Bangladesh: Islamist parties bond to form grand alliance, creating new concerns for India

In the changed circumstances, the ensuing process has also led many of them to hunt for new partners and alignments with like-minded parties to enhance their strength and prepare themselves when elections are held in Bangladesh.

Under one banner

One of the most significant developments in this regard has been the recent meeting of the major Islamist parties in Bangladesh, in an attempt to emerge as a united political force to implement a ‘just and equal’ Muslim society under strict Sharia code and other Islamic laws in the country.

Hasina was forced to resign and leave the country after a student protest over the “unjust” recruitment policy for government jobs turned violent into a people’s insurrection against the ruling Awami League government and its 15 year “misrule”.

Now with Hasina out of the political scene, other actors have moved in to shape Bangladesh according to their agenda.

Main initiative

The main initiative to form a united Islamic Front has been taken by Bangladesh’s two big Islamist organisations, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Andolon Bangladesh.

These two parties have over the past week held a series of meetings and entered into negotiations with other Islamist parties in Bangladesh with the purpose of creating the proposed united front.

On August 20 the Amir of Jamaat-e-Islami Dr Shafiqur Rahman presided over a meeting with other six mainstream Islamist parties to bring them under one umbrella, according to a report in the Bengali national daily Kaler Kontho.

Among the other parties with whom discussions are on for the united front are, Khilafat Andolon, Bangladesh Khilafat Majlis, Jamaat-e-Ulema-Islam Bangladesh and Khilafat Majlis. Several other smaller Islamist parties are also being contacted for joining the effort to bring all like-minded parties under a single banner.

Marginalised during Hasina's regime

In the past, both the main parties in Bangladesh, the Awami League and its rival, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) had included the Jamaat-e-Islami and other Islamist parties as coalition partners in their respective governments.

But Hasina’s attitude towards the Islamists has been tougher than the BNP, which traditionally used the Jamaat to provide it with street power during all major protests in the past.

The Jamaat, which was banned by Bangladesh’s founding father Mujibur Rahman, was brought back into the political mainstream by Ziaur Rahman, the BNP founder, who came to power in the wake of Mujib’s assassination in a military coup in 1975. He had lifted the ban on Jamaat.

Ziaur Rahman was also assassinated in 1981 and his widow Khaleda Zia had been heading the party ever since with her son Tarique Rahman.

Though Hasina continued to ally with some Islamist parties, the Jamaat and other major groups were under tremendous pressure and totally marginalised in the Bangladeshi landscape during her rule.

Staging a comeback

Now with her departure, all of them have decided to stage a comeback to the country’s political centrestage.

But unlike in the past, all the Islamist parties, who share a similar view of Bangladesh’s future and a common political and social agenda, are now planning to align with each other rather than with the BNP or the Awami League.

However, since the anti-Hasina sentiments in the country are still very strong, the major Islamist parties have decided to leave out those who allied with the Awami League in the past elections.

More than 44 political parties are recognised by the Bangladesh Election Commission, out of which there are 11 Islamist parties and organisations. But altogether there are nearly 70 Islamist parties of varying sizes and organisational capacities in the country.

Grand alliance for an Islamic state

In the past 50 years they have not been able to come together due to political and ideological differences. But now the effort among the big Islamist parties is to resolve their differences and form a grand alliance of all the like-minded parties to create an Islamic State in Bangladesh.

The general secretary of the Islami Andolon party Yunus Ahmad told Kaler Kontho that due to “our” disunity they have suffered repression and torture from the “fascist regime” for the past 15 years.

“To create an Islamic State, we have invited all to join in the negotiations to end our differences. Our only aim is to create a truly Islamic political structure,” Ahmad had pointed out.

Challenge for India

It is far from clear how the current negotiations among the Islamist parties will progress in the coming days. Petty rivalry and so-called ideological differences have kept them apart so far and despite talks in the past for unity they have been unable to come together.

However, in the last 15 years they have been marginalised in politics and under extreme pressure from the Hasina government. This may have given them a time to pause and re-think their future strategy.

Whether this will lead to a grand alliance between all the Islamist parties in future is not yet clear but the current concerted effort certainly adds a new concern for policy planners in New Delhi.

Volatile atmosphere

Hasina’s departure and incidents of attacks on religious minorities in Bangladesh had caused serious concern in India and led to some strong anti-Bangladeshi comments on social media. This added to the atmosphere of volatility and uncertainty that prevailed between the two countries in the past weeks.

Anti-Bangladeshi remarks and incidents of attacks of Muslims in India had created a major stir in the minds of people in the neighbouring country.

But Hasina’s deft handling and total control over the administration had ensured that such comments were not allowed to stand in the way and scuttle the progress in Indo-Bangladesh relations.

Now, in a transformed political atmosphere in Bangladesh, any such incident in India will not only have a bigger impact in the neighbouring country but also be felt by their vocal and prolonged protests and anger.

This is especially so, with the Islamists' plans to play a bigger role than what they have done in the past.

India will have to be careful about the domestic developments that are likely to have a much bigger impact in Bangladesh and delay the two countries’ effort to put bilateral relations back on track.