To dream isn’t a sin and to dream big is to power oneself to achieve the unachievable and scale heights not meant for cowards. It is said that one should always aim for the sky, you may not reach there but your unremitting endeavour will certainly take you to the peaks as tall as the Himalayas.
Our Father of The Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahaman, dreamt of an independent nation for Bangalis. He never gave up his dream even faced with the temptation of wealth and power or under severe and long incarceration, torture, and hardship. He kindled and rekindled the fire of liberation in the psyche and hearts of the Bangalis and in 1971, under his indomitable leadership -- though he couldn't be physically present to lead us during the period, as he was in jail in Pakistan -- we snatched our freedom following a nine-month-long bloody war of liberation.
The cost of our liberation was high, but seldom in history has a nation achieved its independence without making great sacrifices.
Since achieving our independence, our journey of nationhood has been neither tranquil nor smooth. The struggle to achieve our emancipation was even greater than the challenges the nation faced during the war of liberation. Our economy, our infrastructure, our industries, were either destroyed or lay in tatters. The task of nation-building was thus a gigantic one, to say the least.
As if they were not enough, repeated floods and natural calamities created a famine-like situation, complicating the government's efforts toward attaining the desired developments. Our detractors, our doomsayers, instead of helping us, ridiculed us terming us a “basket case.” Yet, Bangladesh, more so in the last 30 years, has surged ahead in all sectors defying those naysayers, forcing them to eat humble pie and sing hymns of success for Bangladesh.
The statistics speak for themselves.
Let’s take a brief look, before the liberation there were only five secretaries in the central government of Pakistan out of 50 plus secretaries in the country, about eight ambassadors out of 60 and 2 Generals out of 40. But today our government machinery, our armed forces, and our diplomacy is run entirely by our people and they are run very successfully and effectively, earning much applause from home and abroad.
While there were only a few industries in the country, today there are many producing goods ranging from electronics to garments to household items not only to cater for the increasing domestic demands but also exporting abroad bringing much foreign exchange to the country.
These industries have generated millions of jobs for the people adding vibrancy to our economy. While in the aftermath of our liberation the foreign exchange reserve was empty, now it can proudly boast of a comfortable reserve situation (though a kind of strain is palpable currently due to various external factors). Our GDP growth has also shown a year on year high trajectory. Our social sectors, such as women’s empowerment, health, and education have also made enviable progress surpassing those of neighbouring countries. Our role in the international arena has also been noteworthy, especially in the field of International Peacekeeping Operations. It will take a few pages to list our all achievements.
Of course, it hasn’t been an easy journey. We have a serious deficit in our democratic practices and law and order situation, and the corruption in the country at all levels is reportedly blatant and unbridled with billions of dollars being siphoned off to havens outside the country every year, stymieing our natural growth. Despite all the negative factors, our progress has been eye-catching and praiseworthy earning kudos from international observers.
The two-year-long global pandemic from 2020-to 2022, which all but shattered the world economy and humbled the most powerful and smallest nations alike, also came to our shores. However, the deployment of a range of pro-active policies by the government as well as the resilience of our people saved our day without inflicting much damage in comparison to the rest of the world.
The current volatility in the economy emanating out of the Russo-Ukrainian war looks ominous and threatening in the days ahead. No one knows how long the war will last and how deep its impact on the world would be. But, with corrective and pre-emptive measures at the right time, we should be able to sail through the brewing storm and fend for ourselves.
The long narrative above is to bring to light the perspective and latent strength of our nation, and the innate capacity our people possess to tide over any kind of adversity -- be it natural or man-made. Achieving success even under formidable challenges is a God gifted trait to our people and it's inherent in their normal way of life.
I remember a write-up from a couple of years ago, written by a visiting American. She wrote how amazed she was to see the hard-working nature of the people, commenting that even the physically challenged beggars wouldn’t sit in one place waiting for the passersby to put a coin or a note on the mat he/she was seated on, as sometimes seen in the west, but would run from one car to another seeking alms.
Mahmud Hossain OpuWe have demonstrated time and again that no force can hold us down. We are unique and we are survivors. The testimony of this fact is found when we hear the success stories of the young people coming from the most humble background, making inroads into the BCS cadre, the most sought-after and competitive government job, by their sheer talent, determination and indomitable ambition. And that gives me the great promise of a brighter future for our nation.
I have a penchant for talking to young people. The more of them I meet and talk to, the more confident I become about our future. My heart starts beating faster reading and hearing the extraordinary forays our young people are making in the field of technologies, creating commercially viable and profit-making startups using their tech prowess. The pandemic period has seen a phenomenal rise in this sector. These are the people, these are the trailblazers, armed with knowledge, know-how, technologies and exposure to the international world, who will take our nation to newer heights.
