Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW Vol. 5 Num 207 Wed. December 22, 2004       Letters to Editor "The post-71 generation" A reader, On e-mail Dear Mr. Zafar Sobhan - In your well written article "The post-71 generation" you write "The Bangladesh we live in today is not the Bangladesh anyone hoped for". Why did it happen? This letter reflects your thoughtful article as you have covered the important issues well. The biggest opportunity the 71 generation missed was to divide the country into two antagonistic factions - the freedom fighters and non-freedom fighters (who constituted the vast majority) instead of uniting the country as Nelson Mandela and his colleagues did in South Africa. We must face this fact head-on as you rightly say that "the very generation that brought us our greatest moment...is the same generation that has been unable to vanquish its own demons..." In 1971 there was no reconciliation or forgiveness. The freedom fighters - genuine or otherwise - lost credibility when they bartered their sacrifice for office, promotion and material benefits. The nation stood divided instead of uniting in one fold. The great divide continues 32 years after the event and is actively nurtured. I agree with you that "the difference we see today among the warring factions in the nation stem from those days". I do hope your prognosis that "there can never be forgiveness and reconciliation" is not correct as that will spell the doom of this nation. I hope "the post 71 generation is more pragmatic and less emotional, more realistic and less ideological, that (their) feuds are not blood feuds, and that (their) history will not be one of ancient enmity and bitterness". Redemption may come with the "passing of the torch" from the hands of the 71 generation to post 71 generation, if "the ghosts of 1971 and its aftermath can finally be laid to rest", if the new generation of politicians could break away from the growing nexus between crime and affairs of state, if there is pragmatism and realism and a sense of social responsibility. I am not sure if it is too much to expect.