People are not just voters, they are not cannon fodder for movements. A country means its people. The state, the constitution, the government are for the people. Once the anger of the people is provoked, no one is spared.
The people are suffering. But the account of their sufferings is being smothered by the hue and cry of politics. It’s all about reforms and elections. There are all sorts of demonstrations and demands — for upgrading to universities, for making jobs permanent, for changing grades, for inclusion in cadres, for dropping from cadres, for dearness allowance and more.
All this needs a lot of money. The hard-earned money of the people is passed off as the government’s money. Don’t those who are demonstrating and demanding realise that fulfilling their demands will place pressure on the public? As it is the people are floundering under rising inflation.
There is a new government in the country with the ostentatious name of ‘interim government’. It is just the same as any other government. There is no difference in their words and deeds. Many of them have their own cars and houses, but almost all of them use government houses and cars.
We haven’t heard any of them saying, I have car, I don’t need any government car. It takes gumption to say that. They walk down a red mat to cut a ribbon to inaugurate projects, spew out rhetoric in front of the media. They lament that over the past 16 years this didn’t happen, that didn’t happen. How long will this continue?
Many people still believe that emissaries descend from the skies after every few years to look after them, to assuage their sufferings. The ministers are like that too. Now they are called advisors. They have the status of ministers. They were called ‘wazir’ in Pakistan times. Do they not know what the problems of the common people are, their needs, their demands? They themselves were amongst the rank and file of the ‘commoners’ once upon a time.
There are at least four elements required to survive and thrive in a civilised society — health, education, public transport and security (law and order). These were always inadequate in our country and are now heading towards destruction. Health, education and public transport are no longer in the social sector. They are in the hands or profit-mongers. If you have money, you can buy these services. If not, God help you.
The profit-mongers in this country run after money, but don’t give a hoot about quality. They do not know, or do not believe, that one can provide quality service and still make a profit.
The system of looting that began in this country five decades ago, is now all-encompassing. No bourgeoisie class emerged in this country, instead a class of looters, Lumpen bourgeoisie emerged.
They devoured factories, land, wetlands, rivers, canals, hills, everything. And still they were not satiated. There are no birds in the cities, no air to fit breathe, no water fit to drink, now grounds to play. Everything has been grabbed up.
We have been hearing for so many years that the roads are insufficient compared to the number of people in the cities, there are too many vehicles. The smaller cars whizz by with one or two passengers. Bigger vehicles with more passengers would facilitate more people.
Traffic congestion would lessen. But over the years, nothing has been done to this end. If a few thousand double-deckers were put on the roads in different routes of Dhaka city, the people would be relieved. But it is those people who sit in their upholstered cars who take the decisions.
That is why no public transport system is created. How much longer will the people simply get a whiff of a public transport system with the metrorail the last government set up just on one single route?
Given the standard of education in most of the universities, people won’t qualify for jobs at home, let alone abroad. Many of them can’t even speak coherently.
What is there to say about public safety? An advisor stated that around 80 per cent of the police were Chhatra League cadres. That means they were drawing their salaries and allowances not to provide public safety, but to protect their leader. We saw students on the streets taking care of the traffic after 5 August 2024. They were inexperienced and disorganised. With training, they could have done the job well. The Yunus government could have put these youth to use. That didn’t happen. Many of the police were absconding. Many have not returned. One hundred thousand of these youth could have been trained and recruited to the police force. Many of them had the minimum educational requirements. When any task is to be undertaken, speedy decisions must be taken. Had a revolutionary government been installed, that would have happened. It would not take over a week to take decisions. It is the novices that dawdle.
From their words it seems that the main function of these government is to clear the debris or the past, that is, to clear up the dirt that has accumulated over the past 16 years. There is a catch here too. The problem is not of 16 years, it is of 53 years. Life won’t go on by merely blabbering about the past. Go ahead with your plans of nabbing, jailing and hanging, but how will we benefit by shoving 10 thousand or 20 thousand people into jail? We want treatment in a hospital in our vicinity, though not like Sheikh Hasina who would have a curfew imposed in the hospital and collect a ten taka slip from the counter and then see the doctor. The hospitals will have doctors and nurses, equipment, timely treatment. Why don’t we have such a system? Why do we have to bribe the ward boy to get a bed in hospital?
It is a nightmare for parents to admit their children to school at the start of the year. Why will this continue down the years? And you are going ahead establishing one university after the other? Given the standard of education in most of the universities, people won’t qualify for jobs at home, let alone abroad. Many of them can’t even speak coherently.
The country needs reforms. This is not just today, but was required from since the independence of the country. But our rulers only looked after their own interests, the interests of their families and cronies. They did not bother about the people. They handed over the education, health and transport sectors to the private mafia.
Let me give an example. The leaders, MPs and ministers established schools, colleges and madrasas as they pleased in their own areas, in their own names or the names of their parents, in-laws. Then they got these on the MPO roll so that the teachers received their wages from the government coffers. They gave their relations and followers jobs in these institutions. Now many of them demand that these institutions be nationalised. Before meeting these demands, the background history of these establishments must be ascertained.
How much does it cost to import 5000 double-decker buses? How long does it take? The government can do so many things if it wants. A transport mafia has also been established in this country. All governments have nurtured these in the interests of their own vested groups. It will not be possible to build up a new transport system until this mafia is smashed. Above all, do those who have been elevated to using government cars and drivers with public money, even spare a though about public transport?
You are welcome to get involved in politics as you please. But please think about the common people.
People are not just voters, they are not cannon fodder for movements. A country means its people. The state, the constitution, the government are for the people. Once the anger of the people is provoked, no one is spared. We saw that in March 1971 and we saw it in August 2024.
* Mohiuddin Ahmad is a writer and researcher
* This column appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ayesha Kabir
