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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 9, No. 5
Publication Date: May 25, 2022
DOI:10.14738/assrj.95.12307. Muenuddin, M., & Islam, A. (2022). The Untouchable Muslim: A Preliminary Discussion of the Bede Community in Bangladesh.
Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 9(5). 108-120.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
The Untouchable Muslim: A Preliminary Discussion of the Bede
Community in Bangladesh
Muhammad Muenuddin
PhD Scholar
Department of History & Civilization
International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Arshad Islam
Associate Professor
Department of History & Civilization
International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
ABSTRACT
This paper examines the present socio-economic and educational status of the Bede
(“untouchable”) minority community in Bangladesh. Despite belonging to the
Islamic faith, Bedes are not generally welcomed in mainstream Muslim society.
They are primarily nomadic, and live by selling folk remedies and snake charming,
deprived of health and educational resources, and living in great poverty. The level
of literacy and health facilities for Bedes are negligible. This analysis addresses the
dearth of academic studies of the Bede community, and the more serious lack of
governmental and non-governmental initiatives to listen to the voice of the Bede
community and meet their needs. This study recommends that the government and
human rights organizations must come forward to support this community.
Key words: Bede-Community, Development, Life Patterns, Education, Health
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, with about 168.95
million people, including nearly 0.5 million of nomadic Bedes, who live scattered in different
parts of the country (Beurden J. V., 2007). Bedes traditionally live, travel, and earns their living
in the riverine systems of Bengal, for which reason they were historically called “water” or
“river gypsies” (Maksud A. K., 2006) (Brandt, 2018). According to historians, Bedes originated
from present day Myanmar, particularly Arakan state, and they belong to the Mangta ethnic
group, who assisted the King of Arakan, Ballala Raja (Note 1. , 1160-1179), in 1638, and later
migrated to the Bikrampur area near Dhaka (Beurden J. V., 2007). Some scholars argue that the
word “Bede” is derived from the Arab “Bedu” (i.e., “Bedouin”), referring to nomadic peoples.
However, the word “Bede” is also similar to the Bengali “Baidda,” referring to a healer or village
doctor, and Bedes continue to be associated with folk medicine, along with various other
professions like snake-charming, magic-shows, snake-selling, and astrology. Physically, Bedes
are generally indistinguishable from native Bengalis (Yasmin, 2018).
Nearly half a million nomadic Bedes currently live in Bangladesh, and most of them are Muslims
(Maksud A. K., 2006). Despite recent government development project and giving voting power
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Muenuddin, M., & Islam, A. (2022). The Untouchable Muslim: A Preliminary Discussion of the Bede Community in Bangladesh. Advances in Social
Sciences Research Journal, 9(5). 108-120.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.95.12307
to Bedes, the community has weak socio-economic status, and a low level of literacy. Some
researchers have demonstrated that the Bedes are essentially a lower or even untouchable
caste in terms of their ostracism from mainstream Bangladeshi society. this article explores the
community in three parts. The first section discusses the overall condition and profile of Bedes;
the second deals with government roles and initiatives for them; and the final passage
recommends policies for development agencies and government organizations to improve the
situation of Bedes.
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
This study mainly sets two primary objectives. First, the article analyses the present socio- economic and educational condition of Bedes. Second, it seeks to illustrate the actual health and
other basic facilities of Bedes in Bangladesh. Finally, the article examines the government
contributions on Bedes in Bangladesh.
METHODOLOGY
This paper is mainly qualitative in nature, examining specific issues on the basis of literature
study. The study primarily uses secondary data. Halder demonstrated a model to study the
Bedes in his “socio-legal study,” covering a different timeframe from the current inquiry (Halder
S. , 2012). More importantly, the recent IT revolution of Bangladesh is causing many things to
change, except Bedes.
