Impressions of Bangladesh: The Rule of Arms and the Politics of Exhortation Author(s): Robert S.

Anderson Reviewed work(s): Source: Pacific Affairs, Vol. 49, No. 3 (Autumn, 1976), pp. 443-475 Published by: Pacific Affairs, University of British Columbia Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2755498 . Accessed: 26/11/2011 06:50
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Impressions Bangladesh of The Rule ofArns and thePolitics ofExhortation

RobertS. Anderson
has emergedin Bangladesh between ambitiousnationalplans forsocial and economicdevelopment, and the weakness of the local institutions implementthe proto grammes. Citizenshave been urgedto 'growmorefood,''control the population'and 'servethe nation.'But theseexhortations have come from Administration an governing the rule ofarms.The problem by for martiallaw administrators been to securetheconsent the has and of participation the people in order to promoterural development whichwill,in turn, and participation justify martial law. This consent whichwould embodyinitiative enthuand requiredlocal institutions of and weak local institutions siasm,but the combination discredited and military who declared themselves an 'interim'careofficers as of taker-government doubton theachievement theofficial cast goals of of This articleexaminesthe effects the coups nationaldevelopment. between November I975 and May i976, particularly those which in influenced development programmes foodand agriculture producand naturalresourcesand industry.* tion,populationcontrol, in What can be called 'the politicsofexhortation' Bangladeshwas the attemptof the rulersto gain the participation the ruled in of in development programmes the absence of stronglocal institutions and mobilizing ideas. The rulers weremengenerally over40 yearsold who had easy access to food,housingand healthcare,wereeducated in English,could leave the country withtheirfundsintact, and were in backed by domesticand foreign groups with major investments
CENTRAL CONTRADICTION * An earlierversionof thisarticlewas presented a paper at the conference "Banglaas on desh-Anatomy of Development"at the University Guelph, March 1976.I thank Peter of Bertocci,Rounaq Jahan, Barrie Morrison,and John Wood forcomments the paper and on for help in its revision.The impressions contained here result froma two-month visit to Bangladesh (November 1975 to January 1976)and I am grateful discussionswith many for informed people who cannot be identified here.

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the Bangladesh.They appeared before masses ofthe public in helilittlebehinddark glasses coptervisitsand radio speeches,revealing of and protection. and a flurry protocol Thoughtherewereimportant gradations amongthem, massestypically the livedin thecountryside, wereonlyslightly educatedand could almostnever leavethecountry. Throughgenerations theyhave evolveda tenacious 'cultureof survival.' The strengthof the national centralized developmentincontrasted stitutions sharplywiththe weaknessof local institutions. The official goal of swanirbar (self-reliance), individual,local and whichdependedcritically national, was to be pursuedby programmes on voluntary suchparticipation participation. Without theyremained The techlittle more than a precarious technocratic framework. nocraticapproach could be effective resourceextraction in and industrial developmentbecause these programmesdid not require in stronglocal institutions involved and dislocations marginalareas whichdid notdemandmass consent.The newregime with proceeded theseprogrammes and using specially-created nationalcorporations institutions, the prospectsfor the two basic problemsof food but production and populationcontrol remained uncertain. Exhortations to comply withtheseprogrammes, reinforced bytheruleofarms, only seemed counter-productive, both local initiative likelyto undermine and nationalstability. The causes ofthe coups in I975 have alreadybeen well analyzed of againstthe background changingleadershipand politicalparties.' In January for SheikMujiburRahman appointedhimself President as a five-year and thenthe 'Second Revolution'dissolvedall parterm, tiesexcepthis BAKSAL (BangladeshPeasants,Workers Peoples' and was the League). Rural government reorganized, including appointmentby BAKSAL ofdistrict each commanding regiment a governors of the partymilitia.2 on Anothercrackdown smuggling be con(to ductedby themilitary) was announcedin April,followed surprise by
' Similarities between 1975-76 and the last days of East Pakistanhave been confirmed in Rounaq Jahan, "The AugustCoup d'Etat and Its Aftermath," Report (Swedish International Development Agency), January1976.See also Talukdar Maniruzzaman,"Bangladesh in 1975: The Fall oftheMujib Regimeand Its Aftermath," Asian Survey, February1976, 119-129. The pp. repetition patternsin the fall of Ayub and rise of Yahya is discussed by Wayne Wilcox, of "Pakistan in 1969:Once Again At the Starting Point," AsianSurvey, February1970, pp. 73-81; and also HarryBlair,"SheikhMujib and Deja Vu in East Bengal,"Economic Political and Weekly, 25 December 1971, pp. 2555-2562, whichshows how eventsof March 1971 resembled thoseof March 1969. 2 Earlysuggestions fordistrict "governors" and one-party are containedin a supposedly rule secretmemoby the then-Secretary the PlanningCommission, of M.A. Sattar,"A Strategy for PoliticalPlanning,"13 January1973. Sattarwas Secretary the President to following coups. the For the structure BAKSAL, see Zillur Khan, "Leadership, Partiesand Politicsin Banglaof desh," The Western Political Quarterly, March 1976, 122. p.

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Impressions Bangladesh of of the demonetization the ioo-taka note withthe aim ofundermining black market.In August,after3I monthsofvirtually one-manrule, Mujib and his family wereassassinatedby a groupofmilitary rebels. A former Awami League colleague of Mujib, Khondakar Mushtaq Ahmed became President, backed by a groupof younger Armyofficers. Mushtaq appointedZiaur Rahman as ChiefofStaff theArmy. of Eighty dayslater,on November a groupofofficers 3, stageda countercoup whichlasted fourdays. Factionswithinthe military clashed in open combat,four Mujib's ex-Ministers of werekilledinjail, and the who had killed Mujib were whiskedaway to Thailand and officers Libya. There werefearsofan invasionby India to supportthisproMujib group,but Major-General Ziaur Rahman,releasedfrom house and arrestby a "Peoples' Revolutionary the Army"within military, riding thesentiment soldiers on of againstthissuddenreversal, swept back to power,proclaiming himself DeputyMartial Law Administrator,witha civilianPresident and Council ofAdvisors. There was a striking resemblancebetweenBangladeshafterthe I975 coups and East Pakistanbeforeits collapse in i97i. A similar of the existedbetween military civilservice, marriage convenience and a marriagearrangedby politicaland commercial groupswhichhad establishedtheir power before Pakistan disintegrated. There was of again a 'neutralgovernment' actingas a mediator amongfactions unofficial out political'parties,'whilecarrying a 'searchand destroy' missionagainst major opponents.Some ofthe administrative apparatus which existed in East Pakistan was resurrected, and the judiciary and civil serviceregained the surpremacythey enjoyed beforei97i. The gap betweenrulersand ruledwas the moststriking of feature East Pakistan.The politicalexperiment underMujib, and hopesthatthestatewouldevolvea legitimate politicalsystem through the rule of law, ended in his death. Bangladesh has to startthis evolution overagain, and much timeand enthusiasm been lost. has Law and Order JusticeSayem as President, and the Major-GeneralZia retained and sevencivilians a chiefs constituted Council of threearmedforces for Advisorsto the President,each of whom held responsibilities man without certain was an elderly ministries. Sayem politicalgroupchiefs retainedthe keyportfolios as ings aroundhim, and the forces follows: Law President Sayem:Establishment, Defense, Foreign Affairs, and ParAffairs. liamentary 445

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Ziaur Rahman (Army): Finance, Home, Information Broadcasting. and Civil Aviation,Tourism. M.G. Tawab* (Airforce): Food, Petroleum, M.H. Khan (Navy): Power,Flood Control,Communications, Transport.
(* resignedMay i, 1976and replacedby M. K. Bashar, who was succeeded by A. G. Mahmood in September)

New laws were promulgated by Zia as Martial Law Regulations, superseding the Constitution adopted in I972. The National Economic Council (an East Pakistan institution) was revived and made responsible formajor budget allocations under advice fromthe Planning Commission. Implementation of policy was again firmly the in hands of civil servants who, like most of the senior militaryofficers, were trained in the Pakistani traditionof martial law. The only threat to the civil service was the establishment of another committee 'to reviewpromotions resultingfromundue influence'in accordance with Zia's emphasis on discipline and 'eliminating corruption.' There were some dismissals and honourable reinstatements, but many undecided cases remained fromMujib's regime. To increase coordination of civil and militaryoperations in the rural areas, district-level Zonal Martial Law Administratorswere appointed. Much publicity surrounded apparently cosmetic changes imposed by the new regime. For example, as in every change of regime in Dacca in the past 20 years, slum dwellers were forciblyrelocated about I 5 miles out ofDacca, and the main cityavenues were cleared of unregistered shops and hawkers. A certain measure of approval resulted fromthese face-lifting measures, but many observersnoted that the slums were also a prime source of criminal and political activities in the cities, and that shops were removed because the militarywished a clear line of firein case of streetfighting. Most of the government's effortwas to control potential opposition, borders, crime, revenue, and natural resources. The instrumentsof control were the armed forces and a reorganized police. The infamous para-military Rakk/i Bahini was disbanded and integratedwith the Army. The Army's size was reported as 59,000 men.3 Two officers who leftthe army and became leaders in the underground opposition, Col. Taher and Maj. Ziauddin, were recaptured and jailed. Mutinies and discontent were not stopped, however, even though Zia pardoned all the officers involved in the November counter-coup.
3Total armedforces 1976 in were63,000, with3,000 Airforce and I,ooo Navy members; there were in addition20,000 BangladeshRiflesgenerally deployedas bordersecurity forces. Armamentincluded30 tanks,7 patrolboats, 9 MiG 2I's and I I helicopters. Defenceexpenditures in 1973-74 wereTk 470 million($65 million),and in 1975-76wereTk 710 million($52 million). Millitary Balance, I976-77, London: International Institute StrategicStudies, 1976. of

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Impressions Bangladesh of Zia Using his Home Ministry portfolio, createda special reserve Armed Police battalion,and a metropolitan police forceforDacca. One resultofthe controls imposedafter Mujib's death had been a 30 armed robberies, riots to 40 per cent decrease in reported murders, and thefts September-November as compared to the same in I975 monthsin I974. Most reports showedthatthesereducedlevelswere when maintained after assumedpower.Therewas muchpublicity Zia were subjectedto river-pirates, train-bandits, and blackmarketeers rigorous imprisonment heavyfines.But unreported and murderand in kidnapping politicaland businessreasonscontinued the counfor 'uncontestedelectryside.Members of Union Councils, following and tions,'wereoften targets shootings, kidnapping the of was admitted to be a seriousproblemwhen it was made an act punishableby deathby Martial Law Regulation25.4 Spectaculardaylight robberies also occurred, and nighttravelon river launcheswas reported unsafe Police conduct in Bangladeshhas despitespecial police protection. been beyondmostgovernmental but generally control, tworarechallengesoccurredwhen in March a judge accused police in Dacca of to from suspect,and in May a usingtorture obtaina falseconfession two policemenwerejailed forabusingtheirpowerswhileon dutyat Dacca airport. A driveto recapture of 'illegal' armsreportedly brought hundreds arrests during November and December, resultingin up to five martiallaw courts.A street years imprisonment special district by a demon brandishing Russian AK 47 poster,showinga long-haired sub-machinegun, announced that "he is afteryour life,property, honour and chastity." But the government knew that undeclared the armswereeverywhere; werelootedduring coups some armouries and fresh ammunition arriving from to reliable was abroad according reports. Along withthe guerillaswho robbed banks and police stations,throughout Bangladesh gangs of professional bandits (dacoits) robbedhouses. Villagersin threedistricts, who had property lose to (rice,cookingpots,cattle,goats,clothes,etc.), said in interviews they did not feelmuch greatersecurity than underMujib's regimewhen thesegangsoften The will had partybackingand police cooperation. to increasesavingsand invest property in on remained dependent the confidence theseinvestments in would notbe carriedoff thenight that at gunpoint. appeared thatthepolice and thecourtswould protect It
age 15). refers of 20 4Bangladesh Times, May 1976(the regulation only to kidnapping personsunder

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the property only of those able to pay considerablepolitical and Tightening and ordermeasuresat portsand bordersenabled law Zia to continue drive the begunby Mujib to reducesmuggling; also he threatened deathpenaltyto thoseconvicted. majorfraudoperthe A ated by officials the Ministry Food was detected Khulna port, of of in involving In 62,000 tons of wheat worthTk 40 million.5 Chittagong port,a Tk 750,000 whiskey was seized, and a Tk 8oo,ooo shipment customsdutyevasionschemeuncovered. But thesewereminorcompared to the over-invoicing exportsand other'irregularities' of conducted through port offices; over 8,500 cases were pendingwiththe Bureau of Anti-Corruption May i976. Smuggling in began to attract the attention deservedand an official it estimate thetotalvalue of of goods smuggled out of Bangladesh between January 1972 and August I175 was $4 billion (Tk 6o billion).6 Retrieving illegal arms and reducing smugglingmeant controlling the Burma and India borders.'Mopping-upoperations'against guerrillas were often conducted in difficult border areas inhabited by non-Bengalitribal people. Seniorofficers to the Garo Hills to assuretribalsthereof flew official concern their for safety development. leader (Rajmata) and The ofthe Chakma tribein the Chittagong Hill Tracts was appointedto the Council ofAdvisors, and a canningfactory and textile mill were promisedforthat area. But officials were concernedmore forthe of insecurity the frontier than fornativepeoples,who so farhad been ignoredin development programmes. Eight new police posts were constructed the hills;adjacent areas ofBurmaand India weresites in of combat betweenlocal dissidentsand nationalgovernment forces. also took place betweenthe military Fighting and what the government continuedto call 'miscreants'or 'traitors'or 'anti-socialelements.'Many dissidents who had opposed Mujib also opposed Zia; villagers used theterm Jashod JSD-National SocialistParty)for (for groups that continuedto organize and hold meetingsin the rural areas after coups. A fewhiding-places the weresharedby ex-Awami Leaguers and theirformer opponents,as well as by otherswhose illegal workhad lost police protection. Even Kader (Tiger) Siddiqi who gained fameas a guerillaleader in i97i, was reported have to
5 Bangladesh Observer, December 1975.The exchangevalue ofthe taka following coups 23 the was Tk 15 = US $1. ' W.B. Reddaway and Md. Mizanur Rahman, "The Scale of Out Bangladesh," Smuggling Research ReportSeriesNo. 21, BangladeshInstitute Development of Studies,June I975,published in Economic PoliticalWeekly, June 1976,p. 843. The estimateappeared in the and 5 Times, March I976. 20 Bangladesh

economic prices.

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Impressions Bangladesh of begun underground operations against the new regime near the with India. In order to publicize the mopping-up northern border the ailing politician,Maulana Bhashani, was givenan operations, He official to meetborder tour forces. warnedagainstlargeamounts of in rice zone. government-procured beingstored theopen in theborder It was thisricewhichwas previously basis forsmuggling the transactionsand which,naturally, vulnerable armedattackforuse as to was foodby the opponentsofthe government. Law and ordercontrols wereexpected enablethestateto extract to the revenue,food and resourcesrequiredforits development programmes. the Immediately following coups, President Sayemand Zia explainedto seniorruralofficials a strong that enforcement controls of was the most important prerequisiteto national economic development,in which officials must carryout theirdevelopment tasks 'withno interference any quarter.'7 from Political Competition Foreign and Relations Though 'normal political activity'and all politicalpartieswere suspendedafterthe coups, unofficial politicalcompetition continued the country.Mushtaq promisedthat political activity throughout would commencein August I976, and Zia repeatedthis promisea numberof timesafterthe coups. On the nationallevel,mostofthe withAwami League/BAKSAL excesseswereinjail, people identified on trial,or in hiding.8 The rural families and groupswhich gained power under Mujib were temporarily neutralizedby their fear of reprisalsforthe harshmeans by whichtheyacquired moreland and capital. Powerful families to re-examine antagonisms new had old and alliances; withone set ofconnections check,ambitiousgroupshad in to establishnew channelsofinfluence.9 is on thesegroupsthatthe It
"Order and Development"(editorial), Bangladesh Observer, 4 December 1975. and Sayem Zia were speaking to Divisional Commissioners, Deputy Inspectors-General Police, Deputy of Commissioners and Superintendents Police. of 8 Abdus Samad (former Foreignand Agriculture Minister)receivedrigorous imprisonlife mentforacquisitionofproperties valued at Tk 350,000 morethanhis knownsourcesofincome. SheikhAziz (former Minister)was triedforacquiringland and property 224,000 in excessof Tk his knownincome.Zillur Rahman (Secretary BAKSAL) was triedforacquiringhouses and of cars Tk 450,000 in excess of his known income. Gazi Gulam Mustapha (Chairman of the Bangladesh Red Cross) underwent seriesof trialsformisappropriation, a nepotism and misof management relief. The Red Cross had been a partof theAwami League, as Gazi was also partychairmanin Dacca district. The elderlyPhani Majumdar and retired GeneralOsmani werenot tried,the latterbeingappointedby Mushtaq as DefenseAdvisorto the President. 9 For example,the grandsonofa Muslim saint in Faridpur,thoughhe bears the titlesaint (pir)himself, notdare to remainat his grandfather's did the shrineafter coups. He was a tough competitor Awami League positions,had much increasedhis land and power, and now for feared enoughforhis lifeto staywithrelatives milesawvay. nephew, His 35 decided to however, leave student politicsand go underground, the becoming leaderofthemilitant in opposition the countryside the surrounding shrine.

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government relied forcooperationin development has efforts, and theirloyaltyand the complianceof theirown followers was vitalto the operationofon-going programmes. Ambassadors were exchanged in January with Pakistan and werecarefully China, and relations maintained withIndia, theUSA, and the USSR. Because ofitsvulnerability, because development and finance dependedon it,Bangladeshwas 'pursuing policyofequidisa '10The new relationships tance. withPakistanand China wereimportant.Politicians who had sidedwiththepro-Pakistan to resistance the nationalist movement I 97I weremorevisiblein publiclife, in and were referred by their to former titlesand affiliations Pakistan.Appointin mentsto the Council ofAdvisors reflected wishesofthosepeople the who, forreligiousor commericalreasons, had been happier with Pakistan.After Mujib gave someofthesepeople (e.g., members the of Muslim League, and of the ]amaat e Islam) amnestyfrom prisonin I974, theywaited untilafter the coups to reclaimtheirinfluence in business and in public life. The CollaboratorsAct of I972, under which some of them might have been prosecuted,was repealed. was offered restored someprominent and to Citizenship Bengaliswho did not return from Pakistanand othercountries Bangladeshafter to I971. The renewedlink with Pakistanoffered anotherlinkwiththe petro-dollar countries the Middle East. Though Mujib cultivated of these opportunities, the connectionwas now strengthened a by franker statement Bangladesh's Islamic background.Zia himself of visited Riyadhand Teheranen routeto attendtheIslamicconference in Istanbulin May I976. The importance relations of withChina was less immediate. had It a symbolic effect youth(about 40 per cent ofthe populationwas for between I5 and 24 years of age). The death of Chou En-lai evoked front-page eulogiesfrom and Sayem.A smalljute sale to China in Zia markedthebeginning an attempt correct imbalance of January to the of a trade under which Bangladesh had come to depend on inexpensiveand reliablegoods from China, from bus tiresto surgical In instruments. this context,Maulana Bhashani was givenprominence:" insiders said thathisgroupwas in disarray, Bhashani,an and old and ill man, was probably harmless.Since he judged politically
10 Rounaq Jahan, "Bangabandhu and After-Conflict and Change in Bangladesh,"Round Table, January1976, 8i. p. " RegardingtheearlierroleofBhashani,see Talukdar Maniruzzaman,"Radical Politics and the Emergence Bangladesh,"in Paul Brass and Marcus Franda (eds.), Radical of Politics South in Asia (Cambridge: M.I.T. Press, 1973),and in his "Bangladesh: An Unfinished Revolution?" Journal AsianStudies, of August 1975, 891-91l. pp.

