Europe’s leading scholar on South Asian borderlands Willem Van Schendel discussed in depth a host of issues with Subir Bhaumik on the sidelines of a recent seminar on “Ethnicity, Security & Development“ hosted by Tripura University’s Political Science Department in state capital Agartala. Excerpts of the Conversation are below:

Q: What kind of future you see for Bangladesh?

A: Increasingly, the democratic process stands compromised. It is internationally recognised that the last three elections (2014, 2018, 2024) were rigged to ensure the Awami League’s continuation in power. What is especially concerning is that critical voices are increasingly being silenced. The high ideals that inspired the Awami League after the Liberation War of 1971 are very difficult to discern today. Bangladesh civil society and the culture of free debate are in dire need of being revitalised.

Q: Do you think Islamisation is on the rise in Bangladesh?.

A: I don’t think most Bangladeshis are intolerant, but the state and the political system have been embracing religious organisations and parties for short-term political gain. Linking state power and religion is always a very dangerous strategy. This is especially true in Bangladesh, not only because this state started out with a pledge to secularism, but also because of the long-term history of identities in this region. Bengali culture........

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