Incidents of targeting Hindu teachers for insulting Islam continue in Bangladesh. This time the victim is Kakali Rani, a Hindu teacher at Kamarkathi Girls Secondary School in Nesarabad, Barisal district. Local Islamists accused her of insulting Islam and the Prophet Mohammad.
The local Islamists made this complaint against Kakali Rani on September 12, 2022. According to them, during the class, the Hindu teacher, Kakali Rani, saw a Muslim girl wearing a burqa and said something to her. They allege that at that time, Hindu teacher Kakali Rani made derogatory comments about Prophet Mohammad and Islam. On the morning of September 13, local Islamists marched and ransacked the area on charges of blasphemy against the Kakali Rani.
Meanwhile, the victim, Hindu teacher Kakali Rani, said that this allegation against her is completely baseless. On the other hand, it is believed that the main aim of the Islamists is to harass Hindu teacher Kakali Rani with false accusations due to past incidents of targeting Hindu teachers using accusations of insulting Islam. Bangladeshi human rights activist and blogger Asad Noor protested on social media, detailing the issue.
Meanwhile, local UP chairman Mohammad Tauhidul Islam Tauhid has done the main task of inciting the local Islamists in this regard. In 2017, this man hacked another candidate, Ashish Baral, and won the election. The video of this local UP chairman provoking local Islamists on the issue has already gone viral. The video shows UP Chairman Mohammad Tauhidul Islam Tauhid instructing local Islamists on what to do.
Mahidul Islam Mahid, his brother and secretary of the local Awami League, is quietly assisting Tauhidul Islam in these communal activities. Tauhidul Islam’s father, Nesar Uddin, was a 1971 war criminal, Razakar, and rapist. The name of this Swarupkathi Upazila was changed to Nesarabad after him.
The targeting of Hindu teachers on charges of blasphemy is not new in Bangladesh. Earlier, there were incidents of harassing Hindu teachers by making false allegations against them in different parts of Bangladesh. Previously in Chandpur, Bangladesh, a Hindu teacher was accused of insulting Islam for not saying Bismillah. The accused Hindu teacher is the headmaster of Balshid Haji Akub Ali High School in Shahrasti Upazila in Chandpur.
On September 5, Hindu teacher Akhil Chandra Debnath left the school campus in the face of strong protests. In August, a Hindu professor was assaulted and beaten by Awami League cadres shouting the “Joy Bangla” slogan in the Manikganj district of Bangladesh. In July, a Hindu teacher was fired for scolding a Muslim student. Local Islamists spread this as an insult to Islam. In Noakhali, a Hindu teacher was sentenced to 8 years in prison for allegedly insulting Islam.
(The story was published on sritiochetona.org on September 15, 2022 and has been reproduced here with a modified headline.)
Lynching and harassing of non-Muslims with false charges of blasphemy is very common in Pakistan and Bangladesh. No verification is required. No cross-check is initiated. No investigation is demanded. Only a verbal allegtion brough gainst the non-Muslims, Hindus in particular, is suffice to inflame the Islamic followers. They never go for any reason to check the validity of such a claim. And that begets a clear advantage to some misguided souls to wage violence, rape and pogrom of Hindus. Repeated occurrence of such incidents testifies utter apathy of the Govt. to protect the minorities in these Islamist countries. It also ingrains that the Islamists are hell-bent to convert the Hindus to Muslims or exterminate them and erase non-Islamic culture.
Awami League always relies on Hindu votes to get into power. However, the guile of the Islamists is proving to be superior in blunting that advantage.
The cosying up by conniving reptilian politicians has its own limits. Any allegation of being disrespectful towards the prophet of Islam inevitably causes apoplectic rage amongst its followers. One can get away with insulting the Creator but one cannot get away with any hint of being disrespectful towards the prophet. It’s a reality.