Bombs away!
Hartals are bad for business. We have heard this line over and over as the spate of hartals in the country has continued unabated. This year, we have even had numerical proof offered to us that suggests the country loses Tk160m for every day that a hartal is called and enforced.
What are these people talking about? Their research has clearly not gone deep enough. There are some factors that the researchers definitely overlooked. Look at all of these entrepreneurs who have recently gotten into the bomb-making industry. Yes, you did read that correctly.
Apparently making bombs isn’t quite as sophisticated as most people think. Especially not the kind of handmade bombs that are used to wreak havoc during hartal days.
Staying true to their entrepreneurial spirit, the people of Bangladesh have risen to the task of meeting the explosive-related demands of hartal enforcers by going into full production mode. The number of mom-and-pop type bomb shops has mushroomed.
After all, in the kind of free market economy Bangladesh seeks to achieve, the demands of the consumer must be met. Given the information we have about these bombs, the demand apparently specifies that the bomb must be able to physically harm and maim innocent bystanders in addition to scaring them.
But all joking aside, the kind of mentality that currently pervades the political mind-set in the country is baffling. Although we hear a lot of grandiose rhetoricfrom our leaders about democracy, in actuality it would appear that they misunderstand how to practice this form of governance.
A democratic country should have no place for either the fear tactics that are a staple of hartal days or the activities of businessmen without a conscience, who seek to take advantage of others’ penchant for violence.
