Bangladesh’s democratic decline

In Pakistan, we now often look at Bangladesh’s economic progress with awe. Bangladesh was indeed destitute when it decided to separate from Pakistan after years of hegemonic domination, and 50 years thereafter it’s hard to deny that Bangladesh’s economic and human development indicators are now much more impressive than what was once West Pakistan. However, things are not entirely well within Bangladesh, and the emergence of an authoritarian one-party system within the country threatens much of the progress made by the country over this past half century.

Since separation from the rest of Pakistan, Bangladeshi politics has seen its fair share of turmoil. Its early history was riddled with bloodshed and coups. During its early years, Bangladesh also suffered from economic stagnation. Over the past two decades however, Bangladesh has managed to maintain an impressive average growth rate. Its human development indicators far outpace those of Pakistan, and it now has a higher GDP per capita than India (and, of course, Pakistan). While exploitative, Bangladesh is now home to one of the world’s most competitive garment industries. The country also receives high levels of remittances from the millions of Bangladeshis working overseas. However, Sheikh Hasina’s authoritarianism will end up undermining the socio-economic progress made by the country.

Bangladesh is a pluralistic country with a robust history of secular democratic values. Yet, the threat of socio-political violence remains a lingering problem for the country. The rampant political violence in Bangladesh has been largely driven by a longstanding rivalry between the ruling Awami League, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (Mujib-ur-Rahman’s daughter), and the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by Begum Khaleda Zia (widow of Zia-ur-Rahman).

Having won the 2014 elections, as well as a tumultuous round of general elections at the end of 2018, Sheikh Hasina is now firmly in power until the next round of elections scheduled for December 2023. Sheikh Hasina has maintained her grip on power via broad-based coalitions which include Bangladeshi nationalists, moderate Islamists, and secular supporters. However, to keep this diverse support base intact, she has engaged in increasingly brutal repression.

While the Awami League projects itself as a secular and democratic party, it has been demonstrating increasingly authoritarian tendencies. Sheikh Hasina has been vehemently opposed to the largest Islamist political party in Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, which it views as an ally of the BNP, and as an entity which opposed the very creation of the country. The Awami League has put senior Jamaat leaders, who were accused of siding with Pakistan during the 1971 war, to death for treason. Despite accusing the BNP of wooing Islamists to gain their political backing, the Awami League has made its fair share of concessions to Islamist politicians in exchange for their political support. The Awami League developed close ties with Islamist parties (such as Hefazat-e-Islami and the Oikya Front Bangladesh) to gain their support and bolster its legitimacy. In the process, these Islamist parties have been undermining secular traditions within the country via their myopic interpretation of Islam and intolerance for minorities and women.

The prevailing repression in the country is also creating more opportunities for extremist outfits such as Islamic State to gain a foothold in the country. However, the Awami League continues to dismiss these threats and instead blames domestic opposition parties for the increasing violence in the country, and then uses this violence as an excuse for mass arrests and persecution of opponents. The ruling party’s repressive tactics include enforced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial killings. State institutions like the judiciary and police are politicised and being used to persecute political opponents of the ruling party.

Unfortunately, the lingering political conflict in Bangladesh and the ruling government’s excesses against political opponents and critics threaten to unravel much of the progress made by Bangladesh over these past several years.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 11^th, 2022.

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