The state leader most actively fighting violent Islamist terror in the world today, is Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. No other leader of state faces the same level of terror. Islamist forces distort their religion and spread hatred and violence across her country, yet Hasina is not cowed.
Like her great father Mujibur Rahman, who led Bangladesh to independence from Pakistan in 1971, Hasina is thoroughly secular. She knows the true and humane face of Islam and has formally restored secularism as one of the four fundamental beliefs in her country’s constitution. Determined to preserve and promote her land’s original liberal composite tradition, she has made it abundantly clear that defending Bangladesh’s secular identity is a top priority of her government.
Today Hindus account for 8.4 per cent in Bangladesh’s population of 150 million ( the 2012 census). Prime Minister Hasina has assured them they (and other minorities– Buddhists and Christians) should have nothing to fear. Addressing a rally last year (http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/bangladesh-prime-minister-sheikh-hasina-warns-against-attacking-hindus-548412 ), Hasina warned the radical Islamists against harming Hindus. She said, “People of all religious faiths would continue to enjoy equal rights in Bangladesh… I want to warn you not to break the peace of the people, otherwise you have to pay for it…. The culprits involved in killing people and destroying their homes and business establishments will be tracked down wherever they take shelter.”
Knowledgeable sources the Hasina government has taken several commendable measures to sideline the notorious Jamaat-e-Islami in the county. Under the International Crimes Tribunal it has begun prosecution of certain leaders of Jammat-e-Islami , who were associated with Al Badr ( created by the Pakistan Army ), for their war crimes during the Bangla war of independence. This prosecution has already brought some of the most notorious Jammat leaders to justice.
However, the sources say, the situation in Bangladesh is still far from satisfactory. Radical Islamist organizations, like the Harakat ul Jihadi Islami (HuJi) and the Ansarullah Bangla Team, have been behind the recent hacking of some secular writers and journalists in the country. The government has not taken effective action in the matter. It does not want to be “dragged into any fight between self-confessed atheists and self-defined believers.” The radical Islamists term anyone criticizing them as atheists or apostates who deserve to be killed (wajib-ul-qatl). The government has banned Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) and Hizbut Tahir but has been inactive against vigilante groups such as the ABT.
I think one of the reasons for Dacca’s (capital city of Bangladesh) lack of adequate response in the matter is that it is not confident enough on the domestic front to wage a total war on terror. This should change as relations between New Delhi and Dacca improve. The sources say there have been the Indo-Bangladesh Joint Communiqué of 2010, the Framework Agreement of 2011, and the institution of the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) at the level of Foreign Ministers. The border security instruments of the two nations are in constant contact with each other.
Recently, New Delhi has opted for international arbitration to settle her maritime boundary with Bangladesh. It has honored the historic 1974 India-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) between the legendary Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Bangladesh counterpart, Mujibur Rahman.
During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent Dacca sojourn, he and his Bangla counterpart Hasina signed this agreement. Besides, New Delhi and Dacca signed a series of agreements for road, rail and port connectivity and energy tie-ups. Prime Minister Modi extended a line of credit of two billion dollars to support infrastructure and other development activities in Bangladesh.
I hope this Indo-Bangla cooperation grows further. It would go a long way in fostering the economic prosperity of Bangladesh. This would, in turn, lead Prime Minister Hasina to be more focused in her war on terror. I would stress it is time New Delhi backed Dacca fully in neutralizing the Islamist forces in Bangladesh as it is very much in the self- interest of New Delhi. The Islamist forces in the region are said to be linked with terror groups, including al Qaeda and the Islamic State, with a goal of establishing a Greater Bangladesh merging Bangladesh with India’s West Bengal.