Research must not lack objectivity
IF nothing else Bangladesh can be proud of the fact that there has been a significant growth of research institutes in the country. One should have no quarrels with the number of think tanks and their work since the more people are devoted to scholastic pursuit the more will we be enriched by the addition to the reservoir of basic knowledge.
But in Bangladesh we see at times information passed off as research work, or material quoted to substantiate an argument, without delving deep into the matter, which gives a wrong impression of the quality of research and the motive of the researchers. We have several instances where statistics have been generated to support a thesis to substantiate a predetermined position.
Our attention has been drawn to a set of information by the chairman of Bangladesh Heritage Foundation, who is also the executive director of a government think tank, suggesting that the number of recruits in the military with kawmi madrasa background has risen from 5% before 2001 to thirty five percent in 2006, and maybe even more than that.
The facts above cannot fail to ring a bell in the minds of the readers. Not very long ago we came across such an account in an article entitled "Rise of Islamic Fundamentalism in Bangladesh", jointly authored by Sajeeb A. Wazed, who is also an adviser to Sheikh Hasina, and an ex US army officer. The only difference is that the article makes no mention of any particular type of madrasa. And that is why the chairman's comment is a revelation since his research has been able to pinpoint exactly the source of the recruits.
The statistics are the result, as expressed initially, of a research conducted by the Bangladesh Heritage Foundation, whose methodology, unfortunately, the researches would not let us in on. However, there is a similarity in the tenor of the said article and the chairman's remarks. There is an attempt in the article to paint the army as Islamist (maulobadi according to the authors), which, according to them, is the cause of rise of Islamic extremism in Bangladesh.
One would like to take issue with that position, but for the moment suffice it to say that only those without a thorough understanding, or borrowed wisdom about terrorism, extremism and so called fundamentalism, would ascribe the rise of a dangerous phenomenon to the perceived character of an institution like the armed forces as has been done in the article.
While one may dismiss an article authored abroad as not credible enough to be taken seriously, we cannot treat the remarks of a head of a government research organisation in the same vein primarily because of the impression that the remarks have conveyed. One cannot fail to see the grave implications contained in the remark that cannot be dismissed as a slip of tongue.
However, even if one were to accept that the reference to kawmi madrasa was indeed a slip of tongue how does one explain the "terrorist linkage" to these recruits?
One cannot be blind to the fact that such statements and comments have very serious implications, even if made unwittingly. In other words, if the statistics regarding the numbers is to be believed, given that several thousands are recruited in the army every year, we have an army that is infested with religious extremists and terrorist sympathisers!
My talk with the head of the Heritage Foundation gives me to understand that the figures were in fact extrapolated from the above-mentioned article, "Rise of Islamic Fundamentalism in Bangladesh". The Foundation has revisited the issue and having deliberated on the matter further would like to say that it does not concur with the figures of the Harvard International Review article.
While it is a comforting fact that the issue is being revisited there are other matters that need clarification too. One would like the Heritage Foundation research team to ask how the data that they quoted was arrived at by the authors of the said article. One would like to know the methodology.
Is it a random sampling or analysis of the personal documents of the thousands of recruits since 2001? How was the jump from six percent to thirty-five arrived at? What is the source of the information? Did the AHQ or the various Arms and Services Centre provide it?
No one can deny that extremism and terrorism are matters of concern to the nation. And these need serious scholarship, deliberation, diligent research and thorough study to arrive at suitable and appropriate methods to combat. Shoddy work conducted in a half-hearted manner only helps in detracting from the main issue. Furthermore, it provides leeway to those that are protagonists of extremist ideology to expand their influence.
It must also be kept in mind that that the nation is ill-served when the image of a very important national institution, which is at the forefront in counterterrorism activity, is distorted by questionable statistics which is sanctified through seminars and roundtables.
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