Let the healing begin

In the aftermath of the civil disorder which has rocked Bangladesh in recent weeks, it is imperative that proper corrective measures be taken to ensure that similar chaos does not descend on the country again.

In a country where the powerful have as a matter of bad tradition never taken responsibility for their failure to act in conditions of emergency and therefore have never been shown the door or voluntarily made their way out through an acknowledgement of a failure to do the job, it is now time for the government to act. A thorough probe into intelligence failures and the results consequent upon the inquiry will alert the nation to any future danger it might be up against. The circumstances arising out of the recent disorder has placed citizens in a grave quotidian crisis, that of conducting lives through smooth commuting.

One does not need much intelligence to convince oneself that the destruction of national property resorted to clearly had the involvement of elements whose goal was to derive maximum advantage from the situation. These were elements who were not part of the students’ community that had been engaged in seeking a peaceful resolution of the quota reforms issue. To argue that all this destruction was the work of the students would lack logic, for the pattern of destruction — arson carried out with plentiful supplies of gun powder — was the work of people practised in the sinister art of causing havoc in the country.

It will now be for the government to identify, in absolutely professional manner, the individuals and their patrons responsible for the mayhem that has laid the country low. Looking for scapegoats would be counter-productive, for that would properly be regarded as a measure towards scoring ugly points over the political opposition. For the authorities, it is a time when a dispassionate study of the situation is an absolute necessity. Any move taken by the government to restore normal conditions in the country must rest on the premise of a meaningful study of conditions as they have developed and exploded in these past few weeks.

While it is of crucial importance that the law be not applied to harass or intimidate the innocent, it is equally important that the government go into self-introspection mode, the better to comprehend the gravity of the situation as it was caused by its own followers, especially those in the students’ wing of the ruling party. The disturbing statements made by a ruling party functionary about the ability of the Chhatra League to tackle the anti-quota reform protesters simply cannot be ignored or pushed under the rug. That elements opposed to the founding principles of Bangladesh emerged from the bushes to strike at those principles has been a palpable factor. But it is important that those who unwittingly or unwisely provoked them into undermining the state are also made to answer for their indiscretion.

The times are out of joint. For the government, the enormity of the task before it cannot be over-emphasised. The Prime Minister, clearly shaken as all citizens are by the traumatic incidents which have upended our lives, needs to take a long, hard look at the way her government has been functioning in these past few years. She will do the nation a huge favour if in light of all this chaos she undertakes a purge of all that has gone wrong in the country. All these recent reports of corruption in high places, with many of the beneficiaries of corruption fleeing the country, require serious handling. Merely informing the nation of a policy of zero tolerance of corruption has not been enough, as we have so sadly observed.

The burden of taking this damaged country back to normal life is strictly that of the government. And the government can do it if it is made leaner and therefore more efficient. That is a job for the Prime Minister to undertake. A good number of non-performing or loquacious members of the cabinet will need to be relieved of their responsibilities if the goal of a restoration of normal conditions in the country is to be attained. Cabinet reshuffles are a fine way of keeping a government functioning well, which is why the Prime Minister will be expected to set aside the fulsome loyalty of some of her colleagues and have them replaced with better, more efficient and certainly more experienced individuals.

Those who have always stayed loyal to the Awami League, have stayed with it through thick and thin, will certainly have realised in these last few days the severe damage caused to the party by those who man it or by those of its leading figures who are part of the government. The tears of families who have seen their children succumb to violence; the solidarity expressed by teachers with their students; the voices loudly raised in protest against the repression that has gone on ought to make the powers that be reflect on why so much anger is today being directed at them. It is making a mockery of the nation to suggest, as a junior minister has done, that the students who faced the police and were shot had drugged themselves and therefore were unable to understand the nature of their action.

Let the healing begin. The wounds inflicted on Bangladesh will take a long time to heal, given the damage done to lives and to infrastructure. That education needs to be revived, with students going back to schools, colleges and universities, is a factor one will ignore at risk to the nation’s intellectual future. That businesses need to be restored is of critical significance. That the curbs imposed on communication must go before we can go back to being part of the global community is a truth we cannot and will not look away from.

That proper respect be shown to all citizens, students and others, whose lives ended so suddenly and so tragically, is a paramount need. That the security of the state is strengthened without compromising the freedom of citizens is a lesson those in power must not abandon. That the Prime Minister must reach out to all citizens irrespective of their political beliefs or inclinations is an urgent requirement today. Partisan politics must no longer break up society into tribes fiercely and ferociously and endlessly arrayed against one another.

Leadership rising to the high calling of statesmanship is in urgent demand in these fraught times.

Syed Badrul Ahsan: Contributing columnist, Shottobani.