Bangladesh Elections and extremists: The tragic history and dangers today

Asif Kabir:

Unlike the country it broke away from, Bangladesh’s political history has shown a tendency to move closer to democratic and political leadership through parliamentary elections. From the era when state apparatus was used to finance, protect, and promote religious extremism and militancy, the recent trend has seen a rise of violence against the people and political process by one political segment as a means of opposing the party in power.

For the supporters of the democratic political process in Bangladesh, the upcoming elections are a time to stand united and prevent a rogue political force from taking control.

The origins of militant Islamism

Unfortunately, there is little middle ground historically in Bangladeshi politics. The seeds of militancy, extremism and Islamisation were sown even before the brutal killing of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975. This heinous crime was planned and organised, it has since been proved, with support from General Ziaur Rahman, who later became president through what can at best be called a dubious election. The attacks on the freedom fighters and secular forces started during General Zia’s time and took a political face when he formed the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Many elements of the BNP had collaborated with Pakistan and committed crimes against humanity during the 1971 war. This became clear even to the international community and regional neighbours when his direct appointee Air Vice Marshall Muhammad Ghulam Tawab called for changing Bangladesh from a secular state to an Islamic one at a political rally.

Political pundits are on the horns of a dilemma. On the one hand, there’s a party that has a long history of religious extremism, plotting political assassinations and sheltering separatists from neighbouring nations. On the other side, the ruling party which has managed to contain extremism guided the economy and made strides in terms of poverty alleviation. However, it is also blamed for becoming “the sole distributor of democracy” and not letting the Opposition carry on their “rightful democratic (if sometimes violent) protest.”

Unfortunately, voters are left with little choice. The BNP has once again – for the second consecutive time – called for a boycott of the elections.

The Opposition’s modus operandi is reminiscent of the underground outfits of the Cold War era. Boycott elections and implement “hit and run” tactics against law enforcement agencies and civilians, damaging a remarkable number of public and private properties.

Extremists in power

It is important to recall that the BNP represents a large number of Islamic parties. It sponsored the rise of the notorious militant-Islamist outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) during its previous tenure in power between 2001-2006.

On the evening of February 27, 2004, Professor Humayun Azad, a prominent linguist, writer and faculty member of the University of Dhaka was attacked by a killing squad of the JMB with machetes. He eventually died in Germany while recovering from the injuries. In December 2004, JMB murdered Mohammad Yunus, a professor of economics at the University of Rajshahi. In 2006, Professor Syed Taher Ahmed from the same university was murdered. Family members and the academic fraternity of the slain professor of geology pointed to the involvement of Mahbubul Alam Salehi, leader of Islami Chhatra Shibir – the much-feared armed student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh. The latter was part of the government led by the BNP.

The seeds of militancy and terror attacks to establish Sharia Law in Bangladesh, sown during the BNP-led coalition government, continued to yield bitter fruit even after their downfall in 2007-2009. Sociology professor A K M Shafiul Islam was murdered on November 15, 2014, and a prominent Jubo Dal (Youth Wing of the BNP) leader was convicted for this crime. In 2015, publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan was slaughtered in his office by militant Islamists and Bangladesh-born US citizen Avijit Roy was hacked to death with a machete near the largest annual book fair in Bangladesh.

In 2016, terrorists allegedly connected to the gangs bankrolled by the BNP and its allies attacked a restaurant frequented by embassy workers and foreign nationals in the upscale part of Dhaka, killing innocent civilians from Bangladesh, India, Italy and Japan and police officers. Another academician A F M Rezaul Karim Siddique was murdered in the same year. The list of attacks on liberal and secular bloggers, writers and even foreign diplomats goes on.

The BNP-led government established the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in 2004 with support from Western powers and used the outfit to unleash a spell of extra-judicial murders, targeting left-leaning political parties and Awami League activists, journalists as well as the public and to protect various Islamist-militant factions. The security apparatus was used for providing shelter, supply and camouflaging separatist activities of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and others with the aim to destabilise the South Asian region.

Why Bangladesh matters

Bangladesh matters for the world, especially given the volatility in Asia. It is a global production hub and under Shiekh Hasina and the Awami League (AL), has been a bulwark against the resurgence of militancy in this geopolitically sensitive region. The AL has to deal with the spread of militancy in Bangladesh. Its prioritising economic liberalisation during the 15 years or so has yielded unprecedented results. This is recognised by the harshest critics of the government.

Washington, which now claims to be “scrupulous about not picking sides” had resisted the creation of Bangladesh, assisted Pakistan in committing one of the most heinous crimes against humanity and did not recognise the Genocide of 1971 until late 2022.

There is some merit to the claim that there has been a “weaponisation of the judicial system” in Bangladesh. However, many of the actions that give that argument teeth were to prevent indiscriminate attacks on civilians by extremist elements. In fact, the ground for the preemptive actions was prepared by the BNP and its allies. The indiscriminate arson attack on civilians in 2018 caused the death of over 500 Bangladeshis.

The riots on Capitol Hill and the storming of Congress on January 6, 2021, resulted in the biggest police investigation in US history and nearly a thousand individuals are accused of various criminal charges. The beginning of the 21st century will be remembered as a time when democracy, liberty, freedom, and constitutional political rights of individuals are used by militant factions and extremist political parties and their leaders to wreak havoc on democratic institutions across the world.

It is imperative that modern democratic societies recognise militants and extremists have adopted new counter-philosophical and moral narratives to attack the very foundation of democracy. For Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the citizens of Bangladesh, the threat of being imprisoned by militancy is an everyday reality.

Writer: Founder, Janmobhumi Think Tank, Bangladesh and Former Media Consultant for ‘Mujib Year – Bangabandhu Centenary’

Courtesy: Indian Express