Staff Correspondent :
One of the most interesting habits in our political discourse is how often leaders speak in the name of “the people”.
“The people will respond”, “the people of the country will not accept this”, “the people will take to the streets”, “the people will unleash ‘another July’” … These are familiar phrases, and they are used by almost everyone — the government, the opposition, and political movements of all ideological shades.
Many may say: “That is what representative politics has always done. So what?” But no one asks whether we should continue accepting it uncritically.
The more I hear them, the more I find myself wondering: can anyone truly claim to know what an entire nation thinks? Do they know what I think? Will I do whatever they are claiming I will do? I am, at the end of the day, a part of the “people of this country”.
Bangladesh is home to nearly 180 million people. We differ by class, geography, profession, religion, generation, and political belief. We disagree loudly and often, we change our minds, we remain undecided, and we hold contradictory views — sometimes all at once.
