"…where is democracy?"
This was the question asked in the last line of Ahsan's enlightening essay on the subject, published in your editorial page on 11th April. It is indeed the million dollar question that baffles millions of people in Bangladesh.
There can be many answers to this pertinent question. However, expressing these in a lighter vein, one can put these in the following order arrayed alphabetically:
1. 'Autocracy'; of, for and by the party inner coterie, after coming to political power.
2. 'Bogeyocracy'; the usual format adopted in Bangladesh, where democracy is nothing but a bogey!
3. 'Demoncracy'; where demons are let loose in the country to do whatever they like at their whim and fancy!
4. 'Eliteocracy'; where the party and associated elites practice theoretical governance, without links to realities!
5. 'Foolocracy'; where the party in power tries to fool all of the people all of the time!
Finally, at the end comes 'Zapocracy' (from the verb 'zap'); which is practiced to destroy all norms of governance while the party elites 'make hay while the sun shines', usually for one term! In between there is also 'Hypocracy'; which is practiced in our format of democracy. The less said about it the better, as it has no end!
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