[Reader-list] Lalon & Terror: Re-configuring Political Map During Emergency

[Kshmendra Kaul]

Confining comments to the removal of the Baul Sculpture (whether it included or not the statue of Lalon Fakir)
 
Two weeks back, in a private mail, I had conveyed the following thoughts: 
 
""""""""  The rationale behind the demand for removal of the statues makes sense. The news report says that the statues are in the 'hajj camp' area of the Airport. That would sure be upsetting.
 
Bangladesh is an Islamic country so perhaps in any case, wherever it might be,  a 'public' statue can tend to be viewed as something forbidden lest it leads to deification. Pardon my ignorance, are there such 'public statues' in Bangladesh? I presume, if none others, there would be many of Bangbandhu and Nazrul 
 
I got introduced to Baul Music very late in my life. It is exquisitely soul-touching.
 
Maybe the Bauls, because of the roots, inspiration and content of their music are especially a 'sore point' cultural inheritance for the Islamists """""""""
 
That generally seems to be along the lines of the views reported of  Maulana Noor Hossain Noorani, Amir of Khatm-e-Nabuwat Andolon Bangladesh and Imam of Fayedabad mosque.
 
There have been wishful 'thought explorations' on this List and elsewhere in the public domain about "Union" between India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. That would neccessarily require some degree of seamless congruity in Laws spread across the three countries; not only Commercial Laws but Laws applicable to all aspects of the lives of the citizens.
 
Such a "Union" would also require one another important and critical change (in my opinion). Either India would have to declare itself a "Hindu" country or Bangladesh and Pakistan declare themselves as "Secular".
 
Kshmendra
 


--- On Wed, 10/29/08, Shambhu Rahmat <shambhu.rahmat at gmail.com> wrote:

From: Shambhu Rahmat <shambhu.rahmat at gmail.com>
Subject: [Reader-list] Lalon & Terror: Re-configuring Political Map During Emergency
To: "sarai list" <reader-list at sarai.net>
Date: Wednesday, October 29, 2008, 1:14 AM

http://www.drishtipat.org/blog/2008/10/28/lalon-terror/

>From Rahnuma Ahmed's analysis of Lalon Statue controversy & larger
"great game".

   1. 'No decision is taken without the army chief's consent,
that's
why we informed him,' said Maulana Noor Hossain Noorani. According to
reports, highup intelligence agency officials (DGFI, NSI) had mediated
contacts between the ruling party and the KN. He had met the DGFI
chief in Dhaka cantonment thrice, Noorani had thus boasted to Satkhira
reporters in 2005
   2. Twenty-two months later…with their respective parties in
shambles, thousands of party workers in prison, constitutional rights
suspended due to the state of emergency, economy in tatters, police
crack-downs on protests of garments workers, jute mill workers,
women's organisations and activists, on human chains against
increasing prices of essentials, the only two forces to have remained
unscathed are the Jamaat-e-Islami, and Muslim clerics, Islamic parties
and madrasa students
   3. The US government's role in not only contributing to the
situation, but in constituting the conditions that have given rise to
extremes, of being the extreme, is disregarded by many Bangladesh
scholars
   4. Pakistan, America's strong military ally, is now "on the
edge"
of ruin. Pakistani political analysts repeatedly warn Bangladeshis
that they see similar political patterns at work here: minusing
political leaders, militarisation, milbus, National Security Council
etc etc. Are we being set on America's flight path to greater power by
this unconstitutional, unrepresentative government, one which is more
accountable to western forces, than to us?

Lalon and Terror: Re-configuring the Nation's Political Map during
Emergency
by rahnuma ahmed (New Age, Oct 29, 2008)

Baul sculpture, and the nation's most powerful man

'No decision is taken without the army chief's consent, that's why
we
informed him,' said Maulana Noor Hossain Noorani, amir of Khatme
Nabuwat Andolon Bangladesh and imam of Fayedabad mosque, at a press
conference. `He didn't like the idea of setting up an idol either,
right in front of the airport, so close to the Haji camp. It was
removed at his initiative' (Prothom Alo, 17 October).

The `it' in question was a piece of sculpture, of five Baul mystics
and singers. Titled Unknown Bird in a Cage, it was being created in
front of Zia International Airport, Dhaka. Madrasa students and masjid
imams of adjoining areas were mobilised, Bimanbondor Golchottor Murti
Protirodh Committee (Committee to Resist Idols at Airport Roundabout)
was formed. A 24 hour ultimatum was given. The art work, nearly
seventy percent complete, was removed by employees of the Roads and
Highways Department, and Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh.

Artists, intellectuals, cultural activists, writers, teachers,
students, and many others have since continuously protested the
removal of the sculpture, both in Dhaka, and other cities and towns of
Bangladesh. They have demanded its restoration, have re-named the
roundabout Lalon Chottor, and accused the military-backed caretaker
government of capitulating, yet again, to the demands of Islamic
extremists, and forces opposing the 1971 war of liberation.

