Quite the reformists, aren’t we? Factions at-least, from three of the four major parties, have now come out with reform proposals for party governance and structure over the past few days. The JP and BNP proposals would mean the end for Khaleda Zia, while the AL proposal, while more wide-ranging in scope and perhaps by dint of this, carefully skirts the leadership issue. At-least in the initial reports. The AL proposal has not been made public as yet. Party members have merely discussed some of its most important facets with the media. In any case, what cannot be doubted is that these events have the potential of ushering in a new era in Bangladeshi politics.

Some have raised their voices to question whether the reformists can be trusted, being as they are of the same ilk that ran amok over the last so many years. I believe the answer to that can only be found by giving them the opportunity to go forward with their initiative by lifting the ban on indoor politics. Yes, they never pushed for these reforms when they were running the system, but conditions then were not the most conducive to change. The system’s ills had become institutionalized, decaying it systematically. Extreme measures were needed to recall our polity from the altar of corruption and moral atrophy to the more noble path the profession idealizes. The State of Emergency is quite an appropriate moniker for what is really a critical juncture in this nation’s history. What is propagated now may stand for many more years to come, setting the scene for the nation’s struggle to break out of its shell and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the Asian countries to have shown the most vigour.

It is bound to be a wide-ranging process, and under it will fall more than just the political parties, but wherever it may be, let the work of reform begin !