Don't believe us.
(An Open Letter from an Old Man to the Coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Movement)
Dear Gen-Z and students,
Congratulations to you for your patriotism, honesty, infinite courage, and sacrifice.
By "we" in this letter, I mean the two generations before you, i.e., the generation of your parents and the generation of your grandparents. For various reasons, we all, that is, these two generations, have lost our character. What is meant by good people, i.e., honesty, courage, righteousness, truthfulness, and compassion for other people, most of us have lost these. We no longer have the power to give you proper guidance. We are almost completely unfit and unable to take responsibility for your guardianship.
The independence, the ideal country for which the student movement of 1969 and the independence struggle of 1971 were conducted by Bangladeshis, has not been implemented to date. We had the responsibility. We completely failed in that responsibility. Not only have we failed, but we have also made the problems more and more complicated.
It is a matter of great pleasure that you now understand this and have taken that responsibility into your own hands. In fact, you understood it when you were children, which you showed during the road safety movement in 2018.
"Whoever does injustice, tolerates injustice, hates him like grass." By doing injustice and/or tolerating injustice, we have led the country to destruction. Many of us have gained freedom of speech and are now talking big. We have forgotten or pretend to forget that we are responsible for this. Do not trust us. If you depend on us, the country will go to destruction again.
The patriotism of our political leaders is very limited. If there is a conflict between the interests of the country and their own interests, most of the leaders give priority to their own interests, as a result of which the country is uprooted. The history of the last 53 years proves this. We need idealistic political leadership of the new generation in their place. If you rely on the current politicians, this great revolution will be a complete failure.
At present, there is no political party or leader in our country who can run the country properly. If you hand over the governance of the country to the current politicians, they will take the country to destruction again. They have proved it time and again in the last 53 years. To earn money by power and dishonest means, not to serve the country, is clear from their way of life and deeds.
Politics is not a bad thing; no country can run without politics. But due to the misdeeds of our politicians, people have a bad idea about politics. As a result, many honest and meritorious people do not want to go into politics, but they need politics. So, a large number of current students and Gen-Z will have to come into politics. Otherwise, the future of this country will not be good.
Many politicians are calling the current government an interim government. Tell them that it is not an interim government; it is a revolutionary government appointed under the direction of the revolutionaries. It will not run according to the so-called politicians; it will run according to the revolutionaries. It is not a constitutional government. This government came through revolution, not through democracy. Revolution means the cancellation of the constitution—whether it is declared or not, autocracy came through this constitution. This constitution could not protect us from autocracy! This constitution could not protect our human rights. The current government is not a democratic government, but it is currently the most popular government in the history of Bangladesh.
The number of true patriots among our current politicians (who see the interests of the country above their own interests) is very small.
Our politicians are shouting "democracy," but they have not been able to prove that they really believe in democracy. RAB was established during BNP's tenure!
(According to some media reports, the following approach has recently been considered to rehabilitate the Awami League at the highest level in India:
1. India will extend all-out cooperation to bring BNP to power.
2. Encourage Awami League members to vote for BNP in the next election.
3. After ruling for five years, BNP will lose so much popularity that people will want Awami League to return.
4. This is how the Awami League will return in the next election.
It seems that the implementation of this proposal has already begun. On November 4, 2024, several newspapers reported the news:
Hasan Mahmud, also the former foreign minister and information minister and joint general secretary of Bangladesh Awami League, made the first formal speech after the fall of the government on August 5 in the opinion program 'Opinion' of UK-based Bangla satellite television channel 'Channel S'. On November 3, the Awami League leader spoke about the possibility of unity with BNP in the current political context of Bangladesh, at an event organized with the theme 'Awami League: Tattra, Frustrated, Cornered?'. Today's News, Monday, November 4, 2024)
The basis of democracy is trust in the people. Our political leaders do not have much confidence in the people. If they had confidence, they would have given the responsibility of nominating candidates to the local members of their respective parties during the election of members of the Constituent Assembly. Because they are the only ones who know their local leaders well, local candidates should be nominated through their votes. That is the democratic process. They do not have confidence in it at all, but they always say that democracy is democracy. Depriving ordinary members of the democratic right to nominate candidates leads often to dictatorship in the party because then the leader of the party nominates candidates for the members of the Constituent Assembly alone or with his trusted people.
