A Hindu goldsmith named Sanjay Rakshit (40) has been arrested and sent to prison by Bangladesh Police for quoting two lines of a song by internationally acclaimed philosopher and lyricist Lalon Sai, also known as Lalon Fakir.
According to media reports, this disturbing incident took place in Bhedarganj upazila under Shariatpur district in Bangladesh on April 28, 2024. Sanjay Rakshit posted two lines of Lalon’s song – “সুন্নত দিলে যদি হয় মুসলমান, তাহলে নারী জাতির কি হয় বিধান” (If circumcision turns a man to a Muslim, then what is the law for women). These two lines are from Lalan’s song ‘Sab Loke Koy Lalan Ki Jaat Sansare’.
Police say Sanjay’s post angered the locals. He was arrested from his home in the Sajanpur area of the upazila on Sunday (April 28) afternoon. Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Bhedarganj police station, Mintu Mandal, said that a young man was arrested for ‘insulting’ the rules of Islam and hurting the religious sentiment of Muslims on Facebook. He has been sent to jail through the court with a case under section 54 of the Bangladesh Penal Code. The case is still under investigation. Hindu minorities of Bangladesh are targeted using blasphemy laws.
According to the statement of the case, “Sanjay Raksit posted on his Facebook ID, ‘If circumcision is done you are a Muslim, what will happen to the women’s race?’ Later there was deep anger and dissatisfaction among the local devout Muslims. This may lead to attacks on Hindus by local Muslims and deterioration of law and order. Therefore, Sanjay was initially sent to Shariatpur District Jail under Section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.”
OC Mintu Mondal said that some local people claimed that the writing hurt the sentiments of Muslims. They made a verbal complaint about the matter. So, to ‘avoid social disturbance,’ Sanjay was arrested and sent to Shariatpur District Jail. When asked who made the complaint, the OC said, without mentioning their names, that some local people made this complaint.
When the news of the arrest of Sanjay Rakshit came to the media, many people expressed their anger on social media. Many posted quoting those two lines from Lalan Sai’s song and wrote, “I wrote too, arrest me” in support of Sanjay. It may be mentioned here that Lalon, born on October 14, 1772, is also known as Lalon Shah, Lalon Fakir, and Shai Ji, was a prominent Bengali philosopher, mystic poet and social reformer. Regarded as an icon of Bengali culture, he inspired and influenced many philosophers, poets and social thinkers including Rabindranath Tagore and Allen Ginsberg. Lalon’s philosophy of humanity rejects all distinctions of caste, class, and creed and takes a stand against theological conflicts and racism. It denies all worldly affairs in search of the soul and embodies the socially transformative role of sub-continental Bhakti and Sufism.
