Friday 8 December 2006

Divided You Stand; United We Fall

Following is a opinion piece that I had published in the formative years of this century. We were in the midst of the "non-cooperation" movement - a situation not very different from the current series of blockades we have suffered in the name of protecting the "people's rights" and "democracy." Ironically the "non-cooperation" was similarly billed. I think the sentiments are still relevant today.

The spokesman for one party calls it a success, the spokesman for another party calls it a failure. The people calls it farcical, and it is not the recent elections they are talking about.

The term "non-cooperation" when last used was used to send a strong message across nearly a thousand miles. The call was a prologue to the historical six point demand - in 1971, which led to a war. Today the call can be heard again from the same party, but this time could it just lead to a civil war, setting brother against brother, father against son?

As the situation progresses, or in this case deteriorates, no party can claim success or failure with the present political crisis. The shout that the success of the movement is the call of the people or the cry that the people has not supported the call of the movement are all personalized "wet dreams" conjured up by the leadership of the respective political parties in the country.

No contributing member of society should say that he can support either parties in light of the present political situation. People do not bring out their vehicles in a hartal because of the risk of its destruction and the risk to their lives, not because they fully believe in the cause of the opposition. People are attending office not to show support for the government in this period of opposition called "non-cooperation," but because they cannot afford to loose any more working days.

Destruction of property, public or private, is a crime. Not because of the unruliness and chaos it brings but because of the amount of valuable foreign exchange wasted. With the loss of more and more working days and loss of productivity, more and more failed deadlines in the export industries and more and more missed school days, the people of this country are being asked to pay a far heavier price then they can either afford to pay or are willing to pay.

The person making a contribution to society, the person trying to make ends meet, the honest individual who wants nothing more than to live his life are the people who are saying - enough. The political leaders are playing their own game of supremacy in their ongoing struggle to be one step ahead of the "enemy", loosing the true sense of the fight far behind.

The masses supporting the movement have always been delinquents and people who cannot make a contribution to society. The economy does not help, with the growing disparity between the "haves" and the "have nots" an animosity for each other has developed. With the advent of corruption there are a lot of people in the country with amenities that they do not deserve, advantages that are not their due. Because of this the country must undergo intense reform for any headway to be made. But with a reformed and new competent leadership.

The majority of the people in this country are moved by emotions and sentiment, not the black and white of an economic or an ideological platform. A definite lack of formal education among the voters only helps in the confusion. In a country where the voters cast their votes with the recognition of a symbol instead of a rhetoric, democracy is not what needs to be fought for. The leadership of this country must concentrate on encouraging foreign investment, open markets and seeing that the living standards of the people improve.

The leadership is only putting the wool over the masses' eyes, and confusing them with irrelevant ideas in their pursuit for power. With the support of people who do not know better and who do not understand that destruction of property, the killing of people over what is considered ideology differences is pulling the country further down into the doldrums.

The old styled politics of yester-year has to be discontinued immediately for a more intelligent approach to development. Unfortunately, the political culture is still embedded in the politics of nostalgia. Political leaders are still judged for competence with familial ties instead of education or ability. The leader of an mostly uneducated nation must be among the most highly educated, and one with the ability to use that education effectively. Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's Prime Minister until 1990, was the architect of the economic miracle that has increased the Singapore per capita income to US$ 23,000, in just 30 years. The second richest nation in Asia, after Japan, Singapore was officially recognized as a developed country this year.

The present day hot item on the world agenda is democracy for all. Bangladesh in the present day is still too immature to utilize it for the benefit of all its citizens. Democracy comes with liberalization of the economy and with the liberalization of ideas. The people would still prefer to have their thoughts governed.

The majority of the people are more concerned about at least two square meals a day, they do not care for ideas that promise them a better life in the near future. The masses are like small children, only just beginning to venture out into the world. They are not equipped to understand that a little restraint now will promise a consistent uniform country-wide development later. And besides the economy has conditioned them to only think of their own benefit and the benefit of their kin, what matter is it to them of the benefit of people with whom they have no contact.

