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A country built on fault line |
In Bangladesh, we often see upending events cause deep division in the society ,leading on some occasions to polarization. Sometimes unsettled issues on historical events or violence involved in the events are behind such division. Failures to resolve differences through talk and justice create these fault lines. Some are major, some are minor. They are present almost in every sphere of life. Ordinary citizens, society and economy are paying a price for that.
Major years like 1971,1975,1990 and 2024 created some big fault lines. Apart from that one party rule BAKSAL, anti-Maoist campaign, some cultural movements, anti-shrine movement, persecution of minorities, indigenous movement, wage hike movement in industrial pockets and other movements also gave birth to several fault lines.
Driving a wedge between two opposing groups leads often to point of no return and brings destruction and loss to a country. Others exploit the crack of division and made it unbridgeable.
Yuri Bezmenov was a soviet journalist and diplomat. He defected to the West in 1970 and disclosed the psychological warfare model,which he had learned during his stint into his country's intelligence agency, used by the Soviets during the cold war to instill a new ideology into a society uprooting the prevailing ones. He publicly spilled the beans to Edward Griffin, an American journalist in the US,in 1984(see Yuri Bezmenov. Link: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri_Bezmenov and the interview , link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2b-I0Yqisc ). YouTube video is still available. I do not subscribe all his explanations and views about the 1971 and 1975. The timing of his defection and that of his interview depicts a different time. Lots of things were happening at home and abroad back then.The interview in particular is used to tell a particular narrative, to convince a particular audience. By the time the interview was aired, his subversion model had already been known to the world. Moreover, I find it a bit oversimplified and exaggerated. It is not that easy to fool a whole country. But there are some facts in that interview and you just cannot throw away the subversion model he exposed. So what is this subversion model he was talking about?
It comprises of 4 stages(for more read "4 Stages of Ideological Subversion According To Yuri Bezmenov", Nitigya Pant,February 24,2024. Link: https://medium.com/@nitigyaraj/4-stages-of-ideological-subversion-according-to-yuri-bezmenov-psychological-warfare-in-action-4ea01e2268c7 , and "Bezmenov's Steps(Ideological Subversion)", Porlando,July 14,2020. www.unintendedconsequences.es. Link: https://unintendedconsequenc.es/bezmenovs-steps/ ): Demoralization, Destabilization, Crisis and Normalization. Demoralization takes 15-20 years to complete and in this phase society's core values,beliefs ,traditions and identity are questioned in a bid to disorient the population. Methods employed include politicization and monetization of creed,monopolization of media,controlling flow of information,discrediting others, educate generation to accept things without challenging, glorifying the ideology comparing it with others,antagonism among political parties,less spontaneous response from individuals to address social issues etc.
Destabilization takes another 2-5 years to complete and in this phase subvert ideology is projected to be an alternative. Methods employed include diminishing bargaining process in the economy, unreasonable power struggle,populism in politics,mobs reigning laws and society,growing isolation in foreign relations. Solution is "grass is greener on the other side" or other ideology is better.
Crisis phase lasts 6 months. In this phase people lost their trust on existing institutions and discard them. They are ready to embrace radical change,including welcoming ideology they were taught to despise.
Normalization describes the phase when subverted ideology becomes the ideology of the ruling regime. Military takeover is also a feature of normalization.
In general, the whole subversion process takes 20 to 23 years to complete. But there is no specific timeframe. But I find it a bit hilarious because it is almost part of a political thriller's manuscript and it considers a whole nation as cattle stock. There are many competing interest groups within a nation and it is not easy to fool them.
Now coming back to Bezmenov's subversion technique. If we consider it in the context of Bangladesh, then we can see two major ideological shifts took place in Bangladesh: one in 1975 and another in 2009. Ideology dominating post-75 finally gave in in 2009. The demoralization phase lasted till 2006. Destabilization and crisis phase lasted till 2008. And in 2009 the so called normalization came.Then another demoralization phase started. Another ideological shift took place in 2024.(for more read "Bezmenov's Leak Still Relevant: From Awami Policing To Moral Policing", Rezaul Hoque,https://hoquestake.blogspot.com,September 11,2024, https://hoquestake.blogspot.com/2024/09/bezmenovs-leak-still-relevant-from.html?m=1).
Two years have passed since the July uprising. Justice has yet to be delivered to the victims of that uprising. And victims include victims of both the feuding parties. Chaotic atmosphere still prevails. Any kind of narrative building approach to dominate others only widens the crack. Accommodating all the views including the vanquished ones,like in a democracy, can lead to reconciliation. Resolving differences and bridging the gaps are keys to prosperity and stability.
