There’s another govt within the interim govt

After one year since the July mass uprising, bad experiences overshadow good experiences as it is evident that there is a marked lack of capacity within the government to implement the uprising’s aspirations.

There is a government within the government.

The speakers made these remarks at a roundtable titled “July Mass Uprising: One Year of Experience and the Future”, hosted by Prothom Alo at its Karwan Bazar office in Dhaka on Wednesday.

Some of the participants argued that holding the election as soon as possible is the only solution now. And to conduct the elections, active cooperation from the armed forces is required.

The roundtable began observing a minute of silence in memory of those killed in the tragic fighter jet crash at Milestone School and College in the capital’s Uttara. Prothom Alo Executive Editor Sajjad Sharif moderated the programme.

Poet and thinker Farhad Mazhar presented his arguments elaborately about forming a revolutionary government. According to him, since the formation of the interim government on 8 August of last year, everything has gone fully under Sheikh Hasina’s constitution.

Institutions previously criticised have remained unchanged. The bureaucracy, the judiciary, the intelligentsia, universities—all remain as they were with no real change.

“Certainly, the path is a mass uprising, not elections. Pursuing elections means bringing back that same old, plundering mafia class. That is precisely what the National Citizen Party (NCP) is learning to replicate. Yes, elections must be held. They’re also asking for donations, going to the big houses—requirements of two crore (20 million), five crore (50 million) taka,” Farhad Mazhar stated.

He emphasised unity among the intellectuals and thinkers as essential for building a “New Bangladesh”, noting that unity becomes truly achievable once internal differences are bridged.

Anu Muhammad, former professor at Jahangirnagar University and member of the Ganatantrik Odhikar Committee, spoke first.

He argued that the July uprising had created expectations for an equality-centred Bangladesh. However, the interim government has taken the opposite path. Those who espouse discriminatory politics—whether in the name of religion, ethnicity, class, or gender—are now dominant. It seems as though they were the real architects behind the uprising.

Stating that working-class people featured prominently in the uprising, he pointed out that over the past year these groups have repeatedly taken to the streets. Yet, the core issue in July had been jobs and employment, which remains unresolved.

Anu Muhammad noted that while various reform commissions have been formed, which definitely is their significant task, only the constitutional reform commission’s report has drawn their attention. Interest has centred on constitutional amendments that serve the political authority of the people close to this government.

Mentioning that the government is increasingly prioritising signing agreements with foreigners, the economics professor said the agreement with Starlink was signed without any public debate. An official from the company has said that this government can make decisions swiftly. However, beyond Starlink, no one has seen any other such example.

As the interim government marks one year, Hossain Zillur Rahman, Executive Chairman of the Power & Participation Research Centre (PPRC), called for frank assessment.

“We have heard many sweet words, and seen encouraging initiatives; now the key is accountability: what has actually transpired in terms of justice, reform, and elections?” he stated.

Hossain Zillur Rahman cautioned that the ordinary people have largely been excluded, and that is why many have withdrawn.

He insisted on bringing people back from passive bystanders to active participants. Holding the election is one such medium.

The PPRC executive chairman remarked that although formal qualifications may exist within the government, there has been a decline in actual capacity across ministries, policy making, and negotiation.

Calling for urgent correction of the decline in effectiveness, Hossain Zillur Rahman characterised the state of education, law enforcement, and unemployment as dire, noting that institutional corruption has flourished since December last year, and bureaucratic power has entrenched itself fully.

He also remarked that superficial consensus processes are now undermining the prospect of true national unity.

Debapriya Bhattacharya, honorary fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), remarked: “We brought in a government promoting values of non‑discrimination. But they failed to reflect that ethos in economic policy or reform processes.”

He observed that there is another government within the government. He said, “The question of impartiality—especially in relation to partisan neutrality—has become a critical issue. Because by now, it has become clear that there is another government in what appears to be an official government. This is now clear to everyone. Now the government itself will have to prove its neutrality.”

Debapriya Bhattacharya raised the question of whether the interim government can genuinely deliver a free and fair election. He emphasised the need for a real election, not one influenced by deals or seat-sharing, where citizens can vote and be confident of peace afterwards.

Stating that maintaining security and order are crucial for a better election, Debapriya Bhattacharya said, “We’ve realised that it is not possible to hold this with administrative power and law enforcement agencies. Achieving this without broader participation from the military is not possible.”

In conclusion, he called for urgent reflection on “exit strategy” or the plan for transition in the coming year, emphasising the importance of mapping out what is required.

