Let there be a new beginning
WE were excited and jubilant when Sheikh Hasina and Begum Zia met briefly and exchanged pleasantries on the occasion of Armed Forces Day last year. It was a rarity seeing them speaking to one another, although the whole scene lasted not longer than one or two minutes. Many thought that our worst days were over and soon we would have democracy and a peaceful country. No, that was not to be. We were quickly back to dirty politics
When Sheikh Hasina led her alliance to victory, Begum Zia, far from congratulating Sheikh Hasina on her victory, termed the election unfair. The opposition led by her in the parliament has yet to play a positive role in institutionalising democracy and forcing the government to be more responsive to the needs and sufferings of the people.
This is not to say that Sheikh Hasina and her government are without blemish. The opposition deserves to be treated with more courtesy and consideration than what has been shown to them by the government. The prime minister, in true spirit of democratic culture, should have invited Khaleda Zia for talks immediately after the BDR mutiny. But she felt no need to do so. Unfortunately, this is our politics and our brand of democracy.
I could not believe my ears and eyes when I first heard and then saw on TV that Begum Zia had gone to Sudha Sadan to personally convey her condolences to Sheikh Hasina on the death of her husband.
It was reported in the media that the BNP chairperson embraced Sheikh Hasina as she consoled her, and that she remained with the prime minister for about half an hour. What a noble gesture from Begum Zia, standing beside Sheikh Hasina, consoling her and sharing her grief at a time when sorrow and grief were consuming her arch political rival! This is the sort of behaviour we are not accustomed to seeing from our two top political leaders.
Undeniably, this was democracy and humanity at its best. While it has definitely enhanced the political stature of Begum Khaleda Zia, it has also enkindled new hope of a harmonious relationship between the government and the opposition. Let us hope that, unlike the last dramatic event, this personal contact between the two ladies will have a positive impact on our politics.
We have a myriad of problems created by our power hungry, corrupt, autocratic and myopic rulers over the years. And now comes the global economic crisis on a scale never seen before to exacerbate our problems. We cannot afford the politics of loot and plunder and, especially, the politics of street violence and shutting down of mills, factories and educational institutions.
We need electricity, water, irrigation, roads and bridges. We need employment for our growing population. We need to fight poverty, corruption and Islamist militancy. We need honest, hard working and patriotic people to rule us. We need political harmony and peace. We need the criminals of our state exchequer to be bought to justice. In fine, we need genuine democracy and rule of law.
Let us build further on the new friendly relations between Begum Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina. Let the two ladies put their personal hatred aside for the time being and work together to get democracy going for the first time in this country. Without genuine democracy, we can hardly achieve anything substantive to tide over the crisis we are facing.
No matter how much we may have tried in the past to put these two ladies out of politics, they remain a potent political force to be reckoned with. Let good sense prevail on them. They have achieved enough. From mere housewives they have become powerful political leaders. They have walked the centre stage of politics for more than three decades. They have blended power and wealth the way very few could have aspired, given that they live in a male dominated society.
Let there be a change of heart for the better now that both the ladies share the agony and poignance of losing their beloved husbands. Let there be a new beginning in our politics. Let the government on its part drop the case of eviction of Khaleda Zia from her cantonment house as a conciliatory move. After all, the government gifted the house to her. She did not occupy it illegally.
In return, let Begum Khaleda Zia extend a hand of friendship and cooperation to Sheikh Hasina in addressing issues of national importance. Let the two ladies make a vow to establish true democracy, wage a crusade against corruption, and try putting a smile on the faces of the teeming millions of this country who have so far only suffered from starvation, malnutrition, illiteracy and indignity in a country which they and their forefathers had freed from alien rule by fighting a bloody war of independence and winning in the end.
I am cautiously optimistic that we will see the government and the opposition cooperate with one another in ushering in genuine democracy and in improving the lot of the common people of this country. Should this not happen, and should our politics remain mired in mud slinging and corruption despite our experience of 1/11, we should be prepared for still worse days to come.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments