- Hindu culture is the foundation of Bengali culture, including Bengali Muslims' culture, Taslima Nasreen said
- Taslima Nasreen shared her views during Durga Puja, the biggest Bengali Hindu festival
- Javed Akhtar emphasised the importance of appreciating Ganga Jamni Awadh culture
Hindu culture is the foundation of Bengali culture, including that of Bengali Muslims, exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen has said, drawing a critical response from noted lyricist-poet Javed Akhtar that one must also appreciate the "Ganga Jamni Awadh culture".
Ganga Jamni Awadh culture, often denoted as the Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb, refers to the composite and syncretic Hindu-Muslim culture flourishing in northern India.
Nasreen's post dropped on the morning of Ashtami during the Durga Puja celebrations, the biggest festival among Bengali Hindus. Posting photos of a Durga pandal and other cultural events, she said that Bengalis, irrespective of their religion, belong to India.
"There is nothing to conceal: Hindu culture is the foundation of Bengali culture. We Bengalis-whatever religion or philosophy we may have embraced over the course of history-belong, in our national identity, to India. The forefathers and foremothers of Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, and even atheists of India were all, or nearly all, Indian Hindus," said Nasreen in an online post.
Often seen as critical of Islamic traditions, Nasreen claimed that the Bengali Muslims' culture is not that of Arab but deeply rooted in Hindu traditions.
"Even if a Bengali is Muslim, his culture is not the culture of Arabia. His culture is Bengali culture, and that culture is rooted in Hindu tradition. The beating of drums, the music, the dance-these are the primal expressions of Bengali culture. This is what it means to be Bengali. To deny it is to deny oneself," added the author.
Akhtar, a celebrated writer and poet, agreed with Nasreen but stressed the need to appreciate the refinement and sophistication of the blend of the Hindu and Muslim cultures.
"We the people of traditional Awadh have great respect for Bengali culture, language and literature. But if someone is unable to appreciate and respect the great Ganga Jamni Awadh culture and its refinement, its sophistication, then it's completely his lose. This culture has nothing to do with Arab," he said.
The celebrated lyricist further pointed out, "Parsian and Central Asian cultures and languages have seeped in our culture and language like western culture but on our terms and conditions. BTW many Bangali surnames are in Persian."
