Illogical hartal

The dawn-to-dusk hartal enforced on April 4 by the Islamic Ain Bastobayon Committee (committee to implement Islamic laws)), under the leadership of Mufti Fazlul Haque Amini of the Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ), is undoubtedly an effort to create anarchy and vandalism in the name of protesting against the government decision to implement the proposed national women development policy. According to media reports, the pickets attacked the cars of two members of Parliament, vandalised nearly 150 vehicles, set fire to a petrol pump and a police van and clashed with police during the hartal hours at several districts, which left some 250 people including 50 policemen injured. We, the common people, have always opposed such hartals for in the name of exercising one's democratic right they take away the democratic rights of ordinary citizens to live peacefully. A madrasha student of class five lost his life in a clash with the law enforcers in a procession, brought out in support of the call for hartal. Who will take the responsibility for killing this child? Is'nt it, immoral to involve children in such political demonstrations? The proposed women development policy has been prepared, after taking advice of, and consulting with, the religious scholars and, above all, people from different walks of life. If the detractors of the policy think they have an issue, they can very well respond to the government offer to sit down to a discussion on it. But those who use 'religion' to mislead people are clearly pushing the nation down a dangerous path. It is time for all citizens to come together and resist those who whip up unnecessary controversy in the name of religion. And those who are involved in creating anarchy, violence and vandalism in the name of hartal must be punished. None should be allowed to take the law in his own hands. Lutfor Rahman Ghoraghat, Dinajpur E-mail: mlutfor@ibibo.com