Today is the 53rd anniversary of the liberation and creation of Bangladesh. Memories of that historic day are still vivid in my mind. It was a pleasant morning, and as a school student, I attended the mandatory prayer assembly at the government inter-college, Prayagraj, then Allahabad. As soon as the national anthem stopped, the principal, Mr Khanwalkar, took to the stage. The principal addressing the assembly wasn’t an everyday affair, so everyone waited with heightened anticipation.
As he stood facing a large gathering of students and teachers, everyone saw his face beaming, tears welling up in his eyes, and his voice choking with emotion. In a trembling but euphoric voice, he informed us that the Indian Army had forced close to a lakh Pakistani soldiers to surrender in Dhaka. We had won the war, and an independent country, Bangladesh, was now a reality. His words electrified the atmosphere, and the students felt a rush of enthusiasm. We were cheered. Despite our teachers’ admonition, the students left the college. The impromptu students’ procession kept cheering on the streets for hours on end.
Years later, while studying about the French Revolution, I was reminded of the day I was part of street sloganeering. At that moment, the penny dropped for me that revolutions, victory parades, and dejection of defeat all somehow someday converge on a junction.
The subcontinent’s present situation is a classic example of such a scenario. Let’s find out how.
Allow me to take you back in time, to January 1972, when Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rehman arrived in India after his release from Rawalpindi prison in Pakistan. On January 10, 1972, in his live radio address on Akashvani (India’s public Broadcaster), he spoke in Bengali. I am not sure how many understood his words, but people were riveted by the emotions his voice exuded. Everywhere, people were filled with joy, believing that from now on, India and Bangladesh would work together.
Today, the foundations of that belief seem to have been shaken. The anti-India feeling in Bangladesh and atrocities against the minority Hindus is a reality. The government in Dhaka is trying too hard not to accept the cold truth.
However, the violent streak isn’t new to Bangladesh. Within four years of assuming charge of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu and his entire family, except for Sheikh Hasina, were massacred in a military coup. Then, newspapers — swept by the tragedy — wrote emotional editorials comparing Mujibur Rehman’s assassination with that of Mahatma Gandhi. They lamented that the people of the subcontinent didn’t know how to shoulder the responsibility vested in them by the fathers of their nations. After the military coup in Bangladesh, the new prime minister Mushtaq Ahmed made Zia-ur-Rehman the new chief of army staff.
Zia quickly learnt political ropes and, within one-and-a-half years, became the head of the country in a bloodless coup. He nurtured visions of an Islamic Bangladesh. Later, his wife, Khaleda Zia, kept the vision alive. The situation improved a little when Sheikh Hasina Wajed came to power. Despite tumultuous political machinations and the rigmarole of reversals, Bangladesh scripted a story of phenomenal economic success during the last decade.
At a time when Pakistan was seeking doles from Arab nations, China, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Bangladesh emerged as the readymade garment hub of the world. According to the World Bank, between 2010 and 2023, Bangladesh’s economy grew at an average of 6.4% per year. During this period, poverty in the country fell from 11.8% to 5%. In per capita GDP terms, it marched ahead of India.
Everyone expected the good run to continue. However, Bangladesh seems condemned to suffer from cyclic confusion. Events during the last few months have created doubts about the country’s future. Once exiled in London, Mohammed Yunus is now heading an interim government. Yunus is a Nobel Laureate and, as such, a respected figure globally. However, personal enmity between him and Sheikh Hasina is impacting his nation’s relations with India. Recently, while meeting a delegation of European nations, he said the visa centres being run in Delhi and other parts of India would be transferred to Dhaka.
The growing discord between the two nations is the reason that this time Bangladesh’s Juna akhara is facing trouble attending Mahakumbh in Prayagraj slated for early next year. Nearly 400-500 sadhus from Bangladesh’s Juna akharas participate in every Mahakumbh in India.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is vigorously promoting jihadi elements in Bangladesh. Now, it is up to Bangladesh to decide what kind of a future it wants. Bangladesh’s politicians shouldn’t forget that till the 1980s, Pakistan was ahead of India in per capita GDP terms. Then, they promoted jihadi groups and are now facing its repercussions.
India, on the other hand, pursued secularism. New Delhi waged a dogged war against all kinds of extremism and terrorism while promoting a market economy. The results are for all to see. We are on our way to being among the top three economies of the world.
How can Bangladesh expect to grow by handing over the reins to fundamentalists? Why are Yunus and his team ignoring this basic reality? The changing scenario in Bangladesh is a cause of concern for India. The rising religious frenzy on India’s eastern and western borders doesn’t augur well.
Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief of Hindustan. The views expressed are personal
