"The Bangladesh we rarely talk about"
In his latest article for The Daily Star, ABI staff member Anas Ansar sheds light on everyday practices of pluralism and secularism in Bangladesh.
Across South Asia, religion and identity are increasingly weaponized for political mobilization. In India, Hindutva nationalism has recently recast dietary habits and culinary traditions as markers of religious identity, purity and political allegiance. In neighboring Bangladesh, discussions of secularism are present in everyday media as well as in debates on constitutional reform and in urban ideological circles.
Ansar, however, highlights how everyday life in Bangladesh differs from these discussions: “Across Bangladesh, Muslims routinely buy sweets for milad gatherings from Hindu confectioners; Hindu-owned barbershops become crowded before Eid as Muslim families line up for haircuts; and on university campuses, generations of students have shared meals prepared by Hindu caterers without ever considering religious identity a barrier to friendship or belonging“. He deems this civilizational ethic a form of resistance that has endured for generations in Bengal, despite riots, partitions, military regimes, communal propaganda and political upheaval – and which, amidst a public rhetoric that normalises religious discrimination, deserves recognition.
The article is available on the Daily Star website.