[The following is a glimpse of a piece of my mind. You are not required to believe it, to accept it, nor to act upon it. Please read at your own risk. It is not my intention, to promote it; but to exercise my right of freedom of thought.]

The constitutional multiparty democracy imposed upon the People of Maldives by the August Constitution (in a mess) has proved to be an unbearable burden on the people of the peaceful land of a nation who used to be subservient to its monarchs in every facet of life – Maldives!

We were a people who derived our peace and happiness by near worship of our rulers and elders. A people void of a mind of individuality but a collective mind driven by fear and our pride in our folklore which everyone was indoctrinated to be proud of. A people who dwelt in their pride of folklore heritage carried forth from generation to generation by myth and folklore.

A nation of tribal instinct and design!

The five-star August Constitution determined that we were a civilized people and promised a nation of prosperity. The language and the concepts driven from the civilized world were alien in its form and origin; and added more than just a pinch of luxury to lure the people to a taste of paradise before the Day of Judgement.

Foreign hands and minds drafted the August Constitution. It was modified and “perfected” in the midst of personal vendetta and a dream future of absolute luxury and personal space and freedom for all. The inner desires of the very people who claimed a false authorship of the Constitution were in direct conflict with the civilized values of humanity, and the spirit of liberal democracy of which the constitution boasted.

Local Government or Local Governance!

The August Constitution determined the setting up of administrative units comprising of geographically demarcated areas of the country. Legislation was passed to facilitate local governance but ended up with local council administrations at multiple tiers, fashioned more like lower houses of people’s representatives. The same legislation also created a Local Government Authority where there were no local governments, as the constitution required a unitary state. When put into practice, it created the synonym of the much hated Ministry of Atolls Administration of the dictatorship regime.

The legislation was so chaotic and disrupted the functioning of the state so much so that two state ministers of the government took to the Courts to prove that parts of the legislation were unconstitutional.

(to be continued in Part 2)