Dr Mohammad Didare Alam Muhsin :
The 26th of March this year marks the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence. Various colorful events are being held across the country to commemorate this important milestone in the history of the country. In this short span of 50 years, the country and the nation have witnessed many incidents and accidents, ups and downs. Some of these events at different points of its historic trajectory have shaken the entire nation and maybe changed its course. Sometimes the nation has been broken into tears; sometimes it has been aroused in anticipation of a splendid future. Although 50 years is not a very long range in a nation’s life — may be just one generation in terms of average life expectancy, yet this half-century milestone must be raising this question in front of a nation that has a millennial tradition of self-respect and had to break the shackles of subjugation to regain its independence: ‘Is the country on the right track?’
As the country finally became independent after 9 months bloody war in 1971 and Bangabandhu returned to the country with skyrocketing popularity, the country now had to face a new but difficult challenge. The challenge was to restore peace and order throughout the war-torn country and to build this newly independent country up to the desires and aspirations of the nation. Many had weapons in their hands, which needed to be brought under state control as soon as possible. Due to the war, all kinds of infrastructures including roads, bridges and culverts were destroyed all over the country; many people became homeless; many farmers did not have the resources like oxen or plows for farming. The miscreants were looting the furnitures and equipment of offices and factories in different parts of the country. The Pakistanis left the country’s economy hollow. In the last days of the war, the West Pakistanis transferred almost all of their trade money to West. Consider an example: Pakistan International Airlines left exactly 117 rupees ($16) in its account in the port city of Chittagong. In addition to the economy, all sectors including food, education, healthcare had to be repaired and rebuilt. Besides, it was essential to build friendly relations with the whole world by promoting Bangladesh as a peace-loving country. Bangabandhu had only a short span of about three and a half years to face this huge challenge before his tragic assassination. History will judge how successful he had been in facing this challenge. However, there is no denying that whatever success was achieved, it was simply due to his huge personality.
The country has come a long way today. Kissinger’s bottomless basket now holds the second highest foreign exchange reserves in South Asia (after India) ($43,823 / February, 2021). According to the IMF, the country’s per capita income in 2019 was $1,906, with a GDP of $317 billion. The main source of foreign exchange comes from the remittances of 12 million expatriates working in different countries across the world and the export of readymade garments industry. On the one hand, while working people are working hard at home and abroad to supply the country’s treasury, on the other hand, some people spend their busy time looting the financial institutions of the country or cheating/ trapping the common people to grab their last resources and smuggling the embezzled money to other countries. According to a report by Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington-based research institute, $7,585 crore was smuggled from Bangladesh in the 10 years from 2005 to 2014, amounting to Tk 606,868 crore in Bangladeshi currency. This means the equivalent of two budget allocations in Bangladesh. During this period, Bangladesh had been the country from which the highest money laundering took place among the least developed (LDC) countries. (A_© cvPv‡ii BwZe„Ë| Wq‡P †f‡j, 22 †g, 2017)
Undoubtedly, the country has made a lot of progress in the field of education. In the post-independence period, Bangabandhu placed utmost importance on primary education. Thirty seven thousand primary schools were nationalized during his time in office. Following in his footsteps, his worthy daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is leading the country to his dreams and ideals by nationalizing 26,000 primary schools. The country now offers unpaid and compulsory primary education up to 5th grade. The literacy rate has risen to 74.7 percent. The country’s progress in women’s education is astounding.
On the question of governance, the people of this country always wanted to keep confidence in the democratic system. Thus, military rule or any other kind of dictatorial system could not establish a permanent foundation here. In fact, the people of this country had to take up arms for independence in 1971 because the Pak generals tried to overturn the mandate given by the people in the 1970 election. Although there is no disagreement on the question of democracy, the country has failed to build an electoral culture acceptable to all in the last 50 years. Due to the intolerant and belligerent attitude of the rival factions to each other, muscle power is being used under the political umbrella and some unscrupulous people in different positions are taking the opportunity of using political connections to embezzle people’s money. According to many thinkers, in order to get out of here, the political parties need to build trust, respect and friendship between each other, so that a liberal democratic environment is created and they feel safe with each other. Only then can the country and the country’s overall system get out of the grip of the grabby, ambitious musclemen and military-civilian bureaucracy.
Good luck to everyone!
(Dr Muhsin is Professor of Pharmacy, Jahangirnagar University).
