Bangladesh must remember 'national unity' can't be engineered ::: It lives only in the hearts of ordinary citizens and this cannot be Ignored

Bangladesh must remember that national unity cannot be imposed or engineered. 

It lives only in the hearts of ordinary citizens. One cannot Ignore that truth.  

Bangladesh’s Lost 17 Months amid Governance Collapse  

From Yunus’s interim illusion to rising pressure on BNP’s Tarique Rahman, Bangladesh now waits for a miracle amid chaos 

Bangladesh may or may not miss Sheikh Hasina—that is a different debate altogether. 

What is undeniable, however, is that the country today is in deep chaos. Governance has collapsed to such an extent that citizens have reached a stage where the absence of ministers, senior bureaucrats, or policymakers barely registers.

This is the inevitable outcome when leadership is either missing or ineffective.  

As 'The Daily Star' rightly observed, advisers drawn from prominent NGO backgrounds—once vocal critics of state failure—found their idealistic rhetoric colliding with the harsh complexities of actually running a country. Executive responsibility humbled grand narratives. Bangladesh discovered, painfully, that governance is not activism.

The failure to conduct timely elections has “humbled” many manufactured claims, including those backed by external actors. Whether this also exposes the deeper roles of the West or Pakistan will be debated later. For now, the consequences are internal—and severe.

This vacuum has shifted pressure decisively onto BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman, widely seen as the likely next prime minister if elections are held in February. He is now expected not only to promise stability but to deliver near-miracles in a development-starved and socially fractured nation.

Rahman understands that Bangladesh took a misguided path—first during the agitation against the Hasina government and later under the interim regime. He has therefore chosen caution. 

His recent statements stressing communal harmony—asserting that Bangladesh belongs equally to Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians—are deliberate. Notably, he has avoided taking a hardline position against India.

The last 17 months—since August 2024, when Sheikh Hasina fled to India—have been politically disastrous. The interim arrangement led by Muhammad Yunus promised moral authority, reformist intent, and transparency. What it delivered instead was drift, indecision, and paralysis. The delay in holding elections has boomeranged badly on Yunus and exposed the hollowness of the new political dispensation, including its associates in Jamaat and the newly floated National Citizens Party (NCP).  

An eight-member delegation representing minority communities recently met Tarique Rahman and submitted an eight-point memorandum, urging the BNP to include formal commitments in its election manifesto. Leaders from the Puja Udjapan Parishad, the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, and the Dhakeshwari National Temple Managing Committee were present.

This outreach is significant, given the BNP’s historically strained relationship with minorities, particularly Hindus. Translating these assurances into policy, however, will be far more difficult once in power—especially if old alliances with Jamaat and fundamentalist groups resurface.

Tarique Rahman faces an unenviable task. Unlike his mother Khaleda Zia—who matured into a seasoned mass leader over time—he may assume office when Bangladesh is virtually ungovernable. The expectation is that he must emerge as a “better leader” than both Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina. Whether he can decisively break from old political friendships remains uncertain. A handshake with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar proves little.

2000 snap - Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina 

Intellectual Md Firoj Alam captures the lost opportunity succinctly. Had the interim government acted strictly as a caretaker, conducted elections within 90 days, and exited, people might—perhaps unrealistically—have believed it could fix many problems. Instead, prolonged rule destroyed credibility.

If elections are held on February 12, they will effectively mark the exit of Yunus and his team. This will leave Jamaat, the NCP, their external backers, and strategic patrons deeply frustrated. The political fallout will land squarely on Tarique Rahman’s shoulders.

Even his early decisions reveal the difficulty ahead. His reported discomfort with slogans like “Tarique Zindabad” was read by some as humility, but by others as political misreading at a time when grassroots workers seek emotional reassurance. Similarly, his statement—“I have a plan”—sounded more like intent than a roadmap. In South Asia, welfarism alone does not win trust; perception, emotion, and leadership projection matter equally.  

Three core challenges await him. First, democratisation: how inclusive can elections be if a party like the Awami League, still capable of securing 20–30 percent of votes, is marginalised? Second, globalisation: Bangladesh’s economic positioning has been badly disrupted. Third, economic liberalisation: this remains distant amid institutional decay.

Expectations are superhuman, but leaders remain mortal.

Ultimately, the BNP will be judged by an unforgiving yardstick. Within a year of taking power—if it does—the party will be expected to restore Bangladesh’s lost status as a functioning developing nation. History offers a warning. The Soviet Union survived 74 years but collapsed within days once internal cohesion disappeared.

Bangladesh must remember that national unity cannot be imposed or engineered. It lives only in the hearts of ordinary citizens. Ignore that truth, and no election—however dramatic—will rescue the state.