Low Turnout in Bangladesh Elections Amid Boycott and Violence—The New York Times.
A Textbook Drama
It was no secret who played the doll-dance that led to the unmandated and unpopular fascist governance in Bangladesh for decades. However, from 2021, the US led West infused a hope that the country would see a free, fair and participatory election in January 2024. That was not to be. For whatever reasons, the leaders of the democratic world chose to make an about face from their repeatedly stated commitments of credible election in Bangladesh. The people were left in the hapless abyss they were in. Members of political opposition were either paraded to the crowded jails or made to flee from the chasing fascist forces. A sham election was staged on January 7, commonly known as the Dummy Election. Without any challenge–internal or external–dummy candidates were fielded to fool those who cared to observe the drama to be competitive. Opposition sources claimed that 95% of the people rejected the electoral farce, and only 5-10% voters, including minors, could be forced into the polling booths. The proponents of democracy and election integrity closed their eyes on the grave travesty. But they soon awoke and did not fall short in pledging support to the freshly “elected” regime, once again. Everything appeared forgotten and forgiven. It was the suffering multitude of the country that was left to groan under a re-energized vengeance of the ruling fascists. Why did such a disaster befall upon the south Asian country?
Magic Wand!
All fingers point to New Delhi, which supposedly let it be known that it did not want any change in the command structure it so carefully implanted through the One-Eleven Conspiracy (on January 11, 2006) and continued to maintain it since, with a view to serving its economic and geopolitical interests in its eastern neighbor. What surprised me was that the entire democratic west suddenly succumbed to the self-serving manipulations of the New Delhi rulers, whose own pathetic track records of democracy and persecution of the minorities, as well as hegemony on smaller neighbors are not unknown to the world. What was the magic wand that made it possible? Analysts came up with various scenarios. It was to keep both India and Bangladesh firmly within the US State Department’s much touted Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS) to keep China, and to some extent Russia, out of the vast region. Ironically, Beijing and Moscow also wanted Indian protege Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina undisturbed, albeit for their own reasons. If so, January 7 was a unique stroke of the wand to converge the eternal enemies of the world! Others thought it was the growing Indian market, which could not be ignored. Fine, but why at Bangladesh’s cost?
Fight The Own War
After the January 7 fiasco, the people of the country came to their renewed realization that outside assurance cannot be taken granted. They need to take matters in their own hands and go for direct action. They have to fight their own war. So came the Boycott India Movement, which the Bangladesh Freedom and Democracy Forum (BFDF), a sister organization of the US registered the Coalition for Human Rights & Democracy in Bangladesh (CHRD Bangladesh) explains as: Free Bangladesh of external hegemonism and internal authoritarianism, and establish a patriotic and democratic government. Bangladeshi origin and Paris exiled democracy and human right activist Dr. Pinaki Bhattacharya is a strong voice for the campaign. At home, Nurul Haq Nur, popularly known as VP Nur, led Gono Odhikar Parishad (GOP) and a few affiliated parties have been very active among the people since the inception of the movement. After silence for a while, the large opposition parties like BNP and Jamaat-e-Islam (JeI) also joined it. It is expected that the movement will gain momentum after the holy month of Ramadan. One must remember that the 40,000 RAW (Indian Intelligence) agents in the country are not sitting idle. They are doing everything possible to frustrate the movement. But a united popular movement will be difficult to be defeated, however strong the adversaries are.
While on Boycott India, one must remember that Bangladesh has nothing against India as a big neighbor or its common people. It is their state policy and highhanded acts of hegemony to subjugate Bangladesh that the Bangladeshis are against. They want a friendly India and maintain a mutually beneficial relationship on sovereign equality.
History
Indian design to secure its eastern neighbor is as old as 1947. After the partition, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru reportedly said that East Pakistan would soon fall on their lap. According to J N Dixit, a former top diplomat in New Delhi (his book Liberation and Beyond), India had been working to separate East Pakistan from its western part from that time. It sponsored the Awami League and infiltrated its agents in it to serve its interests. Today, there is no denial of the fact that the Awami League is an Indian product.
The Agartala Conspiracy Case, the manipulations during the liberation war in 1971 are cases in point. Indian design was nakedly manifested in the Seven Points Agreement it forced Bangladesh exiled government to sign. The 7 Points have never been made public, as such there appeared some variations of the format but the content basically remained the same. The signing date is also somewhat controversial. According to most sources, the terms were agreed in July 1971 and formally signed in October 1971. Acting President Syed Nazrul Islam was said to have lost his sense after inking his name on the dotted line. Colonel M A G Osmani, the chief of the Mukti Bahini, Bangladesh liberation forces, resigned, but was persuaded to return to the fold. Indira Gandhi made it clear what she wanted of a liberated Bangladesh. It was an opportunity of a lifetime and she would not miss it at any cost. After the surrender of Pakistani forces, she reportedly boasted at the Parliament: Hamne hazaar saalon ka badla liya. (we took revenge after a 1000 years). The 7 Points are appended at the end.
