Democratic values in Bangladesh are dwindling, while influence of religion in politics and society is rising, despite a substantial growth of the economy and the middle class, said an eminent scholar of politics and governance yesterday.
The middle class, which is traditionally a strong force that helps promote democracy and liberal policies, has not been able to play its role, said Ali Riaz, professor of politics and government at Illinois State University, US.
“Bangladesh was created on the basis of democracy, human dignity, equality and social justice. But, it has failed to institutionalise democracy, and now there are questions if the country, which has experienced authoritarian rules several times, is again walking the same path,” he said.
The prolific researcher on South Asian politics made the observations in a keynote paper “Politics of Bangladesh, Rising Middle Class and a Few Questions” presented at a seminar organised by the Centre for Governance Studies (CGS) at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) yesterday.
He said though religion-based politics was banned in the 1972 constitution, it was withdrawn towards the end of the 1970s, while Islam was recognised as state religion.
And, since the 1990s, influence of religion has increased not only in politics, but also in society and daily lifestyle, he said. Also Islamist political parties grew in numbers, he said.
Apart from that, presence of Islamist militant organisations was noticed, Ali Riaz said. “The most notable is the presence of Islam in social life.”
On the other hand, after the 2008 elections all thought Bangladesh could see an end to authoritarian government, but changes to the constitution and behaviours of the ruling party suggested something else, he said.
The 2014 election was held without participation of almost all the opposition parties, and the arrangements made by the ruling party before and after the polls raised serious questions if those were in any way democratic, he added.
Ali Riaz said these changes came despite a rise in the middle class, which grew to 20 percent of the population now from 9 percent a decade back.
Also, in 1972, only five account holders in Bangladesh had more than Tk 1 crore each, but the number went up to 1.19 lakh by 2016. Bangladesh also saw a substantial rise in the amount of money laundered, he said.
Citing data of Washington-based Global Financial Integrity, he said $ 7,585 crore was laundered from Bangladesh between 2005 and 2014, and a good percentage of the rich were laundering the money.
Ali Riaz said the middle class led rights movements before and during the Liberation War, but in the last decade, there was no such reaction from this class.
They are irresponsive to the issues of democracy, accountability and participation in politics, and not even over the abuse of law and extrajudicial killings, he added.
In his speech, former caretaker government adviser Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman said traditionally, the issue of identity and education of the middle class was important, but now it was the matter of money and political connection.
If this continues and people do not demand accountability from the government, the country will see “civil authoritarianism” in the long run, he said.
Expatriate writer Mahmud Reza Chowdhury said the new middle class of Bangladesh had an alliance with those in power, and were part of corruption. They do not have political values, he said. “This is a serious crisis.”
Dr Akbar Ali Khan, another caretaker government adviser, said the new middle class had grown under the patronage of governments, and therefore they were not strong in demanding democratic rights.
About prominence of religion in politics and society, he, however, said a section of Muslims in Bangladesh gave priority to religion, but it was not a major problem.
“This is because Islam has not experienced reform,” he said.
Awami League MP Muhammad Abdur Razzaque, BNP Vice President Inam Ahmed Chowdhury, Communist Party of Bangladesh President Mujahidul Islam Selim, Gonoshasthaya Kendra Trustee Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury, and CGS Chairman Dr Ataur Rahman also spoke, among others, at the seminar, moderated by CGS Executive Director Zillur Rahman.
Content Courtesy: http://www.thedailystar.net/city/religion-dictating-social-life-1493251