The Pursuit of Real Democracy in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is on the verge of 10^th national parliamentary election. But an ambiguousness in the constitution of this republic has been developed over the tenure of Awami League (AL) led government on the issues of interim government in election time and the maturity of the assembly. Though, the one and only valid explanator of the constitution is the Supreme Court but many a quarter including constitution specialists therefore lawyers and politicians are explaining it from different angles. The prime opposition party is holding a stubborn position about not going to elections under the current system of voting while the government is also rigid in their stance. This standoff is apparently leading us to an unexpected calamitous situation where everyone desires for peace and a peaceful transition of power.

What is happening in this country now deserves an in-depth look.  How have we come to this point is a question of general citizens, voters and obviously the civil society. Back to January 2009, Awami league came to power with a landslide victory of 230 seats among the 300 seats and with a huge popularity. The opposition, BNP, had virtually no power in the parliament with few public representatives to interfere in the government’s actions of passing laws or changing sections of constitution. Although it was a big blunder, but the opposition chose to leave the house and occupied the streets. Nobody is concluding that the government, in and out of the parliament, did all wrong with the huge power but the list of mistakes or corruptions is not short as well. The AL led government has contributed a lot in the development of the country in different sectors like electricity, gas, agriculture, education, production and so forth that our country has ever seen. The construction of fly-overs in Dhaka city within a single term is highly commendable. The achievements of sea area after the suit with Myanmar, huge amount of free supply of books in primary school level are some of the accomplishments of the government. From a political valuation, the handling of the situation after BDR mutiny, the settlement of Hifazat’s long march and their Dhaka occupying movement, the rigid position against radicalism is highly admirable success of the government. The implementation of justice in Bangabondhu assassination case, the revival of war crime tribunal and arresting of the alleged criminals are some valiant step of the AL government. On the other hand, the flacks against government are often too severe. World Bank- Padma Bridge, Weak diplomatic negotiations with India, quick rental, stock market scandal, Hallmark- Sonali bank scam, Rampal power plant, Teesta-Tipaimukh dam are few to name from a long list of accusations. Now the time of election has come and it is the choice and responsibility of the citizens and voters to value the success and failures of government and opposition, determine the political parties’ competence and most importantly to send a party to power for next five years to run the country.

Parliament House of Bangladesh (A symbol of democracy)

To focus the opposition party, they left the government in a playground with no rivalry. They felt comfortable in the streets and in the talk-shows instead of parliament. They chose to stick to a party of alleged war criminals and remained silent in the times of moral crises. There are lots of examples where they showed violence instead of wisdom. They didn’t stand against the government with the national issues like they stood up for their narrow partisan interest. Even in some cases, they failed to capture the public sentiment while government was in a backward situation. From a bird’s eye view, the opposition wasn’t careful enough to resist the government from their autocratic moves.

Hence, for the currently ongoing political deadlock, both the government and the opposition are equally responsible. The government has changed the constitution legitimately and the election time is very near now. However, it is very understandable that without the participation of BNP the election will not be fair and acceptable. And as a developing country we cannot afford that type of election and reelection again; what the current opposition and the then government, BNP, showed us before in 1996. The politicians do not have a good experience with unelected caretaker government after infamous 1/11. But the formula that the AL government has developed is not a perfect one. And it has become almost impossible for the government to revert the changes made in the constitution. So, whatever the acceptable solution is must come out from a participative dialogue. It is also to remember that, all power including the vote, in a democracy, is held by general public. Hence, powerful neighbors or third parties have nothing to determine the fate of this country. But unfortunately, both the parties are acting very rigid and childish which will bring no good for the future.

A real democracy is where the parliament holds a balance. For instance a 170/130 or similar wining makes a balance of power. What our voters do is not to vote for the candidate rather they vote for the logo or the memories of iconic leaders or the party. This happened in 2001 and again in 2009. That’s the exact reason why democratic political parties become autocratic and a weaker opposition occupies the street and takes the path of violence. Whatever the situation has lately been developed in our country must not be solved by bloodshed or machetes. Wisdom, toleration and an intention to sacrifice are expected from all political parties, smaller or bigger.

