Straight Line
Our robber barons!
The nomination seeking process of prospective members of parliament have exposed the shady past of the new rich of our society and have also disconcertingly brought to the fore the not-so-hidden culture of disobedience of law by the high and mighty. While this may not be surprising to the informed, it is without doubt, a very disappointing sight to the optimists as it lends credence to the cynical view that politics belittle greatness and corrupt goodness; and that while good people are engaged in introspection, the burly sinners continue to run our public affairs.
Concerned citizens would like to believe that politics shall be a particularly edifying activity. The ground reality, therefore, comes as a deep shock to them. The crisis facing our fledgling democracy has to be understood in real perspective because shutting our eyes to the gravity of the situation would only be to invite the forces of darkness.
Going back to the immediate past and also the not-too-distant past, one would find that withdrawal from criminal prosecutions on not very cogent grounds have taken place despite the democratic credentials of the successive political regimes. Such cases of withdrawal from criminal prosecution on alleged political grounds registered a disturbing increase in recent years giving rise to the suspicion that the same has been instrumental in the criminalization of our politics.
The question is, does our political scene present an incredible assemblage of pudding-headed mercenaries that needs to be replaced by individuals of honour and knowledge? Such despondency becomes poignant when one sees the single-minded pursuit of money by too many politicians and businessmen-turned politicians.
It is only in the very recent past that some of our prominent politicians were contemplating to retire when the hands of law were trying to reach them. By another estimate, such folks had found politics a very satisfying route of personal enrichment in a very brief span of time. Some young politicos rose from rags to riches in the last couple of years. Glimpses of their illegal acquisitions, as reported in the media, are shameful evidence of the abominable low to which politics has descended in Bangladesh.
If we look at the history of the sub-continent we find that the people have risen to great heights when they have basked in the glow of noble kings or leaders. We also see that many regimes have been destroyed not by adversity but by abasement. Corruption has been the greatest solvent of public institutions; poverty poses a far smaller threat.
Incidentally, in the democratic experience of Bangladesh since at least 1991, we find that our politicians have remained occupied in maintaining a system which is poisoned by collective bad faith and polluted by individual avarice. Instead of vision and imagination our leaders have been served by deception and craftiness. Their eloquence flourished most when public affairs were in the worst condition.
Without doubt our polity will need time for our democracy to have an aristocracy of talents, knowledge and character. While waiting for that, good number of criminals and plunderers must be permanently debarred from politics and public life.
The process of replacing the mercenaries of our political arena by men of honour and knowledge will prove lengthy and the delivery promises will be difficult to fulfil but the filth and stench of public life have to be cleansed. Politics have to be salvaged from the dangerous blend of incompetence, unscrupulousness and plain wickedness. The question is, must the reins of power be handed back to those who appear promise bound never to become wiser?
The disenchantment of our people with the state of politics and our politicians has to be appreciated. The premonition that elections and their corruptions, injustice and the power and tyranny of wealth, and inefficiency of administration, will make a hell of life as soon as freedom is given cannot be summarily dismissed. It is perhaps time to take freedom in moderation. It is also time to see if our legal system has made life too easy for criminals and too difficult for law-abiding citizens.
We have to remember that our society has to not only fight against the big time criminals masquerading as politicians, it has also to do away with the few hundred petty tyrants that mushroomed all over the country during the last couple of years.
It is largely true that most of our politicians seek special favours and feel gratified if corrupt and inept supreme authority bestow these upon them. Instead of collective gains they have preferred individual profits. Most people are beguiled by the feigned humility and politeness of corrupt leaders, ignoring the disastrous effects of the visionless and directionless policies.
It is time to think if by means of legal and institutional measures we can make life difficult for the corrupt elements. We have to ensure that such elements do not get time to relax and are subjected to real inconveniences in displaying their ill-gotten worldly possessions. The politicians can be kept on track if statutory measures are taken to guard against their becoming unbridled promoters-distributors of favours. This is crucial to stop favour-seeking satellites from hovering around the so-called power points. The opportunity cost of being corrupt in politics has to be very high.
It is time for our society to ensure that the political scene is not dominated by people whose real sources of income cannot be ascertained. For most people politics must not turn into a fulltime occupation. The villains cannot be upstaged in our political history. Sense of propriety in public life has to be retained. Administrative and financial accountability should be considered as solemn, serious and sacred in affairs of the State.
Running the affairs of State is a solemn and grim business where we need individuals of true grit. It was indeed pathetic to see occupiers of very high political office enjoying largely the perks and privileges of power without feeling the burden of responsibilities. Their conspicuous consumption was a rude shock for many. The single minded pursuit of money by the ruling elite has impoverished the mind of the nation and has also desiccated its heart. Wiping the dirt from the art of politics has to be the foremost priority.
The crux of the subject is primarily rooted in our political culture. The political parties have to decide whether they need rogue and criminal elements in furthering their so-called political objective at the expense of their public image and social acceptability. The politicians themselves should take the lead in the gradual decriminalisation of the political process and ensure its sanitisation.
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