The Political Angst

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Muhammad Zakiul Islam
People even with the faintest interest in politics and the public, in general, seem to be suffering from a minor political angina and angst at the happenings of the last few weeks. Having bloated in the euphoria of lasting reforms, a corruption-free society and clean and gentlemanly politics et al, the nation is suddenly confronted with a series of drama and dramatic events.
There is a dramatic reversal of role of the actors: Administration over taking and talking over the shoulders of the judiciary, eagerness of the judiciary in granting bails and visible reluctance of staying the stay orders or the reverse of it, lawyers turning into intermediaries and business community, as usual, making it their futile business to counsel and discipline the politicians. In this milieu, only one community kept their hue and posture. You guessed it right: It is the politicians. They have come out as clean and clear winners.
The political 'Ha Du Du' game is yet to unfurl the finale and finesse. The government is more eager than ever before to host a dialogue although such an idea of holding a parley or even talking to the political parties was once scornfully rejected by one of the hitherto fallen Advisers, a renowned Barrister. But those were the happy moments when the caretaker government (CTG) was basking in the glory of borrowed lights but genuine public support.
The source of the borrowed halo has since disappeared or dimmed due to reasons unknown and the public support was on the wane long ago due to excessive pressure from price spiral, tall talks and failed commitments.
Some would glorify the events of 1/11 as 'a spirit' while there are others who would demonize it to the extent that they have already passed a judgment that the country has taken a flight backward by one score of years or half a score due to the events of January 2007. Is there a lesson learnt? Well, some have openly admitted that a stint in the jail has remodeled their thought but most of them seem to be defiant. Whatever be the feeling, there is no denying of the fact that 1/11 did take place and it could happen again and ought to happen if we keep playing the politics of brinkmanship, act as harbinger and champions of chaos and anarchy and, remain uncompromising even on flawed and faulty policies and practices. 1/11 was history and we must take lessons from it. More importantly, the recent events are history as well and there are much more valuable lessons in these. We must not be oblivious of the events, rather learn from them or else we will be both "condemned" and "doomed" to repeat those as George Santayana has famously warned, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" and "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."
It is the statesman, the political fathers, the policy makers and the policy analysts who should seek knowledge from history with the more purposeful and noble ends to fulfill their moral obligation and responsibility of protecting their nation and fellow citizens from harm. Although learning from history is necessary, it is also difficult by the same token. It is essential because past provides the data and experience to construct the present. One has to study the patterns of human behaviour whose permanence and continuity, as features of human nature, are expected to offer themselves as relevant to the present times and problems. The process is both inductive and deductive: inductive, for studying and sifting through the historical events to find out a common pattern; and deductive, in applying that knowledge to the present, presuming that there is an analogy between them.
But it is difficult, because same set of ground conditions may not exist and a blind juxtaposition of past experience on the contemporary events may not produce the same result or may prove to be non-productive or even disastrously harmful. A great deal of intuition, albeit luck is of essence here to produce the desired result. Sticking to a wrong analogy and intransigence to recognize the present realities may prove to be fatally erroneous. A blind guess is more harmful than not guessing at all. It is only when an event occurs that we can judge its relevance or otherwise.
Despite all the frustration and exasperation, there is a silver lining after all. We will have a National Election on the Third Thursday of the Twelfth Month of the Year 2008. Reforms or no reforms, old RPO or a new one, Registration or no Registration, let us hope that the Election for the 9th Parliament will return honourable members with true belief in the war of liberation, with true commitment to democracy and nationalism (both variants, Bangali and Bangladeshi) and true understanding of the spirit of religion. I am an optimist. With the recent past being so bitter and the present being as uncertain, all of us must take a refuge in the future. For going back to George Santayana who had remarked," We must welcome the future, remembering that soon it will be past; and must respect the past, remembering that it was once all that was humanly possible." (E-mail: mzaki_islam@yahoo.com)