The tally sheet of confrontation and violence between the Government and the AL on one side and the Hefazat-e-Islam on the other may be the sign of things to come. Hefazat certainly was not cowed down by the muscle of Chatra League or the police and BGFB. In their strong holds they were quite strong and both CL and the police had to retreat several times in the face of their attacks.
Nobody expected the Hefazat to be so muscular and determined. Bodies have fallen and other mayhem caused but the lesson is elsewhere. It’s obvious that Hefazat is the most important force within Bangladesh who can challenge the ruling party.
The Hefazat is a mix of professional and political people who are not dependent on anyone except their own income such as madrassa fees and donations. While other parties depend on levies and chandabazis, Hefazat doesn’t. It doesn’t have to raid markets to keep their politics going or bag tenders by showing violence or import income from abroad but its fed from inside by loyalists. This is a fundamental difference between Hefazat and the other political parties that gives it an edge over others.
It’s possible that the ruling party’s lack of adequate preparations to confront Hefazat on the streets was partly due to its institutional memory in the last encounter in 2013. At that time, the Hefazat seemed strong and perhaps louder but on a single night, the government forces swopped down and ended the siege. They took in all the “trouble makers “and the rest were politely shown their way out of town. Eight years later the scene couldn’t be more different.
Hefazat was loud and clear and were ready to shed blood –of their own and others- and it has not won the skirmish but has not been routed at all as many had thought they would be. They retreat to fight another day.
Nothing was perhaps more obvious about decline than the status of the BNP as the hartal of sorts progressed. It was waiting in the wings in 2013 to come to power but today, they are not even in the waiting room. The birth, rise and death of a political party or perhaps parties in general is on display. Why this seems to be so needs more analysis , but the shutting down of FB and the near disappearance of political activism shows that these parties from the Right to the left may have no activists base.
Hefazat hasn’t shown any different idiom in its agitation than the traditional. It took on the ruling party when it was in the midst of celebrating its greatest moment and in the presence of its most honored guest. Hartals, violent bouts of stone pelting, arson, physical attacks were all on display showing that the content and quality of politics hasn’t changed but the players have. How two strong players, one established and the other emerging will battle each other in the future remains to be seen.
