Malaun Explained

Malaun (Bengali: মালাউন) is a pejorative term for Bengali Hindus and Hindus in general, most commonly used in Bangladesh by Bengali Muslims.[1] [2] [3] [4] The word is derived from the Arabic "ملعون", meaning "accursed" or "deprived of God's Mercy", and in modern times, it is used as a religious slur by the Muslims in Bengal region for Indian Hindus.[5] [6] [7]

Etymology

The Arabic word "ملعون" (mal'un), literally meaning 'cursed' is derived from the root "لعنة" (la'nat) meaning "curse". In Islamic parlance, it means 'deprived of Allah's mercy'. The word has been loaned into languages of non-Arabic Islamic countries like Malay and Indonesian.[8] [9] The dictionary published by the Bangla Academy gives the meaning of the Bengali word "মালাউন" as someone cursed or deprived of Allah's mercy or forcefully evicted or a Kafir.[10] It mentions that the word is used as a slur by the Muslims against the non-Muslims.[10]

Usage

Nirmal Kumar Bose noted the usage of the term as early as 1946 in Noakhali.[11] During the 1971 Bangladesh Genocide, the Pakistani officers addressed Dr. Govinda Chandra Dev as malaun before executing him.[12] According to eyewitness, AKM Yusuf had addressed a gathering of Peace Committee at Rampal in Khulna district on 19 April. At the gathering he addressed the Hindus as malauns and the Hindu women as spoils of war and exhorted the audience to kill them and loot their women.[13] Hussain Muhammad Ershad, while serving as the President, had referred to the Hindus as malaun at a rally in Chhatak. He apologized for his remark after protests from the Hindus.[14]

In December 2013, Ganajagaran Mancha presented a deputation to the Home Ministry complaining about police torture. The deputation alleged that on 19 December 2013 the police abused a Hindu woman activist as malaun because she had put sindur.[15] In December 2014, Nasiruddin Pintu, a convicted BNP politician, abused a Bengali Hindu police officer by calling him a malaun when he attempted to stop his lawyers and supporters from meeting Pintu illegally. Pintu threatened the officer with loss of job and called him son of a pig.[16] In January 2015, Awami League workers Shahnawaz abused fellow Awami League worker Sushanta Dasgupta at a party function in London.[17]

In the Internet, a Jamaat-e-Islami run handle named Basher Kella has given the call for killing all the malauns and turning Bangladesh into a country where only the Muslims will live.[18] [19] [20]

See also

Other pejorative terms for Hindus
Persecution of Hindus and Buddhists in Bangladesh
Persecution of other non-Muslims in Bangladesh

Notes and References

  1. Book: Roy, Tathagata . My People, Uprooted . 2002 . Ratna Prakashan . Kolkata . 81-85709-67-X . 18.
  2. Web site: Bangladesh: The Upcoming National Elections, Pluralism, Tolerance and the Plight of Hindu and Non-Muslim Minority - Need a New Direction . Dastidar . Sachi . 12 April 2008 . Bangladesh: Religious Freedom, Extremism, Security, and the Upcoming National Elections . United States Commission on International Religious Freedom . 13 September 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130828234152/http://uscirf.gov/component/content/article/290/2318.html . 28 August 2013 . dead .
  3. Web site: Minorities Fear for Life and Security . 12 September 2002 . HRCBM . 16 October 2013.
  4. News: The unholy killings of Avijit Roy and Govind Pansare . Chatterjee . Garga . 4 March 2015 . Daily News and Analysis . 9 March 2015.
  5. Book: The Torture of Tasneem Khalil: How the Bangladesh Military Abuses Its Power Under the State of Emergency . Watch . Human Rights . Ganguly . Meenakshi . Alffram . Henrik . 2008 . Human Rights Watch . 28 . 30 May 2012 .
  6. House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee . 25 March 2005 . Human Rights Annual Report 2004: Fourth Report of Session 2004-05 . House of Commons, United Kingdom . 88 . 31 May 2012 .
  7. News: http://www.jugantor.com/window/2014/01/02/55251 . bn:সংখ্যালঘুরা কাকে ভোট দেবে? . Roy . Palash Kumar . 2 January 2014 . The Daily Jugantor . bn . 7 February 2015 . Dhaka.
  8. Web site: Loanwords in Indonesian and Malay . SEAlang Library . 7 February 2015.
  9. Book: Stevens . Alan M. . Tellings . A. Ed Schmidgall . A Comprehensive Indonesian-English Dictionary . 7 February 2015 . 2004 . Ohio University Press . 978-0-8214-1584-9 . 610.
  10. News: http://amaderorthoneeti.net/new/2016/11/06/39427/ . bn:মন্ত্রীর মালাউন গালি ও বাংলা একডেমির অর্থ . Barua . Anirban . 6 November 2016 . Amader Orthoneeti . bn . 6 November 2016 . 7 November 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161107011210/http://amaderorthoneeti.net/new/2016/11/06/39427/ . dead .
  11. Book: Bose, Nirmal Kumar . Nirmal Kumar Bose . My Daya With Gandhi . 14 September 2013 . 1999 . Orient Blackswan . 978-81-250-1726-4 . 259.
  12. Web site: http://gunijan.org.bd/GjProfDetails_action.php?GjProfId=179 . bn:গোবিন্দচন্দ্র দেব . Gobinda Chandra Deb . Sajeeb . Mohammad Qutub Uddin . . bn . 31 May 2012.
  13. News: Yusuf ordered killing of Hindus: witness . 1 December 2013 . bdnews24.com . 7 February 2015.
  14. News: http://bdpress.net/home/index.php?page=description&news=1420903836 . bn:সিলেটে হিন্দু মহাজোটের মানববন্ধন . 10 January 2015 . bdpress.net . bn . 7 February 2015.
  15. News: http://www.kalerkantho.com/online/national/2013/12/22/33498 . bn:'মনে হয়েছিল এরা যেনো পাকিস্তান থেকে আমদানীকৃত পাকিস্তানী পুলিশ' . Farooq . Omar . 22 December 2013 . Kaler Kantho . bn . 8 February 2015 . Dhaka.
  16. News: BNP's Pintu hurls ethnic slur 'Malaun' at a policeman . 18 December 2014 . bdnews24.com . 4 February 2015.
  17. News: http://www.sylhetview24.com/news/details/Abroad_Life/20862 . bn:‘মালাউন’ গালি আনোয়ারুজ্জামানের, বিজয় অনুষ্ঠানে হাতাহাতি . 7 January 2015 . sylhetview24.com . bn . 7 February 2015.
  18. News: Anti-Hindu attacks rock Bangladesh . https://web.archive.org/web/20130328224416/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/SOU-01-280313.html . unfit . 28 March 2013 . Roy . Swadesh . 28 March 2013 . Asia Times . 7 February 2015.
  19. News: Turning Bangladesh in to Banglastan . bangladeshlivenews.com . 7 February 2015.
  20. News: Banglastan! . 7 March 2013 . The Daily Star . 7 February 2015 . Dhaka.

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