1/11 and lessons thereof

It is not uncommon these days to see many concerned citizens and experts of different disciplines speaking intensely on the virtues of unfettered democracy and how its absence has been adversely affecting the orderly and civilized growth of our society. Curiously enough, a good number of such impassioned advocates of freedom and liberty were conspicuously quiet when the very durability of our democratic polity became doubtful in the not-too-distant past.

Under circumstances as above, would it be unfair to question the genuineness of our cravings for a truly democratic dispensation? Doubts arise because we have seen a political temper that has pressed a partisan advantage to a bitter end, which could not understand and respect the adversaries and hardly ever felt the unity between all citizens.

It was also our unfortunate experience to witness that our democracy did not depend upon habits of consent and compromise that are essential attributes of mature political societies. We did not see a lawful government by the majority under the rule of abiding law and with freedom of opposition and dissent. The spirit of moderation did not prevail and our society degenerated into divisions and hatred replaced goodwill.

In a scenario as above, it was only natural to expect changes as of 11th January 2007. The important question, however, is, what lessons have we learnt from 1/11 and how we can benefit from the reform and restoration efforts of the extended caretaker government. This is crucial because we can longer foolishly expect to be free while remaining ignorant.

It is perhaps time to realize that following the birth of our republic our leaders did not concentrate on creating and maintaining quality institutions. As a result, we have not seen the arrival of new generation of committed leaders who could possibly be the bright products of excellent institutions. One needs to know if we have downgraded and devalued the few institutions which existed when we became a republic.

Readers may perhaps agree that one significant lesson learnt from 1/11 and events thereafter is the admirable effort to punish the high and mighty who gave a damn to the law and propriety and considered themselves above the reach of state machinery. While it is for the courts to pronounce on their culpability, the fact remains that the regulatory outfit at last found its teeth to bite and may be setting a precedent whereby potential and actual predators of our public life may be restrained before venturing into large scale malfeasance and misfeasance.

In post 1/11 Bangladesh, the primacy of building and strengthening corrective and regulatory institutions has attracted our attention. The requirement now is to carry on the good work and consolidate them in a structured fashion with necessary support by means of legislation and regulation as deemed fit. The political executives have to learn to do things within the book and hold aloft the majesty and supremacy of the judiciary.

The pre-eminence of Election Commission and the urgency of setting that house in order had received highest attention. We need to be cognizant of the reality that if national level election is not conducted properly then all other elections lose its meaning and if elections are held in a faulty and surreptitious manner then no trust will be reposed in the victors, no matter how well-intentioned they may actually be.

The urgent necessity of ensuring the democratic functioning of the political parties has been impressed upon with a view to firmly establishing the roots of democracy. It is for the politicians to create the right environment by effectively de-feudalizing their mindset.

A lesson to be learnt from 1/11 is that we need to appreciate the varying degree of the staying power of democracy and that a near political breakdown did occur due to the weaknesses of our political institutions. We also need to take note of the reality that our institutions have become fragile and our constitution has been made so pliant that it could be bent to any whim or caprice of the ruling group. Our political institutions could not acquire the desired durability through time and tradition.

We have to agree that our economic malaise would have been less unbearable if our basic freedoms were not eroded, the strength of our political institutions not sapped and our public life not degraded. We must note that the dictatorial tone of the establishment have practically subordinated the individual to the government so completely that, with some exceptions, the nation is now made up of one-dimensional persons. This dwarfing process initiated by the political parties has created bunches of time servers only, to the detriment of a vibrant political culture.

Another lesson to be learnt is that to our peril we vigorously started the process of emasculating the judiciary. The sad spectacle was one of failure to defend judges against political pressures and threats and the compounding misfeasance of failing to insist upon integrity and impartiality in judicial appointments. The political class has connived in superseding of judges of caliber and courage while appointing persons who allegedly subscribed to the philosophy of ruling party.

We have to admit that the quality of our public life has reached an all-time low. The Anti-corruption measures since 1/11, 2007 shows that politics has become tattered and tainted with crime. Equally depressing has been the reality that ignorance, incompetence and dishonesty have not been disqualifications for high public office, either in ministerial ranks or elsewhere.

Curiously enough, as of now, an important feature of our national life is the powerlessness of the powerful. We have perhaps reached a stage where the authority can order things but can not get desired results. There is not much structure of real substance and credible delivery on ground. Institutions have been weakened and corrupted to a fearful and debilitating extent.

We must not be struck by the mood of despair and pessimism of the privileged who think we are a failed state. The deprived and the under-privileged have to fight for civil liberties and equal rights and in this the intelligentsia has to side with them. While our poor suffer, our middle class, intelligentsia and the professional groups must empathize with them.

We have to experiment with new concepts in social sector, devise new delivery systems, test them and approach authority to accept them. We have to lobby for change and persist in our efforts by organizing people at various levels. Surely all these are calls for a new breed of politicians.

We must be pragmatic to focus our attention on the level of people's participation in western democracies. In there, from local politics to voluntary groups, from being a watchdog to monitor government activities to providing help to the hapless and the needy, most citizens are ready to spare time, money and effort. Those who look in awe at the American technological advance should study the history of universities like Harvard and MIT, and the role played by land-grant colleges. They have to know how affluent American professionals and industrialists donate money and establish institutions.

Perhaps the most remarkable fact of our political life is the absence of public response to the ominous slide of order in the society. One has to bear in mind that the state and its institutions are indispensable to any genuine societal progress, howsoever mangled and manipulated they may have been due to machinations of successive ruling classes. The other reality is that the state as an apparatus has an extensive reach that can fix matters. We have to control the drift of yesteryears to prevent chaos and anarchy. Steering the state from rough waters is certainly the onerous job of politicians.