Bangladesh politics

"There certainly is a lot of political pressure from businessmen for the state to adopt the new tax codes which are more favorable for the business environment, but there is no law that requires them to do so." John Barry; The Ambition and the power, Penguin Book, (1990) Present liberal democracy and welfare state one of the main feature is the quality of all citizens, accountability and good governance. Yet today, there is wide recognition that Bangladesh is not living up to either of these cornerstone ideals. However, it is a hypothesis of our study that, the Bangladesh political system is increasingly dominated by wealthy, powerful and politically connected businessmen. This paper will try to justify, how the statement does is reliable that, political inequality, accountability transparency as well as good governance are hampered for the excessive participation of the businessmen in politics.

Submitted for a MA in Conflict Security and Development, University of Exeter, August 2015.

Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD), which has recently sentenced several prominent Islamist politicians for their ‘collaboration’ in crimes committed by the Pakistani military during the 1971 war for independence, is a controversial process. Supporters applaud its efforts to achieve justice obstructed for several decades, whilst its opponents denounce its political motivation.  This dissertation primarily seeks to understand whether ICT-BD can be understood as an attempt to complete a process of justice for 1971 or a politically motivated attack on opponents of the government. In doing so it provides an assessment of ICT-BD which situates it within a complex historical and political context and recognises the nature and importance of conflict legacy in Bangladesh. It attempts to explain and reconcile international and local opinions and assessments that frequently diverge, ultimately concluding that ‘justice’ and ‘politics’ are inexorably intertwined over this issue. 
The prosecution of historic war crimes is undoubtedly a worthy exercise, which Bangladesh has every right to conduct in a domestic framework. But ICT-BD certainly has political utility for the ruling party, if not overt political motivation. Unfortunately the adoption of 1970s legislation has limited the Tribunal’s scope to the defeated side in the conflict.  This was always a likely outcome given that public demand for justice has always been focused upon Islamist figures, who are largely seen as having been unjustly ‘rehabilitated’, and the trials enjoy majority approval amongst Bangladeshis. The Tribunal claims to incorporate ‘international law’, yet the government’s desire to use death sentences has precluded all international involvement. It undeniably falls short of ‘international standards’, and has attracted justified criticism from international commentators and organisations. But, international coverage has lacked balance, and has inadequately engaged with the full historical context and political realities of the Bangladeshi post-conflict scenario.

The 20th century witnessed a lot of nationalist movements, which gave the birth of many independent states. All these nationalist movements were led by some charismatic leaders who could convince, organize, and motivate people by their character, speech, and wonderful leadership. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was one of them. He was such a leader who opened the eyes of the East Pakistani people about their right and led them towards independence. He could ignite the light of the nationalist spirit among the people by his public speaking capacity and heart-rending speech. His historic speech of 7th March 1971 is often considered as one of the most influential speeches over the world. UNESCO recognized the 7th March speech of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as part of the world’s documentary heritage in 2017. This study sheds light on the historical importance of that speech. An extensive historical background of this speech will also be demonstrated based on the documents of the liberation war of Bangladesh and other reliable sources. This study shows that the 7th March speech of Bangabandhu paved the way for independent Bangladesh in 1971.

This paper examines article 70 of Bangladesh constitution which prohibits floor crossing in the parliament. The constitution of Bangladesh declares that the Republic shall be a democracy in which fundamental rights and freedoms and respect for human dignity and worth of the human person shall be guaranteed. The constitution was adopted after the independence of Bangladesh in 1972. Bangladesh was a part of erstwhile Pakistan and was deprived of its rights. The government in Pakistan period was not stable. After such a situation, the constitution of Bangladesh incorporated article 70 to ensure stable government. The constitution sets forth that all powers in the Republic belong to the people. Democracy was incorporated as a state principle in the constitution. It has been argued that article 70 is a barrier to democracy. Even it contradicts with the spirit of the constitution. I will look forward, is article 70 of Bangladesh constitution a threat to democracy or not?

We started this journey, confused and overwhelmed by the mountain of a task that we had been set. We knew that the end product would be a fantastically inspiring collection of memoirs, yet we had no idea where to start. Knowing that this project was a one of a kind, with such a unique theme made us want to strive to make everything come together perfectly. However we did not realise how much we would want it to work until we were fully immersed in the project.