Bedes in Bangladesh at a glance
Nomadic peoples are associated with sheep pastoralism, which the word “nomad”
etymologically connotes in its Latin, Greek, and other equivalents (Oxford Dictionary VII: 182,
543). The first known usage of “nomad” in English, according to the OED (VII:182), is from 1587,
referring to “a race or tribe which moves from place to place to find pasture, one who lives a
roaming or wandering” (Salzman, 2002, p. 245). There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads
in the world. The Bedes are a nomadic community traditionally referred to as “water” or “river
gypsies” who are an archetypal feature of Bangladeshi society. Approximately 5 million Bedes
live in Bangladesh.
According to Noya Miah, a prominent Bede leader, the term “Bede” is of Arab origin, on the basis
of similarity with the Arab Bedouin, although Banglapedia considers them as descendants of
Mon Tong tribe of Myanmar (Dalton, 1978). Bedes are engaged in the snake charming, catching
snakes, curing snake bites, traditional and spiritual healing services, magic and monkey shows,
and the selling of bangles and trinkets (Arefeen, 1992). They can be divided into eight main
groups: Malbeda, Sapuria, Bajikar, Sandar, Tola, Mirshikari, Baryal, and Gain Bede, as discussed
below:
• The Malbeda tribe primarily deals with medicine and treatment. Its women provide
dental services and treat physical pains, while the menfolk search for lost gold
ornaments in rivers, canals and ponds.
• The Sapuria tribe is renowned for catching snakes, and playing snake games in villages,
ghats, and markets.
• The Bajikar group of Bede are popularly known as gamblers, and their womenfolk
pefrom magic, produce handicrafts, and practice Kabiraji treatment through trees.
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• Sandar women sell bangles, ribbons, and various toys by ferry. Many of their men are
locksmiths, and others collect snails by dipping them in river-canal beel water to find
pearls, which are sold by their womenfolk on ferries.
• The Tola perform monkey shows in markets and villages.
• The Mirshikari tribe provides health services to the villagers, sell reproductive health
tonics, and perform exorcisms.
• The Baryal tribe are fishermen and fishmongers in local markets.
• The Gain Bede tribe lives by frying pots and pans. They are also seen roaming the rivers
and canals in small boats like the Baryals (Anwar., 2018).
Family system
Bede, as a marginalized Muslim community in Bangladesh, mostly live a nomadic life, moving
from place to place to earn a living. The cycle of Bede tradition transfers from one generation
to the next (Yasmin, 2018). There are three types of Bede family system: large families,
consisting of 10-12 members; medium families, of 5-9 members; and small families, of four
members (Chowdhury, 2018) (Table 1).
Table 1: Family sizes
No. family
members
Percentage Size
1-4 38 Small
5-6 47 Extended
7+ 15 Extended
Source: Uncovering Inequitable Access to Vaccination Programs by Nomadic Bedey Children of
Bangladesh (Doctoral dissertation). American Journal of Rural Development. (Parvin, 2017)
The majority of Bedes live in Khupri boats (76%), followed by tents (14%) and Ekchala (10%).
Aside from rivers, they also camp on unused wasteland (Hossain, 2009).
LANGUAGE
Bedes mainly communicate via Bengali language for earning and other official purposes, but
they have their own language which is close to Tibetan-Burmese Sak-Luish language.
Surprisingly, this language does not have any script. According to government census, nearly
40,000 Bedes are fluent in Bengali. (Hossain, 2009). Kabir wrote about the language of Bedes:
“Bedes have their own language similar to the Arakanese language called ‘Thet’ or ‘Ther,‘
derived from Prakrit, a Middle Indo-Aryan language formed from Sanskrit, but distinct from it
as the common people’s spoken language. While they typically speak within the community in
their local language, they can also speak fluently in Bangla.” (Kabir, 2020)
There is no preservation of the language of the Vedic people or books written in this language.
Rahman Veda explored Bede language by going into drug control work. The name of their
mother tongue is “Thar,” which seemed to be going extinct, so Rahman wrote a book about his
eight-year study of it (Rahman H. , 2022) A Bede woman named Alima Khatun (aged 42 years)
said:
“We have forgotten our own language due to lack of practice. We use Bengali language as our
main language instead of using our own [“Thet” or “Ther”] language. We only use our own
language to communicate with people in our own community. But through the passage of time
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Muenuddin, M., & Islam, A. (2022). The Untouchable Muslim: A Preliminary Discussion of the Bede Community in Bangladesh. Advances in Social
Sciences Research Journal, 9(5). 108-120.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.95.12307
now we prefer to use Bengali language, and our children cannot speak our own language.”
