Dear Ms. Prime Minister,
Your ascendancy to power was on the wings of democracy. I want to believe you when you talk high of democratic ideals and principles. I do not condone the calls (from different quarters) for your resignation. I despise the calls to topple your government. Your failure shall be a failure not of yours only. Your failure shall be a failure for the nation as a whole. I want you to succeed. I want you to serve your people until your term ends. But I want you to serve well. Government is nothing but an institutional tool to serve. As the head of the government, you must listen to voices of the people who graciously have given you the opportunity. In democracy, will of people's will eventually prevails, for they are the REAL MASTERS!
As you know, once-almighty Hawa Bhavan is in disarray; its chief patron, having a waylaid sore back, supposedly recuperating on the distant Albinos Land and it’s all powerful point-man Babar is on perpetual remand. But those, who wields the same double edged sword of power, for the sake of their own tomorrows, don’t you think, should slow down and think a little before sliding on onto their wayward galumph?
And here, Dear Prime Minister, I must say something about a few issues that makes crouch in angst as the nation lumber towards an uncertain trimester.
15th Amendment:
Constitution is neither a gospel nor an mathematical axion. It is a document, albeit a very important document, that broadly dictates the governing principles, the people, are willing to be subjected. In democratic nations,
“It is a practice of our justice to condemn some as a warning to others. To condemn them because they have done wrong would be stupidity, as Plato says; for what is done cannot be undone. But they are condemned so that they may not do the same wrong again, or so that others may avoid the example of their wrongdoing.” (Montaigne)
Thus one may justify that the ‘extra-judicial killing’ in ‘crossfire’ serves the same end-point of condemnation plus warning as Montaigne maintained. But this simplification misses the very important point of "practice of our justice". Built-in checks and balances are intrinsic to the justice system. Arguments are made pro and cons. The accused has his/her time to present his/her own stories in presence of fellow citizens (juries or assessors). A judgment is rendered and the common people know the ins and outs.
Yes, justice system at its crux, at times to the chagrin of many, is an elaborate process lest we condemn our innocent. Yet when I talk to my friends at home, the paradox is confounding. They also despise the idea of killing by crossfire but still are happy with the proximate outcome. Criminals, after long, are really afraid! Such ambivalence of my friends at home sprouts directly from a feeling of helplessness, that nothing can be done and that the lesser pain is better than the greater!
But the government, that you run, with its enormous machineries of power is no helpless fawn like a commoner. It just is callus and moribund. Or it just doesn’t care about the inherent rights of its citizens. Hence, to do one ‘small good’, it embarks on one ‘terrible bad’.
Once upon a time, during the reign of your predecessor, it was ‘Operation Clean Heart’ that eventually morphed into the then-infamous ‘Operation Heart Attack’. Those pathetic operators were not sufficiently abreast of the physiology of heart attack otherwise they also could have divined the new meaning of now-infamous but much more palatable ‘Operation Crossfire’. Ah! What a morbid inflection of a rather mundane word ‘CROSSFIRE’!
Yes, extreme situation, indeed, needs extreme measure. Situation arising from stupidity and apathy, however, often ends up with stupendously stupid measure! Crime and violence is not a quantity and/or entity in itself. It rather is a form of a more sinister societal ill that can aptly be described in a single sad word "LAWLESSNESS". Unlawful extra-judicial measure, not only adds further to the abysmal entropy but also acts as a catalyst for its accelerated perpetuation, especially when it is sanctioned by a legitimate government — the prime function of which, as John Locke would have argued, is to preserve and protect the rights of its citizens.
Living in my safe sanctuary in North America, I am not subject to the abject lawlessness as experienced by my friends living in Dhaka. I, thus, am in no position to utter a single word opposing their position of staying mum.
But, as a person who cares for dignity and sanctity of human life I do have harsh opinion as to the often-stated subliminal policy of your elected (not necessarily democratic) government.
And lastly I would like to say a few words about the mal-treatment of the most famous living Bangladeshi – an icon of integrity, magnanimity and of true grit. You know, I am talking about Professor Yunus! Believe me - he has done more for the image of Bangladesh than anyone else I know. Please, for the sake of your Father’s beloved Bangladesh, reign on your minions and let Prof Yunus do what he does better…
Dear Ms. Prime Minister,
I do not want to cram your head with stories from history. You must have seen and heard a lot. Here are a few thoughts from a very ancient epic where a king despite being indisputably brave and incontestably strong was described as aloof and out of touch with his people’s welfare and thus deserving of the ultimate punishment:
His vanity swelled him so vile and rank
That he could hear no voices but his own. He deserved
To suffer and die … (Beowulf)
And remember, fugacious glory, like the bashful cherry, is never for ever!
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