The nation is in an economic political and social crisis which is increasingly becoming bitter day by day. The root of this crisis is political; the ruling party has not constructively engaged or accommodated the legitimate grievances of the biggest opposition party on the issue of a free and fair election, and followed a strategy of institutional decimation of its political opponent through various means. As a consequence, the opponent has adopted a strategy of violence and disruption of economic bloodstream as a means to force the government to succumb to its demands. In the process of this political game, the common people are becoming random victims of the conflict and are being forced to pay with immeasurable loss: charred bodies and human lives, deep physical and mental agony, and destroyed livelihood.

This is not a novel phenomenon in Bangladesh. In fact, this, or something of this sort in various degrees, has happened repeatedly in the past no matter which party was in power or in opposition. Crises of this sort seem to have become ingrained in the psyche of the common people.

Is this crisis inevitable in the development trajectory of the nation? It seems that, given the political culture and lack of will to resolve disputes through engagement and dialogue, the repeated appearance of political crises has become inevitable in the course of our history. This is undesirably putting a severe dent in the progress of the nation.

As many observers of the development story of Bangladesh have praised her success and unthinkable feat, the political crisis erodes the fundamental basis upon which the nation thrives. The unstable political conflict erodes confidence on us as a reliable source of products in the international market and as a destination for investment. The political leadership should not be content on the progress that has been made despite the challenges that Bangladesh faces; rather they should consider the missed opportunities and potentials that could be otherwise realised, which very much depend on their actions and

political strategies.

The political parties, as the chief protagonists and steward of this development process, can choose to come to a consensus and find mechanisms to bridge their differences through dialogue, effective parliament and mutual tolerance. A free and fair political competition for people's mandate based on ideas should dictate the political discourse and be the governing principle on how parties should act towards each other and the public. On the contrary, the current practice of intolerance, incivility and violence only reflects the lack of will and political statesmanship that are fundamental to a story of progress.

The ruling party declared the Vision 2021 and reiterated their commitment to the goals of this vision over time. The first five goals are: (a) democracy and effective parliament (b) political framework, decentralisation of power and people's participation (c) good governance through establishing rule of law and avoiding political partisanship (d) transformation of political culture and (e) a society free from corruption. In its Election Manifesto 2014, the ruling party declared that “initiatives will be taken to build consensus among all political parties, classes, political organisations, and civil societies irrespective of opinions on basic issues such as upholding democratic processes and ensuring uninterrupted development.' In an article recently published in the New Europe, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina aptly said: ‘The best way to predict our future is to create it ourselves. Our world in 2015 and post-2015 will be what we now dream it to be. How it will look will depend largely on what our actions are now. Our actions should therefore reflect our words and that is the only way we can predict and build a tangible future.” She further added: 'Our vision for the world beyond 2015 should focus on people - on the aspirations and hopes of the people — in a just and a fair world.”

Democracy and effective parliament are in tatters now and most observers urge dialogue between political parties. The Vision 2021 envisions "transforming political culture” through "steps

appropriate to the time to establish democratic principles in the political parties, transparency of political funding, civility and tolerance.” Further, establishment of ‘democracy and strong democratic institutions” for "holding reliable elections at regular intervals, accountability of government and effective Parliament’ are also envisioned in Vision 2021.

As the architect of the Vision 2021 and chief protagonist, our prime minister should take extra steps to resolve the crisis through constructive engagement with opposing political parties and build national consensus on basic issues such as holding a free and fair election. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former prime minister Khaleda Zia, along with leaders of other political parties, had in the past worked in concert in times of national crisis, particularly in the movement to restore democracy. Prolonging this political crisis is tantamount to self-destruction and against the aspirations of people.

Now is the opportunity for the leadership of all political parties to resolve this political impasse through meaningful dialogue and engagement, and to create a precedent of statesmanship rising above petty partisanship. Such an effort will embolden all in our journey towards development and put the nation on a solid political foundation that is conducive to realising our economic potentials. As a great service to the nation, this will go a long way towards achieving the Vision 2021; a nation that is free of poverty, promotes peace and thrives on economic prosperity.

It is time to remind the leadership of the truism our prime minister articulated eloquently: ‘We learn from our past experiences and at times from mistakes. Our past makes us stronger. Let us keep in mind the lessons taught by our past and build our future based on what we have learned. Let us keep in mind that all that is ever important is the 'now' in which we live in and all that is going to be important is the 'tomorrow' that we leave for our children,” And I repeat "for our children.'

The writer is an economist and an administrator In a private university.