Readers’ Voice

The evils of business
syndicate

Adulteration and market manipulation by forming syndicate is a common practice in Bangladesh. Poor and the low income group of people become the most victims of business syndicates. Big business people often create a crisis of an item and then they sell it with increased prices.
When a product’s demand is high among people, the true ethical principle is: profit less but sell more and make a balanced profit. But in Bangladesh it is quite the opposite. During the holy month of Ramzan and Eid festivals, every year consumers witness price rise of essentials contrary to other parts of the world, and this profiteering in Bangladesh is criticised for a long time, but there is no change.
The truth is dishonesty and selfishness rule Bangladesh’s businesses. When you talk about it in protest with businesspeople, business people usually justify their unethical behaviour by concocted lies. They also pertinently point out that if the government can be in power by robbing people’s vote in elections, and bribery and corruption are rampant among people who control the affairs of the state, their profiteering must be overlooked.
Though this is not a valid argument, the truth is if the government itself is not honest, it loses the necessary moral authority over the dishonest businesspeople. In such a scenario, the law cannot be expected to be implanted with its full force. The fact is the rot is everywhere.
Minhajul Abedin
Dhaka, Bangladesh