The scene was quite cinematic. Although the last Thursday was a usual hot day of the Chaitra, the Bengali calendar’s last month known for scorching heat, BNP’s joint general secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi was wearing a large shawl, which normally people wrap on the body during the chilly winter days. He was speaking as to why they should gear up the ‘Boycott India’ movement at a small gathering in front of the BNP office at the capital city’s Nayapaltan.
At one stage of his speech he excitedly grabbed his shawl from around his body, held it high with his right hand, and said that it was an Indian shawl and threw it away towards the party activists in front of him as sometimes we see the film stars throw away their costume towards their fans. Mr Rizvi then declared that from that very moment he had started boycotting all kinds of Indian products and urged all like-minded people and parties to join the movement. After his speech ended, cheering and frenzied BNP activists set fire to Rizvi’s Indian shawl.
We all know that founder of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), military dictator General Ziaur Rahman’s politics was based mainly on three fundamentals: antagonism against India, resentment against the War of Independence of Bangladesh and communalism. After the assassination of Zia, his widow Begum Khaleda Zia took the helm of the BNP and continued carrying on the party fundamentals set by her husband. The three fundamentals of BNP had brought together the country’s anti-liberation war forces, communal forces and the opportunists.
During the campaign of the general elections in 1991, 1996 and 2001, BNP’s strategy was the same- antagonism against India and spreading communal hatred.BNP leaders, from top to bottom, during their election campaign openly or covertly would spread fear and hatred against India through lots of fabricated, false and baseless stories only to create anti-Awami League sentiment among people as historically Awami League has a warm relationship with India. Even Khaleda Zia used to say in public meetings that if Awami League would come to power, India will transform Bangladesh into a Hindu state and there will be no Ajan in the mosques as the mosques will be transformed into temples and sounds of ‘ghonta’ and conch will be heard there instead! What a communal, ill-motivated and derelict speech of a former prime minister!
BNP was strictly adhered to its three fundamentals: antagonism against India, resentment against the War of Independence of Bangladesh and communalism till 2001general elections. In fact, after the defeat in the 1996 general election BNP became more obsessive with antagonism against India and communalism as anti-liberation force Jammat-e-Islam became a close and key ally of the party. The BNP-Jammat alliance came to power in 2001. That is, it can be said, or the BNP-Jammat alliance thought their anti-India strategy had worked.
But some remarkable changes happened in the political arena of Bangladesh during the volatile situation in 2005-2007 and during the army-backed caretaker government from 2007-2009. And more changes happened after Awami League assumed power winning the 2009 general election. Mainly Awami League government’s successful initiative of digitisation has played a very important role in this case. Digitisation was a heavy blow for the BNP’s three-decade long propaganda and falsehood against the War of Liberation in 1971, against the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and against India-Awami League relationship. Free flow of information made everyone aware of those propaganda and falsehood of BNP. On the other hand, trial of the killers of the Father of the Nation and later trial of the leaders of the Rajakars, Al-badr, Al-shams, the collaborators of the invading Pakistani forces in 1971 who were the main leaders of BNP’s ally Jamaat-e-Islam, made BNP psychologically weak.
The changed political scenario forced BNP to alter its strategy. And that is why until recently the party was not that vocal, rather remained kind of silent about the three party fundamentals: antagonism against India, resentment against the War of Independence of Bangladesh and communalism. Rather BNP was speaking about election, democracy and so on. But this sudden anti-India movement of BNP has created curiosity among many. It seems BNP’s quiver is empty, no arrow left to shoot at Awami League. The BNP has no issue in hand to raise its voice, let alone movement, against ruling Awami League. And, may be, which is why the BNP is going back to its three fundamentals. But the question remains, will those propaganda and falsehood of analog time work in this digital age? Chance is very slim.
