New Delhi
1 October 2007
India must understand that the army is the source of the problem, not
solution, in Bangladesh, according to Dr Gowher Rizvi. "There should be no
misunderstanding ... military cannot offer a solution. If there is to be a solution, then
democratic institutions need to be strengthened, not emaciated," he said on Monday in a
talk to diplomats and academics at the Jamia Millia Islamia.
"The military has no exit plan. The army chief is riding a tiger he can't get off," Dr Rizvi
said. "The military is increasingly playing a more active role. The caretaker government
is at the goodwill of the military, without constitutional legality or popular support." He
feared that although Bangladesh Army Chief General Moeen Uddin Ahmed might not
harbour political ambitions, circumstances might force his hand. General Ahmed was
expected to visit India earlier this year. New dates have not been firmed up.
Dr Gowher Rizvi, who was born in Dhaka, is the director of the Ash Institute for
Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F Kennedy School of Government,
Harvard University, in the United States.
Dr Rizvi said that there is a lot that Bangladesh's neighbours, like India, can do without
being seen as intervening in its domestic affairs. "Bangladesh," he believed, "needs
help and all who believe in democracy need to give a helping hand." He complained that
a common refrain in some capitals around the world is that they are waiting for India to
say or do something whereas India has allowed the situation to drift. "India has never
said that an early general election will be a good idea," he added, citing New Delhi's
reluctance to make up its mind whether it should persist with the military rule, and if so
for how long, or to nudge Bangladesh to embrace democracy.
He felt that from all evidence, Bangladesh is headed in the same direction as Pakistan.
There will either be a civilian facade to a military-backed regime or a military-sponsored
political party. "[We] must prevent that from happening," he cautioned, before lending
advice to policy makers in New Delhi. "Big power has to walk the first step," he said
haltingly, adding that India should show some unilateral gestures towards Bangladesh.
Dr Rizvi has seen "personal evidence" of arms going from Bangladesh to the north-
eastern territories of India and can, therefore, understand the reports in the Indian media,
accusing Bangladesh of not doing enough against terrorism, everytime a bomb goes off
in an Indian city. However, he asserted that there is no official complicity of the
Government of Bangladesh with state or non-state actors. He held a clique of retired
Bangladeshi oficials responsible for some actions that might be inimical to the interests
of India. "It is [only] a private enterprise within a section of the retired military personnel
with connections in the government," Dr Rizvi explained.
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