On 40th Victory Day of Bangladesh, Editorials in Leading Newspapers Give Mixed Verdict on the Country's Progress

"The Ruling Quarters, Irrespective of Their Ideological Inclination and Partisan Affiliation, have Sought to Curtail the People's Democratic Rights"

Following are excerpts from the editorial in New Age:[1]

"As Bangladesh enters into its 40th year of independent existence today, with secular-democratic governance, egalitarian economic order, and cultural freedom of the people still being a remote reality, it should be obvious, especially to those who have not yet lost the ability to distinguish between the smaller gains and the greater causes, that building a nation is more difficult than securing its independence. That Bangladesh took just over 24 years to win her freedom from Pakistan but has not quite developed into the country in line with the guiding principles of her liberation struggle that culminated in nine long months of bloody battle with the occupation forces and their local collaborators certainly corroborates such a conclusion.

"Since the partition of the subcontinent into India and Pakistan in 1947, the ruling class of the latter, based in the then-West Pakistan, had denied the rights of the majority Bangladeshis to rule, thereby undermining and suppressing the very concept of representative democracy. The denial of their political rights was complemented by economic disparity between the west and east wings of the country and economic exploitation by the West Pakistan-based rulers of the people in East Pakistan.

"Worse still, the repressive rulers had been unscrupulous in the use of religion to perpetuate the political denial and economic exploitation of the people in East Pakistan. The guiding principles for the people's political movement and eventually the armed struggle, then, were political freedom, and the predominant aspiration was for a country of secular-democratic political dispensation and egalitarian economic order.

"Regrettably, after nearly four decades of independence, those defining ideals of Bangladesh remain within the realm of unreachable. What is, perhaps, even more regrettable is that the successive governments – elected or unelected, civil or military – seem to have somehow inherited the toxic legacy of the West Pakistan-based rulers and replicated, in style and substance, their way of repressive and exploitative governance. Inherently undemocratic as they are, the ruling quarters, irrespective of their ideological inclination and partisan affiliation, have sought to curtail the people's democratic rights, facilitate concentration of wealth into the hands of a select few, and play the religion card, to varying degrees, to retain or perpetuate control over state power.

"In the course of such a crude power struggle, they have, on the one hand, facilitated rehabilitation and reinforcement of the decidedly anti-independence and religious extremist forces in the political landscape and, on the other, rendered the political process vulnerable to extra-constitutional intervention by the military and quasi-military forces."

"Two Days Before Victory Day, a Piece of Land, Very Well Within Our Territory, Albeit Disputed, was Subjected to Incursion and Occupation by, Ironically, the Border Security Force of India"

"What's worse, the ruling class has not been able to ensure protection of the country's territorial sovereignty. It is shameful that, less than two days before Victory Day, a piece of land, very well within our territory, albeit disputed, was subjected to incursion and occupation by, ironically, the Border Security Force [BSF] of India, a country that extended a helping hand to Bangladesh as she fought for independence in 1971.

"It is not the first time that the BSF stormed into Padua. In 2001, the Indian border guards staged a similar incursion but retreated in the face of resistance by the Bangladesh Rifles. It is a matter of shame that the man who led the resistance was subsequently sacked.

"Overall, the past four decades or so since Bangladesh's independence, the dominant political class, inexorably divided into two camps that have alternated in power, has slowly but surely drifted off the ideals and spirit of the war of independence, and proved that they are incapable of delivering to the people the country that hundreds of thousands of people laid down their lives for. Hence, the emergence of an alternative political force, imbued with patriotism and committed to the ideals of the war of independence, is imperative. The politically conscious and democratically oriented sections of society need to work diligently towards facilitation of the emergence of such a democratic force; that should be their Victory Day resolve."

"The Net Outcome of... Pervasive Infantilism in Politics is that the People are Being Denied Their Right to Lead a Better Life..."

Following are excerpts from the editorial in The Daily Star:[2]

"Today is the 40th anniversary of our victory in the 1971 War of Liberation against the Pakistani occupation army... this day marks the culmination and the ultimate victory of the Bengali people's protracted struggle for emancipation from subjugation and oppression by foreign occupation forces. Through celebration of this day amid much fervor we declare to the whole world how proud we are about our success in vanquishing the enemy of our freedom. But do all our responsibilities towards the nation and its people end with the celebration of the Victory Day?

"How much we remember today with a profound sense of gratitude the contributions of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the other four leaders in making this historic day possible. We recall too, the valiant fight waged by the whole people who turned into soldiers of freedom.

"We recall the neighboring India's generous and unflinching support in sheltering and caring for the millions of refugees who were encamped in the Indian soil. The words of tribute will be incomplete if we do not recognize and reminisce the sacrifices of the Indian army shoulder to shoulder with the Mukti Bahini in the joint force.

