Current Trends of Islam in Bangladesh

8/3/2019 Current Trends of Islam in Bangladesh

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Current Trends of Islam in BangladeshAuthor(s): Emajuddin AhamedReviewed work(s):Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 18, No. 25 (Jun. 18, 1983), pp. 1114-1119Published by: Economic and Political WeeklyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4372230 .Accessed: 26/11/2011 05:12

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C u r r e n t T r e n d s o f I s l a m in BangladeshEmajuddin Ahamed

7his paper seeks to anzalyse the current trends i.4 Islam in Bangladesh, the assunmption unider-lying the 'analysis beinig that there has beent an upsurge of Islamiic actitvities in the country, particularlysinice the mid-1970s.

Thle paper arguies that Wuhile ertaill steps takenl by the govern nent may have hlelped this up-

surge, the upsuarger tself caninot be solelyS attributed to any 'Islamic revivalism' or resurgence of 'Islanicfundamentalism' but rather to the iniitiative takein inl this regard by some oil-rich Muslim countries inWest Asia who have encouraged antd in manty cases geneerqusly fitanced islamic missionary activities inBangladeshi.

An equally crucial factor conitributinig to the upsurge of Islamic activities in thte country has beencertain internal developments inzcluding;- he imposition ;of restrictions upon political activities, the co-opti9n by the regime of hitherto discarded rightist elements who now form its support base, the saggingeconomy and the consequenit acuite economic distress - oll of which have driven the masses of thepeople to the promised clomfort and peace of Islam.

WHERE there are free flows of poli-tical activities, Islamic ideology gene-ralIly becomes separated from themainstream of politics; but where theflow of politics is etimaciated nd wheredeinocratic institutions are weak andsubjected to repression by the conser-vative regimes, religious activities getimiixed up vith politics and tend tooverflood the social terrain. Islamicslogans are used not only by the ideo-logues of national liberation movementsand champions of progressive forcesbut also by the conswvative and reac-tionary regimes.' They become power-ful weapons in the armoury of the exploited classes in their pursuit of socio-

economic changes; they also offer avast arsenal of weapons to the privileg-ed classes in their attempt to perpetuatethe status quo. In this part of theworld, however, Islamic slogans havein most cases strengthened the handsof the privileged classes; that bas beenpossible in a social environment wherethe flows of political activities arefeeble, and the democratic institutionsand organisations are weak and frag-mented.

It needs no elaboration that the Mus-

lims of this region fought for a separatestate of their own where they believedthey could shape their destiny and set upa socio-economic systemn tailored totheir needs. Pakistan emerged as an in-dependent state but within less thantwenty four years the Muslims of EastBengal (now Bangladesh) had to fighta war of liberation against the Islamicstate of Pakistan. In independentBangladesh, secularismn was announcedas one of the fundamental principlesof state policy. Within a period of fiveyears, however, the Zia Governmentreplaced it by "absolute faith and trustin the Allah Almighty" through a pro-clamation in 1977. Vigorous efforts have

been made both by the governmentand non-government institutions andorganisations to upho'd and propagatethe ideals and values of Islamn sincethen. Is it due Islatnic revivalism? Isthe resurgence of Islamic fundanmental-ism in West Asia any way responsiblefor this trend? Have the sagging eco-nomic activities or the Jack of freefloNv f political activities in Bangladeshanything to do with this? These aresome of the questions that are examin-ed in this paper, firts of all, by deline-ating the steps undertaken by theBangladesh government since 1977;secondly by describing the increasinglygrowing activities of religious institu-tions and organisations; and finally byexamining the functions and program-mes of the Is'amrbased political partiesin Bangladesh.

