BanglaBhoot
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Dhaka's Shahbagh came alive once again on the evening of December 12 as hundreds gathered at the noisy square, the torches they gripped in the cold night reflecting their agony that turned into ecstasy as Jamaat-e-Islami's Abdul Quader Mollah hung from a rope made of hemp.
Thursday marked the culmination of a protest movement that represented one side of Bangladesh's tortuous history — genocide during the liberation war and the role played by the likes of Mollah who collaborated with the Pakistanis in killing hundred of thousands of his own countrymen.
Bangladesh was conceived of as a political community of human beings drawn together by shared experience and held together by their own language, customs and beliefs — which Pakistan had worked hard to destroy. But when Bangladesh was actually born on December 16, 1971, it was in the aftermath of a horrific man-made disaster, which ironically also exemplified one of the greatest triumphs of human will.
Following the assassination of Bangladesh's founder-President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in August 1975, Mollah, the 'butcher of Mirpur', and some of the other Jamaat, Al Badr and Al Shams collaborators were pardoned by Major General Ziaur Rahman who allowed them to return to Bangladesh from exile in 1978.
Mollah's hanging, which took place against a backdrop of international condemnation, coincides with the anniversary of brutal killings of intellectuals across Bangladesh in the dark days before liberation. In many ways, the infliction of death on a razakar, a collaborator, symbolises Bangladesh's continuing legacy of blood.
Forty-two years after the most appalling butchery, the justice being meted out to its collaborators isn't just being seen as a fulfilment of an old promise. It has also resurrected wounds which reflect irreconcilable social and political differences in a country that's seen plenty of violent convulsions but not enough reconciliation.
Despite the enormous jubilation that swept the country in the early 1970s, the long-cherished dream of Sonar Bangla — for a just, equitable and harmonious Bangladesh — was not to be. By the middle of the decade the mass appeal of Bengali nationalism had thinned. New power elites, including the Bangabandhu himself, General Zia and General Hussain Muhammad Ershad were seen to be losing grip and incapable of establishing an egalitarian society.
The four pillars of the 1972 Bangladeshi Constitution — Bengali nationalism, secularism, socialism and democracy — had begun to ring hollow; democratic principles were squandered within a few years after liberation. Now the bickering begums — Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia — have been found wanting too, betraying the collective aspirations of an agonised people and plunging Bangladesh into political uncertainty that has implications for its neighbours as well.
That the past continues to haunt present-day Bangladesh is best exemplified by the current political imbroglio there. With national elections barely a month away, the ruling Awami League alliance and BNP-led opposition are yet to see eye to eye on modalities of conducting free and fair polls.
This distrust is rooted in different visions for Bangladesh, as ref-lected in several amendments to its Constitution over the last four decades. The preamble was modified, secularism repealed and Islam made the state religion by successive regimes between 1975 and 1991.
The ongoing crisis stems from the 15th amendment to the Constitution that, among other things, abolishes the caretaker government system for conducting elections. While Awami League has come to the conclusion that the system leaves the door ajar for extra-cons-titutional power grab, BNP is of the opinion that no free election can be conducted without it.
This impasse has contributed to a situation where the opposition feels it has been pushed into a corner. On the one hand, almost the entire top leadership of Jamaat and a few BNP leaders are facing trial for war crimes, while on the other the opposition knows it simply can't afford to lose the next general elections. This in turn has made the opposition desperate as evidenced by regular hartals over the past year. The resultant turmoil has caused immense damage to Bangladeshi economy.
Given historical, political and cultural linkages, neighbouring India can hardly be a mute spectator to developments in Bangladesh. The latter's geographical linkages to India's northeast makes Dhaka an important player in our Look East policy architecture. Besides, turmoil in Bangladesh provides fertile ground for anti-India forces to fish in troubled waters. With US withdrawal looming over Afghanistan, Indian leadership can hardly afford a turbulent eastern front.
That said, India needs to have a consistent policy towards Bangladesh. Thanks to India's unfulfilled promises — including on Teesta and Land Boundary Agreement — and lack of strategic vision for Bangladesh, much of the goodwill of the past has been frittered away.