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had always emphasized what could be gained throughcloser relations both with China, and was critical of Mujib, his reappearance fulfilled the coups. internationaland domestic needs after Only a superficialanalysis would suggest that the new martial law administrationwas necessarily 'anti-India, anti-USSR' because it was 'pro-Pakistan, pro-China.' Bangladesh had not had very good relations with India since I972 and did not seem likely to achieve them soon. The two economies were interlocked through the problems of water-sharing,trade and smuggling, and labour migration. Border clashes, and high level meetings to discuss them, were used to focus world attention on water-sharing problems caused by Indian use of the Farakka barrage on the Ganges River. Under Maulana Bhashani a march to the Indian border was organized in May to protest the shortage of water flowing into Bangladesh. Justice Abu Sayeed Chowdhury, a formerPresident under Mujib (having denied in February association with any 'fictitiousexile provisional government in London) was brought to Bangladesh to witness the water situation. He made a public statement against 'the decision of India to unilaterally withdraw Ganges water at Farakka. "2 Water levels were published daily in newspapers, along with photographs of ambassadors and importantvisitorsin frontof the sand bars which emerged downmounted interstream fromthe barrage. This was part of the effort nationally by Bangladesh to press India into signing an agreement which guaranteed Bangladesh's right to a fixed portion of the water the during the dry season. Concurrent with these efforts, Indo-Bangladesh technical committee met almost continuously, alternately in Dacca and Calcutta. India offeredTk I53 m. in grants and loans to Bangladesh followingthe coups, but the offerwas politely declined. Meanwhile the Russian presence remained largely unchanged. The Secretary of Foreign Affairsmade a special visit to Moscow in December to explain the policies of the new government.Though the USSR naval establishment (mostly salvage and fishingvessels) was reduced in December, electrificationprojects and exploration forpetroleum continued. Pro-USSR communist groups who had formedan alliance with Mujib kept a low profile afterthe coups; some opposition groups were referred in the press as 'now defunct.' The coups to did not fundamentallyalter the relations between Bangladesh and the United States either. The US supplied an estimated $8oo m. of the $3
12Bangladesh (newsletter), Embassy of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh,Washington D.C., X April 1976.

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billion in foreignaid to Bangladesh, from January I972 to June I975. Financial dependence on the US beforethe coups was greaterthan on any other country,though the Americans supported Pakistan's cause in I97I. Anti-US attitudes found little opportunity for public expression afterthe coups beyond wall slogans in Bengali and English. US Senator McGovern and Congressman Diggs both visited Dacca in January i976, on the heels of senior USAID and World Bank officials. Except forIndian nationals, the largest foreigncommunityin Bangladesh was American. A majorityof the 77 foreignvoluntaryagencies in The country's problems Bangladesh had a US base or branch-office. representedan importantarena forthe US 'development community' such as foundationadvisors, and consultants. There were US interests in oil-exploration,banking, pharmaceuticals, computers, electronics, American School in Dacca served and automobile assembly. A thriving this community. Renewed commitment of US aid at the same high levels continued as before,though this seemed to have less to do with development in Bangladesh than with the commercial needs and strategicadvantage ofthe United States.'3 The US 7thFleet continued to operate in the Indian Ocean immediately followingthe coups. The governmentwas committed to positions and actions which maintained it and the groups it represented in power. Its foreign relations could best be understood in this light. Delhi or Moscow could be a useful ally if other allies made uncomfortabledemands. Moves by India in April i976 to normalize relations with China and Pakistan did not simplifymatters for Bangladesh. The end of rhetorical statements about secularism should also be similarly understood: it did not mean that non-Muslims were nongrata,but it was an attempt to inspire the confidence of anti-Mujib groups in the new government.Conservative politicians were reportedlypleased that the label 'secular' was being removed. While Mujib and his party had also been pro-Islamic, the term 'secular' was used to thwart the political ambitions of these parties.'4 Being 'secular' became construed as being too tolerant of Hindus, and hence of India, even
Service (Washington, List 1 In the 1975 Foreign D.C., August1975)the number US officials of Burma (55), whereUS listedin Bangladesh (54) is equal to the number listedin neighbouring is lies visibility much lower. The real difference in the large number of non-government in resident Bangladesh. personnel 14 Some extraordinary from killing Mujib. One concerns statusof the of resulted the questions his body (parallelto the case ofthebody ofU Thant in Rangoon a fewmonths earlier).It was buried in his village in Gopalganj, having been flownthereby helicopter.In perfunctorily December,therewas an unreported attemptto have it buriedbeside his privatehouse (still guarded) in Dacca. Even as a rumourthe incidentgeneratedstrongopinion,indicating that but and properly eventually somediscreet symbolic orthodox Muslimarrangements haveto will be made.

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thoughthis tolerancewas sometimesnon-existent rural society. in The government formalized changeby deleting Martial Law this (by Regulation) Article38 of the Constitution which had banned the of functioning religiously-biased politicalassociationsand organizations.The shift was further endorsedby restoring citizenship some to Bengaliswho remainedoverseas, repealing Collaborators by the Act, and by prominent official participation religiousevents(e.g., the in Seerat Nabi conference the lifeof the Prophetin March, adun on dressedby Air Vice-MarshalTawab and theChief Justice and by the Ambassadorof Libya who spoke in Arabic). The strength sophisticated and of organization thepopular tabliqi movement whichgroupsofpilgrims (in walk voluntarily the through villagesleadingdiscussions and prayers)was partly result official a of encouragement, accordingto informed sources.A record3,000 pilgrimswent to Mecca on the Hajj, paying $3.5 m. forthe journey managedby BangladeshBiman,thestateairline.Much publicity was givento grantsfrom countries the Middle East forIslamic cultural of activities and foundations Bangladesh. The change was evident in even at the everyday level of the official cheer,Bangladesh Zindabad, the Urdu replacingthe Bengali slogan made popular by Mujib, Joi Bangla. But the attitudeto non-Muslimaffairs afterthe coups appearedto be a continuation thepolicyunderPakistan.Festivals of for Tagore, Buddha and Jesus all receivedpublicityand 'protection.' Winter fairswithHindu theatre troupesand heavygambling(anathema, in theory, devout to Muslims) wereheavily attended Muslims by and Hindus. Some tolerance was evenshownto theoccasionalexodus ofHindus to India. The government aware thatabout I 5 million was non-Muslims wereBangladeshicitizens;in someregions theyformed a majority and development programmes dependedon their cooperation. Despite the popular attitude which characterizedIndia as Hindu, and whichtherefore affected statusofHindus in Banglathe desh,thegovernment also aware thatthere was weremoreMuslimsin India than in Bangladesh. In thecontext increased of control through and order law measures, the regime made a show of confidence releasingsome of the by political prisonersdetained afterthe coups under the Emergency PowersAct."5 repeatedhis assurancethatrestrictions thepress Zia on
15 A reasonable estimatewas 62,000 political prisonersremaining(Far Eastern Economic Review, January1976).One subdivisional witha capacityfori8o prisoners 30 jail had over400 inJanuary. seniorprisonofficial A said ofDacca Central Jail inJanuary that"thereare lotsof PhDs, doctorsand poets in therealready."

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would be relaxed; newspapers which had angered Mujib or which stopped publication after the coups began to reappear. Perhaps because theywere a source ofopposition, Zia promised the universities a betteracademic atmosphere, and new hostels and sports facilities.He also stressed their 'sanctity' and warned non-students not to use the universitiesas a base of operations for national politics. Eleven life sentences were handed down to young men convicted in February of the murder of seven others in the hostels of Dacca University. But political competition in the Universitypersisted; two more students were shot dead in the hostels by rival groups in May. Again President Sayem came to the universityand spoke of its 'sanctity.' While there was some tolerance, the limits on political competition were made very clear immediately following the coups. New regulations made criticismof martial law punishable by up to ten years rigorousimprisIt was within these unstable conditions that the probability of elections in February I977, promised by Mushtaq and again by Zia, had to be considered. Conservative politicians were reported to be enthusiastic about elections, and were expected to tryto hold Zia to the timetable of six months normal political activity followed by elections. They had an 'above-ground' status from which to work,and current policies reflected most of their own interests. Socialist and militant opponents of Mujib (including some Communist factions), though they were were reported cautiously tolerant of Zia, were not enthusiastic about elections; theiroperations had to be mainly underground. Elections would bring the unofficialcompetition into the open, and the traditionsof electoral violence togetherwith easy access to arms created the risk of widespread conflict,'7 which could provide the evidence Zia would need in order to justifyterminationof normal political activityand a return to martial law, as was done earlier in Pakistan. Political participation became something which could be allowed, or not, depending on whether conditions were diagnosed as 'normal' by the Deputy Martial Law Administrators. The national political spectrum ranged frompeople who were critical ofMujib, like
16 Martial Law Regulations15, i6 and 17 (excerpts) . ". . . whoever . . criticizes imposithe tion,operationor continuanceof Martial Law, . . . attempts excitedisaffection, . by any to .. means spreadsreports calculatedto createfearor alarm or despondency amongthepublic ... does any prejudicialact or . .. spreadsany prejudicialreport . ." Bangladesh . Times, January, 9 1976. of 17 One ex-Minister Mujib's Cabinet told thewriter January in in Dacca, "Though things are muchbetter nowfor people,theywillhave to allow politicalactivity the again. This political vacuumcannotlast in the ruralareas."

