Chandabaji, mamla banijya can’t be our only future
Except for Sheikh Hasina, her ministers, and a privileged few who were close to the corridors of power, the rest of us—including ordinary Awami League supporters—were at the receiving end of her misrule. Though to different degrees, none of us were out of its harm's way—directly or indirectly.
The Hasina regime was characterised by Pilkhana and Shapla Chattar carnages, enforced disappearances, election fraud, destruction of government institutions, plundering of banks, capital flight, favouring a neighbouring country at the expense of our national interests, and similar other corruptions and crimes. Despite media censorship, these were occasionally reported—but there were many other forms of oppression and abuse of power that did not receive media attention.
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It was an open secret then that the neighbouring hegemonic country got the better of us in all bilateral deals. The transit facilities that the Hasina government gave it are tantamount to a violation of our sovereignty. Innumerable people from that nation held highly paid jobs in our country, while our youths were living a despicable and respect-less life without employment, bearing the stigma that comes with not having a career upon graduation. We knew all these though they were under-reported in the media.
What most Bangladeshis didn't know at all was that our printing sector was excluded from government contracts and our textbooks were printed from the neighbouring country at a higher price. As time goes by, more misdeeds and anti-Bangladesh measures of the Hasina regime may come to light.
What is most surprising of all is that, while Hasina and her cabal of sycophants were exploiting us, plundering our land and siphoning off our money to foreign accounts, she didn't have any shortage of (sell-out) intellectuals to confer upon her the badge of patriotism. They often used the 1971 sentiments to protect her government from criticisms.
What is most surprising of all is that, while Hasina and her cabal of sycophants were exploiting us, plundering our land and siphoning off our money to foreign accounts, she didn't have any shortage of (sell-out) intellectuals to confer upon her the badge of patriotism. They often used the 1971 sentiments to protect her government from criticisms.
The worst sufferers were our student population. College and university students of our country were rarely given the dignity that they deserved. They were abused, exploited and mistreated at campuses and dormitories by thugs affiliated with successive governments. However, on Hasina's watch, their ordeal reached the most excruciating levels of suffering and pain.
Chhatra League thugs and hired miscreants (known as Tukai League) made the life of our students unbearable. Ordinary students—both male and female—have stories of harrowing suffering and misery at the hands of Hasina's hooligans. What is more deplorable is that media people were not very interested in reporting their suffering.
The example below may shed some light on this.
On behalf of the Forum for Bangladesh Studies (FBS), in April 2023 I helped put together a webinar on repression of students at Bangladesh's universities. Guest speakers of the webinar included Dr Mohd Saiful Islam (a former dean of BSMMU), former General Secretary of DUCSU Dr Mushtuq Husain, Dr Obaid Hamid of the University of Queensland (Australia), and Prof Al Mamun of the University of Rajshahi. Concluding remarks were made by Oxford graduate Prof Niaz Asadullah.
I had reached out to many media outlets with a request to cover the webinar. However, despite the urgency of the topic and the stellar line-up of discussants, not many media outlets considered it important to cover the event.
Having suffered a lot of neglect from various corners, our students finally took it upon themselves to liberate themselves and their country, and the rest is now history.
The student-led formidable movement against Hasina's misrule reached its climax in July 2024 and achieved its goal on August 5, 2024. The bravery that our young people exhibited on the streets of Bangladesh is unprecedented in its history.
Hasina ordered our security forces to kill our young people with the bullets bought with our money. Eventually, her cruelty was defeated by their selflessness and sense of sacrifice. They didn't hesitate to lay down their lives for their country.
Over a thousand young people who were killed in July and early August 2024 and are still dying of injuries and tens of thousands of others who were ready to die finally liberated our country. They gave it back to us through pools of their blood. We owe them a deep debt of gratitude.
However, unfortunately, some incidents that have been happening in parts of Bangladesh since August 5 are a betrayal of the colossal sacrifices made by the youth of our country.
Affiliates of a particular political party who were routinely bashed, bludgeoned, and butchered by the Hasina government suddenly turned into bullies themselves. They started following in the footsteps of Awami League thugs and hooligans.
First, like their Awami League counterparts, they started committing the crime of chandabaji (money extortion) from business people and others right after the fall of Hasina's fascist regime. Second, they embarked on mamla banijya (lawsuit deals)—this needs some explanation.
The reprobates among the affiliates of this major political party have given the police an impression that they are coming to power soon so that the law enforcers feel it important to abide by their wishes. They identified Awami League brutes who were involved in killing our youth in July and August 2024 and allegedly brokered deals with them to protect them from murder cases in exchange for money. No wonder most Awami League killers and assailants are still at large while our young people are living with life-changing injuries and trauma.
These two crimes—chandabaji and mamla banijya—wreaked havoc in the lives of innocent people of our country during the Hasina regime. Our young people didn't give their lives to liberate our country from the oppressors of one political party only to hand it to those of another. Nor did they do so to enable another group of miscreants to exploit us. Previously, our brave freedom fighters also didn't liberate our country from Pakistan in 1971 to be enslaved by—or to serve the interests of—another country.
We must not forget that opposition political parties during Hasina's rule tried several times to depose her. But they failed for various reasons—including cowardice and corruption of some opposition leaders (rumour had it that they were on the payroll of the Hasina government).
Our brave and valiant youth succeeded in achieving what political parties failed to do for 15 years. It will be very unfortunate if thugs and hooligans of another political party are allowed to extort money or to negotiate with killers(for monetary gains) assuring them absolution from murder charges.
I hope exploitation by one or the other political party is not the only future of Bangladesh. Committing the financial crimes of chandabaji and mamla banijya is not the right way to repay the debt of gratitude to our young people who made phenomenal sacrifices for our country.
Dr Md Mahmudul Hasan is a professor in the Department of English Language and Literature, International Islamic University Malaysia. He can be reached at mmhasan@iium.edu.my.
Views expressed in this article are the author's own.
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