Issues that have serious ramifications for the entire nation
Sunday, 7 February 2010
Shamsher Chowdhury
AS I turn the pages of our dailies (incidentally I read at least four of them, two in English and two in Bengali) I find that news and stories of all sorts of hooliganism are on the rise since the coming of this government. Vandalism has become the order of the day at public places, worst of all in colleges and public universities.
The recent clashes between the students of Bangladesh Chatra League (BCL) of he Jagannath University college and Kavi Nazrul Islam College over what has been termed as "admission trade" was nothing short of being 'medieval and barbaric'. In not too distant a past, in a different incident scores of people were badly hurt, shops and vehicles were vandalised. Of far more horrific consequences was the one that took place at the campus of the Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET) in which 50 people were hurt and the traffic on the Dhaka/ Rajshahi highway was suspended for as long as five hours.
In yet another incident that took place between the hawkers and a section of the traders at Chittagong as many as 100 shops were set on fire and 22 people were hurt including police men.
The latest of the incidents that took place at the premises of the ongoing International Trade Fair was by far the worst. Apparently what triggered off the vandalism reportedly due to some students of the nearby Agriculture college "insulted" the wife of an Army officer and the police having taken into custody two of the students, at this, students of the Agriculture College rushed in a body to the fair premises with sticks and all kinds of lethal objects apparently to release their colleagues from the custody of the police. Thereafter, a pitched battle ensued resulting into bashing of 100 cars belonging to the visitors at the fair.
All this make me sad. I have this feeling that we are slowly and surely turning into a nation of highly undisciplined people. We continue to adopt violent means in order to redress a wrong doing or a grievance. This also tells me as to how little faith the common has in the process and systems adopted by our law enforcers. In the meantime, our venerable Home Minister continues to harp, that the law and order situation has improved. This is absurd.
I guess it is futile talking about the continued deplorable state of the traffic jam. I am now convinced that all those lofty declarations about plans and measures being undertaken for easing the traffic jam are nothing but a hoax. I say this after having observed how traffic movement is controlled and managed in neighbouring Kolkata. It is all about better management practices by the traffic police combined with the support of the people on the streets. I am now of the conviction that for all practical purposes the state of the traffic jam in the capital could very well be attributed to the perennial lack of efficiency, commitment and professionalism on the part of our police as a whole from the constable on the road right up to the top. In this very city, many have told me that the present chaotic state of the traffic jam could also be the result of a kind of saboteur on the part of the traffic police itself.
I also remain highly confused and annoyed with this business of the MPs being provided with duty free vehicles and that too ones that fall in the category of luxury cars in the context of this poor country. This is mind boggling. Surely our MPs are capable enough of procuring their own cars out of their individual resources. Besides I fail to understand as to why such fancy cars have to be procured? If our counterparts in neighbouring India can do with the age-old workman's vehicle like the Ambassador designed and built in the country itself. Frankly I have this feeling that our lawmakers have been unduly pampered over the years not by this government alone but others of the past too. Other things being as they are I believe that this move by the ruling party is grossly flawed from moral and ethical points of view. As it is people have already expressed their doubts and indignation about the level of their contribution to the nation.
In recent times a number of people have died at railway crossings at the heart of the city and elsewhere due to either faulty signals or negligence on the part of the guards on duty. To add to the dismal scenario, just consider the number of people dying on a daily basis in road accidents on our highways. No body seems to be least concerned.
Are we really a Peoples' Republic? How can it be when time and again the elected representatives have ignored and flouted the interests and concerns of the people? It is very fine to carry on the so-called image building exercises overseas but then it should not be at the cost of deteriorating state of affairs within the country, as I have tried to portray in the foregoing. Frankly, all this is only the tip of the iceberg. By all counts, the way the things are moving it appears that there is hardly any real respect for democracy and democratic traditions. It has essentially been the "government of the elites by the elites and for the elites". It is my impression that if acts continue only to ensure self-preservation and self aggrandisement, we will soon be in a precarious state. It is time to attend to some real issues on the ground before matters go totally out of control. Will the concerned political authority do it? We shall wait and see.
