A nation expects. Will it get what it wants?
At the onset of Bangladesh 2.0, an inclusive Shonar Bangla needs to be developed that does not serve individuals, but an entire population
Amar Shonar Bangla - My golden Bangladesh.
Every Bangladeshi at home or abroad knows that line by heart. It was not long ago that instating a Shonar Bangla was the usual mantra chanted by the political parties before an election. Every government — civilian or military, has wanted to establish a Shonar Bangla. Yet, what does a Shonar Bangla actually look like in 2024? Will we be happy with silver or bronze instead?
After all, every Bangladeshi parent has said to their children at least once, if not more, in their lifetime, that they all demand the children be first - get gold or shona at every step. It is like the famous Nike adage — you don't win silver, you lose gold!
I am joking, but you know I am right.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
So it is somewhat surprising that it has taken us this long to define Shonar Bangla. Now that we have just such an opportunity to define collectively what that should look like, why are we not doing so?
What recent events have shown is that like all in the world, Bangladesh too wants a format of equality, liberty, opportunity and respect for all. Many have given their lives to gain freedom from foreign nations and their puppet masters.
Now, Bangladesh is a society that is more dynamic and connected and integrated with the rest of the world than ever before. As great consumers of the digital revolution and social media tsunami, there is a great appetite not only amongst the tech bros and girls, but amongst the general citizen.
There is an unyielding resilience and spirit that has been evident for a while.
Globally, the academic, entrepreneurial, scientific, medical, financial and civil skills sets ingrained in all Bangladeshi people have often gone to the benefit of the host nations.
But inside Bangladesh, corruption, general misuse of infrastructure funds, and problems in taxation and economic policy have held us back from realising our full potential. All countries have such problems; but where there is no means to scrutinise or hold the higher-ups accountable without any fear of retribution, therein breeds poor governance.
Global protests are not new; they happen in all democratic societies in the world. 'Democratic' is the key word there.
Even in the UK, there continues to be a summer of street battles on the ideological and the almost pure evil lines of racism. Black, Asian and immigrants have been attacked by far right thugs, who have had a free ride due to a false pretence to protest. They don't protest, they want to cause a division in society and blame anyone else.
Quick policing, a backlash against anti racism protests, government's hard law implementation and finding these rioters, has been key to countering such reprehensible acts.
The difference with Bangladesh is, of course, the police did not open fire on these protestors on either side of the political divide. Rather, the police were attacked and had a few officers injured, but never did they openly fire on any protesters, although they were instigated.
Can Bangladesh learn from these examples from other countries?
Whilst this was occurring across many cities in the UK, fueled by social media disinformation from cowardly keyboard warriors, we saw peaceful vigils across a few cities in the UK highlighting the plight of people in Bangladesh, to get the message out of what was truly happening at a time of complete communication black out.
The recent protests were similar to the beginning of Bangladesh in 1971, when the diaspora continued to highlight the genocidal atrocities inflicted on a population at the hands of a brazen Pakistani regime, buoyed by some international big brothers. Ordinary Bangladeshis attempting to get the message out to the world.
The recent events in Bangladesh show people's power. It shows that student activism is contagious and indeed, change is at the hand of the young generation, not the complacent middle classes.
The sacrifice and bravery of the youth lifted an entire nation, and so it will be remembered as such.
The Gen-Z have now successfully instigated such a miraculous change and there is now an air finally filled with optimism and hope. Also, a lot of what-ifs are flying around. One can see that there is a fork in the road ahead.
Sit in any cafe or tea stall in Dhaka and everyone has a view, but realistic tangible ones seem somewhat lacking. Change much needed, but what next? Whatsapp groups, meals out and phone calls galore are all about the excitement at change, and the apprehension general citizens have of how one gets back to normalcy and quickly.
Concerns in the minds of the businessmen remain, and the optics of a nation that is going through a reboot is never a good one for investors, particularly foreign investment. But this is only in the short term.
The bigger fear is we all need to know what Bangladesh 2.0 looks like and who will it work for and how ? It is usual in any vacuum - in this case a power vacuum - that any air, good or bad, will fill that space.
One does worry that we do not get the same old hot air from the political class again. The worry now is as Bangladesh wrestles with a history of dynastic feuds and rather bipolar power hungry leaders who often write their own histories much akin to a Shakespearean tragedy, how does the global community support the people's interest and not those of self interested parties?
The tragedy here is that if that were to happen, it is the country that suffers.
A lot to ponder and there will be bumps on the road. There now must be a road map, a clear one, with consensus, and there must be a set destination, otherwise no amount of Shonar Bangla conjectures will ever materialise, till one knows what exactly they have.
An inclusive Shonar Bangla can be developed from a holistic mindset, not from individuals but from an entire population. All of whom have to be empowered, but all of whom have to be honest and have to have the country's best interest at heart.
A conservatively progressive country with oodles of potential can now finally have an opportunity to realise its true potential. Let us hope we have the right friends for this to succeed.
Rameen Shakur, MD, PhD (Cantab), FRSA, FIBMS, FRSPH, FRSB is a professor of Genomics and Cardiovascular Medicine and Director of the Centre for Precision Health and Translational Medicine at University of Brighton, UK.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.
