15 February 2025

“The Army of Elephants” protecting fascism in Bangladesh

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By: Prof. Dr. Mohammad Tariqur Rahman

An anti-discrimination movement in Bangladesh by mass students turned into a massive uprising of people from all sects of society. The unprecedented gathering on 3rd August 2024 at the Central Monument (Shaheed Minar) at Dhaka University premise – a tribute to the martyrs of the Language Movement in 1952 – surpassed the volume of any other mass movement in the history of the nation.

The demand for anti-discrimination reformation evolved into a one point demand – the resignation of Sheikh Hasina – the Prime Minister of the current Government.

Ironically, the Government is mourning the month of the brutal killing of Sheikh Hasina’s father, mother, and many other family members that took place in August 1975.

In August 1975, a part of the nation celebrated the killing of the Sheikh family. Then, gradually, the image and honour of the father of the nation were restored. Certainly, his daughter, the current PM, made tireless political efforts to bring back the good name of her father and the glory of their party – Awami League. Seems the glory has met the edge of a cliff once again.

It is in this month of August, again this year, the nation is calling for the resignation of Sheikh Hasina amidst the accusation of brutal killing of more than 200 civilians – many of whom are students including more than 30 children, according to UNICEF. A daily newspaper in Bangladesh reported that more than 70 percent of the deceased bodies had signs of deadly bullets.

A thousand others sustained injuries of various degrees, including the possibility of becoming blind.

Children were reported to have died of shooting while they were inside their houses or even on the rooftop of their houses. A viral video clearly showed that Abu Sayed – a student of Begum Rokeya University – was shot dead. The police investigation report, on the other hand, accused the “stones and rocks” thrown at him by the nearby protesters as the reason for his death.

A different viral video showed shootings from a helicopter – which was also denied by the PM Sheikh Hasina. According to her claim, the helicopters were deployed to provide water to extinguishing the fire of the burning buildings.

Those “confusing” accounts raise the question – who was behind the shooting?

Asaduzzaman Khan – the Home Minister of Bangladesh at a press briefing yesterday (3rd August 2024) stated that police did not shoot at civilians. Earlier, State Minister for Shipping, Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury reportedly said, “There was no directive for the police to shoot. We have initiated an investigation to understand why the shooting occurred” – referring to the shooting of Abu Sayed.

So the question remains: Who are those shooters?

If those bullets did not come from the police, then it might be from the other armed forces like the Bangladesh Army, Border Guard Bangladesh, or Rapid Action Battalion. Are they ready to take the accusation as implied by the Ministers?

No, they will certainly not. The Army Chief has already made it clear that his forces did not kill civilians.

There comes “the army of elephants” of this century to protect an unprecedented fascism in Bangladesh led by Sheikh Hasina – who has evolved from one of the most influential women leaders to the leader of the most fascist government in the history of the nation.

The rise of the mass people that was witnessed on the 3rd of August might make the 21st century Army of Elephants’ attempt a futile one.


The author is the Associate Dean (Continuing Education), Faculty of Dentistry, and Associate Member, UM LEAD, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He may be reached at tarique@um.edu.my