Dr. Forqan Uddin Ahmed
Among the South Asian countries, Bangladesh is now being discussed in the world media for various reasons. Bangladesh has now established itself in a place that is really a bit difficult to climb. Bangladesh has climbed that difficult wall and is in a place of honor. Of course, all the achievements of today’s Bangladesh have been possible for several reasons. The two main reasons for this are that (1) Bangladesh is in an advantageous position due to geopolitical reasons, (2) Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, is holding the development steer in Bangladesh. Had it not been for Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh would have become a fundamentalist state today. The country that became independent in 1971 under the leadership of Bangabandhu by the blood of three million martyrs, bearing the non-communal sprit. BNP-Jamet alliance government had the misrule of bomb explosion in all the districts at a time. Bangladesh has somehow overcome that black shadow. The main problem of Bangladesh is still the problem of the rise of fundamentalist power. Terrorist fundamentalist forces are deeper than corruption.
The key to the development of a country is the politics of the country. If politics is not transparent and beautiful, no country can be healthy, beautiful and safe. Politics is committed to ensuring all kinds of services to the people. When a political party asks the people to vote, it stands at the door of the voter with a message of service. That is, ‘politics’ still survives in the world because service has a link with politics. Politics cannot develop without a democratic environment. Looking at today’s Bangladesh, it seems that there is no future for politics in this country. We need to find the answer to this question.
The course of politics in Bangladesh has been deliberately disrupted. Politics has been corrupted in such a way as it is really difficult to purify. The turning point in the politics of Bangladesh came with the assassination of Bangabandhu on 15 August 1975. An organized group of conspirators misled Bangladesh by killing Bangabandhu through domestic and international conspiracies. Evil forces blocked the politics of Bangladesh for long 21 years after 1975. During this time, the anti-independence clique has put a generation to sleep in complete darkness. In addition, some military officers, bureaucrats and privileged politicians have transformed Bangladesh into a non-political state.
Today if the number of businessmen cannot be reduced from the politics of our country, politics cannot be handed over to the real politicians, and then the politics of Bangladesh will be plunged into darkness. In today’s political arena, no one can survive without cash. When a man is elected by spending money – is it really possible to serve people? When someone gets appointment, the employee thinks about bribery all the time. In the same way, by spending a lot of money in the election and winning the election, he also builds mountainous of money. When we look at the parliament in today’s Bangladesh, we see many skilled businessmen, but we do not see any skilled parliamentarians, we do not see any legislators whose faces can make the people of this country hopeful.
Bangladesh Awami League government has been ruling the country for 12 consecutive years. There are a lot of changes in Bangladesh within this time. Bangladesh has succeeded in many ways, but one thing that allows us to think that Bangladesh needs another strong opposition party like the Awami League at the moment. A party that will not have a single Razakar or anti-liberation war, a party that will never take any decision outside the sacred constitution of Bangladesh, the way the Awami League is running the country is not bad at all, but Awami League could have done more if there was a strong opposition party. Today, we have to think that if a party stays in power for a long time, that party will come to a standstill, and even that party will break up for various reasons. Therefore, if the Awami League is to survive from disintegration, it must be given a chance to form a strong opposition party.
Today, when we look at our neighboring country India, we can see that the Congress, the CPI (M), the popular political party in India, is going through a terrible situation. Power does not last forever; the Awami League has to take Bangladesh to a better place while it is in power. Bangabandhu did not spare the corrupt, yet he could not survive. The current chief of the Awami League, Sheikh Hasina, also has to think about these issues. Hopefully, Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken a tough stance against corruption. It seems that he will not spare anyone. If this attitude is maintained, Bangladesh will soon be free from corruption. But it is also true that the fight against corruption is not possible for the government alone, if the people there do not respond consciously. Today we all need to be vigilant against corruption and socially boycott the corrupt.
Those who are doing politics in today’s Bangladesh have to understand the pulse of the people of this country. If we want to do politics in modern Bangladesh, we need to nurture modern thinking and concepts. It is necessary to do politics in Bangladesh by avoiding corrupt people, keeping religious orthodoxy away and holding the spirit and ideology of the liberation war. Otherwise, we will be engulfed with anxieties and frustrations about our future politics.
(Dr. Forqan is former Deputy Director General, Bangladesh Ansar & VDP)
