The arithmetic of atrocities, running galore in news paper reports and captured by the following statistics, could possibly bear out the point I wish to make. First, two people were killed on January 4, followed by a killing of seven on the 23rd of the same month. Then four were killed on April 6 and one injured that day succumbed to death on April 12. And finally, six people were killed on 13 April.

Even the killing itself seems to be a just tip of the iceberg. When the totality of police excesses are taken into consideration in the areas of Kansat, it could be more than what happened during the time of Pakistan army atrocities. Allow me to quote a report: "Thousands of villagers, regardless of their age and sex, have been living in the open air by the side of the rivers and water bodies, in sugar cane fields, mango orchards and open fields after Wednesday's police firing, raids and looting at their houses. Locals alleged that some BNP activists wore police uniform as disguise and joined the law enforcers in Wednesday's attack, while some others guided the police in raiding the houses and arresting villagers. The BNP men were in police uniform with helmets on and participated in the raid while some others guided police force in raiding and looting houses." (The Daily Star, April 14, 2006).

Thus, in agitating against uninterrupted power supply that foiled farming, a total of twenty people had to sacrifice lives through police firing. Noticeably, this time the number of people killed by police firing, and in connection with power only, beats BNP's own record of 1991-96 period when 17 farmers were killed through police firing on the heels of protests against shortage of fertilizers to apply on lands during the growth period of the crops. In both the cases, farmers were fired for their voices against government failures! A government that spends millions of dollars to whiten its dark image outside, seemingly, threw its people in darkness through loadshedding and paucity of power in the recent times.

As we could learn, the protests of the people were peaceful all the way. And people do have the right to rise against uninterrupted power supply that costs their crops against shortage of fertilizers that adversely affect their fields. In the beginning, as reported by newspapers, people just demonstrated peacefully. When police brutally prevented them from being in the procession, they started throwing brickbats and carrying sticks. Later, as police exceeded the limits, they cut down trees to block road,s and, in some cases, even dug up road sections. All the steps initially taken by the people of Kansat fall within the domain of a democratic device. In no circumstances, however, did they carry firearms, explosives or cocktails to justify the carnage. One should not forget, however, that even if found with firearms, police have no right to kill anyone; at best, they can arrest the carriers. Interestingly, to date police also did not make a claim of carrying firearms by the agitating people.

The carnage at Kansat raises a few pertinent points. First, why should people be killed or tortured when they rise against government failures? Second, are we living under a democratic government that is accountable to the public? And third, what options do we have in stopping such carnage? The answer to the first lies in the peculiar attitude of the present regime. It is that any agitation against government is anchored against the "sovereignty" of the country where government and state are seen to be synonymous. Based on this perceptions, for the last four years, the government had been unleashing a reign of terror in containing people's outbursts. We have witnessed how police forces were used to torture women processionists in Dhaka streets; how militants rose to an astounding height before the eyes of the present government that took no notice of opposition parties' claims. We witnessed how famous opposition leaders were killed under grenade and other attacks but the criminals roam the streets. We also noticed how a former president (and BNP stalwart) of the country was mercilessly treated because of his voice against the present government. There are thousands of such events but all seem to lead to the same conclusion: the government has grown grievously autocratic and is disdainful of democratic norms. It is, therefore, not surprising that a voice against interrupted access to power would amount to raising a voice against the "flood of development" that the government so "graciously" gifted us with during the last four years or so. Processions could be termed as "anti-state" because voice against a "patriotic" government amounts to "anti-state." And here lies the logic of police firing, otherwise not.

The answer to the second question closely follows from the first. Obviously, we cannot claim to be under a democratic government, even if we pretend to do so. The parliament is almost paralyzed due to shortage of quorum comprising government members due to prolonged absence of the main opposition party from the parliament and due to the absence of effective local government institutions in the country. The last four years or so saw no sign of abatement of this ailment.

Yes, of course, we are under an elected government -- notwithstanding the modalities or the alleged "election engineering." But an elected government does not necessarily mean a democratic government. The price spiral of recent times -- especially with respect to some of the essential items like sugar -- and the huge costs on common men should have demanded some actions against business syndicates and unscrupulous businessmen, most of whom belong to the government party. On the contrary, exorbitant prices are exposed as enviable sign of "opulence" of the people by the policy makers!

And finally, by not taking the Kansat issue seriously and punishing the culprits engaged in the carnage, the present government seemingly portrayed a poor performance in managing governance of the society. The government has placed police against people's fundamental rights and thus helped create the carnage at Kansat.

The way out is organizing people's movements against the government and the goons who created the carnage. The opposition political parties should gear up their anti-government and pro-people activities. The civil society should come up with strong prescriptions against such atrocities. Unfortunately, so far they did not. The drive against "dishonest" and "uneducated" MPs is far away. At the moment, the bullet is piecing through the breasts of the people of Kansat and civil society needs to demonstrate its hatred against the carnage. Either on the streets or by speeches. Development is nothing but freedom. On that score of freedom alone, we are far behind.

Abdul Bayes is Professor of Economics at Jahangirnagar University.