Return from the Precipice : Bangladesh`s Fight Against Terrorism

About the Book :

The image of Bangladesh of being a `moderate Muslim country` was tarnished at the turn of the 20th century. The country known for Sufi Islam was witnessing a spurt of Islamic radicalism. While delineating the threat posed by Islamic radicalism to Bangladeshi politics and by Indian insurgent groups to Northeast India, the book also focuses on their sources of finance. This book marks an advance over other works on the same topic as it discusses the actions taken by the Sheikh Hasina led Awami League government to counter terrorism. In the past the governments in Bangladesh not only denied the presence of Islamist groups within their territory, they also vehemently protested whenever India raised the issue of Indian insurgent groups using Bangladeshi territory for attacks in Northeast India. In the absence of cooperation on the issue of countering terrorism, the problem largely remained in the realm of speculation.

But now as the Bangladesh government comes out of its shell and cooperates with India and the wider world, many aspects of the problem have become known. The book also makes an assessment as to what extent Bangladeshi cooperation has helped counter-terrorism activities- especially in the Northeast of India.

About Author :

Dr. Anand Kumar is an Associate Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi. After completing his PhD from School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), he joined the IDSA in 2007. His area of specialization is Counter-terrorism, South Asian politics, Bangladesh, Maldives, Proliferation of Small arms and Low intensity conflicts. Before joining IDSA he worked at South Asia Analysis Group on similar themes. He has also been with the Institute for Conflict Management which specializes on Counter-terrorism. He has published around 20 articles in reputed journals, contributed around 10 chapters in edited books and delivered lectures on security issues both in India and abroad. His latest article ?Shaikh Hasina?s Visit to India and the future of Indo-Bangladesh Relations? has been published by the Royal Society for Asian Affairs, London in their official journal Asian Affairs. He has published many articles in leading newspapers and magazines. Some of the select publications are ?Insurgency in South Asia muted by war on terror,? The Washington Times, January 16, 2004 and ? The Jihadi Next Door?, The Washington Times, 20 May 2010.