In the 43 years of liberation, we experienced assassination, military coup, unelected government, bloodshed, attack and resilience. We want to believe that the time of darkness has been over. In this decade our generations are dreaming of a bright future and holding passions to go forward. In this context, we implore to the political parties not to hold our back but to show a bit of wisdom and sagacity. The path of going forward is not smooth; don’t make it worse anymore, please. 

October 25, 2013

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Don’t destroy the Sundarbans

Authorities all over the world are continuously justifying their wrongdoings in the name of the greater good. This time, the Sundarbans has become the victim of that notion.The mangrove forest is about to be sacrificed in the name of the greater good but at a price that we cannot afford. It was not long ago that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina strongly accused developed countries for their contribution to global warming and urged them to compensate the sufferers, i.e. developing countries like Bangladesh, but now she has signed the death verdict on the Sundarbans.

The human race has been honoured with the highest dignity not just because of its independent thinking but for its ability to take care of wildlife, nature and the environment. But the intentional destruction of the Sundarbans is not only a suicidal move, it is also a violation of natural laws. It will make Bangladesh more vulnerable than we can imagine. The Sundarbans, shared by Bangladesh and India, and the largest mangrove forest in the world, is an enclosure for the coastal areas and gives the country protection from major natural calamities, such as past hurricanes like Sidr and Aila.

It is enriched with huge natural resources and is a safe-house of diverse wildlife. Most importantly, it is a natural holder of the ecological balance and our ecosystem. It provides livelihood to a great number of local inhabitants. In spite of all this, the government is advancing to install a coal-based thermal power plant of 1,320 MW capacity which will occupy almost 768 hectares of land and is barely 9km away from the Sundarbans.

Though, the government is considering this as a safe distance, the partner of this project, India, has passed its own law where they are not allowed to install such plants within the 25km radius of forests in their territory. Ironically, they are doing just that in our homeland and our government is acting like our resources belong to India, not to us. If this plant is installed, a huge amount of coal will be transported through the Possur River. The noise pollution and other waste produced from the plant will damage the biodiversity substantially. The fish in the confluence of the rivers will face extinction. The area will become uninhabitable, and the air will be so polluted that no living creature will be able to breathe there. The water of the rivers will be contaminated. The climate, topography, faunal and floral diversity will be destroyed. Allegedly, the materials which will be used in the plant contain hazardous chemicals such as sulphur, carbon dioxide, cadmium, radium, arsenic, lead, mercury and nickel.

These toxic chemicals could affect the health of the inhabitants, even those living in government-certified safe areas. According to rough estimations, this plant will immediately displace about 5,000 families from their land. A large number of forest-dependent poor people like honey-collectors and fishermen will get unemployed. The Sundarbans is a tourist attraction, a sector which will take a hit once the project starts.

Mangrove forest and it faunal diversity

Many studies have already been done by different think-tanks, researchers and journalists but no one could credibly claim that the benefit of this plant will outweigh the costs. It is true that our demand will increase day by day, but that does not mean that we should destroy all our natural treasures just to satiate our demands. There are many other viable options to produce energy. Solar power, windmills and biogas are options. The Sundarbans are unique and irreplaceable. As a lower riparian country and with low lands, we are vulnerable to coastal floods, cyclones and hurricanes. Without the Sundarbans our people cannot survive. We Bangladeshis are very good at seeing the near future and short-term benefits which cause us to lag behind other nations. It is high time we gained some wisdom. We must act before it is too late. Protesters of the initiative have been labelled “impractical” and “anti-development” by ministers and government advisers.

Other than the Hasina administration, not a single person has supported the idea of generating power at the cost of the destruction of the Sundarbans. This project will bring no benefit to our unborn generations, and the Sundarbans is not just an asset of Bangladesh, it belongs to the world. It is a world heritage site and the home of the world-famous endangered Royal Bengal Tiger. I implore all Bangladeshis as well as the world community to not turn a blind eye on this issue, but to listen to their conscience.

This is a time of moral crisis.

