Sliding of politics into politricks: Case of Bangladesh

[This was published in African Herald Express in South Africa on 24 December, New Nation in Bangladesh on 27 December and in Dhaka Courier 28December 2012, Bangladesh]

Politics starts losing its prettiness, flavor and velocity when everybody in a state--knowingly or unknowingly, recklessly or negligently--gets tuned to it directly or indirectly touching passiveness in its all forms, hidden or open. Politics turns to be critical and negative if it is ever practiced and applied heinously preferring tricks of various folds, natures and dimensions as an ends in itself just to gain momentarily for vested interests of person/group without taking note of the people called ‘subject of politics’. And politics slides into politricks (poly+tricks), end point and climax of negative politics, when it is frequently used and applied for person’s or group’s vested interests without paying  any heed substantially to the well being of people known as ‘object of politics’. Crude reality is that even in a democratic order politics is faced with Himalayan dilemmas and limitations for the reasons coming from within and without the boundaries of a nation state entailing bi-lateral, regional and international overall landscapes.

One may agree or not, but reality unfolds the truth that politics is in the very nerves and veins of the people of Bangladesh and, perhaps, Bangladesh is at the top of the list of the countries in the world where knowingly, recklessly or negligently politics is practiced at large by almost everybody irrespective of caste, creed, color, religion, gender and age. Here politics and people are so inter twined and tuned that one cannot be thought and attended without another. There is a saying that a Bangladeshi rises in the morning with politics in mind, passes the day with it and goes to bed again at night with it. It is also held that where there are two Bangladeshi there rightly develops two conflicting opinions and thus the split increases with the increase of the number of people. From these standpoints, politics has easy access to every spot and location ranging from bedroom to bathroom to kitchen to dining room to drawing room to yard to road, lane and by-lane to park to prayer places such as mosques, temples, pagodas and churches to government to non-government commercial and non-commercial offices, spots, stations and centers.

Even in our daily parlors we hear that people are used to say ‘Don’t play politics with me’, ‘He has been in politics for a long’, ‘The matter is political’, ‘Politics has polluted the academic atmosphere’, ‘Religious institutions should be above politics’, ‘Political leadership should be honest, committed and altruistic’, ‘There is a political crisis in the country’, ‘Defense forces should be away from politics’ ‘Government is in a trap of regional or international politics’ etc. More importantly it is held that a country with a democratic order cannot run well without matching political leadership and thus more height and space get added to it.

Therefore, the asking comes in instantly, Are we really practicing politics? Or, Are we indulged in negative politics leading to politricks? Or, Are we already within the grip of polititricks? Answer is almost clean and cocksure that in case of Bangladesh sliding of politics into politricks is almost complete, which implies that the ongoing state of politics with all its peculiarities is now within the parameter of politricks.

Yes, the lingo ‘politics’ has now developed into the most bemused and repulsive concern in Bangladesh at the same time being a carrier of many a current to divide and disrupt national unity with widening chasm between or among individuals, groups, parties and come what may not. More dangerous and disappointing unveiling phenomena/sequence is that social relations and religious rituals encircling close relatives, friends and well-wishers are not free from such blasts of politics when it is exposed and applied in a negative (ugly) and appalling mood and manner. It is generating and signaling various kinds of diseases such as insanity, diminished responsibility, lethargy, insomnia, diabetics, dysentery, diarrhea etc in our politics and democracy. All the political parties including AL, BNP, Jatio Party, Jamat are boldly carrying and spreading this politricks to suit their respective ends and purposes and thus their ranks and files are necessarily becoming victims of such diseases politically. It is because of this politricks dialogues between AL and BNP on burning national issues inside and/or outside the parliament have become a rarity, talks between Sheikh Hasina and Begum Khaleda Zia, face to face or over telephone/mobile, even as the leader of the House, also as Prime Minister, and as the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament appear to be a day dream. The languages they frequently use to each others are most unethical, dishonorable apolitical and un-parliamentary on all counts. No doubt, it is a matter of vital concern for the general make-up and standing of leaderships in Bangladesh, present or future.

Here it needs to be noted as well that Bangladesh) with an area of about 148000 square kilometers is located within from 20°34˝ North Latitude to 26°38˝ North Latitude and from 88°01˝ East Longitude to 92°41˝ East Longitude having her standing in the ‘Temperate Zone’ of Tropic of Cancer. It has acquired, apart from her specialties and peculiarities, almost all the common characteristics of the very TZ. Bangladeshi climate is tropical with a mild winter from October to March, a hot, humid summer from March to June. A warm and humid monsoon season lasts from June to October and supplies most of the country's rainfall. Natural calamities, such as floods, tropical cyclones, tornadoes, and tidal bores, occur almost every year, combined with the effects of deforestation, soil degradation and erosion. All these together have given birth to almost six seasons a year.

Therefore, remarkable is that geographic and climatic effects on the overall psyche of the people have necessarily paved the way largely for their taking resort to different types of stands a year. What they think in summer, mostly  they  later like to jump to a new one in winter and what they may have in mind in winter, feel free they also to go differently in next season. Theses go on repeatedly in a cyclic order six times a year. This change of mind has infused into them a kind of fickleness, repulsiveness, over emotionalism and restlessness and, resultantly, politics has also become prey to it. Despite all these opportunities and limitations, Ii is now with 150 US dollar GNP, 6.7% GDP, 12% inflation, although it is going on with a fledging but weaker parliamentary system of multi-party democracy.

Bangladesh is sometimes, curiously enough, also marked as a land of ‘Three Ps’ (PPP) meaning here people are poetic, poor and political. Poetic because of geographical location within from 20°34˝ North Latitude to 26°38˝ North Latitude and from 88°01˝ East Longitude to 92°41˝ East Longitude.24° 00' N latitude and 90° 00' E longitude having her standing in this ‘Temperate Zone’ in the Tropic of Cancer with six seasons a year, which bring about u-turn changes in the mind of the people mostly in a continuous process and thus causes laxity to a great extent in the texture of making and loose sticking to decision(s), determination and implementation. Poor’ because of the weak economic standing, overpopulation leading to serious fall and short of employment opportunities, civic privileges and rise of resultant complexities in particular and ‘Political’ since the people are poetic and poor, they have a penchant for making everything political in their demand(s) and realization. So, the asking arises again and again that how long will it continue? When shall politricks be subservient again to politics, more or less a common phenomenon in the developing countries? Will the leaders in the position and in the opposition in Bangladesh feel free to give thought on it realistically not merely as leaders of the respective parties but as statesmen on the whole to move with time, space and dimension keeping in mind afresh the recent historic dynamic, forward-looking leadership of Nelsen Mandela who has even in the face of so many dilemmas and limitations in free South Africa set a glorious example truly to the people of world irrespective of developed, developing and underdeveloped state of standing of nation states that leadership becomes a blessing for a nation when it is rightly anointed with statesmanship?

But at least for the time being for the sake of courtesy and our(people of Bangladesh) fondness of newism, let us celebrate in a befitting manner the victory of unchecked sliding of politics into politricks in the very soil of golden Bangladesh!!!