Supreme Court’s senior lawyer Sara Hossain observed that while people can speak now, fear is pervasive within the judiciary.

“No one can say there is no intimidation in Bangladesh now. There is fear inside the legal system and beyond. Judges constantly consider ‘who would speak against me for my decisions’. If any group protests against him, that judge has no future. Tell me, who will deliver verdicts properly in that fearful environment? Who even issues orders let alone verdicts?”

Regarding the indiscriminate cases filed countrywide after July–August, Sara Hossain called them a national disgrace. She said the government has been trying to avoid the situation. It claims they did not file such cases, the people did. But lawyers that represent the government at courts do not say filing such cases was not right. People imprisoned unjustly for 10 months, deprived of freedom— ultimately they are the ones who bear the responsibility.

Writer and researcher Altaf Parvez said that good experiences were overshadowed by negative ones over the past year. According to him, people in the last 12 months had to face the sorrows of being ruled by a largely unskilled or semi‑competent government. For the first time, I’ve seen a practice of running a government taking cues from Facebook reactions and time and again surrendering to populism. Society has begun to see an alarming spread of right-wing, reactionary attitudes. Violence from ‘mobs’ against dissenters has risen.

Nevertheless, Altaf Parvez identified some positives of the last one-year period. According to him, there is far greater political awareness among youth than at any time before. The conversation on reforming the colonial state structure has, after five decades, become mainstream political discourse in Bangladesh, which is a positive development.

He questioned why the consensus commission has been discussing the recommendations of only six of the 11 reform commissions.

Altaf Parvez also warned that courage among youth may deter future authoritarian resurgence. But he expressed concern over a lack of strong opposition in the upcoming parliament—warning that weak opposition historically leads to disaster.

Saeed Ferdous, Pro-Vice Chancellor of Bangladesh Open University, argued that political leaders have not ventured into new paths.

Stating that many could say the National Citizen Party (NCP) is taking the old route, he questioned whether the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) or Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami are following any route beyond traditional power capture — channel or bank control, and so on.

He pointed out that while young leaders may have sought modest capital of Tk 200,00-300,000, they have been overwhelmed by millions of taka. Who corrupted them? Framing the July uprising leaders as corrupt or tainted them is no accident. I’m not saying that they don’t have any agency or they are innocent children.

Kamar Ahmad Simon noted that the spontaneous participation of rickshaw-pullers and everyday citizens in the uprising has now vanished from discourse.

He further said a ludicrous discussion on very complex issues like upper house and lower house of parliament has been going on. The main issue seems to be, who would sell how many seats and who would give what to whom. No one stood by the rickshaw puller, who carried the dead bodies and the injured people during the July uprising, when his rickshaw was vandalised.

Maha Mirza, development researcher, observed that labourers bore the heaviest burden during the uprising. “Bullets were fired on those labourers in August. The minimum demand of the uprising was that no bullet will be fired. But, a readymade garment worker, Champa, was the first martyr. At that time, a number of readymade garment factories were shut, their salaries stopped. Then the workers took to the streets. But the government did not have any reaction.”

Stating that in the post-uprising period, people are being tagged for criticising anything, Maha Mirza further said, “It is sad that those who were in favour of mass uprising are being attacked for their dissents with the government or for speaking out against the NCP.”

She also spoke about celebrating the July uprising. “A researcher, Norman Finkelstein, has said that the Zionists have turned the Holocaust into an industry while commemorating it. Celebrating the liberation war also turned into an industry during the tenure of the Awami League. Let’s not turn July into an industry while celebrating it.”

Young researcher Sohul Ahmed stressed the need for full compensation for all those harmed and affected by the uprising.

He noted that the victim is the true victor in the country’s justice system. When those in power dominate, justice is only available to them. Those who lose cannot even claim justice.

“From that point of view, we actually could not go for justice. But this is creating more wounds; we cannot even think of moving ahead keeping those as it is,” he stated.

Nonetheless, Sohul Ahmed saw merit in how people are increasingly resolving crises themselves, and freely expressing opinions on social media, though some social fear still persists.

Zahed Ur Rahman, political analyst and writer, stated unequivocally that there is no way forward except through elections.

Mentioning that there is a tendency to demean the election, he said, “We’re going through a strange problem - we want democracy. But no election can be demanded. Attempts are being made to delay or block elections, because some people will benefit from chaos.”

Zahed Ur Rahman believes some of both internal and external forces may prefer Bangladesh to remain unstable. “But ultimately, there is no way except holding an election. This must be demanded from every quarter.”