People's Democracy & Good Governance

A Man Who Dared To Dream : Bangabondhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

2010-06-23T03:08:00.001-07:00

An Analysis By Dr.Touhid Muhammad Faisal Kamal
President :Father of the Nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Research Center Executive Committee

Some of the biographers of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman have said that he was the most astonishing and much talked about leader in South East Asia. In an age of military coup d'etat he attained power through elections and mass upsurge; in an age of decline of democracy he firmly established democracy in one of the countries of Asia and in an age of "Strong Men" he spurned the opportunity of becoming a dictator and instead chose to become the elected Prime Minister. The way he turned a nonviolent non-cooperation movement of unarmed masses into an armed struggle that successfully brought into reality the liberation of a new nation and the creation of a new state in barely ten months will remain a wonder of history.
In the year of 1971,March 7th was a day of supreme test in his life. The leaders of the military junta of Pakistan were on that day eagerly waiting to trap him. A contingent of heavily armed Pakistani troops was poised near the Suhrawardy Uddyan to wait for an order to start massacre the people on the plea of suppressing a revolt that Bangabandhu was about to declare against Pakistan at the meeting he was going to address there.
In fact, the entire Bangladesh was then in a state of revolt. The sudden postponement of the scheduled session of the newly elected National Assembly and the reluctance of the military leaders to transfer power to the elected representatives of the people had driven the people to desperation and they were seeking the opportunity to break away from the Pakistani colonial rule. Nearly two million freedom-loving people who assembled at the Suhrawardy Uddyan that day had but one wish, only one demand : "Bangabandhu, declare independence; give us the command for the battle for national liberation."
The Father of the Nation spoke in a calm and restrained language. It was more like a sacred hymn than a speech spellbinding two million people. His historic declaration in the meeting on that day was : "Our struggle this time is for freedom. Our struggle this time is for independence". This was the declaration of independence for Bangladeshis, for their liberation struggle. But he did not give the Pakistani military rulers the opportunity to use their arms. He foiled their carefully laid scheme. In the same speech he took care to put forward four proposals for the solution of the problem in a constitutional way and kept the door open for negotiations.
He was taller than the average Bangalee, had the same dark complexion and spoke in a vibrant voice. But what special power gave him the magnetic qualities of drawing a mass of seventy-five million people to him? This question stirred the minds of many people at home and abroad. He was not educated abroad nor was he born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Yet he was as dear to the educated Bangladeshi compatriots as to the illiterate and half-educated masses. He inspired the intelligentsia and the working classes alike. He did not climb to leadership overnight. It has been a slow and steady process. He attained his enviable eminence the hard way. He began as an humble worker at the bottom rung. He arduously climbed to the position of a national leader and rose to the very pinnacle as the Father of the Nation.
He was born in a middle class Bangalee family and his political leadership arose out of the aims and aspirations of the ordinary Bangalee. He was inseparably linked with the hopes and aspirations, the joys and sorrows, the travails and triumphs of these ordinary people. He spoke their language. He gave voice to their hopes and aspirations. Year after year he spent the best days of his youth behind the prison bars. That is why his power was the power of the people.
Whoever has once come in contact with him has admitted that his personality, a mingling of gentle and stern qualities, had an uncanny magical attraction. He is as simple as a child yet unbending in courage; as strong as steel when necessary. Coupled with this was his incomparable strength of mind and steadfast devotion to his own ideals. He was a nationalist in character, a democrat in behavior, a socialist in belief and a secularist by conviction.
Bangabandbu had to move forward step by step in his struggle. He had to change the tactics and the slogans of the movement several times. It can thus be said that though the period of direct struggle for freedom was only nine months, the indirect period of this struggle spread over 25 years. This 25-year period can be divided into several stages. These are : (a) organizational stage of the democratic movement; (b) movement against BPC or Basic Principles Committee's report; (c) language movement; (d) forging of electoral unity and the victory of the democratic United Front; (e) military rule; (f) movement against the military rule; (g) movement for autonomy; (h) the historic Six-Point movement; (i) electoral victory and the non-cooperation movement; and j) armed liberation struggle.
Bangabandhu has been closely associated with every phase of this 25-year long struggle for freedom and independence. Bangladesh and Bangabandhu have, therefore, become inseparable. We cannot speak of one without the other.
