Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque :
Every year the great Victory Day is observed in remembrance of the last 16 days of armed Liberation War when our valiant freedom fighters staged a strike back with sophisticated weapons flushing out the Pakistani occupation army and their quislings from the country. Liberation War based on Bengali nationalism had a logical conclusion with the dawn of a new state in December 16, 1971. In fact Bangladesh movement-a sort of national reawakening and Bengali renaissance with its cultural underpinnings and idiosyncrasies turned into War of Liberation. The root-cause of this cultural regeneration was Language Movement in 1952. The mistakes that came thick immediately after the birth of Pakistan in 1947 were beginning to sound a death knell to ‘two nation theory’. Bangabandhu shaped Bengali perception and psyche hovering around linguistic nationalism.
December still flashes in our philosophy and imagination. It is noted with last days of tragedies and triumphs. As a matter of fact celebration of Victory Day in festive moods commences at the start of December. Branded as victory month it is celebrated with much fanfare. All our thoughts for ever are ready to pour into all the sorrows and joys of the armed struggle for Liberation. All our emotions with national symbols ride out anew to the new era of our political life. We are out on the freeway of nurturing our Liberation values and spirit in a political environment friendly to progressive ideas. There are no bounds to the expectations for a dreamland free from the sinister political elements using religious values to their own political advantage.
We lost many freedom fighters, endless unarmed civilians and a large number of women in the War of Liberation. “At least three million people were killed and over 200000 women abused by occupation forces and their local agents.” During the war women taken away from their homes, at the war fields, roads and corners in rural areas were persecuted and raped. They were honoured with the title ‘Birangana’ for their loss of virginity (in case of unmarried daughter) and chastity (in case of married women). They ‘are the source of inspirations to the whole nation. Symbolically they are the war mothers. As long as Bangladesh remains, the whole nation honour and salute the great women.’
Pakistan army committed a monumental blunder by attacking India and when India started retaliating Bhutan became the first country to recognise Bangladesh followed by India. On the diplomatic front Nixon administration played a dubious role helping Yahiya to continue war. The news of the presence of seven fleet created some panic among us at the moment when we were enjoining Pakistan defeat and war debacles at all fronts. They were suffering humiliation in air, navy and ground. We enjoyed dog fights and air raids on roof. Dhaka’s sky was completely dominated by Indian mig-21, hunter and Gnat with Pakistani Saborejes going down. We received the news of liberating Jessore on 7th December, 1971 over Swadhin Bangla Betar.
In December 3 Indo-Pak war erupted as Indian Government was compelled to go for military solution to the humanitarian and political crises intentionally created by the Pak military rulers who wanted to trample democracy to deprive the people of the then East Pakistan the rights to rule. There was massive attacks and counter offensive on all fronts with the use of infantry, artillery and armored core. Indian para-troopers were dropped in sizeable strength to mount an assault on Dhaka. ‘By the first week of December1971 everything was almost over.’
Bangladesh, as a new state of nation triumphed with millions of freedom loving people dancing and rejoicing in the street shouting Joy Bangla. We remember that day in our student life. So the spirit of Liberation is still alive in our sentiment and emotion. We feel proud of the historic Victory in December 16, 1971. ‘Bangladesh was finally a free and sovereign state as the historic surrendering ceremony at the Ramna Race course maidan was over by the afternoon. Many of the political leaders started coming back along with thousands of jubilant freedom fighters dancing all the way.
The advent of December 16 every year renews our quixotic attachment to the values of Liberation. Thoughts ridding through Victory anniversary deepen our sense of history -an inkling of the legacy of enlightened people of Bangladesh. It reminds us of the great truth that only nationalism with progressive ideas and expressions is the basis of thinking of our glorious past and Liberation War. This is a true reflection.
We have a dream of emancipation from the process of semi-colonial exploitation. That is why Bengalis rallied behind a series of movements for democracy and parity organised by vernacular elites that in the long run culminated in Liberation War. Spontaneity and enthusiasm coupled with pure patriotism prompted peasant masses to fight for Liberation.
No sooner had the war been over with the emergence of Independent Bangladesh than the masses were overtaken by a kind of post-war disillusionment. Masses were beginning to encounter with night mares and menacing setbacks. The grim socio-economic realities in the countryside and other aberrations afflicted peasants. Socially aware anguished observers look at social and political vortex that overtime developed in the country due largely to the ravages of misgovernance.
