As mobocracy rules Bangladesh, law and order, human rights take a hit

Someone in Bangladesh claiming to be an Islamic joddha (fighter) has forwarded a Facebook post by Islamic Chatra Shibir (the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami) that claims responsibility for killing seven Hindus in the port city of Chittagong last week.

The post claims "teaching Hindus in Chittagong the lesson they deserved because they had become too bold". It also calls on people to support “our Muslim army” which, it says, has got 200 Hindus arrested to be "taught the right lesson".

Anti-Hindu frenzy

The attacks on a Hindu locality in Chittagong followed protests by Hindus in the city over a Facebook post by a local Muslim youth seeking a ban on ISKCON. During the protests, the police and army mercilessly attacked Hindus, alleged local community leaders.

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India has urged Bangladesh's interim government headed by Nobel laureate Mohammed Yunus to take steps to stop the violence against Hindus and other minorities.

"We have observed that there have been attacks on the Hindu community in Chittagong. Their properties and business establishments have been looted. These happened following incendiary posts on social media targeting Hindu religious organisations," Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

Yunus and Trump

Just before he won the US presidential election, Donald Trump had lashed out at the growing violence against minorities in Bangladesh. "I strongly condemn the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians and other minorities who are getting attacked and looted by mobs in Bangladesh, which remains in a total state of chaos," he said in a post on Truth Social, an alt-tech social media platform owned by Trump Media & Technology Group.

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The Yunus administration has so far dismissed Indian concerns over growing attacks on minorities as "highly exaggerated”. But with Trump all set to take charge, he can no longer be in self-denial over the total lawlessness and anarchy prevailing in Bangladesh.

Yunus promised the rule of law when he took charge of the interim administration, for which there is no provision in the Bangladesh constitution but which was apparently justified by the 'Doctrine of Necessity' that has often been used to justify military takeovers in Pakistan.

Mobocracy rules Bangladesh

Since the installation of the interim government and the dissolution of parliament, steps the erstwhile Awami League dubbed illegal, a culture of mobocracy seems to have taken root in Bangladesh.

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All high-level functionaries who could not be ousted legally have been forced to resign by mobs led by student leaders who ousted Sheikh Hasina.

All vice-chancellors, pro-vice chancellors and even treasurers in 50 universities have been forced to quit by violent mobs led by the student leaders who have owned up to close links to radical groups like the Hizb-ut-Tahrir and Islami Chatra Shibir.

Mass forced resignations

According to media reports, 175 school headmasters have been forced to leave their jobs. Many of them were Hindus and quite a few of them were women. The mobs subjected them to visible humiliation.

All Supreme Court and many High Court judges including the Chief Justice and Attorney General were forcibly removed by similar mob action. Thirty-three permanent secretaries and 11 ambassadors were axed well before the end of their tenures.

⁠Nearly 300 secretaries and additional secretaries and many more joint secretaries have been appointed without due process. There has been a wholesale reshuffle in banks and other top financial institutions, mostly arbitrarily.

NHRC goes due to unrest

Last week, all members of Bangladesh’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) resigned shortly after releasing a report on the rising mob fury. The NHRC, chaired by Kamal Uddin Ahmed along with members Md Salim Reza, Aminul Islam, Kongjari Chowdhury, Biswajit Chanda and Tania Haque, submitted their resignation letters to the president.

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The NHRC resignations came just days after the release of a report detailing a sharp rise in mob violence and crimes such as beatings, rapes and political harassment. The report exposed violent attacks on political figures, contributing to growing concerns about human rights and safety in Bangladesh. The NHRC spokesperson confirmed the resignations but could not specify the reasons.

The political and communal unrest intensified following Hasina’s exit in August, worsening Bangladesh’s human rights scenario. The NHRC report, which underscored the escalating crimes and unrest, appears to have amplified the gravity of the situation, possibly prompting its members to step down.

Vendetta as state policy

The increasing violence and political instability continue to shape the national landscape, posing significant challenges for the interim government.

Yunus' promised rule of law has been characterised by pursuit of vendetta as state policy. Nearly 200 cases, mostly related to charges of murder, have been filed involving over 200,000 Awami Leaders and activists. Some cases, like those against cricket icon Shakib Al Hasan and lawyer ZI Khan Panna, are downright frivolous.

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Shakib, an Awami League lawmaker, was away playing cricket in Canada at the time of the crackdown on student protestors when the murder he is accused of happened. Panna supported the student protests but he criticised their later conduct.

The irony is that the complainant in the murder case against Panna has admitted he doesn’t know the lawyer. The idea is to harass, intimidate and humiliate anyone opposing mobocracy.

Bangladesh: Then and now

Media censorship is enforced by a culture of terror and threat. Many journalists and editors have been framed in murder cases.

Already, even leading Western publications are suggesting a change of national mood, with many saying that Hasina's times were better. The owner of two small shops, Hasina Jahan, attested to this feeling with her own plight.

"During Hasina's rule, we paid a monthly subscription of few hundred rupees a month to her party men. Now both my shops have been looted and I am ruined. I am surviving by giving tuition to school students and my sister is making a few bucks by escorting toddlers from well-off families to school," Hasina Jahan told The Federal.

"We don't judge rulers by their politics but by our own experience. See the uncontrollable price rise now," she said, pointing out Yunus' failure to control the prices of essential commodities including food.

More protests

The student leaders and the Islamist radical groups they hail from have periodically taken to the streets to demand the ouster of President Shahabuddin Chuppu. Some have even called for the removal of army chief General Waqar-u-Zaman.

Recently, one of the newly appointed advisors, Mahfuz Alam, pulled down the portrait of Bangladesh founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from Banga Bhavan, the seat of the presidency.

Now, the student leaders appear to be upset with even some newly appointed advisors like film director Mostafa Sarwar Farooqi. If all this wasn’t enough, contradictions within the interim government are also beginning to surface.