Bela ahmed

Bela ahmed
Vagabond

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Democracy and Violence Bangladesh perspective


Contents

Ø  Acknowledgement
Ø  Abstract
Ø  Preface   
Ø  Historical origins of Democracy
Ø  Derivation of democracy
Ø  Definition of democracy
Ø  Kinds of Democracy
Ø  Definition of violence
Ø  How does democracy create violence?
Ø  Is democracy suitable for Bangladesh?
Ø  Types of violence in Bangladesh
Ø  Conclusion




Acknowledgement

Profound admirable goes to my revere course teacher Mr. Md. Touhidul Islam, Lecturer of the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Dhaka, to access us in preparing this assignment (Democracy and Violence) which is really creative and challenging. The spontaneous guidance as well as right direction provided by our course teacher has assisted us to shape up this work. So I thank to our department, especially Mr. Md. Touhidul Islam for giving this chance of great and fabulous opportunity.
I am also grateful to my friend Mr. Motasim Billah, Student of the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Dhaka for helping me in collecting my data. I am particularly indented to my respondents for providing me their time, patience and attention.




Abstract:
Most of the countries of the present world are governed by the democratic government. This democracy brings well being for some countries. But all the democratic countries are not happy with this form of government, specially the developing countries like Bangladesh which are facing a little more political violence. So I have focused on the Democracy of Bangladesh where violence is a affaire of daily life. Here I have mentioned the disadvantages of democracy and delved into question whether democracy is suitable for Bangladesh or not as a developing country and try to find out the types of violence.


                
v Preface:

Democracy was originated in ancient Greece. The people of Greece elected their representatives to govern the state. This democracy is now all over the world. Though the democracy is a popular form of government, capitalists use it for their own purpose in the developing countries like Bangladesh. This democracy has totally   failed to establish peace and stability in the developing countries. Moreover it is creating more violence in those countries. Capitalists influence   on democratic government in different ways so that they can take opportunity from the poor and weak countries. This democratic system is not suitable for those countries where literacy rate is very low. But such countries are trying best to establish democracy. We see violence in every democratic country in the present time like Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan and other developing and developed countries of the world. So it has been a matter great whether it creates violence or not. Deniel Ross, the author of famous book “Violent democracy” mentions that” democracy has violent hearts”. I will try to delve into matter in the perspective of Bangladesh.

v Historical Origins of Democracy:

The genesis of democracy can be traced back to the Greek city-state of Athens. The democratic idea of a government responsible to the governed, of trial by jury and of civil liberties of thought, speech, writing and worship have been stimulated by Greek history. Emphasis on liberty and the studies related to man were the main tenets of ancient Greece. It was their sense of liberty and independence, individual and collective, which inspired them to accomplishments in philosophy, politics and science. The Greeks gave to mankind the idea of politics as the business of citizens as against the arbitrary rule of the despots.
The democracy propounded by the Greeks enjoyed a short span of life. The Romans, successor to Greek ideas and institutions, at first seemed to embrace Athenian democratic principles. The regime of the Romans was a mixture of kingship, aristocracy and democracy. Its aim was the collective welfare of the society. But the exigencies of governing an expanding empire led to the corruption of individual rights by the power and expediency of monarchy and aristocracy. For a few hundred years, the Empire ruled by well-disciplined Roman legions maintained conditions of relative peace and security throughout much of Europe.


v Derivation of the word Democracy:

The term “democracy” is derived from the Greek word “demos” and “kratos”. The meaning of demos is’ the people “and the meaning of kratos is “power” .Democracy thus means the power of the people.

v Definition of Democracy

 There are a lot of definitions of democracy have been given by different political scientists and scholars. Some of the important definitions are followings:
Ø  According the former president of America, Abraham Lincoln:
“Democracy is the government of the of the people, by the people and for the people”
Ø  According to Aristotle, the father of political science:
“He considered it as the perverted form of government”
Ø  According to lord Bryce:
“Democracy is that form of government in which the ruling power of a state is legally vested, not in any particular class or classes but in the members of the community as a whole” [Modern Democracies;vol.1,page.20]
Ø  According to Seeley:
“Democracy is a government in which has a share”
Ø  According to Gettell:
“Democracy is that form of government in which the mass of the population possess the right to share in exercise of sovereign power”


v Kinds of democracy:
There are two types of democracy. They are followings:
§  Pure or Direct Democracy
§  Indirect or Representatives Democracy
¨ Pure or Direct democracy:

When the people themselves directly express their their will on public affairs, the types of government is called pure or direct democracy.