On March 19, 1972 in Dhaka, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Indira Gandhi expanded the 7 Points to 12 with some finesse. It was styled as Indo-Bangla Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Peace, taking some helpful clue from what India signed with the USSR in August 1971, ostensibly to ward off the US and China in the South Asian conflict. One needs to read between the lines. The 12 Points treaty is also given at the end.
After the independence, India made no secret to demonstrate that Bangladesh was her exclusive domain and the Awami League was under its command. Mujib’s 44 months and Hasina’s 20 years of rule bear testimony to that. After a break for more than two decades, New Delhi succeeded in regaining its control over Bangladesh through the 1/11 conspiracy in January 2006. And the country has virtually become an Indian vassal. Under Indian protege Sheikh Hasina, the country’s sovereignty and its Islamic values have faced multifaceted attacks. The US led West displayed some hope in the last couple of years and the people looked forward to a patriotic, democratic good governance, but the West suddenly pulled the plug off. January 7 settled the case for India once again. For the people, India Out is the only answer.
Appendix
The 7-Point Agreement between India and Bangladesh
(Signed in New Delhi in July 1971 between Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India and Tajuddin Ahmad, the Wartime Prime Minister of Bangladesh Alternatively narrative is that it was agreed in July but signed in October, 1971)
(Source: Oli Ahad, Jatio Rajniti (1945 to 1975), Bangladesh Cooperative Book Society, Dhaka. Below is the translation by Dr. KMA Malik from original Bangla.)
That Indian rulers did not want a fully independent and sovereign Bangladesh, but a client state under its hegemony, from the very beginning was made clear in a less publicized seven-point document which Mr. Tajuddin Ahmad, the prime minister of the Bangladesh government-in-exile in India in 1971, was obliged to sign as a condition for India’s direct military campaign in Bangladesh to accelerate the defeat of the Pakistani occupation forces and to install a puppet government in power.
The seven-point document referred to above reads as follows:
(1) A para-military armed force for Bangladesh will be raised under supervision of the Indian military experts; this force shall be stronger and more active than the regular armed forces of Bangladesh.
(2) Bangladesh shall procure all military equipment from India and under planned supervision of the Indian military experts.
(3) Bangladesh shall direct her foreign trade under supervision and control of the Indian government.
(4) Yearly and five-yearly development plans for Bangladesh shall conform to Indian development plans.
(5) Foreign policy of Bangladesh must be compatible with and conform to that of India.
(6) Bangladesh shall not unilaterally rescind any of the treaties without prior approval of the Indian government.
(7) In accordance with the treaties signed before December (1971) war of Pakistan and India, Indian force shall enter into Bangladesjh at any time and shall crush any resistance that may erupt there.
Indo-Bangla Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Peace
Signed in Dhaka on March 19, 1972 between Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Prime Minister of Bangladesh and Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India.
The twelve Articles incorporated in the treaty were:
(i) The contracting parties solemnly declare that there shall be lasting peace and friendship between the two countries and each side shall respect the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the other and refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of the other side;
(ii) The contracting parties condemn colonialism and racialism of all forms, and reaffirm their determination to strive for their final and complete elimination;
(iii) The contracting parties reaffirm their faith in the policy of non-alignment and peaceful co-existence as important factors for easing tension in the world, maintaining international peace and security and strengthening national sovereignty and independence;
(iv) The contracting parties shall maintain regular contacts and exchange views with each other on major international problems affecting the interest of both the states;
(v) The contracting parties shall continue to strengthen and widen their mutually advantageous and all-round cooperation in the economic, scientific and technical fields, and shall develop mutual cooperation in the fields of trade, transport and communication on the basis of the principles of equality and mutual benefit;
vi) The contracting parties agree to make joint studies and take joint action in the field of flood control, river basin development and development of hydro-electric power and irrigation;
(vii) Both the parties shall promote relations in the field of arts, literature, education, culture, sports and health;
(viii) In accordance with the ties of friendship existing between the two countries, each of the contracting parties solemnly declare that it shall not enter into or participate in any military alliance directed against the other party. Each of the parties shall refrain from any aggression against the other party and shall not allow the use of its territory for committing any act that may cause military damage to or continue to threat to the security of the other contracting parties;
(ix) Each of the contracting parties shall refrain from giving any assistance to any third party taking part in an armed conflict against the other party. In case if either party is attacked or threatened to attack, the contracting parties shall immediately enter into mutual consultations in order to take necessary measures to eliminate the threat and thus ensure the peace and security of their countries;
(x) Each of the parties solemnly declare that it shall not undertake any commitment, secret or open, towards one or more states which may be incompatible with the present treaty;
(xi) The present treaty is signed for a term of twenty-five years, and shall be renewed by mutual agreement;
(xii) Any differences interpreting any Article of the treaty shall be settled on a bilateral basis by peaceful means in a spirit of mutual respect and understanding.
*The writer is a democracy and human rights activist.
April 2, 2024
The viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints and editorial policies of Aequitas Review.
