A Leap Forward


Written by S.G. Jilanee • Cover Stories • March 2011

This is the second coming of Sheikh Hasina, daughter of the country’s founder, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Surprisingly, after her first stint the people voted her out and brought in her arch rival, Begum Khaleda Zia, widow of former President, Gen. Ziaur Rahman.

One thing the Bangladeshi people cannot put up with is what they call "kham kheyali" or despotic rule. They withdrew their love even for Sheikh Mujibur Rahman when he tried to act like a despot, forming BAKSAL (Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League) and his son began to terrorize people. So much so that when he was assassinated along with his family, except his two daughters who were out of the country, few public eyes were lachrymose.

Begum Zia forgot this basic fact. Therefore when his two sons and other senior members of her party plunged into massive corruption, the people, like the Egyptians today, said "kefaya," (enough) to BNP and swung back towards Hasina giving her more than a two-thirds majority.

The two Begums hate each other with an intense loathing. Since coming to power, Hasina has gone after her rival with tooth and claw. Khaleda has been evicted from her residence in the cantonment that she had been occupying since the time her husband was alive. She is doing all she can to erase the memory of Ziaur Rahman, and replace it with her father’s. Therefore, even the name of the Dhaka airport is planned to be renamed after Sk. Mujibur Rahman, dropping its present name of Zia International.

Their conflict also symbolizes the struggle between the right and the left. Also Khaleda is seen as pro-Pakistan while Hasina is perceived as pro-India. Hasina’s 14-party alliance comprise leftist parties, whereas Khaleda’s four-party alliance consists of religious parties including the Jamaat-e-Islami which earned a very bad name by collaborating with the Pakistan army in it as merciless effort to suppress the liberation war in 1971.

However, in her second coming Sheikh Hasina is much more self-assured especially with the comfort of a sweeping majority in the legislature. The chaotic state in which she took up the reins of government provided her the opportunity to prove her acumen by doing something tangible for the people of which she appears to have taken appropriate advantage. The main planks of her policy have therefore been to fight terrorism that had held the country hostage, side by side with efforts to control corruption and initiating development in order to improve the economic condition of the people.

The first test of her leadership came almost immediately after she had taken office. There was a mutiny by junior officers in the Bangladesh Rifles, a paramilitary force. The way Hasina handled that crisis raised her popularity graph as a leader.

As her first priority after assuming office, Sheikh Hasina launched countrywide operations against terrorists and religious militants arresting and prosecuting many leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Jamiatul Mujahidin Bangladesh (JMB) and the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI). Strict action was likewise initiated against people suspected of corruption.

These measures have improved the law and order situation and Bangladesh’s rating with the corruption watchdog, Transparency International, besides earning the support of India and the West.
Indo-Bangladesh relations today are stronger than ever before, stronger even than during the time of Sk. Mujibur Rahman’s rule. As one analyst puts it "Ever since Sheikh Hasina ….assumed office as Prime Minister ….new vistas have opened up in Indo-Bangla relations," marking a sea change from the rock bottom they had touched during the tenure of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.

Bangladesh has dealt with anti-Indian elements with a heavy hand. It has conveyed support to India’s candidature for permanent membership of the UN Security Council. It has agreed to the construction of a 13 km long Akhaurah-Agartala railway link, 5.4 km of which would be in the Indian territory, will reduce the distance between Agartala and Kolkata via Guwahati from an arduous 1200 km to just 519 km.

Dhaka has also agreed to facilitate movement of India’s containerized cargoes by rail and water across Bangladesh, a facility India has always been seeking, because it will cost much less and save a lot of time.
In return India has offered road connectivity to Nepal and Bhutan through its territory, for cargoes from Bangladesh. It has also offered Bangladesh a $1 billion credit at a low fixed rate of interest of 1.75 per cent per annum, with a 20 years’ repayment period as well as a grace period of five years, compared with $ 800 million offered by China. "This one-billion-dollar line of credit is the largest ever amount given by India to any country," Indian Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, emphasized at the time of signing the deal.
Among other major friendly gestures by India are positive measures to settle some irritating issues that have plagued bilateral relations for many years. These include sharing of the waters of common rivers including the Teesta and, far more importantly, the exchange of enclaves.

To address the first, a "mechanism" facilitating an understanding on sharing waters has been set in motion. As to the enclaves, India has now agreed in principle to cede control over its 111 enclaves within Bangladeshi territory covering some 17,000 acres of land, in return for 51 Bangladesh enclaves extending to about 7000 acres in India, thereby giving away 10,000 acres of Indian land to Bangladesh as a gesture of friendship.
Meanwhile, aware of Bangladesh’s status as a buffer between two giants, China and India, Sheikh Hasina is also trying to cultivate Chinese friendship. During her visit to China in March last year Sheikh Hasina sought Chinese investment, and assistance for building a deep sea port in Sonadia, Cox’s Bazaar, and repairing the trade imbalance.

Hasina’s domestic policy, however, seems geared to her obsession with avenging her father’s assassination. Ziaur Rahman had tried to put the tragic past behind and move on by pardoning the culprits. But forgiveness does not occur in Hasina’s dictionary. Therefore the pardon was annulled. A few have been executed, while endeavors are being made to bring the remaining offenders to justice.

With the same unforgiving attitude Hasina is targeting those Jamat-e-Islami members who took sides with the Pakistan army in 1971, against the local resistance as "collaborators."
She also wishes to take the country back to the halcyon days when it had just emerged as an independent country under her father in almost every respect. The original constitution with its secular structure promulgated by the Bangabandhu has since been restored under a Supreme Court verdict. The ruling declared the amendments introduced by President Ziaur Rahman that gave it an Islamic profile, as illegal. However, Bismillah ir Rahman ir Raheem has been left untouched, perhaps, because the reformers found it too hot an issue to meddle with.

Hasina’s pro-India policies are realistic. But, it would be too soon to count the chicks. Who gets the most out of the bilateral deals ultimately cannot be assessed at this point in time. Besides, recalling the fate of the earlier agreement on enclaves signed by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, many analysts are wary of buying the line that India will cede its 10,000 acres to Bangladesh. If she succeeds, Hasina can be sure of an easy sailing for a third term as prime minister.