Bangladesh’s interim government comprises academics, civil society activists, student leaders and former government officials.
Immediately after Bangladesh’s agitating students declared that they wanted Muhammad Yunus to lead the country’s interim government, the 84-year-old Nobel Laureate issued an appeal: “Let us make best use of this victory. Let us not let this slip away because of our mistakes. Please refrain from violence”. These words spoke of the enormity of the task before the widely-respected economist, banker and social entrepreneur: Uniting a bitterly-divided country and restoring its democratic fabric following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina in a mass upsurge. If Hasina’s 15-year old rule was tainted by the arrests of Opposition leaders, suppression of dissent and crackdowns on free speech, the protests against her regime fueled concerns of a return to political instability and reopening of past scars — many of them leftovers of Bangladesh’s liberation movement, some going even further back to the Partition of the Subcontinent. Events in the week since he has taken over as the head of the interim government, have underlined that applying the healing touch and holding social peace should be Yunus’s first priority. Especially worrying are reports of more than 200 attacks on Bangladesh’s largest religious minority, the Hindus — at least five members of the community have lost their lives and the properties of several others have been vandalised since August 5. Bangladesh’s interim head of government has reiterated his call for peace. But words of calm won’t be enough. Yunus will have to arrest the collapse of law and order and ensure that the country’s minorities are protected.
Hasina became the face of the secular version of Bangladesh’s polity, in the face of the rising tide of Islamic fundamentalism and even as the country witnessed episodes of low-intensity communal tension. The protests against the Awami League regime began on the country’s campuses. But so widespread was the discontent, the movement encompassed most sections of Bangladesh’s society, including the Islamists. Even in the early phase, it was apparent that the political was becoming intertwined with the communal. The turmoil has continued even after Hasina’s flight from the country. The Hindus, traditionally Awami League supporters, have become soft targets during the retaliation against the excesses of the Hasina regime. Most of the attacks have taken places in rural areas and along Bangladesh’s border with India. The absence of the police — most of them have fled their stations for fear of retribution by the protestors — seems to have emboldened other miscreants. It has also added to the vulnerabilities of the minorities.
Bangladesh’s interim government comprises academics, civil society activists, student leaders and former government officials. By all accounts, the Awami League, or its supporters, are missing. Yunus was persecuted by the Hasina regime, which weaponised labour laws to convict the father of micro-finance. But in steering Bangladesh past a difficult period, he must be large-hearted. Hasina has made an ignominious exit. Now, not even the party’s worst critic will deny the stakes of the Awami League in the future of Bangladesh’s polity. The wounded nation needs representatives of all its parties to put their heads together and apply the salve. It’s up to Yunus to make the first move.