ISLrMISAION

General Zia, taking up certain stepsduring his tenure of five years, modi-fied considerably the secular nature ofthe Bangladesh Constitution, thoughthe Mujib Government had declared itsfirm conmmitment o the principle ofsecularism. The 1972 Constitution wassecular in that it not only decsaredsecularism as one of the fundamentalprinciples of state policy but at thesame time certain measures were pte-scribed for the implementation ofsecularism such as (a) the abolition ofall forms of communlismn, (b) politicalrecognition of no religion by the state,(c) no forms of exploitation of religionfor political ends, (d) no types of dis-crimination on religious grounds.3 Itwvas trongly felt that separation of re-1igion from politics would bring to anend of all kinds of exploitation by thevasted interestsi4

One of the first actions in this regardo! the Zia Government was the inser-

tioni of Bis,nillah-ar Rahttm,an-ar ahim(In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent,the Merciful) at the beginning of theConstitution.5 Article 8(1) of the Con-stitution, which declared secu'larism asone of the fundamental principles of-state policy, Was amended anld in placeof secularism "absolute trust and faithin the Alnighty Allah" wvas inserted.Artic'e 12 which contained the mecha-nisms for imnplementation f the princi-ple of secularism, was totally ocnitted.Moreover; a new clause was added toArticle 25, declang the intentions ofthe state for "stabilising, preserving andstrengthening fraternal ties with theMuslim states on the basis of Islamic

solidarity".Apart from these constitutional

changes, other symbolic nmeasures uchas hanging of posters in the govern-nment offices with quotations frcm theHoly Quoran, calling for the dispensa-tion of justice, display of Quoranicverses and Prophet's advice in publicplaces, flying of Eid-Mubarak festoonswith the national flags on Eid festivals,issue of messages by the heads of thegovernment on religious occasions likei'd-i-Miladunnabi, Shab-i-Barat andMubarram and offering of munajat

(prayer) on special occasions wereundertaken.6 Attempts were also madeto project Islam and the principles of'S,hariat' hrough radio and television,and to introduce cQmpulsorily thepractice of Azan (call to prayer) throughradio and television five times a day.

Even at the administrative levelsome changes were made. A new ad-ministrative division, Division of Re-ligious Affairs, under a full-fledgedMinister was created. The IslamicAcademy, which was merely a -smallinstitution, became trahsformed intoIAJamic Foundation with. extensive net-work of research facilities. 'The Govern-

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June 18, 1983 'ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL WEEKLY

inc'uded peasants, labourers, students,teachers civil servants, army officials,journalists nd even politicians. It isnoteworthy hat the two former Presi-dents of Bangladesh longvith a numberof their ministers visited the Darga andsought blessing rom the Pir Saheb. ThePresent Chief Martial Law Administra-tor too has gone to the Pir Saheb seve-r;al imes. The Pir Saheb instructs hisfol'lowers o follow the true path ofIslam, and many believe that the BiswaZaker Manjil is likely to reshape theBangladesh ociety on Islamic principlesand sunnab.

A number of socio-religious nd ctii-tural organisations ave also been work-ing to achieve the samue bjectives inBangladesh. rominent mong these arethe Islhmic Fouindation, angladeshMas-jid Mission. slam Prachar Samity, Quo-ranic School Society, Bangladesh slamic

Cenftre,Bangr'adesh amiatul Mudders-sin, World Islam Mission Quoran andSuinnah, ttehadul Ummah nd the Coun-cil for Islamic Socio-Cultural Organisa-tion.

The Islamic Foundation has under-taken the task of training the Imamsof mosques as community leaders.Ho'ding discussion meets, symposiumsand seminars, rganising workshops ndcarrying on research works on variousaspects of Islam, it has already madeitself popular. The pubilication f Is-lamic Encyclopaedia is one of its out-standing works. Bangladesh MasjidMission has planned to turn the mos-

ties of the country into centres ofsocio-religIlous activities- with a view toenlighttening the society through the1nosq0ite-based programmes. The IslamnPrachar Samity has been engaged intpreaching Is'am and finding new con-vcrts throuigh its network of servicedelivery- sxystems and welfare projects.It intenids to strengthen the belief ofthe Mtislims in the Quoran and Sunnab.The Quoranic School Society aims g.tmaking the 'Muslim children more Is-lam-oriented through its characterbuilding programmes. Bangladesh Isla-mic Centre has already undertakenresearch wvorks n tle teachings of theQuoran and his taken up translationNvorks f the Arabic, Urdu and Persianl)ooks into Bengali. It also provides co-operation to. similar organisations en-gaged in slmilar projects.