Yes, you will make mistakes. You will correct them by mistake. You will learn by mistake what the generations of politicians before you did not learn. Those who "know more" or "know everything" cannot learn. They are not even aware of their own stupidity.
By any name, you must form a revolutionary council that will sit regularly and keep a close eye on the government. For each department of the government, you shall form a committee of three from among yourselves, and it will be the responsibility of this committee to acquire a lot of knowledge by reading the books and research papers published on that department, doing research on the ground, and discussing with experts in the government and outside the government at home and abroad. By doing this, you will be able to keep a close eye on the work of that department, and if you take charge of that department in the future, you will be able to discharge it smoothly. You will have to form such councils up to the union level of the village at every level of the government, which will supervise the work of the government at all levels, but none of them can make any kind of recommendation for themselves or anyone else.
There will be a lot of criticism and attacks against you from the political parties; there will be attempts to dismiss you as inexperienced. You will have to endure them like heroes. You have to resist, but you will never give up your ideals at any time. Respect your elders, consider their advice, but do not obey them. Age is not important. Intelligence, wisdom, and foresight are the big things. It is no less than any of you. Know this.
Emperor Babur became the governor of Ferghana at the age of 12. He conquered Samarkand at the age of 14 and conquered Kabul at the age of 17. Emperor Akbar became the governor of Ghazni at the age of nine and became the emperor of India at the age of 14. Sultana Razia became the Governor of Delhi at the age of 25 and Empress of India at the age of 31. Malik Baudouin became the ruler of Jerusalem at the age of 16 and created history by defeating a warrior like Saladin with leprosy at the age of 17. The struggle started at the age of 11. Greta Thunberg dragged millions of students from all over the world into the environmental movement at the age of 13. There are many such examples in history. Elders, you can see before your eyes how the elders have fulfilled their heavy duties.
Remember that none of the leaders of all the successful revolutions that have taken place before you left power before the revolution succeeded.
We elders are not used to this rapidly changing world. We do not understand the problems and possibilities of this age, although some of us talk at length. We do not understand this age of change as well as you do. That's why you have to take care of it. This new era needs new thinking, new solutions to new problems are needed, old brains don't play with them. Einstein said, "It is not possible to solve a problem from a mentality that has given rise to it."
Many of us are still wasting our time arguing irrationally about whether it is a "revolution" or a "mass uprising," all that is needed is to work with you in the field, and if we cannot define everything in the definition of the last century, many do not sleep. They do not have the ability to understand that you have started an undisputed great revolution beyond all definitions at a great juncture.
You must have this undisputed great revolution reach all levels. You must have branches of your organization in every village, at least one person from each family will try to civilize your organization. This will cause some loss to your studies. You will have to accept that loss with a smile at this critical time of the country, as the freedom fighters of 1971 did.
How you communicate with everyone in organizational work and in the campaign to recruit members is an important issue. The use or type of use of just one word can sometimes defeat the purpose of the conversation. A good book was published in America a few months ago summarizing all the scientific research on how conversations and discussions can be most productive. There is a lot to learn from this book. If you follow the advice of this book, communication with everyone will be much easier and faster for you. The book is available on Amazon. Any of you can translate the summary of the book into Bengali and distribute it among yourselves. This will benefit everyone. Name of the book:
Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection by Charles Duhigg. Your popularity is at its peak, and your organization will have to reach the grassroots while at this peak. The longer you delay, the less likely your popularity will decrease. So there is no time to waste. All of you can think of spending at least one hour a day or at least seven hours a week on average.
Remember that you are more at risk than those who criticize you. Our lives are almost over; your future and the future of the country depend on the success of this movement.
At the bottom of this email, I humbly submit a few proposals for your consideration. There are some important issues that no one else is discussing. I know many of you are already discussing some of these topics. This humble request in simple language is intended to make this discussion accessible to the general students at all levels and facilitate everyone's participation. This is not my intention. Open debate and discussion inspire creativity, pave the way for solutions. So that's its purpose. If you think you have any suggestions to consider in this email, then if you distribute it to the anti-discrimination student community, perhaps they can actively join this discussion.
Don't forget the Arab Spring. Don't forget Tunisia. Don't forget Egypt. In 2011, the heroic youth of Egypt surprised the whole world by overthrowing 30 years of autocracy in just 18 days. They created a more severe dictatorship than ever before, which still exists today. 120 million Egyptians are still paying for the wrong decision of the heroic youth of Egypt. So learn from history. Do not forget our history of the last 53 years. Under no circumstances will they hand over the responsibility of making this unprecedented great revolution to others; we are all incapable. We have proved it again and again in the last 53 years.
