The politician-goon connection

Agitational dimension and muscle power
Political activities, partly on account of historical factors, have assumed a dominant agitational character. Over the years, since after liberation and more particularly during the anti-autocracy movement in the eighties, leading to the fall of the military dictatorial regime in December 1990, political protests demanded crude physical courage from the field level activists of the political movement. As the dictatorial regime primarily depended on brute power and looked towards non-political quarters for its sustenance, it did not bother about the excessive use of force by the state apparatus. It had no qualms in utilising dangerous goons to intimidate and if necessary liquidate political party workers and leaders. A section of the law enforcement personnel, sadly turned out to be a willing partner in such patently illegal acts.

All in all, the political scenario became so desperate and menacing that only the very physically brave and intensely committed workers could dare to take to the streets to face the insensitive actions of a despotic government nearly bordering on megalomania.

One may recall the tragic death of Dr Milon in late November 1990 in Dhaka. This death was the result of the then government's letting loose of veteran criminals, at times from prison, by means of shady deals executed through so-called political operatives. Although this modus operandi did not succeed in quelling the political movement, it left a deep scar and doubt on the bona fides and propriety of accepted political protests of a constitutional democracy. The sad and bitter memory left behind was one of a government or authority that did not care a bit about legality and civility, and the anaesthetising conviction that organised violent counter-action with readiness to sacrifice life and property, was the only alternative to effect political change.

It does not take a discerning observer of the socio-political scene to be convinced that under circumstances as narrated herinbefore, it is quite difficult for the saner and more sensible elements of the young population to join movements for social change. Since nature abhors a vacuum, it is only practical that vacancies resulting from the unwillingness of the desired lot are automatically filled in by the ill-motivated desperados. The situation turns vicious and the training ground for constitutional politics witnesses detestable wheeling-dealing. Brawn takes precedence over brain at the formative years. No wonder, therefore, that our national level politics gets afflicted by this syndrome.

Violence and the organised sector
Undeniably, the two most conspicuously organised segments of our population, namely the students and labour, particularly the industrial ones, exercise a disproportionately huge influence on the political process of the country. That such influence has been called disproportionate will be borne out by the sheer numerical strength of the above two groups as against the total population that has many other professional or special interest groups within its fold, but whose utilitarian or nuisance value (whichever way one may like to describe) is not felt by the suffering public.

The influence, positive or negative, of students and labour on national life is felt by all. There is, thus, a desperate effort to rise and cling to positions of authority in student and labour organisations. This is natural as these two outfits are found to be frontal and instrumental in achieving the so-called political objectives through confrontationist and agitational postures and actions. In such a scheme and under situation as obtaining in our environment, rash and indiscreet elements would obviously receive preference compared to sober and saner elements.

Coming to specifics, one may dare say without fear of contradiction that gone are the days when a potential student leader was mostly one of the top-notchers intellectually and was credited for high moral standards. He was honourably different and could draw respect and admiration. We now see student leaders who are more known for their knowledge and application of the use and misuse of fire arms and are adept at negotiation delicacies of tendering process and maintaining liaison with shady non-students. There is virtually no effort to discourage such immoral practices and in course of time these tainted youngsters turn into promoter-distributors of illegal favours and mature as politicians.

The less we say about the labour and the industrial sector the better. It would be proper, for reasons of space, to only highlight the nearly-criminal operations of the transport sector. The labour leaders and the transport owners relish the reality that they can bring the government to its knees and are never found wanting in flexing their muscles, howsoever detrimental that could be to public interests. There is an unseemly scramble for the leadership in transport sector and there is preponderance of doubtful persons in transport operations. On account of its leverage in terms of money and organised manpower with impact on mainstream political and economic activities, politicians have resorted to unethical and irregular practices to retain control here. The politician-goon connection is perhaps at its peak in this area.