Our internal motivation fuelled the basis of the journey, but our absorption into the project was inspired by the amazing women we spoke to. Hearing their stories of courage, strength and motivation made us want to ensure that we did justice to those who fought for the justice of their people. If there was ever a point at which we stalled, we knew that we could not stop. These fantastic women had fought for liberation against all odds with their minds, hearts and souls; who were we to get stressed?

But as imagined, we found ourselves stressed. Each member of the team was either working or studying full time whilst pursuing this. Balancing our timetables was never simple but the common goal brought us together. We wanted to present these women to the world exactly as we saw them; truly inspirational. We wanted them to be recognised for every second of work that they had put in for such a worthy cause.

And finally we wanted to ensure that the work of women in such a momentous period as this was not lost in history. For this we are extremely thankful, these women are the cornerstone of this project and we cannot express enough gratitude.
We are also extremely grateful to Dr Dipak Bush, Dr Naim, Karen Buck MP, Dr Renu Lufta and Feroz Khan for their much valued support. These academics and extremely knowledgeable people played a crucial role in supervising and supporting us on this journey.
Our thanks also go to Ansar Ahmed Ullah for being hugely supportive and taking the time to answer our queries at every given opportunity on the way. We are grateful to Mr. Aziz Toki, Director of CLYD for all his support, in keeping our aspirations and enthusiasm elevated by creating a teamwork environment. We also extend our gratefulness to Ms Louisa Lochner, Head teacher of Gateway Primary school for her support as a partner of this project and to Ms Natalie Young, a history teacher who has helped develop supporting study materials.
Our journey would not have been anywhere as smooth as it has been, without these amazing people and their extensive knowledge
Our volunteers have worked hard throughout this project and have been a true pleasure to work with. We are extremely proud of our team and also extremely thankful for their input, they have really helped this book become a reality.
This book would have been a mere idea without the support and contributions of the aforementioned. This has been a fantastic opportunity for each of us to grow and we are extremely happy with how everything has come together. We are genuinely humbled to see where we are now from the daunting moments at which we started. This has been a truly eye opening journey for each one of us and we hope that it can also enlighten you on a journey of your own.

The paper investigates the dynamics between madrasa education and party politics in Bangladesh using data gathered through in-depth field interviews with madrasa students and teachers, and it examines the nature of madrasas’ political engagements, views and orientations. It argues against the conventional wisdom that madrasas in Bangladesh do not have political affiliations and, explicitly, do not organise activism with political parties. The survey supports the argument that the government Aliya madrasas are aligned with Bangladesh Jamaat-i-Islami politics, whereas the private Qaumi madrasas’ political alignments vary depending on the strength of the political party in the area in which the madrasa is located and the madrasa’s economic condition. However, Qaumi madrasas exhibit their political activism by controlling the ‘true’ meaning of Islam, by maintaining a monopoly of authority on Islam, and by mobilising for Bangladesh to become a Sharia-based Islamic state.

