After much struggle and liberation struggle, we emerged from a religion-based state and formed a separate state based on secularism and democracy. Has this created a crisis on the religion based identity present in the society?
There are many historical factors involved in this, including the partition of the country. We can divide these into three patterns – integrated pattern, disintegrated pattern and rhetorical fusion pattern.
The unified paradigm is basically associated with the formation of the state of Pakistan. It was realized at that time that religion was the major means of uniting Muslims divided on the basis of region and language to stand against British colonialism and Hindu dominance. But we saw a disintegrating pattern after the formation of the state of Pakistan. Economic and political deprivation led to serious cultural differences. As a result, the relationship between the state and religion gradually diminished.
While framing the constitution of Pakistan, leaders like Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman said, “Do you all want to cheat us by creating such an Islamic state?” But how did people see this pattern that lasted for 23 years? It also included the matter of class. The initiative and aspiration for a nation state actually sprung from within the Bengali middle class, educated and urban people.
A study conducted in the 1970s showed that even then many people in the villages considered themselves Pakistani. Religious forces also took part in the 1970 elections. He got 12 percent votes. Therefore, by the end of the seventies, there was some degree of position of Islamic political forces. It did not subside completely with the Liberation War. During Ziaur Rahman’s rule, the rhetorical fusion paradigm emerged, where religious elements were incorporated into the constitution. At that time, they did not legally affect the state structure. After the Liberation War, religious identity receded into the background, but did not disappear completely. Religion has always been important for the common man.