In Bagerhat, a lesson in communal harmony as a Hindu donates land for mosque and a Muslim for crematorium

Over the last few years, there have been a smattering of unsavoury incidents stemming from religion being used by fundamentalists to sow discord and division that threatened to tear apart the secular fabric of Bangladesh.

However, in Bagerhat, two men of different faiths -- one a Hindu teacher and the other a Muslim politician -- are earning plaudits for delivering a lesson in communal harmony through their acts of charity.

Pranab Kumar Ghosh, an assistant professor at Fakirhat Azahar Ali Degree College, donated land for the construction of a mosque while Sheikh Mizanur Rahman, a local Awami League leader, gave away a piece of his land to be used as a cremation ground in Fakirhat Upazila.

The issue was widely publicised at a recent event marking communal harmony in the district.

When the Khulna-Mawa highway opened a few years ago, the junction at the Attaki village in Fakirhat Sadar Union gained prominence. It would go on to be called 'Biswa Roader Mor'.

People from 18 districts now regularly travel through the upazila. A bus stand and many shops line the junction.

As there was no mosque in the area, locals sought the help of Pranab, a landowner in the area. He agreed and subsequently donated land for the mosque.

Initially, a small prayer house was built there. It was later replaced by a two-storey building constructed on 16 hectares of land.

Meanwhile, the central crematorium of the followers of Sanatan Dharma on the banks of the river Bhairab in Fakirhat Sadar was washed away. Sheikh Mizanur Rahman, who owned land next to the crematorium, gave it to the Hindus to build a new crematorium.

Addressing the matter, Pranab said, “A lot of shops have cropped up here after Biswa Road was built. There are about 50 shops on my land. The shopkeepers here were having trouble finding a place to offer prayers. When they came and asked me, I gave them a place behind the market."

"We are moving forward in harmony with each other. The harmony here is still the same as it was before the mosque was built. It will never be lost. ”

Gaus Sheikh, an official at the mosque said Pranab made the decision after his childhood friend, Moniruzzaman Bablu, spoke about the problem facing locals.

"Pranab sir did not just give us land. Think about this mosque -- look into the pros and cons. When he was invited to the mosque, he came and we ate together. He has given as much land as needed for an Eidgah [open air enclosure] and a separate space for women to pray.”

Mizanur, a former vice chairman of Fakirhat Union Council, said he was deeply moved by the thought that a community of people did not have any land to conduct the funeral rites for their dead.

"People from different communities, including Hindus and Muslims, live here. When the central cremation ground was swallowed by the river, the Hindu devotees had some problems performing their funeral rites. I owned land next to the cremation ground. When local Hindus asked for it, I gave it to them."

"We want to live in harmony in the days to come," he said.

Recently, The Hunger Project, an international organisation, arranged a gathering to celebrate communal harmony in Attaki village. The issue of the land donations made by the two men came up during the event.

Khan Mahmud Ariful Haque, coordinator of The Hunger Project, said, "We have been working for a long time on religious and political harmony. Two people of two religions in the area have set a unique example by donating land for each other's religious institutions."

Fakirhat Upazila Council Chairman Swapan Kumar Das believes that the acts of these two men will inspire people in the area and future generations to take similar initiatives.