Serious Golmal

Over the last 4 months, extreme violence between rival political activists spilt over into social unrest and mass strikes (hartal) has once again crippled Bangladesh. Public reaction is polarised in a country where few aspects of life have not become politicised.

Traditionally, Bangladesh has always seen social divisions based on deep political rivalries between the political parties. Now those rivalries have riven society in Bangladesh.

Politics is fundamental to Bangladeshis, however even the most hardened activists and political observers have been appalled by the level of violence and antipathy that these presidential elections have generated.

Take Back Bangladesh is a grassroots pro-democracy campaign which rejects the violence, vote-rigging and cynical corruption which has been the tactics of the contesting parties and the ruling BNP alike. This is one of the few expressions of public protest against the massive endemic corruption that has now come to be the byword for party politics in Bangladesh. This is the public saying - ‘Enough of this destructive partisan politics’. I would really love to see more of the same.

This entry was posted Monday, December 4th, 2006 at 2:01 am and is filed under Bangladesh. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.