आरएसएस-भाजपा द्वारा पोषित और प्रायोजित उपद्रवी तत्वों ने जिन्नाह की तस्वीर को मुद्दा बना कर अलीगढ़ मुस्लिम विश्वविद्यालय (अमुवि) पर बीते दिनों जो हमले किए, उनके बाद दो-क़ौम सिद्धांत या दो-राष्ट्र सिद्धांत (इस के अनुसार हिन्दू धर्म और इस्लाम के अनुयायी दो अलग राष्ट्र या क़ौमें हैं) एक बार फिर चर्चा के केंद्र में है। विश्वविद्यालय छात्र संघ कार्यालय में मुहम्मद अली जिन्नाह की यह फोटो बीते 80 सालों से लगी है, जिस पर आपत्ति कर हिंदुत्व ब्रिगेड अपनी कुटिल परंपरानुसार मुसलमानों की देशभक्ति पर सवाल खड़े कर रही है। हैरान करने वाली बात यह है कि यह काम बीएस मुंजे, भाई परमानंद, विनायक दामोदर सावरकर, एमएस गोलवलकर और अन्य हिंदू राष्ट्रवादियों की परंपरा के वारिस कर रहे हैं, जिन्होंने न केवल दो क़ौमी सिद्धांत की अवधारणा प्रस्तुत की बल्कि उन्होंने आक्रामक रूप से मांग की कि मुसलमानों को भारत जो हमेशा से हिंदू राष्ट्र रहा है से निकाल दिया जाए, । इस टोली का आज भी विश्वास है कि हिंदू व मुसलमान दो अलग राष्ट्र हैं। भारत के राजनीतिक परिदृश्य पर जिन्नाह या मुस्लिम लीग का उद्भव होने से बहुत पहले आरएसएस के लोग, जो आज सत्तासीन हैं, सतत् यह मांग करते आए हैं कि मुसलमानों व ईसाइयों से नागरिक अधिकार छीन लिए जाने चाहिएं।
दो क़ौमी सिद्धांत पर यह निबंध इस उद्देश्य से लिखा गया है कि इस सिद्धांत के जन्म, विकास, मौजूदा चलन और इस से जुड़े पूरे विमर्श को भली-भाँती समझा जा सके और किस तरह हिन्दुत्वादी शासक टोली इस कुत्सित सिद्धांत को देश बाँटने  के लिए लागू कर रही है, उस साज़िश को जाना जा सके।

Abstract: The years 1975 and 1977 witnessed a wave of de facto military
regimes in Bangladesh and Pakistan, respectively. In Pakistan, General
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq operationalized the country’s preexisting Islamic
identity from emblematic to substantive at both domestic and international levels. General Ziaur Rahman and General Ershad of Bangladesh revived the country’s Islamic identity at the domestic and international levels and reopened the space for religious fractions that were banned from politics constitutionally in the previous regime. Focusing on military regimes in Bangladesh and Pakistan between 1975 and 1990, this paper aims to bridge that gap by specifically examining the use of Islam. This study argues that dictators in both countries used Islam to support their survival strategies of legitimacy, repression, and social control. Authoritarian rulers did not have to use Islam to maintain military coherence, because of the military’s culture of subordination to superiors

This exploratory study starts with a simple question: does inequality in the distribution of political power shape resource distribution in Bangladesh? Using quantitative methods and various descriptive analytical tools, the paper examines the nature of concentration of political power and its relationship with resource distributions. The study measures the variation in the degree of concentration of political power across 64 districts and analyzes official development expenditure data of corresponding districts to understand whether any relationship exists between power and resource distribution. The study finds that concentration of political power is positively correlated with the distribution of resources in Bangladesh.