The country is in need of a positive development in the hands of a leadership that is committed to the good of the nation and not just their own kin. In the twenty-five years of the nation's independence such a leader has yet to rise. Today a larger number of the people in the country are more educated and more cognizant to their environment then the numbers during the independence; today the people are demanding of their rights.

With the growth of industrialization in the country and the export of labour, more and more people in this country are becoming aware that the economic benefits can also be theirs. This industrialization was jump started by industrial investment, and by foreign investors. If the current political trend continues the country will loose what little development that has taken so far, alienating foreign investors and local investment.
further.

The economy has never been the ruling party's to own. It has always been the asset of the nation and its people. The political opposition parties at any given time in the last twenty-five years have attempted to hurt the economy in their bid to hurt the ruling party. The result : An occasional change in the leadership and a failing economy.

The politics of this country has proved farcical to outside observers. The only news that reaches beyond the borders have been negative. News of floods, news of famines, and news of political unrest have saturated the papers abroad. If the political crisis can be averted, then news of development, news of progress and news of social reform can take their place.

The newspapers report that US Congressman Bill Richardson is very excited with his first visit to Bangladesh. Richardson describes Bangladesh as an "important" country and that he will present a "first hand account to the US Congress on Bangladesh." The question is what thoughts does he take back with him?

Time and time again, the political opposition has deliberately attempted to foil any prospect of foreign investment. When the US Trade delegation visited Bangladesh in July of last year, when the British Trade Delegation was in Bangladesh in November of last year, the first thing they witnessed was the day long strikes called by the opposition party. They witnessed that the political nature of the country's political parties to bring the economy to a standstill.
It is small wonder that the leadership do not realize that by subjecting the country to undergo economic and social degradation the task they want to take up of saving the country becomes far more difficult. Ironically, with the political culture of mass destruction and blatant disregard for property that the disillusioned youth of this country are witnessing, the true problems of development is yet to surface.

High drama and the original sin

This article is another from my Daily Star Magazine contributions from the turn of the century 2000. I do believe that history does repeat itself, but I would have thought that history repeats itself after the passing of a generation or two! In Bangladesh we are so possessed with "history" that it seems we repeat ourselves (commentary-wise, at least) every turn of a regime. Read and see that nothing has realy changed in the last six years.

This being an election year it is a year of high drama. A year where it’s termed ‘undemocratic’ that the opposition party says it will win in the same sentence that the party in position ‘democratically’ declares its expected victory. I can understand and condone the statements because an election result in this country has traditionally been only as fair as the party that wins declares it to be. After all each party competes with the tacit understanding that it will only lose if the elections have been rigged! Therefore the forthcoming elections will be both “fair” and “rigged” – the quotes will be attributed according to results. If there is one sure statement that will encapsulate the up-coming election results in a nutshell it is that “the Awami League will not lose; but neither will the BNP.”

There will be a loser in the next elections, and it will sadly be the people who do not feel the need to politicise their day-to-day living. These people choose nothing more than to lead an economically-sound and relatively crime-free existence between work and family (I say ‘relatively’ crime-free, because you can never be too sure of the tax equation). These people are not busy trying to con the upper-hand or milk the ‘connection’, they lead an honest life and pay more than their fair share of dues to society. They are the educated middle-class – a class most countries swear by, a class that builds nations and brings down regimes. Sadly though in this country, they are the forgotten and neglected majority. The brunt of the face-saving hartals and the crime falls on them – they far from the palatable comfort of “easy come easy go” because it has never been “easy come” for them. They are the people who repay their bank loans on time, balance their budgets and report most of their income for taxes.

As another new batch of eligible voters enter the fray, unfortunately they are condemned to live the rest of their natural lives in political turmoil. Given the life expectancy of the average politician and the short-term memory of the average voter, Bangladesh will wallow in the depths of political ineptitude and corruption for still some time to come. The residue of political dregs that will be left in the wake of our current leadership will take years to drain away and die out, leaving in its path scum that will be harder still to wash away. Short of an act of God or the sudden rude awakening of the dreaded and defeated middle class, will the political culture of unaccountability and profit be stopped in its path. As our corrupt leaders bury themselves in the “my turn” cliché of political depravation and the unfounded lust for material accumulation, we people do little more than watch and engage ourselves in nothing more than arm-chair politics of discontentment and belated erudition. The average Bangladeshi is comfortable in its make believe nest of security, we have little desire to upset whatever semblance of balance we dearly hold onto. Historically we have proven to be people who take to the streets for our rights, not anymore. Suddenly we believe we have too much to lose, choosing to forget that we DO have too much to lose with inaction.

