With polls pending, Khaleda Zia in jail and Hasina pampering Islamists, Bangladesh is on edge
Bangladesh, in recent decades, has been ruled by two women. The first one, Khaleda Zia, led a regime that was corrupt, anti-Indian and governed with the fundamentalist Islamic group Jamaat-e-Islami, before she lost power. Sheikh Hasina, who came in next, was not very different. But despite allegations of corruption and a growing autocratic way cropping up against her, it was her avowed commitment to secularism that made the Awami League leader India’s preferred choice as an ally.
For New Delhi, backing Hasina meant safeguarding the interest of Hindus, while taking care of India’s security priority in keeping the eastern flank stable.
That position of comfort and dependability is being questioned by many in Bangladesh and India. They want New Delhi to review its decade-long position and deal with the emerging reality in Dhaka.
The discomfiture stems from the Bangladesh prime minister’s recent cosiness with radical Islamic groups like the Hefazat-e-Islam—which demands imposition of stricter Islamic law, including a blasphemy code—and has started worrying liberal sections in Bangladesh as well as the Indian foreign policy establishment.
Many wonder if this budding entente with Islamists is just part of an Awami League tactic to face the challenge of the year-end parliamentary polls. The worse fear, of course, remains that of Hefazat members eventually exerting significant influence over government policies to fundamentally alter the pluralistic nature of Bangladeshi society.
Bu hikaye Outlook dergisinin March 12, 2018 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Outlook dergisinin March 12, 2018 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
No Singular Self
Sudarshan Shetty's work questions the singularity of identity
Mass Killing
Genocide or not, stop the massacre of Palestinians
Passing on the Gavel
The higher judiciary must locate its own charter in the Constitution. There should not be any ambiguity
India Reads Korea
Books, comics and webtoons by Korean writers and creators-Indian enthusiasts welcome them all
The K-kraze
A chronology of how the Korean cultural wave(s) managed to sweep global audiences
Tapping Everyday Intimacies
Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-soo departs from his outsized national cinema with low-budget, chatty dramedies
Tooth and Nail
The influence of Korean cinema on Bollywood aesthetics isn't matched by engagement with its deeper themes as scene after scene of seemingly vacuous violence testify, shorn of their original context
Beyond Enemy Lines
The recent crop of films on North-South Korea relations reflects a deep-seated yearning for the reunification of Korea
Ramyeon Mogole?
How the Korean aesthetic took over the Indian market and mindspace
Old Ties, Modern Dreams
K-culture in Tamil Nadu is a very serious pursuit for many