If you persist, your victory is assured. No other generation before you has seen such courage, intelligence, knowledge, wisdom, foresight, patriotism, righteousness, and maturity at such a young age.
Sincerely,
Admired by you,
An obscure old Bangladeshi
You can discuss the following proposals:
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Anti-discrimination movement
Turn your anti-discrimination movement into a grassroots organization of the student masses by reaching every village, keeping some experienced honest people (if available) as your advisers, regardless of party affiliation, but the leadership of the organization will always be in the hands of the leaders of the anti-discrimination student movement.
Your younger brothers and sisters, who are still young, will be prepared physically and mentally in advance to become members of your organization in the future.
When you complete your studies and enter the world of work and family, it will be very difficult to maintain your personal ideals. That's how we've been ruined.) That ideal will remove from the leadership those who will be defeated in the character war.
You can consider the following method in selecting the organization's leader:
No one will be a candidate in all the elections. All the members (excluding themselves) will propose the name of one leader or leader. The person who gets the most nominations will be elected. If he does not want to take that responsibility, the next highest nominee will take that responsibility. This election system will not require any canvassing or any campaign in support of any candidate. It will save you a lot of valuable time and money.
The election that is needed, first of all, will not be for the formation of a government, it will be an election for a short time to frame and approve the constitution of the country. Time will give.
You will participate in the Constituent Assembly elections as an anti-discrimination movement non-partisan, so your movement will have to reach every village, every village, and every family. You can think of setting up branches in every mosque, temple, church, dargah, shrine, and khanqa. You can also say that since this is an election to frame a constitution, it will be above all factions, doctrines, and religious differences. I think it will be better if it is after the constitution is framed. (When you form a political party, you can request honest, efficient, and experienced politicians from all political parties to join your party.)
2. Compulsory military education
As in most countries of the world, our youth must be given compulsory military education. After the secondary and/or higher secondary examinations, all children must be given military education for at least six months. As a result, within two generations (60 years), almost everyone in the country will be educated in military education. This will be the only way to defend the sovereignty of our people against domestic and foreign enemies. This is very important, not only urgent. Probably nothing is more important than this at present. In addition to the security of the country, there are many more benefits for everyone in military education. According to https://worldpopulationreview.com data, military education is compulsory for young people in 178 countries of the world.
World Population by Country 2024 (Live)
3. Decentralization of the police force
The police should be decentralized. Local governments will have their own police force under their control. There will be no central police agency or force in England. There was no central police force at any time; there is no central police force in England at present. There are 39 small police forces for six crore Englishmen, all under local government. But they have set up central police forces in our country to facilitate exploitation. We have to break this system forever. Like the United Kingdom, there is no central police agency in the United States. Each city has its own police force. No true democratic country has a central police. The central police and democracies are completely contradictory. In some democracies that have central police forces, the police force usually works under an independent body like the judiciary. The government has no influence there. For example, Japan has a central police force free of such government influence. That is why our so-called politicians have always resisted the proposal to decentralize the police force. Because they do not know how to govern a country democratically, since all political parties lose popularity due to their utter failure within a few days of coming to power, it becomes difficult for them to stay in power without the help of the police. Until then, autocracy will not be completely abolished from this country.
4. Special Police Force
You can think of forming a special police force from the students who have been temporarily educated up to class 10 until the law and order situation is completely healthy. They will support and monitor the existing permanent police force and, after working for a year or two, they will be able to return to education, and the government will bear at least part of the cost of their higher education for their sacrifices.
5. Decentralization of administration
Administrative power should also be decentralized. Local government administration should be gradually handed over to the local elected leadership. If administrative power is centralized, autocracy becomes much easier.
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Removal of autocratic bureaucrats
Many pro-Awami League bureaucrats are trying to thwart the government; many of them are taking time to investigate the allegations, but all of them can be sent on leave for now. In many democratic countries of the world, including the United States, bureaucrats are recruited directly from the cadre as well as the private sector at different levels of the bureaucracy.
If the highest-level bureaucrats are retired at a certain age (such as 50 or 52), many of the collaborators of the autocracy will go with it.