onment. 16

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Impressions Bangladesh of journalistEnayatullahKhan and Maulana Bashani, through unan definedmiddle including adherentsof the 'now-defunct' Awami League, to the previously Muslim League and Jamaat unrecognized e Islam.There had been militant opponentsof the status quo under Mujib, under Pakistan,and under the British.Even in the villages mostpeople probablyrealizedthatthe government could notpermit the participation dissidents.Many villagersalso saw that they of were merely the 'objects' of policyand fearedwhat the government might to themin thename ofdevelopment. lackofany ideas in do The government which could motivatethem and the absence of strong local institutions exhortation law and ordercontrols inevileft and as table alternatives. Policies Development Three broad areas most affect development Bangladesh: agriin cultureand food supply,populationcontrol,and naturalresources and industry. spirit The whichinformed ruraldevelopment remained, in theofficial language,'ruraluplift' and 'social welfare approachesto rural development.' Agricultural policy supporteda patternwhich reinforced class structure further the and consolidated land and capital in fewer hands. But itwas resource extraction industry and which receivedmost attention, thoughthe combination large-scale of projects,foreign donorsand indifferent led implementation to theimpositionofinappropriate or of technologies, to the substitution imported efforts. thewhole,development approachesforindigenous On policies continuedthe exploitation agriculture of and ruraleconomy.They promoted the growth cities,both by strengthening of theirservices their food supplies), and by weakeningthe retentive (particularly capacityofthe surrounding countryside. The dependenceofdevelopment on programmes foreign financial aid was unchangedfromMujib's regime,thoughstrenuous efforts weremade to raise moredomestic revenue. and bilateral Multilateral teams fromeverymajor aid-donorvisitedBangladeshfollowing the coups to reassess theirroles, and each subsequently announcedrenewedcommitment current to policies.Total foreign assistancefrom I972 to mid-I976was $4.22 billion.After the coups, the IMF establisheda special Trust forBangladesh,the World Bank arrangedan aid-consortium meeting Paris forBangladesh,and the Islamic Dein velopment Bank,the International Development and the Association, Asian DevelopmentBank all announced major credits.Policy was often proposed foreign by consultants undercontract foreign to donors, 455

PacificAffairs statusin theeyesofofficials proposalsenjoyeda favoured so thattheir policy.While thereweresome who wereto formulate and politicians was usually the bodies, each programme policy-making integrated to whichguardedagainstattempts coof preserve a separateministry focussed its diluting power.Officials thereby ordinate implementation urban environments theirown immediate on policieswhichaffected not and theirown futures, on the rural sectorwhich theyhad left for when theybegan theircareers.None ofthe portfolios Local Selfwere Rural Development, Reliefand Rehabilitation or Government, remainedless chiefs,and theirofficials held by any of the military than others. and powerful prestigious for oflocal institutions implementing development The weakness and relation the to composition was programmes due to theirorigins, The thana remainedthe major administrative nationalgovernment. The Union programmes.'8 unit forrevenue, police and development thoughMujib to Councils continued be the focusof local attention, which cooperatives had plannedto replacethemwithmulti-purpose ownership the wouldhavehad muchmorepower,including collective under Mujib of some land. The Union Councils were discredited under of and discredited because theyhad been instruments Pakistan, relief from made private profit martiallaw because Council members underMujib. The loans and contracts and distribution government in was thatchairmen in others, and pattern one thana, confirmed four in oftheUnion Councilswereliving the police stationforprotection, and running goingto theirhomes onlyunder guard in the daytime, Some offices carrying theirseals and stampsin theirpockets. their by A to the Council Membersleft thana hide elsewhere. powfrightened and in the eight months neutralized, erfulgroup was temporarily of following coups at least eightmembers Union Councilsin this the murdered. thana were reported with Whiletheywerethe finallinkofthe nationalgovernment the provillages, these Councils had no real power in development
8 The thana(oftenconsideredas equivalent to 'county',but literally was police-station) composedofabout ten separateUnions,a clusterofvillageswithtotalpopulationup to 20,000. Act by by Unionswereestablished theVillageSelf-Government of 1919, modified AyubKhan's moreeffective collection tax and policing. and weredesignedfor Basic DemocraciesAct of 1959, challengedby new typesof onlyrecently men (matabaars) of They became the preserve strong Elections to Union Councils continuedto be 'uncontested' leaders such as school-teachers. ruledand appointedotherMembersoftheCouncil. It was MembersofUnion wherea matabaar level. officials the thana at Councils who mediated forothervillagerswith most government Village-Conflict the Regarding politicsofUnionCouncils,see A.K.M. AminulIslam,A Bangladesh Elusive J. Company,1974);and Peter Bertocci, andCohesion (Cambridge SchenkmanPublishing in (unpublisheddoctoral Organization RuralEast Pakistan and Villages SocialStructure Community of 1971). Michigan State University, thesis,Department Anthropology,

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Impressions Bangladesh of
grammes. Minor policing and taxing powers could be superseded by thanaor districtofficialsifnecessary. Council members looked to these officials favoursin carryingout theirresponsibilities,and cooperafor ted with them in patronage and corruption. Districtgovernment officials did not really identify with Council members, and continued to wear western-styledress, arrive at the villages in jeeps, and depart before sunset. The martial law administration hoped to inspire dedication among officials, and set a new office-opening hour of 7:30 a.m. But this had been tried under Mujib, and then, as now, few officialschanged their daily routine and most arrived at io a.m. At almost all levels of society the conduct of governmentofficials, though disliked, remained mostlyunchallenged. The contradictions between development programmes at the national and the local levels were not reconciled. Both senior military and civil officialswere trained in Pakistan to believe that deference was the proper attitude of the people towards governmentauthority. This continued in Bangladesh because therewere no sustained training programmes under Mujib's regime. Development programmes needed, from their perspective, to be organized in tidy hierarchical and specialized systems. The role of foreignaid-donors increased the need they felt for separate accountability, in spite of the use of the term 'integrated' in policies. Such needs were opposed to stronger local institutionswhich could experiment and learn which kinds of development would be effective their areas. The national governin ment did not transferto the existing institutionsany major responsibilities in development, such as revenue investmentor resource control, because this would constitute a potential challenge to national authority.The politics of exhortationthus substitutedforthe transfer of real responsibilities and power in development programmes.

FoodSupply Agricultural and Development

While food supply and agricultural developmentprogrammeswere ostensibly aimed at the rural sector, they actually had as much to do with the growth of urban settlementsand the stabilityof the state in Bangladesh. The real question in the rural development program was not increases in yield or overall production, but distribution of food, and the means to produce it. Administrations in Dacca have consistentlychosen a food policy which supplied prioritygroups on the officialStatutory Rationing list of civil servants, military,police, industrial workers and hospitals. This policy guaranteed the health and strengthof those urban-dwelling classes, or those on government 457

Affairs Pacific
salaries, and cementedthe alliances betweenthe bureaucracy, the military, the merchants who operatedthe fooddistribution and system. While agricultural policytendedto promotethe growth the of landlesslabourer class, foodpolicydid notincludethemin theregular rationsystem. Rural areas received, underModifiedRationing, only grainswhichwerenotabsorbedbypriority groups.Atthetimesofthe year when foodwas in shortsupplyin the countryside, was an this exampleofpunishing agriculture and rewarding industry. The same foodpolicytendedto promote growth thebureaucracy the of and the military whichwerestill,as in Wilcox'sterms, 'the onlytwomanagementinstruments societypossesses.'9 the There was a bumperharvest traditional of of varieties rice (aman) in December,consistent withgood harvests the restof South and in SoutheastAsia. The Ministry Food began immediately procure of to as muchofthisriceas possible,and was surprised thewillingness by of farmers sell. Rice pricesdecreased by halfafterMujib's death to the and, after harvest, droppedto 25 per cent oftheirformer height. Procurement almost 400,000 tons of rice and importation 2 of of milliontonsofwheatand ricecreateda problemsincestoragecapacityin the country was only I milliontons. Canadian aid was sought of forconstruction 400temporary warehouses. Whileit increasedrice procurement its rationshops,the Ministry Food raised ration for of pricesby 30 per cent; that is, the government reducedits subsidyon rice,wheat and cookingoil when these were sold at fixedprices to groupson its priority Extension rationedriceand wheatsales list. of to industrial workers outsidethe fourstatutory urban centres was an important new concessionto industries. Though thesesales immedinew sourcesofrevenue government, also opened atelyoffered to they anotheropportunity decentralized for industrial The rationgrowth. card system was notoriously and the urmanipulatedby merchants ban public and again, as underMujib, thousandsoffalsecards were seized and invalidated. Moreover, 'well-to-do persons'wereurgedby the Ministry return to theircards because theycould afford pay to open market priceswhichremainedsteadyat ioN per lb. ofrice.Most ofthewheatsold through rationshops came from the donors. foreign In spiteofa good harvest and heavyprocurement, of importation rice and wheatwas expected reachabout 2 million to tonsin thefiscal year endingMay 31, i976; forexample,fromI5 Novemberto the end of
19Wilcox,op. Cit., 76. Also see Charles Tilly "Food Supplyand Public Order in Modern p. Europe," in C. Tilly (ed.), TheFormationNational of in States Western Europe (Princeton: Princeton University Press), 1975, pp. 380-455.

