Disconnect from the masses the government needs to overcome

Public life is still yet to be normal. The whirlpool of the student-mass uprising has washed away the fascist house of cards. However, the nation is still awaiting the evolution of a new system on the fertile ground created out of the sacrifice and emotional strains of the masses.

Following the primary euphoria of the revolution, especially the satisfaction the people got as a result of the fall of Hasina, we are going through a state in which we are not just unaware of the next scenes but also have certain amount of confusion about the present itself.

There is an uncertainty or quiet tension in the public mind. It is also not that such uncertainty or tension was created merely as a sequel to the revolutionary changes.

The country had seen so much ‘development’ in the past 15 years that people’s rights had not been left any more in society due to the tribal culture of right to property, access to education and healthcare services and the scope to seek justice.

Today, more than 40 million people are suffering from poverty – we have to come to know of such reality from the United Nations report. The ousted government had told the people the tale of middle income country status, denying the fact that a new army of the poor had been created as consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sheikh Hasina herself might have paid some price of pursuing policies discriminatory to people, violation of rights and rejecting the public sufferings, by relinquishing power and leaving the country; but her medium-term ‘success’ remains in the process of downgrading the collective idea of national progress and dwarfing the aspirations and competencies of the individuals.

It is generally true that a revolution is followed by certain anarchy, or even possibility of counter-revolution, but the situation in this country this time around is completely different from previous movements and changeovers in this part of the world.

In the pre-1971 liberation war period marked by the rule of dictator Ayub Khan in the 1960s, and during the reign of autocrat HM Ershad in the 1980s, we had witnessed generation of energy among the masses and gaining of confidence in the leadership for building a democratic state.
But Hasina’s fascism had in the one and half decades completed the social and official arrangements for destroying such confidence in society. This, obviously, was aimed at giving a ‘good lesson’ to the nation for failing to respect the tyrant backed by alien forces.

We heard the story of how a repressive village headman caused sufferings to the villagers. The cunning man once realised that he would die soon and urged his people to forgive him; but the aggrieved men and women refused to do so.

The headman had then asked the villagers to hang his body at the road crossing of the village in exchange for forgiving him for the world hereafter. The happy villagers did the same. The next day, the police came to the village and detained the villagers on charge of murdering the man.
Bangladesh had experienced the repression and vengeance the headman treated his villagers during the Hasina regime, the burden of which remains on the shoulder of the victims even after her exit from the country.

The burden of treatment and life struggle of thousands of injured students and common men, agonies of the families of the martyrs of the July-August 2024 revolution, tears of mothers of the victims of the killing by Awami League regime, woes of tens of thousands of families deproved of jobs and business opportunities, erosion of capital and loss of confidence of innumerable small and medium entrepreneurs, suffering of millions of consumers in the market, pandemonium on the court premises, tensions in the police and civil administrations, and incoherent coverage of issues on social and conventional media – all were originated in the just-ended fascist rule. Yet, the general public, leading life largely devoid of services proper, have their feet firmly on the ground this time.

For example, the apprehension publicly expressed by former minister Obaidul Quader that around half a million Awami League leaders, workers and supporters would be killed had they been kicked out of power, proved to be wrong and the people of this country embraced the path of peace instead.

Asked what the main problems facing the country at the moment are, quite a number of people of different professions and regions replied that their common concern is about Bangladesh’s future; they want to see establishment of a functional electoral system for upholding democracy. They wish there should be no tendency among their children to escape reality and flee the country.

Does that indicate the Bangladeshis love to think high? The moment they speak in social space, they hardly raise the issues of their personal interest; rather the issues of national dignity, India, China, the US and the United Nations all feature prominently in their discussions.

As a result, they often fail to find their problems solved; because who would speak of their sufferings or who would listen to them, either!
“Oh my friend, my distant friend! Do you know my pains?” reads the lyrics of a Tagore song. The people of this country look for a statesman and regional and local leaders, like a distant friend, to find consolation and support. That’s why they love to vote in a festive mood and remain constantly ready to stand for the leaders so that the leaders stand by their side as well in times of necessity.

But, how far do the leadership of the state, politicians, bureaucrats, civil society members, journalists and other stakeholders know about what the masses want and aspire?

The former rulers have taken living and lifestyle of this silent majority to a state of complete discomfort by raising prices of commodities and services they have to buy and also shrinking the income opportunities. So, a set of initiatives are required to solve these problems; or else, the people may be aggrieved and frustrated.

A more conscious segment of the citizens want to get back the courage and rights they have lost in the misrule of Sheikh Hasina. They expect that the relation between the state and the citizens would be reset leaving behind the dark chapter of disconnect between the state and the masses and their communications should be enhanced and the leaders and the people be in constant touch.

One part of this process is selection/election of leadership and our recent history says ‘leaders are made in movement or in election’.
Bangladesh had had a series of people’s demonstrations after the then prime minister Sheikh Hasina, in a surprise, unilateral decision, scrapped the election-time caretaker government system. Thus, the final moment of the movement came this year and certain unthinkable leadership emerged and scope for fair chance has widened for future leadership. The remnants of the fascist era are, however, still there.
The government of Dr Muhammad Yunus has so far formed six commissions and is working on a few more initiatives, in order to transform the post-revolutionary political order into a pluralist democracy based on free, fair and universal electoral system.
The other and relatively long lasting one of that process is “the people”. Empowering them in the state is simply nonnegotiable for securing a democracy.

Even if institutional structures are made through reforms, public rights may still be violated and there are chances of the state’s isolation from the masses and vice versa.

We can prepare 100 documents full of rhetorical words, like that of a Charter for Citizens’ Rights, but the writings on the books may just be there on the books, without drawing attention to them from all concerned.
Therefore, it is necessary to establish a culture of making and offering accountability so that the people are encouraged to join the political process, their independent voices are created and if willing and required, they themselves emerge as leaders. The people of this country still dream of such a democratic system.

* Khawaza Main Uddin is a journalist.