I Feel Bad for Jamaat – After All This, They Still Get No Votes or Hearts!

Opinion

I might get cursed by pro-liberation people for this status, but I can’t help speaking the truth. I feel tremendous sympathy for Jamaat.

These poor souls were on Pakistan’s side in ’71. A safe decision. But they got caught. Bangladesh won the war. They got crushed.

General Zia did rescue them from being crushed, but the public still calls them “razakars”! Doesn’t vote for them. Even in alliance with BNP, they can’t significantly increase their vote share.

Poor things, they engage in all kinds of social and cultural activities openly. They give money to poor children. But still, no increase in votes.

Even the journalists on their payroll can’t openly support them on talk shows. They have to twist their words. They can’t say Jamaat is the only patriotic party. That even razakars were patriots. That Jamaat, Al-Badr, razakars—all are matters of pride. They take money but can’t speak freely.

This meticulous movement that happened—it was all funded by Jamaat. But even during the movement, these poor souls couldn’t say it was their movement. They are honest people, so they just wanted to overthrow the corrupt Awami League government. If they had said that, people wouldn’t have joined the movement. What a situation!

During the movement, they had to chant slogans like, “In Bangabandhu’s Bengal, there’s no place for discrimination!” Can you believe it?

Even after overthrowing the Awami League government, these poor souls can’t directly take power. Puppets like Yunus have been installed. The money is theirs, the movement is theirs—but the positions go to Yunus. How does this even work?

They preach that female leadership is haram. But then they go take blessings under Khaleda Zia’s scarf.

And still, they aren’t in power. No matter how much they manipulate, no matter how much they infiltrate the administration like the coronavirus—Yunus isn’t handing power to them.

What pains me the most is seeing how, despite spending so much money and applying so much “hikmah” (tactics), they still can’t win the public’s heart. The public still sees them as the children of razakars. Doesn’t vote for them.

The more tragic thing is—in a country where 90% of people are religiously conservative (but not truly pious), Jamaat still can’t get votes. What kind of equation is this?

The truth is, Jamaat’s power only extends to destruction. In Bangladesh’s context, they can only destroy the country—they don’t have the ability to create. What greater sorrow could there be for a political party?

–Chandrabindu