NGOs, the Judiciary and Rights in Bangladesh: Just Another Face of Partisan Politics?

Abstract

On 16 December 1971, Bangladesh emerged as an independent state after a 267-day war against Pakistan. The Bangladesh Liberation War is known as one of the worst genocides of the 20th century that killed, according to some estimates, 3 million Bengalis.1 Bangladesh’s independence came from a legacy of rights violations through internal colonization and against the backdrop of genocide. Formerly known as East Bengal and East Pakistan, Bangladesh operated under colonial rule for centuries: the loss of Nawab Sirajjudawllah’s throne to the British was followed by the exploitation of its eastern territory by West Pakistan. After living under the domination of the British, Bengali Hindus and West Pakistani Muslims, Bangladeshis became their own masters under the leadership of Bengali Muslims for the first time in 1971.2 Under British colonization and West Pakistani economic colonization, Bangladeshis experienced rights only as the subjects of an imperial ruler and had few opportunities for self-realization. Kamal Hossain, an eminent Bangladeshi jurist, notes that ``in a colonial society, a person was the subject of an imperial ruler, whose viceroys exercised executive authority without constitutional limits. They were thus under no constitutional obligation to respect the fundamental rights of their subjects, nor in these societies could the subjects seek judicial protection of their rights.’’3 1 Bangladesh Genocide Archive [last accessed on 2 May 2012]. 2 S. Ahmed, Bangladesh: Past and Present (APH, 2004) at 1. 3 K. Hossain, `The Role of the Judiciary as a Catalyst of Social Change’ [last accessed 27 October 2012]