The Gray Shades of New Wave Politics

Sabhanaz Rashid Diya
-------------------------------------

On an eve of 2012, a ward unit leader of Chhatra League was killed by a number of goons who hurled a hand bomb at him while playing badminton. Only a month earlier, the mayor of Narshingdi died in an open fire at the Awami League office.

13-year-old Anu stared at the statistics with horror. Fleeting images of her father, a veteran politician crossed her mind. She was never particularly interested in politics or her father's doing, but suddenly, she became more conscious, more insecure about her future, her father, their family. Almost instinctively, she ran to her mother and panting, asked: “Amma, no one can kill Abba, right?”

Since the birth of Bangladesh, politics has been an integral part of its residents. Whether be it as an active participant of the process or an indirect consequence of it, politics has tingled almost every emotion known to us. However, over recent decades, the demise of the political image took its toll, thus formulating a picture of horror, hatred and indifference in the minds of its young generation.

“When you live in a hostel and study at a public university, politics turns out to be a whole different ball game. You need to pledge to a party, whether you believe it or not, in order to survive. If you can't, you need to make sure your friends are people who have pledged or found a way to stay,” explained Haider, now in his second year studying International Relations.

“It is no different for medical students,” added Hasan, a final year student at a public medical college in Dhaka. “When I got admitted, I didn't immediately get a seat in the hostel and was stationed in a bunker in the common room. Boro bhaiera insisted I participate in their micchil-meeting and once they were convinced I will play by their rules, I was allocated a room. It gets very dangerous on nights before hartal or election -you have to maintain a gray area throughout.”

“Many people think it's limited to public institutions, but in reality, it isn't. It's the approach that varies. My friends will soon graduate from private medical colleges and in order to get a decent posting or rise up the ranks, they will to some extent need to show solidarity to one of the parties. The whole system seems corrupt to me, and while those in private universities may not feel the heat as extensively as we do the grass isn't really greener on any side.”

In a 2010 report published by The British Council titled 'Bangladesh: The Next Generation', it was indicated 38 percent of today's young people have a strong opinion about politics, while 36 percent believe politics has a detrimental effect on educational institutions. Although 15 percent perceive politics as positive, in reality, only 1 percent is actually involved with a major political party. However, the most interesting statistics comes with equal percentage of youth (30.5 percent) who at one hand want to be actively involved in politics, and on the other hand, want nothing to do with it.

What do these figures indicate? Does the youth of Bangladesh want to be involved with politics? Where do they see politics in the next ten years? Is politics in the globalised world limited to ruling parties, or does it become quintessentially democratic, a free market practice?

Samwan Rob, currently in grad school at Northwestern University shares his two cents. As the son of the veteran politician, A. S. M. Abdur Rob, Samwan feels he owes his best to his country.

“When your father has played an important role in the birth of your country, you cannot help but feel incredibly respectful towards that person, often to an extent where you fear hurting his sentiments by making the slightest mistake. Disappointing him is like disappointing the liberation he fought for. This sounds pretty heavy and idealistic, particularly if you look at me a self assumed young boy who grew up in a very political household. Yet, this very standard and ideal toughens you to build your own philosophies, to help you understand your place. Even if I don't follow my father's footsteps, I know I will do very little to hurt the people he fought for, and even little to steal from them or feel indifferent about them.”

“People think we lead a very different life, and the fact that we don't get involved in our fathers' politics or follow their footsteps make us indifferent to the reality, shows we're spoilt,” explained Taniya, daughter of another known face in the political scene. “I don't deny our lives are different. The conversation at our dinner table is not limited to school and 9-to-5 jobs, our families comprise of not a few but the numbers of people that are constantly coming in and living with us. There is pressure, but more importantly, there is philosophy and a need for individuality from an early age. The fact that I won't be a politician doesn't mean I don't care. It means just like the sons and daughters of anyone be it doctors, engineers and lawyers who don't choose the same career track as their parents, I have chosen to not follow my father's life line. What am I guilty of?”

“Young people now, who aspire to be actively involved in politics, should try to remove themselves from the nasty examples many of our current politicians are setting. Somewhere down the line, these leaders lost their sense of identity and now feel defined only by the parliamentary seats they hold,” added Samwan. “You don't need to be celebrities to be great citizens. As young leaders, we are often blamed for not knowing our roots. I blame the elders for not showing us the way and continuing their power struggles. Thankfully, in this age of information, we have far healthier sources of knowledge than our propaganda textbooks. The shift is happening already.”

From a recent survey conducted by a local organisation amongst students enrolled in undergraduate programmes in both private and public universities in Dhaka, it was estimated over 40 percent felt clean, healthy student politics is essential to ensure fair and democratic practices in the country. History has repeatedly demonstrated the power young people have to change the course of time. While most interviewees in the survey attributed to instability, insecurity and corruption as key reasons behind not joining a major political party, most admitted to a strong desire to actively develop their communities and identified state-level involvement as the only sustainable way of doing so. Does that mean, against all odds, politics define the fate of our country?

“The newer generation of Bangladeshis is creating their own identity now. There has never been a better time to create and practice science, commerce and the arts to help redefine who we are. I emphasise on the 'redefining' we can never go back to what we were once, but we can evolve out of the sorry state we are in. If we can embrace this digital age and appreciate our potential in a positive light, then a brighter day is just around the corner,” responded Samwan.

Anu's fear isn't misguided. There is definitely an environment that breeds fear and blames the system. There is also an environment that is slowly evolving to be more democratic, more informed than before an ecosystem of young people, fresh ideas and individual philosophies. There are gray areas that need to be trampled on, young people who need to overcome their fear of communal opposition and most importantly, a need for a new wave in politics. Whether we answer the call or not is the question.

(Diya is a major in Media and Communication at Independent University Bangladesh, and founder of the nonprofit youth organisation, One Degree Initiative Foundation. She is a 2011 YouthActionNet Global Fellow and One Young World Ambassador to Bangladesh.)