Bangladesh

Punishing war criminals would not only meet a long-standing demand of Bangladesh’s freedom-fighters but also take the country further on the path of secularism.

• Anand Kumar
• January 22, 2013
• IDSA Comments

The World Bank’s decision to withhold funding for the Padma Bridge embarrassed a government that has been doing reasonable work especially in checking extremism at a time when radicalism is sweeping many parts of the world.

• Anand Kumar
• October 19, 2012
• IDSA Comments

The elevation of its bilateral relationship with Bangladesh allows the United States to counter China’s ‘String of Pearls’ strategy.

• Anand Kumar
• May 21, 2012
• IDSA Comments

Ever since the India-friendly Sheikh Hasina government came into office after sweeping the December 2008 general elections, her domestic opponents and their foreign patrons have been plotting the ouster of her government through undemocratic means.

• Rajeev Sharma
• January 23, 2012
• IDSA Comments

The failed coup indicates the penetration of Islamists and more specifically that of the Hizb ut-Tahrir whose main support base is among the educated youth, who are highly motivated and belong to affluent families in urban areas.

• Smruti S. Pattanaik
• January 23, 2012
• IDSA Comments

Though Pakistan and Afghanistan still continue to be embroiled in religious and ethnic conflict, the rest of South Asia appears keen to check and go beyond such tendencies.

• Anand Kumar
• June 20, 2011
• IDSA Comments

The Sheikh Hasina government has been able to crack down on militant outfits by initiating a process of de-radicalisation ever since it came to power in 2009. This has been evident from the fact that since 2009 the violent activities of the Islamic extremists have been curtailed with relatively little bloodshed. And the same has been the case with the left wing extremists in the country. The Sheikh Hasina regime is more determined, than any government since the formation of Bangladesh to de-radicalise the political as well as the social structure of Bangladesh.

• Anshuman Behera
• April 2011
• Journal of Defence Studies

The demand to prohibit the Muslim clergy from issuing Fatwa is gathering momentum in Bangladesh.

• Anand Kumar
• March 15, 2011
• IDSA Comments

The present energy crisis in Bangladesh is partly due to over-dependence on gas which fulfils more than 70 per cent of its energy needs. The present gas deficit against the national demand on a daily basis is expected to increase further in the future. The crisis will deepen unless a greater share of indigenous coal is included in the energy mix. The geological and social constraints of an over-populated fertile agricultural land area remain an obstacle to large-scale coal mining and this has to be addressed rationally.

• Badrul Imam
• March 2011
• Strategic Analysis

Migration, a worldwide phenomenon, has often been seen as beneficial for both the sending and receiving countries. However, post-9/11, the phenomenon is seen as a mixed blessing. It is also being realised that it is impossible to check illegal migration unless the sending country cooperates. In South Asia, India has been at the receiving end of the problem of illegal immigration from Bangladesh. This paper argues that such illegal migration is posing a threat to internal security because the issue has not been properly securitised.

• Anand Kumar
• January 2011
• Strategic Analysis