The* Bangladesh jamiatul Muddere>-sinl is one of the Tbiggest organisationswNorking n this area, having more thanone hundred thouisand members, mostlvfromn the teachers and students ofmadrassas..14 It preaches the ideal of

I.s'amiez w;ax of life andl tends to gene-rate I.sllmics con.sciouzsne.ss in the .so-

ciety. The World Islam Mission, is ahumanitarian org%anisation renderingservices to the orphans and disabled.Guided by a number of religiousleaders, the Ittehadul Ummah aims atbringing about unity among the Islamicforces within Bangladesh and use it forthe Islarnisation of society. The Coun-

ci; for Islamic Socio-Cultural organisa-tion intends to co-ordinate the activitiesof the various socio-religious and mis-sionary organisations which are ope-rating in Bangladesh.

ISLATNM-BA.SED OI.ICAL PARTIES

While the Islamic institution andsocio-religious organisations are engagedin preaching Islam and teaching Islamicpriinciples at the societal level, the Is-lam based political parties operate at theLpolitical evel, having practicaUly thesame objectives in view, that is, making

Bangladesh an Islamic State. When'the Government control was relaxedafter the imposition of the first, MartialLaw in 1975 and limited opportunities*vere provided to political parties underthe Political Parties Regulations (PPR)1976. there were only a few Islam-based political parties and only threeof them, the Muslim League, CouncilMus'im League and Islamic Democra-tic League, were recognised by thegovernment. The number of such par-ties has increased since then, and pro-minent among the existing Islam-based

political parties are the Muslim League,Islamic Democratic League, Jamaat-i-Islam, Nizam-i-Islam, Islamic Party,jamniat-e-Ulema-e-Islam, slamlic Repub-lican Party, Bangladesh justice Partyand the Bangladesh Khelafat Andolon.Some of these parties are led by yno-dern educated leaders, while in mostof them the leaders are traditionallyoriented fundamentalists. Soome of theseparties are very active wvhileothers arestill in their formative stages,

The Muslim League, which champion-ed the cause of a separate homelandfor the Muslims' n India on the basisof the two-nation theory, is in fact anextension of Pakistan Muslim Leaguein Bangladesh. The emergence ofBangladesh has undermined the basisof the two-nation theorv but the Mus.itnLeague still advocates that Bangladeshshould be an Islamic State and withthat end in view it desires for a changein the flag and national anthem ofBangladesh. The Islamic DemocraticLeague has a close affinity with theMuslim Leaaue in terms of programmeand ideology; it also stands for theestablishmlent of Islatnic raj in Bangla-

desh. In the last National AssenmblvE*lectons, held in Fieihrimarv .979, thle

Muslim League and Islamic DemocraticLeague jointly put up candidates in265 seats out of 300 and secured 20seats, scoring 8 per cent of the votescast.15 Khan A Sabur, the leader ofthe Musliri League, won in three Cons-stituencies.

The Islamic "Party and Nizam-i-Islain

advocate the principles of Islatmicjustice and rules of Shariat. Theseparties demand that the existing lawsshould be brought in conformity with theinjunctions of the Quoran and Sunnah,and no law shou'd be passed in Bangla-desh which is repugnant to the injunc-tions of Islam. These parties also standfor a closer bonds of unity among theMuslim states.16

The Bangladesh Khilafat Andolonfounded by Hafez zi Huzur after the1981 Presidential Election, is a newparty. Its proglammes inc'udes intro-

duction of the principles of the Quoranand Sunnah, reorientation of the judi-cial system in the light of Islam,reform of education system in the lightof the Quoran and Sunnah, reorganisa-tion of Zakats and Wakfs, etc."Hafez zi Huzur became the Presiden-tial candidate in 1981 and be securedthe third highest vote, scoring 3,87,215(1.79 per cent) of the votes cast., Hewas enthusiastically supported by theIslanmic Repub'ican Party and Bangla-desh justice Party.

