Star Wars and Bangladesh

Long time ago, in a galaxy far far away…

There was a Republic where the elected governments actively sought the counsel of the a group of wise beings.  The Council of these wise beings consisted of the Jedi — beings who are well-versed in the use of the Force.  For a thousand generations, the Jedi kept peace in the Galactic Republic.  Then came the Clone Wars, end of the Republic and the rise of the Empire, and resistance against that empire. 

Events in that ancient, far away galaxy have a lot of lessons for the present day choices faced in a country that is all-too-close to our hearts.  The false promises of the council of the wise and a sustained period of stability being made in Bangladesh today echo the Republic and the Empire — both fundamentally anti-democratic states. 

Won’t get fooled again

A new writer at UV is asked to jot down a a few sentences to introduce themselves.  Instead of boring everyone with where I live or what I do for a living, my self-introduction was about my stance on a number of political issues.  It started with something like: I welcomed the 1/11 coup because it stopped violence, I think the coupmakers are different from others in our history, but in the long run there is no alternative to democracy.

Anyone claiming that ‘there is no alternative to democracy’ has to work hard to explain why they ever said ‘I welcomed the coup’.  This post is an attempt at that.  American liberals who supported regime change in 2002 enabled the neo-con’s Iraq War.  Similarly, I, and others like me, too are culpable for enabling the mess that is today’s Bangladesh.  This post is a mea culpa.  This rambling-masquerading-as-reflections is also my attempt at summarising what I’ve learnt in the past year about our politics. 

If I were to rewrite that introductory sentence with the benefit of hindsight, this is what I’d write: there is no alternative to giving democracy enough time to evolve, and even if we give the benefit of doubt to the coupmakers’ intentions, the coup has derailed that evolution process and cannot be supported. 

Things to do in Bangladesh

Many of us working in the West look forward to a trip to Bangladesh at the end of the year.  December to February is a very popular time to visit Dhaka for most of us.  For many students, particularly from North America, May to August is another popular time for a home trip.  Whenever it is, most such trips are consumed by visiting family and friends.  And quite understandably so: some elderly relative had passed away and condolences need to be paid; friends, cousins, siblings get married; couple whose wedding was attended last time has kids now and there are birthday parties.  Then, if it happens to be the time for Eid or other festivals, then there are accompanying obligations.  And some need to venture out of Dhaka for such obligations.  Beyond these commitments, we want to have some time for shopping.  Whether it is clothes, music and movies, or books, we want to spend some time at the city’s new malls and old markets.  If we are so inclined, we may want to catch a play at Baily Road, or go out to the Fantasy Kingdom or Baldah Garden, or visit the Shaheed Minar and Boi Mela if it is February. 

Dear reader, these probably take up most of your very limited time in Bangladesh.  But if you have more time, let me suggest a few activities, in no particular order. 

Milbus, and the new godfathers

Milbus is a term coined by Ayesha Siddiqa, a British-educated Pakistani scholar, to describe the multi-billion dollar business empire run by her country’s army.  In her groundbreaking book ‘Military Inc: Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy’ (see here for a review), she defines a milbus as any capital appropriated by soldiers outside the defence budget.  Eventually, these business ventures become impediments against the army’s withdrawal from politics.  In the short run, the businesses can be used to manipulate the political system to help the ruling regime.  The roots of the Pakistani milbus go back to the 1950s, when Ayub Khan became the first general in modern South Asia to conquer his own country and promote himself.   Nearly 50 years on, are we seeing a milbus rising in Bangladesh?