Politicians and rights campaigners on Monday said that the change in uniforms for the police, the Rapid Action Battalion and the Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Party was far from bringing in real reforms in the forces.
Uniform change only offers superficial, external improvements and does not address the core issues of police accountability, mentality and efficiency, they said.
The government on Monday unveiled new uniforms for the police, RAB and Ansar VDP.
Home affairs adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury announced the decision following a law and order meeting at the secretariat in the capital Dhaka.
The interim government that took office after the ouster of the Awami League regime on August 5, 2024 amid a student-led mass uprising made the decision on the uniform change of the forces.
Political leaders and rights campaigners emphasised the need for legal and structural reforms, such as changes to the colonial-era police act, to ensure police serve the public effectively.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said that the mentality of police needed to be changed, and they required motivation to be developed as servants of people.
He said that police should transition from the role they were forced into under the misrule during the Awami League regime to becoming true servants of people.
Salahuddin said that changes in uniforms would not make the police and other law enforcement agencies more people-oriented.
He added that the reform commission had to make necessary changes in the laws.
Supreme Court lawyer Shahdeen Malik said that changes in uniforms of the law enforcement agencies would bring only an external change, it would not ensure required fundamental changes of the forces.
Changes in integrity, efficiency and accountability within the state forces should take priority, while altering the dress code could have been addressed later, he said.
Following the July uprising, numerous murder cases were filed with police stations across the country, often listing 200鈥�300 unknown accused, he said, adding that this raised doubts about whether justice for the murders would be done.
The efficiency of the police force must be improved to ensure proper investigation of the cases, as people are seeking justice, Shahdeen said.
He also said that changes in the attire of law enforcement agencies involved significant costs, raising the question of whether this expense was necessary at this time.
Economist and rights campaigner Anu Muhammad said that the change in the uniforms of state forces would not change their roles and it was nothing but an artificial reform.
He said that cosmetic changes cost a huge amount of money, and there was no logic for them.
Anu said that instead of artificial changes, real reforms should be made to ensure the accountability of the police and other forces.
He also called for the abolition of the industrial police and said the home ministry should be held accountable if police use excessive force on people.
Ganasamhati Andolan chief coordinator Zonayed Saki said that changes in uniforms would not bring any fundamental changes in the police, RAB and Ansar VDP.
Structural reforms are needed to bring required changes in the law enforcement agencies, he said.
However, many demanded a change in the uniforms of the forces for physiological reasons, as the forces had carried out brutal murders in the uniforms during the July-August mass uprising, Saki added.
鈥極f course, the change in the police uniform is not a fundamental change. Fundamental changes to laws are needed to make the police accountable,鈥� Jatiya Nagorik Committee spokesperson Samanta Sharmin said.
The change in uniforms could be part of the reforms, but the real changes should be made to the police act, which was enacted during the colonial era, she said.
Samanta said that the reform commission must ensure that the police, paid with public tax money, can no longer play anti-people or genocidal roles.