Muhammad Quamrul Islam :
The surviving septuagenarians I at 79 of Dhaka University 1961 batch have passed through three periods of history of Bengal assert language movement meant cultural, political and economic emancipation, nationally and internationally, be kept in mind and experiences of Observance of the Day every year be assessed passed to progeny for meaningful advancement emotionally and realistically in future. If one looks at reports and articles published in Bangladesh national dailies and weeklies published on February 21, 22, 2020 one will find three enemies of Bengali language which are all home grown, neo elite wealthy and influential, those living in developed western countries leaving own motherland on various pretexts of globalization, sought political asylums and so on.
Prof Shamsuzzaman Khan, former Director General of Bangla Academy, expressed his surprise on selection of winner of Independence Award this time! Should we then go for Inquiry of award giving, which started from 1977 or skip over, an elderly man reacted. Let his colleague National Professor Rafiqul Islam takes up the matter in the light of the address of Prime Minister in the meeting at International Mother Language Institute in capital on 21st February, where he was present reported as her teacher.
On the other hand, report on Bank defaulters again appeared on 22nd Feb, which led to question if it is for shifting the responsibility of current authorities or justifying a Bank Commission to be set up provide some favored high standing experts! to hoodwink the public and international quarters. The matter is under fire since 1990s, lot has been said and reported but to no effect. It came to be known as loan default culture of the Big. The causes are known and actions needed; so there is no need of Commission.
What is worrying is the absence of program on the Day countrywide in University Campus by the students under the guidance of teachers! It was expected elected Dhaka University Central Students Union (DUCSU) and Hall Unions would be brought to play due role which their predecessors had played, launched and kept up the movement in 1950s and 1960s. Of course, with the change of time program will have to be adjusted where ever flowing values will not only remain but energized. Only the students who are future leaders of the country, properly enlightened by their non-partisan teachers, could eliminate the enemies of Bengali language lead to its development. In the aforesaid meeting, PM has expressed her annoyance to those who speak Bengali in English accent. She reaffirmed her promise none will remain shelter less, unfed and without medical treatment. She envisioned hunger free and poverty free Bangladesh. Has her call been absorbed by invited attendees to implement it in Mujib year?
Towards that end we would like to emphasize the crying need of the hour is to sympathetically consider the burning issue of unemployed university degree holders and give them some relief, to which attention has been invited time to time in the media giving statistics. Various allowances have been given to various groups so far from public exchequer but the pitiable conditions of this youth group going unnoticed. We are told Private Universities as well as Public universities want to hide this problem, lest they’re held accountable and flourishing business fed by students from families of wage earners remittances are jolted. Added to it local middle classes are enticed to send their children undergoing hardships. Obviously this does not speak well about the characteristics of Bengalese which run counter to the spirit of language martyrs.
We urge concerned ministries and Centenary Celebration Committee to move to give monthly unemployment allowance to unemployed degree holders to alleviate sufferings of the affected youth and families, to which Bangabandhu’s daughter PM Sheikh Hasina will accord approval, Insha’Allah. Simultaneously, techno-economic-marketing Plan should be drawn to employ them productively or provide finance to go for self-employment in real terms creating congenial atmosphere. This will not only stop wastage of higher educated resources but also save the country from social political disorder of various sorts. University teachers should be refrained from partisan politics as already called upon by Honorable President and Chancellor of Universities in every occasion reported in the media. Otherwise, what would be could hardly be imagined?
Look, nationalist line has triumphed in Britain and USA and other countries. Immigration to West would not be that easy and those got citizenships are now worried about their fourth generation who has lost contact with Bangladesh origin. The communists of different brands returned from camps after emergence of Bangladesh in the erstwhile East Pakistan 1971 have kept the country divided in the name of ‘pro liberation force and anti-liberation force’ for their so called class struggle; thus hindered the growth of multi-party democracy as in neighboring state of West Bengal, India. As a logical consequence unity of two Bengal and adjoining Bengali speaking area notwithstanding borders was due as liberation war was fought in the spirit of Bengali nationalism. The current movements in West Bengal and seven sister states are perfectly compatible with national aspirations to which Bangladesh should extend cooperation.
Over here we may recall our post partition 1947 politics was directed to that end in terms of Bengali Nationalism but lost that steam in Bangladesh due to the tragic killing of Bangabandhu in 1975, demise of Bhashani in 1976 and globalization giving demographic dividend. Born in 1940s in Undivided Bengal and India under British rule we have undergone pains of tragic partition of Bengal with porous bordersmade by British while transferring power by partition- independence to India and Pakistan with two wings separated by thousand mile of Indian Territory in 1947. In our student life and career we looked for national emancipation of Bengalese, not rename East Pakistan into Bangladesh only to enjoy sovereign benefits and the multitude suffer. Let it be upheld in Mujib Year.
(Muhammad Quamrul Islam, economist, advocate and columnist)