Ø  According to Hearnshaw:

“A democratic form of government, in the strict sense of the term, is one in which the community as a whole, directly or immediately, without agents or representative performs the functions of sovereignty”
                                         [ Hearnshaw: Democracy of the cross ways page ;20]
This type of government was established in ancient Greek. But now this of government is not practicable.
¨ Definition of Indirect democracy:

In a representative democracy the will of the state is formulated and expressed not directly by the people themselves, but by their representatives to whom the delegate the power of deliberation and decision making.

Ø  According to John Stuart Mill:

Indirect or Representative Democracy is one in which the whole people or some numerous potion of them exercise the governing power through deputies periodically elected by themselves.
Ø  According toBluntch:
In the representative democracy the rule is that the people govern through its officials while it legislates, and controls the administration trough its representatives.
This type of government exists in the most countries of the present world as it is known as the popular form of government. So I will discuss on and delve into the weakness and impact on third world countries, particularly Bangladesh



v How does democracy create violence?

Today democracy is a popular form of government of the world. But this form of government is congenial for every country, particularly in developing countries where education rate is very low. So democracy has a bad impact on those developing countries like Bangladesh .I am of  the opinion that democratic government is mainly responsible for the increase of violence I n Bangladesh .If  we want to trace out the causes of violence ,we have to find out  the shortcomings of democracy. There are a lot of disadvantages of democracy which lead to the creation of violence in third world countries. The main disadvantages of democracy are following:
       
¨ Rule of fools:

Many political incompetent scientists consider democracy as the rule of fools, and illiterate. If we see the current phenomena of democracy in our country, we can find in competent representatives .On the other hand most of the people are also illiterate .They are not aware about politics and their candidates .They cannot verify the proper candidates in the election .The do not know the manifestation of the contesting parties.
§  Views of scholars:

Many scholars of political science on this aspect .These are followings:
Ø  According to Plato, the author of the  famous book The Republic:
He sees democracy as the rule of illiterate persons as he says “administration is an art which cannot be acquired by the common man .Only Intelligent and competent persons can fully understand the administration, but democracy is the rule of illiterate persons”.
According to Aristotle:
§  Aristotle, the father of political science and ancient philosopher sees the democracy as the perverted form of government.

   According to Lecky:

Lecky sees the democracy as the rule of ignorance. He says “A decision upon the basis of vote is ultimately the rule of ignorance. History shows that intelligence resides with the few and not with the many. Where ignorance rules, Liberty is curtailed .Democracy is unfavorable to intellectual progress and the advance of scientific truth.

Ø  According to Sir Henry Maine:

He says “experience tends to show that popular government is characterized by great fragility and that since its appearance, all doctrine of liberty being irreconcilable with that of equality again adds to the weakness and paves the way for the domination and operation of wire pullers.

¨ Importance of quantity:

In democracy, importance is given on quantity rather than quality. In democracy defeat and    victory is determined by the number of votes one is secures. The value of the vote of a highly educated person is similar to that of a fool. While enacted laws in the parliament, all matters are decided by majority votes and no importance is given to the views of the educated persons. Government becomes brute majority. The decision of minorities is not granted. They are neglected everywhere .They do not get much opportunities as their size. So the street politics ….

¨ Expensive government system:

Democracy is expensive government system. Money is spent here more than other forms of government. Elections are more costly here. Election causes much excitement and sometimes turns into violence. The numerous bodies of legislature and ministries are also very expensive. For instance there a lot of ministries in Bangladesh .They have been paid much every year. The democracy has no motives to economize. They are liable of misadventure at the hands of financial adventures mountain banks. That’s why we hear of so many financial scandals. The candidates often spend huge amount of money in the election campaigns.

¨ Partisan Politics:

F a political ideology is, conflict or confrontation is something inherent in politics. In Bangladesh, from infusing dynamism in politics, the partisan ideologies have rendered it volatile, violence prone even destruct. Leaders and activities of major parties hear nothing but deep hatred for one another so much so that often the encounter between their activities and supporters on the street turns violent. It is very common in democratic system.

¨ Capitalists influence on democracy:

We cannot think about democracy without capitalism today. Capitalists are the main preacher of democracy n the whole world, particularly in the third world countries where people has not so trust In their leaders. The capitalists exercise great influence upon the elections held in the countries.  They give donation   which is expected to win in the elections. Money power of politics and patronage of venality or corruption go hand in hand.  Money power begets venality and graft; it is an essential precondition for seeking election, influencing votes and assuring a place in the place of power. These capitalists are both from abroad and within the country. The capitalists give money to the candidates intentionally and or forcibly in the elections so that hey they can influence on the law making process and other policy making process. This is a common phenomenon in all the democratic states of the world. The American bond of democracy is called “dollar democracy”. Bangladesh, India and other democracies are also dominated by the capitalists.


