As long as Jamaat-e-Islami exists, Awami League also will remain in Bangladesh: Farhad Mazhar

As long as politics will be conducted under the name of Jamaat-e-Islami, the Awami League will also continue to exist in Bangladeshi politics, poet, thinker, and political analyst Farhad Mazhar has stated.

He asserted that he is vehemently opposed to doing politics under the banner of Jamaat-e-Islami. Simultaneously, describing the 1972 Constitution as a colonial ‘weapon’ against the sovereignty of the people, he demanded its complete annulment.

In his view, framing a new ‘constitution’ in place of the existing framework and establishing popular sovereignty are the only paths forward for rebuilding a new Bangladesh.

Farhad Mazhar made these remarks on Sunday during his address as a guest speaker at a dialogue entitled “36th July’s Contribution: Debate and Review of Liabilities for Failures”.

The event—focused on post-July mass uprising state reforms, political unity, and an evaluation of achievements and failures—was hosted by the Amar Bangladesh (AB) Party at the Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU) auditorium.

Highlighting the historical significance of the 1971 Liberation War at the outset of his speech, Farhad Mazhar stated that Bangladesh first emerged on the global stage as a distinct political community in 1971.

This national achievement, he stressed, must never be compromised or bargained away under any circumstances—not even with Jamaat-e-Islami.

“I have repeatedly said something, though many took offense: as long as Jamaat-e-Islami exists, the Awami League will remain in Bangladesh. I am totally against conducting politics in the name of Jamaat-e-Islami. Because Islam is our faith; its principled and ethical dimensions are crucial for constructing a new state and a new society,” he noted.

Reiterating his demand for the total repeal of the 1972 Constitution, Farhad Mazhar asserted, “There is no scope for compromise on this issue.”

Criticising Article 7 of the Constitution, he remarked that while it proclaims the people as the owners of state power in one sentence, the very next sentence places the constitution, a legal document, above the people, thereby invalidating popular sovereignty.

Drawing upon the history of colonial rule, Farhad Mazhar recalled that victors of the election held in the then West Pakistan under the Legal Framework Order (LFO) returned home to demand a Constituent Assembly and imposed this constitution.

Delineating the legal distinction between a ‘constitution’ and a ‘constitutive framework’ (Gothontontro), he said, “The people are above the constitution; the people are not subordinate to it. The people can draft a new constitutive framework whenever they wish. The term ‘constitution’ was used by colonial rulers to maintain anti-people rule through plunderers and mafia classes. A constitutive framework, on the other hand, is when the people themselves come together to decide how wealth ownership, banking, investment, foreign trade, healthcare, and education systems will be run.”

Farhad Mazhar posited that there was a grave flaw in the power transfer process immediately following the mass uprising on 5 August 2024.

He alleged that a fully empowered interim government was not allowed to form in accordance with the aspirations of the public.

The political analyst stated, “We envisioned a fully empowered interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus. However, three forces combined—the then Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman, President Mohammed Shahabuddin (Chuppu), and the BNP—prevented us from forming such a government. Proof of this can be seen in President Chuppu’s interview published recently in the Kaler Kantho. The government formed on 8 August—retaining the old constitution and the president—was essentially a constitutional counter-revolution.”

Sharply criticising the media’s role, Farhad Mazhar remarked that journalists mischaracterised this administration as an ‘interim government’, whereas it merely retained the Hasina-style system without Hasina herself.

In reality, he argued, it was a military-backed advisory government operating under the old constitution under the President, making it impossible to overhaul the core constitution.

Praising the courage of the younger generation during the uprising, Farhad Mazhar cautioned the BNP and other political parties to ensure that students enduring the rain on the streets are not subjected to police violence, and urged Tarique Rahman not to betray the youth.

He added that Begum Khaleda Zia, too, had never wished to betray the youth.

Farhad Mazhar scathingly condemned acts of rampage in the name of religion and the destruction of shrines (majars).

“We know who are vandalising shrines and turning religion into an instrument to terrorise or oppress people. Much like flattening Gaza to turn it into real estate, this too is a form of aggression. No one can impose a specific interpretation funded by petrodollars and claim to be the sole authority on Islam. In Islam, there is no scope for anyone to claim such singular authority,” he stated.

Strongly opposing attempts to frame the achievements of the mass uprising as a ‘failure’, Farhad Mazhar insisted, “Being able to speak freely after 20 years of silence, and the fact that Sheikh Hasina fled—these cannot be deemed failures. Instead of dwelling on narratives of failure, we must now focus on what tasks remain to be accomplished in the days ahead. There is no question of retreating from the path carved out by the youth in the anti-fascist movement.”

Speaking at the discussion, Sharmeen S. Murshid, former advisor to the interim government, emphasised that the nation must move forward by embracing the spirit of both 1971 and 2024.

She observed that toppling a government and restructuring a state require entirely different sets of expertise. Unless corruption, bureaucratic entanglements, and the legacy state system are changed, no government can achieve its desired success.

The meeting was chaired by AB Party Chairman Mojibur Rahman. Other speakers included former advisor and NCP spokesperson Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain, lawyer Abu Hena Razzaqi, AB Party General Secretary Asaduzzaman Fuad, Joint General Secretaries Zubair Ahmed Bhuiyan and ABM Khalid Hasan, and Relief and Rehabilitation Secretary Sultana Razia, among others.