Sun 13 Jul 2008
When the collaborators and killers of 1971, also known as today’s Jamaat-e-Islami, sponsor a national freedom fighters’ organization, you have to wonder how things went so wrong for us.
When the torturers, rapists and murderers of 1971 and their modern-day descendants have the nerve-shattering gall - in the summer of 2008, 37 years after we supposedly became independent - to kick and beat up a freedom fighter, in broad daylight in the heart of our sovereign capital, then you have to wonder if we were ever worthy of this independence and if we will be able to hang on to it in the long run.
When a former Chief Justice of Bangladesh goes to a Jamaat-sponsored “freedom fighters’ event”, gives it his blessing and describes his boundless pride and joy, you have to conclude that at no point since 1971 have the murderers and traitors been so strong, so all-pervasive in the bones and sinews of the System as they are today.
Yesterday was a day that will live in infamy. 24 hours later, the shockwaves are still reverberating through the media and the blogosphere. Whether the central nervous system of the chatterati, the sushils, the bien pensants and the sellouts are still capable of responding to any stimuli is open to question. To any other sentient being, this will cause nothing but anger and shame and impotent rage. Watch what happened to the elderly Mohammad Ali, who fought arm in arm with Col. Taher to liberate this country that we so mistakenly presume to call our own:
After he was released from his forcible detention by Jamaat-Shibir activists, he went to the Daily Shamokal offices and said he will keep speaking out against the vermin, even if he should lose his life in the process. His interview is here.
Faruk Wasif in Sachalayatan exposes the class dimensions of this particular losing battle, and shows how it is the desperate subaltern who remains fearless when all else seems lost, when all the rest are so shamefully compromised.
Update: For those who appear to have forgotten what this was all about in the first place, a couple of hours spent in these archives will give you a harrowing refresher.
July 14th, 2008 at 2:42 am
This is DGFI propaganda. So the army-Awami-League can win the election.
This is to get you intellectual types out and support Awami League because they are oh-so-secular. Because you intellectuals need this type of news to vote Army Awami League.
July 14th, 2008 at 9:51 am
interesting language for a human rights portal ‘vermin’.
It is not inconceivable that a freedom fighter in 1971 is today a jamaat supporter/leader. I have witnessed it.
July 14th, 2008 at 10:09 am
Fakrul,
You statement sounds so like the Daily Sangram http://www.dailysangram.com/newsdtls.asp?NID=19700&NDate=7/13/2008
which brags much without any evidence.
This is way beyond your anti-Awami league or anti-Army perspective.
You failed to realize that this freedom fighters’ organization is the proof of how Jamaat-e-Islami is trying to cleanse its anti-liberation image.
July 14th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Fakrul, are you also suggesting DGFI is the one behind this new strategy Jamaat adopted to rebrand their party as one full of “freedom fighters”?
And would you agree..
“Jamaat-sponsored freedom fighters’ event” — is the oxymoron of the century?
July 14th, 2008 at 11:32 am
# 2
“It is not inconceivable that a freedom fighter in 1971 is today a jamaat supporter/leader. I have witnessed it.”
No it’s not inconceivable. Some freedom fighters have adopted the beard and the wahabi/hanafi way of life and Islam. I’ve seen that too. To claim otherwise would be plain lying or just blanket denial.
But that was hardly the issue now, was it? A freedom fighter doesn’t become a anti-liberation war by just following the Jamaati relio- political ideology of Shariah/wahabism/ whatever. But when they try to change the nation’s history and deny their historical role in 1971, that becomes a national concern. Whwn they assault a son of the soil simply because he had voiced his opinion on war criminals, that becomes a concern. If this Jamaati chetona really was worth its claim, why did they assault a “fellow” freedom fighter?
But in all honesty, do you seriously think that Jamaat is full of freedom fighters (echoing Kobial)? I mean, honestly, how many freedom fighters can really work in solidarity with those who had tried their best to repress them in 1971? How many freedom fighters can become doshors of former Al-Badrs?
Think about it.
July 14th, 2008 at 11:50 am
On a separate note, this same chief justice was the notorious one who used the judiciary to his liking to fulfil his political partisanship. Wow, another gift from Moudud. But the sadder thing is because of last two years, we can’t really say the non political government is any different either.
http://www.dawn.com/2006/12/01/int8.htm
July 14th, 2008 at 11:51 am
I think we can safely say that the promises of 1971 have been betrayed time and again by all the political parties of Bangladesh. This is why Islamic fundamentalism is rearing it’s head again.
