Our gains so far and challenges ahead

IT'S the month of December and the celebration commemorating the victory gained over the occupation Pakistani forces after a nine-month long bloody Liberation War in 1971 is in the air everywhere. As we celebrate the hard-earned victory, it would be pertinent on our part to reflect on what was the spirit behind the War and how far we have been able translate the spirit into reality in Bangladesh today. While we recall the immense sacrifices made by the freedom fighters in the field of battle, and untold hardships suffered by the millions inside Bangladesh or in the squalid refugee camps in India, we need to ask ourselves the hard questions -- have we done enough as a nation and as individuals to fulfill the ideals, principles and dreams that led to their sacrifices and sufferings? It is our patriotic duty today to uphold the spirit of the Liberation War and do our utmost to translate that spirit into reality.

The spirit of the Liberation War emerged out of the long political struggle that the Bengali people waged through the Language Movement of 1952, anti-dictatorial movement in the 1960s and the 6-point demand of the Awami League that soon became the national demand of the Bengalis culminating in mass upsurge in 1969. Thanks to the indomitable spirit and hard work of our people, Bangladesh today is on a firmer footing than it was in 1971. There is no doubt we could have done better, but whatever we achieved is by no means small, compared to the heavy odds pitted against us. Let's examine some of our successes first.

In 1971, Bangladesh, with 75 million people, was a country with chronic food shortage and yearly famine. It depended on external food aid that was often tied with strong political strings. Today, Bangladesh, with its 160 million people, is largely self-sufficient in food and other essentials and able to buy from the international market in case of shortfalls. Thanks to our farmers, agricultural scientists and extension workers, we are producing three times more food today than we did three decades ago. We are, in fact, in a position to export some of our food surpluses in the international market. Today, because of our reduced population growth rate Bangladesh population is 160 million whereas that of Pakistan is about 180 million. We will be near Zero Population Growth (ZPG) in another decade, although that will still leave us with a huge population with its enormous challenges.

In the field of education and poverty reduction there has been gradual progress, although 30% population is still below the poverty line and almost equal percentage of people are illiterate. Innovative poverty reduction strategies developed in Bangladesh are now replicated around the world. In the field of education, although progress has been made in access to education, especially female education, there are serious questions about the falling standards across the board.

There has been steady progress in building infrastructures and strengthening the economy. It was news when the country's export crossed $ 500 million mark in early 1980s, the export earnings in 2014 was more than $ 30 billion. Bangladesh's apparel sector is expected to fetch $ 50 billion in 2021. Last year, Bangladesh became the largest trading partner of India within Saarc, replacing Sri Lanka which held the position for years. 2014 was the first year since 1971 that our export surpassed that of Pakistan. While in 1971 the country had virtually no foreign exchange reserve, today it stands at $ 22 billion, compared to Pakistan's $ 13 billion. Not very many years ago, our development expenditures were almost entirely dependent on overseas grants and loans; that is a story of the past, foreign aid accounted for only 2.5% in the current year's budget. We are already able to take massive infrastructure projects on our own -- the Padma Bridge will be one example.

The day is not far off when Bangladesh will be totally free from foreign aid. Although our per capita income continues to lag behind other Saarc countries, our Human Development Index (HDI) shows vast improvement, what Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen called “Development Paradox.” Bangladesh is one of the less than a dozen countries in the world that have maintained 6% or more growth rate for over a decade. Bangladesh has attracted attention of investors worldwide. Especially, the world's three major economic powers -- China, Japan and India -- have shown increasing interest in investing in Bangladesh and being its strategic partner. All these positive developments give renewed hopes for the future. It can be safely assumed that Bangladesh is poised for growth and overall development. Yet, there are areas that could jeopardise the national achievements.

When we look at the challenges ahead, we see an uncertain political landscape. It is ironic that the two main political parties remain at loggerheads and that there is no communication between leaders of the two parties. The political landscape has been sterile and witnessed unscrupulous horse-trading; there has been a rise of money and muscle, corruption and nepotism across the society that has simply turned away honest, hardworking citizens from the political scene. Civil administration has been overly politicised, which has encouraged 'yes-men' to rise bypassing conscientious, dedicated officials with proven integrity. If the idea was to build a democratic society with popular participation, then our progress, compared to India, Sri Lanka and even Nepal, has been slow and skewed.  

Repeated military intervention in politics since the violent and tragic coup in August 1975 has left behind many legacies that we still carry. Although the people waged a united movement to oust military-autocratic government in 1990, the politicians soon abandoned the people and, in fact, kept appeasing the fallen autocrat. Throughout this period domestic politics saw few activities inside the parliament while street violence was the favourite tactics of the opposition. While the party in opposition had been crying hoarse for the restoration of democracy, there was little democratic practice within the party itself.

Meanwhile, taking advantage of the political stalemate, a new force grew to occupy the empty political space. A country that espoused communal harmony and liberal thoughts saw the ugly rise of communal forces. In line with the rise of Islamic extremism around the world, Bangladesh saw its own home-grown and externally-fed terrorist organisations that attracted the disenchanted youths who saw in violent Islamic revolution a way, and often the only way, to establish an Islamic state. Arms and drugs gradually crept into the society, often supported by powerful political elites to serve their narrow selfish ends.  Minority communities saw their land, properties and temples being grabbed by the communal elements. Religious and ethnic minorities are being increasingly alienated from the mainstream of Bangladesh society. It is no wonder, therefore, to see a silent migration of the minority communities from Bangladesh to India.

Our legal system is today plagued with mediocrity to the extent that people have little confidence in it. Therefore, people often takes law in their own hands -- instead of handing over an alleged criminal to the police, people often prefer public beating.  Even police and other law enforcers take a short-cut -- instead of going through the laborious process of investigation, prosecution, trial and punishment, they just put the alleged criminal through what is popularly known as 'cross-fire.' These extra-judicial killings seriously lower the image of Bangladesh abroad. Because of the poor respect for law by the law enforcers, Bangladesh continues to score badly in the Failed State Index (FSI). There has been a lowering of ethical standard in the society that is reflected in our daily life. A person can shamelessly flaunt ill-gotten wealth and get away with money stashed in foreign banks. While in the past such people were shunned and socially ostracised, today they are much sought after for filling up the party kitty. Despite many socio-political gains, Bangladesh continues to be grouped as a Least Developed country (LDC). In fact, there are political bigwigs who wish to see Bangladesh in the LDC forum, so that soft-term loan and aid can flow in to grease their palms.

Despite these socio-political evils, I see steady economic growth and social progress. Our greatest assets are our hardworking people -- our farmers who are adaptable to latest scientific innovations; our youth who are intelligent and have an innate entrepreneurial skill; our workers who can produce highly skilled products despite limited education; our females who, breaking age-old traditions, are coming out to join as skilled workforce. What we now need is improvement in governance at all levels. We need to establish a healthy political climate where people from all walks of life can freely participate in the political process.

The writer is Registrar, East West University.