Political migration patterns

The political migration patterns also change in a similar way, according to market conditions, since politics has become a business at three levels, international, national, and local. Now a new dimension has been added: religious spices. The tropicalised spices are rather sensitive to the tastes, and evoke extreme reactions. What is happening in Afghanistan and Iraq may not be tropicalised, but the dry and blunt realities have rattled human morality values. The dormant forces released are diversified, and cannot be controlled by single or dual sources, regardless of military clout.

Take a look at the political patterns in Dhaka. The migration pattern became polarized and bipartisan in the 1990s, soon after free general elections were held after more than a decade and a half. Therefore, the migration pattern also becomes polarized.

More and more retired and talented civil service officers started aiming for the political platform, to grab a piece of the pie. Free and gift offers come once in a while; to get rid of unsold stocks, and for competition. Is our politics becoming more competitive?

The outcome is that the bureaucrats today find it difficult to work in a neutral environment, and neutrality has lost its face value. This essential tool of public service is a great handicap for any budding society, because both sides of the coin cannot be presented to the public from a single source. Thus freedom of expression is constricted, and polarized views are encouraged. Those on the other side of the fence have to bear the risk--unnecessarily. How to neutralize this colour spectrum? It is a sort of political colour blindness, and those with colour-blind eyesight can appreciate what it means.

The politicians in power see more colours than the rainbow shows (although the computer is said to differentiate several hundred colour tones); and those in the opposition see less. That is why lingering in the opposition is a boring stance, and we have mantras like the April 30 totka. Good politics should not imitate bad astrology. How many types of fortune hunters are there?

The current trend is debasement of political culture, refined, or crude. Therefore, the political migration pattern is set for a change. The style will depend on the options available in a changing market. That is the problem: ill will cannot be cemented: and good foundations come from goodwill. These contradictions keep the crowded streets of Dhaka busy with political agitation round the year.

Spending huge energy does not mean that the output would be useful (calculate for Iraq, and the price to be paid in Bangladesh, for example, for hoarding black wealth). Suppressing facts and truths cannot last long, and curious peeping Toms are willing to pay the admission price for a diverting show (what happened in US-controlled detention camps in Iraq). The key focus is on private financial stability of those who are playing in the political stock market. The innocent voters are not qualified as players, or spectators, of this crore-pati multi-game.

Earning one's living is a basic human urge. After a certain comfort level is reached, mini-ambitions sprout like mushrooms. These interact with other similar pastures, creating many side business opportunities. Public service provides a ready opening these days, although a bit gray in some areas. The problem is technical: developing capital public assets; and, the maintenance of the same. Not that easy and simple.