Politics

According to Franz Kafka, Politics is a gathering of fools,

because one of his famous Saying is "A fool is one Fools,
two fools are two fools. And a political party with
thousands of fools."[1]
Though it is a joke, but it's have some philosophical
value. Today, If we look at the government of
Bangladesh, we can find the gist of it.
Some politician of Bd Asking people to cook without
oil[2], other Asking to cook without onions[3], The last
addition of this list is even more ridiculous, someone is
saying to make brinjal chop with sweet pumpkin.[4]

Now if we come to the real topic without having jokes,

then to say politics understandably a governing body of a
state, which is made up with representatives, some of
whom are elected by the people and some of whom are
nominated.
According to Merriam-webster dictionary, "politics is a
art or science of government." [5]
According to Wikipedia"Politics is the set of activities that
are associated with making decisions in groups, or other
forms of power relations among individuals, such as the
distribution of resources or status." [6]

Economics
If we compare the state with a body, then the economy
must be considered as the head.
Because, there will be no state without economy.

According to George Bernard Shaw"Economy is the art of

making most of life."
According to Alfred Marshall,"Economics is the study of
mankind in the ordinary business of life."
In simple word, "Economics is that which directly
controls the financial affairs, and indirectly controls the
whole life, the country and the world."
 Politics in Bangladesh
Politics is already a dirty subject in most part of the
would, in the context of Bangladesh it is even more dirty.

The country became independent with the aim of

achieving democracy. After independence, it took a
different turn. The father of the nation of Bangladesh,
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared Bakshal, led the
country towards one-party rule, which led to the August
15 massacre.
After that the country was under military rule for about
15 long years, though these military juntas are to be
described today as the bearers of democracy.
Although no more military rule was imposed in this
country until 2007, democracy has never been fully
established, and whoever came to power sought to
retain power undemocratically.
After that, General Moin-U-Ahmed ruled the country
militarily in the name of caretaker government from
2000-2009.
Since then, the country has been ruled by one-party rule,
sometimes by real vote, sometimes by no vote,
sometimes by night vote.
It is a pity that even after 50 years of independence, the
country did not take a single step towards democracy
even though it set foot on this path in 1971!

Economics in Bangladesh

The economy of Bangladesh is a free market economy,

also it is the paradise of free market.
According to Prothom Alo, a study by Forbes and Pew
Research Center found that 80% of the population in
Bangladesh supports free market economy, which is the
second highest in the list in terms of percentage.[7]

The reason for this unwavering support of Bangladeshis

in the free market economy is that, it increases foreign
investment in the country, which creates new
employment, that ultimately benefits for the citizens of
the country.

It’s a true fact, According to Bangladesh Bank, Foreign

investment in the country has been increasing every
financial year, although the rate has redused due to the
corona virus, but now that the situation has returned to
normal, the amount of foreign investment in the country
is higher than ever before.[8]
The Impact of Bangladeshi Politics on Economy
Every country's economy is affected by politics,
Bangladesh is no exception.
One of the main reasons for the independence of
Bangladesh is the extreme economic exploitation of
Bengalis by West Pakistani politicians.
According to Shanawaz Ahamed, A East West University
student, " In 1948 there were 11 textile mills in the East
and only 9 in the West.
In 1971 there were 26 in the East as opposed to 150 in
the West.
East Pakistan's economy transformed from a surplus one
to a deficit one" [9]
This is a very simple example of the extreme economic
exploitation.

Even after independence, politics has always had a clear

influence on the economy.
But the effect is far more for the self-interest of political
leaders than for making country's good economy.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first President of
Bangladesh, has a famous saying about this. He said,
"Everyone gets gold mines, I get thieves' mines."[10]

Effect of liberation war, corruption, misrule, and the

effects of the drought in North Bengal led to a severe
famine in newly independent Bangladesh in 1974, with
an estimated 1,00,000 to 450,000 people dying directly
and indirectly.[11]
This was the worst famine in the history of independent
Bangladesh till date.Which made the fragile economic
system of that time almost dead.

After 75 , the country's economy began to revolve slowly

under the military ruler Ziaur Rahman.
During this time he undertook some pro-people social
and economic programs which attracted the masses. One
of it the canal excavation programs. At that time he dug
and re-excavated more than one and a half thousand
canals. Whose economic benefits the public has received.
Record amount of food grains was produced in 1977-78.
The growth rate was 7.4 percent.
Also the country's economy is based on the garment
industry and remittances, which started during the
tenure of Ziaur Rahman.[12]
So, the impact of politics on the economy during Ziaur
Rahman's time cannot be called a blessing but there is no
way to call it corrupt.

