The media pictures of the arrest, showing Hasina holding a "tasbih" (prayer beads) in her hand and looking grim, were simply superb, to say the least. Even some of the worst critics of her rule have called the arrest unjustified.

In a third world country like ours where, for centuries, a tiny, wealthy class of people has ruled over the vast multitude of poor people, and where foreign rulers have been replaced by native rulers, we have a queer concept of the ruler and the ruled.

Here, in this land of ours, the common people are wont to behave like a herd of sheep or cattle, and anyone who can somehow step into the corridors of power and throw a few crumbs among the half-naked and unfed crowds becomes an instant hero or heroine, and is anointed the leader of the people.

We take very little time in lionising this leader for a small deed not worthy of notice in civilised societies, and condemning the same leader for deeds which run counter to our interest or to the winds of change blowing at the time.

We adore the leader and sing hymns in his or her praise, to the point of deification. And soon the leader becomes conceited and megalomaniacal, and begins to think that it is he or she who alone matters and the rest of the flock must obey and show fealty to him or her.

The leader becomes arrogant, peevish, and resentful of criticism, and scornful of those who speak of equal opportunities and the rule of law. Do we find these traits in our leaders? Khaleda loves being addressed as "Madam" and Hasina as "netri" (leader) by party leaders and workers, like Hitler was called "fuhrer" (leader) by the Nazis. Besides, one has been given the appellation

"jono-netri" (leader of the people), and the other "desh-netri" (leader of the country).

Gen Hussain Muhammad Ershad loved being addressed as "sir." He also desired that his wife Rawshon Ershad be referred to as "First Lady."

We also have a breed of sycophants and cronies amongst us, who keep multiplying as months progress into a year and years into a decade. This is a dangerous breed of people. They will either praise you to the skies, or pull you down to earth and consign you to the dustbin of history in no time. They will either bow their heads down in obeisance to you, or slander you or stab you in the back.

We have another quality in abundance in us. While the sycophants keep singing for the ruler of the day, we decry the leader for all his failings and follies, which are plentiful, and join the opposition chorus in condemning him and demanding not only his immediate fall from power but also his wholesale burial as political garbage.

And interestingly enough, as we become quickly disenchanted with the new ruler and see the litany of his vices and irritating pranks, we turn to this political garbage, retrieve him or her from the lowly pedestal and make him or her an idol of the opposition to the powers that be.

We as a nation are either short on memory or long on forgetfulness, which is why we do not stick with anything for long. It is against this background that both Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina have not only survived all these years but also remained potent forces in our politics, despite their horrendous records of failure to deliver and their myriad misdeeds while in power.

As it is, our euphoria with the caretaker government seems to be ebbing away fast, now that a hint of the military jostling with power is discernible in the eyes of those who pathologically suffer from military phobia. No wonder, therefore, that there is a surfeit of sympathy for Sheikh Hasina who is in jail, and for Khaleda Zia who is likely to be taken into custody as well.

Let us not forget that both Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia had a role to play, as they both presided over administrations besmirched with rampant corruption and criminalization of politics.

Now coming to the point of Sheikh Hasina's arrest, Heaven has not fallen down just because she has been arrested and kept in a sub-jail. In democracy, nobody is above the law. And if that be the case, why can't Sheikh Hasina be arrested when there is a prima facie case of extortion against her?

What makes her, or for that matter Khaleda Zia, so special that they cannot be arrested for crimes and offences which warrant that the offender or the accused be taken into custody in the interest of justice and fair trial? Allowing powerful and politically influential people like Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia to move freely is likely to jeopardise the case of the prosecution and the collection of relevant evidence against them.

Being the daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder of this country, and being a former prime minister and the chief of AL does not give Sheikh Hasina any immunity from arrest and prosecution. Let the court of justice decide, and set her free on bail if the cause of justice warrants it.

But to say that arresting Sheikh Hasina is unwarranted is putting the cart before the horse, and runs very much counter to the spirit of democracy. It is one thing that we have not practiced democracy in this country all these years, but this does not mean that we will not practice democracy now and in future.

Sheikh Hasina has tried to draw a parallel between her arrest by the government and the arrest of her illustrious father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by the Pakistan army in 1971. This is preposterous and utterly ludicrous. While she has none of the great qualities and charisma of that icon and pride of this country, she often tries to invoke his fond memories and say that she is like him, only to further her selfish interest in building a personal fortune.

Have we forgotten how she misgoverned this country and made a mess of it? Do we want to give her a shot in the arm so that she and the likes of her in AL can go on looting and plundering again as they had done before? Has the nation forgotten the passing of the Father of the Nation Family Members Security Act, whereby she and her sister sought to live in comfort and dignity, almost like members of a royal family, for as long as they lived, all at state expense?

Or do we want a transition to a truly democratic dispensation in this country, and make those guilty of hindering this democratic process account for their misdeeds? Let us opt for the latter, and let us not go back to those dark days ante 1/11.

Brigadier General Shamsuddin Ahmed is a Freedom Fighter.