Of the Islam-based political parties

in Bangladesh, Jamaat-i-Islam is themost well-knit and well-organisedhaving a discip ined cadre both amongthe stlndents and voouths. While theMuslim League lives in the past and'appeal of Nizamn-i-Islam and Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam and Bangladesh KhilafatAndolon is confined to the orthodoxUlema and students of madrassas,Jamaat-i-Islam has its influence overthe young as well as the old, the ortho-dox as well as the modem educatecdsections. It is designed on a patternsimilar to revolutionary cadre-basedparties, operating through concentriccircles of cells exerting their influencesout. Jamaat-i-lslarn elects its membersby a highI'v selective process; onebegins as an associate member forsometime. receiving -essons in partyideology, before becoming entitled tofull membership. Unlike other parties,it has developed a stable party fundfrom regular contributions of its mem-hers and s 'mpathisers.

jamnaat-i-Islam, oreover, also operateshlirough a number of front organisa-tions such us Is'ami Chatra Shibir (ICS)and Islami Juba Shibir (IYS) and *other

religious-cultural organisation6 as theBang>ladleshM.asjid7Missionl andl Balngla-

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desh Islamic Centre. Jwmnaat-i-lslam. snot that keen to capture state poweinow because it feels it may not last longunless effectively backedl by IslamicSociety. That is wvhy it attempts to'reconstruct and purify the thoughts of

people"'11 y its front organisations andother institutiovns hrough highly educa-tive proceges such as seminars,symposia, discussion meets, group dis-cussions, work-camps and other socialactivities. Its mrain aim at the momentis to generate Islamic consciousnessamong the people. Its mnode f indoctri-nation is very attractive, and it putsgreat emphasis on character-buildingand disciplined action.

Jamaat-i-Islam and its front organisa-tions have always maintained contactswvith imilar parties in other parts ofthe world, particularly with those inSaudi Arabia, Pakistan, Mialaysia andso on. In Bangladesh, the influences ofJamaat-i-Isldm, Chatra Shibir and YuboShi-bir are steadily increasing not onlyamong the traditional eletnents hut also.among the modern educated youngmnen. Two years ago, Islami ChatraShibir von a big victory in the Chitta-gong University Central Students'Union e!ection. The Islami ChatraShibir is one of the strongest studentsfronts in the Universities of Dhaka,Rajshahi and Jahangirnagar.

The foregoing discussion indicatesthat Bangladesh has been experiencing

a new Nwave f Islamic upsurge sincethe mid-1970s. How one can explainthis trend? For a proper assessrment ofthe current trend of Islaam n Bangla-desh it is uiseful to view Islam, first ofall, as a value systenm and secondly, asa social force. As a value system, it isstable and being immanent in the socialethos it fowss almost constantly at acertain level of social consciousnesswhich the political forces in the societycannot ignore. As a social force, Islamis dynamic, and it moves with thepressures of timne and circumstances

depending on thenature of

politicalprocess prevailing in a society. As asocial force it is profoundly influencedby newv developments both within thesocietv and outside.

ISLAM AS A VALUE SYSTEM

As a religion and a stable valuesystem in Bangladesh, Islam has alwaysretnained a guiding force. Islamic tradi-tions, customs, institutions and beliefsare part of their every day life, andare often fhe only familiar forms oftheir social being and consciousness.

Any social or political systemtends to

be evaluated * within this cognitiveframzework.

The Awami League, which is one ofthe secular political parties in Bangla-desh, started as the Awapni MuslimLeague on June 1.949.19 The UnitedFront, which was organi4ed before thegeneral elections of 1954 in East Bengalcould not ignore Islam. The introduc-tion to the 21-point programme of theUnited Front asserts that no law inrepugnance to the principles of Quoranand Sunnah would be enacted. VVhileadopting the 1958 Constitution ofPakistan, which was in fact the onlyacceptable political formula evolved inPakistan, the makers of Constitutionshowed due respect to Islamic senti-m-nents nd made similar commitments.The 1956 Constitution of Pakistan wasdeclared as the Constitution of theIslamic Republic of Pakistan; it waslaid down in the Constitution that the"Sovereignity over the entire universebelongs to Almighty Allah alone andthe authority to be exercised by thepeople of Pakistan within the limitsprescribed by Him is a sacred trust."The Constitution emphasised the bondsof uinity among the Muslim states.Provisions were made for the establish-ment of an institute for research on,and study of, the Principles of Islam.The Constitution of 1962 also containedthe Islamic provision in elaborate form.Even the Legal Framework Order(LFC), on the basis of which thegeneral elections 1970 in Pakistan were

held in two wings, contained theIslamic provisions.20After independence in 1971 the

