Alaul Alam :
We achieved victory on the 16th December in 1971 through the sacrifice of thousands of lives. In the nine-month long war the Pakistani occupation forces along with their local collaborators killed three million people and disrespected five lakh women. Thousands of houses were burnt, belongings of the people were looted indiscriminately and thousands of hectares of corn fields were destroyed. There is hardly any country in the world which faced such a bloody war to liberate their motherland.
The nine-month long war broke the country’s economy completely. The people of the war-torn country lost all the means to survive but they had a strong morale as they had Bangabandh, one of the greatest leaders of the world. Bangabandhu set all the pragmatic initiatives to change the lots of his countrymen. He always dreamed of making ‘Sonar Bangla’. But his dream of making ‘Sonar Bangla’ did not come true as the Pakistani collaborators even in the independent country again conspired and assassinated Bangabandhu and most of his family members brutally. The miscreants wanted to destroy the ideology of our great leader to halt the prosperity of the country.
Bangabandhu was the great spirit of the freedom-loving people. His political ideology with a clear vision made him an outstanding humane leader in the world. He was able to unite all the people under a single platform with a mission to liberate the nation. He was such a great leader who was able to stir everyone’s heart with the spirit of liberation.
The ideology of Bangabandhu has been an instance to the world leaders. Bangladesh is advancing smoothly as the present government cherishes the dreams of our great leader at heart. The country has seen a remarkable advancement in every sector. It has been recognized as the role model of development in the world.
Not only that, it has achieved the final recommendation from the UN Committee to be graduated from the least developed country to a developing one by 2026 or some earlier. The government spearheaded by the honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been implementing a perspective plan 2021-2041 to become a developed country in line with Vision 2041.Certainly, our progress is worth mentioning compared with many countries.
To ensure sustainable progress of the country it is very important for us to be ignited with the spirit of liberation war. But the question is pertinent to raise; how much we are aware of the spirit of the liberation war? What percent of our youths carry the value of our liberation war? Obviously, many are indifferent to the glorious history of the country.
It is noticed that most of the youth forces are not being guided with the spirit of liberation war. I do not think so that they should be held responsible for this. It is time to think; how far we have been able to cope ourselves with the true spirit of our liberation war? In many cases, our activities are questionable and we hardly try to remember what we have learned from our great liberation war.
Every year on 16 December discussions, meetings, seminars, and symposiums are held at different places across the country. Special discussions are also arranged at educational institutions to fill the hearts of the youths with patriotic zeal and spirit of our liberation war.
But our existing social practices hardly convey the correct messages to the young generation. Malpractices, discrimination, corruption and many forms of unsystematic practices have been the frequent issues in the society. Many unpatriotic people holding influential positions are doing many unwise things to gain their personal interest. The national interest is completely violated by many corrupted people leading the society and country.
Even in the twenty first century women hardly see their safety outside of their houses. Certainly, the government is doing much to empower women but male dominating attitudes still pervade in the minds of many despite our huge advancement in knowledge and technology. Youths are our culture and tradition exposers but if we send wrong messages through doing unjust works, they will be influenced by these.
Different times the mentors of every society emphasize the spirit of liberation war but how far they own the spirt at their heart. The activities of many do not confirm that they are deeply rooted on the spirt of our liberation war. Most of the leaders of the country are found disunited with the country’s interest and they are busy with counting their own benefits ignoring the rights of the common people. They blame and humiliate one another. There is a dearth of sense of mutual respect these days.
Our society, teachers and mentors of the communities are continuously blaming the youths that they are devoid of moral values and spirit of the liberation war. But should not we think that how much we are okay in our behavior?
How much we are authentic with our spirit and values exposing publicly? Years back our teachers were the golden people in the country. These days are they really performing wisely with the nation? The answer may be in many cases negative. More often the media exposes the corruption and unethical behaviors of our teachers. The society considers teachers the most respectable people but how far they remain esteemed if they are involved in ignoble activities?
More often different news sources state that vice chancellors of most public universities are involved in unethical practices in the country. A number of allegations including irregularities in recruitment and promotion of teachers and employees and nepotism in providing jobs have been brought against VCs over the years. Not only that, they are allegedly doing misappropriation of university funds and many more unethical practices which expose a severe catastrophe in the academic arena. No doubt, our vice chancellors are honorable but how honorable they are when dreams of the nation are shattered at their hands.
It is worth noticing that students are taught values, asked to be ignited with the spirit of liberation war at their educational institutions. Education on the emergence of Bangladesh is a must for every student. But why they cannot ignite with the spirit and values to become the golden sons and daughters of the country? Teachers can hardly stir the youths with the spirit of liberation war unless they are free from all sorts of evil practices.
However, it is very imperative to stir the youths with the ideology of Bangabandhu and the spirit of liberation war to fulfill the dream of our great leader Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. In the month of victory let’s take an oath to free ourselves from all sort of malpractices and inspire new generations with the spirt of Liberation War.
(Alaul Alam teaches at Prime University. He is also a research scholar at the IBS, Email: [email protected])