While still adolescent, he took his first political lesson from Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy, a leading political personality of the then Bangladesh . It was in Faridpur that Young Suhrawardy and adolescent Sheikh Mujib came to know each other. Both of them were attracted to each other from that first acquaintance. Adolescent Mujib grew up under the gathering gloom of the storm-tossed politics of the sub-continent and the Second World War. He witnessed the ravages of war and the stark realities of the 1943 famine and the epidemics in which about five million people lost their lives. The miserable plight of the people under colonial rule turned him into a rebel.
He passed his matriculation examination in 1942. His studies had been interrupted for about four years due to an attack of beriberi. He got acquainted with the revolutionary activities of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose during the Hallwell Monument movement in Calcutta . Suhrawardy's staunchly logical approach and Subhash Bose's spirit of dedication influenced him immensely. He was influenced by another great leader, "Sher-e-Bangla" A.K. Fazlul Huq and his political philosophy of the plain fare ("dal-bhat") for all. At that very early stage he realised that in a poor exploited country political programmes must be complimentary to economic programmes.
He completed his college education in Calcutta . His sojourn to the prisons began in his teens. He first spent six days in a prison for participating in a political movement. While he was a student in Calcutta , he moved the natural eddies of the political movements of the subcontinent and got himself associated with the Muslim League and the Pakistan movement. But soon after the creation of Pakistan and the partition of Bengal in 1947, he realised that his people had not attained real independence. What had happened was a change of masters. Bangladesh would have to make preparations for independence movement a second time.
He graduated in the same year and came to develop a deep acquaintance with the works of Bernard Shaw. Karl Marx and Rabindranath Tagore. The horizon of his thought process began to expand from that time. He realised that Bangladesh was a geographical unit and its geographical nationalism was separate; its economic, political and cultural characters were also completely different from those of the western part of Pakistan . Over and above, linguistic differences and a physical distance of about 1,500 miles between them made the two parts of Pakistan totally separate from each other.
He could, therefore, realize that by keeping the two areas under the forced bonds of one state structure in the name of religious nationalism, rigid political control and economic exploitation would be perpetrated on the eastern part. This would come as a matter of course because the central capital and the economic and military headquarters of Pakistan had all been set up in the western part.
The new realization and political thinking took roots in his mind as early as 1948. He was then a student in the Law faculty of Dhaka University . A movement was launched that very year on the demand to make Bengali one of the state languages of Pakistan . In fact, this movement can be termed as the first stirrings of the movement of an independent Bangladesh . This demand for cultural freedom gradually led to the demand for national independence. During that language movement, Bangabandhu was arrested on March 11, 1948. During the blood-drenched language movement of 1952 also he was pushed behind the bars and took up leadership of the movement from inside the jail.
Bangabandhu was also in the forefront of the movement against the killing of policemen by the army in Dhaka in 1948. He was imprisoned for lending his support to the strike movement of the lower grade employees of Dhaka University . He was expelled from the University even before he came out of the prison.
In 1950, Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan of Pakistan announced the Basic Principles Committee's report for framing a constitution. This report manipulated to turn the majority of Bangladesh into a minority through subterfuges, and to make Urdu the state language. There was a spontaneous countrywide upsurge in Bangladesh against this report and the Bangabandhu was at its forefront.
Bangabandhu was elected Joint Secretary of the newly formed political organization, the Awami League. Previously he had been the leader of the progressive students' organization, the Chhatra League. In 1953 he was elected General Secretary of the Awami League.
Elections to the then Provincial Assembly of Bangladesh was held in 1954. A democratic electoral alliance-the United Front-against the ruling Muslim League was forged during that election. The 21 -point demand of the United Front included full regional autonomy for Bangladesh and making of Bengali one of the state languages.
The United Front won the elections on the basis of the 21 -point programme and Bangabandhu was elected member of the Provincial Assembly. He joined the Huq Cabinet of the United Front as its youngest Minister. The anti-people ruling clique of Pakistan dissolved this Cabinet soon and the Bangabandhu was thrown into prison.
In 1955 he was elected member of the second Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. He was again appointed a Minister when the Awami League formed the Provincial Cabinet in 1956. But he voluntarily left the Cabinet in July 1957 in order to devote himself fully to the task of reorganizing the party.
General Ayub Khan staged a military coup in Pakistan in 1958 and the Bangabandhu was arrested on various charges and innumerable cases were framed against him. He got back his freedom after 14 months of solitary confinement but was re-arrested in February 1962.
