Then there was another group whose only refrain was: once the Awami League is removed, the country will turn into paradise. The Awamis have made the country into “hellfire.” If only they could be overthrown, this land would become heaven, “Jannatul Firdaus.” But the country never did become a paradise.

And that's how things were running. When an ox goes astray, it can be whipped into line. But oxen are high maintenance. So with the arrival of the mechanised plough, all those problems were solved. Now, those who ran the country were intelligent beings, eminent people; but they too refused to listen. How could they be made to leave? That thought led to sleepless nights.

The English imported many things into this land: blouses and petticoats, shorts and ties, the harmonium, ABC, Shakespeare, the railway, cricket, and democracy. And so, for decades, the country has been run with that democracy. Yet it has never really been put to use.

Elections are supposed to nourish democracy. A dozen elections have already been held in this country. Despite those twelve elections, the country has been stripped to the bone. Now another election is around the corner.

There are the revolutionaries. They unobtrusively stay behind the scenes, emerging when needed. Some of them have taken up the old refrain, "Boycott the election!" Who knows what lies in their minds? There's clamour all around. Some have hope and some despair. Some spread panic. And all the while the thirteenth election gradually comes closer.

Yesterday even an election roadmap was announced. But until the election is actually held, one cannot really say that the election is actually taking place. But it is imperative to have an election.