Since then, ours has been a history of pathetic self destruction and self immolation at the hands of whoever came to rule this country. Nobody, including Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the architect and founder of this country, ever tried to establish the democratic rights of the people -- the ultimate goal of our independence.

Instead, all our rulers, without exception, sadly opted for authoritarian and dynastic rule, thus paving the way for corruption of the political elites, the break down of the rule of law, spawning of crime and violence and all other concomitant aberrations and vices inevitable in such a political dispensation.

While history may pardon Bangabandhu for initiating the process of authoritarian rule because he was working under rather extenuating circumstances, having to govern a war ravaged newly independent country with hardly any wherewithal to support him, there was and there is no earthly reason for his successors to continue this process so zealously till now.

A thirty five year old nation state of about 150 million resilient people as homogeneous as we are ethnically, linguistically and culturally ought to have been on its feet and also a thriving force to be reckoned with by now. But this was not to be, primarily because of our power hungry, utterly selfish, unscrupulous and myopic political leaders, most of whom have been catapulted into the seat of state power, not because of their talent or any political leadership traits, but solely because of circumstances fortuitously throwing them up. These national leaders of ours have systematically destroyed all the ingredients of a democratic polity and good governance which alone could have lifted us from the morass of decay and decadence and the plethora of debilitating forces now at work.

Long time back Henry Kissinger had called us an international basket case. To this have been added many more shameful appellations in the recent past. We now not only carry on our head the stigma of being among the poorest of the poor countries in the world, we have been branded as the most corrupt of the corrupt countries in the world successively for the last four years.

We have also been dubbed as a country almost on the verge of being a "failed state" and a "hot bed of religious terrorism'. Our wealthy Arab Muslim brethren have been calling us "miskeen" (beggars) for a long time. Such derogatory remarks about our country coming from the international community do hurt our pride and sentiments as a self respecting people.

But I doubt very much if these hurt the feelings of our ruling elites. Because if they do, then how is it that they so shamefully go on flaunting their ill-gotten wealth? The question we may ask is: For whose mistakes, follies and failures is our nation being slandered this way?

Our rulers have to answer because it is they who have enriched themselves by pauperizing the country and the people. It is they who have misruled and misgoverned this country which is the root cause of corruption being so pervasive, of poverty being so endemic, and of terrorism and violence being so entrenched in our national life.

I shall single out Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina Wajed, not only for their failure to stem the rot, but also for the alacrity with which they have pursued the cult of corruption, despotism, criminalization of politics, and total insensitivity towards people's sufferings.

It is a shame that what Gen Ershad did as a dictator to undo democracy and the rule of law in this country during his nine year ignominious rule is still in place because both Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina Wajed have chosen the fallen dictator as their role model in governing the country.

Both of them have politicized the bureaucracy, the police administration, the magistracy, the judiciary, the election commission, the public service commission and all other state institutions the way as no other democratically elected leaders have done before which is why there is no rule of law.

The country is awash with gangsterism and gangsters of all hues and varieties ranging from petty thieves to swashbuckling terrorists like Bangla Bhai. We have a dysfunctional parliament, a jumbo cabinet with tainted ministers, and an ever noisy opposition on the streets to vouch for our show-case democracy. Murderers, rapists and perpetrators of heinous crimes are roaming the streets. Police cannot catch them because they have connection with ruling political party. Farmers do not have seeds, fertilizers, diesel and electricity for farming. Ministers concerned do not lose their job. Protesting mobs are brutalized by the police in tandem with ruling party activists. Prices of essential food stuffs are spiraling, causing immense hardships to the common run of the people.

Add to this the ghastly phenomenon of religious fanaticism and militancy, the by-product of late Gen Ziaur Rahman's legacy of wooing the Islamic fundamentalist forces like Jamaat-e-Islami, which opposed the very emergence of Bangladesh and collaborated with the Pakistan Occupation Forces. This Zia legacy has been being faithfully carried forward first by Gen Ershad and then by Khaleda Zia till now.

There is no denying the fact that the inclusion of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh in the alliance government has given fillip to the so called Islamization process, leading to the rise of the hydra headed monster of the so called Islamic militants terrorizing and killing innocent people across the country and threatening the very foundation of our secular and democratic polity. (Mark the utterances of Shaikh Abdur Rahman and Bangla Bhai before a trial judge and the state reaction so far). Small wonder Ershad, far from being brought to justice during the last 15 years for the crime of plundering the state treasury and for the myriad miseries he has heaped on the nation, is still a free man breathing in fresh air.

People of this country have never felt so insecure before for their life and property and honour as they feel now. They have never felt so frustrated before. This alliance government is not to blame alone for this. This is the cumulative effect of the autocratic rule and corruption prone syndrome of our rulers over the years. It is time someone called a halt to this power hunger syndrome of our political leaders and brought sanity in our politics.

We can still retrieve ourselves and make amends for what we have lost. For that to happen, our political leaders need to make a fresh vow and an unswerving commitment to establish democracy, the rule of law, and full democratic rights of the people.

The coming election is going to be the acid test for all of us -- the government, the opposition, the civil society, and the people as a whole. Heavens will not fall if BNP or AL loses in the next election conducted in an atmosphere free from any partisan influence either from the caretaker government or from the election commission.

But hell will certainly be let loose and the country will be in turmoil as it was once in 1996 should the election be held with the AL-led opposition parties boycotting the election on the ground of the credibility of either the caretaker government or the election commission being questionable.

I would earnestly appeal to the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition to sit across the table and have a heart to heart meaningful dialogue in order to put an end to the present impasse on the reform proposals. Let us do away with the letter writing drama. We do need a fully non-partisan, neutral, and effective caretaker government as we also need a fully independent, neutral, and powerful election commission to conduct free and fair election.

To be fair, the opposition apprehensions about the present election commission and the likely head of the next caretaker government being partisan are not totally unfounded considering the political tinkerings the government has done with regard to both.

There is genuine need for reforming both the caretaker government system and the election commission in the interest of fair and credible election.

There is greater need now than ever before for the government and the opposition to interact and speak aloud in the language of reason and mutual respect for each other. Any dithering on their part will only invite disaster for the country.

In all humility let me remind both the honourable Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition that Bangladesh has made you what you are today in terms of name and fortune. You had none of it as you made your maiden appearance in politics. You owe it to Bangladesh and its people to work selflessly for a fully democratic, secular and progressive Bangladesh we all had dreamt of as we broke free from Pakistan in 1971. It is not a very tall order.

The writer is a valiant freedom fighter and former Military Secretary to the President of Bangladesh.