The public administration and police had played a significant role in establishing a fascist framework in the country. Instead of serving the people, these two key institutions of the government had turned into instruments of control. Violating the terms of government service, many civil servants and members of the police force had taken on political roles. After the mass uprising, people across Bangladesh had hoped that these two vital state institutions would undergo major reforms. It was expected that Bangladesh would break free from bureaucratic red tape and the grip of a police state. However, nearly a year after the uprising, those expectations remain unfulfilled.

On the contrary, over the past year, the power center revolving around the Secretariat has only grown stronger. The title of “senior secretary,” introduced as a favor during Sheikh Hasina’s tenure, remains in place. Initiatives to reform the public administration have stalled under the weight of bureaucratic resistance. The police force faces a similar scenario. Instead of becoming public servants, members of the force remain entangled in political agendas. The committee formed to reform the public administration and police has not seen any of its key recommendations implemented. Experts believe that due to political distractions surrounding elections and reforms, the core demands for restructuring these institutions have been pushed aside. They argue that the longer these reforms are delayed, the harder it will be for the public administration and police to become functional and people-oriented.

Md Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, former Secretary of the Cabinet Division, believes that the reform of the public administration or police is not currently on the interim government’s list of priorities. He told Bonik Barta, “Governments usually act based on their priorities. Right now, the government is focusing on issues that top that list. I believe the work of the National Consensus Commission is the government’s current priority. In particular, constitutional reforms, judicial reforms, and electoral reforms are likely the main focus. The government might turn its attention to public administration or police reform only after those are completed.”

One of the 11 reform commissions formed under the interim government led by Dr. Muhammad Yunus was the “Public Administration Reform Commission.” The commission was chaired by former caretaker government’s adviser and former bureaucrat Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury, who had served under the 2001 caretaker administration led by Latifur Rahman. On February 5 this year, the commission submitted its report, which included over 100 recommendations. The objective of these reform proposals was to make the public administration more people-oriented, transparent, accountable, efficient, and neutral. However, more than five months have passed since the report was submitted, and none of its core recommendations have been implemented.

Among the commission’s key proposals were a major restructuring of the administrative system—dividing the country’s four old divisions into four provinces to introduce a provincial governance structure, creating two new divisions named Cumilla and Faridpur, and establishing a “capital metropolitan government” like New Delhi’s, under central administration. It also proposed forming three separate public service commissions instead of one, and reducing the promotion quota for the administration cadre at the Deputy Secretary level from 75 percent to 50 percent. However, the interim government has not moved forward with implementing these tougher proposals. Instead, at a meeting held at the Chief Adviser’s Office (CAO) on June 16, it was decided to implement 18 of the commission’s recommendations. These include installing hygienic toilets at highway petrol stations, making ministry websites more dynamic, forming managing committees for colleges and secondary schools, and managing community health centers.

Many stakeholders have even expressed frustration over both the commission’s activities and its recommendations. Former secretary and rector of the Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre (BPATC) A K M Abdul Awal Mazumder told Bonik Barta, “A meeting was held recently regarding the implementation of the Public Administration Reform Commission’s proposals. But only the concerned authorities can say how far implementation has progressed. Many believe that the public admin reform commission’s recommendations have failed to meet expectations.”

Abdul Awal Mazumder believes the Public Administration Reform Commission rushed its work. He said, “I felt they were in a bit of a hurry, didn’t dig into the root of the problems. There were also some tensions and debates around the reform proposals. No other commission faced such disputes. Honestly, they couldn’t manage things properly. Why they couldn’t—only they can explain. Compared to other commissions that worked more smoothly, this one fell short. Maybe if they had been more patient, they could have done better. But that doesn’t mean all hope is lost. What matters most right now is the July Accord and the election. If these two go well, the government will gradually be able to turn its focus to public administration reform.”

When asked about this, Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury, the head of the Public Administration Reform Commission, told Bonik Barta, “Our responsibility was to prepare and submit the report. We have fulfilled our responsibility. The rest is up to the government.”

During the one-sided, voter-less elections under the Sheikh Hasina government and the suppression of dissent, the police played a significant role. During last year’s mass protests, police officers and installations faced widespread public backlash across the country. Forty-four police personnel lost their lives while on duty during that period. After the interim government took over, a nine-member Police Reform Commission was formed to make the force more people-friendly. After extensive review and evaluation, the commission submitted its report to the Chief Adviser on January 15—complete with reform plans and recommendations.

