In a shocking and most bizarre incident in capital Dhaka a few days ago, a Hindu woman wearing a red dot (teep or bindi) on her forehead was belligerently questioned by a low-level police man insinuating that it was not on when Ramzan was in progress.

The diehard communal cop then tried to run over the woman teacher under his motorbike to vent his ire. Kudos to the courage of the victim for she counter questioned the policemen and boldly filed a FIR. She also went to the media to highlight her affront. It worked to stir public opinion, shaking up the dormant activists from their inertia and slumber.

The policeman’s conduct is most condemnable as it shows a good section of law enforcing agencies are not only bent upon imposing moral policing with their own personal agendas but are also fiercely radicalized through tenets of their religion to exhibit a shameful intolerance towards a minority faith. This incident has evoked wide criticism in Bangladesh and as a mark of solidarity and resolve, several progressive women started wearing the dots on their foreheads. It would seem that the cop, oblivious of his misbehavior and stark indiscretion, didn’t realise that his action would boomerang so badly that the entire print and electronic media would rally behind the Hindu teacher.

Judging by this horrendous act, it’s time to test the credibility of secularism in Bangladesh or clinically examine if religious fundamentalism is under check. Notwithstanding the tireless efforts by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in containing communalism and fanaticism, there are still undesirable forces with medieval mindset who are hell-bent to derail the ongoing process of secularism. Outfits like Hefazat-e-Islam or Jamait- ul- Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and their highly indoctrinated affiliates are time and again trying to raise their ugly heads to hit out at the forward-thinking elements. And let there be no mistake, they are ideologically and otherwise linked to the terror groups in Pakistan, which are strongly suspected to enjoy mentoring, training and material support from the deep state.

Going by the above, it’s incumbent upon the Bangladesh government and the security agencies in particular, to tighten their leash on the erring policeman and take immediate corrective measures to stop recurrence of similar incidents. A serving policeman in the system with such religiously inclined thoughts, should not be allowed to continue. In the same vein, a fresh in- – house exercise must be undertaken to weed out the fanatics from this humongous force, often castigated by the west for human rights abuses and extra judicial killings. The current police chief Benazir Ahmed, is thought to be an erudite, pro India and claims to be apolitical and secular. It’s time for him now to prove his bonafides and coming clean about his force he commands.

Women in Bangladesh have an excellent track record of succeeding rather phenomenally in all areas of excellence. Be it teaching, multiple professions, performing arts and so on and so forth. They carry a unique blend of modernism and stellar emancipation. That’s the silver lining and strength of Bangladesh. The intelligentsia is superbly progressive. They must come out on streets sporting dots prominent with bright red in support of the woman teacher who was the victim of the cultural assault. The student lot in Bangladesh are spirited with inspirations of the freedom struggle where Hindus and Muslims sacrificed their lives together for the liberation of Bangladesh. That extraordinary tradition should not be allowed to fade away at any cost.

Dhaka cop assaults Hindu woman for wearing Bindi, arrested; Protests in Bangladesh. Cop arrested in Bangladesh for harassing & threatening to kill a woman for wearing a 'Bindi'. https://t.co/f0giQCGEcK pic.twitter.com/Lj6P4ezAq3

— Priya Sivapereeman (@PSivapereeman) April 5, 2022

Today there was an outburst on wearing the dots, tomorrow there may be protests on sarees mistakenly perceiving that it is reflective of Hindu culture. Such misgivings must be dispelled now.

I have seen myself Hindu and Muslim women participating on the Poila Baisakh celebrations showing utmost togetherness singing Rabindranath and Nazrul songs in harmony. Bangladesh mourns the loss of footballer Chuni Goswami or actors like Soumitra or Suchitra Sen or a Satyajit Ray or Sandhya Mukherji with the same lament. It’s the Bangla or Bangali culture that bind people on both sides of the border not the religion. A solitary incident by the indiscretion of a misguided cop should not cause a divide. That’s a ploy by the Pakistan backed communal forces concealed up their sleeves. Such a nefarious blueprint needs to be snuffed out and without any further delay.

Bangla new year is the next upcoming event on April 14 were cutting across religious lines or attires, countless men and women will congregate in Dhaka.  It would again be a symbol of steadfast unity, of togetherness and of an extraordinary patriotic and cultural fervor.  Let dots reign the foreheads of all women in Bangladesh and even beyond. That’s the most effective slap on the faces of communal and parochial intolerants!

Also Read: AR Rahman to enthral Bangladesh in a concert celebrating Mujib’s birth centenary

(The writer is a retired IPS officer, a security analyst and a former National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Mauritius. He has also served as a diplomat in Bangladesh. Views are personal)