From 2013 to 2020, the score of democracy in Bangladesh has declined by 35%, according to a report, The State of Democracy in South Asia, by Diego Maiorano, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, 10 March 2020. The scores of South Asian countries have been listed in a table in the report, and they are, from low to high: India-controlled Kashmir 28, Pakistan-controlled Kashmir 28, Pakistan 38, Bangladesh 39, Nepal 56, Sri Lanka 56, and India 71. The report started with the assertion: “According to one of the most widely used indexes to assess democratic quality across the world, the Freedom House Index, South Asia is going through a democratic backsliding. This is in line with global trends, where, for the 14th year in a row, democracies and civil liberties have deteriorated.”
The above report has been based on the Freedom House annual report on the state of democracy in the world in 2020. By now, the 2021 report has also been published. The Freedom House, US, is a US government funded NGO, “that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights” (Wikipedia). Freedom House reports are widely used, but the Freedom House has its criticism, too. There are criticisms of bias to countries that are friendly with the US and against the countries which have conflicts with the US. There are other criticisms too, such as acting covertly for the US government.
Fascism is not a decline of democracy
The Freedom House divides 195 countries and 15 territories of the world into free, partly free, and not free categories, according to scores on political rights and civil liberties. These scores, however, do not often reflect the severity of oppression and repression in the world. For example, fascism is just not a decline of democracy, it is much more than that. Its intent is to destroy democracy and perpetrate indiscriminate killings, severe oppression, and repression for a myriad of anti-human political objectives, such as racism, ultra-nationalism, xenophobia, hate mongering, bigotry, misogyny, authoritarianism, etc. I explained it in my article, Fascism: The Scourge of Humanity, in the Aequitas Review, 28 February 2021.
In the report of democracy scores in the Freedom House report above, the scores of Indian-controlled Kashmir and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir are both 28. But there is a world of difference between the two sides of Kashmir. There are human rights abuses in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, and human rights organizations, such as HRW, which monitors them. But India-controlled, or India-occupied (I-O) Kashmir, is a different case altogether. The people of I-O Kashmir are one of the most persecuted people in the world. According to some rights group, more than 100,000 people were killed in I-O Kashmir since 1989 (Wikipedia). India defied UN resolution of 1948 for plebiscite, and it has been occupying it with most brutal force. There are nearly 1 million security forces, consisting of military, paramilitary and other special forces helped by the air force in I-O Kashmir. They have been perpetrating most brutal killings, oppression, and repression on the 12.5 million people of I-O Kashmir under the emergency rules or special powers act. This is the highest people to security force ratio in the world.
Fascism in India
In the above table again, the democracy score of India has been shown as high as 71. But the facts on the ground are totally different.
Superficially, India has democracy, in that it holds acceptable elections, and the government is run in a parliamentary system. But its ruling elites have ruthlessly subjugated its people by (i) emergency rules and military operations, (ii) slavery and (iii) apartheid. The government has imposed emergency and special powers, or undeclared military rule, in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, North East India, the Maoist red corridor (40% of area in India), etc.
Socially, India’s Dalit system is slavery. The Dalits and semi-Dalits are classed as Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC). They constitute about 75% of the Indian population. Hence, 75% of the Indian population are under a slavery system. The remaining 25% are under a 4-tier apartheid system of 4 high to low castes: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. There are also tensions between the 20-30 nations, which constitute India, and India can fall apart. On top of all these, instigated by RSS, BJP and their likes, thousands of communal riots were perpetrated, in which hundreds of thousands of non-Hindus, predominantly Muslims, were killed in India. India is thus beset with serious problems.
In ancient Greece, there was limited democracy, but women, slaves and immigrants did not have any vote. In India, the people under slavery and apartheid are allowed vote, but they remain under slavery and apartheid.
The killings of minorities, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, ethnic minorities, and a large majority of the people, the Dalits, the most brutal killings and destruction under special powers act or emergency rules in widespread areas of India, the barbaric trampling under foot of human rights throughout India, since 1947, especially the Hitler like frenzy of the present fascist Modi’s Hindutvaist regime, make India an abominably fascist country. This cannot be measured by the scores assigned to democracy.