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Impressions Bangladesh of
January, 42,000 tons of rice were procured within the country,but in the month ofJanuary alone over 40,000 tons of rice and 78,oootons of wheat were imported fromthe United States. The major donors were US Food forPeace and PL48o, the USAIDCARE Food forWork, the UN World Food Program, and the Canadian International Development Agency, but the list extended further to an $8 million grant for rice fromJapan, and I2,000 tons of wheat fromFrance channelled through the EEC. Sales of this food through the ration system generated a great deal of revenue for the government: one recent estimate by a food specialist with a UN agency was that it amounted to 55 per cent of the national budget.20 Wheat became a daily part of almost everyone's diet, and formany it constituted their only daily meal. Slogans appeared on the frontpages of Bengali and English newspapers saying 'Wheat Is More Nutritious Than Rice' and 'Wheat Contains More Calories and Proteins Than Rice.' Only I40,000 acres were planted under high-yieldingwheat in i96i, but between 300,000and 400,000acres were under wheat in the winterseason. Imported wheat was reportedmovingout ofthe 1975-76 urban ration-areas for exchange with better rice in the countryside; in the difference theirprice was consistently30 per cent. But in spite of this movement and the bumper traditional harvest, reliable sample surveysin three districtsshowed levels of malnutritionof 25 per cent among rural children and their mothers. The customary feeding centres were reopened in the hot scarce months of May and June." Like the reliefoperations followingthe annual cyclones in April, these were managed jointly by the Army and the Red Cross. The Army was first involved in the movement and storage of food to limit corruption at Mujib's request in 1973, and the Deputy Martial Law Administratorsmade a number of surprise visits to food warehouses belonging to the Ministry of Food. However, this reliance on the sale of food forrevenue and distributionof food forsocial controlwas only part of the broader problem of increasing agricultural production through governmentdevelopment programmes. The governmental structurewhich controlled agricultural policy was highly centralized and remote from food producers, though its institutionsdirected programmes which were, to some extent, com20 The Manchester ii Weekly, April 1976 For the political aspects of one food-aid Guardzan shipment, Bob Anderson see and KathyMezei, "Welcome to the Party-Aid forBangladesh?" Canadian Forum, June 1975. 21 For example,the Bangladesh children Timesreported centresat Chandpurfeeding17,000 and mothers (May 2), and centresat Kishoreganjfeedingi6,ooo(May i8).

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petingforrecognition scarceresources. and The Ministry Agriculof tureand the BangladeshAgricultural Development Corporation were the from days of Pakistanjoined by two policybodies resurrected theAgricultural PolicyCouncil and the Rural Development Council. These wereadditionsto the electric 'political'agencyofofficial rural Committee. Most ofthese development plans, the NationalSwanirbar bodies had inter-locking and alternate arememberships, represented nas forcareerbuildingby ambitiousmembers. These bodies became more significant than the IntegratedRural DevelopmentProgram whichMujib and foreign donorsused as a channelfor ruralfinance, in whichtherewerereports February 'promotion in of irregularities' at movement managementlevels. The Swanirbar was administered by Mahbub Alam Chashi fromthe President'spalace in Dacca, and involved district-level all offices high-visibility workprojects, in rural familyplanning,and model development villages. It had to work the through rural power-structure appeared to be a non-party and mechanism providing for rewardsor incentives powerful to villagers who were faithful the government. The coups in Dacca were to reflected changes in recipientsof rewards in the countryside. by the Despite some admirableplans and rhetoric, Swanirbar Committee was notconstituted serve ruralpoor.Discussions theSwanirbar to the of movement the Bangladesh EconomicsAssociationin March beat tweenChashi and othersincludedthe chargesthatit 'reinforced the relief-mentality' was just anothermethodof 'agricultural and input The dual needs forstablepolitical dumping'without accountability. relations down to the lowestlevels,and foraccountableimplementation of programmes could not always be reconciled.The undefined term 'self-reliance'was contrastedwith the hierarchicalthough equally ambiguousterm'rural uplift.'Such needs and incongruous The slogans were at the veryheart of the politicsof exhortation. for betweencivil Committee cooperation enthusiasm the Swanirbar of servantsgeneratedresistanceamong those who were expectedto share power and prestigewith people of a similar rank in other for agencies and departments. Nevertheless, the government's purclosercontacts forced between officials differof poses thismovement ent ranks and departments and some powerful villagers,contacts whichmightnot otherwise have occurred. The government made unprecendented revenue collections followthecoups. Both unofficial official and wereapplied and ing pressures the national result was that in the firstthreequarters of I975-76 revenue was Tk 4.7 billion,overdouble theTk 2. I billioncollectedin

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Impressions Bangladesh of theTk I.5 billioncollectedin I973-74. All AgriculI974-75, and thrice turaland ReliefLoans contracted beforei97i werecalled in,and rent on government equipment likedeep tubewells irrigation vigorfor was ously collected. In Faridpur district, where revenuewas Tk io. i million arrears in since i97i, at leastTk 6.6 million was collected 2 1/2 in months.In Dacca district, revenuetahsildars realizedmaximum who collections were awarded prizes by the highestdistrict government officer. Higher collectionsindicatedtighter control;lower previous collections usuallymeantthatloans werenotrecalled,defaulters were not pursuedor prosecuted, smallerpersonalpayments or weremade to corruptofficials. special Departmentof Tax Intelligence A was created in May to limitevasion. But surplus (cash-crop) farming requiredmore capital forland and inputsthan everbefore, consideringthe fallin the priceofrice,and the government wishedto avoid increasing heavyindebtedness. requestedthe nationalized Zia banks to extend credit to smaller farmers.The drive for more revenue collections and lack ofbank credit keptthesmallerfarmer closelytied to the biggerfarmers who were also money-lenders. This is another exampleoftheconcentration themeansofproduction political of and powerin fewer hands. There was a widespreadassumption and thatland fragmentation conflict the transitions in betweenEast Bengal, East Pakistanand Bangladeshso disturbedrural social structure thatthereexistedno large or effective landowningclass. This assumptionwas used to the support argument thatrapidapplication newagricultural of technologieswould resultin immediate increasesin foodsupplywithout alteringthis 'egalitarianrural structure.' The rural realitywas far from these assumptions.22 About io per centofthe farmers werebig producers oriented the market, to often owningland well in excessof thelegal ceilingof33 acresand investing infrastructure as rice in such millsand transport storagefacilities. or Theyworked through linksto local government officers and sometimes the cities,and were in to continuous withone anotherforresources.Membersof competition Union Councilsgenerally came from thisgroup.Another per cent 50 of farmers had about 2 acres on which theycould ordinarily just aman io subsist, thoughin therecent harvest someexpected market to rice.Thus theysharedsomeoftheinterests thebig per centoftheir of
22 The following is in description confirmed small unpublishedsample surveys Comilla, by Dacca and Rangpur districts, and by discussionswithotherinformed Faridpur,Chittagong, the of and landlessclasses varyfrom observers; naturally percentages the subsistence place to place.

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PacificAffairs surplus farmers,on whom they generally depended for credit. Throughstrategy and luck,a fewsubsistence farmers became bigger each season moresubsistence farmers farmers, though slippeddown into the landless class which comprisedthe remaining per cent. 40 These weretiedby kinship and neighbourhood bothofthefirst to two classes. They dependedsolelyon the 'labour market' createddirectly or indirectly the big farmers whom they had already been by by The food-deficit householdswere also not includedin expropriated. the food-ration system.To assist this group in beginningto farm again, and to strikeat those who gained more rural power under Mujib, thegovernment announcedthatall land transactions between April and December 1974 (nine monthsof floodsand famine)were and ownerscouldgettheir land back. subjectto reversal thatoriginal The policiesregulating relief and food-for-work projectsmost affected relationships the between subsistence landlessclasses.These and projectsweregenerally managed by the Union Councils and governSome subsistence used theseprojectsto promentsofficials. farmers sale. long the time theycould retaintheirland beforeits inevitable in Most oftheprojectson whichtheyand the landlessgroupworked for return wheatwerecanals, ponds and roads whichwould increase of to thecommercialization agriculture be ofmostbenefit surplus and no voicein planfarmers. had Those who workedon themgenerally and ning or executingprojects.The bulk of the skilledcraftsmen tradesmenexist at this level, increasing the competition scarce for This competition was further intensified average opportunities. by I974 populationdensities I,400 per square mile.Rural development of and agricultural policyhas avoided dealing withmostofthesecomplexities,delaying until the futurethe inevitableincreased social welfare costsofthe necessary fundamental structural changes.It was in thiscontext that'crime'and 'violence'wereto be understood; from the illegalcutting farmers' of to cropsby armedrobbersat night the it fashmurderof elected officials, was relationships and strategies which were at the root of rural ioned by the rural social structure conflict. While it soughtmore control,the government exhortedsurplus farmersto greater productivity. Previouslyunused land around was sownwithvegetables, and schools,government buildings though there was a poorreturn mostoftheseefforts. itwas in thehigh on But yielding (HYV) grainsthatgovernment policyplaced mostconfidence to achieve productionincreases. HYV rice which used fertilizers, pesticides and special irrigation, accountedfor still only io percentof 462

