People before politics, country before parties
Thursday, 29 April 2010
Talha J Ahmad
Unity of any nation is absolutely paramount. A nation divided is a nation whose existence is at risk. There ought to be debates and discussions within a nation, writes Talha J Ahmad
VALUES are important. Every nation needs to have a set of values. Political blocs, civil society groupings, trade organisations, campaign groups and others will have their own values. But there are some values which are universal. In the context of a nation, there are certain issues, institutions, interests and priorities which are universal to all. Regardless of political belief, social position and economic realities, these issues are the ones which unite people and form the basis of national consensus.
An important concept in politics is 'people before politics'. I am sure there will be many different explanations to this dogma. But my take on this is that the phrase signifies the important principle that the interest of the wider population, the greater good, has to prevail over narrow political interests. Another similar phrase is 'country before party'. When the interest of the nation conflicts with interest of the party, the party should always uphold the interest of the nation.
Both these doctrines are important in the context of Bangladesh. Our country is blessed with natural resources and the people are intelligent and hard working. But our politics is hugely demoralising. Our economy is weak, society is disintegrating, gap between the rich and the poor is widening, the human rights record is bad -- the negatives are endless. The biggest danger is the absence of true patriotism, in other words, a recognition and respect for the doctrines: people before politics, and country before party.
Our government leaders apparently act in a partisan manner. The government is sometimes prone to use state machineries as a political instrument in total disregard for the interest of the nation. We see that good become bad and vice versa on mere political consideration. This cannot and must not be allowed to continue.
We, the people, therefore need to wake up to the reality. We need to enrich our thought process, clarify our thoughts and develop a strong sense of understanding of the challenges. The people must become firm and demand from our government a government-like attitude. The opposition represents those who oppose government; it is an important role but a very limited one. But, a government, though it consists of a political party or parties of similar nature, represents the whole country -- every one of the citizens. The government must behave, speak and act accordingly. Where they fail to do so, we should challenge them and protest openly and loudly.
Unity of any nation is absolutely paramount. A nation divided is a nation whose existence is at risk. There ought to be debates and discussions within a nation. There will be different views regarding challenges faced by a nation. However, no action of a government should threaten the core unity of the people.
Email : talha.j.ahmad@gmail.com
Unity of any nation is absolutely paramount. A nation divided is a nation whose existence is at risk. There ought to be debates and discussions within a nation, writes Talha J Ahmad
VALUES are important. Every nation needs to have a set of values. Political blocs, civil society groupings, trade organisations, campaign groups and others will have their own values. But there are some values which are universal. In the context of a nation, there are certain issues, institutions, interests and priorities which are universal to all. Regardless of political belief, social position and economic realities, these issues are the ones which unite people and form the basis of national consensus.
An important concept in politics is 'people before politics'. I am sure there will be many different explanations to this dogma. But my take on this is that the phrase signifies the important principle that the interest of the wider population, the greater good, has to prevail over narrow political interests. Another similar phrase is 'country before party'. When the interest of the nation conflicts with interest of the party, the party should always uphold the interest of the nation.
Both these doctrines are important in the context of Bangladesh. Our country is blessed with natural resources and the people are intelligent and hard working. But our politics is hugely demoralising. Our economy is weak, society is disintegrating, gap between the rich and the poor is widening, the human rights record is bad -- the negatives are endless. The biggest danger is the absence of true patriotism, in other words, a recognition and respect for the doctrines: people before politics, and country before party.
Our government leaders apparently act in a partisan manner. The government is sometimes prone to use state machineries as a political instrument in total disregard for the interest of the nation. We see that good become bad and vice versa on mere political consideration. This cannot and must not be allowed to continue.
We, the people, therefore need to wake up to the reality. We need to enrich our thought process, clarify our thoughts and develop a strong sense of understanding of the challenges. The people must become firm and demand from our government a government-like attitude. The opposition represents those who oppose government; it is an important role but a very limited one. But, a government, though it consists of a political party or parties of similar nature, represents the whole country -- every one of the citizens. The government must behave, speak and act accordingly. Where they fail to do so, we should challenge them and protest openly and loudly.
Unity of any nation is absolutely paramount. A nation divided is a nation whose existence is at risk. There ought to be debates and discussions within a nation. There will be different views regarding challenges faced by a nation. However, no action of a government should threaten the core unity of the people.
Email : talha.j.ahmad@gmail.com