The people of India, as well as the people of the rest of the world, have been fighting against injustice, oppression, and repression. A fight by the people of India has also been going on for abolition of the Dalit slavery and the caste apartheid. The people of India, as well as the people of the rest of the world, will win!
Fascism in Bangladesh is not just the decline of democracy
Bangladesh has had two fascist regimes in power since its independence on 16 December 1971.
The fascist Mujib regime
The first fascist regime was led by Sheikh Mujib from 1972 to 1975.
On the fascism of the Mujib regime (1972-75), I wrote in an article (to be published in an anthology of articles by many writers), “While an overwhelming majority of the people and the army of Bangladesh were staunch advocates and passionate supporters of independence, the Mujib regime and the Awami League, led by Mujib, engaged in fascism and plunder. The Mujib regime killed 30,000 patriots, it perpetrated indiscriminate killings, oppression, repression, reckless corruption, plunder, grabbing, theft, and border smuggling including food grains from Bangladesh to India. A dystopian situation prevailed, and the misrule created a human-made famine in 1974, in which 500,000 people were killed directly and another 1 million in the after-effects. Mujib also destroyed the democratic system and created a one-party BAKSAL rule in 1975, where all other parties were banned, and all newspapers were banned except for four compliant ones.” This gives a broad picture regarding how brutal and abysmal this fascist regime was. The Mujib regime also sold-out national interest and surrendered sovereignty to India. Mujibur Rahman himself was not pro-India, but for power, he surrendered to India.
The fascist Hasina regime
The second fascist regime that Bangladesh has had, is the Sheikh Hasina regime from 2009 to date.
This fascist regime perpetrated 3 massacres: on Bangladesh Rifles, a paramilitary force; the Jamaat-e-Islami, a political party; and the Hifazat-e-Islam Bangladesh, an Islamist Advocacy group, and a coalition of a dozen or so Islamist organizations. The regime also perpetrated indiscriminate killings, abductions, terror, tyranny, torture, oppression, repression, massive imprisonment, extortion, plunder, reckless corruption, etc. and above all it has sold national interest and surrendered sovereignty to the hegemonist India.
The regime does not tolerate any dissenting voice or any criticism of the government or of the ruling party, the Awami League. How the opposition, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has been brutally repressed can be seen in the statement issued by its secretary general, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir in the party’s council in 2016: “In the last few years, 502 leaders and workers of the party (BNP) were killed by government repression, and in the firing of the police and the terrorist death squads of the ruling party. Within this time, 223 leaders and workers have been abducted, 4,000 have been seriously wounded, about 75,000 were thrown to prison, about 24 thousand court cases were filed, in which 430,000 were accused and in these false court cases, 50 people have been given life imprisonment.” The statement, however, covers only a few years before 2016, but not the 12 years from 2009 to the present. It gives a grim and dismal picture of what calamity has descended on the opposition, which the Hasina regime does not tolerate.
The fascist Hasina regime has been ruling since 2009 through rigged elections in 2008, 2014 and 2018. All three elections were ‘won’ by the fascist regime by (i) cracking down on the opposition and (ii) ballot-box stuffing with cooperation from the police and the army. The results in the landslide ‘win‘ were predetermined. The Economist, on 11 February 2021, published a report titled Bangladesh’s government lavishes money on the army and showed how the fascist regime buys loyalty of the army by pouring hundreds of millions of dollars in the welfare trusts of the army, giving coveted pay rises, giving the officers land and cars as perks, etc. Similarly, on 5 February 2021, the Al Jazeera TV network broadcast a program titled ‘All the Prime Minister’s Men’, which showed how the army chief is involved in the impunity to the crimes of his brothers, how money is laundered for business abroad, and how Israeli equipment was purchased for Bangladesh in the name of purchase for the UN, etc.
