What's been happening since the start of this week? Almost every day there has been chaos, clashes and conflict.
On Sunday and Monday, clashes among the students of various colleges had transformed Old Dhaka and Jatrabari into a battlefield. A large part of Old Dhaka including Lakshmibazar and Johnson Road was blocked. On Monday the Demra part of Dhaka-Sylhet highway was blocked for a long span of time. Many educational institutions and a hospital were attacked in these two days. Three educational institutions were ransacked in these attacks. There is no way that classes can be carried out there now. On Sunday night students of Polytechnic Institute and Bangladesh University of Textiles (BUTEX) clashed.
During all this, on these two days there were attempts to disrupt peace and order in front of the Prothom Alo office. On Sunday, the areas in Dhaka covering Press Club, Mohammadpur, Jatrabari and Dhanmondi, were also blocked because of the demonstrations by battery-run rickshaw drivers. Labour unrest led to the closure of the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway. On Monday, an organisation dubbed Ohingsho Gono-Obhuthan Bangladesh tried to generate at gathering at Shahbagh. People were lured in with false promises of loans.
Then on Tuesday a shocking incident took place in Chattogram. Centering the arrest of Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote's spokesperson Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari and his being taken to jail, his followers created mayhem at the court premises in which the assistant public prosecutor Saiful Islam was killed.
The question is, are the incidents occurring one after the other this week normal? Are these all isolated incidents? After the mass uprising, a series of incidents were unleashed -- members of the Ansars laid siege to the secretariat, students of Jagannath University rose up in a movement, Titumir College students suddenly started demanding the college be made into a university, and more. Were these merely innocent demonstrations? Or should we smell a rat?
All these incidents have given rise to dismay and concern in the public mind. The student-people uprising had given people much hope. Much blood was shed to ensure this mass uprising was a success. People are asking, what is all this going on? Why is all this happening? More importantly, the government itself is concerned. They feel these are planned moves to create unrest in the country.
In a press briefing on Monday, the information adviser said so many incidents on one day (Monday) cannot be a coincidence. There must be a big plan behind it all. There are many who perhaps are unwilling to see the government functioning well. The government and the information advisor feel that many quarters are at play here.
If the student community that led the mass uprising and the supporting political parties are alert against any conspiracy, anarchy and disorder, the collaborators of the fallen autocrat or any other evil force will not be able to make any headway
The information adviser clearly pointed out one of these quarters. He said, the former fascist government is carrying out all sorts of propaganda and is trying to create chaos in a planned manner.
Those who took part in the mass uprising and its supporting political forces are also worried about the occurrences. Both BNP and Jamaat also feel that the fallen government and its collaborators are behind all these incidents. The BNP top leadership has called upon all to be alert and vigilant about the ongoing violence and conflicts. The party feels that the government has taken no visible action to bring the situation under control. The amir of Jamaat-e-Islami said that a certain quarters are attempting to destablise Bangladesh through devious far-reaching methods.
All concerned sides are in consensus that it is the toppled autocratic government and their collaborators who are behind these incidents. The question then is, who are the collaborators within the country that are trying to create chaos and how are they managing to do so? Why aren't they being identified? And it is only the collaborators of the fallen government that are instigating unrest or are there others involved as well? Do they have any particular aim or agenda?
The interim government, in its three and a half months so far, has adopted a very soft stance in dealing with these various movements and demonstrations. They are perhaps following this line in order to project themselves as a government of the people. A similar soft stance is reflected in the statements of chief advisor Dr Yunus.
The government, all-in-all, has created an image that it will not use force. But it is very natural for the question to arise now, how far will such a policy be effective when the very structure of state governance had been left smashed and shattered. Certain elements are taking advantage of the situation.
The capabilities and efficiency of certain advisors are being questioned, there has been confusion in making decisions, decisions are being withdrawn, a soft stance has been adopted regarding the demonstrations and protests, or preparation is not being taken in advance. All this is making many feel that this government is weak.
The government must take responsibility for what occurred at the court premises in Chattogram on Tuesday and the subsequent killing of a lawyer. Did the home ministry or the law enforcement agencies not have in mind the recent incident, particularly the incident of Hazari Lane in Chattogram?
Had they kept that in mind, they would have given due consideration to what could possibly transpire when the spokesperson of Sammilito Sanatani Jagaran Jote, Chinmoy Das Brahmachari, was arrested and brought to court. Why was he brought to court without adequate security measures? Were the government's intelligence agencies unable to issue any advance warning in this regard?
The role of the intelligence agencies is vital at a time when such incidents are occurring all around. With advance information, due measures can be taken. The manner in which it was possible to lure people in from all over the country to Shahbagh on Monday, also shows a deficiency in intelligence input. Such weaknesses can spell disaster at a time when the collaborators of the toppled autocrat, various vested interest quarters and evil forces are in the field to ensure their interests.
It is a matter of relief that the violence and clashes that were apprehended after the killing of the lawyer in Chattogram on Tuesday, could be curbed. Immediately after the incident, the leaders of the mass uprising were active, using social media to call for peace, order and communal harmony. The political parties were vocal too. It was clear that if the student community that led the mass uprising and the supporting political parties are alert against any conspiracy, anarchy and disorder, the collaborators of the fallen autocrat or any other evil force will not be able to make any headway.
* AKM Zakaria is deputy editor of Prothom Alo and can be reached at [email protected]
** This column appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ayesha Kabir