Politics or \\\'poly-tricks\\\': The angels and demons

"All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us
All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us…"
- Michael Jackson: 'History - Past, Present And Future - Book 1' (1995)

When the US people are celebrating the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, this scribe cannot resist the temptation to put his oft-quoted line in the present context of Bangladesh. Mr Lincoln, as the then CEO of the US, tried to unite, and give a ray of hope to, a battle-torn nation by delivering an oracle: 'government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth'. But that's pretty archaic. In the context of Bangladesh in 2013 it can be put as follows: 'a country run by a government that is off the people, say bye to the people, stay far from the people, shall perish from the earth'.
It seems the meaning of the word politics (the original Greek 'politikos' meant 'of, for, or relating to citizens) has totally changed in the present context of the country, because, politics in the 21st century Bangladesh has little or no connection whatsoever with the major stakeholders - citizens or masses. Rather it is verged towards the narrower meaning of the word - achieving and exercising positions of governance (at any cost).
Historically speaking, all political communities of the modern type owe their existence to successful warfare. And our politicians have whole-heartedly devoted themselves to development of the art of warfare as the only means of power transfer. They are truly among the brightest gems of political science in the history of mankind, as much as the specific genre of knowledge examines the exercise of power. They have seriously taken the diction of Harold Lasswell, who defined politics as 'who gets what, when, and how', at its face value only.
It is an oft-quoted piece of story that a confirmed atheist, who hadn't put the slightest faith in God or someone like Him throughout his entire life, turned a complete theist. How did the miracle happen? Because, that person visited Bangladesh just once, and that turned his life upside down. He thought, in utter exclamation, a country like Bangladesh, where there was absolutely no system, could never survive for so long without the divine supervision of an omnipresent and omnipotent creator. Probably the story will continue to be relevant as long as the country exists.
Nowadays nurturing naïve optimism or turning into a hardcore stoic is what we require amid the awe-inspiring rollercoaster rides experienced in the 'second spell' of so-called democracy, being practised in Bangladesh since 1991. Even after long 42 years, our patriotic statesmen have failed to ensure normal (let alone smooth) handover of power after the end of their respective tenure.
As a result, refusing to accept people's verdict, terming the election a 'great robbery' in various articulations, recurrent parliament boycotts, preferring roads and highways than parliament to show their talent, calling non-stop shutdowns etc, paralysing life, unleashing terror, creating possibilities of direct or indirect intrusion of a 'third force', and finally going to power over numerous dead-bodies have become the common formulas for a party that fails to address various local and international 'factors' and resultantly has to remain satisfied, to its utter dismay, with the status of opposition.
On the other hand, the ruling party politicians think that they have obtained the sole agency of the country, as the people, who have no other option but to choose between the bandits and robbers, gave 'whole-hearted and spontaneous' verdict in favour of them to suck blood of the entire nation till there is  a single drop left. So, buoyed up with the magic masala of brutal majority they really turn brute demigods, with the ultimate target of bulldozing the opposition, institutions, media, civil society, voters and even their well-wishers, whoever raises the dissenting voice while the country is being ravished  in Gangnam style (apologising to PSY and numerous fans of his video across the universe).  
And the saga goes on and on. The plot, setting, climax, anti-climax and even dialogues of the mortal combat remain somewhat the same, only the actresses and actors rotate their heroic roles after five years. Seeing all these it won't be too hyperbolic to say that our honourable national leaders and their disciple politicians, who ought to be angels, bringing some good news to people or at least offering minimum breathing space and time, have turned fierce demons. Along with their metamorphosis politics in Bangladesh has turned into something like 'poly-tricks', and subsequently the term democracy for the ancient delta has also changed to 'demo-crazy' or even 'demon-like crazy'.
These 'poly-tricks' of demons have multi-dimensional evil impacts on the helpless nation, both short-term and long-term. Of the long-term impacts, any disastrous future leadership can be the most pathetic one. Due to the ongoing political turmoil academic life of the students, irrespective of age or educational level, is being hampered. They cannot concentrate on their studies at all, as their class and examination schedules are deferred ceaselessly. Even they are getting severely injured or burnt to death while trying to continue their education. Thus they are getting bitterly pissed off of education, and gradually developing a cynical attitude towards the 'obnoxious' country that has completely failed to provide them with the minimum equilibrium for survival. So, it is very natural that after a few years or when grown up they might decide to leave Bangladesh 'en masse' and settle abroad permanently for a manageable life. The phenomenon would definitely add to the woes of a country, already battered by brain-drain.
If things continue to happen like this, who will be the future helmsmen of Bangladesh? Our political leaders seem totally callous about the impending catastrophe. Actually, they bother little about this country or as MJ sang, 'they don't really care about us'. Because, most of the politicians have already succeeded in permanently sending their dearest offspring to the countries like the UK, the US, Canada, Australia or at least Malaysia, presumably with heaps of 'hard-earned' black money, and thus ensured their golden future for ever. So, who cares for Bangladesh? In this situation, would it be too apocalyptic to presume that the country shall perish from the earth, if not literally but metaphorically?
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Minhazul Anwar Mridul is a News Consultant of The Financial Express and an Assistant Professor at the State University of Bangladesh.  
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