Poverty of statesmanship: Case of Bangladesh

Question of statesmanship has become a fiery concern of the day in Bangladesh than ever before since scarcity of statesmen in a political party in a state may be minimized at least for a while but poverty of statesmen can hardly be minimized for a long to keep pace with time, space and dimension in national, bi-lateral, regional and international relations and politics. The matter tends to be a grave one if the party is a major one and it appears to be the gravest one when the party carries a tradition of forming government and sitting in the opposition in Parliament in an alternative course of term. Anxiously enough, the matter turns to be a torpedo when it is found that all the political parties in a country by and large be sick with the same lacking, which cannot but be dubbed as a kind of ‘political sickness’ of the first water. Yes, for many a reason plus poor performance of statesmanship, both the folds of the position and opposition, Bangladesh has necessarily fallen into such trench, which has been having recurring negative feedbacks on the overall possibilities, opportunities and expected sustainable development and, to speak the truth, sincere, honest and time-bound initiatives to get rid of it is not explicably so visible and perceptive.

Politics of yes and/or no, also termed as ‘confrontational politics’, of the two major petticoat parties Awami League led by the sitting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Bangladesh Nationalist Party headed by the incumbent Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Begum Khaleda Zia has sharply divided the nation into two conflicting camps in almost all compliments from personal to familial to social to religious to cultural to economic entities. Nothing is apolitical and non-partisan and Hobson’s choice is either the umbrella of AL or BNP. Staying in-between means to go out of notice, importance and necessity. Intelligentsia, think-tanks, NGOs, associations, institutions, professional bodies of various natures, dimensions and backgrounds all are revolving around this reality, willingly or unwillingly. Cronyism, philistinism, selfishness, corruptions and all sorts of negative and degrading practices are escalating decisively both in private and public domains.

Party/alliance in power styles itself as master of the people politicizing beaurucracy, civil and military, to the point of no return. Opposition in parliament is looked upon as antagonistic, troubling force by the party/alliance in power on the one hand while on the other opposition itself does prefer to choose, follow, maintain, preserve and carry on negative approach and politics instead of playing constructive, responsible and responsive parliamentary role and, frustratively enough, shadow cabinet is yet to be born formally. Resultantly, practice of statesmanship is missing markedly.

To be fair, neither Sheikh Hasina nor Khaleda Zia is agreeable to take sincere initiatives and risks going above the parochial party interests even if such stand proves to be indispensable for putting an end to the  ongoing deadlock that are making political landscape unstable. So long the oft-quoted maxim ‘Interest of party is greater than an individual’s and ‘Interest of nation/country is greater than a party’s’ remains and continues as a mere strategic and opportunistic saying without having its reflection in reality, it is, if truth be told, difficult to put politics, statecrafts and administration on rail. Burning issues and concerns of the day including consensus on major internal and external issues, holding of elections to the 10^th Parliament within from October 2013 to January 2014 whether under non-party, neutral CTG or under all-party CTG or under the present regime can only be settled consensually in a free and fair democratic atmosphere provided both the sides come forward with statesman-like understanding, spirit and vision, not, not, not merely as leaders of respective parties. Regrettably, they are impregnated with lines of respective party politics and, thus, turning all the time around close-minded benefits at the dire negation of national interests.

From grass roots to the highest policy-making body of a political party utterance and voice of the leader is final and binding. Democracy implies (a) casting votes in elections and (b) within a party it amounts to giving all powers unanimously to the chief to decide everything in his/her own way absolutely. Therefore, music of leadership anointed with statesmanship is barely tuned in democracy and party politics.

No viable initiatives are being taken or even encouraged by our political parties irrespective of size, ideology, organizational strength and popular base. Rather many a factory are being floated in the name of associate and front organizations such as student wing, youth wing and so on just to produce sycophants, mere party line workers, cadres and so-called leaders. Money and muscle, not merit and intelligence are today being considered as the measuring rod of leadership for which the very stepping into the domain of statesmanship still remains afar.

Constitution (Twelfth Amendment) Act of 1996 that reintroduced parliamentary system in Bangladesh has in effect given birth to a Prime Ministerial system of government with a symbolic head of state called ‘president’. Council of Ministers usually acts as PM’s marionette sans lessons and practices of statesmanship. Furthermore; Prime Minister holds also the offices of Chief of the party and leader of the house in Parliament while leader of the opposition in parliament retains tightly the office of the chair of respective party. Concentration of all the three offices in the single hand of Prime Minister has made her the most powerful head of government in the so-called democratic world.

When people in Bangladesh come to learn and experience that the topmost leaders of the two major petticoat parties do not talk to each other, even do not see each other’s face and thus stay away from any social or religious occasion or get-together where such possibility may take place, they then actually get panicky thinking of their present and future. Politics has become power-centered trampling good words and sentences contained in the manifesto and other necessary documents to catch the attention of the people readily or gradually. All these do carry, carry living credentials and evidences of poverty of statesmanship in Bangladesh.

Therefore, let there be light, more and more light for dawning the sense of statesmanship in the minds of leaders for making leadership matured and updated so that people may have a taste of democracy in line with Lincoln’s saying ‘ Democracy signifies that it is a  government of the people, by the people and for the people’.