Reform the police

What needs to be built up is the citizens' forum for awareness campaigns (as we have in the other sectors--food, hunger, poverty, anti-smoking, gender discrimination, health, etc). This is a sensitive area (politically), hence perhaps the NGOs avoid the issue (fear of lathi charge?!)

The police are misused by the political parties and/or autocratic regimes in power in the third world countries; and Bangladesh is no exception (the toddler-crawling effect). The rulers are aware of it, and side-track the reforms, on various masterly and passionate pleas to public conscience. Oratory and eloquence occupy high places in our cultural evaluation index!

It is the attitude of the players, the regulators, and the referees involved in the game of policing a society. Decades of dubious practices have turned the evil game into a bad culture, with deep roots; and now it is very difficult (needs a mini-revolution) to uproot the system, when politics itself is unstable. The motivation is simple, but distorted: first the survival of the party--the nation comes second! That explains the hate campaigns of our netas.

The critics have to list the various tools and methods the political parties use to achieve their immediate goals, and come up with draft reforms, pointing out the misuse of the police force. The commissioning of Commissions is not the end game, as mere paper reports stacked in files serve no end. There are two weak areas: lack of political will; and absence of continuity.

Politics based on hate campaigns are anti-people crimes, with no avenues open for redress. Answer: choose the right MPs. How? There are many slips between the cup and the lips. The vicious cycles, and closed circles, (more than one in different locations) have to be smashed. The current limping political leaders cannot do it, as they depend on past names; and cannot stand on their own feet, independently. Our bony structures need too much cushioning effect!

On the other hand, fat has spongy effect, and absorbs garbage also. Three decades is a long period (more than one generation) for finding solutions. But, in under-developed countries there is time delay: the have nots in the society interfere inside the core circles; and the bad effects spill out marginally, and discourage mass movements from millions living around the poverty-line. The minorities rule, and the super minority in the inside circles dominate (the other name is the ruling class).

There is another factor: our high density of population (around 1,000 citizens per sq km--- the highest in the world, based on the small size of Bangladesh). It creates political Brownian movement. Watch the parameters of a kitchen market in metro Dhaka: how every square foot of space is grabbed by hawkers, peddlers and vehicles (not to speak of beggars).

Then there is the waiting period (for the start of a new movement). Activists need a minimum reserve stock for contingencies. The staying power or stamina is poor, both in the politicians and in the critics.

There we are, with under-developed resources, to develop the right resources!