What an spectacle of victory!
Inequality,discrimination bury the glory.
There is growing sign of parasitism.
Citizens see no sign of optimism.
As cruel toddler treats its pet,
Smart elites flee abroad to secure their fate.
As Bangladesh steps towards celebrating its 50th anniversary next year, dissimilarities, discrimination, injustice and inequality it fought 50 years ago become more shockingly visible. Cheerleading for overpriced infrastructure projects, where contributions of Bangladeshi companies are infinitesimal and whose implementation are dominated by foreign companies, boasts jingoistic attitude that has little impact on vernacular life of common people. Embryonic zeal of self-determination has turned into parasitism. No short of excuses to misappropriate public money. From private companies to individuals,all depend on government money for survival. This trend could be found from social security expenditures to incentives for business. Even parasitism has become endemic in individual life. A rent-seeking class has emerged, exploiting others' hard earned income. Land grabbing, forest grabbing, extortion, squeezing father-in-law (sometimes brother/sister-in-law or in-laws in general) whenever odd situation strikes have become common practice in order to prosper in personal life.(Nowadays stealing someone's creative work, article, plagiarism are also becoming pretty common; another indication of growing sign of parasitism). Four decades ago ,these things could be viewed as taboo and criminal act. Now they become integral part of Bengali's DNA.Even a decade ago , extortion in the name of " Mukh Mithai"(Sweetening Mouth) was seen as serious transgression. Now everyone gets used to it!
No government spokesman, partisan expert, government statistical pocket book will ever publish this unpleasant truth. Unfortunately this is the reality stands before us in 2020.
There has been delay in publication of Household Income Expenditures Report, which has little credibility. I personally found data mismatches in annual report of Bangladesh Bank and on website of Board of Investment. I also found anomalies in PDF versions of statistical pocket books. Why does a successful and confident government want to hide and fidget data?
Today's Bangladesh contravenes breaking up of Pakistani feudal structure. In fact, feudalism is consolidated in Bangladesh. Wealth has amassed into the hands of few people. Bangladesh outperforms other countries in generating super rich. From DTH service to COVID vaccination program, all are being done by powerful cronies. During the lockdown, I took notice of a news item that revealed that family members of a former minister and businessman left Bangladesh for London on a chartered plane. Former opposition party minister turned out to be relative of ruling party crony through the marriage of their son and daughter.Months after months staffs of former minister's cell phone company demonstrated on the streets for their dues after the company had been incapacitated by lack of bank credit and government cooperation. The former minister and his son already laundered huge money in Singapore. In my earlier piece, I elaborated how mismanagement and corruption in the banks contributed to piling up of Non Performing Loans (NPL).
In rural village, poor people sell their meagre land to loan sharks or local elites in order to go abroad to make a fortune. Policy change, deception, international crisis often lead them to lose their land. Rural land, due to presence of erroneous land dispute settlement, are concentrated into the hands of few powerful people.
Five decades ago, when we got liberated from Pakistan, we owe to Pakistan around $ 5 billion. Now more than $ 5 billion , some estimates put the figure somewhere around $15 billion, are laundered from Bangladesh every year. So Bangladeshis outdid the Pakistanis exploiting the local economy and laundering wealth abroad.Sense of insecurity and hopelessness have increased in magnitude in five decades. Where is the progress in independent Bangladesh?
Three or four decades ago Bangladeshi constructors and engineers built roads and utility lines in Middle East and Maghreb.Now Libyan coast is washed away with Bangladeshi migrants who are desperate to take a perilous boat ride to Europe. Just couple of months ago, Reuters carried out a special story on stranded Bangladeshi in Bosnian jungles.Even in Pakistani period, when poverty was so abject, people did not flee the country in drove. Why are so many people fleeing abroad clandestinely from independent and prosperous country?
Business malpractices also reach worrying level. Earlier adulterating milk with water was prevalent. Now no business is without malpractice. Digital weighing scale is deliberately tempered to give less amount of goods to consumers. Mobile data pack and other services often do not yield the promised amount. Since it is hard to fathom the true consumed value, such malpractices often go unnoticed. Bus fare, auto fare are artificially hiked to whiten black money.
During the colonial time our educational institutions produced brightest minds and there was liberty in freedom of expression.Had there been no freedom of expression, Bengali language would not get the status as it is enjoying now and our struggle to independence would not culminate into full blown armed struggle.
There had been skirmishes and assault on teachers. But now students and teachers both lost their lives in campus. Even teachers cannot speak their minds in campus. Prof Ajoy Roy who taught several decades at Dhaka University despite repeated pleas from relatives in Kolkata to settle there had to bear the news of his son's killing at the university premises. Prof Human Azad, one of the brilliant linguists both Bengals ever produced, was attacked with machete at the university. His son on several occasions was also assaulted at the university.They were attacked for expressing their views and speaking their minds.
Same kind of incidents were purported in other universities.
In the Pakistani period, even undergraduate of a mofussil town knew three languages--- Urdu, English, Bengali--- and wrote impeccable English. From the autobiography of historian Tapan Roy Chowdhury I came to learn that a library in Borishal even ordered French book from foreign publishers because there were readers in that village. We do not have that kind of libraries or independent book shop now.
Back then university produced graduates whose ideas and innovation found global platform and audience. Composite material that was used to build F-15 fighter jet, a reliable platform for many Air Forces, was the brain child of a Dhaka University chemistry graduate. Quantum statistics, which revolutionized scientific analysis, was born at the Curzon Hall in Dhaka University.
Now Pakistani universities assemble their own satellite, excel in reverse engineering , build jet prototypes.
Where are we now? Is there really any intellectual advancement in Bangladesh?
I do not understand why in a well functioning economy there is a silent invasion of drugs. Today yaba or methamphetamine market in Bangladesh is worth $5 billion. The autobiography of veteran journalist Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury shed some light on the tobacco related business in the Pakistani period. Back then 1 million people were employed in "Tendu Pata"(tobacco leaf) related business. Now hardly any business or vocation left where drug money is not invested.
The whole real estate sector is thriving on undocumented money. Government does not question origin of the money invested in real estate sector. Buying and selling flat have become popular mode of legalizing black money as less paperwork is required.Politics has become more violent as black money finds safe sanctuary in politics. Back in pre-independence days , this was unthinkable. Seasoned politicians had some principles back then.
Last leg of Pakistani period witnessed a boom in setting up educational institutions across Bangladesh. Now we see a contest to set up religious seminaries across Bangladesh on empty government lands. Such seminaries guarantee steady stream of revenues from devotees and government does not ask for any explanation how the donation money is spent. In addition, setting up such seminaries brings lucrative donations from Middle Eastern countries. So there is a rat race to become member of the management committee of religious seminaries.
Now there is no public service job quota for women. Stipend program for women is slashed. Minimum marriage age for woman is lowered. Literary works by writers of other faiths are taken off from school text books. Where are we heading ten years later?Should there be any reason to remain complacent?
Bangladeshi rulers have proved that they are the worst rulers than the English and the Pakistanis. Compared to the Bengalis, they were farsighted and compassionate. That was why they built institutions. Bengali rulers treat their citizens like a sadistic toddler treat its pet.All their efforts end up making the country a nightmarish hell.Smart ones among the ruling elites purchase foreign identity. And for the commoners, there is no escape from this republic of sadistic plunderers and parasites.