An ill-timed arrest?

Everyone knows that the politics of the country is heading towards disaster. Even though I am busy writing books, as a conscious citizen I have no choice but to keep track of the current situation of the country, especially since I am doing some research on the significance of the global geopolitical polarisation for the least developed countries. However, that's not the point of this article.

I am not even in a position to make any observations on behalf of civil society. However, I feel that the arrest of Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir at this time was not appropriate for the situation before the next election. He is perhaps the only one of the leading politicians of both major parties who has consistently and single-handedly spoken of peaceful movements and refrained from making provocative statements that could lead to conflict.

If you look at the events from the outside and listen to what he has to say, it seems that he is at least trying to achieve his party's goal only through spontaneous mass awakening, avoiding any conflict. Whether that will succeed is another question. Even if he engages in secret political activities, we have no opportunity to comment on them; I can only judge him at the moment with what is visible.

Conversely, the media speeches of numerous other party leaders exhibit a more aggressive stance than this kind of nonviolent agitation. Removing Fakhrul from the scene in this scenario raises the likelihood of a conflict.

Those like me who are novices in politics ought not to be aware of the extent of his power to restrain his party. We are unable to be aware of every domestic or international conspiracy. However, it appears that the lack of a declared nonviolent political leader like him will not lessen the conflict in the current political environment. If nothing else, his presence will at least provide the example of a sophisticated speech and political etiquette.

How peacefully or violently the current political issues are resolved will determine the country's economic future -- how much harder it will be for those with fixed or limited incomes to cope with inflation, how much further economic advancement can be sustained, and whether or not a democratic system can be adopted at all.

Although Fakhrul's arrest may not seem significant in the grand scheme of things, it is not unexpected that it serves as a catalyst for something significant. Permitting him to resume his efforts to pursue his nonviolent politics may be beneficial for the nation's future political culture.

(Translated from Bengali from the Facebook post of Wahiduddin Mahmud)