Soon after its removal, Fazlul Haq Amini, Chairman of a faction of
Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ) and amir of Islami Ain Bastabayan Committee
(IABC) said at a press conference, if an Islamic government comes to
power, all statues built by Sheikh Hasina's government (1996-2001)
will be demolished, since statues are `dangerously anti-Islamic'.
Eternal flames, Shikha Chironton (Liberation War Museum), and Shikha
Anirban (Dhaka Cantonment) will be extinguished. Paying respect to
fire is the same as worshipping fire.' What about statues built during
Khaleda Zia-led four party alliance government (of which he had been a
part). 'Where, which ones?' Rajshahi University campus was the prompt
reply. `Why didn't you raise these questions when you were in power?'
'We did, personally, but they didn't listen. We were used as stepping
stones.' Amini also demanded that the National Women Development
Policy 2008, shelved this year after protests by a section of Muslim
clerics and some Islamic parties, should be scrapped (Prothom Alo, 18
October).

Noorani and his followers demand, a haj minar should be built instead,
and the road should be re-named Haj road. 'Men from the administration
and the intelligence agencies,' he said at the press conference, `wore
off their shoes, they kept coming to us.' (Prothom Alo, 17 October).
Now where had I read of close contacts between Khatme Nabuwat and the
intelligence agencies?

I remembered. A Human Rights Watch report, Bangladesh: Breach of Faith
(2005) had stated that KN had close links to the ruling BNP through
the Jamaat-e-Islami and the IOJ, its coalition partners. I remembered
other things too. It was the same Noor Hossain Noorani who had said,
Tareq Zia, Senior Secretary General of the BNP, was their "Amir and
same-aged friend," and had threatened police officials saying Tareq
would directly intervene if Khatme Nabuwat's anti-Ahmadiya campaign
was obstructed. According to reports, highup intelligence agency
officials (DGFI, NSI) had mediated contacts between the ruling party
and the KN. He had met the DGFI chief in Dhaka cantonment thrice,
Noorani had thus boasted to Satkhira reporters in 2005, a statement
never publicly refuted by the intelligence agency (Tasneem Khalil, The
Prince of Bogra, Forum, April 2007, issue withdrawn, article available
on the internet).

What links does the present military-backed caretaker government, and
more so, its intelligence agencies, have with these extremist groups?
I cannot help but wonder. Is there more to what's happening than meets
the eye?

Other questions pop into my head. The Baul sculpture was not
advertised, as public art should be. No open competition, no
shortlisting, no selection panel. On the contrary, the contract seems
to have been awarded as a personal dispensation. The only condition
seems to have been that the sculptor must get-hold-of-a-sponsor. High
regard for public art, for Baul tradition, listed by the UNESCO as a
world cultural heritage, and for procedural matters. Particularly by a
government whose raison d'etre is establishing the rule of law, and
rooting out corruption.

Simplifying the present: from `1971′ to the `Talibanisation' of
Bangladesh

British historian Eric Hobsbawm terms what he calls the 'short
twentieth century', The Age of Extremes (1994). I can't help but
think, things seem to be getting more extreme in the twenty-first
century.

In his most recent book, On Empire. America, War and Global Supremacy
(2008), Hobsbawm traces the rise of American hegemony, the steadily
increasing world disorder in the context of rapidly growing
inequalities created by rampant free-market globalisation, the
American government's use of the threat of terrorism as an excuse for
unilateral deployment of its global power, the launching of wars of
aggression when it sees fit, and its absolute disregard of formerly
accepted international conventions.

The US government's role in not only contributing to the situation,
but in constituting the conditions that have given rise to extremes,
of being the extreme, is disregarded by many Bangladesh scholars,
whether at home or abroad. Most of these writings are atrociously
naive, exhibiting a theoretical incapacity to deal with questions of
global inequalities in power. Authors repeatedly portray American
power ― in whichever manifestation, whether economic or cultural,
military or ideological ― as being benign. Two images of Bangladesh
are juxtaposed against each other, a secular Bangladesh of the early
1970s, the fruit of Bangladesh's liberation struggle of 1971, and a
Talibanised Bangladesh of recent years. `National particularities' and
'the dynamics of domestic policies' are emphasised (undoubtedly
important), but inevitably at the cost of leaving the policies of US
empire-building efforts un-examined.

One instance is Maneeza Hossain, Senior Fellow at the Hudson
Institute, who, in her 60 page study of the growth of Islamism in
Bangladesh politics, tucks in a hurried mention of US' supply of
weaponry to Afghan jihadists, and moves on to call on the US to shake
off its `indifference' to Bangladesh, to use its 'good offices' to
help democratic forces within Bangladesh prevail (The Broken Pendulum.
Bangladesh's Swing to Radicalism, 2007).