The people that the politicians so earnestly speak for is being tried of their patience – the leaders should remember what they try to remind in their rhetoric that the people will rise for their rights if pushed too far. The people want a democracy, but first they must earn it. The only way to understand the value of democracy is through an educated (and civil) electorate. An electorate that is not only willing to listen to others speak but also willing to act on their own judgement. Sadly the people know what should be done and how they should exercise their voting franchise – they however do not protest even in the full knowledge that their ideas have not been respected. Unfortunately, between the AL and the BNP we have a poor choice in leadership. The next elections will most likely be rigged. Either way, like Zimbabwe, the present ruling party will win and stand in front of their people and declare their allegiance. Unfortunately, when the time comes we will fail to remember to ask what (or who) they are alleging to.

Good governance comes from good leaders, and good leaders from good people. Just as “a nation deserves the leadership it gets”, we deserve whatever future lies in wait for us under the “able” leadership of the two bickering matriarchs of hate and displaced egocentricism. What more can we expect from a democracy run by parties that do not believe in democracy from within.

The original sin of politics in this country has sprouted from the fact that voters are mesmerised with icons and images that outlive its use. Just as Shiekh Hasina, in all her “good” intentions, will be unable to retire from active politics because the “people” will not let her, Khaleda Zia will not be far behind in that her “people” will not follow the BNP without her leadership. Meanwhile the people will wonder as to who has “betrayed” them and are actually stopping these two ladies from stepping down.

This land is your land, this land is her land. Whatever happened to our land?

What I find astonishing about re-reading some of my earlier work is that the political stalemate that we are experiencing has been going on for longer than we realise. Below is an article I wrote in early 2001 (again published in the Daily Star Magazine) that is as relevant in today as it was all those years ago. While we switch the BNP with the AL and vice versa, we are not making any headway. It is shocking that not one word has been changed and I could be serving this article as if I wrote it yesterday. Read this and know why it is imperative that we TAKE BACK BANGLADESH!

History is being made as we speak, the political leadership of this country have decided to discuss and arrive at a compromise to, ironically, put a stop to this impasse.

The question that enters the mind is that will this be it. Will this be the increasingly crucial direction change, so that the country under the existing politicians can make some headway in economic and social development?

However, the fact that the situation had come to be as bad as this, that the only way out was to arrest the economy is something of concern. Have the political leaders, opposition and otherwise, considered it more important in the last several months to overlook the suffering of the common man and the economy in their pursuit of the most powerful office in the country?

As any cognizant self-respecting person will attest, it did seem like that was indeed the case. The real concern is whether this was actually what had happened? But to put it simply, if it looked like an apple, smelt like an apple and tasted like an apple, it probably was an apple.

Now with a leadership that has proved that its interest lies in the office and not too much beyond that, is it prudent to allow the discussion to be held without the direct supervision of a neutral body representing the real interest of the economy? Is this to mean that the political leadership cannot be trusted to cut a fair deal? A fair deal for themselves, yes. For the people, some have their doubts.

In the last few months of this stalemate, the papers have been reporting murders committed in the name of the party. One party accuses the other of terrorism when both are equally responsible for it. We have "evolved" in our political thinking to take up weapons and participate in political action to kill people for subscribing to a different political belief. And the leadership just sits back and watches the killings and chalks it down as a price to pay for democracy!

What kind of a leadership is this, that cannot control the very people that support them? Murder is murder, no matter who is in prime minister's chair. It is a pity that it is the destiny of the people to subscribe to a leadership that does not seem to take any responsibility for the political atrocities committed by their own party members.

