Lately, the euphoria of the July/August 2024 mass uprising that had put an end to the decade and half long autocratic, repressive and kleptocratic government of Sheikh Hasina and an uprising that promised a better future for Bangladesh seems to be making way for frustrations, disappointments, and discontents. A sense of despondency has engulfed the nation.
Accomplishments
There is little doubt and thanks to the stellar international stature of Prof. Yunus, the July/August uprising and the IG were greeted with overwhelming support from the international community and more importantly, the Yunus government also has had resounding success in putting to bin India’s shameless misinformation and disinformation campaign it mounted and its relentless efforts that it continues to pursue to discredit the movement and the IG and if possible, bring back its puppet regime that turned Bangladesh into a virtual vassal state of India.
The IG also deserves kudos for successfully steadying the faltering economy and in repairing the macroeconomic mess, left by the deposed plundering government.
IG’s work on the formation of various reform commissions and their reports and recommendations that have since been completed and paved the way to transform Bangladesh into a truly democratic, economically advancing transparent and accountable society are no mean achievements, either.
Looming challenges
Notwithstanding, recent frequent and countrywide breakdowns of law and order, the spectre of a disjointed governance and more generally, the growing nervousness as to who is in control and the suspicion that there may be saboteurs within are making people jittery.
Then the Army Chief, General Waker Uz Zaman’s recent controversial statements on the 2009 BDR mutiny which is under investigation and his blatant rejection of army’s alleged involvement in crimes against humanity during the Hasina regime which is also under probe, that have put to question the integrity and motive of a key player of the state has contributed to deepening further the question concerning the sustainability and unity of the Interim Government.
Time to re-calibrate?
Therefore, given that not everything is going the way these should be and that there are fissures within and outside the government, time may have come to re-appraise the situation and recalibrate the way forward.
IG is most certainly not functioning optimally and therefore is ripe to ask whether the IG has been appropriately equipped, legally and professionally, to handle and fix the complexities that have emerged since.
It is obvious that while the IG has done remarkably a good job of research and advice, it has had mixed successes in maintaining law and order and more importantly, in keeping all state functionaries together and this may also be because the IG which was formed as an after-thought of the July/August uprising has been in place more by omission than by commission and its advisers, who are men and women of high intellect and integrity and all are fully supportive of the uprising and its aspirations have not been actively involved in the uprising itself nor do they possess the revolutionary zeal and the capacity to turn the aspired intents of the uprise into realities.
As a result, the IG which has been big on delivering advice, has been poor in the delivery of desired change.
In this regard, it may also be important to remember that neither the composition of the IG nor its governing parameters were ever oriented to go beyond the stabilisation mode and into the revolutionary mode and implement the aspirations of the uprising which were of revolutionary nature, efficiently and effectively.
Turning the July/August Uprising into Revolution, Empower People
There are conceptual and contextual differences between a mass uprising and a revolution.
An uprising is often a reactive action against a repressive entity and focuses on the removal of the source of repression, often without a plan for thereafter though not without aspirations.
Thus, the IG, a product of an uprising is not mentally prepared nor institutionally oriented to fulfill the aspirations expected of a revolution.
Time is ripe to re-apprise the situation and take actions, legal and administrative, that help re-orienting the institutional capacity of the IG to turn it from a post-uprising mode a revolution mode and fulfill the aspirations of a revolution.
With the Parliament dissolved, Bangladesh as a state stands on three pillars, namely, the executive (meaning the Interim Government and the bureaucracy), the military and the judiciary.
Among these three institutions, judiciary is the weakest, and the bureaucracy which is a continuation of the past remains self-seeking and to an extent, anti-change.
The army which has its chain of command still intact, is not necessarily fully committed to the agenda of change and indeed, recent statements of the Army Chief has simply deepened the fear. So, where do we go from here.
Time may be ripe for people of Bangladesh to rise again and transform the uprising into a revolution:
- Declare State of Emergency, scrap the IG and replace IG with a Revolutionary Council (RC) with Prof. Yunus as its Head where the RC be made up of members (ex-officio ministers) who are competent and committed to the agenda of revolution and the reforms which include but not limited to: democratisation, corruption control, strengthen transparency and accountability in governance, bring to justice those who have committed crimes against humanity and last but not the least, ensure sovereignty and dignity of Bangladesh.
- RC should also re-examine the current appointments/postings of heads of institutions such as the ministries, corporation, the Défense forces etc. and ensure that these positions are held by those who possess the right professional credentials and more importantly, are commitment to the reforms including the agenda of bringing to justice those who have committed crimes against humanity during 2009-2024 governing period.
- To make the RC more people centric, consideration be also given to form multi-layered apolitical Citizens Oversight Committees (COC) from the Upazila to the Central level to oversee, report and assist the RC in maintaining law and order as well as monitor the progress of implementation of reforms and facilitate reforms compliances at all levels.
- To tackle the law-and-order issues at the grassroots level promptly and effectively, consideration may be given to form at the Upazilla level, Upazilla Storm Troopers (UST), made up of police, RAB, BGB and Army, with the Army heading the USTs.
- Ban until further order, all political activities in public domain – indoor political activities should be allowed and encouraged.
- All strikes, picketing etc. in public domain be banned.
- Freedom of speech should be allowed but to ensure that misinformation and disinformation do not interfere with the reform process and that these do not destabilise the society, all contrary views and criticisms of RC policies and actions should be channelled with evidence through the print and audio-visual media and through the proposed Citizen Oversight Committees.
- Political activities in public domain be allowed three months prior to the date of election.
These are drastic measures, but drastic times warrant drastic measures. Currently, Bangladesh is passing through the most challenging times, which if allowed to continue, would risk not just the Reform initiatives of the IG but threaten the very existence of the country and therefore, turning the July/August Uprising into a Revolution and formation of a competent revolutionary council, working through revolutionary mode and methods with direct citizen engagements my indeed be the only way out for if we don’t and allow things to continue as these are now, Bangladesh will most certainly plunge into a state of unimaginable chaos and mayhem and collapse as a state, eventually.