(Daize, 2021)
While most are conventionally identified as Muslims, there are also Hindu Bedes, and some of
them perform many rites and rituals and worship Manasa (a snake goddess) (Kabir, 2020).
Dress code
Traditionally, Bede men typically wear a lungi, while women cut a ten-cubit long fabric into two
pieces and wear one piece at the bottom of the body, wrapping it in two folds around the waist,
and hanging the other piece like a scarf around the back. They wear fatua or angi (a loose,
collarless blouse). Their dress code is changing nowadays as the Bede blend into homogenized
globalist culture of Western dress (Kabir, 2020).
Social stigma
Throughout Bangladesh’s mainstream culture, the Bedes have always been seen as the lowest
class of people, and have effectively been viewed as “untouchables” akin to the Dalits. As a
result, they do not get chances to work, and are ostracized from most areas even of the informal
economic sector (Kabir, 2020)/ The researchers Ayesha Siddequa Daize and Laboni Akter Lima
wrote on their works that Bede would like respect from others.
“A woman named Akhikunnesa (56 years old), explained about racial stigmatization. She said:
‘We want to get respect as like a human being. People showed racial hatred and hate us just
because we are Bede [racial minority group in Bangladesh]. This racial discrimination makes
us excluded and alienated from the people of mainstream society. Before a few years ago this
hatred was in severe form, but now people look at us a little differently due to some changes in
our lifestyle.” (Daize, 2021)
Marriage system
The practice of early marriage is common among the Bedes. It is essential to note that in the
Bedes there is no system of post-divorce subsistence (i.e., men do not have to pay any money
for their wives after divorce). In addition, fathers have the right to take away their sons and
daughters, while sons are the sole inheritors of their parents. According to Sultana Parven:
“Upon finishing off Gawal, families engage, for their young sons and daughters around the age
of 15 and 12-13, respectively, to participate in marriages, where they select their spouses, if
they have any, without registration of marriage, and the custom of giving BDT 40,000 (US $471)
in marriage as mohrana (dower).” (Sultana Parven, 2018)
Table 2 shows that the average age of marriage for a Bede girl is 12-15 years, and that of boys
is 15-17 years. Bedes follow their own culture whereby the husband goes to the wife’s house to
live permanently. The wife has to take a vow that she will take care of her husband and the
children until the death (Yasmin, 2018).
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Table 2: Marriage age of Bede boys and girls
Age Percentage
12-15 56%
16-20 42%
21-25 1-9%
Above 25 0.1%
Source: Tamara. Yasmin. (2018). Vedic community: A neglected nomadic people in Bangladesh
Economic condition
Rivers are life for Bedes. For hundreds of years, they have wandered along intricate waterways,
charming snakes, training monkeys, selling trinkets, performing magic, and healing people. As
far as their financial situation is concerned, Bedes are recognized as a marginalized group in
Bangladesh. An estimated 98 percent of Bedes live below the extreme poverty line, and they are
not involved in mainstream economic activities; rather they are mostly engaged in some
informal, traditional and hereditary jobs or activities (Sultana Parven, 2018). Bede livelihoods
vary, including small business enterprises and informal activities as mentioned previously. Few
engage in mainstream jobs as rickshaw pullers, tea stall operators, and confectioners, and an
estimated 92 percent are engaged in traditional activities, including selling talismans for
preventing snake bites, snakebite treatment, snake charming and trading, and offering spiritual
healing services and traditional medicines. (Beurden J. V., 2007) (Table 3, Table 4). A Bedes’
monthly income is shown in Table 5.
