Political violence no antidote to

anarchy
Taj Hashmi

Sheikh Selim, an influential and powerful Awami

League leader, at a public rally in Dhaka recently
threatened to cut-off limbs of those who would
create anarchy in the name of anti-government
movements.
One wonders, (a) if cutting off limbs is an antidote
to anarchy, or the very idea gives a fillip to fascism
and anarchy and (b) if mass movements can ever be
crushed by brutal force!
This writer is not sure how the average Bangladeshis
have reacted to the provocative statement.
One knows violence is alien to true democracy.
However, as Bangladeshis have already been used to
political violence, carnage and terror, and their
country at times seems to be on the brink of total
anarchy, they possibly do not bother to notice what
politicians do, and tell their followers to do, to their
opponents in the most provocative manner.
We have reasons to worry if ruling party goons and
partisan law-enforcers take Mr. Selim's advice
seriously. Theoretically, thousands of people are at
risk of losing their limbs for promoting anarchy.
Since the culture of violence has thoroughly
desensitised people, they possibly think that while

law-enforcers can kill people with impunity in the

name of crossfire or gun battle, why on earth a
politician, who is much more powerful than the
police chief in Bangladesh, cannot get away with a
mere political rhetoric, for asking followers to chop
off limbs of political demonstrators!
On a serious note, those who know do take the threat
of violent attacks on opposition workers very
seriously. They know ruling party leaders do not
mince words or throw empty threats to antigovernment people. While the intent of chopping off
political opponents' limbs is an anarchic thought,
its translation into action would signal a reign of
terror by unleashing anarchy. In the backdrop of
unaccountable extra-judicial killing of innocent
people, suspects and criminals by police and Rab, it
seems Bangladesh has already entered the domain of
anarchy.
The way the police chief of Metropolitan Dhaka
addresses public rallies, admonishing opposition
leaders and followers, in the most crude and
threatening language, one wonders if top police
officers are simultaneously Presidium members of
the ruling party!
Now, is there any room for a debate as to which is
more barbaric, chopping off of limbs by political
activists or gunning down of people by law-enforcers

in the name of restoring order? The question then

leads us to another question: Whose order are we
referring to?
Hypothetically speaking, Awami apologists may
argue that what Sheikh Selim and some other Awami
stalwarts stated at a public rally in Dhaka should not
be taken literally. They may even cite scores of
similar rustic expressions and threats that
Bangladeshi politicians frequently use against each
other at public rallies, in the parliament or at TV talk
shows. The apologists might harp on: Chopping off
limbs is just a political rhetoric, a metaphor, not to
be taken seriously.
Our experience, however, tells us a different story.
Zealous and armed political cadres and lawenforcers in many Third World countries enjoy
complete impunity from arrests and legal action. The
way law-enforcers and armed party cadres have been
crushing the opposition in Bangladesh for years; one
believes figurative expressions are not benign, all
the time. Political opponents in Bangladesh lose
limbs and eyesight, disappear, and die at the hands
of political cadres on a regular basis.
One wonders why Bangladesh is so vulnerable to
political violence, which sometimes reaches the
fringe of anarchy. Conservative Samuel Huntington
and many liberal scholars have identified the socalled Youth Bulge as the main factor behind the rise

of Islamist and secular extremism in the Third

World. When around 40% (or more) of the
population in a given country is in the age group of
15 and 29, that country is said to be under the spell
of a Youth Bulge. Lack of education and employment
opportunities turn the Youth Bulge into a
demographic bomb signalling long-term socioeconomic and political disorder. A Youth Bulge has
definitely taken place in Bangladesh, where more
than 50% of the population is under 30, and 47% of
graduates unemployed or under-employed.
Many of the unemployed and unemployable
graduates work as domestic servants, farm and
factory workers, in the Middle East and Southeast
Asia. Many more join gangs, peddle drugs and swell
the ranks of professional criminals and political
activists at home. These frustrated and angry youths
are available for doing the dirty work of some
politicians, as hired killers and extortionists in the
name of politics. They are also subject to elite
manipulation and hegemony, which have already
brainwashed them in the name of various half-baked
ideologies, including Islam and nationalism.
Now, if sections of pro-government political activists
-- extortionists and killers -- take the threat to cut-off
limbs of political rivals literally, then Bangladesh
could become a safe haven for anarchy for a long-

drawn-out period. So, sooner the politicians adopt

civility and shun provocative language, the better.
The writer teaches security studies at Austin
Peay State University, Clarksville, Tennessee,
USA.