Shift Away from Cult-Based Politics

by Mridul Chowdhury

Published on the Daily Star Independence Day Special 2007
http://www.thedailystar.net/suppliments/2007/march/26thmarch/shift.htm

The 'War' Continues
I was born after the Liberation War - even after the Father of the Nation was murdered. So I have not personally witnessed the first few phases of the ups and downs in Bangladesh's politics. By the time I began to develop a sense of politics, a military dictator was running the country. Images of the martyred Nur Hossain with his bare chest and back painted with the words: sairachar nipat jak, ganatantra mukti pak (down with autocracy, restore democracy), and his right fist raised to the sky were possibly my first impression of the post-liberation “freedom fighter”. I may have missed the Liberation War but the 'War' for true freedom, it seemed, was hardly over.

While growing up in Bangladesh, I used to feel that we live in a 'strangely unpredictable' country where the biggest upholders of democracy and citizens' rights have suddenly turned into autocrats with their own private army, where thousands of freedom-fighters who fought to liberate the country have been thrown into jail or executed without trial a few years after liberation, where the active opponents of the liberation of Bangladesh have been installed as ministers in key ministries, and where during each election, a 'key' political leader always becomes the subject of tanatani (pulling to one's own side) by both major political parties. Guess who that 'leader' is, the autocrat that Nur Hossain and all the major political parties fought to bring down!

Although the Liberation War was fought to uphold democratic values, Bangladesh has possibly never really enjoyed democracy in the real sense our politics has generally always been controlled by a handful of people who are closely associated with our 'elite' families. Personality-centric politics rather than ideology-based politics has enabled political parties in power to misuse their authorities to the extent that the bureaucracy and the judiciary, the two public institutions that make up the very fabric of the governance of a country, have been gradually forced to lose their integrity and largely become subservient to the whims of those in power.
Renewed Hope in the PresentAlmost 20 years have passed since Nur Hossain was shot to death by the police. Over the years, we have witnessed many more Nur Hossains giving their blood to the cause of social justice. Their blood, however, has not gone in vain. The resistance they have put up with their own lives has made way for renewed signs of hope.

That hope is currently embodied in the new caretaker government (CG), silently backed by the military, which is putting thousands of corrupt political leaders to jail, including the most powerful ones who were once thought to be 'untouchable.' More than anything else, it is creating a nation-wide drive, a national stance in unilaterally condemning corruption which I am sure will have an impact during the upcoming election. It is also extremely heartening to see that the CG is taking initiatives to try to not only ensure a free and fair election but also to restructure and strengthen our key democratic institutions particularly the judiciary, the anti-corruption commission, the election commission and more gradually, the bureaucracy in general.

Another major source of hope right now is Dr. Yunus' formation of Nagorik Shakti. As a post-liberation new generation kid growing up in a country where school textbooks on Bangladeshi history get revised depending on which political party is in power, I was ecstatic to hear when Dr. Yunus announced his willingness to form a political party. I express my sincerest gratitude to Dr. Yunus for creating this scope for an alternative political future in Bangladesh.
My Hopes for the FutureOn this day, the 26th March of 2007 exactly 36 years after the declaration of an independent Bangladesh, I feel that Bangladesh is on the verge of being re-born. I feel that my country is ready to reclaim its 'lost' years and I am more excited than ever before at the prospect of being able to participate in this process. As I put my faith in the current CG and in Nagorik Shakti, I hope that the political dynamics that have been initiated in the last few weeks bring about a lasting positive impact in our politics through a series of changes, some of which I list below:

Power Back to the People
Despite the fact that I am jubilant about the efforts of the current CG and the armed forces, I realize that these impacts will be complete only when power is transferred back to the people through a democratic process. While the current process through a state of emergency is having many positive impacts, I hope that the CG transfers power back to the people. before any 'uncontrollable force' is able to exploit the situation, a phenomenon that our unfortunate country has faced time and again.

Shift Away From Personality-Centric Politics
Bangladesh has a tradition of personality-centric political parties that draw their legitimacy from certain personalities and their images - this has greatly contributed towards creating a culture of non-representational politics at all levels, where local voices have hardly found a way of reaching national political podiums, and internal party dynamics has been centered around a very few selected groups of elite closest to those personalities and their immediate family members. Corruption and terrorism in politics are not causes but symptoms of the weak political mechanism in our country -- just removing the symptoms is not likely to lead to a sustainable change towards constructive and representational politics.

I certainly hope that Dr. Yunus through his Nagorik Shakti will set an example in building a party that will live on for years as a formidable 'third force' and will not be centered around his own personality. We have witnessed Dr. Yunus running his Grameen organizations in somewhat of an authoritarian way and I sincerely hope that he will not transfer his Grameen way of running an organization to Nagorik Shakti.

I also hope that this current process of change brings about internal political dynamics within the major parties, such as the AL and the BNP, through a move away from dynasties handing over party authority from one generation to another. I hope that our politics moves towards a state where party leadership is based on ability and honesty rather than family linkage.

Political Discourse around Developmental Issues
Another sign of immaturity in our politics is that political discourse in Bangladesh has never really been centered around developmental issues but rather mostly around vague promises and hollow rhetoric. Again, Dr. Yunus can potentially change that culture. He has so far outlined some priorities of his new party in his two open letters using somewhat broad, vague and largely clichéd terms using largely similar rhetoric of some of the other parties. I hope that he will quickly move to the next stage of the party's vision-setting by addressing specific issues that people care about, not in vague but in very concrete terms. For that, he needs to develop and communicate concrete plans for his response to the different needs and expectations of citizens from different walks of life.

Politics by the Youth
Bangladeshi politics has come to a point where the young generation is largely disillusioned and even disgusted with politics. Apart from a few ideology-based and mostly left-wing young political activists, student and youth politics has over the years been denigrated to mostly terrorism and extortion the youth-based political groups have largely become the terrorist extensions of the major political parties. I hope that the CG gives attention to making university campuses free from destructive politics and introduces harsh laws against perpetrators and facilitators of campus-based terrorism and 'session-jams'. Just as the recent 'corruption clean-up operation' by the CG is facilitating the development of a national psyche against corruption, I hope that another national movement is generated to root out campus-based destructive politics so that positive, ideology-based and peaceful youth politics can be re-established.

Nagorik Shakti can also potentially imbibe that culture of youth involvement in positive politics. In this regard, it may be mentioned that despite Dr. Yunus' rhetoric around the importance of youth participation in development processes, Grameen Bank's micro- credit schemes hardly targeted the youth directly since they belonged to the category of 'risky borrowers'. So Dr. Yunus may not have a strong base to start from in this particular regard in rural areas. Some of the urban-based and expatriate youth groups are already in the process of mobilizing resources to contribute formally or informally towards building Nagorik Shakti. I hope that Nagorik Shakti is able to gain the confidence of rural youth in getting involved in positive and peaceful politics. At the end of the day, it is really up to us, the young generation, to build on the positive environment that is being created by the CG and hopefully, later by Nagorik Shakti.

Concluding Thoughts
My 'hope-list' may sound rather ambitious but I strongly believe that these are attainable if the current positive trends continue. I sense a massive optimism in the air from various quarters people are regaining trust in the ability of a well-meaning government and the youth are again in the process of finding an opportunity for contribution through positive political processes. Nur Hossains of the 21st century are on the rise again and this time they will not allow themselves to be shot down.