Ali Riaz, who teaches at Illinois State University, author of God
Willing. The Politics of Islamism in Bangladesh (2004) provides
another instance. International reasons for the rise of militancy are
the Afghan war, internationalisation of resistance to Soviet
occupation, policies of so-called charitable organisations of the
Middle East and Persian Gulf, and (last, it would also seem, the
least) `American foreign policy'. A token mention showing utter
disregard towards 1,273,378 Iraqi deaths, caused by the invasion and
occupation. 1971 was genocidal, but so is the Iraq invasion. On a much
larger scale. Unconcerned, he goes on, policy circles in the US are
`apprehensive' about militancy in Bangladesh. Even now. The solution?
He advocates open debates, particularly between the intelligence
agencies and the political parties (Prothom Alo, 3 February 2008).

And then one comes across Farooq Sobhan who claims that president Bush
has 'taken pains' to convince Muslims that the war against terror is
not a war against Islam or a clash of civilizations (no, it's a crime
against humanity). Rather petulantly, he asks, why has Bangladesh, a
Muslim majority country, not figured prominently on the US 'list of
countries to be wooed and cultivated.' Further, he writes, "High on
the US agenda has been the issue of Bangladesh sending troops to
Iraq." Sending 'troops', like crates of banana, or tea? Surely,
there
are substantive issues ― of death and destruction of Iraqis and Iraq,
of war crimes ― involved.

Re-configuring Politics during Emergency

Creating a level playing field so that free and fair national
elections could be held, that's what the military-backed caretaker
government had promised. Twenty-two months later, after failed
attempts at minusing Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina, with their
respective parties in shambles, thousands of party workers in prison,
constitutional rights suspended due to the state of emergency, economy
in tatters, police crack-downs on protests of garments workers, jute
mill workers, women's organisations and activists, on human chains
against increasing prices of essentials, the only two forces to have
remained unscathed are the Jamaat-e-Islami, and Muslim clerics,
Islamic parties and madrasa students, those who protested against the
Women Development Policy, agitated for the removal of Baul sculptures,
recently caused havoc in the DU Vice Chancellor's office protesting
against newly-enforced admission requirements. Are these accidental,
or deliberate governmental moves? I cannot help but wonder.

Several western diplomats ― members of the infamous Tuesday Club,
particularly ambassadors from United States, Britain, Canada,
Australia, and the EU representative ― and also the UN Resident
Coordinator actively intervened in Bangladesh politics prior to 11
January 2007, in events that led to the emergence of the present
military-backed caretaker goverment. Renata Dessalien did so to
unheard degrees, leading to recent demands that the UN Resident
Coordinator be withdrawn.

In a week or so, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon arrives in
Dhaka, to see for himself electoral preparations, and extend support
for the government. A visit that has nothing to do with politics, we
are told. In the eyes of many observers, Ban is one of the most
pro-American secretaries general in it's 62-year history. He has
opposed calls for a swift US withdrawal from Iraq, and is committed to
a beefed-up UN presence in Baghdad. The UN staff committee has
protested Ban's decision saying it would `make the institution
complicit in an intractable US-made crisis' (Washington Post, 24
September 2007).

In the name of bringing 'beauty' to politics in Bangladesh, the
lineaments of political reconfiguration undertaken by this
military-backed caretaker government are becoming ominously clear:
mainstream political parties in shambles, Jamaat-e-Islami intact
(`democratic party,' Richard Boucher, US Assistant Secretary of State,
2006), Muslim clerics and Islamic forces re-emerging as a political
force under state patronage, and the exercise of rampant power by
western diplomats.

A beast in the guise of beauty? Time will tell.

On the Flight Path of American Power

I borrow the title from British-Pakistani historian Tariq Ali's coming
event: `Pakistan/Afghanistan: on the Flight Path of American Power,'
to be held at Toronto, November 14.

Seven years after the US led invasion, Pakistan, America's strong
military ally, is now "on the edge" of ruin. Pakistani political
analysts repeatedly warn Bangladeshis that they see similar political
patterns at work here: minusing political leaders, militarisation,
milbus, National Security Council etc etc. I do not think that an
Obama win will make any difference to the American flight path for
unilateral power. As atute political commentators point out, Obama and
McCain differ on domestic policies, not substantively on US foreign
policy. A couple of days ago, president Bush signed the highest
defense budget since World War II.

Maybe there should be an open public debate in Bangladesh, as Ali Riaz
proposes, but with a different agenda: are we being set on America's
flight path to greater power by this unconstitutional,
unrepresentative government, one which is more accountable to western
forces, than to us?

Drifting in cage and out again

Hark unknown bird does fly

Shackles of my heart

If my arms could entwine

With them I would thee bind

― Fakir Lalon Shah, "Khachar bhitor ochin pakhi,"

translation by Shahidul Alam.
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