Shamsul Alam in London
Not long ago, in an editorial in one of the British national newspapers quoted a story about George Bernard Shaw’s encounter with a famously attractive socialite of the day with whom he was sharing a dinner table at some social do. After some small talk, Shaw asked the socialite whether she would be prepared to go to bed with a man if she is offered half a million pounds.The socialite replied saying it depends on who the person is.Following some more small talks, Shaw asked the socialite again, “would you go to bed for ten pounds?” This made the socialite burst out in anger saying,“ what do you think I am?”. Shaw quietly replied – “that has already been established and all I am doing now is haggling about the price”. I shall return to the story in a short while.
Modesty prevents me to beat my own drum loud in respect of my humble contribution to bring in the Human Rights Law into the British legal system. It is on record that I was the mover of the motion on Human Rights in the Labour Party’s Annual conference in Brighton in 1989 – the first time such a motion was debated in the Labour Party Conference to bring in an Act of Parliament to enshrine HumanRights. The labour Government, to its credit, did put in the Human Rights legislation on the Statute Book in Britain when it won the General election in 1997. Many on the political Right does not like it and, from time to time, some Right wing MPs in the Westminster Parliament flex their muscles to amend the Act to limit its scope and thereby frustrate its essence.
Joker in the pack
As I have an abiding interest in the subject, I do keep an eye to any move to modify the Act. The above mentioned editorial, if my memory serves me right, was cautioning the Parliament saying that once the principle of Human Rights is compromised, it can be whittled away – lock, stock and barrel. The move to amend the Act has been dropped for the time being.
Without much ado, let me come to the point. I recently returned to England from Bangladesh after spending sometimes doing some voluntary works in the field of education in a deep rural area.Many Bangladeshi diasporas settled in Britain like me goes to visit Bangladesh around winter time but most didn’t go this time fearing winter of discontent and serious turmoil. Their frequent queries and that of some of my British friends with huge goodwill towards Bangladesh ever since the days of the struggle for independence: how Democracy is doing in Bangladesh? In answer, I start by telling the above story of George Bernard Shaw.
Democracy is neither well nor working in Bangladesh. Sheikh Hasina led present government is in office through a pervert democratic process accountable to nobody. Like the socialite in the Shaw story, both the leader and the Parliament are devoid of any credibility. More than half the total number of members of the ‘parliament‘ walked in unelected and they are in it because they were the ruling party’s nominee,filled in their candidature’s form correctly and deposited the required fee. The government-appointed ‘opposition‘ is increasingly looking like jokers in the pack who doesn’t know what to oppose or what to propose.The situation is, frankly,comical but not a product of comedy of errors but a cynical plot by design. To me, it is a tragedy on a Homeric scale – playing a cynical game with the destiny of a nation of 160 million people, the world’s eighth largest population.
Lessons of history
In the Parthenon of the Democracies, past and present, Bangladesh stands today, head and shoulder high, as the Pariah brought about by a government hell-bent to cling on to office, aided by some faceless, small-time mini-Machiavellis perfectly qualified and skilled to run a Banana Republic. Even some of the die- hard older ruling AL leaders outside the Government hang their heads in shame, in private.
The truth is Sheikh Hasina is not alone in practising such a pervert process. In the past, both the tin-pot dictator Hussain Ershad and Khaleda Zia did practice the same process. What now makes it seriously unacceptable and excruciatingly painful is the fact that this time such a pathetic process was practiced by one of the daughters of the late Sheikh Mujibur Rahman – variously termed as the Founder/ Father/Friend of the Nation who, in his early political life, vigorously struggled to attain democratic rights and suffered in the hands of the then Pakistani establishment.
In office after independence from Pakistan, the democratic practice was short lived under his leadership and unfortunately, he himself fell into the slippery slope and produced a contraption of government far removed from democratic principles, called one-party BKSAL Rule, culminating in his own murder, followed ominously, by a series of political deaths which might recur if true democratic process is throttled. One ignores the lessons of history at one’s own peril.
All the major political Party’s lack of principled stand, honest commitment and sincere efforts to remove distressing poverty, create employment, improve infrastructure throughout the whole country and to make basic provisions like clean water, electricity, health care, housing- all doable, makes one cynical and hopeless. Endemic corruption which covers every aspect of life, acts as a great barrier to development and yet there is no traceable movement-grass-root or otherwise, committed to effectively control and eradicate corruption.In the sea of poverty, the amount of money sloshing around in some quarters in Bangladesh seem surreal.
Not all is lost
The existence of countless number of small so-called political parties , each of whose whole active membership can be ferried around in a couple of CNG auto rickshaws indicates that politics may be a good business for some to make fast bucks without much investment or skills.They seem to be eternally prepared to jump like frogs from one coalition basket into another.
It may sound cynical and hopeless and I, for one, cannot and do not expect that the current generation of leadership – mostly incorrigibly corrupt, basically half-wit, shamefully incompetent , awfully devoid of any ethics and principles can deliver the goods people of Bangladesh so desperately needs. There are honourable exceptions and exceptions prove the rule. One can only hope that a new generation of people with leadership qualities will avoid the cesspit of today’s politics and rise above all the meanness to rescue the country and move forward. But none is within sight, i.e., not yet. And there seems to be hardly any enthusiasm amongst cultured, educated and able young people to try their hands in politics. Politics is anathema and who can blame them.
It is, however, not all is lost. At least,not yet.The amazing resilience of the people, the very visible efforts to get on with their life amidst all odds and the spirit of enterprise on display to make either both ends meet or to create wealth even in the days of strikes, strife, arson and destruction in the last winter. These qualities make one feel that Prometheus is going to be unbound, sooner or later and sweep away the rubbish heaped on them by the yesterday’s leadership.
The writer is a barrister at law; formerly fellow, London and Cambridge Universities. E-mail: yellow.alam1@gmail.com
Source: Weekly Holiday