The assassinated leader

The politicians are unable to deliver public services (in Dhaka, and elsewhere in the world) due to the current polluted atmosphere, which has now become murkier with the introduction of violence, terrorism, and religious extremism. The latter is ruled by the heart, and the politicians are supposed to be ruled by the head. There is no discipline in politics, and the ruling regimes are dominated by the political leaders, many of whom are suspected (by the public at large) as being hidden godfathers to ghastly crimes and unethical practices, operated through the backdoors. The political leadership is unclean, and non-transparent, hence the question of the development of the society (and the country or nation) becomes a moot point. When the footprint is small, the majority of the coverage area is excluded; and self-discipline disappears. How to measure the losses we are paying as compensation for more than three decades?

It would not be surprising if the politicians were not allowed (by circumstances) to come into power during the next change. This change could be sudden and unforeseen. It is an old, tried formula, which is triggered automatically, as history reveals.

Our political parties in power get smug and autocratic; while those in the opposition indulge in arm-chair political activity, putting the whole burden of the activities (like hartal) on the masses. It has become a proxy syndrome. What is the difference between kick-back and fall-out?

The oppressed people are not only losing faith in political leadership, but in politics itself. It is a dangerous symptom--losing faith in public institutions.

How to attract the right type of personalities to public service? Self-effacement is not the current style in showmanship. We are making our new elevated highways earthquake proof. How to contain evil political vibrations?

We are very much upset at some recent incidents in Bangladesh such as the killing of Ahsanullah Master, grenade attack on August 21 and the recent killing of SAMS Kibria. We heard so many interpretations of these events; some are blaming the fundamentalists, some are blaming the BNP and some are blaming the Awami League. Police and other investigators looked for evidences. They are reported to have identified a local BNP leader in Tongi as the main accused in the Ahsanullah murder case. As for the killing of Kibria, police claimed that they found some clues after arresting some local BNP activists. Ahsan Ullah Master was perhaps killed because he was a very popular leader in the area and his opponents thought that it would not be possible to defeat him in the coming election. The same may be true about the killing of Mr. Kibria. But police could not find any clue of the August 21 carnage. It was obvious that Sheikh Hasina was the target.

Let's now talk about the grenade attacks on British High Commissioner, on cinema halls, rural festivals, Ramna and Udichi. Recently, police arrested 12 Bangla Bhai associates in Natore. These people have some ideology based on their interpretation of Islam. They describe cultural activities as un-Islamic and they are determined to resist such activities. They are also determined to resist NGOs which are the main force behind emancipation of women in the rural areas.

I am not a supporter of any particular party. My above analysis is based on reports published in newspapers, especially The Daily Star.

I hope that the culprits will be caught and punished.

Nazmul Hasan 677 Kings Road, Oshawa Ontario, Canada