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A day with the Prime Minister

by Mahfuz Anam
It was a surprise invitation to accompany the Prime Minister on her trip to Jamal-pur and Shctpur last Thursday that provided me an opportunity to observe Begum Khaleda Zlu perform her off I ctal duties and get a glimpse of her public life.
In public the Prime Minis ter smiles very seldom almost never. So much so that some may consider her unfriendly, even Indifferent. Her presence Is authoritative and her dealings with people businesslike. She is correct In her behaviour and makes Htlfe attempt to put people at ease Her gait Is confident and her movements decisive. There Is a certain Impatience about her style that keeps those, dealing with her. a bit on their tots. She dresses carefully and does not let the rigors of her schedule affect her elegance. She keeps everybody guessing about Iwr own thoughts regarding policy options and the thousands of suggestions, proposals and requests that she has to dispose of each day. By all accounts she is her own person. and she shows it.
Listening to her public addresses In Jamalpur and Sherpur last Thursday evoked mixed feelings in me. For the part of me in search of the indefatigable enemy of autocracy and the undaunted crusader of democracy, the leader's charisma was still there but the Impact was gone. Her speeches were still very powerful but lacked the spark that kindled fire In the dispirited hearts during the anti-autocracy movement.
As I watched her responding lo salutations from local of ficials. waving back to crowds. Inaugurating the Mukll Judd ha
Hospital and giving speeches she looked like a leader performing a routine chore doing something that goes with the job and had to be done Was I right when I thought that I de tected that she was a bit bored with her own speech? And why not. save (or a few new names of protects, places and Kites, she had said them ail re Even her characteristic sharpness, tn tearing to pieces her political opponents, seemed blunted.
However fn the midst of It all I could not help feeling whether or not It was a far wiser, more matured and confident Khakda Zia that wus at I Ik- helm ol lla- government Couki H be that her toned-down speeches, her indlffcr enee towards public adulation and her Impatience with Incompetence were all signs of a kadcr growing tired of her own rhetorics and yearning to give a positive shape to her own vision of a prosperous Bangladesh? Could It be that the zealous agitator, the tireless organiser, the caurugeous crusader for democracy was a politician finally graduating from an activist lo an administrator?
The most obvious signs of this transition were her speeches. They were a far cry from the pungent, attacking and rhetorical ones of the anti autocracy movement and election campaigning days. Now they focused more and more on development Issues—small family, need for mass literacy, increasing agricultural and Industrial productivity, and such other subjects—hardly the stuff that make for fiery speeches that we arc so used to hearing.
The inauguration of the selfhelp canal digging projects
that I was Invited to witness left some very serious ques lions In my mind How much of It was self-help and how much of II was not? I wondered. being encircled by officials party men. security men and the TV crew ihe Prime Minister was able to notice that the so called volunteers gallarlng for lire canal digging in Jamalpur and Sherpur were the khaki-trouser and maroon shirt-clad VDPs (Village Defense Party) and their bright yellow sari clad female counterparts. There were thou sands of villagers—but they were mere onlookers. None of I hem had a spade (kodal) in Ills hands and as such did not participate In the canal digging exercise. When the PM was in auguratlng the event, she was so completely encircled by the ingratiating officials and partymen that the so called volunteers never got to see whal was happening and kept standing throughout the event. It wus only when the PM began walking back that some of them started doing what they had been brought there to do
I was expecting thousands of villagers lo participate In the digging exercise but they remained mere onlookers As the PM left the two sites. I could not lielp but wonder how many people would M liere tomorrow, or the day after lo complete the very laudable task that she began today.
As we were flying back to Dhaka later In the day. I was Affecting on the enormous task that Begum Zia faced. Il was one thing to be critical about her performance. 11 was quite another to be aware of the complicacies of running a government and the challenge of fulfilling the expectation of the people. By any stretch of imagination governing Bang ladetli Is not easy Getting the
development process on the mow It tougher still. In mpllthlng troth the Prime
Minister needs, and deserves. tl«e understanding and support olull