Bangladesh's Unrest: A Warning for Democracies Against Anarchy

The dramatic developments that unfolded in Bangladesh on August 5 hold ominous portents not just for the neighbouring country, but also for the few remaining working democracies across the world — other so-called democracies being only in name with deep state calling the shots. The circumstances under which Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had to flee her country hold some invaluable lessons, especially for non-western democracies, notably India.

Foremost, seeing the wanton violence and mayhem that swept across Bangladesh since July this year and claimed 300 odd lives, the functional and working democracies should be on guard against the anarchists. For, as the situation in the neighbouring country has proved, one of the biggest threats to any functional democracy today is anarchy. Knowing full well that they would never win the popular mandate through ballot, the anarchists would always resort to acts that would destabilise an entire country, forcing the incumbent to ultimately give way, and the armed forces to take over.

The anarchists in Bangladesh conducted themselves in a similar fashion as they brought the country to a standstill through a wave of violence, loot, plunder, attacks on minorities, killings, etc, since the last one month. Being in a minority, their strategy is simple — indulge in a misinformation campaign and act that would provoke the majority to retaliate, leading to counter-violence, chaos and mayhem.

The anarchists did exactly the same as they began an anti-quota movement against the government in July this year, though the fact remains that the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government had actually cancelled the quota in certain category of government jobs, before the High Court reinstated the quota system again. Ultimately, the Supreme Court quashed it in July. But, the misinformation campaign that was unleashed by the anarchists — opposition parties, radical Islamic orgnisations and some student leaders — had already done the damage, and entire Bangladesh was up in flames in no time. And the rest is history.

Conceded that Sheikh Hasina was not truly democratic, and was behaving in an autocratic manner by manipulating institutions, however, the fact remains that she was popularly elected as the opposition parties had boycotted the polls. But, that mattered little to her opponents as they smelled blood. The subsequent scenes of rampage in Jatiya Sangsad, Bangladesh’s parliament building, by rioters definitely don’t augur well for democracies worldwide.

Similar scripts were played out in India during the anti-CAA agitation in Delhi in 2019-20, and the farmers’ protest in 2020, both of which brought the country almost to the brink. Fortunately, things did not go completely out of hand, though their protagonists did try every trick in the trade. Similar scenes were also witnessed when supporters of Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in 2021 following the declaration of the result of the presidential election there.

Meanwhile, the anarchists are still very much alive and kicking in India even now, waiting for another opportunity to strike back. They aren’t losing any opportunity to destabilise the country from within. It is thus incumbent upon authorities to safeguard democracy against all odds. In fact, all functional democracies should be wary of such forces, and act tough and in a decisive manner so as to stamp out these elements. For, citing Bangladesh as a reference point, these elements could very well work to derail democracies everywhere by taking advantage of free speech. Many European countries, long considered peaceful, are already having to contend with such forces.

Further, the digital explosion in recent times is only aiding the anarchists, evident during the anti-CAA agitation, farmers’ protest, and now in Bangladesh. With virtually unlimited access to information in digital world, the anarchists are increasingly using these as tools to manipulate the masses. No wonder, it is observed that the governments today everywhere always shuts down mobile internet during any turmoil.

Finally, what the working democracies should be wary about is the over-arching western countries trying to interfere with their internal affairs. Perhaps, as a hangover of their colonial past, many western powers have been found to be meddling in non-western democracies, especially against regimes not considered amiable or in sync with their geo-strategic interests, for far too long. These western so-called democracies are seen to be more than happy to destabilise a functional non-western democracy if it was not aligned with their interests, especially democratic countries that are on a fast road to becoming economic powers. In fact, if reports are to be believed, a few of them were even involved in fomenting the ongoing unrest in Bangladesh.

The proliferation of social media has only come in handy for the western powers, which use it to spread canard against any democratic dispensation they consider inimical to their interests. Reports are now emanating that many social media handles taking the lead in the Bangladeshi protests were based in few western countries (besides Pakistan), thus proving credence to the long-held belief of western interference.

The deep state in the western countries were also found to be involved during the anti-CAA and farmers’ protest, evident in the now-infamous social media toolkit case that got subsequently exposed. The continued support to anti-India forces, notably the Khalistanis, by authorities in Canada, the UK and the US in the garb of free speech only goes to show how these western powers won’t budge from their nefarious designs. Thus, the western so-called democracies too are a huge threat to the stability of any functional non-western democracy. Hence, while improving ties with the west, New Delhi as a rising economic powerhouse should be extremely cautious about their moves.

While being watchful of such hostile forces both within and outside, it’s also obligatory on the part of the leadership in the remaining few functional non-western democracies to remain committed to democracy. They should work on strengthening institutions that help strengthen democracy at the grassroots, reinforcing popular trust and belief in democratic culture and traditions.

To recollect, India faced a major crisis akin to Bangladesh following imposition of emergency in 1975. However, to the credit of the masses who believed in democratic spirit, they didn’t resort to mayhem, but waited for the right opportunity to throw out the incumbent through the ballot. It’s extremely crucial that this spirit of the countrymen is sustained. Bottom line is mobocracy can’t be a substitute for democracy.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of Northeast Now. 

Anirban Choudhury is a senior journalist based in Guwahati. He may be reached at: anirbanchoudhury2000@yahoo.com