This would be a strange question to ask in the context of the ethnic conflict in Assam that is showing signs of accelerating what with the chief minister Tarun Gogoi declaring that Assam is on the tinderbox. But in fact the genesis of the problem lies in the question.Over hundred years ago when India was still India and not India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, there was large scale migration of Bengali Muslims from East Bengal (which is now Bangladesh) into Assam. This was the result of deliberate policies of the government of British India which wanted to colonize Assam and exploit its natural resources and expand agriculture in an area where tribal communities – like Bodos, Koch Rajbongshis and others – lived. These tribal were outside the pale of society as it was then and were not seen to be part of the market economy. The Bengali peasant, on the other hand, had been exposed to the world of colonialism/capitalism in eastern Bengal. Thus they were game to be part of this strategy. So began the process of migration of Bengali Muslims into Assam impelled undoubtedly also by the increased pressure on land in East Bengal.The question to ask is why did only Bengali Muslims migrate to Assam and why not Hindus. The answer is: the Hindus did too but in smaller numbers. They were relatively more in white collar jobs and therefore by implication they were in higher value (and therefore limited number jobs). The large majority of the peasants in East Bengal were Muslims and these are the folks who moved because the opportunities were in farm related heavy labor work. It is easy to speculate that if the peasantry of East Bengal not entirely Muslims, then the bulk of migration would be of Hindu Bengalis and the ethnic conflict would have been a pure Hindu Assamese – Hindu Bengalis issue. But then the point is that if the peasantry of East Bengal were not predominantly Muslims, the country would not have been partitioned – at least on the eastern parts!How the peasantry of Bengal became Muslims is an issue that has not been analyzed deeply. However it seems that with the Mughal conquest of Bengal beginning the last decades of the sixteenth century their local governors made frenetic efforts to settle land and expand agriculture. Large parts of East Bengal were nothing but thickly forested swamps in those days. People staying on the margins of society involved in boating, fishing etc who were loosely speaking Hindus but actually of no religion became part of this Mughal imperial design. They were settled on land and induced to farm and they were socially moored by small mosques led by spiritual preceptors who came into convert the locals to a new way of life. There was not much opposition because these were new areas but the local Hindu communities that existed reacted by closing their ranks and becoming more conservative. This had the result of expulsion of many Hindus from the fold on the grounds that they had been polluted by contacts with the Muslims. These Hindus of course became Muslims. The net result was that more people started becoming Muslims.After the advent of the English and the Permanent Settlement of land revenues in 1785, agriculture became more settled and exploitative of the peasants as well. But that is another story but to come back to the main one, the creation of East Pakistan temporarily led to cessation of migration of Bengali Muslims into Assam. Though the borders between India and East Pakistan were porous and not demarcated clearly, the fact that it was no longer one country had this result. Furthermore Sylhet, a border district between Assam and East Pakistan where there a huge number of Bengali Muslims was made part of Pakistan.However the creation of Bangladesh changed the dynamics. Relations between India and Bangladesh were good. Moreover the ravaged nation, newly created had no avenues for economic development: exploited as it had been by the west Pakistani colonialists who turned to be worse than the earlier British avatar. India felt a need to help in the development of this newly emerged nation. The only plentiful ‘resource’ that the new nation possessed was people who could workers and engage themselves in other low end trades. That began a new wave of migration which started in the late seventies. The migration – in search of better livelihood – continues and not only Assam but Bangladeshi migrate in larger numbers into West Bengal and from there to other states of India. Aided they are by porous borders and unscrupulous politicians who want to enlist them as voters for their political gain.Bodos, Koch Rajbongshis and other ethnic groups feel vulnerable because they are unable to distinguish between Bengali Muslims who migrated a hundred year ago and Bangladeshi who came in the last two decades. With a new homeland and autonomous council, the Bodos who had been exploited by the state of affairs in Assam for centuries now see some hope at the end of the tunnel. Although merely 25-30 per cent of the population of the area, they want to exercise total control in their area and empower themselves. The major obstacle they face is from Bengali Muslims and Bangladeshis. This is the problem.The coming weeks and months will see further intensification of the tensions what with the fundamental problem not being solved. It is easy to see that Bangladeshis will continue to migrate into India so long as there is no rapid economic growth in their country and expansion of economic opportunities. Strident voices will be heard in India to ban the influx of the Bangladeshis into the country. But that is easier said than done what with ever shifting riverine borders and char lands within that make the process of sneaking in, not too difficult.Moreover the political dispensation has to take a clear stand on this issue because most of the time they are in a mode where they appear to be ‘running with the hare and hunting with the hound.’ They have to decide whether they want Bangladeshis into the country. It may not be out of place to state that most Indians will shout from rostrums that they don’t want the Bangladeshis: but none of them will ever refuse to benefit from the cheap labor provided by Bangladeshis at their homes, workplace and in trade. After all nobody including a Bangladeshi will sneak into somebody else’s country if it does not make economic sense for him to do so. So the hundred dollar question is whether we have a way to do so. Any answers? Lastly the answer has to be found by us, not the Bangladesh government. After all why should they care especially because increasing migration relieves pressure in their nation?LET’S face it DAP chairman Karpal Singh is never going to agree with PAS on the party’s desire to implement hudud and an Islamic state, come what may.The reasons for his strenuous objections are simple.Ours is a secular nation and we have to fight to keep it that way against all attempts by PAS to change the fundamental rules and laws that form the secular basis of this modern and fast-developing nation.PAS is an Islamic party that cannot and will not give up on hudud or Islamic state and its objection to secular laws, which it calls antiquated and colonial.The party wants to turn the clock back to an era when crime and punishment were simple severing limbs for stealing, stoning to death for adultery and public whipping or jail terms for consuming alcohol.But for some reason, presumably religious, PAS wants to implement hudud in a multi-ethnic society.It is also regretable that Pakatan Rakyat and its leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had “arm twisted” PAS into agreeing to give up its cherished Islamic state objective for that of a welfare state as announced by partypresident Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang at the PAS muktamar last year.Karpal’s stand against hudud, which has moved from a constitutional and legal issue to a political argument, is that hudud and Islamic state are not in the Buku Jingga, the document that spells out the compromises thrashed out by the three disparate parties of Pakatan.“I can assure the people that the Islamic state agenda and hudud will not be included in the Pakatan manifesto,” Karpal said on Saturday, responding to calls by PAS leaders for him to quit calling for an end tohudud.“DAP will not allow it,” he said, adding that hudud and Islamic state were concepts unsuitable for a multi-religious country like Malaysia.Increasingly, however, Karpal is alone in DAP for opposing PAS over the hudud issue.Neither Lim Kit Siang, the all powerful adviser nor his son Lim Guan Eng, the party’s secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister, or other key leaders are opposing PAS on matters that are crucial to voters in the upcoming general election.The elder Lim had battled with the issues in the past and was punished by the public for going against their wishes in supporting PAS despite the party’s stand on these issues.But in the 2008 general election, the public lost their fear of hudud and Islamic state and gave their backing, even voting for PAS candidates in mixed seats enabling the party to do well.Emboldened by this support, DAP has been selling PAS to the Chinese community.The party actively supports their candidates in by-elections, endorses their position on public matters by keeping silent and cooperates with them in states ruled by the Opposition coalition.Anwar likewise “agrees to disagree” with PAS over many policies.The Chinese voters, too, urged by DAP, backed PAS candidates in several by-elections since 2008, notably in the January 2011 Tenang by-election.During that by-election, DAP went all out supporting PAS candidate Normala Sudirman who had caused a stir among voters by insisting on wearing gloves before shaking hands.Karpal is alone in a party whose leadership simply wants to cooperate with PAS and turn a blind eye to the dangers of religious politics.They believe PAS has a “liberal” side and that they can “control” PAS and inhibit its fundamental tendencies.But the only person standing in their way is Karpal.Said a DAP source: “Karpal is alone in seeing the dangers to a secular Malaysia that PAS poses and he speaks up. He is not afraid. Everybody else is for working with PAS for political expediency.”Karpal is unrelenting going head-to-head with PAS Youth wing leaders led by its chief Nasrudin Hassan Tantawi over the past few weeks on the hudud issue.PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat backed the youth leaders by explaining that the party’s hududand Islamic state aspirations were not political but religious obligations.The marriage of convenience between PAS and DAP is working well but Karpal constantly throws a spanner in the works with his fierce opposition.Increasingly, he is isolated and alone in the DAP’s top leadership opposing hudud and this isolation encourages PAS to take on the DAP chairman.Only some DAP grassroots leaders are openly supporting Karpal, whose strength lies in the fact that he is consistent in his opposition, has a wide following in society and is considered “untouchable” in the party.“Karpal does not toe the party line … everybody else is either agreeing to disagree’ with PAS or has been cowed by the powerful Lim dynasty that rules DAP,” said a DAP source.The ongoing war between PAS Youth leaders, who are supported by the PAS elders, and Karpal, adds a new and explosive dimension to the opposition to hudud and Islamic state.It also shows that the DAP leadership is increasingly disconnected with some of their own grassroots who strongly oppose PAS for the continuing dangers it presents to a secular society.On a personal level, PAS calling Karpal “outdated” and urging him to step aside has enraged the Tiger of Jelutong and his supporters into hitting back.Can they pretend to be on the same page after this little war?readmorehttp://muslimjournalmalaysia.blogspot.com
This would be a strange question to ask in the context of the ethnic conflict in Assam that is showing signs of accelerating what with the chief minister Tarun Gogoi declaring that Assam is on the tinderbox. But in fact the genesis of the problem lies in the question.