"A word of thanks is due to the international community and the media who were a tower of strength at our hour of need. They did a tremendous catalytic job of securing goodwill for Bangladesh's cause for which no word of gratitude would be enough.

"Now, after the triumph of democracy two decades back, people pinned much hope on our politicians, who they expected would rid the nation of the legacy of assassinating our national leaders and liberation heroes, usurpation of state power through extra-constitutional means, and of foisting of dictatorial rulers upon the people. People believed the return of democracy, for which they have been struggling so long both before and after the independence, would now deliver the exploitation-free just society ushering the era of their economic prosperity they had dreamt of.

"If truth be told, much of the dream remains unfulfilled. Unfortunately, after the fall of autocracy and return to democracy, the nation has been witnessing the rise of confrontational politics of the worst kind. The ruling [Awami League] party, rather than taking the opposition into confidence and giving them the necessary space for criticizing the government for its lapses, is forever in its pursuit of bashing and holding it at bay.

"The opposition [Bangladesh Nationalist Party], on the other hand, far from meeting the constituency's expectations, is keeping itself aloof from attending the Jatiya Sangsad, the national parliament, where they might put across their grievances, their opinions about where the government is failing the people and what wrongs it has done to the opposition leaders and activists. Far from that, it is rather busy getting political mileage out of the eviction of the opposition leader from her cantonment residence by a court order. In this case, the opposition leaders and activists are defaulting on the fact that the very spirit of democracy is to abide by the law, which makes no distinction between the big and small, the leader and those led.

"The net outcome of this pervasive infantilism in politics is that the people are being denied their right to lead a better life, the craving for which the victory in the liberation war had instilled into their hearts. It is therefore time that those in power as well as in opposition had an honest soul searching and sorted out all the issues that are coming in the way of national progress, and address those in the revitalized spirit of democracy. And that should be our pledge on this 40th national Victory Day."

"[Bangladesh] has Developed a World-Class Apparel Industry… and Made Giant Strides in Increasing Agricultural Productivity"

Following are excerpts from the editorial in The Financial Express:[3]

"Bangladesh observes today its 40th Victory Day with due fervor and enthusiasm. The people will pay their homage to those valiant sons of the soil whose sacrifice and sufferings made it possible for its triumphant emergence as a sovereign entity in the comity of nations on this day in 1971. The valiant struggle of the freedom fighters against the occupation army of the then Pakistan and their henchmen (collaborators) during the nine-month-long bloody war of independence is a source of inspiration for the entire nation. And the struggle for independence involved a long-run process under the guidance of very matured political leadership. Without such a political leadership, it would have, under no circumstances, been possible to prepare the ground well for people's total involvement, directly or indirectly, in the War of Independence.

"This momentous occasion is also a befitting occasion for the people to take stock of how far this nation of about 150 million people now – then 75 million – has progressed in these last nearly four decades. The period is obviously too small in the infinity of time. But in assessing the ups and downs, rise and fall of nations, this span of forty years is not inconsequential either. Countries and nations at a similar level of economic attainments in the 1970s with what is today's Bangladesh, have become developed or semi-developed nations. But Bangladesh unfortunately continues to lag behind.

"This is not to say that Bangladesh's achievements in many areas, notwithstanding all its adversities, are not mentionable. This country has developed a world-class apparel industry in this period and made giant strides in increasing agricultural productivity to be able to almost feed its entire doubled population. It has had other successes also in social sectors and in building an industrial base for producing many essential consumer as well as intermediate products, and even some capital equipment. It is currently showing promise in new areas like shipbuilding, pharmaceuticals, information technologies (IT) and outsourcing business.

"A number of projections have been made about Bangladesh becoming the next Asian tiger. But those projections are yet to become realities. The current poverty rate of some 40% of its people may lead the newly arrived outsiders to this country into thinking that the fable of Sonar Bangla (Golden Bengal) is possibly a tall tale only. But the ones who know, they know it that Bangladesh has the potential to take its place among the world's major economies, like in the ancient times. This is borne out by a number of recent international rankings exercises. Those have glimpsed such a future or possibility for Bangladesh. But the same would depend entirely on how well the government – and the successive ones – here can truly play the part of a facilitator in support of the dynamic business and entrepreneurial classes which are growing in this country.

"Bangladesh has developed superior entrepreneurial, business, and managerial skills and classes who can be relied on to excel in various forms of enterprising. They are raring to go at top speed but are being held back from governmental failures in supplying them with adequate energy and for infrastructural and institutional weaknesses.

"Once government in Bangladesh starts addressing these factors rapidly and effectively and more importantly the sooner this country can overcome crony syndrome or remove all kleptrocratic trails in its economic governance in particular, it would then likely swiftly move on to a higher growth path, propelled by the real enterprising abilities of its people. Thus, the real challenge for Bangladesh is to have good, effective and visionary governance to prepare for its take-off and to sustain the momentum when it has taken off."