We can also learn from Georgia's experience in this regard. In the Eastern European country Georgia, in 2003, an autocratic government was overthrown in a mass uprising like our country https://www.banglaedition.com/opinion/2024/11/02/231597.
7. Constitution of Bangladesh for Bangladesh
The country's constitution needs to be rewritten.
The Bangladeshi nation is a completely different nation. We have a different culture in many ways than the Bengalis of West Bengal. We are not English, so the parliamentary constitution of the English is probably not suitable for us. There seems to be new thinking about this. We are neither American nor European, but we can consider borrowing some rules from foreign constitutions that may be useful to us. For example, the powers of the President of the United States are very limited. On the other hand, the U.S. Supreme Court is completely independent, and no other part of the government can exercise any influence over them. We can create a completely Bangladeshi democratic constitution based on culture.
The following points may be considered when drafting a new constitution:
(a) There can be only one head of state and head of government. A powerless, completely useless head of state can be more harmful than a poor man's pet like a king. That money can save the lives of hundreds of poor people who are dying due to lack of medical care. Their lives are no less valuable than useless heads of state.
(b) Like Austria, Argentina, Cuba, and Brazil, we also have to reduce the voting age to 16. Emperor Akbar became emperor at the age of 14. Did he fail? If the voting age is 14 years, more students will be able to vote. This will deepen their patriotism and political awareness. It will increase your strength and the country's strength. No one can save this country except you.
(c) Civics and ethics should be made compulsory in secondary schools. These will help in the formation of ideal citizens. No country, no constitution can be better than its people.
(d) The Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly shall be from the Opposition.
(e) The powers of the head of the government should be very limited. All important decisions should be approved by the legislature.
The anti-human rights and anti-democratic laws of the colonial period that are still in force should be abolished, and the politicians who came to power after 1947 and 1971 all thought that those colonial undemocratic laws would help them cling to power. All the political parties that have come to power have done the same thing. Not only that, they have added new undemocratic black laws, and this proves how much they believed in democracy. These laws should be abolished.
No one can be the head of the government more than twice. The same person cannot be the head of the government and the party at the same time.
No one from any family can head any political party more than twice. Individual-centric and family-centric politics should be completely and forever stopped. It is also against the religion of Islam. It creates cults such as the Mujib cult, Zia cult, Nehru cult, and Bhutto cult, which are very harmful to the nation. No one from one family can lead a political party for a long time. Our ancestors worshipped people for thousands of years; their seeds are still in our blood. It will not be easy to get rid of this, but in the interest of the country and in the interest of the nation, we have to achieve it. Otherwise, the way for new leadership will not be opened.
If there is no internal mass apparatus within the political parties, the political party will not be officially recognized; that is, the nominees of the legislatures will be nominated by the members of that region. The central leadership will have no hand in it. It is expected that the monopoly among the political parties will end.
To facilitate discussion, one (or more) draft constitutions should be prepared before the election of the Constituent Assembly.
The first election shall be of a Constituent Assembly for the formulation of a new constitution, and the Constituent Assembly shall be dissolved after the framing of the Constitution.
Some provisions of the constitution should be made almost impossible to change, such as a three-month neutral caretaker government for elections and an impartial Election Commission.
Lying on political issues should be banned for politicians, and maximum punishment should be given for lying. If the leaders of the country lie, the people of the country get inspiration to lie. The leader of lies, corruption, and deception?
Many people say that this proposal of mine is completely unrealistic. The moral degradation of our politicians has become so extreme that people no longer believe that they can speak the truth! Therefore, if the politicians want to prove their honesty, they can easily pass such a law against lying. The main reason for the degradation of our national character is the lies, corruption, and gambling theft of our political leaders. Because it is the nature of ordinary people to imitate leaders, people take leaders as ideals and imitate them. Unfortunately, today probably 90 percent or more of our political leaders are dishonest. If there is no truthfulness and honesty in the character of the leaders, the character of the citizens will not improve.
If the politicians are honest, then there is no reason to think that my proposal is unrealistic. They can easily enact such a law. If they are honest, then no one will oppose such a law and pass such a law unanimously. Only dishonest people can oppose such a law!
No candidate can raise any subscription for the election. He cannot spend his own money. The government will give a certain amount of money to all; no one can spend more than that for the election campaign.
