***The moil serious of all the problems that has spread like an infectious wound is the political impasse that does not seem to be resolved soon and rather shows definite signs of growing worse.**
DURING the past years the country s proble ms. as vast and varied as its population of 120 million have proliferated, raising questions about Bangladesh's future course One of the most pressing Is sues. In fact. Is population growth. By the year 2000. demographers estimate. Bangladesh will have boomed to 150 million inhabitants. Just a year before the country experienced a devastating drought, followed by heavy flood, worst In the past 50 years In our living memory and a condition that is giving a more desperate edge to political passions.
The charisma and stubbornness that the administration had shown In the early stages of their takeover have almost faded out. People were vastly Impressed and animated when they heard the eminent lawyer and former law minister Mirza Golam Hafiz speak that even a minister or the most Important functionary's car will not whisk away after seeing red light in the traffic signal and If people want a minister driving In a motorcade to stop and listen to them on the road, the minister will oblige them ungrudgingly. With the passage of time, people, now are wondering if all these euphoric talks really came to pass. As it appears, the administrative measures and actions in the later days appear to be a bit indecisive, inconsistent and permissive toward corruption in high places.
The most serious of all the problems that has spread like an infectious wound is the political impasse that does not seem to be resolved soon and rather shows definite signs of growing worse. For the past one year regional problems like Yasmin murder case In Dinajpur. Bogra. Rangpur and Barisal's demand for universities in their areas. Sylhet's demand for an
international airport and Chittagong Mayor's 28 point charier ol demands lor the uplilt inenl ot the port city hare been kept at a steady boil impelling the administration to get mired in crisis after crisis, and sometimes adding to positive concern about the ability of the administration to govern wisely.
Surveying the country's fractious political landscape. ■ one can take comfort from the fact that the country has been held together under trying circumstances. Yet there is a growing sense that the idea of Bangladeshi nationalism evinced by the patriotic feeling, sagacity, commitment and sacrifice by the teeming millions is under unremitting pressure from many quarters. Extremist forces of all nature and other evil forces are making all kinds of demands in a way so as to destabilise existing pattern and fabric of the society. BUt what alternative can we see in this conjecture? Unsurprisingly, the country's problems are varied and mounting up day by day.
Although the country seems outwardly calm but a travel from one part of the country to the other end would reveal a mood of despair, anger and mute defiance that could explode at any moment. Actions taken here and there fall far short of what the people are beginning to demand. Business community and disenchanted peace-loving citizens have demonstrated their, anger by forming human chain on the road in an effort to ventilate
their mood in silent protest. But this silence, one shudders to think, could quickly kindle into bloody clashes with one another, simply for the reason that people are being pushed to the edge. The economic situation in the countryside is far from satisfactory. Towns people have, possibly, enough to eat. but in the rural areas we meet people who have never tasted meat or eggs.
Evin "Dai-Bhat", these days seems to be a luxury for them Children's bellies are swollen from malnutrition. With birthrate still much higher than the. developed countries and the lowest per capita Income, the greatest challenge facing the government is to "feed the people". Experiences of t^e past year are very grim. Crops withered because of drought, shortage of fertiliser and inadequate irrigation. Unemployment is surging up. Even in smaller towns, vacant places in front of roadside shops, street corners and parks are crowded with idle men, mostly educated, at all hours of the day. What should they be doing? "There is •nothing for them to do” other than gossiping and indulging in anti-social activities. Some of them, out of dire necessity to eke out a living, work as hired mastans and musclemen for the unscrupulous politicians and gang leaders, roaming the big cities and even smaller towns.
Newspaper reports carfy news of bloody clashes in all parts of the country between rival groups resulting from the control of the area and
share of booty. Unsurprisingly. this worsening situation has produced a frightening new generation who now carry pistols, bombs, daggers and listen to rock-'n-roll music at full volume in their operational headquarters and terrorise even the hungry and frail. What the administration does not possibly know is that guns bristle the countryside like swamp mosquitqes, almost as a deadly plague. The country’s agony now seems limitless. ' Death toll soars with each passing day. The code of right and wrong has disintegrated. People still believe that this country's dreadful torment could possibly be alleviated by creating job opportunities for this disgruntled young population. Happily. there are many in the country who are quite willing to make sacrifices to save the country discarding a few who se^m to respect money above all else’ — not a very unfamiliar virtue in a country where politics is greased by money.
For months, the peace-loving citizens in the metropolis and other cities like Chittagong. Rajshahi and Khulna and even rural places have watched a wave of terrorism, looting and extortion spree by some frenzied youths. The fall of autocratic rule and the restoration of democracy were supposed to herald an era of harmony and prosperity: But it has not quite turned out that way. Everyday brings fresh violence and atrocities as if a long simmer-
ing vengeance and animosity bottled up under high pressure has suddenly been unscrewed. Things have come to such a pass that citizens have now to be fully armed, to pitch in to protect themselves by staging 24-hour vigil around their homes and marketplaces. The vast majority of people In the cities and countryside who did never anticipate such slide is appalled by this surge of violence. terrorism and mayhem in the Dhaka city alone. Now this appalling situation has galvanised people and the "silent majority"' is awakening. The news item recently carried by national dailies about the murder of a college student in the Sukrabad bus stand area in a gun fight, unearthing of an illegal arms-making den at Lalbagh. arrest of one suspect in the Lalbagh seven-murder case, and last of all. recovery of 1 kg of Heroin from a hotel in the Fakirapool area in single day are all quite horrifying.
Newspapers have been doing an excellent job in projecting the crime-situation of the country. But the state-run electronic media is unmistakably failing. It should have launched public awareness drives and debates about the cases and consequences of such worsening trend. They should extend the programme by broadcasting a (lurry of government-sponsored pleas against violence. Ai thv sometime. administration has to lake heed of I bi enormity of the problem that is eating Into the vitals of the nation.
The festering malaise has not taken root in the society al! on a sudden and without any rhyme or reason. The simmering despair and frustration 1n the younger generation. long years of stay in the university due to sessionjams. lack of employment opportunities even after snatching a university degree have exacerbated the problem. Other problems that have added dimensiorf to this rot is the falling income, unfair distribution of wealth in the society, fast-dropping export earning and exploding desires for ftixury and also an eroding work-ethic prevalent in every corner of the society that have thrown people to face the reality of impoverishment with each passing day. People these days are so blinded by a wave of materialism that they are not able to see what they have. There Is too much focusing on what they need.
Despite all these escalating menace, ihere is a glimmer of hope. The people who fought so valiantly in the Liberation War and have successfully coped with all kinds of adversities in the country's long history will certainly be able to put things back in order soon. The mood of the country which was once so buoyant, full of self-confidence and selfassertiveness must not give In io despair and defiance. Happily, there does exist a very active group, may be a small minority, who are opposed to such violence and mayhem against a silent majority. However, the voice of this group is by far much too small to be effective and it is not listened to by the government officials. Some unscrupulous politicians of the country are the persons who fan the flames of violence and acrimony, instead of defending human values and preserving unity of the society.