Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Battle of the begums” (February 10). For years, average Bangladeshis must have regretted the lack of political choice: The options usually boiled down to one of the two Begums, Khaleda Zia or Sheikh Hasina. Now, for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the five-year jail term for Begum Khaleda Zia in a corruption case related to the Zia Orphanage Trust could scarcely have been pronounced at a more impropitious juncture — ahead of the Parliamentary elections later this year.
The next tryst with democracy is still more significant as the party had boycotted the last round… handing over a walkover to Sheikh Hasina of the Awami league. The execution of a string of Jamaat-e-Islami leaders, whose cadres acted as Khaleda’s strong armed boys in the countryside, has further weakened the Opposition.
Frankly, India will have no reasons to regret that because during Khaleda’s tenure as the Prime Minister, Bangladesh had become an acquiescing party to forces destabilising parts of India. Only Hasina and her party deserve complete support from India to marginalise her anti-India opponents and stand behind her, employing all possible measures of the statecraft to ensure that she remains in power for the next term as well. Whether the ruling reeks of ‘political vengeance’ or not, the fragility of Bangladesh politics has been reaffirmed yet again.