The interim administration of Prof Muhammad Yunus in Dhaka completed 100 days in office on November 8. The report card of the new government is dismal in all fronts.
Nearly 1,600 cases were filed between August and October, targeting 2,72,000 people, mostly political opponents.
Over 100 journalists, including at least 25 prominent editors, are facing murder charges for writing newspaper reports in favour of the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
In at least 155 cases Hasina is the prime accused. In each of them, 100 to 700 people are co-accused.
The list of accused persons includes those who have been long dead or suffering from critical ailments.
This is the tip of the iceberg. Since August 5, the country plunged into lawlessness. Mob violence became the new normal.
“The lawlessness has spread nationwide, leading to numerous incidents of extortion, harassment, intimidation and courtroom violence, sometimes triggering larger conflicts,” Voice of America wrote on September 21.
The root lies with Yunus, his team of advisors and, their core political support group of Jamaat-e-Islami-led Islamists.
They used mobs to eliminate potential opponents – constitutional or political – from the word go.
Yunus assumed office as Chief Advisor on August 8. Five days later a mob attacked the residence of the Chief Justice. Neither the police nor the army came to his rescue.
The Chief Justice and four more judges of the appellate division of the Supreme Court resigned. Soon, 12 judges of different High Courts resigned.
If the forces can oblige judges to resign, it is a mere cakewalk to launch attacks on government officers, teachers, political opponents, and journalists.
Several thousand political activists are in hiding, and many were killed mercilessly. Those arrested are denied justice, as lawyers are afraid to plead for the accused. There are video footages of attacks on lawyers inside the court premises.
The mob culture has now gripped the entire country. The front pages of Dhaka-based newspapers now report on road and rail blockades, arson, mob attacks on police and army, dacoity and killings.
Leave alone the rest of the country, life and properties are not safe in the capital city of Dhaka. The crime graph is skyrocketing. Most of it is going unreported.
After the fall of the Hasina-led government on August 5, police stations barely functioned for several weeks, leaving numerous incidents unreported.
“Whatever data is available at Dhaka Metropolitan Police headquarters reveals a rise in criminal activities in September compared to the month before. According to it, 119 murder cases were filed in August, and it rose to 148 in September. The count has already exceeded 100 in the first three weeks of this month,” The Daily Star reported on October 31.
The economy is the biggest sufferer of the growing lawlessness. It all began with targeted attacks, in August, on business groups closer to Hasina’s Awami League.
Seven units of Gazi Group, a top business house in Bangladesh, were torched or looted. At least one unit of the PRAN-RFL group was torched.
Over the following weeks, attacking business establishments – big or small – became commonplace in Bangladesh.
Many factories, including the all-important readymade garments makers, were forced to pull shutters.
To add to the injury, the Yunus government hounded several top businessmen for their alleged links to the Hasina government.
The result is catastrophic. On November 19, The Daily Star reported that 24 units of Beximco, the largest business group in Bangladesh, were closed due to a lack of funds.
The Beximco owner is arrested. No one knows how many people lost jobs in this economic destruction. But the number should be too heavy.
Garments earn 85 percent of Bangladesh’s export revenue and create maximum employment.
The sector now barely operates as overseas buyers diverted orders to other destinations. There is little hope that the orders will return anytime soon.
Bangladesh was suffering from a crippling foreign exchange crisis and high inflation over the last two years. The price rise was a major source of popular grievance against the Hasina rule.
The problems got bigger now. The impending chaos and closure of industries reduced exports and tax collection by the government and increased unemployment.
Over the last three months, inflation has shot up to a 10-year high. Essential food items like rice and potatoes are costlier than ever.
Yunus administration is trying to mitigate the crisis riding on food imports from India but things are barely improving.
Food prices are stubbornly high despite government measures.
The big question is where will Bangladesh go from here?
Has the Yunus administration became unpopular or is it losing popularity at a fast pace?
Though Yunus is an economist, the economy of Bangladesh is in ruins. In the emerging scenario, hope New Delhi, which has been the ‘closest friend’ of Bangladesh will come forward and help in bring the nation back on the rails.
