In Bangladesh, Peter paid for Paul in the name of Mujibur. You see, Bangladesh was in a state of apocalyptic poverty, but rather than the people take out their frustration and anger on one another (as Trinidadians are doing) they just went after the leadership and, despite the demi-god status Mujibur enjoyed, they eliminated him and thereafter the country began to realise its full potential economically.
On first reaction, when it was heard that Mujibur and his entire family had been eliminated, it was widely felt that the people responsible had taken a lawless, Wild West act in ridding themselves of the lawfully elected Mujibur; that why didn’t they wait and removed him constitutionally at the next election?
But the bread and butter issues were so urgent, immediate, that to wait any longer would have meant further famine and so they did what they had to do. They knew that another election was no guarantee that Mujibur would be removed because of the blind support he had from his sycophants and because elections could never really be trusted to be free and fair – as even now in the US.
Point here, have any of our socio-psychological minds considered that we have become a killing field because at the ground level individuals are taking out their frustrations and anger on one another over government’s incompetence and arrogance causing them economic hardships; because rice and flour prices they can no longer afford, because, those who are most affected are the hard core supporters of this government and because subconsciously they would perhaps like to do like the Bangladeshi but will not because of blind loyalty to the PNM and a lack of testicular fortitude to be like Mujibur’s assassin, they are instead eliminating one another in the spirit of Paul (the people) paying for all of government’s transgressions?
So hundreds of citizens die here while in straightening out Bangladesh, just Mujibur and his family were eliminated – which in the long run turned out to be a fair deal, no? Yes, because when Mujibur was there, Bangladesh was at the bottom of the global economic ladder and today it is ranked 41st among the largest economies in the world and it’s the 2nd biggest in South Asia according to the IMF and other think-tank organisations.
It is true that sometimes we have to be harsh in order to be kind. When Bangladesh rid itself of Mujibur it seemed harsh but when you look at where Bangladesh is today as compared to where it was under him, it was being more than kind to itself. It saved itself.
L. Siddhartha Orie.