Bangladesh: Nation into 44

http://www.thedailystar.net/

TODAY the nation enters its 44th year of independence. In the face of the recurrent disruptions and instabilities attributable mostly to fractious politics, the economy has performed eminently well, thanks to the resilience of the peasants, the migrant workers and the never-say-die entrepreneurs. Thus Bangladesh remains a global wonder considering the achievements in its socio-economic sectors, especially in the areas of education, women empowerment, reducing child mortality and so on. The same strength has been shown by the manufacturing industries, particularly those geared to exports such as the garment sector. But that should be no reason for complacency, for had our politics not been in such a bad shape, we might meanwhile have become a nation marching shoulder to shoulder with many of our very successful neghbours in Southeast Asia.

So, the biggest stumbling block before realising our full economic potential remains the confrontational politics. If elections are an indicator of the political health of a nation, the recently held national election and local government polls at the upazila levels will provide little satisfaction on that count. This does not bode well for the future of our democracy.

At this point, we need to remember that we fought the liberation war to achieve the twin goals of political independence with pluralistic democracy and economic emancipation based on egalitarian principles. But we have drifted from those cherished goals in some important respects, if only through our contentious, self-destructive politics.

Let us make a fresh pledge and start at the crack of this new dawn of 44th Independence Day: bury the past discord and build a democratic future based on an equal opportunity society.