[ This was published in Dhaka Courier,
Bangladesh on 23 November 2018]
Having arrived at the age of more than forty
seven years of our hard-earned independence, we are still in a position to yelp, swindle and dwindle musically and
rhetorically----political and/ or otherwise ---every time before elections to Parliament
for a ‘free, fair and credible elections’’ and, as ill luck would have it,
cumulatively and resultantly such Hobson’s choice is on more formidably also
before elections to the 11th parliament scheduled be held on 30 December 2018.. This
is indeed a groundbreaking irony of the fate of the nation. O Creator of
Universes, let us be blessed with an
onward happy, prosperous and democratic state in the comity of the nations.
Let it be recalled with a sense of
humiliation, suppression, oppression and suffocation that constitutional
amendments and reforms, starting from 1973 to this very day, all tell us the
truth of concentration of more and more powers in various shapes, forms and
peculiarities in the hands of party/regime in power from time to time in the
name of interests of the nation as a whole. What a funny it is that our leaders
and statesmen (Mostly being called and drummed by the followers and a section
of intelligentsia) like to feel free to fly very high allowing themselves to
move with such currents and trends. There is a unique consensus between the
political parties in Bangladesh. All speak in the same language, voice, volume
and rhetoric while in power and while in opposition/ out of powers beats the
same drum calling party in power autocrat in all respects.. Going to power it
behaves like a king but when it is out of power it cries like an outcast. Let
it be stopped for the sake of running and flowering democracy. Democracy cannot
survive and continue without understanding and cooperation between and among parties,
the ultimate players in position and opposition. Never take power as chess game
and bear in mind that politics is for the people, by the people and of the
people. Political parties and leaderships just carry such voice and aspiration
of the people to put those into reality..
Actuality carries records that political activists
customarily at the grassroots levels are dedicated, candid,, energetic and committed
and they hardly hesitate to invest time, energy and money behind organization
and leaderships in the expectation of meeting with better days leaving behind
odds and worst landscapes. Researchers, political scientists and sociologists
have meanwhile given birth to scores of theories on leaderships from different angles
and views in the milieus of time, space and dimensions and the processes are on.
Today recognized approach is that no single approach or theory is adequate to
define, understand and evaluate a leader in right perspective. Each and every
one had/has his/her own characteristics combining few or more or adding more in
respective time, space and dimension. That’s why, comparisons between two
leaderships shall never be in full if time, space and dimension paying due
attention to the challenges, dilemmas and opportunities faced by them as well are
not duly taken into account.
A leader emerges as dreamer, visionary with
missions and goals taking leadership of the respective party first and people
later as a whole. Therefore, leadership is not only a responsibility and
accountability but also a dependable means for finding ways and alternatives to
face challenges and dilemmas, using and
devising opportunities, , ensuring and
cementing deliberations and distributions in a fair mood and mode under all the
circumstances, compelling or not. Its first manifestation takes place within a
party and second manifestation rolls and radiates in a wider scale i.e.
coast-to-coast. Former is foundation of leadership while later is development
of leadership in a wider scale rolling gradually from national to regional to
international hemispheres.
A leader may fall from his leadership characteristics
because of many a reason. When such falling starts, this is called ‘moving
towards perversion of leadership’’ and the standard is desolately unacceptable,
it then clearly comes to be brown as ‘Perverted leadership. No doubt, for
Bangladesh, it is an era of perverted leaderships in all most all areas of
life. But there are lights even in the dark and those lights are our silver
lining. ’
Therefore, instead of going into details of
ongoing political crises, dilemmas and state of leaderships, it is better to
look at the opportunities before us at this very moment. Sheik Hasina Administration
has lot of attainments and failures over the last ten years. Having been out of
.power (one may also conclude in a simple fashion ‘arrogantly typically without
convincing reasons) for the last ten years, yes,, BNP rather in particular has
become direct target and victim by the party in power extremely. People know
all and BNP has now decided to take part in elections for many compelling reasons.
Certainly it is without Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia who has been behind the
bar on charges of corruptions and Acting Chairman Tarek Rahman who has been
staying in UK for a long and has now been convicted of a number of cases
including 10 years rigorous punishment in jail. In the eye of law and the state
Tarek Rahman is absconder/fugitive and necessary initiatives are on to bring
him back to Bangladesh as early as possible. Under these peculiar
circumstances, .Dr. Kamal Hossain is certainly a lifeboat for BNP. It is also supplementary
gain for BNP that new political alliance called Jatiya Oikya Front headed by national
leader Dr. Kamal Hossain and 20-party
alliance under BNP —all in a wider scale-- are contesting using BNP’s ;Sheaf of paddy as
common electoral symbol. Electoral atmosphere, despite ruling party’s
reluctance to withdraw so-called political cases and continuous drives to
harass and hunt BNP activists, is more or less non-volatile and within the
range of acceptability in comparison with past elections to Parliament. Welcome
to BNP and its allies and thanks a lot to Dr. Kamal Hossain for playing a very
landmark positive role in this regard.
In fact, Dr. Kamal is the personality who
played main role to make Sheikh Hasina president of AL in 1981 paving her way
smooth and realistic to come back to her motherland after of lapse of seven
years in foreign lands. And now again it is Dr. Kamal who is playing a plosive
historic role to put BNP on trek thus paving way smooth both for Khaleda Zia
and Tarek Rahman.to have rejuvenated political re-start.
Whether AL agrees or not, truly a challenge
has arisen for Hasina-led 14 party alliances. Hasina-led jote, (excepting
Ershad’s Jatio party that will follow its own symbol), also chose to contest
with a common electoral symbol ‘Boat’. Both sides from their respective standpoints,
attaching renewed and maximum importance and priority to choose and nominate
the best ones to contest in the elections scheduled to be held on 30 December
2018.and come out successfully. People are really good enough to love our
leaders,, noneless records show they are
also daring enough to prove otherwise, if a need arises. Nobody should forget
that love and hatred go together in politics and the fate of political leaders
may be miserable if there starts deviation from leadership proper.. Perverted
leadership is a curse of the highest grade not only for a leader
himself/herself but also for the country and the nation as a whole.
Keeping the 11th elections to
Parliament in factual perspective, let our leaderships, in precise be fair and committed to the
continuing and lasting of creeds and expressions of leaderships first and
spread necessary perfumes to everywhere for a free, fair and credible elections
to the 11th Parliament. Above all, the party in power should all the
time bear in mind that this is not the last elections for them rather more will
come after every five years as stipulated in the constitution. Level playing
field cannot be guaranteed unless the party in power is sincere and faithful to
stand by Election Commission for holding a free, fair and credible election in practice conducted by EC.
Therefore,
voice I again ‘‘No more yelp, O the people of Bangladesh’
[ Dr.
Sinha MA Sayeed,, Chairman of Leadership Studies Foundation and Columnist.
Contact:
Sinha_sayeed611@yahoo.com]
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