বাংলা কবিতার পটভূমিতে শামসুর রাহমানের অবদান মূল্যায়নের ভার এখন মহাকালের হাতে। বাংলাদেশের সর্বাপেক্ষা জননন্দিত কবি তিনি। কবিজীবনের শুরু থেকে মৃত্যু (১৭ আগস্ট ২০০৬) অবধি তিনি ভালোবাসায়-দ্রোহে-সংগ্রামে বাঙালিসত্তার মর্মমূলকে ধারণ করেছিলেন। আজ নিরাসক্ত মন নিয়ে তাঁর কবিতার যে  রূপ এবং স্বরূপ আমি প্রত্যক্ষ করি, তাতে বাংলাদেশের কবিতার বিগত ছয় দশকের ভালো ও মন্দ, সাফল্য ও সীমাবদ্ধতা এবং অনাগত সম্ভাবনার দিকনির্দেশনার একক মানদণ্ড  হিসেবে তাঁকেই গ্রহণ করতে হয়। ১৯৭৫ সালের ১৫ আগস্টের মর্মন্তুদ শোকাবহ ঘটনার পর সদ্য  স্বাধীন বাংলাদেশে মুক্তিযুদ্ধের  চেতনার  পথ অবরুদ্ধ হয়ে যায়। পাকিস্তানবাদী সেনাতন্ত্রের পুনরুত্থান এবং একাত্তরের পরাজিত শক্তির উচ্ছ্বসিত মুখচ্ছবি স্বপ্নময় সোনার বাংলা গড়ার স্বপ্নকে নিক্ষেপ করে গভীর অন্ধকারে। বাঙালি জীবন ও বাংলাদেশের কবিতার ক্ষেত্রেও ক্রমাগত স্পষ্ট হতে থাকে দুঃসময়ের পদধ্বনি। এর আগে যাঁরা প্রগতি ও স্বাধীনতার পর্বতারোহী ছিলেন, তাঁদের অনেকেই এসময় মানসিক মৃত্যুবরণ করেন। যাঁদেরকে এক সময় মনে হয়েছিল, বাংলাদেশের কবিতার সমষ্টিলগ্ল ও সংগ্রামী জীবন-চেতনাকে বহুদূর এগিয়ে নিয়ে যাবেন, তাঁদের মধ্যে সম্ভাবনাময় অনেক কবি প্রতিক্রিয়া ও রক্ষণশীলতার  চোরাবালিতে নিমজ্জিত হলেন। সম্ভাবনাময় কবিদের মধ্যে কারো কারো দৈহিক মৃত্যু হলো— কেউ কেউ  পলায়ন করলেন মৃত্যু অপেক্ষা  ঘন তমসায়। শামসুর রাহমান শিল্পিজীবনের সূচনালগ্নে সংগ্রামী জীবনচেতনার কবি ছিলেন না। নিসর্গ, প্রেম, বাংলাদেশের উদ্ভিন্নমান নগরজীবনের বহুমুখী সংকট এবং  ব্যক্তি-অস্তিত্বের গভীর আকুতিকেই কবিতার উপজীব্য করেছিলেন। কিন্তু সংবেদশীলতার সর্বগ্রাসী বৈশিষ্ট্য সত্ত্বেও শামসুর রাহমান বিশ্বকবি হতে চাননি, কিংবা প্রথম পর্যায়ের জীবনানন্দীয় নিসর্গ-প্রেমলোকও তাঁকে বেশিদিন আকর্ষণ করেনি। বিশ শতকের ষাটের দশক থেকেই তিনি হয়ে উঠলেন বাংলাদেশের কবি, বাঙালির সমষ্টিলগ্ন জীবনচেতনার শিল্পিত কবিকণ্ঠ।  বিশ শতকের চল্লিশের দশক থেকে বাংলাদেশ ভূণ্ডের  বিকাশশীল মধ্যবিত্তের রূপ-রূপান্তরের ইতিহাস শামসুর রাহমানের কবিতা। জন্ম থেকেই তিনি নগরে মানুষ হয়েছেন। কৈশোরে-তারুণ্যে দেখেছেন ব্রিটিশ  উপনিবেশ, ১৯৪৭-পরবর্তী ২৩ বছর দেখেছেন  পাকিস্তানি উপনিবেশ এবং মুক্তিযুদ্ধের মাধ্যমে অর্জিত স্বাধীনতার অব্যবহিত পরেই দেখেছেন গণতন্ত্রের  ছদ্মবেশে রাষ্ট্রের ওপর ধাবতশক্তির নিয়ন্ত্রণ। একজন রাজনীতিপ্রবণ কবি এইসব প্রতিক্রিয়ার তাৎক্ষণিকভাবেই উচ্চকণ্ঠ  কবিতা লিখেতে পারেন। বাংলাদেশে ভাষা-আন্দোলনের  কাল থেকেই এ জাতীয় প্রচুর কবিতা রচিত হয়েছে। কিন্ত একজন জাতকবির সংবেদনশীলতার ধরন এবং আত্মপ্রকাশের প্রকৃতি একান্তভাবেই তাঁর নিজস্ব। রাহমান তাঁর অভিজ্ঞতা, অভিজ্ঞান এবং সংবেদনশীলতার মিশ্রণে নিজের  স্বতন্ত্র চেতনালোক গড়ে তুলেছিলেন। তাঁর অবচেতনের  কুঠুরিগুলো কখনো নিসর্গ, কখনো প্রেম, কখনো নিঃসঙ্গতা আবার কখনো সর্বগ্রাসী প্রেমাবেগে ভরে উঠেছে এবং কবিতা সম্পর্কেও তাঁর ছিল নিজস্ব দৃষ্টিভঙ্গি, যার অনুসরণ তাঁর কবিতা অনুধাবনে ভূমিকা রাখতে পারে।

