If successful,the Shahbag movement can redefine the character and course of the state
Beyond the obvious demand of Quader Mollahr fashi chai (hang Quader Mollah),the Shahbag movement can be read as a battle between two competing visions of the state: a secular Bangladesh and an Islamist one. Islamist forces,led by the Jamaat-e-Islami,played an anti-liberation role in 1971 and were banned from political activities in the immediate aftermath of independence,but they returned to politics in due course. In the degenerative political evolution of Bangladesh,they have captured a significant political and social space over the past few decades. The Shahbag movement,led by the youth,aims to recapture that lost ground and restore the state to its original vision. If successful,it can redefine the character and course of the state. The Shahbag protest began on February 5,soon after Quader Mollah,a Jamaat leader,was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) for war crimes committed during Bangladeshs liberation war. The protesters demanded the death penalty for Mollah as they argued life imprisonment was too lenient for his crimes.
The rise of independent Bangladesh in 1971 meant the death of the two-nation theory and a rejection of Islamism in state affairs in favour of secular democracy. Within days of independence,the Mujibnagar government (the exiled Bangladesh government that led the liberation war) banned the politics of the Jamaat-e-Islami,the Muslim League,Nezam-e-Islami and other communal organisations. The 1972 constitution of the new state adopted the ideal of secular democracy. But the Islamists did not have to wait for long to make a comeback. For their own benefit,the military rulers of the 1970s and 1980s rehabilitated the Islamists and allowed them to thrive. The Awami League (AL),the party that led the liberation war,has made overtures to the Jamaat to capture power in the past. The other major political party,the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP),was in a coalition government with the Jamaat not long ago,a partnership that continues in the opposition.
The Shahbag movement has disarrayed the BNPs political calculations. Once the protests began,the party remained quiet for several days. Then,following a central committee meeting,it came out with the statement that the BNP fully supported the movement. A few days later,it retracted the statement,blamed the youth for their misguided actions and decided to side with the Jamaat.
The AL,currently in power,has its own dilemmas in dealing with the uprising. Under pressure,the government has now amended the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973,to allow appeals against the ICT verdict on Mollah. In the original law,an appeal by the state was barred,although it was granted to the defendant. Several other new provisions have also been incorporated. For example,the new law specifies that the appeal process would have to be completed in 60 days,and it empowers tribunals to begin proceedings against any organisation,not just individuals,involved in war crimes in 1971. This implies that the state is now empowered to put the Jamaat on trial for its role in 1971. It remains to be seen whether the AL government takes this step.
The governments dilemma is whether it should ban the Jamaat to meet the demand of the Shahbag youth. The prime minister initially signalled that the issue was under consideration. Dipu Moni,the countrys foreign minister,has asserted that the banning of Jaamat-Shibir politics would be logical. However,the AL government has yet to come out with a definitive position.
The political evolution of Bangladesh is at a crossroads. The battle lines have been drawn. While the movement envisages a secular Bangladesh,the Jamaat has resorted to its old tactic of using religion as a rallying cry for its cause. The party has begun a campaign against the youth in Shahbag,projecting them as atheists,anti-Islamic and misguided. Who wins the battle will redefine the identity of Bangladesh.
The writer is director of the South Asia project at the University of Hull,UK
