The morning after
"Sabotage" or "conspiracy?"Photo: STAR
IT'S like the morning after! It's when the crowds have gone home, the buntings have come down, the litter has been carted away and a political government with heavy mandate is firmly in place. It's a new beginning, new challenge and new hopes -- all rolled into one. Notwithstanding all these, as well as the authority's constant vigil, circumspection and ready response, things seem to have gone awry and, as a result, law and order refuses to gel. Rather, the lawlessness perpetrated by unruly groups of the Bangladesh Chatra League (BCL), one of the ruling AL's front organisations, has escalated. Even the home minister does not hide the fact, and candidly admits to the prevailing state of lawlessness in the country, and genuinely worries about the proliferation of the phenomenon. The fresh spate of crimes, i.e. extortion, hijacking and even murder, in spite of the best efforts to combat them, is an enigma. The crimes committed by arms brandishing BCL activists in defiance of the party high command is also a convoluted riddle. Even the prime minister's dismay does not move them. What they did last week in Paltan, on the occasion of the BCL's 61st founding anniversary, took the nation by both astonishment and anguish. In a departure from the organisation's glorious tradition of the past, they went berserk like vandals and sparked a brawl by throwing plastic chairs at each other, hitting and injuring scores of people. The newly installed government is apparently embarrassed and exasperated with the continuing intra- organisational bickering and their violent manifestations from time to time. Neither has its relations been streamlined with the opposition camp, which is equally tense and fractious. The BNP, which is still licking the wound of a humiliating electoral defeat, is at long last introspecting and finding out the grassroots workers' views of the debate. Their views are known to be different from those of the party stalwarts who are squarely blamed by the former for the disaster. The intra-party differences have, at places, turned into ugly open clashes. Both the premier parties of the country suffer from delusion, which will lead them nowhere. The top leaders of the BNP still see a "conspiracy" behind their misfortune. Likewise, the ruling party is upset at the sudden spurt of countrywide turmoil, and suspects "sabotage" behind it; although it could examine if there has been a return of the criminal-cop-politician nexus, as speculated by many. In the meantime, the country's socio-economic scene is far from savoury, while a recalcitrant market has turned nasty. Things are chaotic all around with almost daily occurrences of road-rail crashes and riverine accidents. The breakdown in flight schedules is an old story. Apparently, both the country and the government carry the heavy baggage of a messy past lacerated by the greedy claws of the BNP-Jamaat thugs who left the country in a dire strait. The half-baked and inconclusive work of the constitutionally questionable caretaker government exacerbated the situation. Some details of the misdeeds and excesses of the immediate past BNP-Jamaat government started pouring in after 1/11, but the full details are still awaited. Only now has the sensational part of its plunder and corruption a chance to be reported without fear and partiality by the concerned agencies. Whatever the nation has so far been apprised of the hitherto unknown crimes and depravity is simply mind boggling. This suggests that it will take a long time to be able to make a clean break from the past and its concomitant evil influences, neither will it be possible to cleanse the Augean stable anytime soon. Yet, Sheikh Hasina has come to power with the promise of a change from the sleazy past, which will however haunt for quite some time to come. The prime minister is right when she says that she has no magic wand to effect changes overnight. The public also has to understand that it will be a long haul before the promised change is ushered in. Any transition is always characterised by new challenges facing the new dispensation. Ultimately, the government writ establishes itself. It cannot be otherwise when an overwhelming majority of the people gave their verdict in favour of the AL. At this stage, before the dust has settled down, the people's only expectation from Sheikh Hasina and her government is greater frankness in adopted actions and perhaps a tougher approach to some of the knottier problems -- like nepotism, cronyism and dynastic impulse in dispensing opportunities -- facing the nation. The last but not the least expectation lies in her giving cognisance, not necessarily material benefit, to her umpteen well-wishers and supporters who suffered in silence without demanding or expecting anything in return.
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