Political battle lines drawn in Bangladesh
By Zoglul Husain, UK
London 19 January 2012
BNP draws the political battle lines
Political battle lines were firmly drawn between the incumbent BAL alliance led by Hasina and the contending BNP alliance led by Khaleda, as Khaleda delivered a rousing speech at the Polo ground in Chittagong on 9 January to a mammoth gathering of hundreds of thousands of people, reported to be the largest ever meeting in Chittagong. She held the meeting following a road march to Chittagong from Dhaka, starting on 8 January with 6 thousand vehicles and holding a number of meetings en route, including a large one at Feni. The entire programme was thronged with people all the way. In addition to the 4 party alliance of the BNP, 16 or so other parties joined the road march, albeit these are small.
Political battle lines were firmly drawn between the incumbent BAL alliance led by Hasina and the contending BNP alliance led by Khaleda, as Khaleda delivered a rousing speech at the Polo ground in Chittagong on 9 January to a mammoth gathering of hundreds of thousands of people, reported to be the largest ever meeting in Chittagong. She held the meeting following a road march to Chittagong from Dhaka, starting on 8 January with 6 thousand vehicles and holding a number of meetings en route, including a large one at Feni. The entire programme was thronged with people all the way. In addition to the 4 party alliance of the BNP, 16 or so other parties joined the road march, albeit these are small.
The BNP announced its next programmes consisting of meetings and rallies in all district head quarters on 29 January, some limited meetings and human chains in February, limited because of school exams, and following which, a mammoth rally in Dhaka on 12 March with a slogan, 'march, march, march to Dhaka' and aiming at the ouster of the govt through peaceful movements, as declared by them.
Before the 9 January meeting in Chittagong, the opposition alliance, led by the BNP, held road marches from Dhaka to Sylhet on 10-11 October 2011 and to Bogra-Naogaon on 18-19 October, a meeting at Mymensing on 27 October and a road march to Khulna on 26-27 November. They also held many meetings en route the destinations of these road marches.
Before the 9 January meeting in Chittagong, the opposition alliance, led by the BNP, held road marches from Dhaka to Sylhet on 10-11 October 2011 and to Bogra-Naogaon on 18-19 October, a meeting at Mymensing on 27 October and a road march to Khulna on 26-27 November. They also held many meetings en route the destinations of these road marches.
According to reports, all the meetings at the district head quarters in this series were the largest ever in the areas they were held and this to a large extent speaks volumes about the discontent of the general public and their alienation from the ruling regime. The govt's popularity seems to have reached rock bottom. But whether the BNP can ride high, connect with the public, overcome internal and external obstacles and implement their declared objectives are yet to be seen, and that is a theme of many a political conjecture at the present time.
BNP's stand on their side of the dividing line
As reported in the daily Amar Desh on 10 January, Khaleda said in the meeting of 9 January, Bangladesh did not fight an independence war to become a vassal state of India. The govt has been gradually handing over everything to India. With this aim in view, the govt has premeditatedly destroyed the BDR. They are now destroying the army. Army officers are being abducted, talented army officers are being sacked and the govt has again been manoeuvring to create Rakkhi Bahini (Guard forces) by crippling the police and the army.
She made hundreds of thousands of people present at the meeting pledge to resist the conspiracy on the streets and said, we have not broken the shackles of Pindi to be bound by the shackles of Delhi. Bangladesh is a county of immense potentialities. If we can combine the energies of the young as well as the experienced to use our resources then no one would be able to suppress us. If we come to power in the future, we would develop the country to a prosperous one by removing corruption and establishing good governance.
She made hundreds of thousands of people present at the meeting pledge to resist the conspiracy on the streets and said, we have not broken the shackles of Pindi to be bound by the shackles of Delhi. Bangladesh is a county of immense potentialities. If we can combine the energies of the young as well as the experienced to use our resources then no one would be able to suppress us. If we come to power in the future, we would develop the country to a prosperous one by removing corruption and establishing good governance.
She reminded the meeting of the killing of 40 thousand patriots by Mujib regime, the man-made famine caused by their misrule and the autocratic one-party BKSAL rule and then referred to the present govt's corruption, plunder, killings, repression, misrule and total failure in all respects, and finally expressed her determination to oust the govt through peaceful movements.
The above, indeed, is absolutely a patriotic speech. As Bangladesh has been facing a serious threat to its independence and sovereignty from the hegemonic India, the speech has rightly focussed on the issue to be the main hindrance to national development and it urged people to build effective resistance. There cannot be any doubt that the present govt is a fascist, tyrannical and brutal govt. Regarded by many, including the BNP, as a puppet of India, it wants to destroy the BNP-Jamaat alliance and the Army and to crush any resistance by the patriots, in order to reduce Bangladesh to a dependency of India. There are apprehensions that they will never hold a free, fair and credible general election and will take resort to rigging, similar to the pre-determined election of 2008 with international support.
