With the upcoming general elections around the corner, there is now general trepidation among the public regarding the expected bouts of violence which always surround the day of the polls.
According to Rab intelligence, the followers of a number of MP candidates are actively trying to recruit known criminals to engage in polls-related violence as the law enforcement agency has also detained a number of people over various related offenses.
This is incredibly concerning, to say the least.
Political violence is nothing new in Bangladesh, just yesterday a school in Feni designated as a polling centre was subjected to an arson attack by unidentified perpetrators. While no casualties or injuries were thankfully reported, setting a fire at school premises shows the extent to which perpetrators of political violence are willing to go in order to carry out their goals. Lest we forget, it was only over a week ago that Bangladesh Congress candidate Ashraful Alom was made a victim of assault in broad daylight, allegedly by supporters of the ruling party.
Violence and unrest have become deeply entrenched in our political landscape in the more than 50 years it has been since independence and it is nothing short of disheartening to see this culture still prevail over dialogue and reason. Actively hiring known criminals to sabotage the polls is, simply put, an attack on democracy itself -- to say nothing of what it means for public safety.
We need to hold our political leadership, our public servants, and those who aspire to lead us in the future to much higher standards than we do. Only by holding them accountable would we see any semblance of positive change in our political culture.
Bangladesh has come too far in its development trajectory to simply slide back into the days of political unrest born out of pettiness.