There is no gainsaying that our politics currently has reached its nadir, marked by confrontation, violence and vote-rigging, without any sign of qualitative changes in the offing. Albeit it is the defining brand of politics that midwifed the birth to our liberation, it was a strain of politics that was founded on the premises of value, ideology, and sacrifice. But I can’t say the same about the politics currently practised in the country, which is anything but based on morality, ethics, and democratic norms.
I believe it’s because the past baggage, which we can’t shed off, has caused an unbridgeable rift and divisive elements in our body politic. Hopefully, the current practitioners of our politics and those who are at the helm are close to their 80s. In the next decade, almost all of them will fade away, clearing the space for a new breed of educated, talented, patriotic, internationally exposed young leaders to fill the gap and lead the nation to the next journey. Once these new groups of leaders take the helm of the nation, they will tailor their policies that are fully democratic, pro productive, pro-people, honest, and less corruptible and connected internationally.
As we have noticed, since the advent of the new millennium, the world economy has undergone a huge and unprecedented transformation underpinned by new technologies. At a certain level of global order, the tech giants, invented and owned by the young people, even outmanoeuvre governments’ writ and rule. For them the national geographical borders are no factor -- they are omnipresent. We too have a huge pool of budding tech innovators who are only waiting for the right opportunity to capture their space on the world stage. And, it’s they who will transcend the current garment export-based economy and create innovative sectors to propel our economic growth.
As I visualize it, together with our traditional export-based industries, which are also creating growth in the domestic market, the up and coming tech industry should be able to boost our GDP to the level of $5 trillion by 2041. It’s not merely a daydream but certainly attainable provided the enabling conditions are created in earnest.
Our beloved capital Dhaka will be a modern, expanded and smart city, with all civic amenities, digitized public transportation system with a few levels of flyovers and circular road systems for entering and exiting the city at various points, connecting to the highways and expressways linking the outer districts. Equally, our other major cities should also get a facelift but similar facilities should also be introduced there. The highways and expressways will have resting spots with hygienic restrooms including facilities for wheelchair-bound travellers and restaurants at regular intervals.
Under the government's plan for digitalization, every household should be connected to the internet as well as electricity at affordable cost. Poverty should be completely eradicated to make it a thing of the past and there should be a foolproof social safety net system, especially for the old and marginalized people. Goals such as the SDGs may be further fine tuned as the situation warrants. Improving the quality of education should reach the highest priority at all levels. Primary education being the foundation of education, special emphasis must be given to the recruitment of quality and high standard teachers, if necessary by offering attractive remunerations.
The army authorities should think of expanding the cadet college facilities to every Upazila level. All educational institutions must be freed from politicization including the bureaucracy and all constitutional bodies and institutions. All our universities, public or private, should be, for all purposes and intents, a place for imparting knowledge and education of the highest standard, competing with established foreign universities, and also transforming them into a source of earning foreign exchange for the nation.
All universities should spend considerable amounts on R&D. In the field of science and technology, we should focus on space science, leading to manufacturing of our own satellites. We should also heavily invest in the blue economy as it will be a major source of economic strength.
In keeping with the global trend, Bangladesh should considerably strengthen its defense capabilities in terms of higher and specialized training, procuring modern and sophisticated weapons systems and augmenting manpower. There should also be a national watchdog in the form of an Ombudsman.
On the democratic front, the terms of the office of the prime minister should be limited to not more than two and the office of the prime minister and the chairman/ president of the ruling party should be decoupled.
This system is practiced in most democracies in the world. The election commission should be constituted with the immediate past Chief Justice, as the chief election commissioner and the immediate past cabinet secretary, the chief of Army staff, immediate past foreign secretary, and the immediate past president of the FBCCI as members with a fixed term of five years or until holding the national elections whichever occurs early. This arrangement will not only raise the profile of the constitutional body, but it will also become more powerful to conduct free and fair elections.
To revert Dhaka to a livable city, all the shanties and slums must be removed and the inhabitants should be provided low-cost housing at an affordable price recoverable within 10 years or so without any interest, while people unwilling to live in the city may be given seed money to start a new business in their village home.
Controlling population growth should be a top priority. As the planet is increasingly facing the adverse impact of global warming and climate change, Bangladesh being one of the most vulnerable countries, our policies to mitigate its consequential effect and protection of our environment should be a high priority.
Our export of manpower abroad should be restricted to only skilled and semi-skilled workers to protect their earnings and respect in the host countries. The export of female workers may not be restricted altogether but adequate measures must be put in force for their safety.
Ashraf ud Doula is a retired major and a freedom fighter as well as a former Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, government of Bangladesh, former Bangladesh Ambassador to Japan, Vietnam and Laos, and former Bangladesh High Commissioner to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Sri Lanka.
