The following is apropos my two back-to-back letters to the Editor carried by the newspaper on Wednesday and yesterday. The government of Bangladesh learned several critical lessons. It realized that forgetting those who brought it to power was a grave mistake. The government came to understand that the very people who mandated it to power also had the capability to bring it down if their genuine demands were not met. The use of the kinetic arms of the government against its people would inevitably result in facing the people’s wrath. The energy and determination of the populace could overpower even the most powerful arms of the government, leading to the administration stepping down in total disgrace.

In Bangladesh, the institution that played an exemplary role was the army. It promptly recognized the popular sentiments of the people and timely realized that the government of Sheikh Hasina had lost the mandate of the people and no longer represented them. The army understood that once the populace, who had brought the government to power, withdrew their support, the government lost its mandate, legitimacy, and credibility to remain in power. The army aptly recognized that the entire state’s power, including all its pillars and institutions, whether civilian or military, is subservient to the masses. If any pillar loses the people’s support, it is doomed to fail and collapse.

What the government and the judiciary did not realize, the army realized that once the government no longer had the people’s support, it was not obligated to defend it anymore. It became imperative for the army to preserve its dignity and honor by facilitating a transition of power to a government chosen by the people, and the sooner this transition happened, the better.

Qamar Bashir

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024