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Politics is dead, long live politics

Z. Khan
THE King/Queen is dead, long
I live the King/Queen" is what used to be announced by the Buckingham Palace spokesperson when the reigning sovereign died. The reason was that the country could not be run without a sovereign. Likewise, a country cannot sustain itself without politics. Even if politics at times is suspended because of declaration of state of emergency or coup d'etat, a different brand of politics replaces the ongoing one. Politics requires prudence and judgment. which are what we need in life. So, one may say that politics is life and, therefore, one cannot help but be involved in some form of politics. And that is why politics never dies.
Politics in our part of world is vibrant because almost every thinking man and woman takes interest in politics, whether it involves the community, society or the nation. Our nation, since independence, has seen steady development of politics of many streams. There had been interruptions in the political development because it was stifled by coups d'etat.
As is usual of the characteristic coup tactics, coup leaders in Bangladesh innovated their own brand of politics.
which people repudiated when the opportunity appeared. People at times even agitated violently for restoration of politics of democracy. Finally, democracy was restored in early '90 after 9 years of "back seat" military rule in the garb of democracy.
Since 1991. Bangladesh nationals have been enjoying rights of universal franchise and electing their representatives to the Jatiya Shangshad (National Parliament). The performance of various governments between 1991 to-datedoes not bear the testimony of the trust reposed in the politicians. Our politicians futilely try to distort history so that their poor performance does not come to the fore in the next election, which is like trying to lasso a locomotive with a lariat.
Politics and good governance complement each other. If one fails, the other is doomed to failure. Our politicians so far have been trying more for their personal gains than for their constituents, and that is why they depend more on their leader's charisma than their own ability to win an election. Mutual trust between electors and the elected, which is imperative, is decreasing as most of the time the latter have failed the former.
The tendency to elicit favour from the leader by resorting to pampering the
leadership has been detrimental to the growth of healthy politics. That is probably why some people say that politicians in Bangladesh are a byword for skullduggery and incompetence. This moral eclipse of the leadership has frustrated the people so much that people of good pedigree hesitate to hold an opinion on politics.
Until the time politicians seek the people's welfare above everything we cannot expect a quantum jump in the quality of our politics. Without doing them too much injustice, we may assume that the desire - of most politicians -- to be elected takes precedence over policy preferences, ethical barriers and moral constraints.
The downhill slide of our politics must be arrested if we do not want to lose our right to elect our representatives for the parliament. Politics in our country is dominated by strong personalities at the expense of substantive political dispensation. We must try to create a transparent political process with the help of civil society to pressure political parties to become more responsible to their constituents. We must understand that politics is not just about what happens between elections, it is also very important to culture free exercise to choose leaders who would give priority to the interest of the constituents over their own.
Central to all kinds of politics is the right of any group or party to compete in the political process and the right of citizens to freely associate and to express their ideas. Politics should help foster development of infrastructure for political education, and a free press that
enables the people to cultivate their own culture and to reconcile differences.
Contemporary politics, which has not emerged out of the shadowy mists of tradition, was crafted by us at a definite point of time on the basis of certain theoretical understanding of citizens and nurturing of appropriate political institutions. There is an imperative need for the leaders to allow free exercise of mind and emotion to decide on the type of politics that our nation should pursue. We should choose the type of politics that must complement rather than contradict the process of state making, for without political order, no state can sustain itself.
As an anonymous wise man said: "Seek ye the political kingdom not because it matters most, but because in the lack of political cultures no normal development is possible." So if politics needs to grow for our sake, then we must not allow the bad people to combine by pursuing the good people to associate with them lest we should fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.
Dispossessing one of his rights to political choice is like dislodging a fetus from the mother's womb. Therefore, let us not divorce ourselves from the wisdom to sustain politics, for it is politics that provides an outlet for people to let off the steam of their frustrations and also to present their demand for peace and harmony.
What kind of politics should we be looking for? Very succinctly, politics of the people should aim at feeding the hungry, clothing the unclothed, and providing the roof for those that have the sky as their
overhead cover. In other words, nothing but the welfare of the many that remain unseen, unheard and unsung, despite the sweat and blood with which they nourish the country and make it sustainable. Let politics be the domain of the people who yearn to serve the people.
To most of us politics is the elixir of life. If it is time-friendly, it will thrive to revive the hopes of the many hopeless people who
long for the impetus to promote good politics. Titis should encourage all to wish that development of politics is not thwarted, and if any unholy quarter pursues any such design it should be dispatched to a dark chapter of history. Hope must be raised for continuance of politics despite interruption by a few bad incidents.
ZA Khan is a former Director General of Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies.
***Politics requires prudence and judgment, which are what we need in life. So, one may say that politics is life and, therefore, one cannot help but be involved in some form of politics. And that is why politics never dies.***