Why concentrate on the Jamaat only? They are only a minority party.
AL/BNP (Zia/Mujib gushti) have much more to answer for the last democratic period.
July 14th, 2008 at 11:58 am
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July 14th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
When ‘Muktijodhdho” has been turned into a tool for political gains, whats wrong in Jamaat using it?
Jamaat’s tools were religion, honest men. When AL, BNP and all started politicking with religion and Moeen/Shujon/Prothom-alo/CPD started doing politics with honest men; Jamaat lost its exclusive rights on it tools. Hence they ventured into new territories for newer tools.
And a humble reminder to all of us; while we talk about this important issue; another important issue remains ignored. Our country is now under the grip of one man with his hand picked 15 cohorts. These men, unelected, unaccountible, of uncertain allegiance; are trying to rewrite how the people in BD will live or how BD will do business next 50 years. Just yesterday, after meeting 15 minutes over a cup of tea, these 15 men, under the instruction of an army General, declared deep democratic procedural changes.
We definitely need to discuss all the important topics, protest all the absurd arrogances as mentioned in this Mustofi post. But when your home is on fire, first thing you do is run to stop the fire.
July 14th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Rumi Bhai…great points. We need to save our nation from this group (MUA/FUA/IUA and gang). But, who will lead this nation? Seems no one with right attitude, right agenda. There just bunch of “bloody, corrupt civilian” trying to tell all powerful army what to do!!!
July 14th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
I have nothing against discussing the CTG and all its shenanigans. Indeed they are being covered exhaustively in this blog. That doesn’t mean that there is no room for discussing and condemning the kind of national disgrace we saw perpetrated in Dhaka.
July 14th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
5
Firstly, the chains of narration surrounding the gentleman’s interaction with the event are unreliable. I wonder what really is going on. Specify the ‘twisting’ from the mouths of the ex fighters please (that is assuming that they were on the lectern). Jamat has fine structure to it, not much , but some.
There are freedom fighters who dont go on about that identity as such or in the same way as those who use it as political capital. Its treading on poisoned eggshells to suggest that neither party was a determining factor in the national creation event. Nobody likes their agency doubted.
The quantity of freedom fighting youth who switched to nonsecular alternatives isnt really my interest. The quantity of freedom fighters who were actually fighting for secularism in the first place would be interesting. Aftab Ahmads thesis of the mujib era has only 10% of awami league party members in the rurality flagging secularism as a value.
Yet the lack of a genuine public sphere, decent religious political parties and the twistedness of some others has resulted in the production of a pseudo-Ergenekon identity for these Gazis.
Nobody joins jamat because they are attracted by its 71 baggage. Its a sacrifice of one type of credibility for the sake of a more giant cause(for them).
Given the new election rules, JIB foregrounding their freedom fighting capital could be interpreted as a sign that they will play ball.
Jatiya party and bnp can pretend all they like to proclaim ‘islamic’ ‘ideology’, but nobody really believes them. JIB shouldnt have the monopoly on Islamic vision. They like to maintain it, but its only ‘theirs’ because of the abdication of others.
I was talking to a rokon who was responsible for tending a local mass grave, about the dillemas of deeni organisational work and razakarology in desh. He understood, said he had been in that position before but that at the end of the day one cannot operate alone. Eventually you need to contribute to a pool and a collective social vision. He was about 4 when bangladesh was born, yet the infantalising guilt tripping which stains the BD public sphere, enemises him to many.
JIB backgrounding their personel who annoy so many so deeply is a good idea, not just for them but to the whole country. It will mean fewer ‘liberated’ ‘democratic’ people dancing on the dead bodies of good young men.
July 14th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
I am not shocked, I am now used to it. The day is not too far when ‘ Jatiyo Muktijoddha Porishad’ will demand trial of criminals who are responsible for the break up of Pakistan.
However, I am shocked at Rumi bhai’s comment “When ‘Muktijodhdho” has been turned into a tool for political gains, whats wrong in Jamaat using it?” Its ok to follow the bad example and rewrite history and change the meaning of ‘muktijoddha’ ? what are they telling us about 1971 war? Are they telling us how the list of intellectuals was prepared in 1971? Mohammad Ali , ex chief justice and Nizami- Mujahid , they fall into the same category “ Muktijoddha” , nothing wrong with that? What’s wrong if AWL uses army for political gain? A general first ascends to power and then forms a new party, its not a new concept in BD. What’s wrong If another General follows this example today?
