If you read my response that was posted about an hour ago, you will find that I blamed not so much the innocent, mostly illiterate, common people for the present predicament, but the perpetrators of the blatant corruption in Bangladesh. These corrupt people come from the political elites of all the parties.
I can explain why I said Bangladesh is not ready for democracy. The corrupt political elites are misusing and abusing democracy. To them democracy means nothing more than conducting an election (even that is being challenged now). How that election is conducted, how free and fair that election is, how to conduct oneself following the election, transparency and accountability of the elected representatives etc. don't mean anything to them. Democracy is used as a facade to grab public positions and have their hands on public purses. A benevolent dictator or an honest military regime could have stopped such daylight robbery by the elected representatives and these representatives come to power on the back of democracy. Had there been no democracy, there would have no corrupt representatives siphoning away national assets.
Now what about the Jamaat who is not corrupt but acting as an agent of the foreign powers? In a democratic system you cannot stop them, as they are not doing anything illegal - they are helping the poor, giving food and clothing etc. to poor. But they are foreign agents and they are getting foreign funds. In a state where honesty and decency prevails, they would have considered as traitors - selling the country to foreign powers. (Remember in a poor third world country having democracy, honesty is an awkward word). In Bangladesh democracy offers Jamaat the opportunity to hijack the country to the goal of their foreign masters.
On these two grounds, I think democracy is a luxury for a poor country like Bangladesh, which is still stuck even after 42 years of independence as one of the least developed countries (LDCs) of the world. Unlike African countries (where most of the LDCs are), Bangladesh has a highly educated and skilled manpower in almost every field, people are resilient and hard working and they follow work ethics.
So why Bangladesh is now lumbered with as an LDC? Why now you get calls for strike for two to three days every week? How a party came to power in 2008 after calling for 105 days of strike in 2007? My answer to all these questions is democracy.
So, once the country is set on right path, once the country has got all the prerequisites of a democratic system, then we can go for it. Until that time, it is detrimental to the country. There is no Ayub doctrine or Kamal Ataturk doctrine. It is a simple pragmatic view.
- Anis Rahman
(Dr A Rahman)
From: SyedAslam <Syed.Aslam3@gmail.com>
To: mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, 9 November 2013, 16:48
Subject: Re: [mukto-mona] Recent attacks on minorities in Pabna
Mr - Anis Rahman
You have also said has said "Bangladesh is not ready for democracy.
These hooligans are using democracy to cheat the public and to loot
the country. They are the scourge for the country."
Can you give some historical/sociological reasons and perspectives on
why it has developed that way?????
BTW, your statement "What Fakruddin-Moinuddin could not do last
time, their successors must do it this time - clean up the bloody society
and punish the culprits in exemplary fashion."
Is not that essentially "Ayub doctrine" [Friends not masters
by Mohammad Ayub Khan] ?????
Syed Aslam
On Saturday, November 9, 2013 4:20 AM, ANISUR RAHMAN <anisur.rahman1@btinternet.com> wrote:
I fully agree with you. What Fakruddin-Moinuddin could not do last time, their successors must do it this time - clean up the bloody society and punish the culprits in exemplary fashion. All the millions and billions of dollars, pounds, euros that had been siphoned off by these so-called political leaders (actually thieves, thugs and hooligans) must be retrieved from their accounts, their properties confiscated and severe punishment meted out to them.
Bangladesh is not ready for democracy. These hooligans are using democracy to cheat the public and to loot the country. They are the scourge for the country.
- Anis Rahman
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