What Dhaka attack teaches us: Appeasement doesn't work

The first lesson that everyone needs to learn from the latest terroist attack in Dhaka is that appeasement does not work. Every act of madness in the country in the last few years had been dismissed as homegrown acts. Indian agencies had been warning that these smaller groups would ally with global outfits.

The fact is that not once was this angle checked by the agencies in Bangladesh. Even before the issues were raised they were either discredited or discarded. While one political party politicised Islam the others decided to target their opponents. None ever moved beyond blaming outfits which have been close to the political circles.

Policy of appeasement:

Agencies did as they were told and most of the probes into the killing of minorities and bloggers fell flat. Certain probes fell flat due to appeasement and others focused on blaming the opposition. [Bangladesh is sliding: After look and act, India needs to have a robust Defend East policy]

There was a complete sense of denial about the presence of foreign outfits. All through India and several other countries shared intelligence about the ISIS and the al-Qaeda trying to ally with the local outfits. Both the local outfits and the foreign ones made similar calls such as establishment of the Caliphate or an Islamic society.

In this scenario it became extremely obvious that the local groups in a bid to strengthen themselves would seek the support and welcome foreign outfits. The other agenda that the local groups had was the creation of a Greater Bangladesh and for this they would need more might, resources and finances. Hence tapping a foriegn outfit became necessary. [Why Bangladesh is a bigger threat for India than Pakistan]

The political indifference:

The political class in Bangladesh has at times acted immature to the threats being posed by numerous terrorist outfits. This was coupled with appeasement and denials.

The ruling party appeared to be more interested in pointing a finger at the BNP. Bangladesh has witnessed killings on a daily basis. Threats by global outfits such as the ISIS and the al-Qaeda have been issued on a regular basis, but there continues to be denial.

Let us date back to an interview given by Bangladesh's Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu. To the rising threat of extremism, he was quick to point a finger at the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its ally Jamaat-e-Islami.

The answer is very simple. The Producer is the BNP. The Director is JI. The small actors on the ground are ABT, JMB, he added. He further went on to state that claims by the ISIS were fictitious in nature.

Bangladesh has been a problematic zone for a long time. There were outfits such as the Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami which thrived in Bangladesh. These outfits have been relying on splinter groups to establish themselves. Moreover these outfits quickly claim credit for an attack and this becomes a problem as it as an inspiration for others across the world to carry out similar strikes.