Secularism under siege in the Bangladesh churn

The damage that has been done to the country will take several years to undo, and even then, it depends on whether a secular regime returns to power anytime soon

- Syed Badrul Ahsan

Bangladesh is clearly in an existential crisis today. It is sinking into deeper levels of misery. With the country's judiciary now having acquitted all the accused of the August 21, 2004 grenade blasts at a rally of the then Opposition, Awami League, one hardly needs to be informed of the abyss into which the country is being pushed by the caretaker regime headed by Muhammad Yunus.

The grenade blasts, it must be recalled, left no fewer than 24 people dead and scores of others injured. Among those killed was the senior Awami League politician Ivy Rahman. Sheikh Hasina escaped the assassination but was left with hearing problems owing to the force of the blast. And even today, survivors of the attack go around with multiple splinter wounds in their bodies.

The judgment delivered on Sunday is another regressive step in Bangladesh's politics. The country is now in the grip of extremist Islamist elements that are determined to upend the nation's history. As December, the month of the Bengali victory over Pakistan in 1971, begins, there is an unabashed effort by those in the corridors of power to do everything that will not only worsen the chaos in politics but also create conditions for social disorder.

The recent arrest of Chinmoy Das Prabhu, a prominent spokesperson of the Hindu community, on charges of sedition and the rejection of his bail petition underscores the vulnerability of Bangladesh's religious minorities. Since the political change in early August, the Hindu community has borne the brunt of attacks by Islamist extremists and by those who never could reconcile with Bangladesh's secular nationhood.