Having the status of the country’s oldest and biggest and people-oriented political party through its over seven decades of journey, the Awami League should engage itself with the masses in more intensified ways now following its historical background, said a noted academician.
“Awami League is the oldest and biggest political party in the country. Since its inception, the party always maintained close contacts with the masses. This practice should be intensified further to keep intact its structure as a pro-people party,” eminent educationalist Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique told BSS as the AL observed its 71st anniversary on Tuesday.
Siddique, a former Vice-Chancellor of Dhaka University, suggested the young leaders of Awami League to enhance their communication with the common people to let the people feel the party and its leaders as their own following the footprints of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
He said Bangabandhu throughout his entire life engaged himself with the people and always used to talk to the masses and party leaders before taking any decision that is why Bangabandhu became a leader of the mass people.
Siddique, also a communication expert, said though in the present days “we put much emphasis on communication and consider it as an assent”, Bangabandhu had practiced it always giving importance to this interpersonal relations since middle of the last century.
So, he had such a relation with all the countrymen that the entire 7.5 crore people always thought “Bangabandhu was their own leader and an undisputed leader”, he added.
Bangabandhu, he said, could not become an undisputed leader after winning the 70’s election rather he attained the status from his student life when he led students’ movements and later on in different struggles and movements holding different positions in that Awami League; he was always a near and dear one of the common people of this soil.
Siddique, a professor of Mass Communication and Journalism at the DU, said Bangabandhu gave much importance to interpersonal communications so that he could maintain close ties with every worker and leader of his party and practiced it until his death.
He suggested the present leaders should take a lesson from the essence of Bangabandhu’s philosophy of life to engage people and every worker in their every step towards progress.
The educationist said the philosophy of Bangabandhu is the philosophy of Bangladesh’s birth as the country’s base was founded on that philosophy.
He underscored the need for keeping a distance between the party and the government as separate entities as the people and its workers can think the party as their own following the footsteps of Bangabandhu.
Bangabandhu had kept an instance of this philosophy by resigning from cabinet to give much time for the party works, he mentioned.
On May 29 in 1957, Bangabandhu gave his resignation letter to the then chief minister Ataur Rahman Khan mentioning: “It is our duty to perceive the importance of time and set work-plan on the basis of that. Now I think I need to give much time for organizational works.” Siddique added that later, Bangabandhu’s letter was accepted in August and he devoted himself in party works.
“What I want to say is that this practice of getting engaged with people and engaging people and party workers in every step should be followed by the present-day leaders,” he said.
Siddique said even rural farmers went to Bangabandhu to give him the first crop of his land as they thought it would not be fair to enjoy the crop without giving it to Bangabandhu and such things happened even when Bangabandhu was the prime minister.
“Why these scenarios took place? It happened as the people had profound love in their hearts for Bangabandhu and Bangabandhu also loved the people and gave them such affection so that the people always thought Bangabandhu as their own,” he added.
He said in the historic interview with veteran journalist David Frost, Bangabandhu said: “My biggest ability is – I love people and my biggest weakness is – I love people very much.”
Siddique said Bangabandhu always spread this essence of love for the repressed, persecuted and deprived people of this soil and all over the world.