At this crucial juncture, New Delhi must reach out and support all democratic stakeholders in Dhaka to mitigate distrust and break the cycle of violence plaguing Bangladeshi polity. It must realise that a peaceful, democratic Bangladesh can galvanise the region by serving as an important conduit between South and East Asia. On the other hand, instabi-lity will increase regional security challenges and further propagate the legacy of blood in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh's legacy of blood endangers its future prospects - The Times of India
Thursday marked the culmination of a protest movement that represented one side of Bangladesh's tortuous history — genocide during the liberation war and the role played by the likes of Mollah who collaborated with the Pakistanis in killing hundred of thousands of his own countrymen.
Bangladesh was conceived of as a political community of human beings drawn together by shared experience and held together by their own language, customs and beliefs — which Pakistan had worked hard to destroy. But when Bangladesh was actually born on December 16, 1971, it was in the aftermath of a horrific man-made disaster, which ironically also exemplified one of the greatest triumphs of human will.
Following the assassination of Bangladesh's founder-President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in August 1975, Mollah, the 'butcher of Mirpur', and some of the other Jamaat, Al Badr and Al Shams collaborators were pardoned by Major General Ziaur Rahman who allowed them to return to Bangladesh from exile in 1978.
Mollah's hanging, which took place against a backdrop of international condemnation, coincides with the anniversary of brutal killings of intellectuals across Bangladesh in the dark days before liberation. In many ways, the infliction of death on a razakar, a collaborator, symbolises Bangladesh's continuing legacy of blood.
Forty-two years after the most appalling butchery, the justice being meted out to its collaborators isn't just being seen as a fulfilment of an old promise. It has also resurrected wounds which reflect irreconcilable social and political differences in a country that's seen plenty of violent convulsions but not enough reconciliation.
Despite the enormous jubilation that swept the country in the early 1970s, the long-cherished dream of Sonar Bangla — for a just, equitable and harmonious Bangladesh — was not to be. By the middle of the decade the mass appeal of Bengali nationalism had thinned. New power elites, including the Bangabandhu himself, General Zia and General Hussain Muhammad Ershad were seen to be losing grip and incapable of establishing an egalitarian society.
The four pillars of the 1972 Bangladeshi Constitution — Bengali nationalism, secularism, socialism and democracy — had begun to ring hollow; democratic principles were squandered within a few years after liberation. Now the bickering begums — Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia — have been found wanting too, betraying the collective aspirations of an agonised people and plunging Bangladesh into political uncertainty that has implications for its neighbours as well.
That the past continues to haunt present-day Bangladesh is best exemplified by the current political imbroglio there. With national elections barely a month away, the ruling Awami League alliance and BNP-led opposition are yet to see eye to eye on modalities of conducting free and fair polls.
This distrust is rooted in different visions for Bangladesh, as ref-lected in several amendments to its Constitution over the last four decades. The preamble was modified, secularism repealed and Islam made the state religion by successive regimes between 1975 and 1991.
The ongoing crisis stems from the 15th amendment to the Constitution that, among other things, abolishes the caretaker government system for conducting elections. While Awami League has come to the conclusion that the system leaves the door ajar for extra-cons-titutional power grab, BNP is of the opinion that no free election can be conducted without it.
This impasse has contributed to a situation where the opposition feels it has been pushed into a corner. On the one hand, almost the entire top leadership of Jamaat and a few BNP leaders are facing trial for war crimes, while on the other the opposition knows it simply can't afford to lose the next general elections. This in turn has made the opposition desperate as evidenced by regular hartals over the past year. The resultant turmoil has caused immense damage to Bangladeshi economy.
Given historical, political and cultural linkages, neighbouring India can hardly be a mute spectator to developments in Bangladesh. The latter's geographical linkages to India's northeast makes Dhaka an important player in our Look East policy architecture. Besides, turmoil in Bangladesh provides fertile ground for anti-India forces to fish in troubled waters. With US withdrawal looming over Afghanistan, Indian leadership can hardly afford a turbulent eastern front.
That said, India needs to have a consistent policy towards Bangladesh. Thanks to India's unfulfilled promises — including on Teesta and Land Boundary Agreement — and lack of strategic vision for Bangladesh, much of the goodwill of the past has been frittered away.
At this crucial juncture, New Delhi must reach out and support all democratic stakeholders in Dhaka to mitigate distrust and break the cycle of violence plaguing Bangladeshi polity. It must realise that a peaceful, democratic Bangladesh can galvanise the region by serving as an important conduit between South and East Asia. On the other hand, instabi-lity will increase regional security challenges and further propagate the legacy of blood in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh's legacy of blood endangers its future prospects - The Times of India
