The New Nation - Internet Edition

M Mizanur Rahman

The entire Bangladesh nation becomes dumbfounded and awestruck at the sudden spiraling prices of Atta and Rice sky-high. This nightmarish dissimulation from the mind of the Bangladeshi people has not disappeared till now. I am really very amazed to see almost all stores of rice in Dhaka were filled in pre-stock priced rice or flour before such sudden turn to the rocket high price-hike. Probably a conspiracy against the government in power has been hatched by the syndicate of the politically motivated elements among the tradesmen who are discontent with the lingering caretaker government in Bangladesh contrary to their vested interests in order to discredit the government and its fall by agitating aggrieved people's movement.

Thank God, though the people are not satisfied with the present situation yet they are not against this welfare-oriented caretaker government. Because they have been virtually dissatisfied with the past political governments who were heavily corrupted and bloodsuckers of the people and for that they do not like the return of those culprits in the seat of government to rule them. Though there is a lot of hue and cry for the election and return of democracy but people seem to have been suspicious of those nefarious elements that are trumpeting their drums of politics indirectly or directly. Such situation has already been created in cultural and educational fields fomenting troubles among the simple and credulous student communities and so-called intellectuals. The common people fear always of its proactive reprisals.

The present government rose to the occasion out of a great chaos and indisciplined political arena. There are trials and errors. One cannot escape from these social, economic and political working disciplines. What a very few Advisers of this caretaker government dare to take such huge responsibilities in the challenging circumstances with courage and fortitude is unparalleled in the history of this country. Thanks to Bangladesh national joint armed forces who have been strongly abutting this government with a true spirit of nationalism. Its calculated discipline made the government disciplined to some extent and there are many more steps to bring good results forward.

I must mention here that one of the most splendid jobs that the joint forces under this government have undertaken is national Identity card system for fair election where vote-riggings would now be impossible.

What Bangladesh needs is moral education in its social, economic and political arena in the truest sense of national character. The whole nation will be built on it. Such revolution in the educational field in Bangladesh seems to have been urgent. Its technological aspect is spreading like wildfire as the need of the hour. General education is often seen mired by tampering with question papers in no less than a place called National University! How long should this nation bear the scar of this shame?

Again, I am to turn to the high prices of daily necessities that go beyond the reach of the common people, which need to be handled very strictly with necessary punitive measures against the nefarious perpetrators. Otherwise the vitality of this nation will be dwindled to an unexpected turn. We are happy that this government is trying its best to hold its control.

The common people should be supplied rice and flour and other staple food items at subsidised rate by ration system, so that middle-income groups are not deprived of its legitimate claims. Like soldiers and police, supplies of at least food grains at subsidised rate to the lower income group in rural and urban areas will enhance the image of this welfare-oriented government.

Low-cost housing projects with proper sanitation and supply of water for the lower income group people including government employees throughout Bangladesh will usher in a great era for this nation. This needs concerted efforts of the people and the government. In this regard, government should take appropriate initiatives and measures as early as possible.

Since liberation of Bangladesh the people were expecting a good and welfare-oriented government in the spirit of liberation war but people's hopes and aspirations had never been fulfilled to its expectation. Especially the poor people remained poor as usual while some lower middleclass families of both rural and urban areas could not rise to the occasion and became poorer. Some micro-credit supplier NGO's boast of their sky-high achievements in theory and propaganda that is yet to be monitored and the true picture of poverty alleviation should require to be brought to light with facts and figures.

Most of the common people of Bangladesh have been cheated in many ways. They have been allured with the prospective jobs abroad by some notorious Adam-Beparies in collaboration with their foreign agents. Ultimately, they cheated the illiterate rural folks taking away their last resort, that is money and materials making them completely destitute.

So there are harrowing tales of such human sufferings and disappointments loom large in our country. The sense of patriotism seldom has its place there. There are people who decry with the sigh of disappointment as saying, should we have spilled our valuable blood and laid down most of our precious lives in the war of liberation for these cheats!

Now those who are in the caretaker government, for the brief period, responsible to pave the way for election of people's representatives, have to apply their sagacity their that the next elected government must be honest and patriotic who must have tenacity to sacrifice self-interest for the poor teeming millions of people in Bangladesh to make this state a truly welfare-oriented People's Republic, self-content with its immense resources to be applied without an iota of wastage.