Awami League Government declaredits firm commitment to secularism andbanned all the Islam-hased parties (suchas the Council Mtuslim League, Con-vention Muslim League, Nizam-i-Islamand Jamaat-i-Islam) but did not ignorethe religious susceptibilities of thepeople. The government allowed theformation of Sirat Committees for theobservance of Eid-e-Milad un-Nabithroughout the country and retainedthe study of Arabic and Islamiat in theschool curriculum. The government alsostrengthened the functioning of theIslamic Academy. The practices of be-ginning the radio and television pro-grammes arnd other state functions withrecitation from the Quaran, and holdingof receptions on Eid days continued asbefore.

ISLAM AS A SOCIAL FOnRC-

As a social force Islam is dynamic; incritical times it has served as a rallyingpoint, of course in an environmentwhere political institutions and or-ganisations are strong and politicalPrOCeSSeSre free. Where th\e political

processes are closed and where the de-imocratic instituitions and organisationsaire weak and truncated, this socialforce, getting [ixed up with politicalactivities, strengthens the forces of con-servatism.

When during the late 1930s andearly 1940s the Bengali Muslimsapprehended that as an economicallybackward community they would con-tinue to be exploited by the Hindulandlords, businessmen and indus-trialists, they took shelter under thebanner of Islam and supported theMuslim League which championed thecause of Islam and of the Muslims inIndia. The Muslim League, mainlycounting on the support of the Muslimsof East Bengal, eventually succeeded inbringing Pakistan to life in 1947 onthe basis of two-nation theorv. Pakistanwas supposed to be the home of the

Muslims wvhere they could shape theirdestiny and build up the appropriatesocio-economic structure suiting theirgenius.

The ruling elites in Pakistan, how-ever, from the very beginning pursuedcertain policies which alienated theBengalis. The policy of cultural assimi-lation pursued in Pakistan was bomout of distrust of the 4engalis. Notonly that, the policy of centralisedadministration and the increasing -mono-polisation of political power by WestPakistanis deprived the Bengalis of any

share in the decision-making process.The growing discontent found ex-pression in the formation of the AwamiLeague as the national party of theBengalis. The denial of the legitimatedemand of East Bengal in gettingBengali as one of the state languagesin Pakistan led to the tragic events ofFebruary 21, 1952 which ultimately re-sulted in a vibrant linguistic na-tionalism.

The imposition of Martial Law in158, and the kind of economic growththat took place under martial law

regime further shortened economicdis-

parity between the txvo wings.2' Eventhe elementary .princip'es of Islam suchas human rights, equality of oppor-tunity, equal rights and so on wereviolated. Under the circumstancesIslamic values lost their appeal to thepeople, and the leaders of East Bengalrealised that they had been exploitedin the name of Islam. The ignobledefeat of the Muslim League in thegeneral elections of 1954 (the UnitedFront won 223 out of 237 MuslimnSeats while the Muslim League wononly 2 seats) and the enthusiasms ofthe progressive forces encouraged theAwami L,eague inz droppinlg the word

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'Muslim' from its title and throwing itopen to non-Muslims also. (This wasduly done in its annual session onOctober 23, 1955.) The Awami Leagueand other progressive parties began toput greater emphasis on political andeconomic issues, ignore the slogan of'Islam-in-danger" and demand regio-nal autonomy, and ultimately pledgedto create an exploitation free society.The Six-Point Programme of the Awa-mi League, which was a reactionagainst, and a challenge to, the poiicyneasures of the ruling elites, was de-

signed to bring about a fundamentalchange in the power-structure of Pakis-tan. In the general elections of 1970,the Awami League won a landslidevictory, securing 160 seats out of 162in East Pakistan. The massive supportfor the secular political and economicprogrammes of the Awami League and

the total rejection of the Islama-basedparties by the people created a politicalsituation which evenitually led to theemnergence of Bangladesh.