Table 3: Occupations of Bedes in Bangladesh
Occupation name Ratio
Snake charming 17%
Jharfuk 12%
Ethno-medicine 18%
Shinga 33%
Bagln, trinket 5%
Homework 7%
Confectionary 1%
Tea Stall 5%
Rickshaw puller 2%
Govt. 0%
Source: Parvin, L. (2020). Uncovering Inequitable Access to Vaccination Programs by Nomadic
Bedey Children of Bangladesh (Doctoral dissertation). (Parvin, 2017)
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Muenuddin, M., & Islam, A. (2022). The Untouchable Muslim: A Preliminary Discussion of the Bede Community in Bangladesh. Advances in Social
Sciences Research Journal, 9(5). 108-120.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.95.12307
Table 4: Current occupations of the respondents (n=60)
Occupation Frequency Percentage
Snake charming 5 8.33
Shinga lagano 7 11.67
Selling herbal medicine 11 18.33
Sell amulets and trinkets 8 13.33
Small business 9 15
Service 5 8.33
Animal husbandry 4 6.67
No work 5 8.33
Others 6 10
Total 60 100
Source: Traditional profession and livelihood strategies of Bede community in Bangladesh: a
sociological study (Daize, 2021)
Table 5: Monthly family income of respondents (BDT)
Monthly family income Frequency Percentage
Up to 5000 5 8.3
5001-10000 30 50.0
10001-15000 17 28.3
15001-20000 1 1.7
20001-25000 4 6.7
25001-30000 1 1.7
30001-35000 1 1.7
35001+ 1 1.7
Total 60 100.0
Source: Traditional profession and livelihood strategies of Bede community in Bangladesh: a
sociological study. (Daize, 2021)
As Table 4 indicates, half of the respondent’s monthly income is BDT (5,001 to 10,000), while
28.3 percent have BDT 10,001 to 15,000, and 8.3 percent have a monthly family income of
below BDT 5,000).(Daize, 2021). Moreover, the findings of the Table 4 reflect that most of the
respondents are under low income-generating socio-economic circumstances. This is related
to numerous factors, including a level of literacy, lack of professional diversities and skills, the
lack of popularity of their traditional professions nowadays, and their social ostracism
preventing them from working in other fields.
Education
The majority of Bede children (95%) cannot attend schools, because they stay all the months of
a year with their parents outside the home, and travel from one place to another. According to
the UN Declaration, “everyone has the right to have free elementary education,” yet almost all
Bedes are illiterate. According to Drs. Chandan Kumar Sarkara, Mustafizur Rahmanb, and
Swapan Kumar Saha,“A large majority of the children 100% cannot attend schools because they
stay all the year with their parents outside home, and travel from one place to another” (Drs.
Chandan Kumar Sarkara, 2013). Moreover, the children of the nomadic Bedes are far away from
accessing social safety nets. Therefore, naturally these children are compelled to accept their
hereditary occupations.
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Gain shows in his report that the main reason behind the low education rate of Bedes is the
instability of their precarious lifestyles, moving from one place to another every 2-3 months.
Maksud wrote that “Schools won’t accept them, because teachers know they will be ready to
leave soon after they are admitted.” While some informal schools tried to educate Bede
children, the ratio of drop-out was too high. Table 6 shows the scenario of Bede education.
Table 6: Educational condition of Bedes in Bangladesh
Educational level Percentage
Illiterate 58
Primary 40
Secondary 2
College 0
University 0
Source: Parvin 2020
From above data, it can be summarized that the Bedes are completely illiterate. More efforts
and sustainable solution is needed to enable their educational and (subsequently) socio- economic development (Parvin, 2017). According to Halder:
“Although poverty plays a vital role for deprivation of the Bede children from education, their
nomadic lifestyle is the main cause for not getting enrolment in schools and if enrolled they
dropped out from the process because the children leave the place, where the school is situated,
with their families. Schools do not accept them at all. And because they are so poor, adults want
their children to work as snake charmers, snake catchers and traditional healers to generate
extra income.” (Halder S. , 2012).
