Sunday | 12 January 2025 | Reg No- 06
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Sunday | 12 January 2025 | Epaper

 A land of ‘honourables’!

Published : Monday, 21 October, 2019 at 12:00 AM  Count : 257
Mahbubar Rahman
Mahbubar Rahman

Mahbubar Rahman

In a democratic dispensation a government is essentially "of the people, by the people and for the people" as was emphasized by Abraham Lincoln in his historical Gettysburg address long time ago on November 19, 1863. Accordingly governments in the free world grew with peoples' participation through universal adult franchise where people elect their representatives by 'one man one vote' basis.

Peoples' representatives with majority in the parliament form the government and run the government in accordance with the wills of the people. With the spirit of 'winners not to take all', a strong opposition party who could not secure majority seats in the parliament, seat in the parliament as a shadow government and express their strong voices in the parliament.

The winner political party in the parliament elects a leader who takes over the baton of the government is either called, the Prime Minister in the parliamentary system and President in the presidential system of the government. In the free world where democracy took root through enduring trials & tribulation over the long period, peoples' representatives in the government devote themselves in the services of the people in all humility and accordingly they seldom fix insignias before their position as 'honourable' members of the parliament, prime minister or president.

As a mark of demonstrating impeccable sense of deference to the people of the country, political leaders in the free world choose to be called Mr Prime Minister, Mr President, Mr Members of the parliament only in their respective government positions without attaching a badge of 'honourable' before their names. In democracy, a country essentially belongs to the people and peoples are virtually the owners of the country and as such deserve to fix 'honourable' before their names for all intents & purposes. Although it has not been practiced anywhere across the country 'honourable citizens' but citizens remain honourable where democracy functions in the true sense of the term.

Bangladesh emerged at the cost of martyred 3 millions beleaguered sons and daughters of the soil after winning a War of Liberation under the charismatic leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, --- a man who kept his image down to earth with a towering personally of Himalayan height, and chose to be called Bangabandhu or simply Mujib Bhai in his life time before he was gruesomely murdered by a gang of psychopathic killers and demons in human shape.

 A Vox Populi---emerged from grass root politics, Bangabandhu believed that the country belongs to the people with their elected representatives are only servants of the people. After the assassination of Bangabandhu, state power went to the hands of dictators who never acknowledged peoples' power and might to its right earnest.

Even after the dictators were consigned to their designated places of ignominy and disgrace through mass upsurge, subsequent democratically elected governments acted in the same fashion, as the dictators used to follow, totally ignoring constitutionally defined peoples' rights and dignity in the country. All elected representatives including members of civil bureaucracy, judiciary and members belonging to other organs of the government turned overnight 'honourable' ignoring the citizens who they often term as owner of the country without recognizing their status as being honourable citizens of the country. Honour of 160 million 'honourable citizens' of the country seems to have been hijacked by handful few that run the government with citizens' mandate.

Despite Bangabandhu's daughter prime minister Sheikh Hasina is trying to break the hegemony and age-old legacy of handful few seating in the seat of power like an albatross with trademarks of 'honourable' on the neck of citizens, people are still miles away from being 'honourable' as the owner of country who remain in creeping darkness with few 'honourables' who often console the gullible citizens with sweet rhetoric, in public meeting,  of branding them as the owner of the country without really meaning what they speak all about.
 
In her ongoing countrywide drastic purification drive, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has started from her own party, youth wings and student wings and rounded up some Casino barons and 'honourables' who squandered eye blinding tons of money by illegal casino and other business with their belief and formidable strength that nobody would ever touch and bring them under the law. But, to their utter umbrage and beyond wildest imagination, it has happened in reality and Prime Minister has further warned that no one would be spared no matter how closely they stay comfortably under the sleeve of her own party or other political parties.

She has equally instructed law enforcing agencies to be tough on those already arrested members of killing squad who lynched and murdered BUET student Abrar Fahad irrespective of whether the murderers belong to her student wing. This has given a clear message to all & sundry that criminals would be treated like criminals and would be brought to justice without considering their political colours & shades whatsoever.

Humility or quality of being humble should be the credo in public administration. On humility, English writer John Bunyan (1628-88) wrote: "He that is down needs fear no fall. He that is low no pride. He that is humble ever shall have God to be his guide". Contrastingly, high handedness and bumbledom unduly takes over humility in our country. A public leader or public servant who lives on public money thinks that he is the Zamindar of the country as has been disgustingly observed by the High Court in the recent past.

In the long list of 'honourables'; freedom fighters who are regarded as the best sons of the nation do not aptly find their place. Similarly; scientists, inventors, engineers, architects, doctors, literary figures, poets, journalists, academics, who contribute greatly in shaping a prosperous Bangladesh; unfortunately do not come under the fold of 'honourable' forgetting about the poor citizens of the country who are said to be the owner of the country like kings without kingdoms.

It is not out of place, at this place, to mention that former U.S President Harry Truman's little granddaughter by his own daughter, once complained to her mother that her school friends often ridiculed her by saying that she was  the granddaughter of the president of the United States of America.

Her mother said that it was true. Then the little girl wondered as to why she was not informed earlier about the fact. Her mother replied that it was neither important nor necessary for her to know which president's grandchild she was. Rather she should grow up by her own name and fame.

This gives a clear message that humility takes pride to those countries where democracy rooted over long enduring time and where public leaders do not wear a badge of 'honourable' indiscriminately and rather wish to engage themselves in the services of the people who are real owner of the country for all intents and purposes. Therefore, with apology, this is to say that our 'honourables' must ponder over the facts and remain down to earth in the services of the people who make them leaders in the given circumstances as Bangabandhu asserted in a mammoth public gathering long time ago.

Our 'honourables' should equally refrain from attaching a title before their names and government bestowed positions like self-bestowed funny title of former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin which reads as follows: "His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin Dada, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the seas and conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in particular". God bless us.

The writer is a former Civil Servant


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