New Delhi: The August protests that led to the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government in Dhaka also saw the vandalism of statues of her father, Bangladesh’s founder and its first President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The anger against Hasina has led to revisionist narratives with a pro-Pakistan tilt, projecting Muhammad Ali Jinnah as the South Asian country’s “founder”.
Add to this, a generous dollop of anti-India sentiment. A few days ago, a citizens group placed a nameplate on a street adjoining the Indian High Commission in Dhaka, calling it “Shaheed Felani Road”.
Felani was a Bangladeshi minor, who worked as a domestic help in New Delhi. She was returning home with her father through the Anantapur border in Kurigram district on 7 January 2011, when she was allegedly shot dead by Indian Border Security Force (BSF) personnel.
The anti-India feeling in Bangladesh has swelled under the perception that the country suffered in the hands of Hasina, “and by extension India because of its continued support to the Awami League government,” said Sreeradha Datta, professor of international affairs at the O.P. Jindal Global University.
Datta told ThePrint: “The fact that she held three elections unopposed with no statement against it from India, further cemented the perception of New Delhi’s involvement in supporting Hasina.”
Datta feels the defacement of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s statues was a part of an outpouring of anger against Hasina. She was the worst enemy at the time, Datta said, and all things connected to the Awami League were attacked.
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Venerating Jinnah
On 11 September, the National Press Club in Dhaka held a first of its kind commemoration of the 76th death anniversary of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, where a number of Urdu speakers criticised India.
The Deputy High Commissioner of Pakistan Kamran Dhangal was present at the event.
“If Bangladesh had not been part of Pakistan in 1947, we would have been in the same position as Kashmir today, with the Indian junta holding weapons to our necks. Bangladesh gained independence because of Pakistan, which Jinnah helped create,” said Mohammad Shamsuddin, the National Convenor of the Nagorik Parishad, at the occasion.
Shamsuddin said the “erasure” of Jinnah from the streets of Bangladesh was at the behest of New Delhi, and urged Dhaka to foster better relations with China and Pakistan. Another speaker called Jinnah the “founder of Bangladesh”.
Sohini Bose, an associate fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, Kolkata, however, told ThePrint that the commemoration of Jinnah’s death anniversary was likely a one-off, and a narrative that may not hold for long as it is a negation of Bangladesh’s own history.
But she said the interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus is very “dependent on public support” since Hasina’s banishment was dramatic. “The government now has to balance public perception with its own real political needs,” Bose added.
It is therefore working towards “disassociating” itself from anything related to Sheikh Hasina, and by extension her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, she said. The ORF fellow cited the cancellation of the 15 August holiday as an example. The day was observed as the National Mourning Day, and marked the assassination of Mujibur Rehman.
Both experts, though, agreed that this may not lead to Bangladesh embracing a completely different narrative of its history. “Sheikh Mujibur Rahman will remain as a national icon,” said Datta.
India-Bangladesh ties at ‘critical juncture’
During Hasina’s 15-year rule, multiple issues between the two countries have been resolved, including the sharing of river waters and the exchange of enclaves and exclaves.
“For 15 years, as long as the Awami League was in power, we had very good relations and a sense of high functioning bilateralism. A number of actions were taken to improve ties between the two countries. However, there has now been an abrupt break,” Bose told ThePrint.
The growing economic relations between the two countries saw India become a key partner for the export of daily essentials to its neighbour. Bangladesh is also heavily dependent on India for healthcare.
“Both countries will realise that no matter the political transition, the geographical reality of the two being neighbours will not change. Both New Delhi and Dhaka will have to watch their step and take calculated steps keeping in mind the economic and development needs,” Bose said.
However, ties are now dependent on how Nobel Laureate Yunus is able to manage the country’s domestic political aspirations, against the realities of the country’s economy, which depends on India to an extent.
The political fissures
Former opposition parties Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh (JeI) are now in play after the fall of Hasina’s Awami League.
The two organisations were in a coalition government earlier between 2001-2006, but at the moment have differing opinions on when elections should be held in the country.
While the BNP wants it as early as possible, the JeI is willing to give the interim government time for the next two years.
The JeI is known for its anti-India stance and had supported Pakistan during the Liberation War in 1971. However, its position has changed over the years, with it being co-opted by both the Awami League and the BNP at various points, especially in the fight against the different military dictatorships that ran the country between 1975 and 1990.
Datta, however, points out that the party has never been able to win “more than 4-5 percent of votes”, but this can change. “On their own, the Jamaat-e-Islami have not won elections. The party, however, has a clear vision on how it wants to increase its strength across Bangladesh’s polity.
There is a change in JeI’s membership, from largely rural areas to finding acceptance in urban Bangladesh,” she said.
The professor added the party had laid low for years, playing the “long game”.
“The real worry is their long-term game plan. At the moment, in Bangladesh, voters will not elect the Jamaat, but in the long run, things could change.”
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
Also read: Delhi to Dhaka: Witnessing the birth of post-Hasina Bangladesh