INTRODUCTION
The ubiquitous scene in the world is the animosity between religions namely Hinduism and Islam. Its adverse effects are seen in India at several times. The suggestion that the Muslim-dominated parts of British India should become a separate country was expressed for the first time in a short essay written in 1933 by an Indian Muslim student at Cambridge, Rahmat Ali. It appears that the people began to feel the blow from partition of the countries eastern borders leading to the birth of two nations Pakistan and Bangladesh. “Divide and Rule” was upshot; The Rule is over but the Divide is subsisting on the borders and hearts of people living in their respective countries. The partition of the ‘jewel in the crown’ was the most repugnant event in the history of humanism. It had basically sown the never garnering seed of fundamentalism and communalism in South Asian countries namely India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. This project deals with the concept of acrimony between two highly appreciated religions; Hinduism and Islam. On the larger examination it plays in the name of religion which has possessed the world of modernity by its mask of moral codes. And their indirect effect on the life of women in these religions.
Post-colonial novel which particularly dealt with ‘writing back to the empire’ also speaks about the ‘uncertainty,’ that has been troubling people’s psyche till today. Enduring dread is widespread outcome of split in the former Indian nation. The birth of the two nations i.e. Pakistan and Bangladesh led to the tumult. To comprehend this subject closely let’s put a bit in understanding the primary connotation of the fundamentalism and extremism in larger perception. Fundamentalism a movement in 20th century Protestantism emphasizing the literally interpreted Bible as fundamental to Christian life and teaching. Only to entrench itself in 20th century politics by vehemence. It basically talks about going back to the very early forms of religious practices and worships. Extreme religious attitude, an interpretation of religious doctrine that excludes views differing from its own. This phenomenon exists in various forms throughout the world , and can, in fact, be found in most of the societies. The danger thus posed in such circumstances is not limited to the individual, but rather to society as a whole. So then what is ‘ism’ ? It can be a state or condition, an act, a characteristic or doctrine. Radical viewpoints are generally acceptable to a free society until they evolve into extreme radicalism or violent bloc, either of which can threaten the status quo. In fact, both are interrelated.
Apprehension about fundamentalism is extensive; it is absurd because even though it takes a outline of a movement’s agenda remains largely distorted. It always moves under the shade of suspect. This is because this theory – almost uniformly— assume knowledge about the movement that is not certain. Anyone who has looked into the problem of fundamentalism knows that it is terribly complex. Many mysteries are associated with it, and these are absolutely crucial to understand. Until light can be thrown on the gray areas, fundamentalism will remain an intractable phenomenon. According to John Balzar, writing for Los Angeles times; he defines radicalism as “the foundation source of something fundamentally extreme; basic Extreme fundamentalism then is a slippery slope that operates along the same principle. People do believe in Strong extremist beliefs but add an ‘ism’ and it leads to pull one down an acute slope; it essentially opens the doors for narrow views and questionable behavior that can be harmful to others. However, there is a trivial difference in Christian fundamentalism and Islamic fundamentalism. Islamic fundamentalism is a conservative religious movement that seeks a return to Islamic values and Islamic law in the face of stern modernism, which is seen as corrupt and atheistic. Though popularly associated in the east with Middle Eastern terrorists, only a few Islamic fundamentalists are terrorists, and not all Arab terrorists are fundamentalists. The Iranian revolution of 1979 established an Islamic fundamentalist state, and the Taliban has established its version of the same in much of Afghanistan. Human individuals as self-transcending and communities as structurally complex never coincide with any set of generalized features. Individuals and families become part of "fundamentalist" congregations for a variety of reasons, many of which have little to do with the dynamics set forth in fundamentalism as a theory. These fundamentalists organization are just outsourced from their mother country to ferment in an environment of pain and hunger . This helps them establish their agenda clearly in front of their followers. Hence it makes it clear why countries from North Africa, Pakistan Bangladesh and South – East Asia are into this path of extreme fundamentalism. Because they face worst phases of poverty, hunger and dependency on the west or on some charity by their religious associations. It seems that these fundamentalist organization feed on the poor and needy who are ready to sacrifice their living for the mere food and shelter that these organization provide them. Fundamentalists are expert at exploiting misleading information about their movement. When adversaries of the fundamentalists make wrong assumptions, on which they then attempt to build policy, the fundamentalists invariably seem to capitalize on this. Indeed, it appears to be a favorite tactic for advancing their cause. The way to proceed is to return to the origins of the various groups to determine what caused them to come into being. Once an understanding of this is achieved, it then becomes possible to reorient one's approach, to construct a theory which, because it is based on sound assumptions , has some predictive capability.
These quandaries also gives rise to anti – feminist activities , India’s colonial past as all as early Post-Pakistan shows the invariable effect of any riot resulting in genocide. This genocide basically targets the minor individual of the society, the women and children. The post-colonial scenario also brandish such cruelties of women been raped, assault and brutally murdered. Thus, it takes us back to the crucial question of the feminist awareness in the Post-colonial Third world. Feminism was social movement that seeks equal rights for women. Widespread concern for women's rights dates from the Enlightenment; its first important expression was Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792). Milestones in the rise of modern feminism included Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex (1949) and Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique (1963) and the founding in 1966 of the National Organization for Women. However, feminism in Indian subcontinents struggles against a patriarchal setup which makes women face oppressive gender restrictions and every work to be gendered in the Third world society.
Thus, looking out for the influence to these terms and theories on the author Taslima Nasreen which made her write Lajja which shock the extremist views of religious minds and also indirectly question the position for and against women in such fundamentalist organization exerting in Secular and Theocratic states . Lajja has – two dimension Fundamentalism - shame for being fundamentalist nation in the 21st era. However there are hardly, any symptoms of improving from the deteriorating social conditions. And the feminist viewpoint to understand the role and position of feminism in the world of fundamentalism Making an attempt to rewrite religious views on history.
No comments:
Post a Comment