The article has been published in The Dhaka Tribune/ Op-ed/ Oct 12, 2013

 Link: Click Here for newspaper version

** Photographs are copied from Internet.

Quota system in civil service: An unjust solution

The preliminary test result of 34th BCS examination was recently published and has resulted in controversy, and mass disappointment, amongst the candidates. This year, the quota system was applied during the preliminary test, a change from previous years. The idea of the quota is already under dispute. In the BCS, 55% of seats are allocated for candidates who fall under quota, and 45% are for general students under meritocratic recruitment. Merit is virtually disregarded for quota holders, and this is unfair to the majority of students. There are quotas for freedom fighters’ children, women, indigenous people, etc. And the grades achieved can vary substantially between a passed quota holder and an unsuccessful general candidate.
 

The exam has three phases. The first stage is preliminary exam, consisting of multiple-choice questions that test variety of knowledge. The second is the written exam, which tests the capability of the candidates to express their views. The last one is viva Voce and that tests the adaptive and situational skills of potential candidates. The final stage is a background and security check. The government one of the largest institutions of the country, provides qualified persons through the BPSC (and thus through the BCS examination system) to the justice department, foreign cadre, police, tax and audit, and the different ministries. The government also oversees monopoly some utilities such as electricity, water and gas. Moreover, in every sector government has some business concerns like banks, insurances, telecoms and so forth.

To run this whole apparatus, the most important thing required is merit and excellence of staff. In the age of a market economy, diplomacy and competition, it is very hard to remain competitive and that is the exact reason quality, competence and excellence of the government personnel is needed. But the system of quota runs contrary to the above. Let’s have an in-depth look at the quota systems from both the government and general perspective. It is understandable that the quota system was inducted to mitigate inequalities among the citizens of our country. But this original reason has become outdated. The job of the government includes, but is not limited to, assisting indigenous people, who lag behind others, through the tribal quota of 5%, to pave the way of woman empowerment by reserving 20% for the ladies and to honor the memory of the freedom fighters and to recompense their family for their heroics through a quota of 30%. This system has opportunity costs. The government is losing the best possible workforce, and are instead employing less qualified people in highly challenging positions. That deprived meritorious workforce joins the private sector and are competing against public sector organisations. Consequently public ventures are becoming less profitable, as they lack qualified staff and management. The examples are apparent when one compares private banks and public banks or the telecommunications companies like Teletalk and Grameen Phone. Most of the public concerns are becoming backbenchers in the long term. The multinationals (MNCs) are using local talent and grabbing profits of public companies, and ultimately a large portions of the profits are siphoned away from the country. In another case, less qualified people in governmental jobs cannot compete with their counterparts in India, the US, or Europe in international negotiations where quality, competence and efficiency are regarded as resources, and are given highest priority. So, from a simple calculation we can clearly see that the government is losing much from quota system.

Instead of enforcing quota system, there are several other ways where the government can provide benefits to the quota holders. There are lots of non-cadre jobs which would be suitable for quota holders that would provide steady income and address inequality. Meanwhile the BPSC should reduce the quotas to 20%, and recommend that the government utilise the best human resources in the nation, in the best interests of the nation. If women and minorities are given the opportunity to go to school, college and university, then gender equality and empowerment will come about naturally and the quota will not be needed. BPSC, the government’s recruiting agency, should contemplate publicising the threshold marks in every phase of examination to make the whole process transparent, formulating a protocol where candidates can only apply to several posts that are compatible with their academic background, for example where an accounting major can apply only for audits and accounts, and tax cadres, candidates with a major in political science, international relations or public administration, can apply only for BCS administration, police and foreign affairs. That is only how the government can implement specialisation and can get the best service.

BPSC must shun any kind of political manipulation and influence in this highly important recruitment process. It is high timeto bring the entire system under scrutiny, and being it in line with international best practices so as to reap the highest benefit. Against this backdrop, if the government annuls the quota system then obviously some stakeholders will be disappointed, but it should be remembered that government’s responsibility is not to take a popular decision, but to take the right decision, which will best serve the attainment of the country's collective interests. 

The article has been published in The Dhaka Tribune/ Op-ed/ July 14, 2013

 Link: Click here