Election Manifesto
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Pradip Kumar Dutta
Bangladesh is going to have it’s next general elections in coming January. Though the current political situation seems to be somewhat volatile,the peace loving citizens of the country do hope that the major parties of the country will come to some terms and a fair election will be held in the country very early next year.
All the parties have started taking preparations and are completing their homework by now. The housekeeping includes preparation for declaration of election manifesto now that the election schedule is out,finalising the list of probable candidates from amongst many aspirants,drawing election strategies,planning the election campaign and training of polling agents and so on.Though the main opposition party BNP is still in a movement to create,in their opinion,a congenial political atmosphere for a fair election,they too are not lagging behind in the ground works.
The peace loving citizens of the country definitely want a free,fair and widely participative election to be held in due time. Presuming that the present political differences of opinion between the ruling Awami League and the main opposition BNP will be sorted out lets deliberate on one of the election issues: The election manifesto of different political parties. Panels of experts in each of the main parties,entrusted with the responsibility,are spending very busy time preparing the final draft of their respective manifestos. These manifestos are the reflection of each party's vision and depicts their mission to improve the country's economy,foreign policy,health and education sectors and all other engulfing factors that will improve the standard of living of the citizens,if the party is voted to power.
In a democracy,people have the final say.But they have only one chance to execute that. That is their right to vote,to vote to power such representatives of theirs,who will bring their dreams to reality. Different section of people have different aspirations. Demands vary. It is the duty of the political parties to read peoples mind and to assure them about their commitment to fulfil those,if voted to power. The parties should chalk out plans and design programmes to upgrade the economy of the country,bring prosperity to the countrymen's doorsteps,to improve the social sectors like health and education and such other tangible developments. There remains another factor which is no less important. That is National Pride and Dignity.
We expect all the parties to come forward this time to uphold the Dignity and Pride that the citizens of Bangladesh deserve. The history of Bangladesh is written by the blood of three million martyrs. Sacrifice of chastity of two to four hundred thousand of our mothers and sisters some of whom were turned into sex slaves,untold misery of 10 million refugees and twenty more millions internally displaced,forced conversions of religion,etc.were the price we had to pay for our Independence. We were subjected to a planned Genocide during nine months of our glorious War of Liberation in 1971 which was initiated on 25 March by Pakistan army's Operation Searchlight. The Pakistani military junta planned to silence our demand of parity between the two wings of Pakistan with the horrendous genocide.
Fifty two years have passed by. We are yet to achieve International recognition of the 1971 Bangladesh genocide.This recognition will honour our Martyrs and genocide victims,bring solace to the genocide victims and their families,will help bring perpetrators of the genocide to Justice,which in turn will prevent further genocides. The recognition will mount pressure on Pakistani authorities to offer formal apology for the genocide committed by their predecessors. This may put a closure to the long outstanding sore issue between the two countries and pave the way to a smoother future relations.
We expect that Awami League,BNP and all other parties that claim to be the torch bearers of our glorious War of Liberation to include following points in their Election manifesto :
1 International recognition of 1971 Bangladesh genocide will be pursued vigorously.
2 Investigation and prosecution at the ICT will be intensified. All around the country there are many incidents of genocide which are yet to come under the scanner. Victims should be encouraged to bring up the cases to light.
3 List of Freedom Fighters will be revised to exclude the false names and to include the real heroes with dignity.
4 A proper list of Martyrs shall have to be prepared.
5 An authentic list of collaborators of Pakistani genociders will be prepared. They and their descendants should not be allowed to run for a public office.
6 A truth and reconciliation Commission will be formed. Those cleared by the Commission will not be maligned any further.
The inclusion of above points with other pledges reflecting their vision,in the Election Manifesto of patriotic parties will definitely brighten their image and when voted to power, fulfilling these election promises will make Bangladesh proud and great.
Pradip Kumar Dutta: Pradip Kumar Dutta writes regularly in Bangladeshi, Indian, Sri Lankan and British newspapers on history, heritage, travelling, rights and environmental issues. He takes special interest in issues related to the anti-British colonial movements, the Liberation War of Bangladesh and the 1971 genocide.
