Untold Facts

Corruption White Paper by Awami League Government in 2009

To me, it was a good news that the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina herself announced in the floor of the parliament on the 11th February that her government would soon publish a white paper about corruption for public knowledge. But there was a lacuna in that she would include in the proposed white paper only corruptions made during the period of seven years involving the past two governments one of the BNP led for five years 2002 to 2006 and of the Fakhrudin led subsequent Caretaker Government ending 2008. She would be logical and also magnanimous if she would include her period of Prime Minister of Bangladesh from June 1996-July 2001.

It is no denying the fact that corruption by powerful ones except very few in the social fabric are nothing uncommon in Bangladesh. It is also true that corruption is a trend of human nature in natural instinct and a common vice in continuing evil process as evils are integral to human psychological make up. But at the same human entity there is also soul and spirit that tend to build distance and control evils in the same body and mind. Spirit according to religious philosophers is originated in the Great Creator that is also termed as conscience instilled in each and every human being. However, conscience is not developed automatically in each and every soul but remains latent or dormant that if nurtured positively and favorably would be active in times of need. That is why training and educating not only of body but also of mind is a necessity, no matter that training and education would be given informally as in family or formally in schools.

Corruption of any nature originates in mind and psyche and manifests in body actions. Though corruption is a personal matter that originates in one’s mind and manifested in body actions, it is with power of wealth and position that corruption is very akin to. That is why there is a valid saying that ‘Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely’.

Corruption is also a matter of unmet want and poverty on the one hand and human greed of feeble mind, on the other.

Bangladesh is a country of extreme poverty of millions of people characterized by massive unemployment or lack of legal source of income for their bare minimum everyday living. Regularly paid jobs are rare commodities, not to speak about good salaried permanent or life time jobs. Such jobs are few and far between chased by multiple candidates for only many scores to get lost and frustrated in the race.

Political party cadres flock in from the drop outs of schools and frustrated thousands of various genre, if not millions, some may be for ideological reasons but many other for possible gainful incomes being cadres of and if by chance holding on to scopes to become close to power holders for securing some form of income and paid jobs. That is how I knew the tradition built up in Bangladesh for the last decades. Thus corruption became endemic to political party syndrome, not necessarily among top leaders but many others both in the rank and file and at workers level. The tender business is a well known area for such as we have been having authentic information almost everyday at various locations from the lowest Upazila levels to the metropolitan city centre in Dhaka now becoming rampant as soon as this government took on to power in Dhaka. Some have been making the point that during the BNP led rule similar scenario had been in vogue and that the defeated lot have been replaced and taken over by the new victorious goons in their old places.

The situation reminded me the old days in early 1970s. The then charismatic leader asked the police to curb all corruptions including stopping of smuggling along the border to India to save the economy of Bangladesh. At one point he employed the army, as well, to have more effective result in containing smuggling, a lucrative underworld business for quick get rich income. As usual with the harshness of the army operation, many had been caught red handed and handed over to police for filing cases. The number of such arrested smugglers and quick money earners swelled in a few days. The news naturally reached not only to the top boss in Dhaka but also pressure built up to have mercy for those corrupt and smugglers who happened to be his own party cadres, workers and even some leaders. The top boss called and asked his army chief to stop army operation for he stated to have remarked, ‘ODER SHOBAIKE ATOK KARLE AMI DAL CHALABO KEMON KARE’ (How shall I run the party if they all would be arrested for smuggling and corruption)! That was the end of the operation for containing evils of smuggling and also corruptions.

Corruptions during that period took various forms and shapes, such as rent seeking through bullying of innocent traders and big officers by the cadres, snatching tenders from professional contractors for getting percentage of profits in advance in various public and semi-autonomous organizations, etc. In addition, securing huge ransom money from parties in the fearful scenario of ‘patriots’ and Pakistani collaborators had been common scenes of corruption and intimidation of simple and innocent citizens. On top of all these, armed hoodlums led by the leader’s own son Kamal, nephew Moni and notorious SP Mahbub, to name some for instance, created a hell of vicious fear and also corruption scenario of the crudest form in the country. One could go on listing the vicious syndrome that had root in the post Bangladesh independence period. The viciousness had its welcome end through the 15th August 1975 change. For some years people had a better time so far as corruption was concerned. Ershad’s period during 1982 to 1990 and again the Hasina’s period of 1996-2001 reappeared the 1972 -75 scenario so much so that the TI (Transparency International) estimated corruption figure of 17,000 Crore Taka alone in the year 2000 during Hasina’s latter part of rule of Bangladesh. The figure is not only on record but also recorded that the P.M. herself rebuked in the parliament for 27 minutes the TI Chairman Professor Muzaffor Ahmad for his giving the figure and ranking Bangladesh the ‘most corrupt’ country in the world. Though the ranking continued to be in that position during the initial three years (2003, 2004 and 2005) of the BNP led subsequent government (2002-2006), the figure in absolute term reduced to Taka 400 Crore in 2005. If the TI’s figures are of any credible value that many believe to be so, it would only be fitting that the P.M. Hasina should go for listing facts in the matter of her own period, as well.

Fakhruddin’s two year term Caretaker Government filed enormous cases of corruptions against stalwarts of both the main parties. In fact, Sheikh Hasina had 15 as against Khaleda only four. Had there been any substance in these cases, all should be open to the public for scrutiny in the proposed white paper.

Although it is nice to hear from the horse’s mouth that she would make public in a white paper the corruption of the BNP led government and of the Caretaker Dr. Fakhruddin, the exercise would certainly be more credible to the public if she would do it for her 1996-2001 term, as well, if not of the earlier period. Even so, older people who knew of corruption issues of early 1970s marked by words like KOMBOL CHOR, RELIEF CHOR, CHORER KHONI etc. and of the interesting facts of the period during mid 1950s in cases even involving the famous leader of Bangladesh.

I personally recall that the then Minister in charge of the Anti-Corruption in East Pakistan and father of Sheikh Hasina once in 1955 in a public meeting in the Paltan Maidan declared openly his crusade against the vice and asked all in his loud rhetoric that sounds in my years even today to let him know of any fact of corruption through writing on and mailing the message in a postcard of three paisa (Post Card would cost three paisa at that time). A senior citizen friend of mine Mr. A Rahim Chowdhury (Sylhet) and a class mate of the leader at the Islamia College (Now Azad College in Kolkata) in early 1940s told me later on that whoever had taken to mailing such post card had instead had bad times, not any redress of the corruptions concerned. I recall, as well, one of my relations and a DSP in late 1960s working as special IO in the corruption cases against the same person and also Barrister H.S.Suhrawardy, Senior Advocate A Salam Khan etc. working hard as defense lawyers in the court to get him saved from the corruption cases, in all possibly 14 in number, one less than Sheikh Hasina’s 15 as we knew until late 2008!

Prof. M.T. Hussain