THE AWAMI LEAGUEThe Bangabandhu revived the Awami League after the death of Mr. H.S. Suhrawardy in 1963. By that time the military Junta had lifted the ban on political parties. Thus the Awami League began its constitutional struggle under the leadership of the Bangabandhu to realize the demand for self-determination of the Bangalees.
The Bangabandhu placed his historic Six-Point programme at a political conference in Lahore in 1966. This programme called for a federal state structure for Pakistan and full autonomy for Bangladesh with a parliamentary democratic system. The Six- Point programme became so popular in a short while that it was turned into the Charter of Freedom for the Bangladeshis or their Magna Carta. The Army Junta of Pakistan threatened to use the language of weapons against the Six-Point movement and the Bangabandhu was arrested under the Defence Rules on May 8, 1966. The powerful mass upsurge that burst forth throughout Bangladesh in protest against this arrest of the Bangabandhu came to be known as June Movement.
On June 17, 1968 he was removed from Dhaka Central Jail to Kurmitola Cantonment and was charged with conspiring to make Bangladesh independent with the help of India . This case is known as the Agartala Conspiracy case. He was the No. 1 accused in the case. While the trial was in progress in the court of a military tribunal the administration of the military junta collapsed as a consequence of a great mass upsurge in Bangladesh at the beginning of 1969.
As a result, he was released together with all the other co-accused. The case was withdrawn and the Bangabandhu was invited to a Round Table Conference at the capital of Pakistan . At this conference President Ayub Khan requested Bangabandhu to accept the Prime Ministership of Pakistan. Bangabandhu rejected the offer and remained firm in his demand for the acceptance of his Six-Point programme.
President Ayub Khan stepped down from power on March 25, 1969 and General Yahya Khan took over the leadership of the army junta, Apprehending a new movement in Bangladesh he promised to re-establish democratic rule in Pakistan and made arrangements for holding the first general elections in December, 1970. Under the leadership of the Bangabandhu. the Awami League won an absolute majority in the elections. The military junta was unnerved by the results of the elections. The conspiracy then started to prevent the transfer of power. The session of the newly elected National Assembly was scheduled for March 3, 1971. By an order on March 1, General Yahya postponed this session.
It acted like a spark to the powder keg; entire Bangladesh burst into flames of political upheaval. The historic non-cooperation movement began. For all practical purposes Bangabandhu took over the civil -administration of Bangladesh . The military junta however began to increase the strength of its armed forces in Bangladesh secretly and to kill innocent Bangalees at different places.
Yahya Khan came to Dhaka by the middle of March to have talks with Bangabandhu. Mr. Zulflqar Ali Bhutto and other leaders also came a few days later. When everybody was feeling that the talks were going to be successful Yahya Khan stealthily left Dhaka in the evening of March 25. The barbarous genocide throughout Bangladesh began from that midnight.
Bangabandhu was arrested at midnight of March 25 and was flown to the western wing. But before he was arrested, he formally declared independence of Bangladesh and issued instructions to all Bangladeshis, including those in the armed forces and in the police to take up arms to drive out the Pakistani occupation forces.
For ten long months from March 1971 to January 1972 Bangabandhu was confined in a death-cell in the Pakistani prison. His countrymen did not even know if he was dead or alive. Still, stirred by his inspiration, the nation threw itself heart and soul into the hick of the liberation war and by the middle of December the whole of Bangladesh was cleared of the occupation forces.
Freed from the Pakistani prison, the Bangabandhu came back home on January 10, 1972 and stepped down from the Presidentship and took up the responsibility as the Prime Minister of independent Bangladesh on 12 January 1972. Immediately he took steps for the formulation of the Constitution of the country and to place it before the Constituent Assembly. After the passage of the Constitution on 4 November 1972, his party won an overwhelming majority in the elections held on 7 March 1973 and took up the responsibility of running the administration of the country for another five-year term. After the fourth amendment of the constitution on 25 January 1975 (changing the form of Government from the Parliamentary to the Presidential system), the Bangabandhu entered upon the office of the President of Bangladesh. Within three years of independence he put the war-ravaged country along the path of political stability and economic reconstruction. On 15 August 1975, he along with all the members (excluding two daughters, Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana who were abroad) of his family were brutally assassinated by a splinter group of armed forces.
The Bangabandhu is the Father of the Nation. His state philosophy has four pillars: Nationalism, Democracy, Socialism and Secularism. His foreign policy opened up new horizons of peace, cooperation and non-alignment throughout Asia . He visited many countries of Asia and Europe including China and the Soviet Union . Statesmen of many countries of Asia countries were his personal friends. He was awarded Julio Curie Peace Prize for his being a symbol of world peace and cooperation. In the eyes of the people in the third world, he is the harbinger of peace and development in Asia .
He was the man who dared to dream of the Independence of our mother land, our country Bangladesh.