How can a political leader scream for justice for the killing of one member but remain silent upon seeing the carnage left behind by another? This eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth retaliation politics once out of control, assuming that it is under control, will surely remove any threat of true democracy that this country may eventually undergo.

It is time for the people to take back the country, not under the diction of any of the present leaders but under new leadership. The people have been fooled long enough, there is no gain from nostalgia. The past is past, by clinging onto the emotions of days once were we are losing the chance to make the most of the now.

If we continue on the path of nonproductive, retaliatory politics that has been played out so far, Bangladesh will be left far behind in the economy boom cycle that it rippling through South east Asia. Vietnam, a nation in economic turmoil for the last several decades, is opening up its markets and raking in the benefits of foreign investment and industry. And if we lose any more of our share of our export industries due to failed deadlines, the economic loss may be too large to makeup.

In light of these facts we still have politicians bickering over whose turn it is to "drive." What matter is it who is on the seat of government if the economy is strong and the nation is prospering. In the last few weeks the constitution has been the center of attention, the point of contention among the politicians. Since the document has to be amended, why not ensure checks and balances that keeps any one individual from amassing too much power and too much wealth.

Checks and balances and a leadership that is accountable to the judiciary. The politicians talk about their right to power, why not the people's right to have good government and their right to have the option of changing government after each term.

The leadership have made clear their demands, but what right do they have to put a city to ransom if those demands are not met? The newspapers quote opposition members threatening to burn down a certain city if their mayor isn't released. Where is the democracy? Where is the right to choose?

In a country that seems starved for a little democracy and a band of political parties competing to be the one to bring it, we should see a little democracy being played in the hallways of the parties themselves. Let the current leadership bow down and hand over the torch to more competent members, it is time that a little inside election is held to see if the political elite support their chairperson wholeheartedly. The idea is that the political party and not a political person is more important. A party stands behind ideology, the person chosen to carry out that ideology should be the person considered the most capable.

The leadership in the last few years have lost the support of the up and coming generation. A generation more concerned about development and more attuned to the state of the world and view Bangladesh in that context.

As a developing country, the responsibility we face is higher. We are expected to meet technology head-on where previously there was none. Literally from quill pens to super computers in the last ten years. Similarly, the responsibility that falls on the leader of a developing country is much higher. A person must be attuned to the vibes of the world and the directional winds changes of the economy to handle the job. Meanwhile our politicians have spent all that time foiling each other's feeble attempt to progress.

The people need a good government and an opposition to police it for the country to prosper. Opposition parties must not take the fight to the streets and encourage violence and anarchy to ridicule the ruling party. When government property is lost, lost is national assets not the personal property of any individual; lost is valuable foreign exchange that could be put to better use.
The majority of the people in this country have volatile emotions and with the economy as bad as it is and unemployment on the rise because no new investment is taking place, the country has a lot of people hurting. Harnessing all these negative emotions for destruction, is only a short term "gain," such behaviour if allowed to continue results in a crime problem that is not just the governments alone. Yet this simple thought appears to evade the political leadership, or aren't they attuned to what is happening?

Branded for life

The article is again one of my prior published items in the Daily Star Magazine and comments on youth craze for anything branded. It may appear a tad sour grapes to those who live (and dress) by the brand name. I for one can't say that I do not own anything with a premium brand name, I will, however, be the first to admit that is not my sole decision making criteria. An oblique take on the affects of easy, unearned money and the growing brigade of brat packs.

“Consumerism thy name is youth” – stand corrected Mr. Shakespeare. These days it’s not what you “are” but what you’re “in” that counts more. Image is the sole of youth existence. The morning ritual starts with hot scalding shower – if you don’t have to wipe the mirror with a thick towel when you’re done, it’s not hot enough! Lather with nothing less than a branded soap, separate herbal-extract brand-name shampoo and conditioner as part of the diurnal hair wash ritual, a quick roll of the choice-brand anti-perspirant under the arms, a lightning trigger spray of the choice “scent”. Finally a run of mousse through the hair and a casual (but cool) brush back and you’re set…

Set to get into designer briefs that oh so delicately oozes that “only-I-know” charm. Pull on designer casuals and tuck in the shirt – carelessly tucked but careful enough to leave the brand name exposed to all those who care to check (like you would be caught in the open with anything less!).

