Strengthening the voice of opposition in parliament to avoid hartal

Hartal (general strike) is called to register protest against actions of a government even after the later changing its decision on any issue that generates some controversy, rights or wrongly. In this context, the Prime Minister deserves congratulations for her wise and timely decision to abandon the proposal for building a new airport in Arial Beel against the protest of local people. And this reminds us about the theme of democracy -"Democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the people". In this era of globalization, hartals are not only economically damaging to the country but also politically unproductive and do hardly benefit the people at large. The end of hartals demands a new vision and the commitment of the political elite. Swelling public pressure and strengthening the role of the opposition in the parliament are key elements for achieving this goal. Also important is improving the state of governance in the country, which would reduce the killings, conflicts, and violence - the major source of hartals, especially at the local level. Evidence shows that most citizens believe that hartals are not an effective form of protest, and furthermore, all prefer other methods of expressing dissenting voices. It is not only businesses and the ordinary people who suffer, but hartals also affect schools, hospitals and other services. The proponents of hartals claim to be exercising their freedom of expression. But as long as hartals are associated with intimidation, coercion and infringement on other people's freedom of movement, and as long as hartals inflict severe costs on the nation as a whole, attempts to justify hartals by invoking principles of freedom do not appear to be convincing or credible. The violent activities that often feature in the course of observance of any hartal include letting off bomb explosions and burning tyres and rickshaws and cars so that the public cannot get to work or do errands. Sometimes, buses are set on fire. The members of the political cadres and workers of both parties hold the view, implicitly or explicitly that immobilizing the lifelines of Dhaka -- i.e., Motijheel, Old Dhaka, and the areas around the Press Club, the Secretariat, and Purana Paltan -- is a prerequisite for any successful hartal. A credible study has estimated that during the 1990s, approximately five per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) was lost annually due to hartals. These figures, are, however, rough indicators; nevertheless, they provide an idea about the economic cost of hartals. There are also other, longer-term impacts on the economy, in terms of reduced savings, indebtedness, and psychological and other non-economic costs that should be taken into account while assessing the overall impact of hartals. The impact of hartals on education can not be measured directly in terms of cost. Hartals affect regular curricular activities at educational institutions. Because of the constant risk of violence, the schools do not expect pupils to attend classes on hartal days. Again, the cost of postponed examination has its effects for delayed examination, and induced psychological stresses due to such delays. In reality, hartals do, at most times, lack genuine public support. On most occasions, the hired hands are often involved in organising hartals. In addition, hartals have lost their legitimacy as broad-based social movements to promote development for the society as a whole, as today hartals are perceived to be serving largely the interests of a small minority of party leaders. Bangladesh, being critically dependent on both export and import activities, faces severe problems due to any disruption to its normal economic activities during the period of a hartal. There is a grooving demand for Bangladesh's ready-made garments (RMG) products in many countries. But 'hartal' gives a bad image of the country to the foreigner buyers. Again, when any public examination is being held or a mega event like that of International Cricket Council (ICC) matches as a co-host is organised, the kind of intolerance, as reflected in activities like hartal, do an irreparable loss. So, what is the way out? The answer is to take measures to strengthen the voice of opposition in parliament and reforms of political parties to make them more democratic and accountable. Again, any sort of extreme intolerance should be avoided. These will not happen overnight. Civil society coalitions, business and professional associations and the media have a strong role to play in supporting peaceful and non-coercive alternatives to hartals. This will require courage, determination and imagination to move away from the hartal tradition and to embrace a new democratic culture of tolerance. The writer can be reached at e-mail: shafiqul0032@yahoo.com