Health condition
Due to illiteracy and frequent moving, Bedes are more or less deprived of medication and
conventional healthcare access, as with education. In other words, they follow traditional ways
of treatment instead of going to see physicians in hospitals. Poor health is considered
instrumental in their poverty, which in term entrenches their poor health, in a vicious cycle. In
the words of Drs. Chandan Kumar Sarkara, Mustafizur Rahmanb, and Swapan Kumar Sahac:
“Poor health retains the poor in poverty and poverty retains the poor in poor health. Bede
children who roam around the country with their parents on boats and huts in the town side
fail to avail the opportunity of getting vaccinated and health services. According to a recent
assessment, it was found that only 2 percent of Bede children were immunized against
diseases.” (Drs. Chandan Kumar Sarkara, 2013).
According to Hossain, Bede practitioners are very popular among the rural people of
Bangladesh due to their specialty in the treatment of some specific diseases like pain,
inflammation and arthritis, orchitis, snakebite, and nocturnal urination, etc. (Hossain, 2009).
According to a recent report, there is no on-boat hospital in Bangladesh. Parvin shows that
Bedes have almost no access to getting vaccinated and accessing health services. Only 2 percent
of Bede children were found to be immunized against diseases, and less than 2% percent Bede
women received TT during their last pregnancy (Drs. Chandan Kumar Sarkara, 2013).
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Muenuddin, M., & Islam, A. (2022). The Untouchable Muslim: A Preliminary Discussion of the Bede Community in Bangladesh. Advances in Social
Sciences Research Journal, 9(5). 108-120.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.95.12307
Table 7: Percentage of mothers receiving TT during their last pregnancy
Indicator Bede National Rural Urban
TT Received 2 69.9 67.7 74.1
TT Not Received 98 30.1 32.3 25.9
Source: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistic, Sample vital registration system (SVRS
Bedes’ lack of awareness and health education raises their danger of getting illnesses, especially
infectious diseases. An approximation shows that death rates from communicable diseases
among the age group 5-14 of the poorest 20 percent of the global population is 67 times higher
than that of the richest 20 percent of the global population (Gwatkin, 2001). The situation of
Bedes indicates that the health-seeking process and causes of death in this community must be
more acute than for any other socially excluded and deprived ethnic groups in Bangladesh.
Table 8 shows the percentage of treatment methods used by Bedes for their complex healthcare
needs.
Table 8: Percentage of treatment methods received by Bedes for complex healthcare needs
Problem Treatment method
Allopathic Homeopathy Kabiraji Jharfuk Bede
methods
Others
Pain and arthritis 44. 88 22.66 11.11 4.88 14.22 2.25
Orchitis (ekshira) 40.88 15.11 28.00 4.88 3.55 7.58
Snake bite 59.55 4.86 9.77 5.77 19.55 0.50
Nocturnal
urination
10.22 6.22 24.88 16.88 29.77 12.03
Marriage affair 00.0 00.0 9.78 10.22 65.33 14.67
Infertility 15.11 9.77 14.32 20.88 35.11 4.81
Psychic patients 10.66 7.55 20.00 13.77 30.66 17.36
Tooth worm 50.00 30.00 10.00 3.00 5.00 2.00
Source: Social life, economic status, and health care delivery practices of the people of Bede
community of Bangladesh: a case study. Stamford Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2(2), 48-
52. (Hossain, 2009).
FOOD AND NUTRITION
Given that Bedes belong to the lowest-earning group within the entire society, they are severely
affected by the prices of daily consumer products. Bedes commonly fall into severe food
shortage for period of months with their children and old people. Nutrition is the vital part of a
standard livelihood, but most Bede children are victims of malnutrition. Though there are
available steps taken by NGOs to remove malnutrition, they are not getting the resources to
eradicate malnutrition. Moreover, by nature, the Bedes’ economic situation has deteriorated
drastically due to climate change and other obstacles. The situation entails malnutrition from
the fetal stage onwards, with the stunting of the physical and intellectual growth of the future
generation of the Bede community in Bangladesh (Drs. Chandan Kumar Sarkara, 2013).
Water and sanitation
Bedes lack access to potable water and hygienic sanitation, and they commonly rely on the
canals where they live for all water needs:
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“Those who live on a boat have to defecate and urinate in the river or canals water. This practice
of 0.5 million Bedes pollutes enormously and unrestrictedly the environment of Bangladesh.”