The cashier tills all over this city are jangling with the cold and the hard as youth makes its mark. Nothing is worth having anymore unless it carries a name that commands respect among peers. ‘CK’, ‘Ralph’, ‘Polo’, ‘Nike’ (call it like you know how it supposed to be called), ‘Reebok’, ‘Adidas’ are either first name associations or intimate friends. Local brands are not doing badly either – the Artisti Collection (the ooh la la of dress shirts manufactured locally) is followed closely by Cat’s Eye, Monsoon Rain and Westec’s own line of apparel. As more and more international brands and their fake cousins flood the market place with trendy all-glass storefronts and expensive spot lighting – the youth are drawn like moth to the flame.

If it’s priced more and carries ‘the’ name (or vice a versa, for that matter) it is bought out right. The average shelf life of a branded shirt is probably less than that of a cube of sugar in an ant colony! Suddenly the name sells more items to people than the prices deter. Priced right is simply priced high. With money to burn and expendable income in the hands of people too young to hold a job, the cost of money takes on a different value.

The innocence of youth allows for individualism in uniformity where everything they wear or spray on themselves is in line with their undeclared conformity. Like teen wolves they gather in packs indistinguishable except for brand-preferences. Packs that are ruthless to the non-believer and deferential to the ‘one-up’.

This brand preference sweeps through everything that the youth imagine or use. Although the perfumes, colognes, clothing and footwear are the obvious examples, but the brand attraction seeps into unlikely items like pens, computers (here brand is not as important as configuration, power and speed), and automobiles. Who ever first said, “size doesn’t matter” wasn’t speaking for the gallant (pretentious) youth. In this group a foreign brand is a preferred brand and the local brand has no place. Logic dictates why buy local when you can buy foreign and then extends to why buy foreign if you don’t buy brand.

The marketplace is testament to this wave as new shops come out with brand written all over them. With the youth exposed to multi-channel fashion statements (from across the border to over the oceans) at the press of a button, consumerism and brand statements are at an all time peak. In the rush for brand some lose themselves in phonetics, after all isn’t “Reid & Tailor” the same “Reid & Taylor” as worn by Bond. A classic example, if there ever was one, of the phenomenon that if you can’t bond with the best, it’s still best to bond (with the brand association).

The prudent question to ask these days is that although you can always look good in any old thing, can you carry the brand statement? The youth are united and the brand lives strong.

The politics of killing politics

The following article was written several years ago (circa 2000) and was published in the Daily Star magazine. Note that the political climate documented is when Sheikh Hasina Wajed, Bill Clinton and Atal Vajpayee were at the head of their respective countries as PM, President and PM respectively. While the sentiments expressed at the time was urgent, I find it astonishing that the climate has little changed and I hold on to the sentiments with the same kind of ferocity- in the mood of the call of the day it is ripe time to TAKE BACK BANGLADESH!

Although not a regular name on the pages of this magazine, I have proved very regular with my penmanship irregularity. Personally I prefer to write lighter pieces where my sense of humour (what little I possess) comes forth rather than rabid frothy rage articles of how things are faring politically. In fact, so disgusted am I with what my fingers in collaboration my brain have spun out of late, I have condemned those venom afflicted write-ups to the infernal “unfinished” folder on my desktop! Sadly this exercise in self-restraint has only plunged my ever-so-gentle persona into a raging, bitter, haggard and heavy mind-set. It appears that I have destined to become the dreaded over-achiever pessimist when it comes to the future of this great (decaying) land of ours.

I must admit that I am astounded with the staggering amount of ‘loath’ that I have coursing through my finger-tips as I watch in trance-like motion the words flying – trying to desperately keep up with my uncontrolled nocturnal emissive thoughts. It’s not that I hate this country, but that I hate what this country is becoming. The wrong people are at the helm – these wrong people are making the wrong decisions for the wrong reasons. The newspapers scream of wrongful deaths in the half-dozens, one political party accuses the other of pro-Pakistan sentiments, while the other accuses the first for pro-India. I ask you which of them are pro-Bangladesh!

