Democracy: The journey that has taken a wrong turn
ILLUSTRATION: MANAN MORSHED Ali Riaz Ali Riaz
If one must identify the fundamental premise of the founding of independent Bangladesh, it is democracy we can claim that democracy was the raison d etre for establishing the country. The proclamation of independence, which promised equality, human dignity and social justice, was written amid a genocide and heroic resistance against the murderous Pakistani Army, but its significance for the future was not lost on its framers. The document says this is a product of mutual consultation among people who have been given a mandate . Those who penned and pronounced it clearly laid out the source of their legitimacy will of the people expressed through the democratic process. The document reads We the elected representatives of the people of Bangladesh, as honour bound by the mandate given to us by the people of Bangladesh whose will is supreme