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The Author is a Free lance writer,ICT Expert & Governance analyst.He has numerous writeup on ICT,Digitalization,Governance issues,he also studies on the Political philosophy of Our National Great Leader BangaBondhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.Presently he is the President of Father of The Nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Research Center(EC Committee).His academic expertise concentrates on Information and Communication Technology & Management Information System. He has completed his Under graduation on Computer Science, he further completed his MBA on Management.He is the youngest Doctorate of Science on ICT of this Sub Continent with Distinction. He may be reached at 01199704595(SMS Preferable) ,email: tmfaisalkamal@gmail.com.

The Author is an ICT Specialist and Governance Analyst; presently he is the President of “Father of the Nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Research Center”, Editor of Good Governance Journal and News Editor of the Monthly ABASHON.
He can be reached at 01199704595.

Digital Bangladesh: A Prime ministers dream Vs Understanding the Present

2009-12-30T23:22:00.000-08:00

Prof. Syed Ahsanul Alam,Chairman-Center for good governance

Ironical to note that the term "Digital Bangladesh" still remains as a misunderstood concept to many. Due to the strong desire of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina the vision has been accepted with interest in the Government, private sector and as well as the politician. If I have not misunderstood Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, by using the term Digital Bangladesh ------- she emphasized on using ICT in Governance and service delivery organs both in the public and private sector.

1. Digital Bangladesh for Coping with globalization

The forces of globalization and technology are continuously reshaping our economy. The impact of information and communication technology (ICT) are giving rise to a new type of economy ---- the knowledge based economy. Technology has had a crucial role in defining today's globalized market structure. In this context, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has given the first step by declaring her vision towards "Digital Bangladesh". Despite the fact that, many still consider this to be the dream of a Prime Minister, while others think the concept is yet vague for consumption of our mass people, yet I believe Bangladesh can make steady stride towards digitalization if guided by strategist capable to formulate short time, midterm & long term planning for the digitalization process. In the light of our previous lesson learnt the concept of "Digital Bangladesh" must be understood clearly, practically and pragmatically in the context of a economy like Bangladesh. It is necessary to mention that in the short run "Digital Bangladesh" aims at E-Governance and service delivery through utilizing ICT. But the vision "Digital Bangladesh" encompasses the whole arena of a knowledge based Digital Economy. Bangladesh can't afford to achieve that goal in the short and medium run. I invite thinkers, technocrats and IT experts to focus on the short run issues and measures the present Government should undertake to digitalize Bangladesh. It is important to start digitalizing service delivery organs like Police, City corporation, Land Department, Tax Department, PDB, Water supply, Gas and other authorities also including sectors like Banking, Insurance, Customs, Tax Collection. Urgent steps should be taken to digitalize institutions like Bangladesh Bank, NBR, PSC, UGC, EC, ACC and other vital institution to go a step ahead towards Good Governance.