When Zia repealed the collaboration act and allowed Islamist politics, was he elected or accountable? People say that nobody learned from history. Infact Jamat learned a good lesson. They learned that whatever role they played during 1971, they can get away with that.
1/11 is the less brutal, more organized version of the bloody revolution of 1975. Zia rewarded those heroes. BD army learned that they can kill anyone or torture anyone, and still get away with that.
People like Mohammad Ali and Nur Hossain will fight again and again while our ‘elites’ would say that foreign diplomats have moral right to dictate us as our leaders have failed. Only these elites understand what is good for us, they can break the rules to establish rule of law, Amader boka ar oshikkhito jonogon to shudhu bhangchur ar jalao porao korte pare.ora ki bojhe desher bhalo hobe kamne?
People who are calling for Change and reform, Is everyone ready to change? We, the privileged class, always bend rules whenever it serves our interest. An engineer, working in a multinational company , proudly told me how he avoided paying taxes by bribing the tax officer. 2 or 3 years ago, Anisul Huq mentioned in one of his articles, 70%-80% students in BUET , when questioned in a survey, admitted that they won’t hesitate to take bribes in their professional life. Rule is that a Govt College teacher will be transferred at different colleges across the country every 2/3 years. I know few people who never had to leave Dhaka by using their influential family connections. Ironically these are the people who are fully enjoying the tamasha of Minus 2 and ‘well deserved’ torture on Tarek Zia.
July 14th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Mustofi bhai,
(With all due respect to your sentiments, which I respect: )
I agree what happened was indeed shameful. And the only reason these things continue to happen was because of our failure to deal with and resolve the issues of war crimes.
But in a much broader context, are we thinking that Jamaat has absolutely no right to at least attempt to create a muktijuddho’r chetona in their memorandum in the present day? Are muktijoddhas the exclusive properties of AL/BNP and Jamaat can never claim one of them as their own?
IMHO, there are two completely seperate issues here
1) Jamaat’s historical role in 1971. No one can deny that. No matter what lows of revisionism they stoop to, they can’t change history. Not even now, not if we can help it.
2) Jamaat’s own political ideology. Now, JIB too is a political party and its people will come from all walks of life. Just because they have ‘anti-liberation’ history doesn’t mean that along the way they were unable to recruit/convert freedom fighters. Now, does that discount the freedom fighters’ patriotism because they presently choose to believe that a shariah-based, wahabi way of life is the best political course for Bangladesh? Does it in any way discount their contribution to the country’s independence just because they now choose to align themselves with a religious party (with whom btw, both self-proclaimed pro-liberation parties have been in cahoots in the past).
Hating JIB for their historical role is one thing. Doubting their present political stunts and letting that cloud our understanding of JI politics and their larger agenda is another and can prove to be dangerous. JIB’s fan following include people from all spheres of life– doctors, lawyers, english-medium students, private university students..the whole lot! These people aren’t anti-Bangladesh because they’re pro-Jamaat. They just choose to believe that what they believe is the best course for the nation. But let’s face it, don’t all of us have the same faith in our own political ideologies?
As Rumi bhai points out, we must not forget the larger picture here. As they try to disenfranchise the main political parties, creating a political vacuum, JI won’t be the only group trying to fill in this void. We can face far worse than JI. This vacuum can be filled in by the real anti-Bangladesh forces.
July 14th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THANKS TO ALL. When I wrote that this is DGFI propaganda, most of you understood. (I thought I would be thrown into prison, or censored).
Army-Awami-League needs majority in next parliament to make MUA president. Here’s the full LOGICAL rundown:
http://jrahman.wordpress.com/2008/06/20/minus-1-or-the-loser-now-will-be-later-to-win/#more-115
You’ll see more anti-Jamaat things happening with glowing reviews in Daily Star/Prothom Alo (something is usually wrong when they both point out something). The 4-Party Alliance must fold and this is the start. As someone sang “Zindegi Zindegi Zindegi”
July 15th, 2008 at 12:59 am
Fakrul,
You did not miss the similarity between DS and PA report, but I think you have missed the key point here, a citizen of Bangladesh , a Muktijoddha was in forcible detention by Jamat shibir activists.which one is DGFI propaganda? Formation of Muktijoddha Porishad or the detention?
