It could be too early to suggest that Bangladesh is fast becoming a failed State. There is little doubt, though, that democratic politics and the rule of law in the country are failing in a big way. That explains why a group like the Hefazat-e-Islami can burn Dhaka and other parts of the country at will, and why the government can do practically nothing to save ordinary people, traders and even journalists from the marauders. However, it is not just the violence unleashed by the Hefazat that raises serious questions about the state of governance in Bangladesh. For months on end, street-fights between supporters of rival political parties and shutdowns have become the norm in the country. Even an unprecedented tragedy that claimed the lives of over 650 garments-industry workers in a building collapse has not stopped mob violence on Dhaka’s streets. The way the main Opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, condoned the Hefazat’s violence is shocking and bodes ill for the country’s fledgling democracy. It is difficult to believe that any political party claiming to be democratic can support the Hefazat’s preposterous demands, which include an official ban on the free movement of women and an orthodox Islamic code for the government and society in Bangladesh.

Even for a country with its record of military coups and political assassinations, the current crisis in Bangladesh is unprecedented. It would be wrong to see it as yet another political crisis. The Hefazat has posed a threat to the very idea of a modern State and also to the basic freedoms that a modern society cherishes. The ruling Bangladesh Awami League is currently its principal target. Its sudden anger at the government may have much to do with the trial of the ‘war criminals’ of 1971. The sentencing of several top leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami by the war crimes tribunal has brought to the fore the battle between secularists and religious fundamentalists in Bangladesh. But the Hefazat’s demands actually translate into a manifesto for the talibanization of Bangladesh. There is only one way to deal with them. All democratic forces, and not just the government, must reject the demands in no uncertain terms. It is not a matter of usual political rivalries among the parties. If the Hefazat is allowed to have its way, it would be the end not only of democracy but also of civilized living in Bangladesh.