Youth and Democracy

Korvi Rakhshand
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Democracy and youth are two very stimulating words in our society. The mention of either will whip up a verbal frenzy in any conversation in the blink of an eye. The lack of one and the misdemeanour of the other is the topic of everyone's worst fears and the most severe predictions. One of the most neglected topics in this sea of melodrama is the importance of youth in the democratic system.

In a country where the vast majority is ruled by the extreme minority, has democracy really been achieved? When the vast population consisting of the average 30 year old people, who have strong progressive tendencies and a willingness to adapt to the world at large, is forced to work under the minority of retirement-age dictators who have a strong allergic reaction to change of any kind and an unwavering faith in everything backdated, how can we expect any sort of progress as a nation? Add to this, a barrel of corruption and nepotism, and we have a progress as effective as a tug-of-war against a deep-rooted tree, with the grounds soaked in soapy water.

Before we move one, it should be clarified that in the scenario of politics, the youth is not only the green-faced 'children' of the early 20s, but older individuals in their 30s who have a good balance of energy and experience. The author is not suggesting that youth and potential are substitutes for age and experience, rather that the actions former with the guidance of the latter is much more effective than the forced oppression of one on the other. Politics should not be a contention of wills. Rather, it should be the cooperation of the wise and the strength to achieve the best for the nation and its people.

History has shown us time and again, the importance of the role of young people in times of desperation, revolution and liberation. The power and energy of the youth cannot be denied, as it is the weapon every leader wields in establishing his rule. So why should the youth be shoved in the back of the closet as soon as their purpose is served? Why should the youth be the ones to sacrifice, and the so-called leaders the ones to reap the benefits? Even during the call for independence, the Father of the Nation called upon the youth to step forward to participate actively and save the nation.

And many young leaders emerged with the strength and will to prevail. Yet less than half a century later, we face a society where the youth and all their ideals are suppressed to the point of suffocation by the power-hungry few who refuse to step down from the pedestals of their power.

Blind support is another issue in politics today. There are too many people in the country who do not think about who they ought to support. The simple tradition that I support 'X' because my father and his father, and his father's father supported 'X' is highly prevalent in the society, surprisingly even among the educated masses. Sadly, this is another reason why the country cannot escape from its current political see-saw.

The power battle waged by the existing politicians is dirty and detrimental for the country. As each rises to power, the focus is not on making the country better or more developed, rather it is on determining how much can be acquired in ill-earned gains before it is time to step down from the seats of power.

Despite the earlier aim to establish democracy in the nation, Bangladesh has been stuck in a see-saw between two political parties, where the rise of one is followed by the fall of the other, and the only change comes with the reverse. Rotating continuously and consistently between two parties, there is no room for any new players.

Nepotism plays a heavy hand in the life of any potential political candidate. Whether you know anything about political science or governance is of course invalid and will get you absolutely nowhere unless you have the 'right connections'. Without the right bloodlines or at least strong ties to someone with the bloodlines, you have as much chance to prevail as the proverbial snowflake in hell. It does not matter how great your ideas are or how patriotic your intentions.

Nowadays, a handful of young leaders like Tareq Zia, Shojib Wajed, Andaleeve Rahman Partho and Mahi B Chowdhury stand as representatives of young leaders, and even they are only in the scenario because they are from strong political families, and have thus gained access to the political grounds.

In the end, it is not whether the youth want to be involved in politics; it is about whether they actually have the chance to be involved. Overtime, we have repeatedly heard leaders and officials invite the young people to come forward and make a difference in politics. However, the only time we hear about student participation in politics, is in the headlines, as student parties attack each other viciously or as they burn down houses. If you take a look around, you will see that not too many youngsters are actually on the political horizon. This could be either because the youth are not interested in politics or that they are incapable to enter politics.

Now, if the youth of today was content to sit with their lot and not care about what was happening around them, we would have a very stable daily life. No strikes, no unrest, no problems. And if you are a self-serving political lackey, then all the better for you, because no one will come forward to defend whoever you step on. But that is not how things are. Whether it is discontent shown by the youngsters towards cases like BDR Mutiny, the Stock Market scam, renaming/rebranding of the Dhaka International Airport, political murder cases, sexual harassment of the student by a politically backed teacher and prosecuting anyone who speaks out against the wrong decisions of the government, the youth of modern Bangladesh is aware of the problems facing our country and the world at large. Given the chance, they would be willing to work to change these problems for a safer society.

Again, finding a way to enter the political arena will always be a challenge in itself. As pretty much anyone with any political standing will turn an unquestioning shoulder at any young person's opinion and/or suggestion, entering the political scene is difficult for young people. Age and experience is much more highly valued than youth and new ideas. Furthermore, in order to get into politics, one must work very hard at boot-licking and choose a standing politician whose tutelage to follow. One would then spend an absurd number of years working to gain the confidence of the leader, to ultimately gain access to any sort of power. During this tenure, extortion, rape, murder, nepotism and any number of other vices will be expectant. By the time the candidate reaches any level of measurable power, it will be with ideals and ideas that are years behind and long since backdated. As a result, most honest people tend to shy away, as they wish to avoid the hypocrisy of the whole system. This allows the monopoly of political power to continue.

The recent unofficial ban on freedom of speech only strengthens the monopoly. Treason is the word that is used quite heavily nowadays. Did you not like a recent decision taken by the government? Well, don't post it online, because you will be charged with treason for opposing the government. Do you have an opinion about a certain political family? Well, you should wait till you graduate to mention that, otherwise you'll get kicked out of the programme. Are you standing up for a victim of sexual harassment? Well, I hope you have the stomach to take numerous threats from law enforcement and high officials, because they are calling you in 5 minutes. In a country where social media is monitored by the government and law enforcement agencies, and people are persecuted for expressing their opinions, freedom is as hard to go by as water in a desert. This is suppression in one of its worst forms.

If you have watched the political scenario in the past years, you will have seen that the general population has been slowly cornered over a number of years. Years of corruption, crime, unmet basic rights and unemployment have forced the collective back of the general people slowly against a wall, like the proverbial caged animal.

Unfortunately, prolonged suppression of the vast majority has been historically proven to be a ticking time-bomb. People are only willing to stand for so long, and a very fine line is all that stands between what is tolerable and what isn't. Historically speaking, only time can tell how much people will tolerate, before they finally hit back.

(The Writer is Founder, Jaago Foundation.)