Shafqat Munir is a senior fellow at the Dhaka-based Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies. He spoke to Seema Guha about the ‘Monsoon Revolution’ and prospects of India-Bangladesh relations in the post-Sheikh Hasina era. He says that Hasina’s stay in India will cast a shadow on the bilateral relations if she continues to issue anti-revolution statements from New Delhi. Excerpts:
Has law and order been restored on the streets of cities and towns? Are policemen back on duty or are they still being targeted?
Order is gradually being restored and the Interim Government is quite committed to the quick restoration of order and stability. As of now, police personnel have returned to 539 police stations. We have just had a revolution, and revolutions by their very nature are always chaotic. I am confident that within a few days we will have a complete return to normalcy.
There is no denial that the confidence in the police has eroded considerably. The Interim Government has already announced that the police will undergo significant reforms. Their uniforms and logo will also be changed. As citizens and members of civil society, we feel that major reforms are needed. Police is a vital organ of the state’s security apparatus and the trust and confidence in the police has to be restored. We need to undertake reforms in a manner that the culture of policing also changes, and that never again we will have the scenes of July 2024 repeated on our streets.
As India backed Hasina to the hilt, there are anti-India sentiments in Bangladesh at the moment. How can New Delhi rebuild trust? Does the fact that Hasina is in India make it harder for the Interim Government to deal with New Delhi?
An overwhelming number of Bangladeshis want a mature, productive and constructive relationship with India. A number of people, however, feel that hitherto the relationship has been geared towards a group of individuals and a political party and was not broad-based. There is an urgent need for New Delhi to therefore send a clear message that it is a relationship with the people of Bangladesh, and irrespective of any political change, the relationship must endure. The relationship cannot be limited to any individual or any political party.
I am heartened to see that the Chief Adviser to the Interim Government, Muhammad Yunus, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have spoken and they have had a good exchange. I would also like to reiterate what I have said earlier: New Delhi needs to send a Special Envoy to Dhaka to signal to the Interim Government that it wants to turn the page. Such a visit would pave the way for a constructive relationship in the future. We have to accept that a people’s revolution has taken place in Bangladesh and Hasina is now history!
The Interim Government has already expressed their angst about Hasina continuing to live in India. It is important to acknowledge that there is a lot of public anger against Hasina and there have been calls by students and other groups for her extradition, as several cases have been filed against her over the last few days. Hasina’s continued stay in India and her statements undermining the revolution and the Interim Government will certainly cast a shadow on the relationship, which we do not want.
Yunus has assured Bangladesh’s minorities that they would be fully protected. But will he be in a position to do so in the provinces?
We are extremely disheartened about the incidents of violence against minorities. Even one death or one incident of destruction of property is too many. Therefore, it is incumbent upon all of us to protect the minority population. We also have to acknowledge that there is an awful lot of disinformation, and therefore, it is important for us to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Yunus has already sent a clear message that his government is committed towards protecting the rights of every Bangladeshi. This ‘Monsoon Revolution’ is a revolution for all Bangladeshis; it is also a secular revolution brought about by the students and the citizens of this country. This is a revolution which envisions a country where all citizens will have an equitable share irrespective of their religious identity. There is no room for bigotry, discrimination or injustice in the new Bangladesh. We owe it to the martyrs of this revolution.
One of the reasons why India supported the Hasina government was because of its security concerns. Before the Awami League government came to power, Bangladesh soil was often used by anti-India forces. Will the new administration or any government that is elected later be sensitive to New Delhi’s security concerns?
The Interim Government, and any government that will be elected in the future, would never want Bangladeshi soil to be used by any insurgent group against any country, including India. As I have said earlier, we want to build a productive, constructive and meaningful relationship―an important ingredient of such a relationship is being sensitive to each other’s security concerns.
The other worry for India is China. During Hasina’s rule, both China and India spread their wings across the country. Now that India is out, will China dominate?
There cannot be any question of any country dominating Bangladesh. The newly-appointed adviser for foreign affairs has already stated that Bangladesh wants to pursue a balanced foreign policy with all countries. Bangladesh is a sovereign entity, and therefore, there can be no question of domination.
Your take on Hasina’s often repeated charge that the US has fuelled unrest in Bangladesh because she refused America permission for a base in the country.
These charges are utterly baseless and ludicrous. It is a desperate attempt to undermine the ‘Monsoon Revolution’ and the sacrifice made by the students and the citizens. It is also an attempt to deny the facts which led to this revolution in the first place. This was a revolution of Bangladeshis, for Bangladeshis and by Bangladeshis! There can be no question of a foreign hand. It is time we desist from engaging in such conspiracy theories and face the reality.