Impressions Bangladesh of thetotal 55 millionacres undercultivation, yieldswererelatively and low, ifnot decreasing.23 This was theresultoftheuse oflargeforeign exchangecreditforthese technicalinputssince the mid-ig6os. Rice researchhas been conductedin this regionsince I917. The Bangladesh Rice Research Institute cooperationwithIRRI) put major (in emphasison improving deep-water rice, which accounted fortwice thearea cultivated theHYV ground-sown by rice,or about io million acres. The NEC granted I40 million research improve Tk for to yields ofdeep-water and to increaseitsresistance salineconditions rice to in the delta region.Though research rice began on thistraditional crop in I938 in Sylhet district, stoppedaround i960 because international it priorities funding and wereall focussed dwarf on high-yielding varieties, none of whichcould survive floodconditions Bangladesh. in in Afterthe coups, USAID granted$6.5 million to the Agricultural Research Institute Dacca forresearchon othercrops like wheat, in But the success ofthe traditional soya and sorghum. amanrice crop, good prospects traditional for deep-water rice,and emphasison nonrice alternatives not stop the regimeand its foreign did supporters from underwriting conceptionof agriculture Bangladeshwhich a in has alreadyhad deleterious results bothin destabilizing ecological the contextof food productionand in maintainingthe profoundinequalitiesofruralsociety. High-yielding varieties and theirrequirements wereplaced ahead ofalmostall otherconsiderations ruraldevelopment their in and costs were extremely high. Ammonialeaked fromthe Ghorasal fertilizer in factory Februaryand killed thousandsof riverfish,removing a major source ofproteinforsurrounding populations.Studies of the of swamps(haors) Sylhet district showeda sharpreduction bothfish of and dairyproduction of due to the effect chemicalswhichcollectin the waterfollowing drainagefromHYV rice fields.To controlnew insects introducedinto the countrywith new seed varieties,and perhapswithfoodshipments, aerial spraying pesticides of was carried out on 'an emergency basis,' killing fish in livestock, and poultry large numbers.While more pesticidewas purchasedwithannual foreign therewerechargesofa 'procurement credits, spree' overtheprevious
23 Based on interviews withagricultural expertsin Dacca. For pre-'971background land on tenure, administration ruraldevelopment, papers by Bertocci al. in R.D. Stevens, and see et H. Alavi and P.J. Bertocci,RuralDevelopmentBangladesh Pakistan in and (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1976).On the pressingneed and bleak prospectforsignificant land reform, see M.A. Zaman "Bangladesh: The Case For Further Land Reform," South AsianReview, January pp. 1975, 97-I I5; also I.N. Mukherji "AgrarianReforms Bangladesh,"Asian in Survey, May 1976, pp. 452-464.

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PacificAffairs fourteen years which resultedin ii,ooo tons of stockpiled pesticide in deteriorating the open air. The grimfactwas thatit could cost as much as Tk 5,000 per ton, or Tk 55 millionto destroy this deadly accumulation safely.24 But one agricultural environmental and concern overshadowed all others after coups,and it notonlyaffected production HYV the the of grains but altered the cultivationpotentialof 24 per cent of the agricultural land in thewholecountry. The decreaseofthewater-flow through Ganges Riversystem the due to theoperation theFarakka of in barrageresulted a declineoffresh waterand an increasein salinity. This and lower water-levels damaged crops already in the ground, limitedfishand forest growth, and spoiledthiswaterforsuch industrial purposes as thermalpower generation, and pulp and paper in production. West Bengal (in India) gained good irrigation thedry Murshidabaddistrict, was flushed silt from PortofCalcutta,and the freshwater extendeddownstream fromCalcutta, all of which improvedtheagricultural industrial and potential thatstate.The new of Bangladeshregimeinherited problem a whichcaused chronic tension betweenPakistanand India in the late i96os. The Farakkaissue was almost the only development question over which there was any seriouspublicdebatefollowing coups. Demands in Bangladeshfor the settlement water rightsshowed that the people recognizedtheir of precariouspositionin regardto the mostcrucialagricultural input. The delicacy with which the government officials had to approach with India showed that theirpoliticalpositionwas alnegotiations mostequally unstable. Control Population Four yearsof inactionin populationcontroland family planning turnedto a senseof urgency the following coups. In JanuaryI975 the Chairman of the Family PlanningBoard said "We have been at a standstillforfiveyears."25 One year later Zia and Sayem declared as populationcontrol first on priority thegovernmentprogramme 's of action. The 'facts,'though indefinite and sometimesgeneratedby different kindsofresearch, weresufficiently to alarming arousepublic anxiety;the UN PopulationDivision estimatesin mid-I975put the populationat 73.7 millionwith46 per cent underthe age of I5 and forecast144.3 million26forthe year 2,000. While populationexperts
24Bangladesh Times, March I976. 3 Khushwant Singh,"The International BasketCase," Newrork Times 26 Magazine, January 1975, P. 44 26 "Food and Population"Asia I976 Yearbook. Far EasternEconomicReview,December1975, p. 62. Some expertsdoubted the statisticalaccuracy of the 1974census, thoughno current populationestimates exceed 8o million.
25

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Impressions Bangladesh of have long adviseddrasticaction,therehad been no and civilservants policies.Followany politicalresolveunderMujib to implement firm to ing the coups severemeasuresbecame mostattractive the martial law administration, and possibilitieslong talked of now became Comstrongly-financed programmes.A new Central Coordinating on mittee PopulationControlwas createdwithrepresentation the on The doctorwho heldthepostof to CouncilofAdvisors the President. bothhealth of Secretary Health since I972 and who wishedto control a and family was dismissed, thusbreaking longplanningby himself separate termbureaucraticstalemateby givingpopulationofficials The Swanirbar Committee the prestige powerwithin civilservice. and of in planning experibecamemuchinvolved theoperation newfamily thus linking politicalcontactsand the its mentsin the countryside, thanas in with the performance different of rewards it could offer Whilethecustomary rangeofcontraceptive family planning activities. devices was available to persons requestingthem,special political and In the emphasiswas givento vasectomies tubal ligations. January first VasectomyFair (mela) was organizedby the SwanirbarCommitteeand the Bangladesh AssociationforVoluntarySterilization first predicted 5,000 vasectomies, about 20 milesfrom Dacca. Officials and theatmosphere a fair resembled winter in orderto popularizethe A President visitors came, including methods. stream distinguished of Sayem. Yet, even by extendingthe fair an extra day, it actually achievedonly 96i operations using heavypressureon ruralpolitical areas.27 Meanlike Union Councils in the surrounding mechanisms in whilethe physician chargeofHealth, FamilyPlanningand Population Controlon the Council ofAdvisorscalled fordoctorsto assist in the population controlprogramme.All salaried workersof the quotas, and therewas Ministryof Health were expected to fulfill in for inevitable duplicationof efforts the competition clients. There has been an indirectreturnto the economic incentives previously used by Pakistanand abandoned by Bangladeshin I972. Since that time $65.5 millionwas providedin foreign assistancefor mostofit from US-based agencies,thoughmany populationcontrol, The othernationsand multilateral agenciescontributed. Coordinator forPopulationAffairs the US Department State visitedDacca of in after coups and praised,and promised the support boththefamily for,

27A close observerof family planningpracticeand a memberof the National Swanlrbar Committee drewattention thecontradictions thisapproach,including use ofeconomic to in the incentives. See ZafrullahChowdhury,"Vasectomy Mela and Family Planning," Bangladesh Times, February1976. 25

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PacificAffairs planningand Swanirbarmovements. said thattherewould be no Zia financiallimitson programmes population controlif theywere in effective. Observersquestionedwhether makingfunding contingent on performance welcome goal in other respects)would cause a (a repetition theprevious of practiceoffalsification statistics order of in to maintainthe flowof US supportand finance family for planning. The return relianceon economicincentives to insteadof motivation was expectedto resultagain in moreworker for concern thekick-back from clientsthanforproperperformance duties.Without of any local institution set priorities to and deal with inevitableoppositionin meaningful rural terms,population controlprogrammes and personnel continuedto be perceivedby many villagersas 'shameless' and (beyhaya) alien. There was no fundamental changein the government'sindifference public healthin general, thatthepopulation to so controlcampaignremainedisolatedand biased towardsclinicsand doctors. The impact of all this was not at all clear, even to the most informed observers. Heavy dollar funding continued resultin the to construction more buildings:the NEC announced that Tk 650 of million, from presumably USAID, would be spenton 45 buildings for family planning.The buildings absorbed$43 million thetotal$65.5 of milliongranted and would have had moreimpacton theconstruction industry thanon populationdynamics.Policiescontinued tie famto ily planningto the government to the urban lifeit represented. and The 1974censusreported urbanpopulation 6 million, an of and thisin itself a represented big market.A two-month pill cycle (made in India) cost ten cents (Tk I.40) in the cities. Quantities of foreign condomsmarked'forfreedistribution' the ruralareas wereseized in on the black market Dacca. Articles in appeared in bothBengaliand English newspapers on American or Britishreactionsto contraceptivesand baby foods.In the ruralareas the impactwas uneven, but effective workwas being done by projectssupportedby a few voluntary agencies and some isolated civil servants.Economic incentivesincluded'unofficial' promisesof freerationsand pressures like withholding agricultural loans were confirmed informed by observers. These pressuresmost affected membersof the subsistenceand landlessagricultural classes,wheremenappearedto be morecautious than women in responding. Exhortations controlthe population to reachedthese womenat a time when theirown role was changing. Rural womenwere competing withotherwomenforincomesin the 466

Impressions Bangladesh of agricultural labour-force, onlyin thetraditional not women'srolesof processing, parboiling and cleaningtherice,but also in transplanting it at theseedlingstage.28 Womenfrom prosperous ruralfamilies were reportedto have increased their demand foremployment such in occupations thepolice and nursing. as Untilmartiallaw, elitewomen had a participation quota in electoral politics,but this controlled situation would notbe likely satisfy to ordinary women'sdemandsfor in participation public life.This change of expectation and role will affect family structure, wages, and educationpatterns, and willtend to makesome womenmoreregularusersofcontraceptives. presBut suretacticson clients resistance ruralsociety, in brought particularly among men,and mostparticipation became non-voluntary. Workers and investigators threeareas reported in thatvillagers said theywere asked to undergovasectomies and ligationswhichmostleaders and officials would avoid. Villagershave seen manyleaderswho exhorted themto do this or warnedthemagainst doingthat,but did not set examplesby their own conduct.Each leaderoffered 'good reasons'for cooperatingwith the government, villagersknew the coercion but which could be used to enforcethese offers. There were animated in discussions at least threedistricts the recentlegislatedsolutions of to populationproblemsin India, broadcastto Bangladeshby radio. The mistrust amongmostruralpeople about themotives intention or of government programmes to comprised partof theresistance some aspectsofthenew family efforts. What seemedonlyvaguely planning glimpsed policy-makers Dacca was thatthewillto participate by in in on family felt planningwas contingent the confidence by couples in theirown economicand politicalfuture withinthe country. Policies to securethatconfidence, including publichealthmeasures, werenot in evidence. Natural Resources Industrial and Development Followingthe coups therewas an acknowledgement natural that resources had to be morecarefully assessed and thatindustries based on those resourcesshould grow logicallyfromthe assessment.Zia himself in suggested 1973 and 1975 thatremoving Mujib and altering foreign policywouldensuregreater economic and technical for aid full of The rule of arms development Bangladesh's natural resources.29
28 The role of womenin agriculture and othersectorsis well reviewed Women Women in for (Dacca: University PressLimited, theWomenfor for WomenResearchand StudyGroup, 1975). withZia and othermilitary 29 Frominterviews personnel pp. quoted in Zillur Khan, op.cit.,

123-124.

