GROWING UNREST

 

AFTER the ouster of Ms. Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, the interim government installed by Bangladesh with Nobel laureate Mr. Mohammed Yunus was supposed to address the problem of concentration of power by the Prime Minister’s Awami League. A year later, Mr. Yunus himself has become part of the problem as Bangladesh is rocked by violent unrest. Two student leaders, responsible for the July Uprising, have been shot dead by unidentified killers within days and the streets in Bangladesh’s cities are burning in the aftermath of the killing. As minorities are being targetted and radical Islamists are venting ire against supporters and leaders of Awami League, Bangladesh is looking at the prospect of a State failed by its leaders.

 

The country is sitting on a time-bomb which, if explodes, can reverse all the progress it has seen since its liberation in 1971. Today, democracy has been muzzled by Islamist forces in the name of correcting a historic wrong. Mob rule and instant justice have turned Bangladesh into a State afflicted by anarchy. Mr. Yunus has totally failed to keep in check the radical elements ruling the streets these days and does not seem to have the capacity to deal with the aftermath of the current crisis. The death of prominent youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi and later Motaleb Shikder is a warning for the rulers in Bangladesh about their ineptitude in running the country.

 

A blame game is on in Bangladesh over the killing of the two prominent student leaders. Hadi’s supporters are blaming the Awami League for his killing. They attacked the party offices, torched homes of former ministers and also vandalised the residence of Bangladesh’s liberation hero Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. There is a growing clamour about India’s role in the killings which New Delhi has categorically rejected as nonsense. The Yunus government is still groping in dark over the killings as its internal security apparatus is failing with every new violent attack. The brutal murder of a Hindu man has been taken note of by the world and Mr. Yunus is finding it extremely difficult to respond to the worsening law and order situation. The current mess in Bangladesh is of Yunus’ own making. After the public anger over Ms. Hasina’s working style led to her fall as PM, the interim government had a golden opportunity to start afresh and restore the missing tenets of democracy in the country. The chance has been squandered by Mr. Yunus’ myopic policies.

 

The Nobel laureate fell prey to his radical thinking and allowed all Islamist forces to smartly take control of governance. The Jamaat-e-Islami outfit has come back with a vengeance after the Yunus government lifted its ban. The group with a dark past has raced away with its agenda of breaking from the past and aligning with its former tormentors. The Jamaat and Pakistan are the two entities which have gained immensely from the current situation in Bangladesh. Mr. Yunus has abjectly failed in keeping Islamist forces in check as Pakistan has been able to control the narrative of wiping out the post-1971 history of Bangladesh. In his lust to take control of the country, Mr. Yunus has further pushed Bangladesh into an abyss.

 

His urge to delete all Liberation War chapter from the country’s history has seen Mr. Yunus capturing all institutions. By allowing amendments to important clauses in the Constitution, Mr. Yunus has simply played into the hands of the authoritarian forces whose only dream is to turn Bangladesh into an out-and-out Islamist nation. As Mr. Yunus lacks the resolve to bring Bangladesh out from this crisis, the only viable option remains general elections with participation of all political parties, including the Awami League. The ballot will be the best tool for the silent majority in the country which still harbours the dreams of a developed nation and detests the idea of a radical society. The next few weeks will be very crucial for Bangladesh as it looks a way out of the current muddle of violent unrest.