BNP politics and a roadmap for state repairs

The Awami-BKSAL government was toppled through a bloody coup on 15 August 1975. Nine days after that, on 24 August, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the armed forces Maj Gen Ziaur Rahman, Bir Uttam, was appointed Chief of Staff of the armed forces. On 7 November that year, he became the Deputy Chief Martial Law Administrator through another coup. On 29 November 1976 he took over as Chief Martial Law Administrator. He became president on 4 April 1977. On 31 May he was given a vote of confidence by means of referendum.

On the second anniversary of the 7 November 'National Revolution and Solidarity Day', Ziaur Rahman motivated the people with the message of 'Bangladeshi nationalism'.

On 22 February 1978 he formed the party Jatiyatabadi Gonotantrik Dal (Jagodal), with vice president Abdus Sattar as convener. On 28 April he promoted himself to the rank of lieutenant general, the relevant gazette being published on 19 April 1979.

On 1 May 1978 the six-party Jatiyatabadi Front (Nationalist Front) was formed with Zia has chairman. He was elected president on 3 June as candidate of this front. On 29 August Jagodal was dissolved. On 1 September Zia announced a 76-member convener committee of a new political party, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), with himself as chairman. The Jatiyatabadi Front was dissolved. On 1 December he retired from the army.

And that was how Ziaur Rahman became a politician. He created the political party BNP. A large number of civil and military bureaucrats, professionals, intellectuals, businesspersons, and politicians breaking away from left-wing and right-wing camps, joined the party. 1 September was the party's founding anniversary.

The state of Bangladesh is 53 years old and BNP is 46. The party has been through a series of splits at various times. After the death of Ziaur Rahman in 1981, the party was in dire straits. Khaleda Zia took over the reins of the party as its vice chairperson in 1983 and then as chairperson in 1984. During the anti-Ershad movement she established herself as an uncompromising leader. The narrative of her transformation from a housewife to full-fledged politician is also amazing.

Actually it was Khaleda Zia who made BNP a strong and formidable party. Many parties came and went before and after BNP, and it would take a microscope to locate these parties now.

Then 2007 came and BNP was struck by the 1/11 tsunami. The party was in tatters. Awami League made certain commitments and came to an understanding with the military-backed caretaker government and swept to the government by winning the 2008 election.

The meeting held to come to this understanding was held in the US (Source: Ek Egaro, Prothoma Prokashon). But Awami League did not keep its commitments. We then saw three consecutive staged elections held by subservient elections commissions.

The dynastic rule that had been toppled in 1975, once again descended like an ogre on the shoulders of the people, with Delhi's blessings. Delhi's rulers believe Sheikh Hasina's servile government acts as a shield for their national security.

The government system that had been in place over the past 15 years can only be termed as 'fascist'. We could not use this work to describe the government when we wrote in the newspapers. We would say 'authoritarian' government. Autocracy and fascism are not one and the same thing. Fascism does not emerge naturally, it needs a base. We saw a significant section of the media and intellectuals lend their support to Sheikh Hasina. Some of them were quite big names in the media, poets, writers, professors, artistes. We would see a sycophantic obsequious scene at the prime minister's press conferences. Only selected journalists would ask pre-fixed questions and the prime minister would use these questions to spew out her toxic vengeance.

Social media, Facebook in particular, was used to fill the vacuum created by the controlled media. That was then controlled by the Digital Security Act and then the Cyber Security Act. People were even afraid to speak their minds over phone. The intelligence, who salaries and allowances were paid with the people's money, used the people's money to procure spyware to keep the people under surveillance. What irony.

The situation has changed somewhat now. People feel freer to write and speak their minds now. But for how long? After the mass uprising in 1990, people had breathed a sigh of relief. But that did not last long. BNP came to power in 1991 through the demands for a caretaker government and elections under a neutral government. But they did not keep their word.
Another movement was launched for a caretaker government and from then on Awami League and BNP both would plot and plan on how to use the caretaker government to their advantage and remain in power forever.

Then came the 1/11 jolt. Many politicians were mistreated. That was inevitable. It was the constant fracas among the politicians that compelled the army to intervene. But they learnt no lessons from this.