Thus, Khaleda's call to oust the govt is a right call. There are innumerable patriots within the BNP and throughout the country outside of the BNP, especially at the grassroots level. We must campaign persistently to unite, organise and mobilise the patriots so that we can defend our independence and develop the country. In order to mobilise the public, we must look forward to the empowerment of the patriots, irrespective of the political spectrum and irrespective of whether they are rich or poor. The patriots must unite and form an invincible bulwark against any national subjugation by the hegemonic aggression of India. This being a great national task on our shoulders and in our hands at present, we must try our best to regenerate the politics of patriotism, as opposed to the politics of convenience, of opportunism, of failure, of misrule and of the degrading stigma of corruption, which Anna Hazare has stood up against in India.
The govt declared that the BNP-JI alliance would not be allowed to exist and that they were following one-party rule as during Mujib regime
There are reports in the newspaper that the govt is falling apart and the writing is on the wall for them. But as the BNP draws the battle lines, the incumbent BAL govt will certainly not sit around and twiddle their thumbs. As reported by UNB on 30 October 2010, Sajeda, a senior leader of BAL and the Deputy Leader of the House, Jatiyo Sangsad (National Parliament), with her characteristic sharp tongue already spat venom against BNP-JI by saying, "They (Jamaat-BNP) should not exist in Bangabondhu's Sonar Bangla; they shall not be allowed to exist." The govt's juggernaut of repression has been unleashed on the opposition ever since they came to power and Sajeda is thought to have pronounced their target as a voice of India. Similarly as reported in the Amar Desh on 6 September 2010, senior BAL leader Hanif declared that the govt was following the one-party system of BKSAL, as was during Mujib regime, but without naming the party as BKSAL. The statement did not go unchallenged and was roundly condemned by many, but the govt did not veer. And that is the stark reality. Thus, the govt's talk of democracy utterly and totally lacks any substance or credibility.
As a continuation of the conspiracy of 1/11 2007, engineered by India and the US (Bush) with support from their allies, including their rubber stamp, the UN, the present govt was put in power through a pre-determined and rigged election of 2008. As mildly put by the Economist, Hasina won the election with the help of bagsful of Indian money and their advice. Hasina has now been repaying the debt to India by selling the national interests and surrendering the sovereignty to India. There is no doubt, India wants the BAL govt to continue, but how long can a govt survive against the wishes of nearly the entire populace, especially in the general climates of springs here and thunders there?
Uncertainty looms large
As the BNP draws the battle lines, the political affairs have entered an uncertain territory. 2012 may prove to be a deciding year between the incumbent and the contender. Time seems to be of essence. Whether the BNP would be able to connect with the public quickly and be able to occupy the centre stage of politics or they would be defeated by the govt decisively and sent to oblivion, as wished by Sajeda and Hanif, is a question, which cannot be answered for certain at least for now. On the other hand, the govt may also be defeated like the fall of Ershad govt in December 1990.
There are also spectres of military coups like 3 November 1975 or army-people uprising of 7 November 1975 hovering in the political firmament and even of Indian military intervention in support of BAL govt. Right now, as I am writing this, came the breaking news titled, 'Army foils coup plot against Hasina', according to press briefing by the army. No doubt, some or many in the army would now be punished and the process of 'cleansing' or 'witch-hunting' would go on, whatever the consequences. Besides coups, there are also speculations of minus one or minus two or the formation of a power combine of army, politicians, civilians and civil society. Things are pretty uncertain at this stage. Some even have been forecasting nerve-chilling events, without specifying what those could be.
There are also spectres of military coups like 3 November 1975 or army-people uprising of 7 November 1975 hovering in the political firmament and even of Indian military intervention in support of BAL govt. Right now, as I am writing this, came the breaking news titled, 'Army foils coup plot against Hasina', according to press briefing by the army. No doubt, some or many in the army would now be punished and the process of 'cleansing' or 'witch-hunting' would go on, whatever the consequences. Besides coups, there are also speculations of minus one or minus two or the formation of a power combine of army, politicians, civilians and civil society. Things are pretty uncertain at this stage. Some even have been forecasting nerve-chilling events, without specifying what those could be.
Whatever the situation, one thing is certain, the public will not accept the state of affairs if Bangladesh is reduced to a vassal state of India or a province of India, similar to the Indian-occupied Kashmir, as in that case Bangladeshis would lose their govt and administration, their jobs and businesses, their homes and possessions, education and culture, etc. and they would be subservient to the ruling elites of India, who have reduced about 75% of Indians to the status of Dalits (formerly called 'untouchables') and semi-Dalits. Bangladeshis, in that case, would definitely develop other methods of resistance, as many Indians in the surrounding areas have already done.
The people of Bangladesh will definitely stand up against any threat to subjugation come what may and they will certainly win in the end.
Writer: Zoglul Husain
Email: zoglul@hotmail.co.uk
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