Political protest, the quarantine and the goon
It is a sad commentary on our political reality that howsoever eloquent we may be on the subject, freedom of speech, assembly and movement, we can be the worst of autocrats when under a clear democratic dispensation the government of the day would not allow assembly and protest gatherings of opposition political party to venture beyond the immediate confines of party office. The untenable scenario is that the government would not issue prohibitory orders restricting or banning assembly of persons, but would transmit verbal order to embarrassed law enforcement personnel to virtually quarantine the opposition elements in a limited space.

In an exasperating situation as above, there is a desperate and frantic bid to defy the authority and such defiance requires lot of raw physical courage in addition to hardship and endurance. Clearly, such functions can be effectively performed by those who have a greater gift of the brawn. These may sound funny but are field realities with which the political operatives of the opposition are grappling. Breaking the ban or being able to defy the quarantine is considered a very important achievement. The goons are no small players in this game. One has to be in the thick of the happenings to feel the pulse of the men, matter, and movements.

Criminals and the electoral process
It is now generally accepted that the election-oriented political culture provides incentive to illegal practices. During elections, large amounts of unaccounted money come into circulation and it has not been possible to effectively halt that.

A large chunk of such money is spent for the musclemen or thugs for whom election time is booming business. Such thugs are required for activities like intimidation of voters, particularly the vulnerable ones, deactivating polling agents, creating tension near election centre to discourage voters from turning out, directly or indirectly keeping the polling booth under control, etc.

There is never a dearth of miscreants for committing such mischief because requisition or demand is there, and as such, supply remains steady on account of ready cash and quick payment. The election-time thugs operate in both urban and rural areas and find it convenient to display their might in centres which do not attract publicity.

In this connection let us remember that casting of vote in our parliament election is completed in one day, for reasons which may be discussed, but the fact remains that in such a situation the miscreants get an edge.

Experts are of the view that it is very difficult to make the electoral politics honest and transparent because display of honesty in such a situation cannot be expected to be spontaneous. Things become explosive when the opponent has musclemen in plenty or controls organised manpower. To illustrate, in our situation a lawyer/doctor/teacher with a reasonable income may find himself in a nerve-shattering experience when he is contesting a transport owner or an industrialist.

Credentials of our politicians
Observers of the political scene are of the view that the personal and professional credentials of the politician is central to the subject under discussion. In this regard, the layman may wonder whether politics is a profession or a vocation or simply a social service. One considered view is that although some political parties may have full-time cadres or workers who are on the party payroll, in a democratic society, politics cannot be a full time occupation. According to this view, while in power, holders of office shall be adequately compensated by the state, although the compensation may not prove to be satisfying for a capable professional. But then that is the price one has to pay for being in public service. The important issue here is that after one ceases to hold power one goes back to the parent profession/occupation. In other words, it is expected that politicians are in definite profession/occupation and have means to support themselves.

How close is our political scene to the proposition described above may be the subject matter of serious discussion. Do we witness people in the political scene whose true sources of income cannot be ascertained? One has to bear in mind that parasitic leadership can neither inspire nor help in the creation of healthy political culture. These issues should be discussed seriously by the political parties themselves because barring honourable exception, politicians with income that can be accounted for command respect. One must add here that simultaneously there must be adequate check to ensure that affluent politicians do not become promoter/protector of vested interests. In order to maintain societal balance it has to be ensured that coterie interests do not dictate the party. One recommendation would be to enlist people of different profession/occupation for the party and to attract educated and honest people to the political mainstream.

Reaching the above goal is extremely difficult because no vested interest will voluntarily make room for others. In our present situation only the bold and strong political leaders can take determined steps that may catapult the educated and honest people out of their somnolence and inertia and inspire them to join the political mainstream. Time has come for a qualitative change in politics, but are we receiving helpful signals from the bold and the innovative? The situation does not generate sufficient hope but we cannot be oblivious of the fact that politics is all pervasive.

Muhammad Nurul Huda is a former Secretary and IGP.