In my previous write-ups I have made no statements that in retrospection may read as ambiguous – clearly I have no fond feelings (personal, political or respectful) for either the two ego-tripping lady birds of kin worship. Without any doubt their agenda will serve little but their own needs and the needs of those who have chosen to selfishly stand by them in positions of power. The nation’s wealth is being siphoned out slowly, the hundi business is in business to expatriate dollars – these are rarely yours or mine. Think about it.

The elections are due next year. If we had an alternative leader, I would be campaigning to vote the two ladies ‘out’ not ‘in’. Problem is, if not them then who do you vote for. Unfortunately no decent man (or woman) is in the race to power possession. I say vote for new leadership within the party. We need educated leaders not leaders whose claim to education is questionable. These women demonstrated their right to be the biggest gender-degrading statement ever, they have single handedly (each in her own right) taken the women’s liberation movement in this country back many hard-earned steps!

Politics has taken a ludicrous turn, corruption has been “controlled” to now be available at the grassroots level. Every shred of human decency has been abandoned for a piece of the gravy train. Restaurants are serving dog meat in lieu of lamb, burnt engine oil is used to give certain edible oils that zing, puffed rice is fried in urea for whiteness, horse feed is imported and sold in the open market for human consumption… the list goes on. Given the kind of people we have become, Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina are the right kind of leaders. But for the morally righteous, which I would like to believe comprises of the majority in this country, the BNP and the AL need new heads.

As each party accuses the other of corruption and unhanded deals, the words of the Christian Lord Jesus rings loosely “let the person who has not sinned cast the first stone.” The BNP is not more corrupt as the Awami League. Bad vibes emit from the two parties, nothing good can come to the country under the auspices of the ladies that never were. Even when we see we see nothing and look to religion to console our state, disastrously the lesson we chose to follow is not “mind thy brother” but “turn the other cheek”. As a people we are being walked all over like a cheap carpet laid over a busy intersection – walked over any which way.

From the beginning this essay was destined to be caustic and spitting of miasma (look it up), but then this essay can be more than that. It can be a practical example of what is theoretically possible in politics – it can turn around about face. You see, things are not as bad as they seem. Yes the political situation is rather bad at the moment, but national development is like a two-dimensional plane where there is only an up and a down. Like the laws of physics, what goes up must come down and hence the reversal is also true. The country may appear to be rock bottom, but things can only look up. Just as Mother Nature abhors a vacuum, politics abhors bad political culture. Like Frankenstein’s monster bad political culture, if allowed to gestate quietly, will eventually destroy its own maker.

The leadership and the respective cronies are busy making the hay as the sun shines, but if history of person-kind is anything to go by the weatherman promises incessant rain. Just as our Prime Minister invites her own demise by pushing for extradition rights from the United States, our former prime minister invites her own political end by refusing to see beyond her nose. The ladies surround themselves with advisers as garnish – their sole obsession it seems is with the chair and keeping their respective bottoms as close to it as they possibly can. Bangladesh is a country like no other in the world, not only is it surrounded by a single region-domineering country but its economy is essentially powered by the begging bowl. Nothing will get done (or has been done since independence) that is independent from either the interests of our neighbour or the credit line. There are so many strings attached that its can be safely said that ironically it is those strings that are holding this nation up!

Clinton says “bravo Bangladesh for democracy” only as long as the gas is concerned. Vajpayee calls for transit only as long the industries of his nation are served a 120-million man market on the ride back. Politically this country is a dead entity, no amount of foreign affairs planning can be done at this point to counter the actions of the what will be. Whether we like it or not, the gas is not ours to do as we please. As the nation goes deeper into debt it will be “suggested” that the only way out would be a “lucrative” gas export deal.

The future of this country is beyond what Begum Zia or Sheikh Hasina can deliver. If the leaders wish to demonstrate an inkling of the patriotism they claim in their hearts, they should retire and call it a day. The money is in their bank; now if only our votes would come in…