Recently there have been reports on false imprisonment, death in prison due to torture, and torture of writers and journalists under the draconian Digital Security Act (DSA). The world is now becoming aware of what is going on in Bangladesh. Recently also, concerned people wrote to the US President, Vice-President, and the members of the Senate and the Congress about the fascist regime, the appalling human rights situation, and the dismal law and order situation in the country.
What the fascists forget is that wherever there is oppression, there is resistance. The people will persist in their struggle for freedom, democracy, justice, human rights, and development. They will build national resistance. They will fight, they will win!
Involvement of big powers
For now, the fascist regime in Bangladesh has been ruling with total barbarism. A fascist tyrant in a developing country like Bangladesh, can come to power and exist in power because of support from one or more big powers in the world. (i) In the case of Mujib’s fascist regime (1972-75), the regime was backed by India and the then Soviet Union. (ii) In the case of Hasina’s fascist regime, the regime has been backed by India and the US and its allies. In competition with India and the US, China and Russia have also been wooing the Hasina regime.
In the pragmatism of international relations, it is said, there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies, only permanent interest. When this interest is immoral, unethical, exploitative, or oppressive, it is repugnant. The world must change. Foreign relations as well as internal administration must be based on humanitarian principles as adopted by the UN General Assembly, the four guiding principles being: Humanity, Neutrality, Impartiality, and Independence.
New hopes are being raised in the world for democracy, as the fascist Trump was defeated in the election of 2020, and Joe Biden elected with his firm commitment to democracy. In his speech of 4 February 2021, Biden declared his intent to host the summit of democracies early in his administration to rally the nations of the world to defend democracy globally. With a perception of the history of democracy, he unequivocally declared, “American people are going to emerge from this moment stronger, more determined and better equipped to unite the world in fighting to defend democracy because we have fought for it ourselves.” Whatever caution or premonition of dashed hopes one may have on the feasibility of the implementation, one must congratulate the intent and the boldness of the sense of purpose expressed. It has raised the hopes of the long-suffering people of Bangladesh, and the people of other countries, who are in the same boat.
Historically, however, the US has been involved in trampling on the democracies, or on the democratic movements in the world, including Bangladesh. We must, however, remember that the people of a fascist country fight against fascism, the people of a colonialist country fight against colonialism, and the people of an imperialist country fight against imperialism. The people will win in the end! The people of the world will unite to bring in peace and harmony in the world.
I will show here how the democracy that Bangladesh achieved from 1991 to 2006, was snatched away and the fascist Hasina regime put in power in 2009, through the conspiracy of 1/11, 2007, supported by India, the US, and its allies.
The conspiracy of “1/11” on January 11, 2007
India had been an ally of the Soviet Union, but after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, India gradually moved to the US orbit. The alliance was consolidated by Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee’s visit to Washington in November 2001. The joint statement noted that both countries were targets of terrorism “as seen in the barbaric attacks” on 11 September in the US and on 1 October in Kashmir. Previously, India had been committing sabotage, armed activities, false flag Islamic terrorist attacks, armed intervention in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh, etc. Now it had the backing of the US for its conspiracy of 1/11, 2007 in Bangladesh.
The whole thing was a pre-planned conspiracy of India, supported by the US and its allies, including the UN, mostly a rubber stamp of the US. The US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, on her visit to India in March 2005, said that the US and India together will work on Bangladesh, which was “troubling”. In June 2005, US Ambassador to Bangladesh, Harry K Thomas, said, the third force (meaning the army, and not the contending two main parties) would take over the power. Canadian Human Rights lawyer described the method as follows:
William Sloan’s press conference on Bangladesh on 8 March, 2008:
“Minus Two Scenario”
In August 2005, while Katrina was destroying New Orleans, I had conversations in Dhaka with an MP and a newspaper editor who told me about what they called a “minus two” scenario that they described as follows:
1. In the run-up to the 2007 elections, street violence, which is always present during election campaigns in Bangladesh, would be used to justify cancelling the elections. The decision would be taken by the “Caretaker Government” charged with running the country during the three-month election campaign. 2. A State of Emergency would be declared, and the Armed Forces would in effect take control. 3. An anti-corruption drive would be initiated to extract “the two Begums”, Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina, from the political scene. 4. The political landscape would be redrawn before the holding of elections, with a “new” political leadership more acceptable to the US State Department.