Most of the benefits of development even after Liberation have yet to reach the poor. In other words development initiatives barely touch the bottom end of the distribution profile. Various instruments of public policy even pro-poor ones nowhere led to ‘greater economic equality and lessening of concentration of economic power’.
There is capitalistic concentration in the capital intensive development intervention. The position occupied by the 22 families during pre-Liberation time was replaced by emerging bourgeoisie elements. This sort of development intervention has eliminated the vulnerable that lack or fail to mobilize the minimum resource base. The lopsided distribution pattern is related to differing wealth, status and power in a semi-feudal capitalist society.
The people cannot pin hopes on lofty goals of the populist politicians. They might have expected that Independence or Liberation would feed them in milk and honey. But the politicians and administrative elites had enjoyed much of honey and milk depriving the masses. The masses have been enmeshed into illusion trap. The situation exploits the myth of democracy as the politicized actors divert their attention to the basic problem of life by nourishing sentimental beliefs about values.
Socio-economic implications of political transformation in the country lie in its exclusionary effects on ‘a large segment of the population.’ The exclusionary effects on the community are damaging. The ordinary masses without wealth or patronage resources have little prospect of surviving even in an Independent country.
This perspective in Independence has the implication of disempowering the poor leaving them at the level of non-participation in public affairs. Policy environment displays an ‘exclusionary relation’ from the system of distribution. The disadvantaged groups are structurally excluded from ownership and access to resources. Legislative measures in line with on going policies or new policy options hardly improve state intervention as the bureaucratic machinery determines forward course of action at the implementation stage. There has been a very little alliance between public administration implementing public policies and ordinary masses.
Freedom has to be meaningful to smoothe way to popular emancipation. ‘We need to change our mind-set for an affirmative Bangladesh growing out of a Liberation War. The goal to achieve economic emancipation is a far cry. Unfortunately 44 years have passed since Independence the toiling masses continue to fight for social justice and democratic rights. Most of them are still living in abject poverty. Each successive that ruled the country failed to fulfill the expectation of the people. Wanton corruption and abuse of power rather add to economic crisis adversely affecting the disadvantaged groups. The journey to corruption-free society started on a firm footing during the incumbency of army backed Caretaker government. But euphoria started evaporating very soon as the abuse of power by some helmspersons messed up things. We have another problem. Side by side with political divide we have digital divide. This is to be addressed to prevent widening of rural-urban gap.
So, Independence and emancipation in our political context stand in dichotomous relationship. Contrarily in western countries independence and emancipation are closely associated to establish a happy and prosperous society. For the non-western countries, Bangladesh in particular, only national Independence cannot guarantee social justice and equal access to opportunities for ameliorating economic lots. The down trodden people suffering from hunger, starvation, malnutrition and various forms exploitation still hope against hope. They continue to vote for a change. New generation Bengali literature with radical ideas reflecting somewhat a desolate economic scene in the realm of hunger is a post Independent phenomenon. Economic crisis coupled with simmering frustration out of globalization features in the themes and sub-themes of contemporary literature.
Independence in the sense of separate political entity is no doubt hard-earned through ceaseless and sustained efforts of the pioneers and relentless struggle of the Freedom Fighters. It becomes meaningful only when popular expectations are partially or fully fulfilled through good governance. The struggling masses having the poignant experiences of the notorious process of exploitation may win Freedom with a separate political identity and territorial sovereignty, national symbols and national flag. They may boast of being the citizens of an Independent country. Imbued with nationalism they feel quixotically attached to the separate homeland with utter submission and blind devotion to the long standing traditions and idiosyncrasies. They constitute the patriotic forces behind nation building with cult- leadership playing a conspicuous role.
For freedom to be meaningful governance must be welfare oriented to fulfill popular expectation for a desirable change. The duty of the government ought to direct all policy intervention to address the gap between expectation and achievement. Standing at the threshold of the new millennium intervention towards poverty alleviation attempts to address the issues like yawning income gap, gender discrimination, pauperization, nutrition deficiency, infant mortality, income poverty etc. Yet most sub projects in socio-economic and IT sectors stand at the God that failed. We achieve little. Long way to go. The deprived locus the worst victims of marginalization stemming from massive corruption and devastating climate change does not feel that they enjoy the benefits of development. Policy intervention continues to carry coal to new castle dong a little to achieve economic freedom putting the last first. Digitization of service sector rather is of course development oriented with committed and dynamic bureaucracy. Yet the disastrous policy outcome is digital divide all to mass disillusionment.
(Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque, Professor, Department of Public Administration, Chittagong University, Bangladesh)
