A sudden tsunami of violence has swept across the country. Even issues that could have been resolved through dialogue are now drawing blood everywhere. Every day, reports of at least one major clash or incident of bloodshed somewhere in the country force people to go to bed anxious about what the next morning might bring. The civil administration has failed to provide the public with a sense of security. After the army was given magistracy powers last September, mob violence decreased for a while, but now the situation is surpassing all previous precedents.
Unrest flared up again with new intensity from mid-July—the month of the mass uprising. People had thought the second year of the uprising would move toward elections. But as soon as the demand and expectation for elections grew stronger, violence also began to rise. Across villages and towns, people are now trying to draw connections between these two opposing social trends. Questions are being raised about whether unrest is being deliberately engineered to obstruct elections. The uncertainty created by violence has now overshadowed news of the Election Commission’s electoral roadmap.
In recent days, incidents of police officers being transferred or suspended following episodes of violence have also emerged. As a result, members of the force themselves are under immense psychological stress. Political tensions are adding fuel to that administrative pressure. A major wave of ongoing social unrest and violence began with the 16 July incident in Gopalganj. People across the country knew that clashes could erupt around the NCP rally there. Amid that widespread anticipation, several people were killed. It became clear then that some quarters were consciously trying to provoke unrest.
In Rangpur’s Taraganj, in the second week of August, two very poor men—Pradeep Das and Ruplal Das—were beaten to death by an “angry mob” on suspicion of theft. The police, outnumbered by hundreds of frenzied people, did not dare intervene. The previous month in Muradnagar, Comilla, three people had been killed in the same manner. There have been many such incidents in recent months, and people see no assurance that they will decrease in the future.
Similar incidents have been happening in the capital itself. Last Thursday, during a live broadcast at the Reporters Unity auditorium in Dhaka, a discussion on the Liberation War was disrupted, and later the organisers themselves were sued under the Anti-Terrorism Act. At the same time, as part of their continuous blockade in Shahbagh, engineering students marched toward the Chief Adviser’s residence, and that march ended in bloodshed. Even as reports of that violence were coming in, news broke that in a normally peaceful area like Biral in Dinajpur, a park had come under attack by hundreds of people. Photo reports showed the attack was well-prepared, and police failed to control the situation.
Some incidents happen spontaneously. A group of people suddenly attack a target, justifying their attack with various accusations—some true, some false. But laws are being taken into people’s own hands, with killings and vandalism carried out casually. People no longer want to go to the police station or the courts, nor do they feel compelled to.
On the other hand, many incidents are clearly premeditated. Protests and rallies are announced knowing full well that violence will occur. Instead of presenting demands to the government or authorities in an orderly, democratic manner, laying siege to Shahbagh, the Secretariat, or the Chief Adviser’s residence is increasingly being seen as the way to achieve success. With such a social mindset, the capital Dhaka has effectively turned into an unbearable city. One investigation found that from 9 May to 6 August, key roads in Dhaka were blocked 54 times. Sometimes these blockades dragged on for long stretches.
This cycle has continued month after month since the mass uprising. Law enforcement agencies often arrive after incidents occur, or in some cases, fail to act due to lack of capacity or indecision from their superiors. Some are asking why, even with the army’s magistracy powers, such continuous lawlessness is still ongoing.
But the army is not trained to deal with this type of public violence. Their training is for national defense. By deploying them in “mob control” for the past year, their core responsibilities have been significantly disrupted.
Meanwhile, doubts remain over whether the police and joint forces are receiving clear and firm guidance and support from the government to suppress mob violence. At times, groups of students have stormed the Secretariat and forced through demands for passing exams without having to sit for them. In front of Jamuna, people have staged sit-ins unhindered for long periods. Yet on other occasions, ordinary marches heading toward Jamuna have been beaten back with batons. It is unclear which mobs are “approved” and which are not.
The dispute over whether graduate and diploma engineers should be recogniSed by different professional titles is not an issue that requires bloodshed and conflict. Yet the protests escalated into violence, leaving many students injured. People now fear that this self-destructive situation is taking on the shape of pervasive anarchy nationwide. There is also concern that if mob-driven tendencies are feeding into the polarisation of national politics.
After months of effort, the National Consensus Commission has still failed to bring parties together around the July Charter. This, too, has fueled the pace of mob violence. At one point, the idea was that parties would agree on key issues of state reform, which would then be placed before the future government as a “charter of action.” The July Charter was also supposed to be given legal and political foundation through broad consensus. Meanwhile, preparations for the national election would continue.
Now it appears that political parties are putting forward new demands outside the scope of the Consensus Commission. Many parties want to make their demands—and the election itself—conditional upon the July Charter. They are also mobilising to demonstrate their strength through alliances and rallies.
As a result, the process of finalising the July Charter has stalled considerably. Distances between political parties are growing, and they are increasingly clashing with one another. Most recently, in an attempt to calm tensions between activists of the Jatiya Party and Gano Adhikar Parishad, police and army intervention left Gano Adhikar’s Nurul Haque seriously injured. This incident further eroded inter-party trust. In its aftermath, Jatiya Party offices in Kakrail and other areas outside Dhaka came under attack and vandalism. If this continues, serious doubts remain about how much the election roadmap can advance and whether people will be allowed to participate peacefully in the electoral process.
Many intellectuals are also stirring up national politics with anti-election rhetoric. At such a critical juncture, public confidence has been shaken over whether the interim government can act in unity toward the goal of elections.
Naturally, this is a time of deep anxiety and uncertainty. The responsibility to free society from fear rests with the government. The only path to end all kinds of unrest and violence is through a national election. At this moment, there is no alternative to elections.