Over hundred years ago when India was still India and not India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, there was large scale migration of Bengali Muslims from East Bengal (which is now Bangladesh) into Assam. This was the result of deliberate policies of the government of British India which wanted to colonize Assam and exploit its natural resources and expand agriculture in an area where tribal communities – like Bodos, Koch Rajbongshis and others – lived. These tribal were outside the pale of society as it was then and were not seen to be part of the market economy. The Bengali peasant, on the other hand, had been exposed to the world of colonialism/capitalism in eastern Bengal. Thus they were game to be part of this strategy. So began the process of migration of Bengali Muslims into Assam impelled undoubtedly also by the increased pressure on land in East Bengal.
The question to ask is why did only Bengali Muslims migrate to Assam and why not Hindus. The answer is: the Hindus did too but in smaller numbers. They were relatively more in white collar jobs and therefore by implication they were in higher value (and therefore limited number jobs). The large majority of the peasants in East Bengal were Muslims and these are the folks who moved because the opportunities were in farm related heavy labor work. It is easy to speculate that if the peasantry of East Bengal not entirely Muslims, then the bulk of migration would be of Hindu Bengalis and the ethnic conflict would have been a pure Hindu Assamese – Hindu Bengalis issue. But then the point is that if the peasantry of East Bengal were not predominantly Muslims, the country would not have been partitioned – at least on the eastern parts!
How the peasantry of Bengal became Muslims is an issue that has not been analyzed deeply. However it seems that with the Mughal conquest of Bengal beginning the last decades of the sixteenth century their local governors made frenetic efforts to settle land and expand agriculture. Large parts of East Bengal were nothing but thickly forested swamps in those days. People staying on the margins of society involved in boating, fishing etc who were loosely speaking Hindus but actually of no religion became part of this Mughal imperial design. They were settled on land and induced to farm and they were socially moored by small mosques led by spiritual preceptors who came into convert the locals to a new way of life. There was not much opposition because these were new areas but the local Hindu communities that existed reacted by closing their ranks and becoming more conservative. This had the result of expulsion of many Hindus from the fold on the grounds that they had been polluted by contacts with the Muslims. These Hindus of course became Muslims. The net result was that more people started becoming Muslims.
After the advent of the English and the Permanent Settlement of land revenues in 1785, agriculture became more settled and exploitative of the peasants as well. But that is another story but to come back to the main one, the creation of East Pakistan temporarily led to cessation of migration of Bengali Muslims into Assam. Though the borders between India and East Pakistan were porous and not demarcated clearly, the fact that it was no longer one country had this result. Furthermore Sylhet, a border district between Assam and East Pakistan where there a huge number of Bengali Muslims was made part of Pakistan.
However the creation of Bangladesh changed the dynamics. Relations between India and Bangladesh were good. Moreover the ravaged nation, newly created had no avenues for economic development: exploited as it had been by the west Pakistani colonialists who turned to be worse than the earlier British avatar. India felt a need to help in the development of this newly emerged nation. The only plentiful ‘resource’ that the new nation possessed was people who could workers and engage themselves in other low end trades. That began a new wave of migration which started in the late seventies. The migration – in search of better livelihood – continues and not only Assam but Bangladeshi migrate in larger numbers into West Bengal and from there to other states of India. Aided they are by porous borders and unscrupulous politicians who want to enlist them as voters for their political gain.
Bodos, Koch Rajbongshis and other ethnic groups feel vulnerable because they are unable to distinguish between Bengali Muslims who migrated a hundred year ago and Bangladeshi who came in the last two decades. With a new homeland and autonomous council, the Bodos who had been exploited by the state of affairs in Assam for centuries now see some hope at the end of the tunnel. Although merely 25-30 per cent of the population of the area, they want to exercise total control in their area and empower themselves. The major obstacle they face is from Bengali Muslims and Bangladeshis. This is the problem.
The coming weeks and months will see further intensification of the tensions what with the fundamental problem not being solved. It is easy to see that Bangladeshis will continue to migrate into India so long as there is no rapid economic growth in their country and expansion of economic opportunities. Strident voices will be heard in India to ban the influx of the Bangladeshis into the country. But that is easier said than done what with ever shifting riverine borders and char lands within that make the process of sneaking in, not too difficult.
Moreover the political dispensation has to take a clear stand on this issue because most of the time they are in a mode where they appear to be ‘running with the hare and hunting with the hound.’ They have to decide whether they want Bangladeshis into the country. It may not be out of place to state that most Indians will shout from rostrums that they don’t want the Bangladeshis: but none of them will ever refuse to benefit from the cheap labor provided by Bangladeshis at their homes, workplace and in trade. After all nobody including a Bangladeshi will sneak into somebody else’s country if it does not make economic sense for him to do so. So the hundred dollar question is whether we have a way to do so. Any answers? Lastly the answer has to be found by us, not the Bangladesh government. After all why should they care especially because increasing migration relieves pressure in their nation?