Money plays a major role in our current electoral system, as a result of which the leadership of our current political parties is in the hands of the well-to-do and upper-middle-class people. Let alone proportional representation of the poor and the lower-middle-class, but they are the majority of the population of the country. As a result, whichever government has come to power in the last 53 years, under them, the disparity between the poor and the rich has steadily increased. Politicians think only of themselves during elections. The poor are forced to vote for them because, in this election system, no one can be a candidate from among themselves. Since independence, not a single person from the poor and lower-middle-class has been seen to become a minister. What kind of democracy is that? Where is the "democracy" that our politicians call "democracy"? Was it ever in this country? The democracy of our politicians is the democracy of deceiving the poor, the democracy of misusing the poor for their own interests. We need such a constitution where the majority of the poor and lower-middle-class will have proportional representation in the government.
The government should have a Ministry of Ethics. The function of this ministry will be to monitor the work of all the departments of the government and to judge whether those acts are ethical or not. This ministry will have the power to order the closure of any unethical work. And obeying that order should be as binding as a court order. There may be an ombudsman or ombudsman in each department.
The National Assembly or Legislature should be bicameral. The district assembly with one elected representative from each district and the people's assembly with members elected on the basis of population. Any new law should be passed in both these houses. It will be difficult to pass any new law in haste. Parliament may have a role to play in the appointment of High Court and Supreme Court judges.
Elections to the Legislative Assembly will be held every four years, but the elections to both houses will not be held in the same year. Elections to the Mass Assembly will be held two years after the year in which the election of the District Council is held.
Proportional representation in the legislature should be considered. In proportional representation, every political party will get membership in proportion to the number of votes it won. Currently, 93 of the world's 120 democracies have some form of proportional representation. Proportional representation is more democratic than the British or American system because there is a reflection of the whole nation, and the monopoly of the largest political party is reduced.
No political party can form a faction.
All educational institutions should be kept free from the influence of political parties. As before, government or private interference in the university premises without the permission of the Vice-Chancellor should be declared illegal. If the student or employee feels that she has been a victim of discrimination or injustice, she can complain to the Office of the Ombudsman.
Student organization elections should be free from the influence of political parties. Open elections can be held without factionalism. Elections of teachers' organizations can be held in the same way.
All non-Muslim and non-Bengali minorities, including Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, and hill peoples, should have reservation of seats in the Legislature in proportion to their number. Since the hill tribes have never enjoyed equal civil rights, at least one seat should be reserved for them, even if they are few in number.
There is no caste distinction in Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity. Caste discrimination is illegal in India, the world's largest Hindu-majority country. It should be made illegal in Bangladesh also.
The head of the government cannot be the leader of the legislature at the same time. The three main branches of the government should be completely separate -- the judiciary, the legislative department, and the administrative department.
There can be no media under the government. The government media is used as a weapon of autocracy. Government television and radio should be transferred to private ownership or should be completely independent like the BBC. The owners of the media cannot influence the journalists of the media under their jurisdiction.
If a government loses popularity between two elections, there should be a referendum to remove that government – which is called "recall" in English.
Politicians hypnotize us with their cleverness and eloquence, but there is a dearth of knowledgeable and experienced people in matters other than politics among our politicians. At least half of them must be recruited from people with experience from different professions.
The administrative structure that was created during the British period mainly for exploitation and misrule has not changed much to date. This is because our political leaders have kept the administrative structure through which they have also exploited and misruled us. The tool of exploitation is not conducive to service. This structure needs radical change. Although it takes time, we have to achieve it.
There should be a small committee of honorary citizen observers in each ministry and in each division under the ministry. They will keep an eye on the work of that department, but they cannot make any recommendation for themselves or anyone else at any time.
A few more things:
The current government
You have done the wisest thing by appointing a widely respected great man like Dr. Yunus as the head of the government. Those who are in our advisory council are all good people and very experienced and skilled in their respective areas. This is a scientific fact. Those who have shown extraordinary achievements in middle age, it is not possible for them to show equal achievement in old age. They are not able to do any good due to excessive responsibility. As a result, they are being subjected to adverse criticism which they do not really deserve. Can be increased, and three student leaders may be appointed to assist each advisor.
After the revolution, revolutionary leadership is needed. It is not possible to run the country as the old way after the revolution. After the revolution, decisions have to be made very quickly, and sometimes difficult and unpopular decisions. After the revolution, the constitution and customary laws are usually set aside. If necessary, the state of emergency is declared and maintained.