(Yasmin, 2018) (Gwatkin, 2001)
An empirical study shows that 47.5% of people where Bede groups live drink water from the
nearest ponds or rivers, which is highly dangerous. However, 42.3% of people (who tend to be
more educated or health conscious) drink water from tube-wells. Bedes have always been boat
dwellers and have drunk river water, and they have always faced challenges in this regard.
Tables 9 and 10 show their access to safe toilets and drinking water. In Kamarpara, there are
648 Bede residents who share just three toilets (Rahman M. A., 2000).
Table 9: Access to safe toilets (percentages)
Year Bede National Rural Urban
1990 - 21.0 16.0 40.0
2003 40 53.2 48.2 70.7
Source: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistic, Sample vital registration system (SVRS) (Arif., 2017)
Table 10: Access to safe drinking water (percentages)
Year Bede National Rural Urban
1990 Unknown 89.0 88.0 96.0
2003 60 97.4 97.0 99.0
Source: Bangladesh Bureau Statistic, Sample vital registration system (SVRS). (Arif., 2017).
Governmental role for Bedes
The Bangladesh government has undertaken numerous policies and programs to improve Bede
lives. In the first phase, the government began with seven districts as a pilot program. In this
part of the study describes government initiatives on Bedes, particularly in terms of education,
housing, and mainstream inclusion or citizenship.
Education
Bedes are excluded from the government’s intervention to ensure universal primary education
for all children, and state and NGO interventions have been unsuccessful in effectively enrolling
Bede children in elementary education. Because of illiteracy of Bedes cannot enjoy the freedom
to choose any other profession except their hereditary and traditional ones (Drs. Chandan
Kumar Sarkara, 2013). The Constitution of Bangladesh and the UN Charter emphasize that the
Bangladeshi government provides free elementary education for all citizens, and it spent more
than BDT 150 million for Bedes in 2015-2016. In previous fiscal years, the government also
disbursed a significant amount of budget for this community. Here, we demonstrate
government expenses on Bedes’s education. From Tables 11 and 12 it is quite noticeable that
the Bangladeshi has spent and allocated significant sums of money to the development of Bedes,
but with apparently negligible results.
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Muenuddin, M., & Islam, A. (2022). The Untouchable Muslim: A Preliminary Discussion of the Bede Community in Bangladesh. Advances in Social
Sciences Research Journal, 9(5). 108-120.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.95.12307
Table 11: Government spending on Bede education (BDT)
Financial
year
Number of beneficiaries
Educational
stipend
Allowance Training Post-training
support
2012-13 875 2,100 Not start NA
2013-2014 2,877 10,500 1,050 NA
2014-2015 2,877 10,539 1,050 210
2015-2016 8,526 19,139 1,250 1,250
2016-2017 8,585 19,300 1,250 1,250
2017-2018 10,732 23,200 2,000 2,000
2018-2019 19,000 40,000 2,500 2,500
Source: The Department of Social Services of Bangladesh. (Note 2. )
Table 12: Number of Bede beneficiaries of social welfare for financial year 2019-2020
Beneficiary category Number
Elderly/ special beneficiary 5,000
Recipients of education stipend at 4 levels 4,000
Receiving socio-economic training 500
Recipient of post-training assistance 500
Total 10,000
Source: Ministry of Social Welfare of Bangladesh. (Bangladesh., 2021)
Housing facilities
As the Bede are traditionally nomadic, they do not have permanent houses and land. In order
to improve the lives of Bedes and third-gender people, the Ministry of Disaster Management
and Relief built around 18,000 houses, at a cost of BDT 250,000 per house, which were given to
Hijras and Bedes on the International Day for Disaster Reduction in 2020 (Tribune, 2020). It is
still too early to evaluate the long-term difference this may make to these communities.
