Beyond BNP and AL: Time for e-politics?

After much excitement about the Shahbagh demonstrations, we are almost back to square one: it's politics as usual. The opposition has taken to the streets and the government has stormed the BNP offices. But looking forward and beyond the daily rollercoaster ride that our politicians take us on, where do we stand to go from here? Isn't it high time to look for an alternative?

The question merits some pondering in the light of recent events. From Hawa Bhaban to the Padma Bridge, both the parties in power have been accused of – and exposed by the other – engaging in unbridled corruption, a lack of sophistication in our political leadership can hardly be missed either. Points in case are the current administration's vehement defence of its ex-communications minister over Padma Bridge and more recently, Begum Zia's remark of a 'genocide' on the streets of Bangladesh. Perhaps it is not a lack of sophistication but a complete disregard for the sensibility of the common people that allows our parties to take such stances. In that, they are one and the same. Running down the list, we are seeing in front of our eyes an old norm de guerre of the opposition in play: paralyze the country in the months before national elections through violence and create a scenario to justify its return to power. Let me call this as well: whoever will be on the losing end of the next parliamentary elections will cry foul at the results and label it rigged.

But is it really time for an alternative? There has to a middle ground that we can find. I would not call it a bikalpa shakti or a trittiyo party. Before we even speak of a trittiyo party, we actually need a formidable second party, a platform different from the AL/BNP politics in ideology and practice, to emerge. For one, the military cannot be that alternative factor, not in a functional democracy. If the right wing religious establishment had any chance to fill those shoes, the Shahbagh-sparked exposé of Jamaat's atrocities in 1971 and its recent violent backlash has put the nails in the coffin for any legitimate opportunity. And yet, after the undeserving criticism against Dr. Mohammed Yunus since 2008, it might appear a long shot before any self-respecting group of civil society members dare to reform our political system.

This is where Shahbagh comes into play. Stepping back from the quagmire of our national politics, we could be standing at a critical juncture of change. In an unprecedented move, we witnessed a non-partisan youth led movement under no particular political banner taking a formidable stance against the judiciary's verdict. The group surely made its voice heard loud enough for our political establishment to pay attention. The tool that this movement used is perhaps its most remarkable and understated contribution – the power of online social networks. The Shahbagh bloggers effectively used an internet based campaign to organize, agitate and disseminate information across the country and to the Diaspora aboard. Bangladeshis – with differing opinion – have been equally active in responding to events unfolding in Dhaka. Even Jamaat sympathizers matched up to wage an internet based counter-campaign against the war crimes verdict. It is true that an alarming portion of the virtual information being distributed was confrontational and often incendiary. But despite its shortcomings, we have just experienced a new brand of political expression in Bangladesh – call it e-politics. If you are optimistic – and this author definitely is – here is an opportunity to create a new political space, one comprised of a virtual community of self-righteous Bangladeshis who can come together to discuss, debate and influence policy.

Readers may dismiss my claim here as overly simplistic. Perhaps it is. Yet there are a few glaring changes outside the political realm which cannot be overlooked. A majority of Bangladeshis are under the age of 30, an increasing number of us have access to some form of mobile communication and the internet is more widely available in Bangladesh than ever before. For the first time, we have a growing number of youth who are reading and deliberating on social movements from all corners of the globe. What you hear from our political leaders on the media can now be verified on your smartphone without even leaving your house. The quality of the data, while debatable at present, will improve as more Bangladeshis pile on to online communities and certain platforms come to be perceived as objective and accurate. More importantly, this creates an opportunity in the near future for data analytics and marketing never seen before in our political discourse. Sure, the far flung villages without power or water have little idea of the power of computing but cellphones are abundant and this gadget itself is a key first step. It is a matter of time – perhaps a decade – before we will start to see pollsters able to collect information, gauge people's preferences and behaviour and target data-driven campaigning.

All this perhaps sounds a bit of a science fiction for now but we cannot dismiss the leading indicators in place. We ought to be emboldened by the fact that this new political space is one which will not tread on the traditional marching grounds of the AL/BNP but one that can sensitize public actions in a constructive fashion. Take a step back and apply the power of this online community to the case of the Padma Bridge scandal or the response to the factory fire at Tazreen. The outcomes could have been – and can be – different. While a legitimate public demonstration need not be the product of every response to a political scandal, it will be crucial to attract the attention of our aging and out-of-touch leaders.

As I pen the words of this article, there is news that the government is setting up a nine-member committee to monitor and control of online content. Sounds a bit Orwellian — or actually, the signs of an establishment so out of touch with changes in our society that it believes it can exert control on information floating in the 'clouds'. It is of utmost importance to sustain our new found home-grown e-politics. That is where reform can start to take its roots. In this Hirok Rajar Desh that our establishment has created, an online community may very well be the Udayan Pandit that can be the alternative power to guide the country.

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Safwan Shabab is a Bangladeshi investor currently based in Chicago.