This paper looks at both elite and mass modes of politics. Unruliness -framed variously as informality, fragility etc -is the substantive governance issue in Bangladesh, and political unruliness is at its nucleus. That rule-breaking powers political action in Bangladesh has been recently reaffirmed by the unprecedentedly large cross-class Shahbag movement protesting the war trials verdicts in 2013, and the violent response it provoked by the Jamaat-e-Islami. Both the movement and the response are examples of rule-breaking to protest rule-breaking and in order to establish the legitimacy or authority of a different rule. This chapter attempts to explain why Bangladeshi political culture is so dependent on rulebreaking for its power, and implicitly, to reflect on what that means for the 'good governance' agenda associated with rule-bound transparent administration. 5

জীবন ও শিল্পের বিচিত্র অভিজ্ঞতায় ঋদ্ধ হুমায়ুন আজাদ চেতনার গভীরে অন্য এক সত্তাকে লালন করেছেন । দ্রোহ , প্রতিবাদ , প্রথাবিরোধী চিন্তা ও সৃষ্টি তাকে খ্যাতির শীর্ষে নিয়ে গেছে। বিতর্কিতও কম ছিলেন না তিনি এ দেশে । স্পষ্টভাষণ তাঁর স্বভাবধর্ম ছিল বলেই অকপটে সকল অনুভূতি প্রকাশ করতেন । সাহিত্যের অন্যান্য শাখায় তাঁর যে সৃষ্টিশীল ক্ষমতা বিধৃত হয়েছে সেগুলোই তাঁর কবিসত্তাকে আড়ালে নিয়ে গেছে । তিনি যে মৌল স্বভাবের কবি তাঁর কবিতার পাঠ থেকেই তা আমরা গভীরভাবে উপলব্ধি করতে পারি ।

The nature of identity formation is complex. The production of identity in South Asia, with its colonial past, has been largely dependent on the region's colonial history. In this article we chart the process of political identity formation in Bangladesh. We identify the various historical causes that led to the creation of each of the two types of identity prevalent today. These two divisive identities based on language and religion, one pitted against the other, each became the central platform of each of the two major political parties, the Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). This disquisition shows clear patterns of political distress that resulted in the bifurcation of these two divisive political identities that ossified by the late 20th century due chiefly to the actions of the colonial government of the Raj.

On  November , the Bhola Cyclone swept across the southern districts of East Pakistan, killing over , people. Small islands were swept away and dead bodies of humans and cattle lay strewn across the devastated landscape. Following the news of the destruction, journalists, students, artists, and political workers rushed to the affected area with basic relief supplies, without waiting for the Military Law Administration (MLA) to intervene. The cyclone's occurrence just three weeks prior to the first general elections in Pakistan added a new dimension to the already simmering political crisis. The extensive media coverage of the disaster brought the pitiful state of infrastructural development and lack of governance in East Pakistan under local and global scrutiny. The cyclone and the corresponding issues soon became embroiled within the larger political demand for regional autonomy. The MLA came under attack from sections of East Pakistan's politicians, press, and public, as well as international political actors, for its poor disaster governance. This article uses the Bhola Cyclone of  as the lens to explore the complex interconnections between environmental disasters and a key issue of governance. While the Bhola Cyclone has been a subject of recent discussions, this article uses * The authors would like to thank the reviewers for their comments and suggestions.

শুরুতেই উল্লেখ করে নেয়া যায় যে ভাষা আন্দোলনে তাজউদ্দিন আহমদের অংশগ্রহন একেবারেই আচমকা কোন ঘটনা নয়। ১৯৪০ সালে বাংলার শেষ স্বাধীন নবাব সিরাজ উদ দৌলার চরিত্রে ব্রিটিশদের দেয়া কলঙ্কমোচনের লক্ষ্যে সুভাষ চন্দ্র বসুর আন্দোলন কিংবা এরও আগে গ্রামের বাড়ী গাজীপুরের কাপাসিয়া এম ই জুনিয়র স্কুলে ছাত্র থাকা অবস্থাতে উপনিবেশিক শাসন বিরোধী শিক্ষকদের সাথে দেখা-সাক্ষাত হবার মত ঘটনাগুলি কিশোর তাজউদ্দিন আহমদের মনন গঠনে সহায়তা করে বলে মনে করা যায়। কৈশোর থেকেই তাজউদ্দিন আহমেদ যে ধরণের রাজনীতি ও বুদ্ধিবৃত্তি চর্চার সংস্পর্শে এসেছিলেন তাতে করে ভাষা আন্দোলন থেকে শুরু করে বাঙালির রাজনৈতিক উন্নয়নের ধারাবাহিক সংগ্রামে তাঁর যুক্ত না থাকাটাই হত অস্বাভাবিক ঘটনা।

