In the immediate aftermath of the liberation of Bangladesh, Islamist forces were despised in the country for siding with Pakistan. These forces are now back with vengeance. In the last election they allied with one of the major political parties of Bangladesh and are now part of the ruling coalition. But after four years in power, they are no longer content to be the junior partner in the government. They now want to establish full-fledged Islamic rule in the country and do away with democracy which, according to them, is an undesirable system of governance. The recent serial bomb blasts in Bangladesh were carried out with this aim.For the last several years, a virtual war is going on between the Islamist forces and the believers of democracy in Bangladesh. To increase their following, the Islamists have deployed several tactics. They have taken the majority of their recruits from Deobandi madrasas. They have carried out bomb blasts in the country in which hundreds were killed.But what happened on August 17 was unprecedented in Bangladesh. Nearly 500 bombs exploded within a span of half an hour in a well coordinated countrywide terror attack. The Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), the group involved in the terror attack, did not try to hide its identity. Its leaflets were circulated at the blast sites. In these leaflets, the group demanded enforcement of Islamic rule in the country. It warned NGOs to stop “anti-Islamic activities” or else be “uprooted”. It warned the US and Britain against occupation of Muslim lands.The JMB is believed to be the youth wing of the Al Mujahideen, the parent organisation that began working in the mid-1990s. Al Mujahideen has created a number of outfits in Bangladesh. The JMB, with its antagonism to cinema, theatre, shrines and NGOs has spread its network all over the country since the late 1990s with support from the Middle East. It grew phenomenally in the last five years due to the negligence — and connivance — of the government. Most militants were arrested only to be released on bail. In some cases, incidents were not investigated further. A senior ideologue of JMB, Asadullah Al Galib, was put behind bars in February 2005 after the Bangladesh donors asked the country to take some steps to restrain the Islamists. The government was also forced to ban this outfit along with the Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB). But after the meeting of donors was over, the government lost no time in glorifying the Islamists. Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, on March 15, 2005 denied any existence of the Taliban and the al-Qaeda. In her speech in the Jatiya Sangsad (parliament) on that day, she termed reports about their activities as the opposition’s propaganda.The Bangladesh government still does not appear serious about dealing with this menace. Though some JMB cadres were arrested three hours after the attack and confessed to their crime, the government once again tried to put opposition parties in the dock. State Minister for Home Lutfozzaman Babar hinted at the involvement of the opposition Awami League, though all evidence pointed elsewhere. He asked security agencies to launch raids to arrest terrorists but restrained them from raiding madrasas and mosques.Another distressing fact about Bangladesh is the complete politicisation of its administrative set-up. Police, military and intelligence officials all have been used by the ruling party to further its political interests and to suppress opposition. In such a situation it is hardly surprising that intelligence officials instead of informing the government about the possible terrorist act connived with the Islamists.The Islamists serve a twin purpose for the government. Inside the country, they are used to suppress the opposition party. The followers of Islamic parties provide the BNP with the winning edge in elections. Outside the country, they function as a tool of intelligence agencies like DGFI and ISI. They are used to carry out jihad in Kashmir and northeast India. In the short term, they may be serving the purpose of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), but their activities are cutting at the root of democracy.In the past, too, Jamaat leaders have stated that their ultimate aim is to root out democracy and establish Islamic rule. The latest orchestrated bombings in Bangladesh were meant to send the message to the people of Bangladesh and to the outside world that it is the Islamists who are in control of the country. Unless corrective measures are taken, it is a matter of time before these groups open a new front against their avowed enemies.
