The truth about democracy… Bangladesh style

As the dates 18 or 28 were in the air, it seems we may have settled with 29 (at least for the immediate meantime). I fear that another number may juggle itself into the circus that our political arena has become – only question is whether it will it be a 12 or 1?

One thing that looks so certain but doesn’t get said is that December or January, whichever way it plays out we need to find the right month (and date) when both parties can win. The point that these highly-intellectual advisers of the present interim (albeit, comfortably stretched) government and the appalled people in the Election Commission is missing is that in a reformed democracy – such as the kind we are hatching in Bangladesh, under the auspicious guidance of Sheikh Hasina Wajed and Begum Khaleda Zia – it is only a democracy when their respective party wins… which is what the ‘janagan’ wants in the first place.

Simple.

Now this situation would obviously baffle the average thinking person, who is clearly by that definition not part of the ‘janagan.’ So the time is right, again, for the average non-thinking person – the ‘janagan’ – to bring the party back in power.

It would seem that the very fact that we are looking at shenanigans (for want of a better term) that are slowing down the transition to the democratic process in the name of democracy is ludicrous to the nth degree! But that is only true for the average thinking person – but since the ‘janagan’ (which the average thinking person is not a part of) is ‘evolved’ and inline with reformed democratic principle, this delay is part of the evolution.

The simple heart of the matter is that should Party ‘A’ win the elections, it is not only a reflection of the resounding ‘people’s voice’ through the democratic process, but alas reason enough for Party ‘B’ to claim vote rigging and deem the results unacceptable as the ‘people’s voice’ has been stolen! This process is not discriminatory in any way (hence its ‘evolved’ incarnation) on which party actually wins, because the roles (as defined in by the reformed, evolved democracy rules being hatched, and only just being understood, in Bangladesh) are interchangeable. Simply put, should Party ‘B’ win instead, and bark the virtues of the democratic process that has anointed them crediting the roar of the people, it is now accepted (in fact, expected) that losing party can cry foul!

The difficult task at hand, for the perpetrators of the elections is finding a date when both parties can win and claim the prize. Again to the thinking person, it would be difficult to imagine such a possibility, which is why the country needs to go back in the hands of the non-thinking person for the sake of the ‘janagan.’

It is a moot point that it only is because it is the ‘people’ who are corrupt and underhanded, that our misunderstood leaders have entered into the muck and grime of corruption to sway the people back from the dark influences. Our misunderstood leaders have defaced their pure character for the love of the people. Only now is it evident that the very politicians that we have thrown in jail for corruption are the very politicians that are our true saviours – clearly they have proven their virtue and sincerity by the number of times that have performed the sacred Hajj (again for the blessing of the long suffering ‘janagan’ against the intellectual tyranny of the thinking person).

That we have been blessed by the gracious acquiesce of the apa of one party against a backdrop of defiance of the madam from the other is but democracy at work. Hartals, strikes, the ability to take up arms and sharp implements, burn cars and create havoc on the streets are only manifestations of an evolved democracy at play; the fragile democracy of opposition and mayhem, against the sinister plot for complacency and parliamentary debate. After all, our valued leaders have been elected to represent their god-ordained interests on the streets (that the ‘janagan’ wishes them to have) rather than debate in the interest of constituency and Constitution. Only a fool still clinging on to the misguided virtues of western-style democracy would think otherwise.

History has taught us that strikes and bandhs have pushed the British, and then the Pakistanis, out of the country… it has been these true and tested political tools that have subjected governments to topple and crippled their economies. Any one knows that a government that claims itself as pro-people and patriotic would rather step down than subject the economy to any more battering! A test by acid, indeed; one that subsequent governments have been put to test by the worthy opposition but have failed, to their shame.

The nation has had to suffer over the last two years, first the price of essentials were allowed to escalate beyond what economics would have us believe (because the government has allowed syndicates from BOTH parties to rule the markets and profit – when it was clear by the parties concerned that only ONE should have been allowed to); the country has passed in a state of emergency, and has proven difficult for a restless (jobless) people, accustomed to spontaneous mayhem on the street and blocked roads, to send their children to school and not have to worry about untoward incidents – to say nothing about no loss of the work week! (Thankfully, the all-supportive ‘janagan’ has risen to the occasion and created a bit of havoc once in awhile.)

But seriously…

The country has undergone several piecemeal changes – to debate the good or bad of those changes is irrelevant at this point, more so because after all the changes and reforms we are exactly where we were. I see no reason that the heads of the respective parties can still hold a nation to ransom owing to the ineptitude and cowardice of leader-followers who should know better.

Both leading parties have experienced politicians who probably have more political acumen and depth than the leader they wish to follow… yet for some inexplicable reason (hardly that really, since they are in it because they want to be ministers and feel that the legacy of the great departed leader runs far richer than their collective contributions to that legacy), they toe the line.

What is fascinating is that despite the allegations of corruption against these leaders, the time they have spent in jail on account of those allegations, has paradoxically, brought them back from political death. Suddenly we have them calling the shots again – with one only backing the present government and the elections because she thinks that she will win and the other protesting against an uneven playing field and calling to defer the elections simply because she thinks that she will lose.

To make matters worse we have them both trumpeting that the rules of the games – which allowed the morally and socially corrupt to contest the elections – remain unchanged in the name of democracy and fair play. What is more fascinating is also that now BOTH leaders are suggesting possibilities of vote rigging! (This may be of course to account for why they may lose the elections – after all it can’t possibly be their fault – and so that the people are prepared to see democracy at work and the streets are on fire immediately after the votes are in.)

In the end, whether it be 18, 28, 29, 12 or 1, however the numbers are juggled, sadly (as far as this thinking man is concerned) the ball is destined to fall but the circus is far from over.

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.