BBC world recently organized their world debate program based on the democracy and over all potential of Bangladesh. As the program goes into the dark ally of politicians of Bangladesh and was brave enough to pick two of them as panel members, It was surprising to see yet good that they did not start doing “crossfire” of that severe scale that I was fearing at the start.
Definately load to be discussed on the role of the panel but what more interest me is the comments from young Bangladeshis living abroad and native land. While the residents of Dhaka, young college going girls were talking negetive about “Hijab” one of the icon of Islamic customs, it was a rather utter surprise to find that young kids growing in UK of Bangali origin are more religiously conservative than their native counter part.
Regardless the motive of BBC behind this program, one thing came up very useful that the civil society has taken a shape in Bangladesh and their voices are seeking potential representation in the political arena. The comments of one major daily editor to some nobody all beg to claim one common view that Democracy itself has taken root in Bangladesh but as an institution, the full aspect of the system and all potential applications are not being properly realized by our political parties.
Empowerment of women, better opportunities for youth or improvement of our political system all of these are lucrative phrase to pursue. But, in the real world the need for realizing the demand, the need for those implimentation has to come up from leadership that we create today. Leaders are not born, well they use to be in the days of monarchy, however, today in democracy it is the people who make their leaders. It is the job of the people to put their demands with the blend of faith to those people whom they trust for execution.
If centralized form of leadership do not understand this simple thing, then as Saber Hossain had put it in the program will happen: “change or die.”
Are we not already seeing the process of extinction when people takes “politics in their hand” in the light of failure of politicians in recent events of Kansat in the north bengal?
Bangladesh suddenly was not ready for democracy, perhaps the feudalism still prevails in the minds of most of our citizen, yet at large the future only represents a democratic Bangladesh. The reason is, this generation realize the value of democratic process. They already have the taste of it, now they compare themselves with the world and they already have the dream of reaching there.
It will take some time to spread the full defination of democracy and may be a bit more time to impliment those norms and social regulation to institutionalized democracy in Bangladesh, but that is the only possible conclusion under the circumstances. And BBC has just stated it to the world that a democratic, liberal Bangladesh is on the raise.
