Awareness to fight dangers of right-wing groups must

South Asian leftist leaders at an international seminar yesterday stressed launching a collective struggle to combat communalism in the region and make people aware of the dangers associated with the rise of right-wing groups.

The region's fundamentalists are politically becoming stronger under the pretext of aiding economic expansion and social development activities, they added.

"Fundamentalism and imperialism are not different. In fact, imperialists are spreading fundamentalism. These two evil forces turn a country backward after obstructing rise of progressive forces," said Sitaram Yechury, general secretary of Communist Party of India (Marxist).

The Workers Party of Bangladesh organised the seminar, "Combating Fundamentalism and Imperialism in South Asia", in the capital's Institute of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh celebrating Comrade Amal Sen's birth centenary.

Sitaram, a Rajya Sabha member, said imperialist forces helped fundamentalism to emerge in Pakistan and some Middle Eastern and African countries. "In India and Bangladesh, fundamentalism still remains under control. The governments of these two nations should take people-friendly policies to destroy communalism," he suggested.

Without elaborating, he claimed that the Bangladesh government had taken a proactive role against fundamentalism and that younger generations were benefitting from it.

Communist Party of India General Secretary S Sudhakar Reddy however said the right-wing powers were gaining grounds in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and the governments were unable to bring a political solution to the menace.

"The misuse of religion by mainstream political parties to expand their vote banks has inadvertently strengthened terrorism and fundamentalism," he added.

Fundamentalist forces are targeting secular and progressive forces. "Fundamentalists have recently killed a communist leader in India and some secular bloggers in Bangladesh," he said.

Communist Party of Pakistan Secretary General Imdad Qazi also alleged that fundamentalism was on the rise as secular political parties were betraying people to protect their vote bank and greed of achieving state power. The popular parties are ignoring religious extremism and terrorism, he said.

Workers Party of Bangladesh President Rashed Khan Menon said fundamentalists were becoming stronger using many tactics and the Bangladesh government was also foiling their attempts.

Prof Abul Barkat of Dhaka University's economics department in a keynote said at least 119 fundamentalist organisations were active in Bangladesh.