University of Virginia Library

Religious Division

For centuries they have lived together
in the Ganges delta. What constitutes the
dividing line between the two
communities is then adherence to
different religions. At lines this
difference has caused inactions and
dissensions between them which,
however, have never been more acute
than those that occur between the
Catholics and the Protestants.

Co-existence of different religions is as
much a part of life in Bengal as in any
modern state. Between Bangla Desh and
West Pakistan, the only common thing is
religion, that is, the people of West
Pakistan and the majority of people of
Bangla Desh are Muslims.

Islam is the common heritage of
Muslims all over the world. The common
denominator between the Muslims of
Bengal and those of West Pakistan is no
larger than that between the latter and
the Moroccans or the Indonesians.

The dissimilarities are enormous. West
Pakistan and Bangla Desh have different
histories. The former was a gateway to
India for all invaders. The Greeks, the
Sakas, the Huns, the Arabs, the Mongols,
the Alghaig, had the Moguls overran and
ruled that area.

Bangla Desh, which lies more than one
thousand miles east of West Pakistan and
is crisscrossed by many livers was, in
those days, too lat and too difficult lot
the invaders to reach.

This explains why the population of
West Pakistan is heterogeneous and that
of Bangla Desh is homogeneous, and why
75 Million people of Bangla Desh speak
one language and 55 million West
Pakistanis speak at least tour languages.