Editor's Note
This is the second Independence Day we are observing under a caretaker government. The nation is eagerly looking forward to the transition to an elected government which we hope will take over the reins of the state through a free, fair and transparent election before the year is out.
There are many things to look forward to.
A reformed polity that would reflect the hopes of the electorate has been a long but unfulfilled aspiration of the people. We had longed for such representatives of the people that would be selected on their merit, for a selection process where neither money nor muscle power would be the main criterion. We wanted our representatives in the parliament to set examples of honesty and integrity that would help motivate the younger generation to take up politics as a calling, not as a business.
We look forward to the beginning of an egalitarian society based on secular principles, where each of us can go about our business without caste, creed or religion standing in the way. These are what the founding fathers dreamt of and these are what the valiant martyrs laid down their lives for.
More importantly, we look forward to an increasingly productive and prosperous Bangladesh where poverty, malnourishment, ignorance will be decreasing at a pace far faster than we have so far been able to achieve.
While we look forward to all these and even more, there is perhaps need to introspect on what went wrong and why. Unless we do that, and resolve to never allow the mistakes to recur, the sacrifices, of the martyrs, of the thousand of unknown heroes, of those mothers and sisters whose tears have not dried up yet, will have been in vain.
It is for all of us to ensure that the bells of freedom ring forever.
This year's supplement among other subjects contains personal reflections of a few of those who had participated in the Liberation War and some who had been involved from the very seminal stages of the armed conflict, both in the military and political front. We hope the variety of thoughts that are reflected in the articles will help the readers get a correct perspective of our War of Liberation. I thank all the contributors.