Is Bangladesh running very well? Those who have assumed responsibility for governing have taken charge at a difficult time for the country. Clearing up the mess left behind by fifteen and a half years of Awami League rule and one and a half years of the interim government is extremely complex, and the responsibility for completing this challenging task now rests with the BNP government led by Tarique Rahman. Only 47 days have passed since the government took office. It is not yet possible to say whether it is performing well or poorly. The BNP is a 48-year-old political party with experience in governance, having ruled Bangladesh on five occasions in the past, albeit with intervals.
However, this time it has returned to power after a long gap of 17 years. Large parties that remain out of power for extended periods are often seen to fragment, but this has not happened in the case of the BNP. It is true that most of the party’s experienced leaders from the past are no longer alive. The current BNP government represents a combination of younger and older leaders. Under the Awami League’s prolonged and coercive rule, BNP leaders and activists at all levels were subjected to repression. It is therefore natural that, after coming to power, there may be an urge among them to take revenge against the Awami League and to seize control of areas previously dominated by its leaders and activists. To govern successfully, however, the BNP must tread carefully so that its members do not follow in the footsteps of the Awami League. Above all, national interest must be given priority.
Many years ago, Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States (1913–1921), said that if a political party does nothing in the national interest, how can it be considered a good political party? This observation remains relevant to the governments and political parties of our country at all times. Governments and parties are given the opportunity to serve the nation, yet in the past 55 years, only a small number of them have fulfilled their responsibilities properly. Most political parties have not remained faithful to the commitments they made for the welfare of the country, which is why a 55-year-old independent state still struggles along. Politicians, once in power, have forgotten their promises to the nation and their commitment to uphold and safeguard the Constitution. Intoxicated by power and arrogance, they have become so directionless that they have failed to determine the course the country should take. The American poet Robert Frost wrote in one of his poems, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference.” If one remains steadfast in one’s decisions, one can leave a firm imprint on whichever path one takes. Many political figures have emerged in Bangladesh, contributing in various ways alongside their successes and failures.
However, the misfortune of the nation is that, instead of fostering love for the country, the main rival political parties, in their competition for state power, alternately turn national leaders into heroes or villains, depending on which party is in power. They have divided the entire nation in such a way that no national leader is universally respected. At times they are revered; at other times they are harshly criticised and even despised. When in power, a party glorifies its own departed leaders; when out of power, rival parties diminish the contributions of those leaders to such an extent that even their good deeds are portrayed as acts against the national interest. This tug-of-war has continued for the past 55 years. Is this prolonged period not sufficient to prove that we remain stubbornly unable to reach consensus even on important national issues? Can the development of the country and nation fall from the sky amid such deep psychological division?
When a personality-centred party comes to power, a flood of praise for that individual begins to flow from all levels of the party, preventing them from recognising their own limitations. Sheikh Mujib could not do so, nor could his daughter Sheikh Hasina. The consequences of this are still visible to the nation. Everyone is adept at preaching the lessons of history, but no one learns from them. Thus, they construct the staircase of their own downfall. Through hard work, strategy and even manipulation, they climb to the pinnacle of power, but through arrogance and the ruthless suppression of opponents, they eventually slip rapidly down that very staircase. They know that this outcome is inevitable, yet they still try to cling to power with all their might. But who has ever been able to prevent the inevitable? Ayub Khan, known as the ‘iron man’ during the Pakistan era, could not. Nor could Bangladesh’s undisputed leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, military ruler Ershad, or the so-called ‘Iron Lady’ Sheikh Hasina. Until the very last moment, in their desire to enjoy the privileges of power, they pushed the country far away from the path of development.
Why do we not learn from history? Because our politicians no longer believe that the people are the source of power. By enticing the public with various inducements and coming to power through their collective strength, most politicians come to regard themselves as the source of power. In their thinking, political beliefs and insight, they see nothing beyond their own achievements. They fail to respect the deepest source of the nation’s collective strength. Unable to comprehend that this power can take many forms, they call into question the very legitimacy of authority through their intoxication with it. They cannot determine whether they use power, or whether power uses them. Because of this failure of understanding, a time comes when the people rise up against politicians—particularly those in power—whom they regard as deceitful, treacherous and corrupt. The English novelist and poet George Orwell, author of the timeless works Animal Farm and 1984, said, “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” To reveal the truth of a political structure repeatedly covered in deception, and to remove deceitful politicians from power, the betrayed public take to the streets. In destroying every symbol built on the arrogance of power and deception, they find a sense of satisfaction in their desire for retribution against the rulers. This has been repeated time and again in Bangladesh. Countless lives have been lost, national assets destroyed, and national unity and cohesion undermined.
Everyone speaks of national unity, consciousness and cohesion. However, political parties use these terms from their own positions and contexts, giving them different meanings and applications. As a result, when any party comes to power, these very words often lead to its arrogance. Due to the persistently conflict-ridden political environment in Bangladesh, most intellectuals, despite wishing for the country’s overall welfare, do not participate in active politics.
Many of them do not even reveal which party they support. Some do not even vote in elections. They believe in the old adage that ‘politics is the last refuge of scoundrels’. They simply hope that whichever party forms the government will work for the country and refrain from plundering it, so that Bangladesh is not described as a ‘bottomless basket’, in the words of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
Author: A senior journalist based in the United States
