Bangladesh - National Security Ramifications of Islamist Radical Terrorism Surge
Bangladesh is indisputably galloping in rapid transformation mode ahead of Pakistan as the “Epi-Center” of Islamist radical terrorism. The clash between Islamic and Hindu culture is real. It holds dangerous portends in posterity for India.
List of Native Terrorist groups include: the Harkat ul-Jihad-e-Islami/Bangladesh (HuJI-B) - (1992); Bangladesh Taliban; Jamaatul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) - 1989; Jamaat ul-Mujahideen (JUM); Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh (JeL), Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), established in 1998; Hefazat-e-Islami; banned Ansarullah Bangla Team (which has also called itself Ansar al-Islam and Ansar Bangla); and ‘neo-Jamaatul Mujahideen’ faction – which refers to itself as Islamic State Bangladesh .
The Regional Terrorist Groups include: Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Harkat ul-Jihad-Islami (HuJI) and Harkat ul-Mujahideen (HuM). Also, the Pakistan-based Al Khidmat Foundation in the Chittagong area supported by Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) with links to the JeL. Even the Arkan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) in the Refugee Camps must be added. At the peak of its operations in 2004, LeT claimed that up to 15,000 members had been recruited from Madrassas in Bangladesh and Pakistan.
And, the two transnational Islamist terrorist groups to include: the IS and the AQIS (2014). They are steadily consolidating in Bangladesh and its neighborhood in India and Myanmar. De facto, there is convergence of the end objective of all of them: “to establish the Islamic State and implement IS’ strict interpretation of Sharia Law.”
Let me briefly outline the growth of Islamist terrorist groups in Bangladesh. Its origins date back to the post 1971 creation of Bangladesh. The sudden influx of immigrant population in the border regions in West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura has totally transformed demographics favoring Muslims. Today, there are several sleeper agents and cells in Bengal and Assam and some even functioning in other states such as Nagaland, Delhi and Maharashtra.
The most defining landmark in the surge of Islamist radical terrorism was traced to the 1980s, when approximately 3,000 Bangladeshis reportedly left for Afghanistan to join the US and Saudi sponsored anti-Soviet Jihad. In 1992, former Bangladeshi Afghan veteran returnees under the leadership of Sheikh Abdus Salam established HUJI-B based on the “Medina Charter” - an Islamic social system. HuJI-B has changed its name many times: “Islamic Gono Andolan”; Sacheton Islami Janatam; and “Islamic Democratic Party (IDP)”.
Al-Qaeda initially funded HUJI-B which later developed links with ISIS and the Afghan Taliban. Also, HUJI-B forged close links with the Pakistani militant groups LeT, HuJI and HuM. The Osama bin Laden 1998 fatwa declaring American civilians to be legitimate targets for attack was signed by leaders of both HuJI-B and HuM. HUJI has built an extensive network of 25,000 Madrasas and used them as breeding grounds for the indoctrination of young minds and subsequently recruiting them for various terror activities. The group has been active not only in Bangladesh but also active in West Bengal and with over 40 sleeper cells in Assam; Nepal; and has been fighting along the Rohingyas in Myanmar against the Burmese Army. The group has done various medium-scale blasts in some major cities of India.
Next, Jamaat-e-Islami (JeL) was founded by Abu-ala-Maudidi in British India in 1941. JeL has deep ideological links with the Muslim Brotherhood and began its real work in 1950 when it laid emphasis on Islam and remained committed to the unity of Pakistan. JeL fought alongside the Pakistani Army to weed out various freedom fighters as they perceived them as a hindrance in achieving the caliphate. JeL has joined hands with ultra-Islamists Hefazat-e-Islam (an alliance of teachers and students) and pro-Islamic state Ansar-ul- Bangla Team which is associated with radical Madrasas. JeL has influence in Jammu and Kashmir and also in the Indian hinterland. JeL plays a key role in orchestrating pro-Pak sentiment in the Valley by radicalizing youth to take up arms. In the 1990s, JeL was behind the rise of SIMI all over India particularly UP, Maharashtra, undivided Andhra Pradesh and the group was later weaponized by Pakistan into Indian Mujahideen.
