Spotlight

The Living Embers

Aditi Ahmed

My father, who is a Bir Uttam and now a retired citizen, once said that there will come a time when the ignorance and indifference of the people of the nation will operate as the springboard for the war criminals of 1971 that will eventually place them in certain positions in the society.

It will ultimately ingrain them into the land and principles that they had sworn to annihilate. This pronouncement was made approximately a year after the war. Now why would a war hero, one of the symbols that had ensured the liberation of the state, make such an ominous claim? The answer, as is common knowledge, lies in the fact that the fervor and the heat with which the sons and daughters of this nation had driven out the conquering Pakistan Army, has died down. The passage of time had faded that burning passion and had allowed the war criminals to mesh in with the society. The real horror ensued when these very war criminals entered the government with their baggage of religious fanaticism and outrageous ideals. The sheer audacity of these individuals are reflected when one of them claimed that they had no part in the prevention of the Liberation War. It was an insult, a grotesque attempt at demeaning the sweat and blood of our people who had fought for their lives for their liberty. These are the very same people who had slaughtered our intellectuals, raped our women, ate and drank from the blood of our men. And then three decades later, one of them takes the stand and proclaims that they had nothing to do with it. Perhaps, by making such a statement, they think that the people of today's nation are a mass of duffers to whom the Liberation War and the atrocities that the traitors have committed are figments of their wild imagination. Or maybe they are under the notion that the hideous fabrication will sweep over the nation's head seeing as the knowledge of their crimes are too diluted to be taken to heart. Well it goes to show that these people have once again failed to give our nation the rightful credit as they had back in '71, for the people, as my father had observed in the last month and a half, had never been this unified, this passionate about putting these turncoats to justice since the war. We have the evidence in writing and in visuals, we have proof from accounts like my father and thousands of other individuals whose dedication and love for their country are still shining in the pages and weapons of '71.

Bangladesh has been wrought with political turmoil ever since I could remember. The people have yet to experience a governing body that hasn't fought tooth and nail to gain power for their own selfish interests. We have two leading political parties the leftovers of the two dynasties - whose hunger and thirst for power could not be satiated by the mere possession of the throne of the country. Their agenda also included the employment of corrupt personalities, not to mention the war traitors, in high-ranking positions, and have ensured the purging of our country's wealth, our dignity in the global status, and have tarred the lives of the poor with their shameless endeavors.

Bangladesh, I believe, will have a more blazing perspective than the passivity with which the country regards these conspirators in a decade or so.

And for that, the government is required to have that sense of responsibility, the hard headedness, the feeling of patriotism in order to ensure that this country no longer has space for the Benedict Arnolds, the Judas Iscariots and the Cassius-es of '71. I see a future that has a sovereign nation and where the people are in absolute content. I see the infinite potentials that can be evolved into cold hard opportunities for our country by our own people. I see prospects for the impoverished for fighting out of their everlasting curse of hardship and stepping on the bricks of society with their heads held high. I envision a panorama where our country is perceived as a proud and beautiful nation in the eyes of the globe. I see visions of corruption being obliterated by our own hands. There are glimpses in my imagination of the treacherous collaborators with their monstrous ideals in prison or simply not being allowed to step foot in our land. Most importantly, I see a future where the people of the nation and the government walk hand in hand down the path of creating the soil that replenishes the fire of patriotism that gave birth to this country.

Over the years, my father has been showered with numerous opportunities to reside in foreign countries, and he has done his share of traveling for almost over four decades and continues to do so, but when he comes home and sits with his cup of tea and sometimes with a book in hand, it is like a missing piece in a lifelong puzzle that he fits in seamlessly. He tells me from time to time that the people of Bangladesh have not given up hope of a dazzling future. He believes that the glowing embers of '71 still exist in the innermost depths of our conscious. Our past had blessed us with a history and culture that was earned in the name of our heritage and honor at the cost of immense bloodshed and tears. The construction of our future lies in our hands, and we will build it with a hammer and a nail not only because it's our duty, because we must. Our future will empower us with the weapons, the tools, to drive out the stagnating forces that have plagued the country for so long, and with it we will bury the flesh and blood of our brothers and countrymen with dignity and love and stroll around the murky future with a burning hope and roaring with pride.

(Student of Media and Development Communication, Independent University Bangladesh)

How do I want to see Bangladesh in ten years from today?

Zannatul Lamea

Economically developed, politically stable, environmentally green that's how I want to see Bangladesh in ten years from now. Besides, achieving a literacy rate of 90 % , ranked last in the list of most corrupt countries, privatized business sectors contributing a larger fraction towards the economic progress of Bangladesh- are few statistical changes that I want to witness in next ten years.

Speaking from the economic point of view, I want to see Bangladesh having a stable economic growth, substantial flow in trade and commerce, increased exports from local industries earning their recognition in foreign markets, promising career opportunities and low unemployment level. In next ten years, I want to see Bangladesh being run by a strong and efficient government, having a political system that is free from foreign interference, in a stable political environment which is not disrupted by chaos and turmoil every other day. Most importantly, I want to see a Bangladesh where there is no denial of justice, where deserving people are not deprived, where we can raise our voices against the wrong without the fear of being silenced forever, where we can rely on legal authorities; where we don't have to lament on tragic loss of our closed ones due to terrorists and chaotic political infrastructure. In ten years from today, I want to be the citizen of The Bangladesh that I can boast about, that will make me feel sublime, that will make me proud that I belong here, that WILL make me proud as a “Bangladeshi”- truly.

(Student Of School Of Business, North South University)