From hope to despair: Testing time for democracy in Bangladesh

With a 45-minute ultimatum from the Bangladeshi Army, Sheikh Hasina left Bangladesh on Monday (August 5), and till the time of writing this article, she is reportedly stationed in India, somewhere near the Hindon Airbase. She resigned from the post of Prime Minister and left her country on a Bangladeshi aircraft. Following her departure, Bangladesh Army Chief, Waker-uz-Zaman, gave a statement to the press:

“We will step up an interim government in Bangladesh. We will discuss it with the President of Bangladesh. There will be fair trial of all injustice and oppression. Please have faith in the army. The Army won’t disappoint the people of Bangladesh. Cooperate with us. Please stop all violence and cooperate with the Army for a better future. Insha’Allah, let us all work together for a better future. All the leaders of major political parties had a discussion with us.”

Clearly, the collapse of her government is shocking and unfortunate. The fear of radical elements right now fanning out in Bangladesh is so very grievous that, speaking to BBC, Newshour, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy said that Hasina will not make a political comeback. He further stated, “She has turned Bangladesh around. When she took over power, it was considered a failing state. It was a poor country. Until today, it was considered one of the rising tigers of Asia. She’s very disappointed.”

The ongoing political fiasco, which has been given the nomenclature of a ‘students’ movement’ started in July 2024, when the students started demanding the abolition of quotas in government jobs. Resultantly, on July 21, 2024, a Supreme Court ruling (which was initially scheduled for August 7) curtailed the quota from 30 per cent to five per cent, for families of freedom fighters, with 93 per cent of positions now to be filled on merit.

The remaining two per cent was to be allocated to ethnic minorities, transgender individuals, and people with disabilities. The court had also urged student protesters to return to their classes. However, the protesters still continued with the demand for Hasina’s resignation, clearly indicating the ultimate goal of the entire violence, in which more than 300 people have been killed.

Sadly, the dominance of the Razakar narrative during the entire violent agitation, was indeed an ominous precursor, which led to the culmination of August 5 incidents in Bangladesh, when not only the then-incumbent Prime Minister resigned and left the country, but also statues of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Father of the Nation—Bangabandhu, were broken and destroyed in many parts of Bangladesh, especially in the capital city of Dhaka.

The question asked by Hasina to the people of her country on July 14 [“Why there is so much of resentment against Mukti Juddho and Mukti Jodhha? Are the children and grandchildren of freedom fighters not talented? Are only the children and grandchildren of Razakars talented? What is the fault of Mukti Jodhha? They selflessly fought for the freedom of this country… Otherwise those who are protesting today would be subjected to kicks of Pakistanis.”], has been answered with violence, vandalism, assault and looting of the Prime Minister’s residence, Parliament, and the burning of the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre. Most unfortunately, the official residence of Mujibur Rahman at 32 Dhanmondi in Dhaka, where he and his family members were brutally murdered, was set on fire by the so-called protestors.

These destructions are systematic demolitions of Bangladesh’s cultural identity, for which the common people sought independence from Pakistan.

Meanwhile, the social media pictures of shadheen (free), with a red backdrop, and the AI-generated picture of people hoisting Bangladesh’s flag signify a complete denial of the Liberation War and the horror, humiliation, and torture common people in East Pakistan had to endure since 1947, until they got independence in 1971.

The major driving force behind the entire turmoil and keeping the false façade of students’ unrest is the radical outfit of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh and its students’ wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS). Therefore, on August 1, 2024, the erstwhile Bangladesh government banned the Jamaat-ICS. The ban of JeI-ICS, according to the Second Schedule of the Act, came through an executive order under Section 18(1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2009. Jamaat was previously banned three times: in 1959, 1964, and 1972. The notification reads:

“For the purposes of this Act, the government, on reasonable grounds that a person or an entity is involved in terrorist activities, may, by order, enlist the person in the schedule or proscribe the entity and enlist it in the schedule…The government possesses enough evidence that Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and its front organisation Islami Chhatra Shibir, were involved in recent killings, destructive and terrorist activities directly and through incitement.”

The Jamaat has a long history of collaborating with the Pakistani army (Khan Shena) and orchestrating the killing of Bengali intellectuals and freedom fighters during the Liberation War. Consequently, it has always been anti-Awami League. And most importantly, Hasina, in 2008, included the issue of the war crimes tribunal in her manifesto; therefore, so far, 50 members of Jamaat have been indicted.

