Is there light at the end of the tunnel? If you listen to those who run the country, it seems everything is fine. But the newspapers tell a different tale.
One group threatens that if things do not go their way, they will bring the country to a standstill. Another group blusters, insisting the country belongs to them, so their word is final. Meanwhile, yet another group is stirring trouble, they will not let anything happen. They want to create chaos and make a complete mess of everything. All together, the country has fallen into a state of instability, a war-like atmosphere.
Our country is about 55 years old. The first year passed with the sounds of shells and the smell of gunpowder. Since then, nothing has moved in a straight line. A few days of peace, and then unrest begins again. People want to live in comfort and safety. They have modest needs, but some people will not allow even that.
In football, both sides fight hard. One side pushes past the other, racing toward the goal. Both are determined to score. When one side fails to send the ball into the net or protect its own goal despite playing well, they sometimes attack the opponent. They commit fouls. A referee is there to handle this. But some do not accept the referee either. Instead, they threaten and try to intimidate him; they will not hesitate even to attack him. In our political field, this foul play seems to have become a routine matter. Sometimes it feels like it would be better if the game did not take place at all.
There is a word in our country that sounds quite appealing—democracy. We all want this. We read in books that democracy was born in ancient Greece. Those were small city states. In those states, a small elite class would hold court and make decisions. In the modern age, this is no longer possible.
Now there are millions of people in a country. They cannot all sit together to make decisions. It is impossible. So what is the way? This is where the public representative system emerged. Representatives come together to form a government. They run the state. It is assumed that through them, the collective aspirations of the people are realised. Two things are important here: the expression of public aspirations, and the commitment of the representatives.
There is a difference between individual aspirations and collective aspirations. The demands of all parts of society are not the same. Some are complementary; some are conflicting. Balancing the two is not easy. This must be done by the representatives, by the government. The government must think, even if everyone’s demands cannot be met, at least the interests of one group should not be sacrificed for the benefit of another.
But this often does not happen. Those who are harmed, or whose demands remain unmet, turn their backs on the government. Then people replace their representatives. They bring in someone else. The most tested method of selecting representatives, and removing them when necessary, is elections. So we want to have faith in elections.
But our faith has cracked. Because in the competition for votes, many play foul. They want to become representatives by force. They shape the election system to their advantage or interfere in it. Here it is not public opinion that matters, it is the personal ambitions of a few.
The structure of government is such that it contains power. To work, power is needed. But responsibility toward work becomes secondary. The practice of power becomes primary. This desire for power knows no bounds. The unrestrained exercise of power by one group is pushing us into a dark cave.
Times have changed; ‘brothers’ and their loyalists are no longer satisfied with crumbs. They must be given a hefty allowance and at least a motorcycle. When the leader travels in a an open-top vehicle rattling down the dusty street, a long convoy of motorcycles follows him
Secondly, before elections, candidates appear before the people with baskets full of promises. The people are very hungry. The tools needed for a better life are out of their reach, so they fall into the trap of tempting promises. They choose the wrong representatives. Eventually, they realise they have been deceived. The problem is, when they try to replace their representatives in the next election, they find that the alternative candidate had also deceived them before. Where will the people go?
We are caught in such a trap. We cannot escape. The more we struggle, the tighter the knot becomes. The question is, will this continue? How long will it continue?
Are there no good people out there? There are, but they do not have the qualities of “public representatives.” To be a representative of the people, one needs a lot of money and a lot of power. One brings the other. Ordinary people usually do not go to others seeking service. They want to live their lives without anyone getting in their way; but that is not happening. The “public representatives” are determined—they will provide service. Public consent does not matter here.
Among public representatives, there are divisions. They cannot all be gathered under one umbrella. So there are different umbrellas, different groups. In the language of modern political science, we call these political parties. There are rivalries among the public representatives. They all want to provide service. They jostle among themselves. If necessary, they even incite riots.
Why do people fall into the trap of these parties? The truth is, these “public representatives” did not fall from the sky! They emerged from among the people of this country. They were born with the natural traits of the people of this region. The day they took initiation into becoming public representatives, they became distinguished. They flexed their muscles, their voices grew louder, their shoulders broadened, their midriffs expanded, and their skin grew thicker. Their pockets grew heavier.
There are a few easy ways to recognise a public representative. Their attire is distinct. They put on something that makes them look like “inhabitants of another planet.” They think the people of the country are ignorant, foolish, unable to understand their own good. They must be made aware that public representatives know more, understand more. They have a "moral duty" to guide the people. It makes no difference whether the people want this service or not!
When public representatives walk down the street, their cronies people move around with them. Many of them look quite plump, and their well-fed bodies glow. They chant slogans, “Move forward, brother, we are with you.” When that “brother” stands on the stage and delivers a speech, he addresses them as “friends!” But he does not see them as friends, he sees them as slaves. Because he knows that if you toss out a few crumbs, plenty will flock to him.
Times have changed; ‘brothers’ and their loyalists are no longer satisfied with crumbs. They must be given a hefty allowance and at least a motorcycle. When the leader travels in a an open-top vehicle rattling down the dusty street, a long convoy of motorcycles follows him. The bigger the motorcycle convoy, the more powerful the leader, the higher his position in the ladder of leadership. A leader who once rose from ordinary people becomes extraordinary. When elections approach, motorcycle sales rise.
I hear that an election will be held soon. There are about ten weeks left. Already a flood of public representatives has descended onto the streets.
* Mohiuddin Ahmad is a writer and researcher.