Time to pause and think

Admittedly in democracy it is the people's right to go out in the open and stage protests and street agitations to realize their demands and seek redress of their grievances, but I think the time has now come to pause and think about the nature and the extent of certain aspects of our protests on the streets and public places. Without going into the merits and demerits of the issues at stake I am afraid we have driven matters too far. The recent events of breaking cars and damaging of public property in the heart of the city, the breaking of several garment factories in Savar, the incident in Shanir Akhara, all tell a story, a story that makes me both sad and highly concerned. Are we advocating anarchy? This is one of the worst of times in the life of our nation and hence we should proceed with extreme caution and care in dealing with the situation. BNP may come and go and so may Awami League, but the fact remains that Bangladesh is here to stay for all times to come. Today, any one who dares call him a patriot must make all out efforts to stop all such acts of vandalism.

The state in which our country is today, it will take years for it to recover. I hope our aspirants to the seat of power in the coming elections do realize the fact that it will take more than a magic wand to put things right and proceed ahead. Most of our vital institutions of governance are in a shambles, the law enforcing agencies, the education, the bureaucracy you name it. It is also time to consider the fact that all the political parties since Independence, including the major Opposition party had progressively contributed to the process of this decline.

If we are to salvage this country we should urgently consider de-politicizing the entire society that is beset with and enveloped in biased political thinking. Slowly and surely in the name of building political awareness what is happening is that, the people at large are led into cauterized and partisan thinking, particularly by the two major political parties.

It is indeed time to sit back and seriously consider taking some hard decisions by our political leadership. It is high time that the political leadership, the intellectuals, members of the civil society put their heads together to reconsider the role of the partisan student bodies affiliated with various political parties. Admittedly, it was traditionally the student community, which was at the forefront of all our major democratic movements including our war of independence, but it must be said now that perhaps they have outlived their purpose. I strongly recommend that if not anything else all parties should put a moratorium on the activities of their affiliated student bodies for at least a period of five years.

The state of our bureaucracy is in total shambles. As it is with the departure of the erstwhile CSP cadres the operational capacity of our present bureaucracy has been reduced to its lowest rung ever. It is thus high time that all, the intellectuals, members of the civil society, the various groups of professionals, come out in the open and condemn any form of politicization of the civil service. Civil servants from here onwards, whether in service or out of service, should be completely barred from indulging in active politics at least for a period of five years after their retirement from service. If need be the rules of civil service should be revised to make this into a law.

As we proceed we find that there remain much to be said about our judiciary. Today the sanctity of the judiciary is at stake. Lawyers with their partisan roles have made the court premises places for holding all kinds of public meetings and processions. The administration has further weakened its foundations by continuous flouting of court orders and directives. Day by day the Judiciary as an institution is becoming weaker. At the forefront of this process of weakening of our Judiciary lies our irresponsible political leadership. As one keeps thinking of the state of our Judiciary, one is reminded of the famous statement made by Blaise Pascal about an ideal system of Judiciary which is worth quoting here, and which our lawmakers would do well to carefully take note of. He says, " Justice without power is inefficient; power without justice is tyranny. Justice without power is opposed because there are always wicked men. Power without justice is soon questioned. Justice and power must, therefore, be brought together, so that whatever is just may be powerful, and whatever is powerful may be just". We would also do well to remember that in the final analysis what is of vital importance is Justice and not the judges.

Of late a band of wrongdoers allegedly under instigation of what many describe as "conspiratorial and under instigation from external elements" are out to destroy our major window of excellence in the industrial sector, the readymade garments industry (RMG). The agitating garment workers have carried out a war like ravage in which a good number of factories have been set ablaze and properties worth millions have been gutted. Referring to the incident while seeking protection of their investments the Korean Community of Investors said that, " most of the violence was being created by thugs from outside EPZs and not factory workers."

For a while I too was extremely agitated with government's inaction and failure and in all honesty was considering myself very much a part of the various street agitations and protest marches What is happening in the name of protest marches is nothing but leading the nation to anarchy. I therefore feel that I cannot be a party to this unbridled free for all violence and vandalism on the streets no matter what. Today I am also reminded of that famous saying, " Democracy is often tyranny by the majority." I am afraid slowly and surely we are stepping into a mob culture of the worst form and I do not wish to be a party to it, now or ever.

Shamsher Chowdhury is a freelance contributor of The Daily Star.