Dr. Matiur Rahman :
Is drug production, import-export, purchase-sale, consumption and use legal or illegal in Bangladesh? Whether prostitution is legal or illegal? We know about bank check fraud but is there any other laws related to blackmailing? Whether gambling is legal or illegal? Whether bribery and corruption is legal or illegal? If these are legal then for whom? If illegal, for whom it is illegal? If legal, who gave legality? If illegal, who made it illegal? If someone think about it, he or she will have to fall into the maze. All this seems like a complicated calculation. A labyrinth.
In common sense we know these are illegal. Our society, culture and religion do not approve of those. Because, 90 percent of the people in Bangladesh are followers of Islam. Just as alcohol is forbidden in Islam, so is extramarital sex. Fraud, usury and bribery are also forbidden. So, how does the state approve some of these? Because, we see there are government approved bars for drinking. There are legal brothels for prostitution. There is also government approval for importing, buying and selling foreign liquor. Carew and Company is the only government-approved wine producer in the country. There are government licensed dealers and shops in different cities of the country to sell the produced liquor. The government has also approved private industry for the production and sale of beer. There is law and Anti-Corruption Commission to protect bribery and corruption. Even then, how can a class of people own wealth by bribery and corruption? So, isn’t this in conflict with the norms of society, culture and religion?
In our society a good number of people have own billions of money by doing legal business or industry. Again, many of them have become millionaires without any efforts. Statistics show that Bangladesh ranks third in the world and first in Asia in the growth rate of ultra-rich in the last ten years. Where do they spend so these huge money? They spent it for their safety and their family members. Go to the office by own helicopter. Go abroad on their own or chartered plane. When becomes ill, they takes treatment in foreign hospitals, their children study in foreign schools, colleges, universities, buys flats or houses in developed countries. They also helped the poor and needy people of the country by forming charities. All these are good works.
Global statistics also show that wealth has gone to one percent of the world’s population. The remaining ninety nine percent are resource less. What will one percent of the people will do with their wealth? They will try to spend time having some fun as well as doing the good work described above. They will travel to space by building their own spacecraft at a cost of billions of dollars. Buy an entire island or spend millions of dollars building a luxury pleasure boat. Spend time entertaining with a celebrity by drinking foreign liquor at their own resorts or five star hotels. Because, they also need entertainment. All of these are legal or justified for them.
Recently, the illegal activities of many local heroines, model actresses and their associates (male and female) are getting wide publicity in the media. People saw such incidents last year too such as casinos, ark of money, women leaders’ theaters in hotels, doctors’ cheating, etc. Seeing all these, the fatigue of the general public has gone away. They are watching the real life activities of the lascivious heroine on the TV screen for free of cost. They need not to watch made story at the cinema hall by spending money. However, we do not know the consumers who make their market for such activities. But we are sure a section of rich people of the society are their consumers.
Across the country, the news is now enjoyed by working people, officials, teachers, students, politicians and intellectuals. From tea stallto big restaurant this is a hot topic now. From peon of many government and private offices to the tables of big bosses it is discussing frequently. Their fatigue that was createdby corona has gone away. They have started to recover them again. Many of them have woken up.
However, the poorest section of the society have widely-awaken. But this is not due to activities of lascivious heroines or models. Nor is it the intoxication of foreign liquor seen on TV. They are awakening up due to hunger. Because the lockdown and shutdown has bankrupted many of them. Their hunger pangs and addiction to rice have increased. So they are starting to come out now. No one can stop them.
(Dr. Matiur is Research Consultant, Human Development Research Centre, Dhaka).