¨ Democracy spoils the harmonious among society:

 Democracy spoils the harmonious among the of the existing societies. During the election more conditions re subordinate t securing the large number of votes. Election propaganda misguides people. After election the ruling party becomes autocratic and elected representative owes responsibility to the party on whose ticket he contested the election. After wining in the election , the ruling party create anarchy in the country. It is happened mainly in the third world countries like Bangladesh. Dishonest persons dominate the society and moral standard of the country deteriorates owing to widespread corruption.

¨ Majority becomes autocratic:

In democracy majority becomes autocratic and does not care the minorities. They neglect minorities during the policy making. This helps in the establishment of tyrannical rule. For instance the present government of Bangladesh is said that the oppositions are not given opportunity to say something in the parliament. Moreover the governments do not accept the advice of the minorities even in the time of emergency.

¨ Unstable government:

In democracy the government is not stable. Government is changed frequently as its duration is five years. Sometimes government falls by the military coups. In some states where government cannot fulfill its tenure because of the movement of the opposition parties. Nepal, Maldives, Bangladesh and other small countries of the world are the glaring example of such kinds of government fall from the power. In Bangladesh, no government was ousted by the movements of opposition parties, but the government was ousted by the coup. So these types of government are not stable and can be changed any time.

¨ Democracy is imaginary and does not practice:

Many writers like Oswald Spangler, and Barkar say that “Government is by the people is a sheer impossibility or “Democratic equality is a monstrous fiction.” Common people lack the ability needed to understand complicated problems of administration. Representatives are elected masses who amateur, incompetent and inexperienced. A small group rules the country in democracy. After election, the ruling party becomes autocratic and not much consideration os given to the views of the people. People cannot remove them before the expiry of five years.


¨ Corruption prone government:

 Corruption in a democracy is considered by some to be more extensive than in any other form of government; and corruption is worse in its effect in a democracy because it reaches own to all classes of the people.
[Political science and government by …page.137]
Representatives become corrupted in democracy and the ruling party goons also become corrupted. Administration and other sectors indulge in corruption. It cn be exemplify the corruption of Bangladesh where the democratic government exists. It has been champion in corruption for several years.

¨ Democracy hinders progress:
Democracy hinders the progress of the country. Democracy being the rule of ignorant, cannot appreciate the utility of intellection progress. A democratic government cannot fulfill its projects that approved within its tenure. As a result development process becomes hampering. For instance, in Bangladesh many projects are rejected by the newly government as a result country loses huge amount of money.

¨ It has no use in emergency:
Democracy cannot work satisfactorily in an emergency which needs prompt actions. It is too slow in arising decisions as it has to consult too many interests.
For instance, when anarchists started to loot in some cities of Britain in 2011 it took much time to use force  against the miscreants. Hence Mr. Baldwin says “Democracy is always two years behind dictatorship.


v Is democracy suitable for Bangladesh?

The democracy is a popular form of government of the present world. The western countries particularly America and its alliance are the preacher of the democracy in the developing countries. They try to establish their democracy. in those countries which are dominated by the socialist and dictatorship. They establish democracy to get more privileges from those countries. But if the dictators give all kinds of facilities and govern his countries according to the doctrine of super power, the super power will not try to establish e democracy in those countries. Egypt, Libya, Tunisia are the glaring example of such kinds of policy of the super power. Moreover they want to keep third world under their beck and call. Democracy has some essential conditions without which the democracy cannot success and if these conditions are not available in those democratic countries there will be violence everywhere. These conditions are not available in Bangladesh. So we see violence every in Bangladesh.

¨ Sound system of education:

Education is crucial need for democracy. Healthy democracy cannot think without education. Uneducated citizens cannot understand the democratic rule. They are not aware of their rights. The citizens need mental and physical development .They should have qualities of sacrifice, sympathy, selfless service of the country. But the now literacy rate of Bangladesh is 56% [Statistics -2011] So how democracy can bring peace and stability in Bangladesh?. As a result we See violence

¨  Enlightened citizens:

People should have the knowledge of their rights and duties to make democracy as success. So long as the citizens do not perform their duties the question of the success of democracy cannot arise. Otherwise   the government becomes autocratic. The context of Bangladesh democracy is same as the people are not aware of their duties to the state. So the democracy is giving  opposite result in Bangladesh and  contributing violence.

