Masks of Authoritarianism : Hegemony, Power and Public Life in Bangladesh

“The essays in this volume ... argue that it is as a pluralist and democratic society that Bangladesh can flourish, not under restrictions on the public sphere and the political process. An uncomfortable critique, to be taken seriously.” – Hans Harder, Professor, University of Heidelberg, Germany “This important volume unfolds the profound grief and trauma that exist in complex layers of everyday lives; built on rights violations, exclusions and silences.” – Bina D’Costa, Professor, Australian National University, Australia “[The] essays are well-researched, fully documented and academically invulnerable; and they are written with commitment to examine what has been happening in the vital areas of creativity, governance and economy as also the reasons thereof. ... The publication is intellectually stimulating and will continue to be useful for understanding Bangladesh.” – Serajul Islam Choudhury, Professor Emeritus, Dhaka University, Bangladesh How are lives affected by the increasingly authoritarian regime of Bangladesh that masks its despotic nature behind democratic rhetoric and economic growth? The chapters here investigate how professionals, officials, artists, opposition activists and ruling party men negotiate the ever-increasing power of an authoritarian regimes and how it affects their public engagement. This volume will interest scholars of democracy, hybrid regimes and authoritarianism. Arild Engelsen Ruud is professor of South Asia Studies at the University of Oslo, Norway. Among his recent publications are Mafia Raj: the Rule of Bossism in South Asia (Stanford UP 2018, co-author) and, as co-editor, South Asian Sovereignty: the Conundrum of Wordly Power (Routledge 2019) and Outrage: the Rise of Religious Offence in South Asia (UCL Press 2019). Mubashar Hasan PhD is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Humanitarian and Development Research Initiative, Western Sydney University, Australia. He is the author of Islam and Politics in Bangladesh: The Followers of Ummah (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020), and the lead editor of the book Radicalization in South Asia: Context, Trajectories and Implications (Sage, 2020). Previously he was a post-doctoral fellow at Oslo University, Norway. He taught political science in North South University and Journalism in University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh. Contents 5 Notes on Contributors 8 Introduction 13 What Kind of Regime Is the Bangladeshi Regime? 19 This Collection 21 Apprehension as a Tool of Authoritarianism 24 References 26 The Media 28 The Everyday Politics of Rumours and Information: Bangladesh’s Hybrid Media System and Party-State Corporatism 29 Introduction 29 Vignette 1: Suppression of Local Journalists in Bangladesh’s Party-State System 32 Vignette 2: The Inception and Operationalization of an Online Media Portal 34 Vignette 3: Factionalism and Online Media Portals: The Politics of Rumours and Information 38 Conclusion 41 References 43 Working Under the “Sword of Damocles”: Experiences of Journalists in a Hybrid Regime 46 Introduction 46 Hybrid Regime and Information Control 47 Bangladeshi Media Under the Shadow of a Hybrid Regime 49 Living Under the Sword: Journalists Speak 55 Deteriorating Press Freedom 55 Self-Censorship, “Enforced Censorship”, or “Strategic Silencing”? 56 Surveillance by State Institutions 58 “NO–NO” Topics 59 Local vs. International Press 59 Conclusion 60 References 61 Making Cinema Under Authoritarian Codes 65 Introduction 65 Institutions and Legal Frameworks 67 Censor Combat: Recent Cases 70 Conclusion 77 References 79 Snapshots of Insiders 80 The Win–win Game in Politics? A Study on Student Body of the Ruling Party in Bangladesh 81 Introduction 81 Bangladesh Chhatra League: A Journey into the History 82 Brief Note on the Method 84 Internal Conflicts and Unaccountability 84 Photo-ops in the Age of Social Media 85 Campus Violence 87 Election Rigging 87 Loyalty and Godfathers 