The New Nation - Internet Edition

Muhammad Samsul Hoque

Of all misdemeanours "Mr. Lust is the central leader" sings Baul Samrat Saijee Lalon. The Holy Qur'an also prohibits accumulation and confinement of wealth at the hands of the wealthy persons. Absolute trust and faith in the Almighty Allah, economic and social justice and the like principles in the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh constitute the fundamental principles of state policy. Again, securing basic necessities of life such as food, clothing, shelter, education and medical care to its citizens shall be a fundamental responsibility of the State to ensure equality of opportunity to all citizens. As per article 19(2) of the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh the State is duty bound to "adopt effective measures to remove social and economic inequality between man and man and to ensure the equitable distribution of wealth among citizens and of opportunities in order to attain a uniform level of economic development throughout the Republic". Further, the State has sanction under the Constitution as per Article 28(4) to make special provision for the advancement of any backward section of citizens.

Now, as defined in the Constitution "the State" includes Parliament, the Government and Statutory Public Authorities. Key persons in the State are absorbed from the public leaders. Making and subscribing an oath before entering upon the office mentioned in the Third Schedule of the Constitution being mandatory those Constitutional dignitaries make oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.

So, to maintain sanctity of their oath of ensuring equitable distribution of wealth among citizens and remove inequality they cannot allow themselves to become a vivid sign of inequality. If they are prompted to accumulate unlimited wealth it would be far from practical for them to adopt effective measures to remove social and economic inequality and such hypocrisy would not be tolerated by the people. The present Government has a vision to materialise the dream of the people to have the honest persons elected as their representatives from local level to national level. Government, of course, is thinking of the appropriate measures to be adopted for the purpose.

The idea presented herein might be as one of the branches or at least of the leaves of the esteemed tree the Government is aspiring to plant for. Here I am taking the instance of the locality of a union parishad. Usually the most wealthy and influential person is elected to the office of the chairman and in majority cases he is not chosen by the common people but intended by himself and materialised by his sycophants and cadres. The wealthy person in our context naturally enjoys overwhelming respect or influence over ordinary people, nevertheless he might be a bad man. An educated person with every other good quality may not raise his voice against such wealthy and influential person. There may be more such wealthy and influential persons and if they are allowed to contest in any election they would simply try to buy votes with money and influence of wealth they have or somehow got in possession. Then the generations would learn that wealth and only wealth is required to gain the prestigious position and they would jump to accumulate wealth disregarding ethical value. Such encouragement naturally leads the nation to intellectual bankruptcy and a land of corruption that we have already experienced to our utmost shame.

Again, if the wealthy and influential person is elected to a further influential office the power would be monopolised and there would be none to oppose his misdeeds. Wealth is not only money or land. In broader sense prestigious position is also wealth. As one man should not be allowed to hold more than one public office at a time similarly, one influential person should also be restrained from occupying another influential position altogether. A big businessman naturally having big influence if allowed to do politics and then made a minister, he would simply continue to grow bigger in terms of business and would never become a pro-people public leader to minimise the sufferings of the have-nots mass. Lust and greed is inherent in every human being. When one's capacity is increased his lust and greed is also increased and this is how corruption got a high breed in our country.

For the moderation of lust and greed moral and spiritual elements in the education have to be included which should be an eternal programme to achieve and sustain admirable status of human quality. Before that, discipline has to be brought by legal instrument where a party chief shall not be permitted to prefer "Armed and affluent mighty cadres" to be nominated in the Parliamentary election.

A politician, a public leader, local or national, enjoys public respect, ornamented by flowers, garlands. This is most valuable resource more than material wealth. Giving this resource (honour) to the persons who have plenty of money, business and land, would run against the principles of equitable distribution of wealth. Unless some restriction is put to action all resources would be accumulated and confined to a few wealthy persons which would be a gross violation of the scheme of the holy Qur'an and the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. A public leader should aspire public esteem and not unlimited plenty. A public leader must have a sacrificing mind. He including his family members cannot be fond of luxuriousness on the face of millions of unfed and tormented human beings if he claims to be their leader.

Such feigning and heinousness are liable to be extremely hated universally. Most unfortunately, our majority people have not learnt morally to hate those are liable to be hated and fantastically they practice the opposite providing thereby encouragement and incentives to the robbers in disguise of public leader. Might be it is the after effect of long term foreign rule in our motherland. But enough! we have seen and we have no time to waste.

To address the situation I would like to suggest making some laws to disqualify the business leaders and big landlords from contesting in any election to the public office. Further, I would like to suggest to fix an appropriate ceiling to the wealth of the public leaders including their dependants. These may not go against the scheme of the Constitution as equality amongst the equals is the principle which would not be frustrated by such laws. Fairly such laws would contribute towards bringing equality amongst the citizens and cause some advancement to the backward section of citizens and hold back the breeding of corruption. People may get long aspired educated, wise and honest persons as their leaders.

We find instances that an illiterate rural person, who could not educate all his children, when distributing property makes some special favour to the illiterate and poor sons or daughters sometimes with consent of the rich and literate sons or daughters.

This person having no institutional education did know neither the Holy Qur'an nor the Constitution but had the fundamental wisdom that every human being should find in himself.

To materialise the dream of the common people the current State leaders may moderately apply such wisdom within the scheme of the Constitution of Bangladesh. The principle of equitable distribution of wealth however deserves application in the whole universe within the Divine scheme.

(The writer is Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh)