Reconsidering rural communities in Bangladesh through Muslim groups experiencing discrimination: A case of villages in the south area of Tangail district

Abstract

Village societies in Bangladesh are composed of a number of social groups, based on differences in religion and caste. However, previous studies have focused only on Muslims as the main subjects of study, ignoring the religious minorities and those Muslim groups experiencing discrimination. Although previous development studies have criticized the views that a community is monolithic and that decision-making within the community is unquestionably democratic, a rural development project currently underway in Bangladesh assumes homogeneity of the community. This study reconsiders communities in rural Bangladesh and examines the actual situation in residential communities inhabited by Muslim groups experiencing discrimination. Specifically, the focus is on the samaj, the lowest informal unit for decision-making. Although a samaj was to be formed based on residency in a certain village or settlement, the conditions for membership in the samaj and its subsequent recognition were predicated on unequal power relations of a caste-like system among Muslims in the study area. A group that experienced discrimination had a uniformly lower economic situation and educational status. Moreover, it was subordinate politically and excluded from the samaj, comprising Muslims living in the same village or engaging in its cooperative activities. The samaj of the discriminated group depended on neighbors to settle disputes and for the construction and maintenance of religious institutions. Unequal power relations based on the caste-like system characterize communities in rural Bangladesh, and decision-making in these communities is not necessarily democratic.