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THE government's forceful actions against clandestine groups that profess themselves as Islamists but have records of crimes and terrorism to the contrary were recommended long ago. The same were needed because of the obvious insecure conditions that such groups were creating in the country. But the government appeared to be lenient in view of its assessment that these groups were tiny in their strengths and appearances and did not command any significant support from among the people at large. But even relatively small but underground groups, left to themselves, can cause major troubles and this has been the unhappy experience of all in recent times in Bangladesh.
Killing orgies, bomb blasts, etc., have been committed in the country in recent months that have been linked by some quarters to the militant Islamic groups that have now been banned by the government. This was announced Wednesday. While the afore-mentioned links are yet to be proved conclusively or the picture painted by a foreign journalist last month in an article that Bangladesh is a ripe case for the so-called Islamic revolution of Afghanistan's Taleban-type is far from being objective, nonetheless, the rise of militant and terrorists forces who pose a growing threat to social and political stability of the country needs to be viewed with the seriousness that it deserves. Perhaps the government should have acted much earlier to forestall such threats from formulating. But it is best to be late than never. Now that the threats have been amply manifested from bomb blasts and attacks on activities of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) having impressive records of helping poverty alleviation and positive social transformation in Bangladesh, the government has done the right thing by cracking down on some militant outfits which are perceived as the likely perpetrators of the violence.
While activities of the government in the realm of law and order to deal with these groups are a necessity, the more important response would be the taking of steps to regulate the processes that feed such militancy. Time has come for policy planners to sincerely put the question to themselves whether the liberal funding or patronisation of Islamic religious institutions is a major reason for the flourishment of the militancy. There is no harm if true Islamists gain in number in the country. Malaysia, for instance, is a country where Islam is practised ardently but the symptoms of violence and anarchy from Islamic militant groups are not seen there on any wide scale. The Aligarh University in the Indian subcontinent was the seat of Islamic awakening under British India. But Aligarh was not a fountainhead of militancy or obscurantism but an institution for equipping Muslims with the knowledge and know-how for dealing with the needs and challenges of that period.
In this backdrop, the government in Bangladesh has to go deeper than just trying to contain underground militancy with physical force only. It needs to take effective and sustainable steps against the breeding grounds for such militancy. Educational institutions that are steeped in religious studies and have little relevance to the requirements of building human resources -- and also which turn out to be the staging areas for illiberal and narrow orthodox views or tunnel visions, spite and militancy -- should be discouraged as a matter of policy. The actions of the government will also be keenly watched by the international community who have a stake in the evolution of Bangladesh as a progressive and modern state. The activities of the so-called militants are tarring the image of Bangladesh and this is unhelpful for the country in drawing investments to accelerate its economy.
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