The responsibility over the 1993 death threat against the feminist author Taslima Nasreen has been attributed to HuJI-B. By 2005, JMB synchronised 459 bomb blasts in 63 of Bangladesh’s 64 districts in order to push the nation to adopt Sharia Law. ISIS has taken over responsibility over various attacks on foreigners, homosexuals, secular and liberal, Sufis, Ahmadis and those belonging to religious minorities.
Now, the Rohingyas have become sources of recruitments for transnational Islamist organizations. Both AQIS and ISIS have explicitly identified the Rohingyas in their media outlets as important loci of actions.
Yet another key factor to consider is the focus of ISIS on insurgent groups such as the ULFA and NSCN-IM. It attempted to establish a connection between these groups and groups like the Islamic Liberation Army of Assam, Muslim United Front of Assam (MULFA), and Muslim United Liberation Tigers of Assam (MULTA). These groups have established a considerable stronghold in the Barpeta, Nalbari, Dhubri and Goalpara districts of Assam. There have been occasions where terrorists linked to HUJI-B and HUM along with ISI agents have been arrested from Guwahati.
As per the latest reports, recruitment processes have transformed from Madrasas and from poor families to youth belonging to affluent and secular family backgrounds with degrees from prestigious universities. Another interesting recruitment pattern is the organization’s ability to attract young females, exemplified by growing trends of female ‘Jihadism’ in Bangladesh. Women and trans-genders are increasingly encouraged to participate in ‘Jihad’. The roles of the internet and social media in the process of radicalization cannot be undermined.
Ipso facto, the terrorism financing is due to free-flow of illicit drug trafficking, forged Indian currency from Pakistan and funds from individuals as well as organizations from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to Madrasas and Mosques, apparently finding way to Jihadist groups.
With political polarization reaching historical heights, new forms of Islamist terrorism threaten the internal security and religious tolerance in Bangladesh. Many security experts agree that ISIS and AQIS perceive Bangladesh as a new territory to expand or base their future operations.
Next, as per the list of political parties recognized by the Election Commission, there are 53 political parties, out of which there are only 13 parties duly recognized with the registration of the rest cancelled. Major parties include: Bangladesh Awami League (Exiled Sheik Hasina) - 1949; Jatiya Party (Ershad) -1986; Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP Begum Khalida Zia) - 1978; Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB); Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) established in 1998 with close ties with BNP; and left parties. All of them want their share in the new set-up and their links with Islamist organizations.
Ipso facto, the anti-India sentiment is disturbingly palpable in Bangladesh – “out India”. The country’s interim head — Mohammad Yunus — is either incapable of stopping pro-Pakistan elements and Islamist parties with ties Islamic Radical Terrorist groups or is hand-in-glove with them.
A brief review of first Jinnah’s death anniversary celebrations after 1971 at the National Press Club in Dhaka is considered vital to understand the feverish build-up of anti-India and Pro-Pak groups. The event was attended by Pakistan’s deputy high commissioner to Bangladesh, Kamran Dhangal and also by former army officers and civil society leaders. According to most of the speakers at the event, Bangladesh owes its creation to Jinnah. Bangladesh’s Islamists continue to steer their country towards Pakistan. Some speakers extolled Jinnah as the “father of the nation.”
As per Dhaka Tribune coverage, speaker after speaker after speaker extolled Jinnah: "If Jinnah had not been there, Pakistan would not have existed, and without Pakistan, Bangladesh would not exist. Jinnah is the father of our nation, but we do not acknowledge it. We must preserve our brotherhood, and I hope that both Jinnah’s birth and death anniversaries will continue to be observed here every year.