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Affairs Pacific was bettersuited for resource extractionand processingby new technologiesthan for dealing with the complexitiesof the rural allowances for,and foroffered significant society.The government eign exchange creditsto, those who would undertakethis kind of its cementing alliancewiththatclass ofindustrifurther development, alists which began to grow in the last years of Pakistanand with enabled skilledgroupsin the middleclass. This strategy technically matching to an some business families re-establish economicstatus the theyacquired through change the social and politicallegitimacy infrastructure in regimes.Problemsof the economicand industrial and reorplannersand nationalpoliticians, continuedto preoccupy the But these following coups.30 ganizationwas quicklyimplemented exploofresource on outcome plans wereall contingent thesuccessful rationand assessment. and foreign exchange Jute remainedthe centreof the industrial accounted witha recordprofit yearin I975. Juteproduction earnings in and providedindustrialinvestments 77 jute industrialworkers, remained squarelyin therural mills.But themeansofrawproduction and thousandsoftraders.Land was withmillionsofgrowers sector, local factors, only on allocated to jute depending complexand often one of which was the price expected forfood crops and the price taken to Some initiatives guaranteedforjute by the government. In jute's positiondid have an effect. May I975 Mujib authoimprove rized a 58 per cent devaluationof the taka (US $i = Tk 13), and August) quarterof 1975-76 (Junethrough for earnings thefirst export year. in rose24 per centoverfigures the same periodin thepreceding Much ofthisincreasewas due tojute sales. Followingthe coupsjute dealers were granted freedomto sell directlyto foreignbuyers, corpowhereaspreviously theyhad been regulatedby a government of of ration.Therewereinvestigations theinefficienciestheindustrygoods and rawjute, muchofwhichwas longstorageoffinished from to in annual fires, slow supplyand lackoflocal destroyed 'mysterious' 35 of manufacture smallparts.In 1970 East Pakistanaccountedfor per of centofthetotalworldproduction rawjute, comparedto 32 percent position,though forIndia.3"In 1975 Bangladesh regainedthat first fellin I974 due to massivesmugjute exportof manufactured goods
see a?Not all the changes resultfrommartial law rethinking; the "White Paper on the Mushtaq's Secretariat Economic Situationin Bangladesh" whichwas preparedby President 21 Observer, September0975. (Economic Task Force), excerptedin Bangladesh to 31 Data fromInterpares(voluntary agency), Ottawa, included in Brief theSub-committee onExternal Committee and July Defence, 1976. Development Standing ofthe onInternational Affairs National

it 200,000 exchange; employed foreign for percentofBangladesh's 85

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Impressions Bangladesh of glingofrawjute to the millsofWest Bengal. It is easy to understand thedesireofa government concerned withtechnical efficiency move to away fromreliance on jute to 'modern' and less labour-intensive Much ofthe hope forindustrial growth Bangladeshdepended in on successful exploration oil, whichrevealed for promising indications fromseismicsurveys I 975. Though exploration the deltas was in in carriedout as earlyas 1946, onlyrecently was therea fresh attempt. The government allocated $i.7 millionforon-shoreexplorationin 1975-76 by Petro Bangla (the national oil corporation)froma 38 millionruble creditagreementwith the USSR. Off-shore drilling began in I975 through concessions sevenoil consortia(threeUSto Union, AtlanticRichfield, Ashland; one Canadian-Superior; one Japanese-Bengal Oil Development; and one Yugoslavian-Inanaftaplin). These concessionswere based on the production-sharing principle, each consortium investing millionin Bangladeshbe$io tween I974 and i980, and each spending $ioo,ooo for trainingof Bangladeshipersonnel. This was in additionto 'handsomesignature bonuses' to the Government Bangladesh. This activity of had an impacton the supplyofluxury housingin Dacca and Chittagong, on wages connectedwith exploration, and on new Bangladesh Biman to flights Bangkok and Singaporefor oil-workers directly from Chittagong. Disagreementwith India on the definition the borderin the of delta-offshore the of regionaffected security oil explorationin that zone in I975, whereIndia reported The impormakinga discovery. tanceofthisexploration relatedto theproblems energy was of sources forBangladesh.Its annual crudeoil requirements itsrefinery for were tonsin I975-76. Followingthe coups, Iran announcedthe I.5 million sale of400,000 tons ofcrude oil, and a team wentto Abu-Dhabhito negotiate sale of I.2 million the tons (in I975 Bangladesh"was given" about 6o per cent of its crude oil needs by the United Arab Emirates).32The retail price of gasoline remainedat $I.50 per gallon the following coups. Four factories produced urea and otherfertiltheirplantsto achieveself-sufficiency izers,and were reconstructing in I978. $6 millionwas earned by the exportof naptha througha of coal reserve Norwegianfirm. Though it had a knownrecoverable 152 million tons,as yetuntouched,Bangladeshcontinuedto import industrial coal, including325,000 tons fromIndia in I975-76. Most
32"Commodities"

industries.

Asza 1976 Yearbook, Eastern Far Economic Revzew. December 1976,p. 82.

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electricity was produced fromthermaland diesel-generator plants, exceptforthe Kaptai hydro-electric dam near Chittagong. of Offshore also provideddiscoveries new food reexplorations sources.A UNDP/FAO studyreleased in Februaryshoweda 6,ooo whichis square milefishing groundon theupperBay ofBengal shelf thereamountsto 46,ooo tons offish mostly unexploited;production annually,while the studyestimatedthe potentialat I75,000 tons. There was competition theseresources;informed for observers spoke of intensive international deep-sea fishing operationsoffthe Burma and Bangladeshcoasts.33 Bangladeshtookoverten deep-seatrawlers whichoperateduntilDecember 1975withRussian crews,and longrange fishing fleetswere reportedactive in the same waters.The Bangladesh Navy captured two modern"intruding foreign fishing in were trawlers" the Bay of Bengal.34 Long-term fishing agreements concludedwithbothThailand and Japan in 1976, nationswhichwere otherwise extracting large amountsof fishfromwatersoffBangladesh. The same waterswere shown by US satellitestudiesas offering new land quite close to the almost 4,000 square miles of submerged thisincludedeightnew islandsemerging thedelta. Popuoff surface; lationhas traditionally movedonto such land (char)as soon as itwas withthe attendant of habitableor cultivable, problems violenceon a new frontier. The coastal stripbetweenChittagong and Cox Bazar of was determined survey theatomicenergy by by authorities Bangladesh and Australiato have veryvaluable depositsofrare earthsand radioactive materials, and planning forextractionof these commenced.Further of inland,the forests the Chittagong regionwereto be managed with a Tk i8o million Swedish grant to Bangladesh markedfor timber and bamboo extraction, of plantation fast-growing bamboo species,and a logging centre.Betweeni6 and 20 per training centofthesurface Bangladeshis covered forest, demandsfor of but by fueland pulp made Bangladesha net importer wood in of timber, I975. Deforestation presenteda severe problem,both in termsof ecologyand flood-control, forgovernment and revenues.It was prewere best servedby ciselyin such cases that martiallaw interests greatercontrolof resources:revenuescould increasethrough more
conductedcomprehensive studieson "Bangladesh Times, February1976.The USSR first 26 Fisheries InCf. coast in 1965-66. A.S. Bogdanov (ed.), Soviet fishoffthe Bangladesh-Burma of In vestigationstheIndianOcean(Moscow, All Union Research Institute Marine Fisheriesand TranslationLtd. Thus they Oceanography,1971), publishedby Israel ProgramforScientific off werereadyto operateten deep-sea trawlers the coast from1972-1975. i 3Bangladesh Times, o December 1975.

