Daring to change
ON 27th December last this scribe commented in this column (Bracing for change) that "The common man is deeply religious but wants an improvement in life and for that, whenever given a chance, he has chosen the progressive, forward-looking secular leaders and parties......... In the historic election of 1970 people voted for the secularists in both parts of Pakistan. The common man is perhaps wise enough to place religion and politics in different spaces and believes that worldly affairs are too important to be left in the hands of one group."
On 29th December, people of Bangladesh spoke and spoke stridently for the values and principles they hold dear to their heart. It was quite a sight to witness the equally astounding and resounding victory of the forces of tolerance over bigotry and obscurantisms.
As of now, would it be an impracticality to hope that our democratic society will harbour a certain extravagance of objectives so that real and potential leaders wander beyond the safe provision of personal gratifications? Shall we see group cohesiveness and work and achievement? Will our democracy involve the cooperation of all perceptive citizens?
The important question is, shall we maintain discipline or shall we witness the mindless 'hartals' when government ceased to govern, mobocracy displaced democracy and townships were paralyzed by groups of men who regarded themselves above the law? Shall we learn to ensure the rule of law while providing liberty under law? Must we not demonstrate that liberty is not an "optional extra" in a democracy and that human rights are not a luxury intended merely for the elite and the affluent?
Politically speaking, a democratic nation will progress when knowledge and power will be combined in the same set of individuals. As in the past we will face a grave crisis when some will have knowledge and others have power. We have to remember that people will be very soon disillusioned with democracy unless it results in rule by meritocracy.
The task, therefore, is to transform our apathetic and lethargic democracy into an anticipatory and participatory one. An anticipatory democracy would foresee the issues ahead and equip itself well to meet them; and a participatory democracy will be one in which the people are not content merely to vote at the time of elections but participate in the continuous process which goes to the making of decisions and the formulation of policies.
If one cares to find out, one will see that a phenomenal change has taken place in the thinking and behaviour of the general masses. And it is a positive one. While things at government level are deteriorating or stagnating, at societal level there is a yearning for change -- a realization that this is our own country and we have to do something to improve it.
To the discerning eye there would appear an unfortunate disconnection between the state and society. There is a wide and growing gulf between the ruling elite and the people. The government with all its power, mandate and huge resources has very little clue about the ground situation: how people think, how they perceive things, what are their needs, what are their priorities. People on the other hand, have little faith in the government.
Under the vastly altered political scenario, may the citizens of Bangladesh hope that Shaikh Hasina's government shall wholeheartedly hold aloft the majesty and the guardianship of the judiciary? That her government shall defend our judges against political pressures and threat, insist upon integrity and impartiality in judicial appointments and will not pressurize for appointing persons who subscribe to the philosophy of ruling party.
That her government shall ensure the trial of war criminals to put Bangladesh's history in proper perspective and accord proper honour to the valiant sons and daughters who laid down their lives for our independent existence.
That her government shall display high level of maturity, vision and wisdom to ensure the growth of a strong and merit-based administrative system and realize the fatality of having a bureaucracy whose quality is doubted by the society at large.
That her government shall genuinely strive for internal democracy in the political party; and free themselves and their followers from the shackles of feudal ethos and shall conspicuously insist upon a change from privilege to talent and emphasize on calibre in all our corporate activities.
That her government shall create a climate where businessmen and professionals realize that there is more to life than success, and more to success than money; and shall painstakingly establish that money has to be earned rather than to be got or won and that extra effort is put before extra leisure.
That her government upon assumption of power shall not restrict freedom of speech, assembly and movement under an admittedly democratic dispensation and shall refrain from confining gatherings of opposition to the immediate surroundings of party office under the pretext of maintaining public order; and shall not pass patently illegal orders to enforcement officials to virtually quarantine the opposition protest in a limited place.
That her government shall make sincere and earnest efforts to ensure that electoral popularity does not become the exclusive preserve of ill-gotten money and muscle power. That politics of annihilation shall be unequivocally abjured by all parties and there shall be no teaching the rival group a lesson and to mischievously polarize communities into voting blocs.
That her government shall not allow any State complicity in the perpetration of organized acts of violence and inordinate delays in securing justice; and ensure that political affiliation does not obstruct the process of accountability of culpable individuals and further ensure that criminal convictions are not ordinarily condoned and convicts accorded mercy without cogent grounds.
That her government shall not permit the deliberate dilution of State and government interests and ensures the realization of the distinction between public service and private service in all sectors of national activity.
There is no denying that Sheikh Hasina is now the leader of all the citizens of Bangladesh. Her government of the immediate future has to ensure that power and hunger for more resources does not become an end in itself. Protecting the status quo from all challenges must not become the prime activity of the government. Devoting the energy and resources of the establishment for solving people's problems and maintenance of order in the society should be the main focus of the rulers as against the ignoble use of government machinery to keep the rival claimants to power in check.
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