There are some Bangladeshi researchers who know a lot about revolution at home and abroad. They should be made members of the advisory council as soon as possible. If we do not learn from the history of revolutions, our revolution will also fail.
We do not have time to reinvent the wheel. There are plenty of precedents in history for how to make revolutions successful. All of our advisors and all of you need to learn from that history. Now is not the time for apprenticeship. Most of our advisors are doing that now.
There is no revolution with gentlemen. Neither revolution nor post-revolution country management.
One thing most of our politicians and intellectuals do not understand is that in the last two thousand years, no government in Bangladesh has faced such a huge and complex problem as the present government. There were jagirdars, zamindars, etc.; almost all of them immediately accepted the new government and became loyal to the new government.
Even after the departure of the British, there was no exception; everyone accepted the new government. Unfortunately, the current situation is not like that.
During the Awami League regime, the Awami League leaders, workers, and officials, and employees of the government's administrative, judiciary, and legislative departments, willingly or unknowingly, knowingly or unknowingly, directly or indirectly participated in corruption, misrule, disappearance, murder, and torture, as per the directives of the autocratic government. Returning to power can save them from this imminent danger, so they are showing above and up. They are doing the right work according to the orders of the present government and trying to bring back the Awami League by completely failing this government inside. No government in Bangladesh has ever faced such a big obstacle.
Since we have never faced such a complex problem before, none of us has any experience to solve such a problem, whether it is a politician, an intellectual, or anyone else. You are also in it, which means that no one else has more experience in this matter than you, so there is no guarantee that they will do a better job than you. Sacrifice, sharp intellect, especially your creativity, will help to bring a solution to this problem. That's why I say take the helm strongly. To solve complex and multifaceted problems permanently, a long-lasting national unity is needed; only you can form that unity. Political parties have never been able to form such a unity. You need direct and indirect leadership until the government is completely healed. You need direct and indirect leadership from among you. More of you should be part of the Gen-Z government. It is desirable to lead the government, not just part.
What is most important for you and the future of the nation is high-quality education at all levels, improving the environment, and preventing global warming.
Education is the backbone of the nation. Well-educated people are essential for the rapid development of the country. It is not possible to implement real democracy without educated citizens. Many people are getting sick at an early age, but our leaders, instead of making the country free from environmental pollution, are worsening the environment, which is likely to make the country uninhabitable in your lifetime. If they thought about the future of the country, then these issues would have been of the most importance to them, but without paying attention to that, most of the politicians are busy trying to get power.
Due to the weakness and failure of all political parties, including BNP and Awami League, Sheikh Hasina was able to establish autocracy. My call to you: Join politics in groups by virtue of these qualities, otherwise you will dig your own grave and the country.
Awami League
In a way, the Awami League is worse than the Pakistani military and the Nazi Party. The Nazis did not kill their own people (i.e., Germans or Christians) bigger. They mainly killed Jews. Pakistanis did not kill their own people; they killed only Bengalis, but the Awami League killed Bengalis despite being Bengalis! That is why Awami League should be banned forever as a terrorist—not just for 10 years. Those who want to ban Awami League for a limited time are still in a fool's paradise. So whose crime is more?
The liberation war of independent Bangladesh was based on three ideals – equality, human rights, and social justice.
"India will never forget what we gave to India. The truth is that India has not forgotten. Awami League has almost sold the sovereignty of Bangladesh to India. Awami League has seen India's interest over Bangladesh's interest. What can be a greater treason than this? Don't we have the right to punish traitors?
The most successful false propagandist in the history of the world, Hitler's propaganda minister, Goebbels, said, "A lie becomes true if it is repeated enough times." The Awami League has skillfully used this formula of Goebbels to hypnotize or hypnotize a large part of the nation. Not only that, they have also used it on themselves, which is called self-hypnotism or self-hypnosis, as a result of which they no longer have anything to do with the truth.
Almost everyone in my family belongs to the Awami League. Some are leaders, some are workers, some are members, some are just supporters. I have seen them from close quarters all my lives. My many argument-based discussions with them could have a slight impact temporarily but could not have any lasting effect.
Although it seems quiet on the surface, the Awami League still exists in good health. If the national parliament election is held now, they will come out in droves, and they have a good chance of winning. The ability to judge good and bad is not developed till that age. Most children believe what they hear. It is almost impossible to change the belief that develops at that age. That is why most of the sons and daughters of Awami League supporters remain supporters of Awami League throughout their lives.