Citizenship and elections
The Bedes do not have formal citizenship, despite effectively living in Bangladesh (albeit usually
on river boats). Recently the government announced that Bedes would be able to vote in all
elections. Saud Khan, a Bede leader remarked that:
“For all these years, we were living as refugees in our own country, a Lauhajang resident. For
the first time, we feel like we have become citizens of Bangladesh.” (dailystar, 2010)
The government of Sheikh Hasina Wazed and her Awami League party is expected to put Bede
rights high on its political agenda, and the right to vote has generated much enthusiasm. About
1,300 Bedes (every eligible adult in Lauhajang) voted in December, and community leaders say
they plan to run their own representatives for parliament in future elections.
Access to modern technology
Bangladesh government programs to digitalize the country and facilitate easy access to internet
and technologies have touched the Bedes. Their lives have improved along with the
improvement of the social system. Razzak finds that:
“The use of mobile phones, the use of sound boxes, televisions and solar lights with batteries in
cottages has enlightened the Bede society. But once the light of the cup was their only hope.
Now mobile phone use has increased in most Bede’s families.”
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It is surprising to point out that Bede communities are increasingly using social media,
including Facebook and YouTube, via smart phones. According to a recent study, almost all
Bede children are using smart phones with internet access, and even in some cases read
educational books, including in Bengali and English. Many fleet members were also seen
reading magazines. According to Bimal Roy, Manikganj Regional Coordinator of Barsik, a non- governmental development and research organization on ecology and nature, “The change in
the way of life of the Bedes is a reflection of the overall development of the country.” The overall
development of the country is not possible by excluding one population as a part of the society.
They should be given the opportunity to live like ordinary people in the society. The Vedic
community can be freed from this life if they can be given the opportunity to change their
profession to improve their financial conditions (Razzak, 2018).
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Bedes need to rich their culture and historical background and their current social and
political condition in the country of Bangladesh, barely closer to achieving their
fundamental, human rights of equality and liberty on an equal footing as other
Bangladeshi citizens as they were at the beginning.
2. Bedes use the same river water for drinking, cooking, and other domestic purposes
where they evacuate. The environmental conditions relating to sanitation and hygienic
practices among the community are highly injurious to their own health, and disastrous
to the adjacent environment. Safe water, sanitation, and environmental health should be
executed in this community.
3. Government and different NGOs and their development partner organizations should
acknowledge the special needs for education among Bede children who are roaming
among different Bede groups, and the government must be more innovative in involving
them in primary education (e.g., teaching elementary children about the history of the
Bedes may make the education system more relatable and approachable for the children
themselves).
4. The Primary Education Department should plan for a flexible primary education system
for this community, because they are always jumping from one place to another; by
providing flexible and consistent facilities in diverse areas, it may be possible for
children to have continuation of elementary education in different regions.
5. Bedes should be considered as a minority groups like ethnic minorities in the Census by
the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), Ministry of Planning, and government
agencies in general, so that public policy can establish a rationale for meeting their
special needs.
6. The government should provide land for settlement, including housing and small
business facilities.
7. Government agencies and NGOs should ensure Constitutional recognition and equality
of Bede citizens.
8. A quota reservation system can be enforced at national level in terms of health care,
education, jobs, and other required opportunities (as for Hindus and other minorities in
various contexts).
9. The Bedes need the provision of some free medical facilities, such as for vaccination,
family health planning, and other preliminary treatments for the community.
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Muenuddin, M., & Islam, A. (2022). The Untouchable Muslim: A Preliminary Discussion of the Bede Community in Bangladesh. Advances in Social
Sciences Research Journal, 9(5). 108-120.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.95.12307
CONCLUSION
From the socio-economic point of view, the Bedes are still living under the poverty line, despite
several government initiatives. They are deprived of the proper education, health, and water
and sanitation conditions. The Bedes fall short in terms of all socio-economic indicators of
progress in Bangladesh, and government agencies and NGOs need to coordinate a more
cohesive and effective approach to help this community. Moreover, to uphold their ethnic
culture, UN World Heritage should take an interest in documenting and preserving Bede
culture, as cultural preservation is necessary for exogenous and endogenous socio-cultural
growth and development. Most importantly, the Bedes should be protected and empowered
with opportunities for economic advancement in order to preserve their ancient culture and
identity, and attain a higher standard of living.
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