Published: 12:30 AM, 28 September 2026 Last Update: 12:32 AM, 28 September 2026
Mobocracy Vs The Republic: Standing on The Abyss
A dreadful deterioration of the law and order situation across Bangladesh, unbridled extortion, and an alarming rise in mobocracy have plunged common people into deep anxiety. From cities to villages across various parts of the country, a section of opportunist groups, nurtured under political patronage and shelter, are completely defying the legal framework to publicly grab land and property, engage in reckless extortion, and carry out various social terror activities. Law enforcement agencies appear visibly paralyzed in stopping these crimes and, in some cases, seem afraid to assert state authority largely because organized criminal rings do not hesitate to directly attack the police force itself. Taking advantage of political instability and a lack of administrative accountability, these unruly elements have begun to consider themselves above the law, shattering the very foundation of the sovereign Republic from within.
There can be no starker example of this terrifying situation than the late-night rampage carried out at the Radda Maternal and Child Health Center in Mirpur-1 in the capital. For over 50 years, this non-profit health center had been providing basic healthcare, vaccinations, and family planning services to nearly half a million underprivileged mothers and children annually. Yet, in the dead of night, more than 200 armed and masked individuals attacked the center, took the security guards hostage, looted life-saving medical equipment, and flattened the entire complex using heavy excavators and bulldozers. How a long-standing public service institution like a health center in the heart of the capital could be demolished in a single night sends a harsh message: when the rule of law is replaced by mobocracy, no institution no matter how humanitarian or sacred is safe anymore, whether it is Prothom Alo, The Daily Star, or the Liberation War Museum.
This extreme collapse of public safety comes at a moment when the people of the country are reaching the absolute limit of their patience, crushed by an agonizing economic crisis. Due to record inflation and skyrocketing prices of essential commodities, basic survival has turned into a tough struggle for ordinary working-class people. As factories and commercial establishments close one after another under financial strain, millions of workers face overnight unemployment and extreme poverty. But instead of offering relief or an opportunity for revival to these distressed families or bankrupt businesses, they are burdened with high gas and electricity utility bills, extra revenue demands, and unfair taxes. Sociologists warn that imposing such an economic burden on a desperate populace is not only morally indefensible but also completely destroying social harmony. When the culture of impunity merges with poverty, human values in society break down, leading to the spread of heinous crimes where people are brutally murdered over trivial matters like an iPhone or a single morsel of rice.
Recent South Asian history presents a clear and grave warning for Bangladesh. History proves that countries that allowed their legal structures to collapse and appeased mob culture inevitably faced severe economic ruin and humanitarian disaster. Citing the example of Pakistan, analysts note that despite having an economy nearly double the size of ours at one point, the country today has become bankrupt and destitute not due to a lack of potential, but because of the breakdown of its legal institutions, political intolerance, and cheap appeasement of unchecked mob culture. Following the path of uncontrolled lawlessness and unprincipled conduct to repeat those same mistakes in Bangladesh would be a historical catastrophe, something no patriotic citizen could desire.
The state today stands at an extremely critical crossroads. The government must realize that governance can never be sustained through intimidation, turning a blind eye, or selective and partisan application of the law. The history of the past 17 years is crystal clear: the violation of the rule of law and the suppression of public grievances ultimately result in street uprisings and the collapse of governance.
If mobocracy is appeased today, it will invite an even greater disaster for tomorrow. The time has come to implement American President Abraham Lincoln's famous democratic ideal "government of the people, by the people, for the people" to the exact letter. The state must ensure justice above fear or favor and embrace the core truth stated by the martyred President Ziaur Rahman: power resides neither in the barrel of a gun nor in the rampage of a mob; rather, the true source of power is the trust of the general public. To secure the future of Bangladesh, the state must immediately crush mobocracy, re-establish a strict rule of law, and focus on winning back the lost faith of the people.
