Ever since it emerged as a sovereign State, Bangladesh has been in the grip of power politics. Coups have been common, the military has infiltrated the political process, and the political scene is marked by a patron-client culture, one in which black money plays a major role in elections and mastans (goondas) are extensively relied upon to do the bidding of their political masters. Political leaders draw their strength by donning the mantles of the slain charismatic leaders-Sheik Mujibur Rahman and Ziaur Rahman; they care little for inner-party democracy, are distanced from the people, and are caught up in an ‘enemy discourse”, in which each political party reviles the other. Bangladesh's political leaders must work for a genuine democratic culture in the country.
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