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Impressions Bangladesh of controlled extraction, greater and government penetration theforof ests was a means of reducingpotentialhidingplaces formilitant opponentsof the government. Forestsand rare earthsdeposits,for and Buddhist example,were in areas withpredominantly minority populations, thusgiving social dislocations lowerpoliticalprice. any a The industrial infrastructure continuedto be plagued withproblems typicalof many poor countries.Massive productivefacilities remainedunutilized despitetheforeign exchangealreadyinvested in them (the heavy machine tools factory ran at io per cent of its in capacity,and onlyfive the dozen imported of computers the counwith70 per centoftheir timeunused). Therewas trywereoperating, no policyfordecentralized rural-based industrial development. Massive unemployment existed in both rural and urban life,including skilledpeople. Electricians, trucktrainedand potentially engineers, drivers and doctors Bangladeshwerebeingrecruited workin the in to Middle East, and therewere additionalunofficial movements the of In same kindof people out of the country. Januarytherewere I,250 for applicantsforthreeminorclericaljobs advertised ten days, then the 'jobs' werediscovered be a fraudto obtainthe I5 centfeewith to each application;all applicantswere college graduates,some in the

The educationsystem was supposedto service needs ofa new the talent industrial economy, seemedmoresystematically inhibit but to or cripple motives.Officialdecisions following the coups to raise school and college standardsresultedin 6o to 70 per cent rates of in and the revelation exam-frauds mass of and failure examinations, expulsions cheating for demonstrated desperation students the of who could not seek employment withouta certificate degree (examor inationhalls were guarded by police withmachine guns to ensure normal procedures).Still the demand fortechnicaland university was extreme; the I976 academicyearat Dacca University for training therewere i9,000 applicantsfor2,000 openings,and foreign foundationsreported technical hundredsofapplicationsfrom well-qualified and scientific for personscompeting intensely a fewdozen scholarremainedidle whentheirstudieswere shipsoverseas.Many students a complete,and their families,to whom they represented major investment, struggled find them a productiverole somewhere. to Continueddependenceon foreign creditsin industry resultedin the importation technology, of some ofwhichcould have been produced in Bangladesh,and muchofwhichwas inappropriate local condito tions and requiredsophisticated Some was bought,not on training.
47I

sciences.

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credits,but withforeign exchangeearned in the agricultural sector and leatherexports). (mainlyjute, but also tea, fish,newsprint, The overall economic picture remained unbalanced with high imports and low exports. the first offiscal In half year I975-76 exports

much, Tk 5,782.8million3 (food,edible oil, cement,petroleum and crude,raw cotton and yarn, fertilizer, and machinery equipment, etc.). Besides these importcosts, Bangladeshpaid debt-service chargesof $75 millionin scarce foreign exchangeduring1975-76.36 Efforts develop this infrastructure to consisted largely of institutional reorganization. Some of the state apparatus which'controlled'production and tradewas dismantled, there but was no move to end control thecommanding of of heights theeconomy whichmost affect industrialand resourcegrowth.The Chairman of the State Trading Corporation was dismissed,some directimporting and exporting and all 350of the small industrial commenced, unitsnationalized in I972 were returned residentowners(150) or sold to the to private sector (200). Compensationwas offered foreign to owners, many of them Pakistanis,whose firmshad been nationalized,but economistssaw littlechance of large-scalede-nationalization, only movesto reduceoverlapping in responsibilities statecorporations and The NationalEconomicCouncil,ofwhichZia was controls. simplify the Chairman,becamethecentraldecision-making bodyfor economy and continuedthose controlsand restrictions which benefitted the There has been no sign of military government. in participation private stateenterprise, has happenedin a number countries or as of of SoutheastAsia. The privatesectorwas giventhe kindofstatusit had enjoyed in Pakistan.The privateinvestment ceilingwas raised from $2.3 to $7.7 millionand significant holidayswerepromised. tax The Secretary Industriespromised'no lack of foreign of exchange creditforthe privateinvestor.' International support(World Bank, IDA, etc.) was givento the IndustrialCredit Bank, and the Small Industries and the nationalizedBangladeshbankswere Corporation, seekingnew industrialinvestments the following coups. When the martiallaw administration called forsuggestions utilizeundeclared to 'black' moneywhichwas in unofficial circulation, public suggesone tion (not implemented) was to reopenthe stockexchange, closed for four years,to absorb black money.One suggestion implemented was themandatory declaration all foreign of exchangeholdings and assets
35BangladeshTimes, February1976. 7 36 "Bangladesh," Asia I976 Yearbook, cit., p. I 4 op.

were valued at Tk 2,334.3 million while imports were valued twice as

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Impressions Bangladesh of in April.The evolution policyin resource of extraction industrial and whichmaximized development continuedto includethose strategies the interaction local private entrepreneurs of with foreign corporations, whilestrengthening economicposition thegovernment. the of Conclusion Followingthe I975coups in Bangladesha new government began to show strength purpose in dealing withimmediateproblemsof of law and order.Yet it announcedthatitwas onlyan 'interim' governmentwhichwouldhand poweroverto electedrepresentatives earlyin had implications whichafI977. Each of these immediateproblems fectedthe achievementof the long-term goals of national develdid to opment.The 'interim' government not appear committed facing such implications withan equivalent strength purpose.If longof termgoals were to be achieved,Bangladeshicitizenshad to particion pate in development the basis ofmorethan a vague loyalty the to nation. Yet theywere offered legitimate no mobilizingideologyto inspiretheirparticipation. There was no consultation withthemon the methods,intent, meaningof development or and programmes, thesecontinuedto be as specialized,hierarchical, and unchallenged as before. Bangladeshneededan effective decentralized ruralorganizain tion whichcould accept non-trivial responsibilities its own develThis the of opmentefforts. organization required transfer powersfrom and some overmoretaxation control thenational government, including to was resources. But the military government committed maximum control and would notforego The goal of claimson taxesor resources. 'self-reliance' was pursued withprogrammes which were not separated from strict the law and ordermeasuresimposedfollowing the of coups. The lack ofcleargovernment commitment theweakness and local institutions reinforced politics exhortation. is thiskindof the of It in will politicswhichthe administration have to transcend orderto achievebothdevelopment and stability Bangladesh. for University ofBritish Columbia, June1976
POSTSCRIPT

one Bangladeshexperienced ofitsworstcycloneand floodseasons in June and July; standingcrops were ruined,hundredsdied, and of relief and shelter had to be provided hundreds thousands.Misfor undermartial of appropriation relief goods has been made an offence law. The government increasedits gripon law and order.The has 473

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search for illegal weapons continuesamidst reportsof continued Well-known people are stillthe armed violencein the countryside. of objectsof investigation; previousVice-Chancellor Dacca Unithe and the previousCabinet Secretarywere both arrestedon versity to chargesofcorruption. Colonel Taher was sentenced deathand Lt. for Major Jalil to life imprisonment their roles in the November to of Army against the attempt inspire rising a Peoples'Revolutionary the traditionalmilitaryleadership. A new militarytribunalwith includes by extraordinary powerswas established Zia; its constitution whatever from any theclause: (8) No appeal shall lie to anyauthority decisionor judgementof the Tribunal.37 Zia continuedto stressin his speechesthat 'completelaw and orderis vital foreconomicdevelopment.' To carry thisdevelopment Government the announcedan amout science bitiousbudget for I976-77. It emphasizesnaturalresources, and electrificacommunication and technology, transport, industry, Tk tion (Tk 6,4I0 million),agriculture receiving 3,630 million.Bangladesh requested$I,200 millionat the Aid Bangladesh Consortium in meeting Paris,and the amountpledgedthisyearwas $950million as comparedwith$8oo millionlast year. Zia declaredin the budget efficient.' first The that 'the public sectorwill become commercially firmsoccurred in June, totallingTk 5.5 compensationof foreign million; Bangladeshi shareholdersof these nationalizedindustries were also promised The Government opened up 3,200 compensation. and 40,000 square miles on-shorefor new square miles off-shore in firms collaboration most of it by foreign petroleumexploration, withPetro-Bangla. occurredwhichtestedZia's politicaljudgement.38 Two incidents In April,the colonel who had engineered the killingof Mujib reto permission remainin turnedfrom exile in Libya. Though refused thecountry, managedto stayand triedto inciterebellion. was Zia he was and conciliatory eventually youngColonelFMrukh sentto London. The secondcase explained suddenresignation Air-Vice Marshall the of Tawab. He had not only urged reunification with Pakistan too in but strongly, was also named as a beneficiary the purchaseof a of the for Boeingairlinerand in letting contract the shipment crude oil to Bangladesh. Tawab was exiled to West Germanywhere his were living. German wifeand family Doubts about electionshave been temporarily resolvedby the party Political Parties Regulation.39 prohibitsany foreign-aided It in or any partyhavingthe aim ofengaging any prejudicialor under3

38
3

Bangladesh Times, June1976. 15 Far Eastern Economic Review, June 1976,p.21. 25 Bangladesh Times, July 1976. 29

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Impressions Bangladesh of groundactivity. Parties will each be evaluated forapprovalby the Government and will be dissolved if they contraveneany of the numerous regulations. President Sayem metwithleaders'withvarying shades of political opinion;' they all agreed to the concept of limited democracy regulatedcarefully the Martial Law Adminisby trators. Electionsare stillplanned forFebruary1977.The only allpartyissues raisedwerethe security theborders of againstIndia and the Farakka dispute. At firsta grouping of 'dedicated Awami Leaguers' included of Mushtaq's name but,whenit announcedsubmission itsmanifesto forapproval,his name was not amongthoseofotherformer Cabinet Ministersand MPs. When Mushtaq later convenedthe 'proposed DemocraticLeague' he said thathis old party had abandoneddemocraticprinciples whenit was transformed BAKSAL. There were into also announcements the 'proposed Muslim League' (but not by by Jamaat Islam),and by the 'proposedUnitedPeoplesParty'(convened e by GeneralOsmani, a former Cabinet Minister).When Bhashaniof the 'proposed National Awami Party' requested a referendum to or allow the people to determine whether not an electionshould be held,otherpoliticians repliedthatthiswould lead to publicconfusion. Meanwhile the voterslist was underpreparation, and the Government was acting on both all-party issues. Followingpublicationof M.H. Khan heldmeetings the WhitePaper on Farakkain September, he (whichhe latertermed'futile')withthe Indian government; then wentto the UN and placed the Farakkaissue on the GeneralAssembly agenda. Zia said in Colombo that the non-alignedmovement must protect smaller nations. PresidentSayem appealed for the returnand rehabilitation 'misguided youths' who crossed the of border to India followingthe coups, and newspapers regularly printed photosofcorpsesof'miscreants' the said to havebeen trained and equipped by India. Zia proclaimed that 'formerfreedom to would be 'retrained foilexpansionist fighters' designs.' September I976

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