Rendezvous with Khaleda

One more Awami League leader in Bangladesh has been killed in broad daylight. He is the second in the last few months. Former Awami League m...

One more Awami League leader in Bangladesh has been killed in broad daylight. He is the second in the last few months. Former Awami League minister Shamshul Kibria, a sitting MP, was also murdered in broad daylight. Awami League president Sheikh Hasina was attacked, again in broad daylight. Killing or throwing bombs in broad daylight is meant to convey that the assailants are not afraid of being identified. They know they have 8220;blessings8221; from the right quarters. The ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party BNP is least bothered about these developments because its stock defence is that 8220;there is a hand of outsiders8221;. So much so, a judge, who held an inquiry into the attack on Sheikh Hasina, only did not name India but said everything to suggest its complicity. It appears that the BNP government that has failed on all fronts has come to believe that only an anti-India sentiment can cover up its deficiencies to a large extent.

On the other hand, the BNP is openly backing the fundamentalists who are trying to demolish even the pluralist ethos of Bengali culture to revive religious fervour of pre-Partition days. Lately, women have been targets, not only of acid attacks but other types of violence. This is again meant to create fear in society. The ruling party believes that anti-Indian feelings can be mixed with religious haranguing to win elections, due next year. The daylight murders are, however, beginning to deter Awami League leaders who find the administration to be on the side of the BNP. The party also has a Sanjay Gandhi kind of figure to guide it 8212; Tariq, Prime Minister Khaleda8217;s son 8212; mastering all the techniques of the Emergency days in India. As can happen in a country where governance exists only on paper, tyrants in the BNP and the religious parties have sprouted 8212; tyrants whose claim to authority is largely based on their proximity to the seats of power. The real casualty is the civil service. Anxiety to survive takes precedence over attempts to solve administrative problems. The mere threat of political vengeance has worked so effectively that most public servants are acting as willing tools of tyranny.

There is no press censorship. But oral orders and pep talks to editors and proprietors have done the trick. Still Law Minister Moudud Ahmad accuses the press of spreading misinformation. Khaleda Zia was so stirred by his words that she repeated them in Parliament and praised him for his intervention. The truth is that the press is already too accommodating, too ready to leave out what it knows the government may not like. Yet, the BNP thinks the press has not been 8220;fair8221; to it. Civil society in Bangladesh is so enamoured of its comforts that it does not dare raise its voice outside the drawing rooms. In fact, it is critical of the Awami League for instigating people to participate in protests. The party has no other way to ventilate its anger. It increasingly feels that the weapon of hartal has got blunted because it hurts the common man. A hartal day is a day lost; there is no earning on that day. Hartals are not liked by donor countries which meet most foreign exchange needs of Bangladesh. Their disapproval works at times. Yet they realise they cannot write off the country completely, that by frowning upon political protest they may strengthen the hands of fundamentalists and terrorists. Yet, by allowing the present situation to prevail they are not making any positive contributions. Despite their behind-the-scene efforts, they find that Bangladesh is rapidly becoming a breeding ground for underground outfits and, above all, for the Al Qaeda. India can see the effect in its border states.

New Delhi is horrified over the situation. But, from day one, it has failed to understand the country which it helped to liberate from distant, exploitative West Pakistan. India knew all along that Bangladesh would not be viable without heavy economic assistance. Soon after it became free, India did talk about integrated development, joint ventures and a common market. Five-year economic plans of the two countries were sought to be dovetailed so that Bangladesh and India could become partners, helping each other. The assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman brought everything crashing down. Or, was India never serious about the dreams it wove before the Bangladeshis? Either way, integrated socio-economic development was the best bet. It remains so even today.

But India is heading in the wrong direction and finding a solution of sorts by installing barbed wire fencing to keep the Bangladeshis away. This is only deepening estrangement. The recent movement in Assam to 8220;starve out8221; immigrants has created a new wave of resentment against India. There was once a proposal to have work permits for the Bangladeshis but it was dropped at some stage without assigning any reason. The revival of the proposal may not only help immigrants find work in India but also stop illegal entrants. There is a serious move in Bangladesh to broadbase its economy so that there is employment for its people. The humiliation of their nationals not being welcome anywhere in the world is hurting the Bangladeshis8217; pride. There is some realisation even in staunch BNP circles that their party has to repair relations with New Delhi. The suspicion that India prefers Awami League is still very much in the mind of the Khaleda Zia government.

It is possible that Dhaka may be tempted to provoke New Delhi further. But India cannot retaliate in a childish manner as it did when it withdrew its participation at the SAARC summit. This only hurt the nationalistic feelings of Bangladeshis. The BNP won more adherents. The visit of US under secretary of state to Dhaka may have convinced the Khaleda Zia government that its democratic credentials would come to be questioned if it continued to encourage religious elements. Maybe, this is the best time to invite the Bangladesh PM to visit India. She has not been to Delhi for many years.