Political Violence in Bangladesh: Trends and Causes

Sreeradha Datta

Joined IDSA August 1999 Expertise India’s neighbourhood policy; Bangladesh: Domestic and Foreign Policy; India’s Northeast Complexities; India and Myanmar’s bilateral relations; Education PhD, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.… Continue reading Political Violence in Bangladesh: Trends and Causes read more

Since the events of March 1971, Bangladesh has seldom been free from violence. While much of the recent attention revolves around religious extremism and militancy, political violence, as this paper argues, is a larger problem for Bangladesh. At every level of society, Bangladesh has had to confront with acts of violence. Lack of governance impedes the polity from effectively controlling violence, organised and unorganised, against different sections of society. Prolonged military rule, the perennial problem of political intolerance and growth of religious extremism have contributed to this trend.