Also, one speaker stated that “Our condition would have been similar to that of Kashmir today, with the Indian junta holding weapons to our necks; Bangladesh gained independence because of Pakistan, which Jinnah helped create; and, if Bangladesh had not been part of Pakistan in 1947, we would have been in the same position as Kashmir today, with the Indian junta holding weapons to our necks.”
Shakawat, who is very close to the student leaders who led the revolt stated “We would have been like West Bengal, a backward and neglected state in India. Our condition would have been pathetic and we would have been like other Muslims of India who are persecuted and exploited and live as second-class citizens in our neighboring country.” All the speakers emphasized the need for reassessment of Bangladesh’s relations with Pakistan and vowed to forge closer ties with Islamabad.
Days after his release by the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government of Bangladesh, Jashimuddin Rahmani, chief of Islamist outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team - an offshoot of the AQIS - asked West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to “free Bengal from Modi's rule and declare its independence. I am warning India…Bangladesh is not like Sikkim or Bhutan. It is a country of 18 crore Muslims…If you take a step towards Bangladesh, we will tell China to close the chicken’s neck [Siliguri corridor]. We will tell the Seven Sisters [Northeastern states] to join the freedom movement”.
Expressing concern that Bangladesh might go the Afghanistan way, the writer-activist Taslima Nasrin expressed anguish at the state of events in Bangladesh. Initially, She supported the students' movement against an "autocratic government". However, the recent actions like violence against Hindus, targeting of journalists, and the release of "terrorists from jails" showed it was not a students' movement but was "planned and funded by Islamic jihadist uprising. They have started demolishing everything, all the statues, sculptures, museums. The way Hindus were attacked and killed, it was a nightmare. Now these people are filing cases against journalists and people who were close to Hasina. They are gradually showing their real faces and motives.” She also expressed apprehensions that Bangladesh could become another Afghanistan or Iran.
As per reports, Bangladesh Interim Government headed by pro-west Mohammed Yunus and Army Chief General Waker-us-Zaman have not been able to restore law and order in the country with the perceptible rapid rise of Islamist JeL even at the expense of Khaleda Zia’s BNP. The current interim regime has not been able to control anti-Awami League worker/anti-Hindu/anti-
Quite obviously, the Interim Government in Bangladesh is in no hurry to announce elections due to surging Islamic radicalization and the spiraling down state of the economy. Yunus has urged India to stop Hasina from making any political statements while staying in Delhi. “If India wants to keep her until the time Bangladesh wants her back, the condition would be that she has to keep quiet,” said Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
Meanwhile, yet another scenario is the possibility of the workers of Awami League regrouping in the coming months and challenge the BNP and its much stronger affiliate JeI.
While India is concerned about the violence and specific targeting of Hindus and Awami League workers, it is waiting and watching the situation as an indecisive Interim Government will lead to rise of dissatisfaction among the very youth who threw Sheikh Hasina out. This coupled with the looming economic crisis, closure of textile mills and garment manufacturing units will lead to unemployment and more political turmoil. The external and internal debt of Bangladesh has crossed USD 100 billion.
To sum up, India and Bangladesh are geographically inextricably linked with civilization and cultural linkages. But, in today’s environmental political milieu, the clashes between Islamic culture and the Hindu culture are inevitable. In retrospect Bangladesh is politically sitting on a Islamist radical powder keg. It can go the Afghanistan way but with a difference that it is in India’s adjoining neighborhood with prospects of horrendous security ramifications.
India’s denial or mute spectator status may be a short term strategic imperative. But, it cannot remain a silent bystander forever to allow the Islamist radical terrorists to launch their forays across the border. Already, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had revealed that JMBs spread its network in West Bengal.
India needs to review the fallout of Bangladesh developments and identify and define various likely emerging scenarios and strategies to manage them. Naturally, it calls for political and intellectual sagacity of highest order and flexibility. At the same time, effectively deal with the many faces internal security threats on the borders adjoining Bangladesh.
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