The Axvami League Governmentafter independence in 1971 announcedits firm commitment to secularism ancdb)anned he Islam-based political parties.Tl e socio-ecoilotnnic conditions how-ever deteriolrated fast after independ-ence, the price level of the essentialconsumer goods skyrocketed; trade an(dcx)mmerce dwindled; law and ordersituations deteriorated and despitelarge-scale international aid and assis-tance the economy in Bangladesh didnot improve.22

The economic crisis was compoundedby political problems. Class conflicts,which had so long been postponed bythe prominence of the regional auto-nomy demands, began to surface afterindependence. The Aiwni League wasa middle-class based and urban-centredpolitical party. The exigency of circum-stances had forced it to adopt certainsocialist programmes.23 As the economywas on the verge of collapse by themiddle of 1974, government despertelysought foreign aid from the westerand oil-rich West Asian countries.

Since the middle of the 1970s, follow-ing the hike in oil prices, the Muslimstates of West Asia and North Africahave become aware of their enhancedrole on the world scene. Some of themhave taken up programmes to shapethe world in their own images andhave been financing missionay pro-grammnes with the help of their new-found wealth.

Bangladeslh society has been deeplyinfluenced biy this new phenlomenon.The proliferation of Islam-lbased nai'sE

tutions and organisatioins, mainly ofcharitable and missionary character,construction of new mosques andmadrassas, and the riepair, extensionand beautification of the old ones arebut overt manifestations of this pheno-menon. The rejuveniation- f some ofthe Islam-bused political parties cana-.o be explained in terms of this en-hanced role of the Muslim states ofWest Asia and North Africa. It is nottnlikely that any change of policy at

that end would affect the fo,rtunes ofsome of these institutions and organi-sations.

InternCal evelopments in Bangladeshtoo have influenced the growth andfunctioning of Islamic institutions andorganisations. When the Islam-basedpolitical parties we'e banned by' theAwami Leaguie government, they hadno other alternative but to extend andintensify their religious activities.Large-scale organisation of Sirat Com-nmittees for the celebration of I'd-e-Milaad un-Nabi and holding of largemeetings on such occasions as the Shab-e-Barat and Muharrarn can partly beexplained by the attitucle of the Islam-b)ased political parties under the chang-e(l circumstances.

After the August 1975 massacres, anevent deeply resented by all except theextreme right and extreme left, theseparties received a fresh lease of life.Certain political steps, undertaken byGeneral Zia, mainly with a view tobroadening his 'power base by enlistingthe support of the hitherto discardedrightist elements and wooing the newlyaffluent 'West Asia, helped rehabilitatethese elements and eventually broughtsome of these parties into politicallimelight. Shah Azizur Rahman, one ofthe prominent Muslim League leaders,becamne he Prime Minister of Bangla-desh under Zia's Presidentship. A largecomponent of Zia's Bangladesh Natio-nalist Party (BNP) wvas recruited fromthe former Muslim League. MoulanaMannan, one of the leaders of Bangla-desh Jamiatul Mudderessin (BJM) wasput in charge of the Ministry of Edu-cation. The series of Constitutionklamendments beginning from 1977, andeven the present regime's Zakat Coon-mittee headed by the President ofBangladesh can be viewed in this light.

The dargas and khankas of Sufis andPirs have always remiiained venerablecentres for the people of East Bengal.The increasing depression in the eco-nomic activities, the massive unemploy-ment and underemployment aimongboth the educated and illiterate youth,the deteriorating law and order sltua-

tions in the violence-prone society andthe consequent uneasiness and tensionin all walks of life have been respon-sible for bigger congregations at thesecentres in recent times.

In sum, there has been a new up-surge of Islamic activities in Bangla-desh, particularly from the raid-seven-ties. More and more Islaca-based insti-tutions and organisations are emergingand the existing ones are gettingstronger. Islamrbased political partiesare getting more well-knit and orga-nised. Certain steps undertaken by thegovernment and certain policy-state-men-ts made by governmnent unctio-naries are a!so helping this process.The current trends of Islam in Bangla-desh are not however due to Is:amicrevivalism or resurgence of Islamicf'undamentalisnm. hese are due partlyto the role some of the ambitious Mus-

lim states of West Asia and NorthAfrica are playing all over the worlid,including Bangladesh and partly due tointernal developments in Bangldeshsuch as the restricted nature of poli-tical activities, co-option of the hithertodiscarded rightist elements as the sup-port base of the regime and sagging&conomic activities, with the conse-quent uneasiness and distress of thepeople who are driven to Isluam orcomfort and peace.

