Spotlight

I have a dream …

Amanat Ahmed

Bangladesh-it's not just a sovereign land having defined borders. It's not just a piece of terrain in the world map. It's a dream. A dream for which millions sacrificed their most precious possession. A dream for which our forefathers passed nine sleepless months. A dream for which our fertile soil became red with blood. Like my forefathers, Bangladesh is also the name of my dream. What does this dream look like? What is this dream actually about? How can it be described?

I dream of a unified Bangladesh. People will not be divided among themselves just for the sake of cheap gains. People will be united and put their hands together to establish her as a country to be reckoned with by the world community. I dream of a violence-free Bangladesh. From our home to political arena, there will be no scope for violence. People will not have to relinquish their possessions. They will not have to give their lives for violence. People will have safety and security.

I dream of a conscious Bangladesh. People will know their rights and will not tolerate anyone depriving themselves from what they are entitled to. They will not tolerate any sort of distortion of history, heritage or culture of this nation. They will act upon what is true and right. None will dare to defame our pride - The War of Liberation. None will enjoy the liberty to offend our heroes - The Freedom Fighters.

I dream of a corruption free Bangladesh. Corruption will be something that will not be tolerated. Corruption will become something that will be hated all over. Corruption will become something people will never even dream to do. The Anti Corruption Commission will be so strong that it will make life hell for the corrupt.

I dream of a Bangladesh, where none will die without appropriate medication. In our country, people die every single day just for the lack of proper medication. A quality public health care system will be in place to provide proper medical services to the general people. I dream of a Bangladesh having an education system free of political influence. Mainstream politics will not have anything to do in the education system. Students will get the desired and interruption free educational environment so that they concentrate harder to make themselves prepared for the challenges to lead this nation from the front in the future.

I dream of a liberally politicised Bangladesh. Politics will be tolerable. Politics will be violence free. Politicians will give more importance to the people's welfare ahead of their own interests. They will be self sacrificing rather than self oriented.

This is what my dream looks like. I inherited this dream from my forefathers that they dreamt 36 long years ago. Clearly the dream has not yet been materialised. How long will it take to fulfill my dream, our Dream? 10 years? 50 years? I don't have the answer. But I am not ready to sit back and leave it to the time to decide. I'll surge ahead to fulfill my cherished dream, my forefathers' treasured dream for which they made special sacrifices.

(The writer is a student of the Department of Accounting & Information Systems, University of Dhaka)
Email : amanat_y2k@yahoo.com)