The years 1975 and 1977 witnessed a wave of de facto military regimes in Bangladesh and Pakistan, respectively. In Pakistan, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq operationalized the country's preexisting Islamic identity from emblematic to substantive at both domestic and international levels. General Ziaur Rahman and General Ershad of Bangladesh revived the country's Islamic identity at the domestic and international levels and reopened the space for religious fractions that were banned from politics constitutionally in the previous regime. Focusing on military regimes in Bangladesh and Pakistan between 1975 and 1990, this paper aims to bridge that gap by specifically examining the use of Islam. This study argues that dictators in both countries used Islam to support their survival strategies of legitimacy, repression, and social control. Authoritarian rulers did not have to use Islam to maintain military coherence, because of the military's culture of subordination to superiors.

The nature of identity formation is complex. The production of identity in South Asia, with its colonial past, has been largely dependent on the region’s colonial history. In this article we chart the process of political identity formation in Bangladesh. We identify the various historical causes that led to the creation of each of the two types of identity prevalent today. These two divisive identities based on language and religion, one pitted against the other, each became the central platform of each of the two major political parties, the Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). This disquisition shows clear patterns of political distress that resulted in the bifurcation of these two divisive political identities that ossified by the late 20th century due chiefly to the actions of the colonial government of the Raj.

On 12 November 1970, the Bhola Cyclone swept across the southern districts of East Pakistan, killing over 300,000 people. Small islands were swept away and dead bodies of humans and cattle lay strewn across the devastated landscape. Following the news of the destruction, journalists, students, artists, and political workers rushed to the affected area with basic relief supplies, without waiting for the Military Law Administration (MLA) to intervene. The cyclone's occurrence just three weeks prior to the first general elections in Pakistan added a new dimension to the already simmering political crisis. The extensive media coverage of the disaster brought the pitiful state of infrastructural development and lack of governance in East Pakistan under local and global scrutiny. The cyclone and the corresponding issues soon became embroiled within the larger political demand for regional autonomy. The MLA came under attack from sections of East Pakistan's politicians, press, and ...

This document highlights preliminary tendencies noted by a group of political scientists studying attitudes of climate-vulnerable respondents in different regions of Bangladesh.  The study was conducted in August 2017 in Cox's Bazaar, Dhaka, and Kurigram.

Introduction Since independence Bangladesh has been a victim of continual political turmoil. It got bogged down in the power struggle between three powerhouses — the army and the two dynastic political parties, Awami League (AL) and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) kept the country in the down whirl. In the early years of independent Bangladesh the army and the AL were two main contenders in the power game. Afterwards in the nineties a feud between AL and BNP to acquire maximum power by undermining democratic values started. In 2007 this political conflict once again led to military intervention. Eventually the army seized power and installed a caretaker government which conducted elections on 29 December 2008 after two years of emergency rule. Some people called it a new kind of governmental structure in which the army had not shown its physical presence and instead installed a caretaker government .The caretaker government assumed power by outlining two main objectives at hand: ...

Bangladesh one of the most populous Muslim countries in the world, has seen a resurgence of Islamic political forces since its independence from Pakistan which took a sharp upturn following the first military coup detat in August 1975. Despite

In keeping with the topic of the volume, this chapter shall attempt at an elucidation of the future of nationalism in a non-Western nation. Nationalism is inherently a socio-political phenomenon and as such, ever-changing. This chapter shall focus on the nature of national identities and nationalist ideologies that preponderate in Bangladesh, and attempt at identifying future changes that might become manifest, with specific emphasis on the impact of global media and technological trends, development of political Islam, and South Asian regional politics. The foundations of any nationalism are based on a set of core myths and traditions, which are malleable over time. This chapter shows the critical links between new global trends including (i) algorithms, filter bubbles, and media consumption in the age of the