¨  Political wakening:

In a democracy people should have political awakening. Where there is no political awakening the citizens fail to realize political problems. They are unable to elect their representatives properly. In Bangladesh people have no political wakening. Think election as the festival and they take money from the candidates and vote for them without any consideration. As a result criminals also become the people’s representative and create violence in the country.

¨  Freedom:

Freedom is another essential condition of democracy. Democracy guarantees the freedom of expression, freedom of press, freedom of religion and freedom to form association. These freedoms are also the causes the of creating violence. News papers propagate much wrong news which leads to the violence. We can remember the incident of sathkhira where religious riots scattered on the basis of wrong news published by a local newspaper in the first week of April 2012. We hear blasphemy of religion in democratic Bangladesh. These lead to the creation of violence in the country.

¨  Law and order:

The maintenance of law and order in society by the government is another condition for the democracy. But democratic government of Bangladesh follows the dual policy in this context. Law should be enforced impartially and equally to maintain law and order. But the ruling party does not do so. The ruling party of Bangladesh does not give punish to the criminals existing its party even the president gives clemency of the killer. On the contrary government gives punishment the general people. So such kind of democracy provokes more violence in the society

¨ Sprit of co –operation:

Every democracy has to face many economic, social, political religious and other problems. In dictatorship, these problems are solved by the dictator according to his own whim. In absolute monarchy, the situation is similar to dictatorship, but it is different in a democracy. In democracy the prime Minister, the President cannot act arbitrarily but they have to find the solution of problems according to wishes of the parliament or of the people and government, gap between government and opposition parties. As a result confrontational politics is seen frequently. The problem is that the government wants one thing and the people want the other things. For instance the current ruling parties abolished the caretaker government system. This has created the gap between government and people. So violence has been inevitable.

¨ Democracy of powers and local self government:

 For the success of democracy decentralization of powers is essential. The concentration of power makes the government autocratic. But there is no such condition in Bangladesh. The government of Bangladesh wants to rule by one hand. As a result, it did not hand over the power to the Upozila Chairman. So the governing system is in the hand of the central government. So the governing system is not able to govern properly.

¨ High Moral Standard:

The success of government depends upon the high moral standard of the people. Where there is dishonesty, black marketing, hoarding and smuggling and where the ministers and public servants are corrupt, the question of success democracy does not arise. In Bangladesh, where corruption, nepotism, black –marketing, hoarding and smuggling are common affairs. So democracy is not congenial for Bangladesh. It is creating more anarchy in Bangladesh.


v Types of violence in Bangladesh:

 Bangladesh is a democratic country. It has experienced democratic rule about 20 years after the gaining of independence in 1971. But we do not see Bangladesh as the peaceful country. Violence is everywhere in Bangladesh. There is any sector which is free from violence. Beginning from family life to state life everywhere is violence. What is the reason? Scholars are the opinion of the blemished politics is the main cause of violence of Bangladesh. I will discuss the different types of violence of Bangladesh behind which democracy is responsible.

¨ Political violence:
Political violence is the main problem of Bangladesh. Every many people die centering the political violence. The government becomes autocratic after the victory in election. Government runs the country at their sweet will. It does not care the demand of the people. On the contrary democracy gives the oppositions parties to protest against the government for the anti democratic activities. So the opposition parties start the street politics rather than discussion. Consequently violence spreads in the country Democracy has given the people right to demonstration, hartal and blocked. Such kinds of rights lead to the creation of violence .Government use its force to suppress the people who oppose the government policy. As a result violence becomes inevitable. Now the country is passing through such kinds of violence.

¨ Violence in economic sector:
Democracy follows the capitalism. This capitalism is not able to make economic justice among the people. Many capitalists’ countries have fallen in the economic crisis. Bangladesh also follows the capitalism. So there is economic disparity in Bangladesh. Many investors of capital market have been bankrupt. So these people have demonstrated and create violence. But the government has failed to recover it and try those who looted money from capital market as these criminals are the goons of the government. Because corruption is inherent in the democracy .So violence is increasing in the country.
¨ Violence in judiciary :
Judiciary of Bangladesh is not free from intervention of government. Every government of Bangladesh use court for their own purpose and to protect their partisan criminals. As result complaints don’t get legal aid from the court. So they take

v Conclusion:
Democracy is suitable for developed countries not for developing countries. Democracy pushes the developing countries towards more vulnerabilities as super powers are trying to rule all over the world with this theory. Bangladesh as a developing country, it cannot cope with the democracy. So the violence is increasing every sphere in Bangladesh. If the political leaders and the people of Bangladesh are not aware of their rights and responsibilities and they don’t change their minds the democracy will not be peaceful.