Mohammad Ali is telling us lie about the detention because he is planted by DGFI? Is that what you are telling us? If Mohammad Ali is telling the truth, you don’t see anything wrong the treatment he received?
July 15th, 2008 at 4:18 am
Borsha,
even if you plant an elephant in front of people like Fakrul, they won’t see it if they dont want to. Getting into argument with these guys is just a waste of time and space.
July 15th, 2008 at 5:25 am
Very interesting discussion. Will surely read your blog more often.
Also, wanted you to invite you all to our literary blog “The Darjeeling Local” that features several prominent Bangladeshi writers.
http://www.darjlocal.com/
We will launch on Aug 15 officially, but will start filling out the pages in the next one week.
July 15th, 2008 at 6:15 am
There’s a protest rally today at 4pm bangladesh time if anyone is interesting in joining. It will start from the Muktijuddho Jadughor in Segunbagicha.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
What a sad state of affairs…
I’m glad that most people of my father’s generation aren’t here to see this.
July 16th, 2008 at 11:02 am
Mustofi, thanks for linking Faruk’s Sachal post.
Fariha/Fug, you guys raise some very good points. My 2 cents.
There is absolutely no reason why Jamaat shouldn’t talk about the Liberation War. Its own literature (or to be precise Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan’s literature) contains a lot of introspection about its role in 1971. Jamaat should publish that literature. It should also retire those leaders who were actively involved in war crimes in 1971. Forget about broader national good, Jamaat should do this for its own selfish reasons. Why should a 40 year old Jamaat rokon carry the guilt of Nizami?
But this is hardly what Jamaat is doing. Instead, Jamaat seems to have taken an apparently bizarre strategy of being aggressive about 1971. Until last year, its strategy was ‘don’t mention the war’. Ghulam Azam even talked about ‘regrets’ about its role in 1971. In its 5 years in power with BNP, Jamaatis hardly ever talked about the past. When pressed, they would say ‘purano kotha tule laav ki’ etc.
Why has Jamaat changed its tune all of a sudden? I’ve speculated about it before:
http://jrahman.wordpress.com/2007/11/03/on-jamaats-changed-rhetoric-and-related-issues/#more-58
http://jrahman.wordpress.com/2008/03/12/change-in-jamaat/
We are rightly outraged by what the Shibir activists did. But I’d like to see lot more analysis on what is going on inside Jamaat.
July 16th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Jyoti,
I have a question, does a 40 year old rokon think that Nizami is ‘guilty’? If he does not think that Nizami is guilty, there is no question of carrying the guilt and no question of retiring those leaders.If he thinks that Nizami is ‘guilty’, what’s the punishment according to the jamat’s ideology? If they are sincere about the regret, why did they treat a ‘muktijoddha’ like this?
They are trying to get rid of the guilt by rewriting the history, by turning black into white, not by admitting the mistakes, we have done our mistakes too,
We have pardoned them, though they did not admit the ‘mistake’.
July 17th, 2008 at 12:17 am
[...] the users of this site fondly calls it) bloggers vehemently protested the attack on a war veteran by Jamaat e Islami activists at a “Liberation War” meeting. In one such article Faruk Wasif on Sachalatayan [...]
July 17th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Dear Mustofi bhai,
Please listen LONG and HARD to comment number 2 by the ever-politically-correct Fugstar. This is after all a human rights portal, not a literary one and (thankfully for you) not an animal rights one. Please label Razakars (some of who are Jamaati) what they are. Some suggestions:
Murderers
Rapists
Cowards
Murderers
Collaborators
Sell-outs
Please refrain from insulting rats and vermins. Thank you.
~ a rat’s right activist
July 17th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Jyoti bhai,
So would I. May be admin should link your posts with this one to shed some more light on the direction JI politics is taking. I don’t know enough about the internal politics of JI. But from afar, it looks as though their plans are big,strategic and long-term. Also, they seem to be brimming with confidence about its success. That’s a really scary thought.
On the other hand, the other option of getting rid of all the key leader of JI (or the party all together for that matter) is even scarier because that leaves room for more extremist islamists to take over (sorry Fug, don’t agree with you on this point).
How can we best deal with JI and their ‘71 “baggage”? Really? Will getting rid of Nizami, Mujahid, Mollah et al do the trick?
July 18th, 2008 at 3:15 am
Fariha (comment #14)
I just have a question for you. Are you ready to accept a hindu (or any other non muslim) as the Imam of your mosque? Jamat’s muktijudhdher Chetona is as impossible as that.