Recently an unprecedented mass revolt took place in the country. The students were the catalysts. At one point of time, the movement against discrimination, fuelled by the movement for quota reforms in government jobs, was joined by people from all walks of life. And the immovable government of Hasina finally toppled from power.

The question remains, have politicians learned anything from this? It is the politicians who will run the country, that is the norm. There is an interim government installed at the moment. BNP is demanding an election roadmap. Political parties are very important but not the only stakeholders. The main stakeholders are the people. The people for long have been demanding state reforms.

Over the past 77 years we have changed the country, changed the flag, changed the father of the nation. But the state has not changed. The people want state reforms. They want a roadmap for reforms. This should have come from the politicians. But that wasn't there. If elections are held without state repairs, what will those who ascend to power deliver? We have been cheated in 1972, 1991, 2009, every time. What do the people expect from this interim government, achieved through the blood of thousands? This government must understand what the people expect. BNP and the other parties that aspire for power, also must understand the people's aspirations.

All institutions of the country have been destroyed. The economy has been shattered. Social order is at the nadir. No one listens to anyone. Chaos prevails. A long-term plan and roadmap is required to salvage the country from this predicament. The days are over for politics of raised fingers and roaring rhetoric.

It makes us laugh when politicians say, we brought in democracy, we carried out development. The 170 million people of the country can't sit together and run the country. The people have elected you as their representatives to carry out certain responsibilities. That is why you are paid salaries and allowances. We want you to carry out your duties at minimum cost. We are a poor country riddled with problems. So the government must shoulder big responsibilities at little cost.

The language of leaders changes when in power. They claim that they welcome 'constructive' criticism. It has become a habit for those in power to dub dissenters as traitors of the country. A sword descends upon the news media for criticising the government. An example will explain it all.

When BNP was in power, at a certain point of time they stopped government advertisements for Prothom Alo because the newspaper would not obey them. Awami League did the same when it came to power because Prothom Alo would not obey them. They would simply shut down newspapers they did not like. We saw BNP's police beating Nasim, Tofail and Matia. We saw Awami League's police beat Khoka or Zainul Abedin. There are innumerable such examples.

Awami League for the time being is not in the scene. Many of the party people are being arrested, many are fleeing. The rest are in hiding in fear of being lynched. Responsible persons in the government say they do not want to ban any party. They are indicating Awami League in this remark.

The similarities between BNP and Awami League far outweigh the dissimilarities. BNP and Awami League together submerged us in shame by making us champions of corruption five consecutive times.
We tend to forget the distant past and remember the recent past more. Awami League is now the public enemy. And now BNP is the people's party, 'victim' of the Awami rule. BNP must show that they will not be like Awami League. They have to clarify what their agenda is and how it is different.

Politicians are not the owners of the country, the people are. But that remains in theory only. In many countries the basis of the constitution is the citizens' charter. It is the citizens who will determine the scope of the state, the jurisdiction of the government. In Finland they find it hard to get any candidate for the office of prime minister. And in our country, people run off with the ballot box on their heads. What a lust for power!

We must all commit to consensus on certain issues. That is the foundation of the constitution. That is how we can get a citizens' state. As an old and large party, BNP has a public base. This party has many leaders who have struggle and sacrificed. Because of its public base, this party can carry out a lot of positive changes in society. Or it can become a horrific fascist. The party runs at the behest of individuals. All the parties are the same. Our past experience is not pretty.

The major parties have played the Hindustan-Pakistan card, the Hindu-Muslim card, the Bangali-Bangladeshi card, the freedom fighter-razakar card. All that must end. BNP must understand, if it does not carry the aspirations of the people, if it regresses to its old ways of wielding power, it will face the same predicament as the ousted Awami League. They must change their mindset and behaviour. They are now under public watch.
State reforms are everyone's demand now. BNP can come up with a proposed outline in this regard. So can the others. A roadmap can be drawn on that basis. Let this be BNP's resolution on its 47th birthday.

* Mohiuddin Ahmad is a writer and researcher
* This column appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ayesha Kabir