The four party alliance performed very poorly in the deshi elections, they won just under 10% of seats. In a sense their quantitative parliamentary significance resembles that of the UK's LibDems rather than any opposition.
Some will interpret all sorts of secular liberationary mandate , but that is not my interest. It is hard not to be happy *by proxy* when so many others are happy and hopeful for some strange reason. Especially with such sad news from Gaza. My view has always been that adoption of secularism is a Chistocentric mistake and in the Muslim societal contest, a naff abdication of the social and political imperatives of Islam. That Islam frosted political parties at present don't inspire much confidence is not an excuse for cowardly Muslim political practice.
This is at odds with the common sense that is drummed into Bangladesh from the state down, through the education systems and perpetuated uncritically by the media. The Cult of Mujib and a simplistic 1971 creationist mythology drips a bitter blood that seeps through generations. As a consequence, I dont see Bangladesh Space at present as an interesting site for a superior negotiation, especially in an awami political field. Long term efforts should continue now that there is space to think, reflect and hide.
Personal practices and fashions will still be adopted from the global Islamic resurgence (mainly as status symbols), but in situ synthesis will be inhibited. (Unless something nonlinear happens). The Awami League are likely to play TWAT with America. Buckle up folks, this is going to be embarrassing.
They say that the magnetic pole of the Earth flips every now and again. Similarly, the political poles of Bangladeshi politics tend to go the same way. But which way is Up? Unfortunately we operate with an ideologically modified left-right axis. where 'rightist' implies traditional/religious and 'leftist' implies secular/atheist. These aren't completely false categories however as one might ask "What about Islamic left?". Islamic left never really took off, mainly because of political forcing from big powers in the Cold War and Allah took away Abul Hashem's sight. The first half of this rationalisation deserves greater reflection from the global muslim community.
The landslide victory of 'centre left' over 'centre right' means a few things can be assumed to be happening across the country. This is in the tradition of the political pole shifting in a highly nepotistic society where deperation for power swamps chivalry several times over then and the courts are full of Kangaroos. There will be a flurry of Occupation, or 'dokholing'. This refers to property disputes, institutional politics, turf wars, contracting and 'alternative security' complexes. Newly empowered political figures will not be able to restrain their relations and hangers on from capitalising on their status and buggering up society. The losers poor showing and immediate past performance will result in their complaints being heard less seriously.
On the loser's side I wonder what this really bad failure means to the BNP-JI four party alliance, as a compound and as seperate elements.
What happens when Nationalist meatheads get minced?
In a simple view Humiliation can be taken three ways. You fight against it blindly, you may carry on being steadfast and patient, or you can learn to improve. The first option is what the BNP did, but which suits the Awami League more. Indeed, the victorious Grand Alliance is fortunate that its castrated opposition cannot match its rage power.
It would have been a disaster for the caretaker government if the BNP had actually won. They are very angry at how Tareque Rahman was treated by the military, and how their party came of worse in the CTG's attempt to remove the two begums for the political sphere. Yet in many ways its back to square one after two years that had potential. Now its someone elses turn and I hope and pray they can perform the role of a patriotic opposition, even with so few seats.
The BNP was idiotic in many ways. Im sure that Indian intelligence and Awami unpatriotism had a role in its corruption and foolishness, but the fault is essentially their own. Putting aside the lack of an nonsecular political synthesis they don't have the spine to put forward a more accurate, warts-and-all picture of the 1971 creationist mythology. They simply copy and paste, find and replace the ordinary one with a heavily doctored script. At the more practical level they mistreated their talents and allies, alienated them and even killed some of them. Prof Aftab Ahmad's assasination at the break of Ramadan 2006 is a case in point. Intellectual cowardice, cheating and beastly behaviour retards their cognitive and creative faculties.
Following a star going supernova, the constellation remnants move with their own gravity. Are their any remnants? Is their any life in this star? can we have a new one please?
Khaleda Zia apologised towards the end of the campagning for earlier mistakes. I wonder how fundamentally this 'personal realisation' reaches. The country needs a better alternative to Awami-think. Looking at history, without violent insurrection and regime change it is increasingly difficult to construct better ideas and bed them in. Remember Bangladesh is the natural home for Shock Doctrines to be administered during electoral and meteorological depressions. It is everybody's social laboratory. The AnAwami constellation has a lot of work to do, perhaps more than an election cycle.
Its unlikely, but i think maybe its time for the BNP to cease to exist, and allow social forces to renegotiate themselves into a better political configuration.
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