The divide runs deep

Even 30 years after independence, the struggle between secularists and fundamentalists in Bangladesh continues, says Haroon Habib.

EVEN 30 years after independence, two distinctive forces - the secularists and the fundamentalists - are still struggling for supremacy in Bangladesh, though the issue was believed to have been resolved with the birth of the new country in a war that was fought in the spirit of secular Bengali nationhood. And, as a fresh national poll nears, the confrontation is sharpening by the day.

The fact that Sheikh Hasina, daughter of the country's independence architect, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was elected to power in June 1996 only further embittered the forces behind the bloody changeover in 1975 when her father was assassinated. They have become all the more aggressive, particularly on the question of India. More so after the recent border clashes were contained thanks to the political maturity of New Delhi and Dhaka. The Awami League Government, dubbed ``the stooge of India'' by the Begum Khaleda Zia-led Opposition alliance, is now being charged with ``surrendering'' the country's interests to the ``enemy''. Despite the tensions, it is hard to believe that the recent border skirmishes have caused any major injury to India- Bangladesh relations. But the quick resolution of the crisis has frustrated the political enemies of Sheikh Hasina.

Under Bangladesh's Constitution, the Awami League will be in the office till July 13. After that power will automatically be transferred to a neutral caretaker Government which will hold an election to the Jatiya Sangsad (Parliament) within the next 90 days. But the violent street protests by the mainstream Opposition has vitiated the situation. During the first three weeks of April, the Begum Khaleda Zia-led Opposition, in which ``anti-Bangladesh'' forces and Taliban-like fundamentalists are alarmingly active, has enforced 204 hours of hartal. The successive shutdowns have proved disastrous to the national economy. The bomb blasts and arson also claimed a dozen lives and caused widespread destruction of property.

In fact, the violence has only stiffened Sheikh Hasina's resolve. In response to fresh hartal calls even after she announced that she would quit ``any day after April 17'', the Prime Minister decided to stay on in office. All indications now are that the Opposition is unlikely to succeed in its campaign to force her out of power before her term ends.

Bangladesh, which celebrated its 30th anniversary on March 26, once again faces the burnt of the ``Pakistani-brand'' of politics which was thought to have finally been defeated with Sheikh Hasina's election as Prime Minister. As civil society developed and secular forces consolidated further, the legacy of ``militarisation'' had been diminishing. But it seems that the old school of religion-based and communal politics is making a comeback.

Islamic fundamentalists are now well-organised and their recent violence has alarmed secular Bangladesh. These extremists, allegedly getting patronage from Pakistan's ISI, even attacked the secular platforms including cultural functions and Bangla New Year's celebrations.

The political developments during the last year and a half make independent observers believe that a ``neo-Pakistani ghost'' may have come to haunt the country. Two distinctive streams are therefore fighting the next general election. The first one is trying to protect the nation's secular character and to further strengthen the ``pro-liberation spirit'', and the second one is out to rejuvenate the old Pakistan-style of politics using religion and the India-bogey as the main weapons.

Unfortunately, Begum Khaleda Zia has accepted the leadership of the second stream, confounding moderates and progressive forces even in her camp. But Begum Khaleda Zia's hopes of a united front against Sheikh Hasina in the coming polls have suffered a major blow as Gen. H.M. Ershad, who came out of prison on bail recently, has severed his party's relationship with the main Opposition alliance and is now out to form a new coalition. His Jatiya Party has lost its national image but remains a force in the former President's home district .

The Left parties are also seriously alarmed at the rise of religious orthodoxy and violence ahead of the election. They are desperately trying to emerge as an ``alternative third force'', something they have been at for decades.

On the question of governance, critics of Sheikh Hasina will have many things to say - particularly on the deterioration of the law and order situation, the acute shortage of electricity, alleged police excesses against opposition activists and the problem of unemployment. But secular forces agree that the Government has done a brave job of countering the religious fundamentalists.

With only two months to go before an automatic exit from power, Sheikh Hasina and her people are now on hectic electioneering tours across the country. After the frustration with the outcome of hartal politics, Begum Khaleda Zia's next course of action is awaited. Her BNP, the main component of the Opposition alliance, is in a bit of a disarray, but its hardline allies, Jamaat-e- Islami and Islami Oikya Jote, appear ready to take desperate measures to win the poll likely in October.

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