Admittedly, in a democracy it is the people's right to go out in the open and stage protests and street agitations to realize their demands and seek redress of their grievances. But I think the time has now come to pause and think about the nature and the extent of certain aspects of our protests on the streets and public places. Without going into the merits and demerits of the issues at stake I am afraid that we have driven matters too far. The recent incidents of breaking of cars and damaging of public property in the heart of the city, vandalising at several garment factories in Savar, the incident in Shanir Akhra all tell a story -- a story that makes me both sad and highly concerned. Are we advocating anarchy?

This is one of the worst of times in the life of our nation and hence we should proceed with extreme caution and care in dealing with the situation. BNP may come and go and so will Awami League but the fact remains that Bangladesh is here to stay for all time to come. Today, if anyone dares to call himself a patriot he must make all out efforts to stop all such acts of vandalism.

It will take years for the country to recover from the state which it is in today. I hope the aspirants to the seat of power in the coming elections do realise the fact that it will take more than a magic wand to put things right, and then to proceed ahead. Most of our vital institutions of governance are in shambles, the judiciary and the law enforcing agencies, education, the bureaucracy, the army, you name it. It is also time to consider the fact that all the successive political parties since independence, including the former major opposition party, had progressively contributed to the process of this decline.

If we are to salvage this country we should urgently consider de-politicising the entire society that is beset with, and enveloped in, partisan political thinking. Slowly and surely, what is happening in the name of building political awareness is that the people at large are being led into cauterised and partisan thinking, particularly by both the major political parties.

It is indeed time for our political leadership to sit back and seriously consider taking some hard decisions. It is high time that the political leadership, intellectuals, and members of the civil society all put their heads together to completely disband the partisan student bodies affiliated with various political parties. Admittedly, it was traditionally the student communities, which were at the forefront of all our major democratic movements including our war of independence, but it must be said now that (perhaps) they have outlived their purpose. I strongly recommend that, if not anything else; all parties should put a moratorium on the activities of their affiliated student bodies for a period of five years at least.

The state of our bureaucracy is in total shambles. As it is, with the departure of the erstwhile cadres of CSP belonging to the erstwhile Pakistan civil service the operational capacity of our present bureaucracy has been reduced to its lowest rung ever.

It is, thus, high time for all, the intellectuals, the members of the civil society and the various groups of professionals to come out in the open and condemn any form of politicisation of the civil service. Civil servants from here onwards, whether in service or out of service should be completely barred from indulging in active politics at least for a period of five years after their retirement. If need be the rules of civil service should be revised to make this into a law.

As we proceed we find that there remains much to be said about our judiciary. Today the very process of recruitment of judges is in question. The sanctity of the judiciary is at stake. Lawyers, with their partisan roles, have made the court premises places for holding all kinds of public meetings and processions. The administration had further weakened its foundations by continuous flouting of court orders and directives. Day by day the judiciary as an institution is becoming irrelevant and weaker. At the forefront of this process of weakening of our judiciary lies irresponsible political leadership of both the AL and the BNP.

As I keep thinking of the state of our Judiciary, I am reminded of the famous statement by Blaise Pascal about an ideal system of judiciary which I am tempted to quote here and which our lawmakers would do well to carefully take note of: " Justice without power is inefficient; power without justice is tyranny. Justice without power is opposed because there are always wicked men. Power without justice is soon questioned. Justice and power must, therefore, be brought together so that whatever is just may be powerful, and whatever is powerful may be just." As we can see, the institution of the judiciary has also taken a blow that has shaken its very foundations. We would also do well to remember that in the final analysis what is of vital importance is justice and not the judges.

Of late, a band of miscreants, allegedly under instigation of what many describe as "conspiratorial and under instigation from external elements," is out to destroy our major symbol of excellence in the industrial sector, the readymade garments industry (RMG). The so called agitating garment workers had carried out war-like ravaging in which a good number of factories had been set ablaze, and properties worth millions had been gutted. Referring to the incident while seeking protection of their investments the Korean Community of Investors said that: "Most of the violence was being created by thugs from outside EPZs, and not by factory workers."

For a while I, too, was extremely agitated with government's inaction and failures and, in all honesty, was considering myself very much a part of the various street agitations and protest marches. But clearly our political leadership, in the opposition in particular, has carried matters too far and set some dangerous precedents. What is happening in the name of protest marches is nothing but leading the nation to anarchy. I, therefore, feel that I cannot be a party to this unbridled free for all violence and vandalism on the streets, no matter what. Today, I am also reminded of that famous saying: "Democracy is often tyranny by the majority." I am afraid that, slowly and surely, we are stepping into a mob culture of the worst form and I do not wish to be a party to it, now or ever.

Shamsher Chowdhury is a freelance contributor to The Daily Star.