The New Nation - Internet Edition

M. Mizanur Rahman

There is a cry of election all over Bangladesh. Even the leaders and governments of the Donor-Countries abroad are vocal of it mainly the leaders of all political parties of our country! The sooner the better, election is a must in democracy. The tenure of the present caretaker government is to be ended soon. Prior to that both Upazilla Parisad and parliamentary elections must be completed. The Election Commission in Bangladesh is at hectic moment towards its necessary preparation. The leaders of the existing political parties are preparing their ground works as earlier as possible.

According to election roadmap necessary political reforms are necessary. It is yet to be clear in public what are those reforms that would be beneficial to the people being the soul of such election in democracy. The country is deluged in sky high corruption earlier and defamed by different high-ups and concerned quarters at home and abroad. The people are yet to know whether the proceedings of corruption cases against the high profile corrupted civil and political elements of the People's Republic of Bangladesh have been disposed off or not and the other listed elements who are yet to be netted should be taken into accounts soon or not. The beginning of the ACC was encouraging but the people are apprehending fear if the honest desire of the government in power let loose before the end of its tenure the people would continue to suffer as earlier.

It is evident that recent exorbitant price hike of essential commodities in our country at the behest of international market and devastated flood affected people's agonies could neither affect any political party or its any leader nor anyone of them came forward to succor the suffering humanity at any measure showed that they had no love for the people except capturing power and do their old political business. What politics in Bangladesh is meant for the business of profit of the so-called politicians at the cost of blood and tears of the suffering wretched people?

Had there been any political leader who did not pledge for the welfare of the people by alleviating their poverty and by bringing about peace and happiness in the society by extirpating the anti-social elements from its roots? But the picture what we witnessed earlier was dismal and disappointing. Its custodians rob the poor nation! What a funny politics! Should the people ask for its revival? Should someone put on a pair of shoe costs 5000$ to kick on the poor like Imelda Marcos of poor Philippines who displayed a lot of valued shoes mocking at the people at her heydays? Often a lot of such instances reach public through the media. But where's the remedy? Could a million dollar foreign car, air conditioned residence, a heap of monies, smart well-dressed orderlies, well-uniformed securities, radio-T.V. and other media coverage appease our political leader of a poorest country so long? Could the person in our poor country's state of affairs shy of following the Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya of our neighbouring state of West Bengal, India's austere life and his sense of sacrifice for the cause of the people without prejudice? It's really an instance for love for his country and the people. Still he encounters a lot of criticisms for administrative faults but he runs the government in all traits of democratic means. If we do not know the things we should learn it from all available sources conducive to benefits of our people.

What our people reasonably expect from the political leader is his/her dedication for the cause of them. And to achieve that one must have the sense of sacrifice, honesty and missionary zeal. One thing must be remembered that we must have to overcome the poverty line by strenuous efforts nationally. Each citizen should be brought up properly in all respect to become worthy of the state to face all the ensuing challenges of different aspects to be fit as the nation. The people in all stages of life should have equal benefit from the state towards education, health care, befitting jobs to earn livelihood by honest means. This spirit should have been inculcated with sincere motivation for the people must be ensured that the state is always people-oriented and service-oriented. As a matter of fact the people require guidance from the honest and wise leadership. None can expect it from the corrupt politician whatever influential s/he might be.

The character of a nation depends on the character of its leader. Why the entire fabrics of national ethos got corrupted? Because its leadership is faulty and infested with corruptible elements in the hierarchy of its administrative channels, so if the character of a nation is lost everything is lost. Since liberation this nation is facing challenges at every step of its character contrary to moral uplift and became a thing of derision to developed nations. The foreign traders and business communities have ever exploited this weakness while the loss is entirely ours.

We fail in intelligence and become fools to submit ourselves to alien influence whether that is right or wrong. If we had been morally strong since we could develop ourselves to a great extent. We got enough foreign aids, loans and many other advantages along with our most valuable manpower but we could not develop our country up to that mark because of moral degradation.

Now the time is ripe for taking strong decision whether we would take appropriate steps to have moral uplift in order to make our nation befitting to modern needs of honest living to bring about a paradisiacal state where the people can breathe well, feel well and act well with full security to their lives and properties or we should fall in the trap of ensnared political hegemonies being confused of democratic urgency of the election spree.

Still the ball is in the court of the benevolent as well as unimpaired government. Still the people have hopes and aspirations for the better days to come with better leadership in the man of character. That leader shall make men and women of this heroic nation befitting to technological and scientific works boosting agro-economy and other aspects of research, discovery, invention with vigor, determinant courage along with will to work efficiently in all nation-building fields. Even politics of the nation must be centered round creativity of true leadership blended with wisdom and sagacity and far-sightedness with national integrity. It would never be confined to false oratory and business of profit and personal gain with dictatorial hegemonies. Rather it would be a sense of sacrificial mission for the welfare of the people and progressive ideals towards global union of humanism. All persons of politics must volunteer themselves above their individual self to render service to the nation and then only the people will ensure their existence as the soul of election in democracy. Let that democracy fulfil the mission of the people to be ever happy and prosperous.