Having said that, there is, however, a new deadly equation surfaced in the political arena with the campaign of the Islamists' suicide carnage and the PM taking hardline position against the opposition sensed from her speech at Paltan Maidan on 21 December. Under these circumstances, it looks like 2006 is going to be a bloodiest year in the history of the nation. Looking back, on this soil, so much blood has been shed during the last half a century that there is no parallel in any other parts of the subcontinent. This nation reached to such a point that, at any cost, politicians want to cling to power as if the seat of power is end of everything that a short life can offer.

The last fifteen years of democratic rule took more life than the preceding fifteen years of authoritarian rule. This may sound like us being a devil's advocate. But is not HM Ershad having a last laugh now? He may be even aspiring a comeback since he can see now that the nation is in such a mess through the hands of democratically elected leaders that the electorate might have a second thought in the future. Moreover, he knows well that out of fifteen years of so-called democracy, the last four years have been worse. The nation witnessed retaliation by the winning alliance against the voters of minority groups and opposition that went out of all proportion immediately after the 2001 election. Next, the state sponsored initiatives like Operation Clean Heart (so-called victims of heart attacks), RAB, Cheeta, Kobra (so-called victims of crossfire) have been institutionalised to gag criminals but also to punish opponents.

Outside these operations, there have been sporadic deadly incidents of bomb and grenade attacks on the leaders and workers of the main opposition and a Bangladesh born UK diplomat. And, now, a non-stop suicide bombing has been bleeding the entire nation allegedly with the support of an arm of the incumbent.

What is going on? Why under a democratic practice the nation has to give all those lives and destroy so many families? Any rational person would agree that the place is in such a mess that it does not look like this bloodied democracy game would end before staging another 1971 style blood bath on this soil. We argued earlier in this forum that crime, cadre and corruption (triple-C) are synonymous with our type of democracy. Under our democracy, a minister never loses job even caught red handed as a godfather in disguise or as looter of nation's wealth in a broad daylight. It is not only ministers, if one happens to be a government party lawmaker, world appears to them as free for all. Without naming the names, we have been witnessing this occurring year after year and regimes after regimes.

This was not why the people fought for independence in 1971 and for the removal of the authoritarian rules in 1990. After all these sacrifices, what the nation gets are more and more godfathers, their bloodthirsty cadres and mindless corruption. It is not inappropriate to say that our politicians have been treating the people at contempt for too long and a deadly game of politics has engulfed us all. It is beyond imagination that a young Bangalee Muslim will sacrifice his/her life for killing fellow Muslims for no reason whatsoever.

Under the present circumstance, the time has come to ask, for whose politics are we running after? politics for godfathers? politics for clinging to power at any cost? or politics for grabbing power? One would perhaps say that in the present day Bangladesh all these are true. While it may be right, from our viewpoint, many politicians unfortunately have become the godfather-making machines than the lawmakers for the nation. Between the period of 1991 and 2001, the godfathers of successive governments and the oppositions had been localised. Now, the godfathers are at large and have been roaming nationwide. Localised godfathers while made Bangladesh a nation of political assassins, the nationwide godfathers, like JMB militant leaders, are transforming the nation into a killing field.

What happened at Netrokona on the other day cannot be put in words. Who were the people the suicide bomber(s) have killed and injured? The ordinary bystanders and the members of the law enforcing agencies. Due to ignorance about the power of bombs these people were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were there to see the bomb that failed to go off in the first attempt in front of a cultural office (according to media report). In seconds later many were killed and injured. It is madness and barbaric to say the least. But the administration has no clue, and no progress in the inquiry is in sight. So-called Islamist godfathers seem have taken on well our free-for-all democracy.

Those who tried to raise voice against the godfathers, religious or otherwise, were either killed or threatened to keep their mouth shut. For instance, SAMS Kibria of AL, Professor Humayun Azad of Dhaka University and Abu Hena (still survives) of BNP, to name a few. Unfortunately, the government of the day is currently on a rat race against the opposition for creating human seas at Paltan Maidan and in other parts of the nation. This is utterly a wrong priority and wastage of scarce resources and energy of a sitting government that could be engaged in freeing the nation from militants. The government is acting like an opposition in keeping the street under capture. It is not inappropriate to claim that organisation of mammoth public gathering such as this by any sitting government often acts as breeding ground of political godfathers. It was alleged and also came to media that on 21 December million of taka was transacted between the cadres and the hired participants. Whatever, this is not the kind of democracy people want to see after fifteen years of elected governments. No wonder why we are now on the top of the corruption ladder and the game of politics becoming deadlier day by day with the support of the godfathers.

The ball is certainly in the government's court now. This is a challenge that will make or break whatever credibility the government has with the electorate in the era of deadly game of politics. The PM and her party seemingly have no other alternatives than to sit down with the opposition with a meaningful framework, we repeat a meaningful framework, of dialogue which the opposition would dare to miss if it wants to remain in the game. If history is a guide, all the governments that applied force to face opposition on the street had little success ultimately. Our leaders are living examples who led and fought against the authoritarian rules fifteen years back. However, we the Bangalees allegedly known as being notoriously famous of having short memory and our leaders always living within the four walls of godfathers and sycophants. On top of these, this time, a fundamentalist party is also sharing the power and they had the reputation of being the deadliest of all. In view of the above, we hope, at last, commonsense will prevail with our leaders to act avoid further blood letting on this soil.

Dr Moazzem Hossain is a freelance contributor.