It is high time we paid back debt to our heroes

Another 16th of December has arrived. Once more it is time to reflect on what we have achieved in all these 40 years. We fought for our liberation and snatched victory at a great price. This country was built on the blood of innumerable martyrs and untold sufferings of many. This cannot go in vain. To the patriots, the word, Bangladesh, is synonymous with promises, dreams, hopes and aspirations. But, have they been accomplished? After 40 years of that decisive victory against the enemy, it is time for some self-assessment on our part. The truth is out there. We have stumbled and fallen and raised ourselves again and again all these years, for the spirit, which led us into the War of Liberation, has been an ethos we have never let go of. Yes, we have had many bouts of political instability, repeated changes in the political system, and several instances of military and quasi-military rules. And in our long struggle for democracy, we have observed since 1991 successive democratic governments have turned dysfunctional. Obviously, it now becomes our responsibility, moral as well as political, to ensure the kind of governance that will truly reflect the spirit of the 1971 liberation war. It may be an irony that more than four decades after the liberation, we are still emphasising the need to try the war criminals and bring the rest of the assassins of Bangabandhu and the four national leaders in 1975 to justice. Such issues ought to have been resolved long ago. It is time to remind ourselves that unless these nagging issues are resolved to our satisfaction; our sense of triumph will remain incomplete. It is true that we have a large population with a comparatively small landmass, having no natural resources like oil, gold, diamond or other minerals. We have a backdated agro-based economy and enough potential for recurrent natural disasters. We are helpless prey to artificially created floods and droughts directly contributed by our big neighbours. We have other problems too. We are burdened with poverty complemented with social hazards of deep-rooted corruption. In addition there are spills and spoils of regional illegal trades (of drugs, small-arms etc) and cross-border smuggling. We cannot get rid of them in a single swift move. We need to contain, reduce and finally eradicate them to allow our nation to prosper. We have problems of illiteracy, insufficient healthcare system, inefficient government machinery and immoral leaders in society. Our united efforts should now be directed against these factors. It is not the blame-game that will rescue us from the ditch that we are pitted in. It is the cooperation and understanding and relentless efforts towards nurturing democratic practices that will give democracy sustenance. The only viable way to get relief from all the negative situations is to expand and strengthen our educational and technological base and strive for a stronger economy. The vast manpower that we have needs to be turned into 'useful hands,' through imparting practical education, IT training and quality development, instead of keeping them as 'hungry millions.' We should be able to export people useful to the rest of the world and in turn gain economically. The conscientious citizens would always ask whether we have lived up to the dreams of the valiant sons and daughters of the soil who had laid down their lives so that we could have a free country of our own. They dreamt of peace and prosperity, but we are still steeped in chaos and poverty. They aspired after an egalitarian society, which remains a far cry. Political independence can only have a fuller meaning when we come out victorious in our battle against social injustice of every kind. It is sad but true that some Asian countries, which lagged behind us or were at a comparable economic standing with us at the time of our independence, have overtaken us by miles in terms of development. The day should inspire us to strive to bridge the gaps with those countries. To make this happen, we need matured leadership; we need galvanisation of the people's power. We remember the martyrs of 1971 with a deep sense of gratitude and believe that the best way to pay back their debt is to translate their still unmet aspirations into reality. The writer can be reached at email: shahidbpc@gmail.com