BANGLADESH and
PAKISTAN - the destruction of Buddhism and Hinduism
Lee Jay Walker Dip BA
MA
The partition of India led to chaos and
hundreds of thousands of people were murdered. After this chaos
divisions would emerge between East Pakistan and West Pakistan and further
bloodshed would occur, with the outcome being the sovereign nations of
Bangladesh and Pakistan. However, while India remained to be
multi-religious, the opposite happened in Bangladesh and Pakistan and
religious minorities faced enormous problems and persecution.
To make matters worse both Bangladesh and
Pakistan would witness the gradual Islamization of their societies,
notably Pakistan, and massive corruption and persecution of women would
continue. The Islamization of both nations was especially traumatic
for Hindus in Pakistan and Buddhists in Bangladesh; and not surprisingly
Islamic persecution of minorities in both nations re-awakened anti-Islamic
feelings in India.
For unlike the destruction of Buddhism in
Afghanistan, which happened centuries earlier because of Islamic
conquests, persecution and controlling all leverages of power; the
Islamization of Bangladesh and Pakistan took place in the twentieth
century and continues today. Yet why were Buddhism and Hinduism
being allowed to be destroyed in both nations? After all, Buddhists
in Bangladesh were a small minority and they could never threaten Islam;
the same applies to Hindus in Pakistan.
Therefore, why did other nations remain quiet
when massive religious persecution was taking place? For nations
like France, the United Kingdom and United States were espousing
'democracy' and liberals were glorifying multi-faith societies and
stating that Islam was a religion of peace. At the same time major
institutions like the Commonwealth, which espoused global human rights,
remained quiet when religious genocide was taking place in Bangladesh and
Pakistan.
In Pakistan the destruction of Hinduism and
persecution of Hindus took many forms. The first path was the
massacre of Hindus during partition and forcing Hindus to leave via
coercion. However, over the last 50 years the destruction of
Hinduism in modern day Pakistan was based on past Islamic global conquests
and the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed who sanctioned the persecution
of non-Muslims. For the Prophet Mohammed had told his followers to
'Fight those who believe not in God nor the last day . . . Nor acknowledge
the religion of truth (Islam) . . .’ Therefore, the followers of
Hinduism were to be subdued in accordance with the teachings of Islamic
Sharia Law, the Koran and Hadiths.
Given this, Hindus were now a subdued
minority, like Christians in Pakistan, and they were unequal in law and
status in accordance with the teachings of Islam. At the same
time Hindu temples were often converted into Muslim mosques or destroyed,
and ancient Hindu architectures were destroyed. The choice for many
Hindus was either to convert to Islam in order to escape persecution, flee
to India or to accept that they were second-class citizens in Pakistan and
resign themselves to being persecuted. Not surprisingly Hinduism in
Pakistan continued to decline and this civilization was being eradicated
by Islam.
The situation for Buddhists in Bangladesh was
different, for Buddhism had survived countless Islamic conquests in one
region because of terrain and other factors; therefore, Buddhists and
other faiths had survived in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. However,
the increasing population of Bangladesh led to problems and the government
of Bangladesh hoped 'to kill two birds with one stone.' This applies
to moving millions of people to remote parts of Bangladesh, notably the
Chittagong Hill Tracts, while at the same time this new Islamic migration
would crush the mainly Buddhist tribal opposition in this region.
Therefore, millions of Muslim migrants were
moved into the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the mainly tribal Buddhists
(some tribals are Christian, Hindu or follow traditional beliefs) became
embroiled in a civil war. Islamic radicals also moved into this
region and many Buddhist priests were killed, including some being
beheaded. At the same time hundreds of Buddhist temples were
destroyed and the Bangladesh army took part in many massacres, and some
Buddhist women were gang-raped by both Islamic zealots and the Bangladesh
army.
In time the mainly Buddhist tribals were
overwhelmed by the armed forces of Bangladesh and Muslim migration.
Their situation, however, went unnoticed in the West and Islamic nations
obviously remained silent. To make matters worse, the mainly
Buddhist tribes had no nation supporting them and no major world leader to
draw attention to their plight. Given this, the government of
Bangladesh continued with their policy of persecuting Buddhists while
Muslim migration Islamized the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
Therefore, the destruction of thousands of
years of Hindu/Buddhist civilization in these nations destroyed.
It is clear that mainly Buddhist nations like Japan (and Shinto),
Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and others, should form
an organization to help their co-religionists; with Japan being the main
financial power to raise awareness of Buddhist persecution.
If global silence continues then Buddhism will
one day be eradicated in Bangladesh. However, the global community
did condemn the Taliban in Afghanistan for destroying Buddhist statues and
art, yet the same global community remains quiet when Buddhist tribes are
being systematically persecuted. Does this mean that Buddhist
art in Afghanistan is more important than the persecution of Buddhist
communities and the gang rape of Buddhist women in Bangladesh?
Surely the Hindus of Pakistan and Buddhists in
the Chittagong Hill Tracts deserve better? If the international
community remains silent about this crime, then soon these lands will be
Islamized and ethnically 'cleansed.' This is a shame for regional
nations and the global community, for they are leaving the most vulnerable
and 'voiceless' without any hope. Are you alarmed, if not, why?
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