Arson attacks on land offices

The incidents of setting land offices on fire during the blockade-hartal called by the 20-party alliance point to a distressing turn of the situation. It is the offices in small towns in the country that have fallen victim to arson attacks. But since the exact identity of the criminals could not be ascertained in all cases, benefit of the doubt has to be given a chance. Yet given the clear anti-government nature of the programme, and its concomitant destructive activities, one may be inclined to blame the opposition activists. The main point is the country's land offices are not safe at the moment.
The land offices play a vital role in the lives of the people in the rural areas. A patch of land is sometimes worth a value that cannot be measured in mundane terms. To most of the rural people, landed properties involve emotion, ego, and an inviolable ancestral bond. Disputes over land ownership have, thus, been spoiling the otherwise peaceful ambience of Bangladesh villages for ages. Given this volatility involved in land ownership, the immovable property has all the potential to trigger bouts of quarrel. Land disputes and the following civil suits linger for generations with no permanent settlement. The parties concerned, too, do not give up easily. On occasions, the staffers at the land offices are found to be involved in these disputes behind the scenes.
Allegations of tampering with land-related records are aplenty. Besides, there are syndicates who allegedly work in favour of a party engaged in grabbing a piece of land from a seemingly weaker owner. To complete this vile act documents and deeds are forged, mutations are deliberately altered and phony cases lodged. This way a section of staffers and low-grade officials eventually emerge as a formidable catalyst in land-related disputes. They do not get involved in these malpractices for nothing. For accomplishing a major mission, they are generously paid by the benefited parties. Damaging and destruction of important papers at many of these offices, thus, is commonplace.
Anti-government agitations do not necessarily follow prescribed rules. On many occasions, they spiral out of control. At the height of frenzy, partisan eruptions get overtaken by irrational acts indulged in by party workers. A lot of the recent occurrences related to the ongoing blockade-hartal prove this fact. In an anarchic situation like the present one, which is chipping away at the central and local administrations, the incidents of setting land offices afire are no surprise. But as a great importance is attached to these offices by people in the small-town and rural neighbourhoods, the story also presents a different perspective. To speak sarcastically, this spells out another basic trait of the country's people.
In fact, taking the opportunity of a large-scale mayhem, political or social, a section of people always tries to make gains. They wait in the wings, and bide time for the right moment in order to appear on the scene, stealthily though. This may have been the case with the arson attacks on some of the land offices.
The nation is caught in a violent cycle of blockade-hartal, which sees mindless destruction of public and private properties. Land offices may or may not be the victims of partisan wrath. But sensible citizens want to see a complete stop to the acts of arson, be the targets vehicles or buildings.
Arson is a highly aberrant, and tricky, agitation weapon.
shihabskr@ymail.com