The writer can be reached at|
e-mail: chowdhury.shamsher@yahoo.com
AS I turn the pages of our dailies (incidentally I read at least four of them, two in English and two in Bengali) I find that news and stories of all sorts of hooliganism are on the rise since the coming of this government. Vandalism has become the order of the day at public places, worst of all in colleges and public universities.
The recent clashes between the students of Bangladesh Chatra League (BCL) of he Jagannath University college and Kavi Nazrul Islam College over what has been termed as "admission trade" was nothing short of being 'medieval and barbaric'. In not too distant a past, in a different incident scores of people were badly hurt, shops and vehicles were vandalised. Of far more horrific consequences was the one that took place at the campus of the Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET) in which 50 people were hurt and the traffic on the Dhaka/ Rajshahi highway was suspended for as long as five hours.
In yet another incident that took place between the hawkers and a section of the traders at Chittagong as many as 100 shops were set on fire and 22 people were hurt including police men.
The latest of the incidents that took place at the premises of the ongoing International Trade Fair was by far the worst. Apparently what triggered off the vandalism reportedly due to some students of the nearby Agriculture college "insulted" the wife of an Army officer and the police having taken into custody two of the students, at this, students of the Agriculture College rushed in a body to the fair premises with sticks and all kinds of lethal objects apparently to release their colleagues from the custody of the police. Thereafter, a pitched battle ensued resulting into bashing of 100 cars belonging to the visitors at the fair.
All this make me sad. I have this feeling that we are slowly and surely turning into a nation of highly undisciplined people. We continue to adopt violent means in order to redress a wrong doing or a grievance. This also tells me as to how little faith the common has in the process and systems adopted by our law enforcers. In the meantime, our venerable Home Minister continues to harp, that the law and order situation has improved. This is absurd.
I guess it is futile talking about the continued deplorable state of the traffic jam. I am now convinced that all those lofty declarations about plans and measures being undertaken for easing the traffic jam are nothing but a hoax. I say this after having observed how traffic movement is controlled and managed in neighbouring Kolkata. It is all about better management practices by the traffic police combined with the support of the people on the streets. I am now of the conviction that for all practical purposes the state of the traffic jam in the capital could very well be attributed to the perennial lack of efficiency, commitment and professionalism on the part of our police as a whole from the constable on the road right up to the top. In this very city, many have told me that the present chaotic state of the traffic jam could also be the result of a kind of saboteur on the part of the traffic police itself.
I also remain highly confused and annoyed with this business of the MPs being provided with duty free vehicles and that too ones that fall in the category of luxury cars in the context of this poor country. This is mind boggling. Surely our MPs are capable enough of procuring their own cars out of their individual resources. Besides I fail to understand as to why such fancy cars have to be procured? If our counterparts in neighbouring India can do with the age-old workman's vehicle like the Ambassador designed and built in the country itself. Frankly I have this feeling that our lawmakers have been unduly pampered over the years not by this government alone but others of the past too. Other things being as they are I believe that this move by the ruling party is grossly flawed from moral and ethical points of view. As it is people have already expressed their doubts and indignation about the level of their contribution to the nation.
In recent times a number of people have died at railway crossings at the heart of the city and elsewhere due to either faulty signals or negligence on the part of the guards on duty. To add to the dismal scenario, just consider the number of people dying on a daily basis in road accidents on our highways. No body seems to be least concerned.
Are we really a Peoples' Republic? How can it be when time and again the elected representatives have ignored and flouted the interests and concerns of the people? It is very fine to carry on the so-called image building exercises overseas but then it should not be at the cost of deteriorating state of affairs within the country, as I have tried to portray in the foregoing. Frankly, all this is only the tip of the iceberg. By all counts, the way the things are moving it appears that there is hardly any real respect for democracy and democratic traditions. It has essentially been the "government of the elites by the elites and for the elites". It is my impression that if acts continue only to ensure self-preservation and self aggrandisement, we will soon be in a precarious state. It is time to attend to some real issues on the ground before matters go totally out of control. Will the concerned political authority do it? We shall wait and see.
The writer can be reached at|
e-mail: chowdhury.shamsher@yahoo.com