Politics, at its core, is meant to be one of the highest forms of public service. It should attract individuals of integrity, education, vision, and moral courage to people willing to sacrifice personal comfort for the collective good. In healthy societies, politics is a responsibility, not a shortcut; a duty, not a deal. Tragically, in Bangladesh, this noble ideal has been systematically dismantled.
Today, politics in Bangladesh is increasingly treated not as service, but as a business model, one that requires little ethical investment yet promises enormous personal profit. For many who occupy positions of power, politics is not understood as a means to serve the people or strengthen institutions. Instead, it has become an instrument to capture authority, accumulate wealth, and dominate society through fear, influence, and coercion.
A disturbing number of political actors lack even a basic understanding of democratic principles, constitutional responsibility, or public accountability. Their political education begins and ends with power: how to seize it, how to retain it, and how to monetise it. Extortion, corruption, land grabbing, illicit trade, and the misuse of state resources have become routine tools of political survival rather than rare deviations. Criminality is no longer an exception in politics, but it has become normalised.
Instead of attracting the nation’s brightest and most ethical citizens, politics has increasingly become a refuge for the unqualified and morally compromised. Many individuals who rise through party ranks lack formal education, civic sense, or ethical grounding. Some have never meaningfully participated in intellectual, professional, or social institutions. Yet, through muscle power, patronage networks, and sheer opportunism, they ascend to leadership positions and shape the nation’s destiny.
Political parties, which should function as democratic institutions rooted in ideology and public service, often operate like private syndicates. Loyalty is valued more than competence, obedience more than integrity. Party structures reward those who can mobilise force or money, not those who can articulate policy or uphold principles. As a result, governance becomes hostage to factional interests rather than the public good.
The contradiction is staggering. Many of those who make laws, manage public funds, and represent Bangladesh on international platforms would struggle to qualify for even basic jobs in the public or private sector. Yet they decide national budgets, influence legal frameworks, and control institutions meant to protect citizens. This reality is not merely ironic, but it is dangerous.
Even more alarming is the hostile environment created for those who are genuinely qualified and well-intentioned. Educated, ethical, and visionary individuals who attempt to enter politics are often met with humiliation, targeted hostility, and character assassination. Vested interests view competence as a threat and integrity as an inconvenience. The result is a toxic political culture that systematically excludes capable leadership while rewarding aggression and opportunism.
Ordinary citizens are left trapped between fear and frustration, forced to endure extortion, injustice, and lawlessness. In many regions, people live under silent intimidation, fully aware that those who abuse power often operate beyond accountability.
The greatest tragedy is that the cost of this moral collapse is borne not by political elites, but by the people basically who are farmers, workers, students, and small entrepreneurs alike who struggle daily under inequality, insecurity, and a growing loss of trust in institutions.
Bangladesh is not short of capable citizens, nor is it devoid of moral courage. What is lacking is a political culture that values character over coercion, competence over connections, and service over self-interest. Reform is not impossible, but it demands collective resolve.
We must reject the politics of violence, corruption, and personality cults. We must demand transparency, accountability, and ethical standards from those who seek power. Political leadership must once again be measured by ideas, integrity, and impact but not by muscle, money, or manipulation.
Most importantly, we must protect the next generation from inheriting a system where crime masquerades as leadership and power is divorced from responsibility. This requires conscious citizenship, institutional reform, and the courage to challenge entrenched interests, not with vengeance or chaos, but with unity, wisdom, and persistence.
The writer is a columnist and political analyst