Notes1 A Vasilyev, 'lslami in the Present

DJay Worlc', zInternational Affairs,November 1981, pp 52-58.

2 Tlhe Constitution of the People'sliepublic of Batglkadesh. The Pre-amble, Articles 8(1), 12 and 27-41;Government of the People's Re-public of Bangladesh, Ministry ofLaaw and Parliamentary affairs,L)haka, 1972.

3 Ilbid, Particularly Article 12 of theConstitution.

4 A F S Ahmed, "Bangladesh";Government of the People's Re-pubAic of Bangladesh, Ministry ofInfornation and Broadcasting,

Dhaka, December 16, 1972, p 29.3 For the full text of the Procla-mation (Amendment) Order, 1977,see The Bantgladesh Observer,April 23. 1977; see also the Consti-ttotiont of the People's Republic ofBangladesh, 'as amended uptoFebruary 28, 1979.

6 K M Mohsin, 'Trends of Islam inBanglades,h', a paper presented inthe symposium on Islam in Bangla-desh, Dhaka, Decenmber 24-26,1982.

7 A Majid Khan, Jatir ProyojoneShikhsha (Education Suitable to aNation), Ministry of 'Education':Sports and Culture, Govern t of

the People's Repubhlic of ga-desh, Dhaka, Novepbejr 7, 1982,p 9,

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8 The Ittefaq, December 17, 1982.9 The $angldesli Observer, January

21, 1983.10 The number of madrassas in 1980

waS more than 2,500. For detailssee 1980 Statistical Yearbook ofBangladesh, Dhaka June 1981,p 121.

11 In 1.979 there were 1,19,180 mos-ques in Bangladesh, the rate ofannual growth being more than10 per cent since 1977.

12 Nafeesuddin Siddique, 'Mystic Pro-cedures and Practices', a seminarpaper read in the Islamic CulturalStudies Conference in North Bris-bane, August 11-12, 1979.

13 For more on Biswa Zaker Manjil,see Mahfuzal Huq, "The TrueWay", Faridpur, 1982.

14 This organisation has started anambitious project of building anIslamic Institution at Mohakhali,Dhaka. The Islamic InstitutionComplex is to cost more than $ 8million.

15 For election results, see The Dai.nik Bangla, 8 March, 199.

I 6 See the Election Manifestoes ofthese Parties, published in part inThe Bangladesh Times, Decembei25, 1979.

17 Abdul Awal, Ghosana Patra, Dhaka,October 20, 1981.

18 Ghulam Azam, "A Guide to IslamicMovement", Azmi Publications,

Dacca, 1968.19 In the 1949 Constitution some of

of the objectives of the parly, werestated to be: to promnote nd main-tain the religious, cultural, social,educational and economic interestsof the Muslims of Pakistan and toensure similar rights to non-Muslimcitizens; to strengthen the bond ofbrotherhood among the Muslims allover the world and to esta,blishand strengthen friendly relationshipwith the neighbouring countries:to disseminate the true knowledgeof Islam and its high moral andreligious principles among thepeople.

2(0 People's Republic of Bangladesh,"Bangladesh: Contemporary Eventsand Documents", Dacca (n d).

21 For more on this, see EmajuddinAhumed, The Six-Point Programme:Its Class Basis', The Dacca Univer-.ity Studies, Jne 1979, pp 29-47

22 For more on this, see EmajuddinAhamed "Bureaucratic Elites inSegmented Economic Growth:Pakistan and Bangladesh", Univer-sity Press, Dhaka: 1980; and"Flow of External Resources intoBangladesh", Ministrv of Finance.Dhaka, 1981.

23 Emajuddin Abamed, 'Dominant-Bureaucratic Elites in Bangladesh',The Indian Political Science Re-4iew. January 1979, 1, pp 30-48.

