All things that
were, are, or to be must have an end. Even the good ones!
Sheikh Hasina, the incumbent Prime Minister
and the leader of the largest political party of the country, has
been in office since 2009. During this period, her stature in public eye,
both domestic & international, has grown steadily. But, with the passing of
time, there will eventually come a future that the people of Bangladesh must navigate without the able leadership of the Apa (as she is
affectionately called). However,
objective of this write-up is not to plan for that future; it is rather an effort to ponder
& contemplate how future generations will evaluate her contributions. I, for one, like to think that she asks herself the same question, and that very question propels her to
wake up every morning, and work for her people.
In terms of
achievements regarding economy, Sheikh Hasina is already the most
successful Head of Government in history of Bangladesh. Coming at a time to
rule, when her political capital could at best be termed as precarious, she
consistently defied the odds and made sure the Govt of Bangladesh makes the
'practical' decisions when it comes to economy and development. The result has
been a palpable shift (toward a more confident nation) in the public psyche,
visible creation of wealth, and measurable reduction of poverty among the
so-called bottom of pyramid. In fact, not in any other period of time since
independence (in 1971), did Bangladesh demonstrate such sustained level of
economic promise for such a long time. The promise of turning Bangladesh into a
middle income economy (the popular moniker is Digital Bangladesh) by
2020, which sounded hollow and out-of-touch even 10 years back, is well on
track now.
However, the time
in being can hardly be judged by a single dimension. During this time, an
extremely partisan brand of politics has seen politicization of institutions of
the society. Judicial system has not been an exception. Trust and reliability
of general populace on Judiciary is waning fast. This in turn is perpetuating a
culture of non-accountability. Democratic values, instead of forging ahead,
have been tamed into a gilded frame. Bangladesh has been regularly topping the
list of most corrupt nations in surveys conducted by international
bodies. Distribution of wealth has been a major issue, manifested by the
fact that Bangladesh is one of the countries with fasted growing list of super-rich!
And the economic numbers which appear so bright and shiny in books &
publications, have not really resulted into real increase in income for many of
the rural and urban poor. Quality of mass education is questionable. Health
sector, although has seen some investments, is still lacking behind in both
quality & access. The crumbling and indiscipline tangle of infrastructure
of the country must improve a lot even to match the regional standards.
Environmental degradation has been rampant as the issues of environment took a
back seat in the face of hard economic reality. However, probably the most
darkening feature has been the growing culture of administering ready-made
justice and a "Govt knows best" attitude in governance. Rights Groups
have long been complaining of disappearing dissenting voices under questionable
circumstances. Little has been done to bring perpetrators to justice; on the
contrary, this has often been touted as the preferred method of addressing
sociopolitical issues.
One can see that
darkness and light has walked hand-in-hand under the stewardship of the
incumbent PM. There has been rays of hope, and there has been moments of
extreme despair. But, it is probably too early and too current to reach a
conclusion.
Only time has the
right and the vantage position to pronounce a fair judgment.
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