88 New Players in the Town 90 The Hefazat Conundrum 94 Conclusion 95 References: 96 The Crocodiles Are Closing in: Everyday Life for a Local BNP Leader 98 Introduction 98 Political Pressure and Secret Campaigning 100 Intimidation and Rumours 103 Eroding the Political Safety Net 104 Undermining Daily Life 105 Arrest and Prospects 107 Bibliography 109 Survival Strategies of Jamaat as a Religion-Based Political Opponent in Bangladesh 110 Introduction 110 Research Method 113 Survival Strategies of Jamaat 114 The Need for Change and Organizational Reform 114 Public Engagement, Recruitment and Electoral Strategy 115 Social Media, Outreach and Mutual Support 117 Discussion and Conclusion 121 References 123 The Neutral Apparatus 129 Rewarding Conformity, Silencing Dissent: The Case of Academic Freedom 130 The Notion of Academic Freedom 131 Constricted Spaces 133 A Culture of Fear 136 A Politicized Academic Culture 138 Negotiating Spaces of Freedom 141 Toward Democracy: Opening Up Academic Spaces 143 References 144 Everyday Life in a Hybrid Regime: The Case of Health Sector in Bangladesh with a Focus on COVID-19 Pandemic 146 Introduction 146 Method 149 Affected Social Wellbeing 149 Reprisals Because of Political Identity 151 Powerlessness Against Corruption 152 Lack of Freedom of Expression 154 Conclusion 155 References 156 Durniti or Durbolata: Self-Policing, Social Relations and Regulative Weakness in the Everyday Lives of Bangladeshi Government Officials 158 Introduction: Self-Policing Versus Corruption 158 Pre-emptive Self-Policing 161 Maintaining Good Relations 163 Ghush: Weakness in the System 166 Conclusion: From Durniti to Durbolata 169 References 171 Snapshot of Society’s Outsiders 173 Conformers and Rebels: Competing Patterns Among Bangladeshi Rap Musicians 174 Introduction: A Brief Background of Our Research 174 Transformation of Rap Singers from Rebel to Conformist or “Conscious Rapper” 176 The Rebels: “F*** Tha Police,” “Fascist Bangladesh” and “Fear” 180 Conclusion 181 Bibliography 183 Security Conundrums of Queer Lives in Bangladesh: The Bulbul That Has Always Been A Crow 185 Introduction 185 Of Security and Insecurity 186 Digital Security Act in a Digital Life 187 Living with a Criminal Identity 188 Surrendering Intellectual Capacity and Agency 189 The Established Singular Narrative 191 Conclusion 192 References 193 Targeted by Militants and Abandoned by the State: The Case of Shuddhashar Publication House 194 Story of Shuddhashar 196 A Turning Point 197 Targeted by Islamists 199 Abandoned by the State 200 References 203 Vulnernability 206 Are Mega Projects Inherently Undemocratic? Field Narratives from Mega Projects Sites in Bangladesh 207 Megaprojects, Land Grab, and Forced Displacement 209 Megaprojects, Resistance, and Repression 212 False Impression of Democratic Engagement 214 Concluding Analysis 216 References 217 “We Are Alive, but Have No Life”: Rohingya Refugees, Deprived of the Prospects for a Future 219 No Freedom and Nowhere to Belong 221 No Jobs 224 No Education 227 What Future? 230 References 231 Democracy in Scare Quotes: The Granularity of Control in the Hybrid State of Bangladesh 234 Producing Fear as an Environment 237 The Future of the Hybrid State 240 Bibliography 243 Index 244 ​This edited book investigates how life is affected by the increasingly authoritarian regime in Bangladesh.Earlier a flawed but real electoral democracy, over the last several years Bangladesh has been characterised as a ‘hybrid regime’ in The Economist’s Democracy Index. Today it is a country in which law still rules and leaders are still chosen – but only on paper. The uniqueness of this book is not in defining regime type or investigating trajectories. It is in its efforts to study how these changes affect everyday life. All chapters are based on intimate knowledge of a field, on first-hand experience, and on interviews and ethnography. This book will interest political scientists and scholars of Bangladesh, the Islamic world and beyond, with findings of broad relevance to hybrid regimes.