July 18th, 2008 at 5:42 am
Well said, Robot.
Jamaat ideology, as I mentioned in another post, stems from it’s anti-Bangladesh, pro-Pakistan stance. It’s not about religion, as many people like to pretend. It’s about a bunch of people who killed Bangladeshis to forward their own interests in Undivided Pakistan. Or perhaps, they wanted to be on the winning side. Eitherway, they are AS responsible if not MORE responsible for the massacres of 71. They can preach religion, but killing is haram. Lying is unIslamic. And in independent Bangladesh, they have more power than anyone else right now.
Chinta korlei raage ga jole jae.
July 18th, 2008 at 5:52 am
The dynamics of Jamaat politics or their political ideology is not that complex.
Just think: How did they get here? Jamaat won seats in parliament, other political parties joined hands with them to form coalition govts. It is us, people of democratic Bangladesh, who is responsible for bringing Jamaat to its current place. Our only fault is that we underestimated them. A fault for which we shall pay gravely.
How did Jamaat even DARE to form a political party, knowing that they were rajakars? They played the religion card.
All very sickening.
July 18th, 2008 at 6:55 am
Some day, not very far from today either, we will wake up to find ourselves living in a de facto theocracy
- Where there will be far more overt and public displays of religiosity than there are today
- Where the public sphere will become more circumsubscribed for women, minorities, free thinkers.. religions don’t brook too much dissent, and a beard and forehead mark will get you places a whole lot quicker
- Where anti-religious sentiment will be hunted down and contrarian thinkers actively persecuted.. the machinery of the state will fully cooperate in this process, because it is being infiltrated from top to bottom even as we speak
- Where minorities will feel that they no longer have a place and will get the hell out of the country as fast as they can
Much of this is already happening in Bangladesh over the last 10-15 years. Of course, the only people who will remain immune to all this (for a while anyway) are the Bubble People who live inside Dhaka’s Green Zone. Their lives will be conducted with an attitude of laisser-faire that makes it even now practically indistinguishable from life in the West. If things get too warm, they’ll simply relocate to the USA, UK, Canada etc and resume their brittle, brilliant party-rounds as if nothing had happened except a mere change of rooms.
Ar baki shobai thakbe notun ek Iran’e ba Afghanistan’e.
It’s all coming soon to a country near you.
July 18th, 2008 at 11:45 am
Mustofi, you are right. This is the danger. As a Drishtipat veteran used to say, we face the risk of becoming like the Iranian emigres or Palestinian refugees - rich in culture and history, no homeland to return to.
But if this nightmare comes to pass, how will it happen? I don’t think it will happen because Jamaat will come to power one morning. I think the reality is lot more complicated than that.
Let’s consider this possible scenario. The bhodrolok regime hands over power to a government of similiar pursuasion, which faces opposition that will be unashamedly populist in nature. That opposition will become anti-market, anti-globalisation, anti-west, anti-liberal. Why? Because market, globalisation, west, liberalism - these things will be associated with an unrepresentative government that presided over increased inequality and alienation.
It is that nightmare future that we should worry about.
And you know what is our best antidote against that nightmare? It is people like Mashiul Alam Sentu, the Barisal JCD leader who was killed RAB the other day. As long as people like Sentu - a lower middle class mofussil kid - can change their lot within mainstream AL-BNP politics, they won’t become like Tapan Malitha or Bangla Bhai. But when we destroy the mainstream, centrist politics, that’s when we run the risk of the extremists coming to power.
July 18th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Jyoti,
Considering Jamaat has grown like a vast underground fungus precisely during the reign of AL-BNP, especially the last 5 years of BNP rule, I’d say BNP was an active abettor of the fungoid growth. It’s gotten to the stage where trying to uproot it is probably pointless.
At no point did BNP try to resist this even minimally. Instead they were one half of a really deadly double act.
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:13 am
Mustofi, BNP definitely overestimated Jamaat’s strength, and underestimated the danger it poses. In 2001, without Jamaat alliance BNP may not have gotten a 2/3rd majority, but still probably would have had a decent shot of winning. Without BNP alliance, Jamaat would have been lucky to have any seat in the parliament. BNP never made use of this strong bargaining position. In that sense, it overestimated Jamaat’s strength. And it underestimated the danger in that it was oblivious to Jamaat extending its tentacles into various sectors.