DISCUSSION

Theory of AdministrationB Venkateswarlu

SATYA Deva's rejoinder (March 5.1983) to my criticism (January 22, 1983)of his article 'Teory of Administra-tion' (Novemnber 27, 1982) takes carethis time not to mention the 'Marxisttheory of administration'. Instemd, heuses the phrase 'Marxist point of view'.In fact, this is exactly what I tried tcexplain in my criticism. Various as-pects of the capitalist state machinery,which include bureaucracy, military,iudicature, etc, and which are togethercalled the state apparatus, can bestudied scientifically only from themarxist point of view. This study musthelp to grasp fully the nature of thecapitalist state as an instrument of re-production of oppression. Study ofthese various aspects of the capitaliststate should help one to understandscientifically the functioning of thestate and not to arrive at 'theories' like'theory of administration' or 'theory oforganisation' etc.

All those passages from Marx's "TheCivil War in France" were quoted inmy criticism to eznphasise that theyconstitute an important part of themarxist theory of state. The state, asone of the ;most important aspects of

the 'superstructure', with its organs -viz, bureaucracy, military, judicatureetc - is, I believe, regarded as pos-sessing relative independence in mar-xist theory. I am sure Satya Deva isnot unaware -about the fact that Leninwrote "The State and Revolution" be-c'ause of the "necessity of theoreticallyelaborating the question of the state".When I said 'political theory' I meantthe theory of state. For this, and alsofor saying that his "Marx's theory ofadministration in socialist society"should actually be political theory,Satya Deva has accused me of becom-ing "a victim of reification". I havemade my point clear in the beginningof mv criticism itself by arguing that"it is part of capital's mechanism onthe lines of division of lajbour to ob-ftuscate the social reality and its criti-cism". In calling the political set-upin the Paris Commune the dictatorshipof the proletariat, my intention was toemphasise the relative independence ofpolitics.

DisINwCr FUNCIIONS OF ST1ATEAcmNcrEs

The state consists of certain agencies

such as bureaucracy, military, judica-ture, etc, in capitalist society, for theperpetration of class rule, and in socia-list society to do away with the per-sistence of clas.ses and class rule byestablishing the dictatorship of theproletariat. These agencies perform therepressive and ideological functions oithe state. Study of these agencies andof their functioning from the amar,xistpoint of view must help one to graspthe nature of the state. It is onlythrough this process that the process ofde-reification of the so-called 'theoriesof administration' can occur. If westudy the agencies of the state andtheir functioning as autonomous enti-ties by separating them from the statewith a view to arriving at 'theories ofadministration' and 'theories of orga-nisation', we would not only he trap-ped in the process of reification on thelines of bourgeois thinkers like Wood-rov Wilson (who separated adniinistra-tion from the state, i e, politics) andMax Weber (who found an ideal typein bureaucracy attributing 'rationality')but would become the victims of super-reification.

For, after all, we, outwitting thebourgeois thinkers, try to explain thealready reified aspects of the state fromthe marxist point of view, and therebyradiclise them and legitimise them.This would certaly help, in the wordsof Satya Deva himself, "to update themand make them more relevant, valuable,balanced (sic) and interesting".

USES OF INTR-DIscnn'LINA-RY PPROACH

Satyua Deva, in the course of hisargument, had mentioned the 'inter-disciplinary approach' for the purposeof del-reification. I do not think he isuinaware of the sociological origins ofthe interdisciplinary approach whichcan be found again in the imperialiststrategy of the West in the post-warperiod in the field of higher education,one of the results of which is distinctdevelopment theories. What is, afterall, interdisciplinary approach? Is it nota hotchpotch of liberal political theoly(that ignores basic economic forces),the technical exercise of economics(that neglects and obscures class rela-tions), history (with its timid empiri-cism), and sociology (with its emptyabstraction)? This kind of 'unified so-cial science' was given impetus in thesocial sciences by none other than peo-ple like Seymour Martin Lipset whobelieved in systems theornT. To quoteLipset,

The concern for development hasforced the social sciences to thinkin terms of conceptual approacheswhich include the polity, economy,.society, and personality. As a result,for the first tirne, there has been areai movement towards social science

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