The commission’s recommendations emphasized the need for a separate police commission to enhance neutrality and accountability within the force. It also called for sweeping reforms in the use of force, detention, arrest, and interrogation procedures. The full report proposed drafting laws to protect victims and witnesses and reevaluating the necessity of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).

In total, the commission published a 352-page report outlining 14 short-, medium-, and long-term recommendations. These were aimed at healing the deep wounds in police-public relations caused by the July–August mass uprising. The Police Reform Commission stated in its report that considering the overall situation, the commission agrees in principle on the formation of a police commission to ensure police accountability. However the report also emphasized that the structure, functions, and scope of the proposed commission should be determined through broader discussion.”

When asked how much reform has been implemented within the police in the six months since the recommendations were submitted, the commission’s Chairman and former secretary Safar Raj Hossain told Bonik Barta, “I submitted the police reform report along with the proposals to the Chief Adviser of the interim government on January 15. That was my responsibility. What happens next is for them to decide. I have nothing more to say.”

Members of the Police Reform Commission believe that proper implementation of reforms will ensure the fair application of law and protect people’s fundamental rights. Reform is also essential to rebuilding public trust in the public administration and police force. However, a major obstacle to reform has been the lack of political will. They say political will and support are vital for police reform. In some cases, unethical interference by influential individuals is also hampering progress. But above all, bureaucratic complexity has emerged as the biggest barrier to reform efforts. Political consensus and commitment are also crucial. If political will and accountability are ensured, reform commission members believe that it will be possible to build a public-oriented, accountable, efficient, and neutral policing system through the implementation of the commission’s recommendations.

The commission placed special emphasis on 15 key areas: safeguarding human rights, regulating the use of force, ensuring neutrality and accountability, reforming the existing legal framework, eliminating arbitrary harassment (including arrest, detention, search, and interrogation), improving the quality of services, preventing corruption, strengthening training and capacity, improving working conditions, and expanding community policing.

Police Reform Commission member ASM Nasiruddin Elan told Bonik Barta, “The proposals we drafted for police reform have been submitted to the Chief Adviser. He will now consult political parties before taking any further steps. In doing so, they may not agree with many of our recommendations. Especially if there is any plan to politically use the police again to suppress dissent, then many of these proposals might be discarded. If that happens, public trust in the police will be lost again. You’ve already seen that, based on the commission’s recommendations, the use of lethal weapons by the police has been stopped. But if a future political government cancels that ordinance and hands lethal weapons back to the police, then the force might return to its previous state. Therefore, if we want to build a people-friendly and accountable police system, there is no alternative to reform.”

Meanwhile, several active-duty police officers said that the biggest shortcoming in recent years has been the lack of accountability. That’s why many officers were involved in crimes such as custodial torture, killings, and enforced disappearances. The use of lethal, military-grade weapons also emboldened the police. They often acted as a political tool in suppressing dissent, resorting to excessive force. Additionally, a lack of transparency led to police involvement in electoral fraud and similar offenses. Altogether, these actions alienated the police force from the public. This growing resentment became visible before and after August 5 last year.

In the past, political parties have used the police force to serve their own interests. As a result, the police, instead of becoming the people’s ally, turned into a formidable adversary. The force is still struggling to recover from that image. However, implementing reforms quickly could help bridge the gap between the police and the public.

Nur Khan Liton, a human rights activist and member of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, told Bonik Barta, “Implementing the proposals made by the Police Reform Commission was urgently needed. The longer these reforms are delayed, the longer it will take for the police to bounce back. This will deprive the public of the people-friendly and quality policing they expect. I hope the Chief Adviser of the interim government will take swift action to implement the commission’s recommendations.”

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Baharul Alam told Bonik Barta, “Many of the proposals made by the Police Reform Commission are already being implemented. For example, previously, force was applied in three stages, but the commission suggested a five-stage approach. We’ve already started implementing the five-stage approach. As a result, even when protests and demonstrations are taking place now, there are no major casualties. One of the commission’s suggestions was to assign a female duty officer at every police station—this has also been done.”

He added, “But the suggestion to interrogate suspects inside glass-walled rooms cannot be implemented right away. That would require infrastructural changes. We’ll need to construct glass-walled rooms inside police stations. We’ve already informed the ministry about this.”

He said, “Overall, I wouldn’t say the commission’s recommendations have been completely ignored. Besides the reform proposals, the commission also made some additional recommendations. One of those was the formation of an independent commission. That’s the main issue. If we really want to bring change to the police, forming an independent commission should be the first step. But I’m not seeing any efforts to implement this recommendation. Without treating it with the seriousness it deserves, we won’t be able to build the people-friendly policing system we all hope for.”