Notes from Shahbagh

By Tausif Noor 

DHAKA – The idea of democracy in full swing suggests a bang rather than a whimper, and, in Dhaka, the sound hits Shahbagh at full volume. Scores of Bangladeshis took to the central Dhaka area demanding death sentences for all criminals convicted of war crimes during the 1971 Liberation Movement. The cries for the death penalty began on February 5 with the sentencing of Abdul Quader Mollah to life in prison after being indicted for war crimes of mass murder and rape. Thousands of youths, many of whom are students at nearby Dhaka University, have gathered in solidarity to rail against what they have deemed too lenient a verdict, and the spirit of united revolt has spread like wildfire across the small nation. 

The Awami League, currently in rule, seems to consider this a rekindling of the patriotism of the 1971 Liberation front, though the party president and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has discouraged her party members from engaging directly with protestors and has forbidden them to speak at Shahbagh (Tusher). Party lines are linked inextricably with what would otherwise seem to be a universal cry for justice: Quader Mollah held the position of assistant secretary of the Jamaat-e-Islam, and his party, along with the Islami Chhatra Shibir has retaliated against the Shahbagh protests with violence across Dhaka, igniting buses and smashing cars. 

In a city that is prone to regular violence and politically-motivated hartals, such news is unsurprising. In fact, violence seems to be largely absent among the Shahbagh protesters, who are going on ten days of gathering at Shahbagh Square in a move that some have dubbed the “Bangla Spring.” Saiyara Hossain, one of the many university students involved in the protests, attributes this to a “universal demand for justice” that cuts across party lines. 

But does this qualify as an instance of democratic uprising for a nation that has been historically prone to military rule and government corruption? Student political activism is prevalent throughout the nation – often to the extreme in cases of the Chhatra League and Shibir – but Shahbagh has drawn comparisons with Tahrir Square in the media and recent protests in Delhi against violence against women, perhaps in part because of the use of social media by the Bloggers and Online Activist Network (BONA) to inform and attract the “New Generation” (Star Online Report).

Amid the often hectic and Kafkaesque proceedings of the Bangladeshi legal system, there does seem to be a glimmer of hope as a direct result of the Shahbagh protesters. The Bangladeshi Cabinet has approved changes to the International Crimes Act to allow plaintiffs to appeal verdicts made by the tribunals (“Inadequate Sentence”). The bill had proposed permitting “aggrieved persons” to file complaints against the verdicts; but, since this phrase is nebulous at best, it was revised to authorize the “government or the informant or the complainant” to make such appeals (Liton). 


In any case, the development of the Shahbagh protests will prove significant for Bangladesh, both for its impact on domestic politics and for the nation’s standing in the eyes of the international community.

Sources
Hasan Jahid Tusher, “Shahbagh rally unites nation,” The Daily Star, Saturday 9 February 2013, page 19 col. 2. 
Star Online Report, “Shahbagh saga continues amid fiery protests” The Daily Star,  Thursday 14 February 2013. . Accessed 14 February 2013.
“Inadequate Sentence: Provision for appeal endorsed” The Daily Star, Tuesday 12 February, 2013
Shakhawat Liton, “Bill on appeal tabled” The Daily Star, Thursday 14 February 2013. 
. Accessed 14 February 2013.