Most importantly, under the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), prominent leaders of Jamaat were convicted for war crimes and hanged, including JeI politician Abdul Quader Mollah, Matiur Rahman Nizami, and ‘secretary general’ Ali Ahsan Mujaheed. Among other prominent leaders, Ghulam Azam was sentenced to 90 years in prison, while Delawar Hossain Sayedee’s death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. Both died while serving jail terms.

The August 1 ban on Jamaat was a direct attack on the hornet’s nest, which Hasina’s government could not anticipate or calculate. And subsequently, on August 4, countrywide protests intensified, and in that single day, around 94 people were killed, including 14 police officers. The protests witnessed the participation of unidentified people and activists of right-wing Islami Shashontantra Andolon, who erected barricades on multiple major highways and within the capital city. The violent protestors on the street were calling for Hasina to step down. Later, on August 5, thousands of protesters reportedly flooded into the Prime Minister’s official residence in Dhaka as part of their “Long March to Dhaka”.

The visible arson, looting, and bloodbath in the streets of Bangladesh have not happened organically. Over a period of time, Jamaat has re-invented itself and percolated deep into the society and culture of Bangladesh. As reported in June 2023, the number of the Jamaat’s permanent members, or Rukon, in 2008 was 23,863. That figure now stands at 73,046, a threefold rise. The Islamist party has also seen a threefold rise in the number of its activists, which has leapt to 639,000, from 221,000, over the same period. Additionally, there has been a nearly fivefold rise in the party’s women Rukon, and a fourfold rise in women activists.

Similarly, the number of associate members has now grown to 22.9 million, up from 10.3 million in 2008. Jamaat has also sought to extend Dawah, i.e., inviting people to take the religious path. It holds regular meetings, dispersing its ideology and conducting its organisational activities through various types of religious gatherings, such as Waz Mahfils (assemblies for preaching), across the country. Officially, it works to implement the Islamic code of life, prescribed by Allah and shown by Prophet Muhammad, with a view to turning Bangladesh into an Islamic welfare state.

The deep rot Bangladesh is suffering at the moment is very much visible to the entire world in the form of the looting of personal belongings of the erstwhile Prime Minister and the shameless display of such items in social media posts. The jubilant people are thrilled to openly steal furniture, ceiling fans, utensils, lamps, washroom accessories, and so on and so forth from government offices and buildings.

Also, the Hindu minority is once again in line of fire. There are multiple reports of arson, killing, robbing, and assault of Hindus, their properties, and temples all over Bangladesh. Reportedly, an ISKCON temple in Khulna District of Meherpur was vandalised and set on fire; in Noakhali district, Hindu houses were attacked by violent mobs; in Rangpur district, Haradhan Roy of the Parshuram Thana Awami League and Councillor Kajal Roy were killed.

The re-emergence of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) with the blessings of Jamaat is also an important point in the current context. Hours after Hasina resigned and fled, President Mohammed Shahabuddin ordered the release of jailed opposition leader Khaleda Zia. The decision was made at a meeting of the Army Chief, BNP, and Jamaat leaders. The cadres of BNP did play an important role in violence, as in July, 2024, exiled Acting Chairman of BNP and Khaleda Zia’s eldest son, Tarique Rahman on X, in solidarity with the protestors, called upon all leaders, activists, and common people of the pro-democracy political parties, including the BNP, to stand by students, provide them with all support, and carry this movement forward.

As expected, the Army will follow its standard course of action by setting up the interim government and then declaring the country unfit for a democratic election and carrying on with either the direct imposition of martial law or by creating a cabinet, compliant to the dictates of the Army. This is not the first time that the army has ‘intervened’ into the political forefront of Bangladesh. In 1975, just four years after the Liberation of Bangladesh, a significant coup took place, resulting in the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, along with most of his family members. This coup was orchestrated by junior army officers, leading to Major General Ziaur Rahman taking power and declaring himself president. After the assassination of Ziaur Rehman in 1981, Lieutenant General Hussain Muhammad Ershad led another coup in 1821, seizing power in a bloodless takeover. Ershad declared martial law, suspended the constitution, and consolidated his control over both military and civilian structures. His regime ended in 1990 following a popular uprising demanding the restoration of democracy.

Eventually, the pretext of removing a ‘corrupt’ Hasina government through students’ protests will run its course, and the ultimate players will be the Army and Jamaat-BNP. Either they will work in tandem or there will be a tussle to achieve the position of power. Right now, the entire world is witnessing the fact that workable democracy is a far-fetched dream for Bangladesh in the coming days.

The writer is Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management, New Delhi. The views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.