Prothom Alo :
Where is Bangladesh headed? Are you seeing any change after the August mass uprising?
Badruddin Umar: The mass uprising that took place was not a social revolution, though it has brought about a massive change. A cruel fascist government had gripped the country like an octopus, and now that government has been toppled. That is a huge achievement of this uprising.
But this struggle had no class identity, it was not a class struggle. This struggle overthrew a regressive government. Those who overthrew the government had no political ideological base of their own. I do not see much theoretical understanding among the students who lead this movement.
Prothom Alo :
Didn't they wage this movement against discrimination?
Badruddin Umar: They waged an anti-discrimination movement against quotas in government service. Quota discrimination and social discrimination are not one and the same thing. But many are seeing these as the same. That is why we have not, till date, seen any deliberation on what social discrimination means or what is means to wage a movement against discrimination.
I understanding the move against discrimination in quota, but do they understand social discrimination? I have not till date heard them speak on behalf of the farmers and the workers of the country. The students say they are not leftist, they are not rightist, they are centrist. In the true sense of the word, there is no such thing as centrist in this world. They have to define what they are, why they are forming a party. That is not apparent.
A new party, National Citizen Party, has been formed at the initiative of the students who led the student-people's uprising. How do you view this?
Badruddin Umar: The manner in which they are proceeding is rather strange. A new party was formed after the uprising. The new party was launched with much fanfare. They hosted lavish iftar parties. They erected a canopy in Suhrawardy Udyan and treated people to iftar. They hosted an iftar party in Hotel Intercontinental. I am taken aback by these activities of theirs. It makes one ponder over how attached they actually are to the public.
The manner in which they are speaking does not evoke much hope that they will do anything great. The future will tell what the new party will do, but their performance after forming the new party does not suggest that they will bring any significant change to the country's politics.
They say they want to change the constitution. I see nothing in detail about what changes they want, why they want the change. They have a party, but no party constitution or manifesto.
Young people have formed the party. My first point is, how will they come to power? They act as if they will contest in the election, win and form the government.
The question is, what is their identity that people will vote for them? People vote in the basis of local considerations, political considerations. They have no local base, no political identity in the rural areas.
They have a certain standing in the urban areas due to their campaigns and publicity. I do not foresee them having any significant win in the election. They imagine people will vote for them, elect then to power. That is the danger of not being adequately savvy about the situation.
The interim government is eight months old now. How would you evaluate it?
Badruddin Umar: This government did not come in its own accord. The chief advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus and his advisors did not say they would form a government. The student leaders and other placed them in the government.
A vacuum emerged after the fall of Hasina. There was need to fill that vacuum speedily. The students and the others came forward and formed this sort of government, which was a correct move given the circumstances. After all, if the government was not formed at that moment, the armed forces had the power to fill that vacuum. There would be another military rule on the country.
So it is utter nonsense when anyone blames them or says they intentionally came to power. Those who say this have no understanding of the situation. It is not correct that this government forcefully took over power.
Prothom Alo :
What is the fundamental responsibility of the interim government?
Badruddin Umar: The people placed them in power to run the government so that normalcy can be restored. They are working within limitations. They have no power of their own.
Secondly, they have no class considerations. The business class that would rule the country before, is still running the country now. This has been on since 1972, where around 70 per cent of the parliament members are businesspersons.
In the past the business persons would work through the politicians. Now the politicians have been driven out and the businessmen themselves are politicians and control the government directly. The control the economy, they control politics. They run the country from behind the scenes.
Hasina perhaps imagined that she was the most powerful. But the Almighty know who is actually the most powerful. Hasina has run away, many of her people have fled. But not everyone has fled. They are still here. They are the ruling class. They control everything. From business to administration, police, they control everything.
So the government does have a weak spot. They are not elected. They do not have any power of their own. Anarchy did not emerge with the departure of Hasina. They worked for that and in that sense they have done well. But it is not as if they have fixed everything. But overall, they are doing well.
The workers have waged a movement for an increase in wages. Have there been any changes?
The government is not standing up on behalf of the workers because the businessmen are controlling them. The government is not supporting the movement for wages in the garments sector. The government is unable to oppose the ruling class in order to increase the wages for the workers.
Other than that, in an overall sense, no anarchy has emerged as apprehended. There is a lot of unrest and people are making a big fuss about all that, but the massive disruption and disorder that could have emerged, did not.
I am a realist. I criticise the government a lot, but I cannot criticise from an unrealistic stand. They have more or less restored order to the financial, banking and several other sectors. Had they not done so, the country would have been in a serious mess. All this has to be taken into consideration before criticising. If anyone imagines they should take up a socialist programme that is not realistic. We have to consider their circumstances.
Prothom Alo :
What do you think the main responsibility of the government is now?
Badruddin Umar: They have managed to handle the immediate situation. Now they should take all preparations needed for the election and then hold the election as soon as possible. They should complete their work within this year.
It would not be right to extend the tenure of the government too much. They must hold the election and hand power over to the elected government. Then the responsibility will lie with the elected government.
It is not as if the elected government will make everything perfect for the people, but as an elected government they have the power to take care of things.
All sorts of disorder springs up if a temporary government stays at the helm for too long. It will not be possible for them to control all that. It is not that they have to carry out all reforms. They have formed a commission and the commission has submitted its report. That report will be helpful for the next government.
The interim government will not be able to carry out all the reforms in that report. They do not have that power. They should carry out the basic reforms required for an election and hand over power to the election government as soon as possible.
* This interview appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ayesha Kabir