Time to forestall potential Banglabhais

The perpetrators of such attacks appear to be known now. So there should not be any hesitation to go after them

Jubilation and premonition
The government may have cause to celebrate but such celebrations would be frustratingly short-lived if meticulous efforts are not made to go into the root of the so-called religious extremism and the tentacles that it has spread in different segments of our society. While in the short-term, the investigators are expected to be speedy and firm to prove the culpability of the real wrongdoers, the policy makers in their long-term strategy should take measures that will put an effective brake on the preaching of ideas that run contrary to Islam and a civilised democratic polity. Surely, Bangladesh does not want to go through the painful internal strife and the shocks that the Algerian society had to experience. Similarly, we also do not want the ascendancy of the bigoted and the obscurantist elements in the political arena, as has been the case in parts of the sub-continent and adjacent territory.

Appreciation and action
According to apparently credible information, there are at least two dozen trained leaders for whose apprehension there does not seem to be any serious concerted effort. If one has to go by media reports then one would find that many hundreds of strongly motivated workers including suicide bombers are operating underground defying the security dragnet. The worrying part is that as per confessional statement of terrorist leaders, such fugitives can launch deadly attacks.

In such a scenario, anti-extremist operations should be strengthened and a continued campaign is necessary to bust the terror network and destroy the menacing arsenal. It is also equally important to locate the origin of the arms supply and financial support and to hunt the patrons/harbourers of the so-called religious terrorists. Simultaneously, the apprehension of the members of the extended JMB network cannot be overlooked.

One has to bear in mind that the terrorists are so motivated that even one of them retains the ability to strike with a deadly impact. Any one individual of such outfit may turn into another Banglabhai. Therefore, the threat and fear of terrorist strike will not disappear if the terror-tree is not completely uprooted. In such an exercise we need long-term planning, diversified strategy and continuous actions. Unfortunately, however, some quarters are underplaying the power and capability of the terrorists. Some enforcement personnel have even gone to the length of forecasting that the terror network has been completely destroyed and terrorism has been wiped out. Such utterances, it is not realised, will only facilitate the fugitives and underground elements to regroup for launching further deadly attack. We cannot be oblivious of the fact that the terrorists displayed their potentials by carrying out simultaneous bomb attacks at 63 districts and killing at least 35 persons in suicidal attacks. The nation has already paid a very heavy price by ignoring them or entertaining doubts about their mischief-making capability. There is, therefore, no room for complacency or inaction now.

Retrograde actions and use of force
It may be pertinent to remember that the JMB terror network had established several training centres in north and north-western Bangladesh. These training outfits have trained thousands who are reportedly waiting to see action. At present, there are daily reports of the previously committed horrendous acts of JMB operatives that show their authority and writ in those areas. They had the temerity to declare the activities of NGOs and cultural organisations illegal and at places did not allow the local people to observe national occasions. They compelled villagers to pay toll and grow beard. Virtually, they created a reign of terror in those areas. Therefore, those areas where the JMB supremos conducted training and let loose a reign of terror to secure their command and influence must come under sustained enquiry. The active terrorists, their trainers and their patrons and collaborators and harbourers must be dealt with under the law, otherwise the anti-terrorist campaign will not achieve meaningful and durable success.

Global fundamentalism and our ground reality
When so-called religious extremism has posed a threat to our national security, some quarters are wilfully pointing to the phenomenon of global fundamentalism to justify the accumulated inaction. However, the reality is that in the recent past, accusing fingers were raised towards some intellectuals, media and the major opposition political party whenever the religious extremists struck terror in meetings, cultural functions, cinema halls etc. Many innocent persons were unnecessarily harassed and jailed. In fact, there was a pathetic and condemnable effort to confront a malaise by denying its very existence. Nothing could be more sad, ill-thought and myopic. The ominous rise of religious extremism in Bangladesh whose inhabitants suffered unprecedented sacrifices to de-link themselves from religion-based Pakistani state, remains a massive paradox of contemporary history. A dispassionate analysis and explanation of this contradiction may indicate the action that would be necessary to counter and arrest the religious obscurantism of all descriptions and keep us steady on the tolerant democratic way.

The imperatives
Most terrorist activities are encouraged and sustained by an ideological inspiration. In other words, terrorism is not divorced from ideology. One has to look for the said ideological moorings. In this quest, in Bangladesh, it is strongly likely that there will be some accusatory finger-pointing towards some political party. In the event of such a possibility turning into reality, the government of the day has to take tough actions without bothering about the political fallout.

That would demand political sagacity of a very high order and may be a tall asking in our perilously polarised polity.

There is no doubt that battle against extremism would be long. However, since the recent violence of the so-called religious extremists is a manifest attack on the long cherished values of the mainstream, our strategy and thought process should undergo substantial change in the following manner.

• Persons or institutions having an apparent religious or ecclesiastical appearance and activity must not be out of bound for the surveillance agencies. Those creating credible suspicions must come within the ambit of threat perception and appropriate legal action shall be started forthwith. Preempting their nefarious activities should engage the uppermost attention of regulatory authority.
• The aforementioned surveillance should ensure that no one is allowed to interpret and propagate a distorted version of the holy books. Our inherently religious folks must not be allowed to be misled.
• The so-called religious extremists committing violence should be treated like criminals and no element of respectability should be accorded to them.
• Institutions not playing the national anthem and disrespecting the national language must come under adverse attention and be subjected to effective punitive measures.
• Institutions imparting religious training and the Madrasaha should be a focal point for inspection and monitoring with a view to rendering their students into employable individuals.

The enemy combatants are now known. So there should not be any hesitation in venturing into sensitive and emotionally aligned places and institutions when reasonable suspicion and information so dictate. This is necessary to effectively shake off the suspected ambivalence of the enforcement personnel. The directives should be very clear and explicit. This aspect assumes special significance in view of the opposition allegation that the government has a politically biased view about the threat scenario. Therefore, let not political expediency cloud the corrective action.

The so-called religious extremism has not sprouted with its ugly fangs all on a sudden. So we should not be expecting instant solutions. However, deft political management ensuring pragmatic operational handling on an urgent basis can definitely lessen the harmful impact and energise the mainstream to counter the frontal attack on our democratic polity.

Muhammad Nurul Huda is a former secretary and IGP.