Most of the Awami League thinks that they have not done anything wrong. They have made autocrats because the country needed autocracy. If necessary, they will do it again for the need of the country. How will they remove them from this belief? They believe that democracy is an obstacle to economic development, so it is desirable to keep democracy aside for the sake of development. The enemy inside the country is more dangerous than the enemy outside.
After so many disappearances, killings, and killings of the Hasina government, there has not been the slightest sympathy or remorse from any Awami Leaguer to date. Lack of empathy or remorse in general. Are they all suffering from that mental illness as a result of being Awami League for ages? Will we allow mentally ill people to regain state power?
The Awami League as a party must be completely eliminated, but banning is only the first step. Almost a century after the Nazi Party was banned, Nazism has not completely disappeared. "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."
It is true that if Awami League is abolished, the Awami League leaders and workers who are in the country will not be abolished. Some of them will join other political parties; some may form new political parties; some may go underground and become terrorists.
As a political party, the source of all the strength of Awami League is in two words – "Awami League" and "League." By these two words, they claim their party as Bangabandhu's party and claim to be the party of the leadership of the War of Liberation.
After Tajuddin Ahmed, no honest and competent leader of high quality has been developed in the Awami League. That is why they have to do politics under the umbrella of Awami League. If they are deprived of this name, they will not be able to use this mask anymore. As a result, they will not be able to easily develop as a strong political party like Awami League.
Many people say that once autocracy falls, it does not come back. For example, they say Hitler's Germany, Italy's Mussolini, etc. But Bangladesh is not Germany, and Italy is not either. But not only did it not return, but it came back in much more glory. After the death of Mr. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975, not a single person in the country mourned publicly. Rather many Awami League leaders openly expressed happiness over the fall of autocracy and heaved a sigh of relief. At least with regard to autocracy, this time the post-authoritarian situation is worse than in 1975. After the August Revolution, no one in the Awami League was happy or acknowledged the shortcomings. On the contrary, many people spoke openly in support of autocracy.
After running autocracy for a long time, Awami League has gained a lot of experience, and learned a lot from their mistakes. Then when they come, they will establish autocracy with more skill because they are now experts in autocracy.
One of the great weaknesses of our national character is that most of us can be bought with money, power, or mattresses. Rashed Khan Menon and Matia Chowdhury (and some other politicians) were known in their youth as honest, intelligent, and strong leaders. They too came to the end of life, were sold to Awami League, and were slaves of Awami League till August 5.
The provision of parliamentary democracy in our current constitution is mainly a money game. Those who do not have money have no right to contest the election.
During the British colonial period, the British did not torture us as much as the present Awami League. There was still a rule of law. They did not imprison anyone indefinitely without trial. They did not put many people in jail for criticizing the government. They were only harsh on the rebels, and those rebels were also punished by the then law. They disappeared indiscriminately. We did not kill and jail the British rulers; we drove out those British rulers. Why not drive out Awami League? The local exploiters are more dangerous than the foreign exploiters. Awami League leaders are enemies of the country, enemies of the nation, enemies of democracy, enemies of humanity, and enemies of civilization.
Just as Al-Qaeda considers other Muslims who do not believe in their Islamic religious interpretation as enemies, the Awami League also considers those who do not believe in the ideology of their party as their enemies, enemies of the country, and enemies of the nation and wants to destroy them like Al-Qaeda. The continuation of the Awami League's right to do politics in Bangladesh is like welcoming al-Qaeda to Bangladesh.
There is no doubt that Chhatra League was a terrorist organization, but Awami League was the father of those terrorists. Why can't we call the Awami League, which made Chhatra League terrorists, as terrorists or militants? Isn't that a double standard? If Awami League is not a militant party, then Hasina is not a murderer.
Father of the Nation
In the oldest literature of the world, the mention of Bangladesh is found as "Banga." The oldest form of Bengali language, which can be called "Adi Bangla," is older than the Sanskrit language. Although the vocabulary of Adi Bangla has changed a lot over thousands of years, its grammatical structure has remained intact till today. (Ph.D. thesis of Dr. Shahidullah, 1928) That is why linguists have accepted the original Bangla as Bangla. There are fights and bloodshed. We don't need this turmoil.