Yunus' tough task

The twists and turns in Bangladesh politics continue. The induction of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as the head of interim government not only means the culmination of Sheikh Hasina's authoritarian era but also underscores a growing consensus between the military and the student leaders, who are out to campaign for a new pluralistic order. Yunus, who was booked in more than 100 cases by the ousted dispensation and was forced in exile, has a tough task to deliver and that is to return the Bengali polity back to the electorate by putting an end to concerns that Dhaka is out to take a plunge in hybrid governance.

Yunus - who has described the peerless uprising as a second independence which saw more than 500 people being killed and the country hitting the brink of a civil war - is expected to deliver an astute leadership. The economist par excellence is in a better position to pick up the threads as the country is a rising regional economic power, and all it needs is socio-political regulations to ward off the disgust that had set in during Sheikh Hasina's 15-year-long iron-fist rule. Holding of general elections on time and providing a level-playing field to all the political forces is the way to go, and even the beleaguered and discredited Awami League should be in the run for ballot.

The interim prime minister has to walk the tough path of fixing a broken society and ensuring that the excesses committed against the people in the long years of civilian dictatorship are accounted for, including a permanent resolution of the job quota controversy. With military at his beck and call, Yunus should not be led into temptations of staying put in office beyond the mandated period, and immediately take the country to business as usual. He is on the mark by calling for serenity. Unless and until the boys from alma mater and the barracks are back to their stipulated role, the country will continue to slide deep into anarchy. Last but not least, pulling Bangladesh out of extra-territorial influence is a must to usher in the writ of the state.