History repeats itself
Photo: AFP
History repeats itself … we made joke of this famous quotation with our fellow Canadian students just a few days back. To my utter disbelief and horror, history repeated itself, and this time with even more brutality. The history of the subcontinent is full of bloodshed and assassination of cult figures: MK Gandhi, Sheikh Mujib, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Senior Bhutto, and now his daughter Benazir Bhutto. One common pattern visible through all these assassinations and bloodsheds is that the targets are obvious, the comparatively secular leaders. In Bangladesh we have seen life threatening attempts on Hasina, who though has compromised with the secular identity of her party, still remains the strongest semi-secular leader in the country. Gandhis were believed to be the epitome of secularism despite their consequent denigration. The causes of these murders are arguably different but the outcomes are strikingly similar: the assassination of Gandhis emboldened the strength of BJP, the death of Mujib paved the way for fundamental and anti liberation elements within the country, and the hanging of senior Bhutto terminated any possibility of secular and democratic resurgence in Pakistan compounded by the unceremonious role of military leaders. One must admit that all these leaders had periods of diminishing popularity owing to their reckless use of state machinery, charges of corruption, and mishandling of their respective political parties. Having said, these are the leaders who were possibly one of the best breeds among the countries' politicians (not in terms of honesty but organisational power). The pathetic fates of these leaders definitely show the turbulent and violent nature of politics in the subcontinent. The subcontinent would never be able to come out of this guilt: the killing of the father. India, owing to its democratic structure, seems to have been able to reassert itself of late, but Bangladesh and Pakistan are in shambles. These two countries continue to turn the clock backwards after rare periods of relative stability and success. It's easy to blame the conspiracy that surrounds these leaders but at the end it is their responsibility to overcome any conspiracy and protect the interest of the country. We mourn the death of Benazir but must not forget that her unceremonious exit from power was the result of unbridled corruption. We condemn the way Hasina was incarcerated but maintain that she failed to carry forward the mantle historically bestowed upon her. Anyway, the bottom line remains that the secular forces need to learn the art of statesmanship. Indulging in corruption and misuse of power only strengthens their detractors. We condemn all the deaths and assassinations but again we sincerely hope that the secular leaders will learn from their previous mistakes, and be able to reverse the trend of history repeating itself.
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