LET’S face it DAP chairman Karpal Singh is never going to agree with PAS on the party’s desire to implement hudud and an Islamic state, come what may.
The reasons for his strenuous objections are simple.
Ours is a secular nation and we have to fight to keep it that way against all attempts by PAS to change the fundamental rules and laws that form the secular basis of this modern and fast-developing nation.
PAS is an Islamic party that cannot and will not give up on hudud or Islamic state and its objection to secular laws, which it calls antiquated and colonial.
The party wants to turn the clock back to an era when crime and punishment were simple severing limbs for stealing, stoning to death for adultery and public whipping or jail terms for consuming alcohol.
But for some reason, presumably religious, PAS wants to implement hudud in a multi-ethnic society.
It is also regretable that Pakatan Rakyat and its leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had “arm twisted” PAS into agreeing to give up its cherished Islamic state objective for that of a welfare state as announced by partypresident Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang at the PAS muktamar last year.
Karpal’s stand against hudud, which has moved from a constitutional and legal issue to a political argument, is that hudud and Islamic state are not in the Buku Jingga, the document that spells out the compromises thrashed out by the three disparate parties of Pakatan.
“I can assure the people that the Islamic state agenda and hudud will not be included in the Pakatan manifesto,” Karpal said on Saturday, responding to calls by PAS leaders for him to quit calling for an end tohudud.
“DAP will not allow it,” he said, adding that hudud and Islamic state were concepts unsuitable for a multi-religious country like Malaysia.
Increasingly, however, Karpal is alone in DAP for opposing PAS over the hudud issue.
Neither Lim Kit Siang, the all powerful adviser nor his son Lim Guan Eng, the party’s secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister, or other key leaders are opposing PAS on matters that are crucial to voters in the upcoming general election.
The elder Lim had battled with the issues in the past and was punished by the public for going against their wishes in supporting PAS despite the party’s stand on these issues.
But in the 2008 general election, the public lost their fear of hudud and Islamic state and gave their backing, even voting for PAS candidates in mixed seats enabling the party to do well.
Emboldened by this support, DAP has been selling PAS to the Chinese community.
The party actively supports their candidates in by-elections, endorses their position on public matters by keeping silent and cooperates with them in states ruled by the Opposition coalition.
Anwar likewise “agrees to disagree” with PAS over many policies.
The Chinese voters, too, urged by DAP, backed PAS candidates in several by-elections since 2008, notably in the January 2011 Tenang by-election.
During that by-election, DAP went all out supporting PAS candidate Normala Sudirman who had caused a stir among voters by insisting on wearing gloves before shaking hands.
Karpal is alone in a party whose leadership simply wants to cooperate with PAS and turn a blind eye to the dangers of religious politics.
They believe PAS has a “liberal” side and that they can “control” PAS and inhibit its fundamental tendencies.
But the only person standing in their way is Karpal.
Said a DAP source: “Karpal is alone in seeing the dangers to a secular Malaysia that PAS poses and he speaks up. He is not afraid. Everybody else is for working with PAS for political expediency.”
Karpal is unrelenting going head-to-head with PAS Youth wing leaders led by its chief Nasrudin Hassan Tantawi over the past few weeks on the hudud issue.
PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat backed the youth leaders by explaining that the party’s hududand Islamic state aspirations were not political but religious obligations.
The marriage of convenience between PAS and DAP is working well but Karpal constantly throws a spanner in the works with his fierce opposition.
Increasingly, he is isolated and alone in the DAP’s top leadership opposing hudud and this isolation encourages PAS to take on the DAP chairman.
Only some DAP grassroots leaders are openly supporting Karpal, whose strength lies in the fact that he is consistent in his opposition, has a wide following in society and is considered “untouchable” in the party.
“Karpal does not toe the party line … everybody else is either agreeing to disagree’ with PAS or has been cowed by the powerful Lim dynasty that rules DAP,” said a DAP source.
The ongoing war between PAS Youth leaders, who are supported by the PAS elders, and Karpal, adds a new and explosive dimension to the opposition to hudud and Islamic state.
It also shows that the DAP leadership is increasingly disconnected with some of their own grassroots who strongly oppose PAS for the continuing dangers it presents to a secular society.
On a personal level, PAS calling Karpal “outdated” and urging him to step aside has enraged the Tiger of Jelutong and his supporters into hitting back.
Can they pretend to be on the same page after this little war?readmorehttp://muslimjournalmalaysia.blogspot.com
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