It appears that my interlocutors had crystal balls. The scenario has played out as written, with explicit public support from the US-UK-Canada diplomatic corps, which seems to have assumed a 21st Century “White Man’s Burden” of remodeling political life in Bangladesh. There is of course a disturbing parallel with the US support for General Musharraf in Pakistan and the exclusion of Bhutto and Sharif. (Minus-two conspiracy push Bangladesh into a corner with no legal exit.)
Everything of the above plot was implemented as planned. Originally, the plan was to exile Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina, but the minus-2 formula collapsed, as Khaleda Zia did not agree to the exile, even after brutal torture of her two sons, one of whom left for the UK for treatment of his damaged back, and he is still there, and the other died in 2015, because of the damage in the chest due to torture. There were 2 years of emergency military rule with a lame duck caretaker government. The so-called Tuesday club of diplomats in Bangladesh (comprising US, UK, EU, Canada, Australia, and Japan) had a busy time implementing the political engineering. The BNP-Jamaat alliance was bulldozed, and in the election of 2008, Sheikh Hasina was installed in power as a puppet of India, with a landslide “victory” in the election, with pre-determined results, through ballot-box stuffing and cracking down on the supporters of the other candidates.
The saga of the fascist Hasina regime has continued through another 2 elections, 2014 and 2018, both were “won” with (i) cracking down on the opponents and (ii) ballot-box stuffing. The regime has been supported all the way by India, the US and its allies. The US supported India against China. Interestingly, China and Russia as competitors of India and the US in Bangladesh, have also been wooing the fascist Hasina regime. So, the fascist Hasina regime has been enjoying the multi-polar wooing in a multi-polar world!
Conclusion
The fascism of the Mujib regime ended by the glorious army-people uprising of 15 August 1975, in which Sheikh Mujib was assassinated. India hit back with a countercoup on 3 November 1975, led by Gen. Khaled Mosharraf. But this coup lasted only for four days. On 7 November 1975, there was another glorious army-people uprising. Leadership was then bestowed upon Ziaur Rahman, who took over presidency in 1977. Ziaur Rahman lifted Bangladesh from the abyss of the destruction of the fascist Mujib regime and placed it on a respectable high ground. He laid the foundation of the development of Bangladesh. However, he was assassinated in an Indian plot with cooperation of Gen. Ershad and Sheikh Hasina, daughter of Mujibur Rahman. Gen. Ershad ruled from 1983-1990. His dictatorial rule was toppled by a people’s uprising, led by Khaleda Zia, wife of Ziaur Rahman. After that there were three democratic governments, alternated by Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina. Now from 2009, the fascist Hasina has been ruling.
In the Freedom House report for 2021, Freedom in the World 2021: Democracy under Siege, the leading lines are: “As a lethal pandemic, economic and physical insecurity, and violent conflict ravaged the world, democracy’s defenders sustained heavy new losses in their struggle against authoritarian foes, shifting the international balance in favor of tyranny.” The Freedom House this year recorded the 15th consecutive year of decline in global freedom. This shows an ascendency of autocracy and fascism in the world. But tyranny brings its own doom.
In every country there is struggle against fascism and autocracy. Fascism and autocracy will be defeated in the end. Humanity will prevail; fascism and autocracy will have a fall!
*The writer is a London-based political analyst, commentator and a former activist and columnist constantly campaigning for Freedom, Democracy, Justice, Human Rights and Harmonious Development in Bangladesh. He appeared many times on Bengali TV talk shows in London speaking on the political affairs of Bangladesh. A retired computer consultant with a Master’s degree in Mathematics, he left his PhD studies in the UK to travel to Kolkata, India, in 1971 to join the Independence War of Bangladesh.
March 20, 2021
The viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints and editorial policies of Aequitas Review.
