Of minoritisation and symbolic violence

October 16, 2024

DHAKA – On a quiet and narrow alleyway in the Shambhuganj area of Mymensingh city, a goldsmith sat on the floor of his jewellery shop and quietly went about his business. The shop did not boast a wide array of ornaments but still had a sufficient display of gold bangles and chains on its shelves. Despite being close to the main bazaar, the next street over, this alleyway did not have many shops. There were only two. The shop next to the goldsmith’s, a pharmacy, remained shuttered. Its exterior was slightly battered, as if someone had taken to it with a heavy object.

“Why is his shop closed and not this one? They are both Hindu”, a man in a blue shirt, standing at the edge of the jewellery store, quipped at us. “If the target of the attacks were Hindus, then wouldn’t the gold store be attacked first?”

It was at once both a frightening and sobering statement. By then, a smattering of onlookers had arrived at the scene and added to the growing indignation that the man shared. “This man was responsible for sending lists of locals who were BNP members to the police. That’s why he ran away,” pointing to the name of the owner taped on the board of the pharmacy. The onlookers joined in, trying to justify that the violence meted out was simply to sympathisers and patronisers of the previous regime. Their actions justified by the presence of a Hindu goldsmith, who sat quietly in his store, not engaging with the conversation.

Dholgram union, within Jashore district, is home to a large number of Dalit Hindu households. Many of the families live in small, self-contained clusters on opposite ends of the large street that connects to the Bagharpara township, parallel to the Chitra river. One such settlement of 70