“In the short run, definitely she has no place — the Awami League doesn’t have a place — in Bangladesh.” This statement comes not from a passionate young man on the streets of Dhaka but from Mohammad Yunus, the 84-year-old head of the interim government of Bangladesh. Published in the Financial Times, this declaration requires thoughtful consideration.
This assertion is nothing new; we encounter similar sentiments daily. What is significant is that the speaker is not a youthful activist or an anti-political figure but a Nobel Prize-winning individual, aware of the weight of his words.
Muhammad Yunus elaborated this statement, saying, “They controlled the people, they controlled the [political] machinery, they controlled the institutions to enhance their own interests. No fascist party should exist in a democratic system.”
The last point is particularly important. In terms of political reality, the fascism of Hasina Wajid is evident. However, what does it mean that “they controlled the institutions to enhance their own interests”?
This simply means that since Haseena Wajid was being patronized by India, Therefore, Hasina Wajid also made the army a proxy and the top officers of the army started working for Indian interests instead of Bangladesh. This is not a guess or an analysis, it is a fact and Bangladeshi newspapers are full of reports of this fact.
Recently, three generals of Bangladesh have been expelled from the army.Lieutenant General Mujibur Rahman has been dismissed. The other, Lieutenant General Saif Alam, has been forced to retire. Not only was he forced to retire, his accounts have also been frozen and not only his accounts but also his children’s accounts have been frozen. The third major general, Hamidul Haq, has also been forced to retire and sent home.
Interestingly, these three officers have been the head of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence. One can imagine how much India was involved in the military affairs of Bangladesh.
It is being said about General Mujibur Rahman that the game of killing and looting has been started by the Mukti Bahini, and was now run by General Mujib under state patronage. In the fascist form of government, the principle was set that who is the enemy of the Awami League, is an enemy of India.
Since the Awami League continued to play the role of an Indian proxy, India continued to consider its political opponents as its enemies. Some were killed by judicial tribunals and many lost their lives at the hands of General Mujib’s network. According to the latest report of Sufian Siddiqui of Chitta Gang, it was a three-pronged terrorism. Administrative, Judicial, and Indian.
The situation had deteriorated so much that Bangladesh’s security requirements were being compromised. The generals, although from Bangladesh, were effectively working for India. Every strategic plan was undermined, and any proposal that threatened India’s interests was dismissed. The influence of India within the Bangladesh Army was overlooked for its own agenda.
When General Mujib fled to India amid these changing circumstances, many of these issues came to light. It was General Mujib who had directly permitted RAW’s (Research and Analysis Wing) network to operate under his authority in Bangladesh. In his final days, he arranged for their safe return to India. News reports indicate that over 200 RAW operatives were successfully transported from Bangladesh to India.
According to the Dhaka Tribune, he is accused of the deaths of at least 400 Bengali civilians. The influence of these individuals was so significant that no legal action could be taken against them, given the protection they received from Sheikh Hasina. General Mujib had effectively created a state within a state that functioned under the direct supervision of RAW. Names of about half a dozen generals involved in this network have surfaced in Bangladeshi newspapers recently.
These officers, including General Zia-ul-Ahsan, General Tabriz, General Saleh, and General Akbar, were members of the Bangladesh Army but had their loyalties aligned with India.
The biggest challenge the Bangladeshi government is facing is removing Indian encroachment from its army.
