranjan said, "True, but the bill mooted by the Awami League doesn't have any provision for scrapping the eighth amendment. The most indisputable condition for democracy is secularism and any modem man having faith in a democratic system realizes it. What's the point of declaring Islam as the state religion in a country that already has an 86 percent Muslim population? I don't understand. The Muslims in Bangladesh are quite religiousminded. They hardly need a state religion for themselves."

  Jatinbabu made a slight movement in his cramped position and said, "There can't be any compromise on the question of principle. The Awami League, to defend itself against adverse propaganda, is going for a sort of compromise."

  Subhash, who had so long been listening to the different angles, said, "In fact, instead of taking the Jamat and BNP to task for all these misdeeds, we've been training our guns on the Awami League." Interrupting him, Kajal said, "We know them as proven enemies. Hence they are not worth any discussion. We indeed get hurt when we notice deviation on the part of those in whom we put our faith."

  Kabir Chowdhury suddenly cut in, saying, "So far you are speaking on secularism, which, you must know, means viewing all religions equally. There's no question of discrimination on this score. And in plain and simple language secularism means materialism, that is, a total detachment of the state from religion."

  Kajal Debnath said rather agitatedly, "It was the triumph of Muslim fundamentalism during the partition that led to the creation of Pakistan. Hindu fundamentalism was defeated in India. Its defeat has made India a modern, democratic and secular state. For the security of the Indian Muslims, the Hindus in this country were given the despicable name of jimmis; the real motive behind such a declaration was to take possession of the Hindu properties by hook or crook. It's nothing surprising if the Hindus get scared when fresh Islamic clamors are made in the style of the Pakistani regime. The Hindus won't be able to survive in this country unless the state is declared secular. So we further demand the scrapping of the Enemy Property Act. There's hardly a Hindu in the administration. They have never been given secretary-level posts since the Pakistani days. There's only a handful of Hindus in the army, and they hardly ever get promoted. I don't think there's a single Hindu in the navy or air force."

  Nirmal said, "Kajalda, no Hindu till this day has reached the rank of brigadier or major general in the army. There is one among seventy colonels, eight among four hundred fifty lieutenant colonels, forty among one thousand majors, eight among one thousand three hundred captains, three among nine hundred second lieutenants, and five hundred among eighty thousand soldiers. Of the forty thousand in the BDR, only three hundred are Hindus. For the secretary's post there have been no Buddhists or Christians-why mention the absence of Hindus only? None among the additional secretaries, either. Only one among one hundred thirty-four joint secretaries."

  Kajal resumed, "Is there a single Hindu in the Foreign Service? I don't think so."

  Subhash was seated on a wicker stool. He stood up to say, "No, Kajalda, there's none."

  The floor was carpeted. Sitting on the carpet, Suranjan leaned against a cushion. He was enjoying the trend of discussion.

  Kabir Chowdhury said, "From the Pakistani days till now, during the Awami League regime in Bangladesh, only Manoranjan Dhar was sent as Bangladeshi ambassador to Japan for a short while."

  "Hindus are scrupulously avoided in the selection of candidates for higher studies or for training in foreign countries. No Hindu is in possession of a good profitmaking business concern at present. Even licenses for starting a business are rarely given to a Hindu unless he has a Muslim partner. Besides, no loans are approved for financial organizations to a Hindu intending to start an industry," Kajal said.

  "Quite so," Anjan added. "I have worn out the soles of my shoes in a bid to get loans for my garment business. Yet I didn't get any help from the banks. Then I had to rope in Afsar and that worked."
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  Subhash piped up, "Have you noticed one thing? The TV and radio broadcasts begin with quotations from the Koran, which is mentioned as a holy book. When similarly excerpts from the Gita or Tripitak are read out, these books are never described in such a way."

  Suranjan said, "In fact, no religious scriptures can be called holy. All of them are full of shit. All this can easily be left out. Rather, a demand for ending all religious preachings on radio or TV should be made."

  A silence descended on the debate's participants. Suranjan felt like having a cup of tea, but possibly there were no such arrangements in this household. He could stretch himself out on the carpet. He would like to enjoy this outpouring of pains suffered by all the others.

  Kajal Debnath, after a break, resumed: "In all official functions, at every meeting, the program begins with suras from the Koran. But the Gita is strictly avoided. The Hindus in government service have only two holidays of their own. They can't even take leave if they want to. Each organization makes proclamations about mosque construction. But there's never any reference to temple construction. Every year, hundreds of millions of takas are being spent for either construction of new mosques or repair of the old ones. But has there ever been any allocation for the maintenance of temples, churches or pagodas?"

  Suranjan raised his head and said, "Do you feel happy only with the broadcast of religious scriptures like the Gita? Will you feel great if temple construction is permitted? The twenty-first century is knocking at our door and we are still inviting religion to guide our society and state. Better say, all basic principles of the state, society and education should be free from religious interference. Secularism of the constitution does not mean that from now on the Gita, like the Koran, should also be compulsorily read. In schools, colleges and universities all religious functions, prayers, the teaching of religious texts and the glorification of the lives of religious persons should be banned. Also banned should be political leaders' aid to religious activities. Any political leader participating in a religious function and patronizing it should be expelled from his party. Religious propaganda must be discontinued in the government media. No one should be asked to state his religion in his application form for a job."