General Mujeeb’s Legacy: The RAW Connection and Bangladesh’s Shadow Army
By Aijaz Ali
The article aims at looking at the Blair era up to his resignation in Bangladesh Army and this can be well illustrated by Lieutenant General Mujeebur Rahman’s story as a figure of allegiance supported by the narrations of corruption and foreign interference particularly through the intelligence services. Specifically, he had contact with Sheikh Hasina – the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh and Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) which brought relevant issues like the violation of the national sovereignty law and military ethic into concerns. This fifteen-year symbiotic mixed blessing-loose-end and tension related combination provides somewhat an unsystematic yet interactive milieu of Bangladesh military and politics.
Right from the time General Mujeeb joined the army he has been acting in a manner that could easily be interpreted that he is a front for RAW. His businesslike relationship with the agency allowed him to perform as ‘vigilante’; using enforced killings as method for eradicating any potential dangers towards the regime. Other data show that he directly participated in extrajudtical killings, having executed nearly 390 people, making him well known in his country as a “gun for hire”. This shark legacy show how outside force can suborn the military from its defense mechanism of the nation to become a tool for political oppression and indeed for meretricious forces.
Furthermore, Mujeeb not limited to forced cooperation with RAW. He helped provide security to 250 officers of RAW, which perfectly demonstrated his loyalty. His acts call for concern over possibility by these intelligence agencies to compromise national military organizations. It is evidence that indicates India’s penetration in Bangladesh goes beyond diplomacy; there is evidence of its integration in the military organization.
The failure does not end here General Mujeeb had been involved in corrupt practices and favouritism. His political connection to the Awami League ensured that the policy of recruiting and promoting favorites was perpetuated at the agency. This military that was once a paragon of discipline and meritocracy politics was liberalized under his watch. Three important generals — Gen Ziaul Ahsan, Gen Tabrez, Gen Saleh and Gen Akbar — backed him up and gave him control over the military administration.
While engaging with Sheikh Hasina was not without certain perquisites. Mujeeb is on record having made the following corruption: allegations of bribe-taking and embezzlement have trailed this man all through his dealings. Being involved in stock market investment of 3 crores and acquiring huge properties, he amassed this amount on his own ,with no regard for the principles of democracy. Inter alia, he helped Md. Faiz ur Rahman to become Director of BGMEA and CEO of JAJ Bhuiyan Group for whichthe latter reportedly paid him 5 crores: an exemplary case of the relationship between political power, politics and profit.
Additionally, 3 crore 40 lakhs cash in hand and many properties, his wife had, that shows how corruption prevailed while he was commanding. The fact that people like his son are appointed to highly-ranking posts is enumeration for the loss of meritocracy within the army—essential considerations that would impugn the ethical credibility of the military leadership.
But the connection between General Mujeeb and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is not just tactical – it is dirty and vile: they and the people like them serve the Indian agenda in Bangladesh at the expense of the former’s sovereignty. Together they have shifted nationalists resources to India a move that has typically been carried out without reference to the Bangladeshi people. Such a picture describes the leadership where aspirations of maintaining power through diplomatic relations supersede the leadership’s responsibility for the welfare of its own populace.
The recent escape of both the former PM and General Mujeeb to India shows Bangladesh washing its hands off from responsibility and this should raise so many questions and alarms over sovereignty of Bangladesh.
With that in mind, the new governments, as the one in Pakistan, has the challenging task of repositioning the military leadership as it has to reconsider the foreign power’s influence.
Entry into the forty year of Bangladeshi independence era calls for professionalism rather political link within the military forces. The inaugural team, therefore, needs to guide establishment, create conditions for military officers to focus on serving their country instead of their pockets and other states’ interest. To reconstruct confidence the new government should emphasize on accountability and transparency thus doing away with ‘the army within the army’ which General Mujeeb efficaciously developed.
In conclusion, General Mujeebur Rahman’s example leaves no doubt of the threat that uncontrolled militarism, backed by the support from the USA poses to the country. This proves his term demonstrates how self-interest can trump national interest – yielding a compromised militaries and a politically insecure state. As Bangladesh stumbles towards its future it is incumbent on its leaders to remember the lessons that this period teaches about the need for a more sovereign country, a country that puts the needs of its people first.
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