Even now, BNP relies on Jamaat alliance to launch any street agitation against this regime, even though when Mrs Zia or her sons were arrested, Jamaat remained completely silent.
But there is a flipside to the Jamaat story as well. We, the so-called secular/progressives, also tend to see Jamaat through a particular perspective, while being oblivious to the bigger picture.
Much of this big picture is described in this excellent piece:
http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/02/26/d702261501129.htm
I don’t necessarily agree with everything the author says. But this quote is pertinent to the current discussion.
“Within a decade they will have a brand new leadership, a majority of which will be of the post-71 generation. At last week’s midnight hour at Shaheed Minar, we listened to a litany of names of people giving tribute. First CTG, then (reduced) BNP, then AL, then the rest. My friend turned to me and said: “Any moment, we’ll hear, Jamaat er omuk coming forward with flowers!” A joke right now, but how much longer before they appropriate these symbols as well?
Sharp Islamist minds have already appropriated many icons, while the tired figures of Ghadani, Bangla Academy, et al recycle stale slogans and photo ops. The man who was once “Kafir Nazrul Islam” is now Jamaat’s icon as a Muslim poet. This year, Islamist-aligned newspapers touted a slogan for Ekushey “Matri Bhasha Allahr Sreshtho Daan.” DVDs are being sold on a Jamaat history of the language movement that has the logo with Bengali calligraphy in Arabic style.”
So a Jamaat-linked Mujktijoddha Parishad sounds like an oxymoron today. But in 2018, when Mr Ali will no longer be with us, will this sound so odd?
We have to make a case why the Bangladesh you describe in 29 is something undesirable. ‘We fought against that in 1971′ is not a strong enough case.
July 22nd, 2008 at 12:48 pm
A JIB coalition means a lot more than a bunch of votes in the political calculus. Its nonlinear. The BNP have no social vision of their own and were overly corrupt fools. The rest is a story of negotiation.
An interesting point, a maturing point, will come once such a one-time freedom fighter actually wins a seat at election, that would represent the public acceptance of such personal realisation and a yearning for a more islamic social character. Ok he will probably get assasinated, but im sure he wouldnt really mind progressing from Gazi to Shaheed.
There are apparently tens of thousands of workers with freedom fighter credentials in JIB. If you scratched the surface of the forum rather than the Shomakal that might be evident to you.
Practising seculars are better of concentrating on constructive work for the public interest and competing in good works. There are some things which they might be able to deliver better than non-seculars and their contributions will always be there. The shared future should be synthetic, not syncretic. Algeria is messed up.
The BRAC Uni student dude’s comment about his personal jamati witchhunt is telling, as is the orchestration and amplification of indignation. Each time something like this kicks off there are limited emotional gains, but I suspect that more people realise whats going on, that this isnt about a just retribution against the spade of the farmer.
July 23rd, 2008 at 7:36 pm
We have to make a case why the Bangladesh you describe in 29 is something undesirable. ‘We fought against that in 1971′ is not a strong enough case.
The best antidote to theocracy is living in a theocracy itself. It’s a bit like the pox in that respect. I very much fear that Bangladesh will have to live through something like that for an indeterminate amount of time before everybody wakes up. Especially their current enablers who have slept right through this bloody tragedy.
July 28th, 2008 at 11:45 am
In every war there are two opposing armed groups who are fighting against each other for victory. Our liberation war also had two group of combatants; one wanted to eastablish a secular Bangladesh with the logistic help of secular democratic India, the other wanted to protect Islam and its icon non-democratic Islamic Republic of Pakistan against Hindu hegemons. In this war both parties can claim to be freedom fighters. In 1971 secularists won and established Bangladesh. In 1975, the formidable Bangalee Islamist force who opposed Bangladesh in 1971 gained legitimacy to operate as political force in Bangladesh fully retaining it’s pre-1971 political ideology, views and agenda. Bangladesh Army following the foot print of Pakistan Army emerged as the main stake holder in state governance competing democratic forces and have been using this Islamist forces to make democracy dysfunctional for their strategical interest in power play. Two opposing forces of a war can never be partners of the same democracy retaining individual wartime views and identity. This surreal political system in Bangladesh is the defeat of democracy and is the perpetual vehicle of military rule complimented by Islamic fundamentalism. In democracy there is no solution of this crisis. Another war is inevitable. In this war who will win is almost predictable, as secularist democratic forces do no longer have any strategic friend, from India to USA.