Next was Hussein Muhammad Ershad, another military

ruler, and the impact of politics on the economy during
his rule was made clear in a statement by his prime
minister, Kazi Zafar Ahmed.
He said "All development activities will be based on
political decision alone and not on any other
consideration. Everything should be the source of
omnipotence and omniscience of the country as directed
by the President."[13]
After a long period of military rule, Ershad government
was forced to resign by mass protests, and Begum
Khaleda Zia was elected Prime Minister in the next
national election.
She also ruled the country again in 2001-06.
Several of her decisions have drawn criticism from the
international community.
One of these decisions is to manipulate the caretaker
government, in the wake of which the Awami League has
wreaked havoc in the country in the name of the Logi-
Baitha movement.
This caused a lot of economic damage to the country's
economy.[14]

Another is the formation of RAB.

The Awami League used the force for various crimes
against humanity, including kidnapping, murder and
extortion, which led to the United States imposing
sanctions on the force in late 2021.[15]
Although this incident has not had much impact on the
country's economy so far, it is likely to face an extreme
crisis in the future.
Because at the moment Bangladesh is sending the
highest number of members to the UN peacekeeping
force.[16]
But as a result of the ban, various human rights groups
have called for the force RAB to be removed from UN.
[17]
According to analysts, if it is really effective, then the
Bangladesh Army and the police force will also be
affected and will be subject to indirect sanctions. [18]
(may need to use vpn to open this link)
Which could cripple/lame the economy by disrupting one
of the main remittance flow of Bangladesh.

To understand the impact of politics on the economy

during the Awami League rule, a statement of the
present Commerce Minister can be mentioned.
"Sometimes I forget I'm the commerce minister or a
businessman," he told it in a conference.[19]

The Awami League government is in power from 1996-

2001 and from 2006 to 2022.
During this long period of rule, they have brought
corruption,[20] misrule, nepotism,[21] Arbitrary use of
security forces,[22] kidnapping and murder of
opponents,[23] rape by S-League, J-League,[24] complete
deprivation of democratic rights of the people,
[25]extreme corruption in various mega projects,[26]
they make this types of things as like an Art.

It is easy to see how the political influence is destroying

different sectors of the country's economy during the
Awami regime.
This thing can be seen by looking at the amount of losses
of Bangladesh Railway and Bangladesh Biman.
In the last 5 years, the loss of Bangladesh Railway is 10
thousand crore Taka.[27]
The loss of Bangladesh Biman is not less, its amount is
close to 3 thousand crores.[28]
The Awami League government now sets the rules in
such a way that it is vampire for the common man and
for the big businessmen to grow their wealth more and
more.
Because more than 70% of the members of the national
parliament are either leaders of any business
organization or big businessmen.[29]

Ways to Overcome from This

There is no visible way to out from this crisis.
Because all the political parties are more corrupt than
other one.
Educated people are more corrupt than political leaders
and businessmen, some just do less because of lack of
opportunity, other do more.
That's why, If they are in power, they will destroy the
surviving part for Their own interest.
The best example of this is the government bureaucrats
and high ranked officials of Bangladesh.
Even then, if there is a way, it is absolute democracy,
once it is established, those in power will stay away from
corruption for the sake of the people's vote, or for fear of
accountability, or for the punishment of the judiciary.

Thank You
[1] https://cutt.ly/LG6IxFv
[2] https://youtu.be/OnwtHX4ug7c
[3] https://cutt.ly/mFcKcvh
[4] https://youtu.be/-RKbLrOSGbI
[5]https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/
politics
[6]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics
[7]https://cutt.ly/KHwb5O2
[8]https://cutt.ly/RHwmMCp
[9] https://cutt.ly/NHe8BJ8
[10]https://youtu.be/FZr7sbyV_tc
[11]https://bn.m.wikipedia.com/1974famine
[12]https://cutt.ly/VHrunST
[13]https://tinyurl.com/3zt5p97h
[14]https://www.oct28.info/article/2315
[15]https://www.thedailystar.net/bangla/%E
[16]https://www.kalerkantho.com/print-edition/first-
page/2021/05/29/1037705
[17]https://www.bbc.com/bengali/news-60067112
[18]https://cutt.ly/UHtmmpf
[19]https://cutt.ly/IHyFLFj
[20]https://cutt.ly/BHyKnH2
[21]https://cutt.ly/RHyLhaX
[22]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Seven_Murders_of_the_Narayanganj
[23]https://www.kalerkantho.com/print-edition/last-
page/2021/08/30/1068390
[24]https://m.bdnews24.com/amp/
samagrabangladesh/detail/home/1848973
[25]https://www.bd-pratidin.com/national/
2022/02/09/738962
[26]https://www.bdanalysis.com/archives/19069
[27]https://cutt.ly/ZHy1r9h
[28]https://cutt.ly/QHy1PdD
[29]https://cutt.ly/DHy8Nmd