Who are the 'foreigners'?
It is indeed strange what a sneer there is, in the voice of many Bangladeshis, when they say the word 'foreigner' but I am asking myself, “Is it not the Muslim extremists who are the 'foreigners' in Bangladesh?"
The constitution is very clear about the rights of both racial and religious minorities to full citizenship a basic conviction of those who fought in the Liberation War. The traditions of tolerance go very deep in many towns and villages where different communities have lived side by side at peace for centuries. Moreover, the results of the last election gave a very clear 'no' to the extremists.
Are not the people who tore down the statues of the bauls the real 'foreigners'? Are they not 'foreigners' who are putting pressure on school managements to dismiss non-Muslim teachers? Are they not 'foreigners' who are encouraging their children to be 'missionaries' spreading the word to their classmates at school that they are not 'real' Muslims if they do not do this or wear that?
What is going on is a real fight for what it means to be a Bangladeshi and what sort of Bangladesh we want. How dare we let some people pressurise us into changing our traditions!
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