2. Phasing out the Digitalization Process

What is important for the planner is the ability to explore all the possibilities of phasing out a digitalization process for Bangladesh. We can share the experience of developing & neighboring countries. India has made giant steps towards acquiring competence in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The success story of the Indian IT industry bears testimony to this. However, technical competence is a pre requisite for digitalization of Bangladesh economy. Everybody knows Information technology reduces costs, saves time, improves efficiency, raises comfort levels and increases the confidence of citizens. Hence, developing countries such as Bangladesh should leverage the power of IT to leapfrog poverty barriers, and promote economic and social development. But we have to keep in mind that technology (ICT) alone won't fix or alleviate economy, nor guarantee dynamic service delivery to citizens. It is important to understand that ICT facilities Good Governance but ICT itself don't guarantee Good Governance.

3. Slow Paced IT revolution and the Digital Divide

Even with the slow paced IT revolution in Bangladesh, around 50% or more of our villages are still without telephones. 75% or more of our population resides in the rural areas and do not have adequate exposure to technology. A vast majority lives below the poverty line and 35% or more are illiterate. Like any other developing country a vast majority of Bangladesh population will be vulnerable to the risk of getting marginalized in the IT revolution. Logically citizens will be getting divided into people who do and people who don't have access to ICT and the capability to use - modern information technology.This divide exists and shall remain to exists between the cities and rural areas, between the rich and the poor, and between the educated and uneducated.

4. Digital Bangladesh - the misconception

Digital Bangladesh does not necessarily mean one man one computer. For the near future neither does it means Internet literacy for 100% population. But it indicates towards networking with all administrative units like, Upazila, Districts and Division. It definitely means bringing more citizens to the Information Highway- giving a bigger mass of the population access to information. Digital Bangladesh should be the first step towards the death of distance particularly for the rural people with the secretariat or any other powerhouse with whom the citizens are involved for Governance.

However we have to keep in mind the following assumption :

i) Bringing 17 crore citizens (approx) on the information high way will not be easy.ii) Bringing whole public sector under a network will not be easy.iii) Bringing economic units of private sector under a common platform will not be easy.The aim of Digitalization in the first phase should be :i) Ensure easier access to government forms and documents by citizens.ii) Ensure submission of applications, forms, and complains electronically.iii) Ensure greater access to information by citizen charter and websites.iv) Ensure University admission process to be digitalized except the admission test.v) Ensure greater connectivity by wireless internet.

5. Digitalization Process - Pin Pointing Priority Sectors

Sustainable progress can be achieved, only if we bring this vast majority of Bangladesh rural people on the information highway, and thus, benefit from the increased productivity that Information and communication technology offers. The anytime-anywhere and death of- distance paradigms of technology will enable better leveraging of scarce resources such as healthcare and education, agriculture and other service delivery organizations.

To create ownership of digital Bangladesh by the general public it should focus in promoting the following broad areas:

i) Health ii) Education, , iii) Agriculture iv) Other Service Delivery Organization

To enhance citizens' participation and promoting accountability , transparency and efficiency in governance process.

i) HealthIn Bangladesh, 51% of the population does not have access to essential drugs. Further, there are only 26 physicians per 100,000 population compared to 279 for US and 162 for China. ICT can help bring medical expertise to Upazilla and District headquarters. Tele-medicine, for instance may link healthcare centers in remote locations, through satellites, with super specialty hospitals at major towns / cities. Thus it can bring connectivity between patients at remote end, with specialist doctors, for medical consultations and treatment. For example a few Health care center in Bangladesh uses tele-medicine to bring health-care facilities from super specialty center abroad.

ii) EducationDistance education has tremendous potential to spread learning in any country. Elearning is a cost-effective way of providing education at a distance. This is especially important considering that around 80% of our illiterate population are from the rural areas. In this context, it is essential that the government, the industry, NGOs and academia forms partnership to accelerate the Digitalization process. Together, they need to create an 'enabling environment' for the proliferation of ICT in Bangladesh. There are some basic steps that Bangladesh needs to foster online education to be offered by Open University and our National University.

iii) AgricultureSince more than half of our population is employed in agriculture, our planner should put ICT to good use in agriculture. For example, India has led the use of remote sensing satellite information for locating irrigation projects. The Internet has been effectively used in some of the villages to ensure effective dissemination of agricultural commodity price information. The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in India has used IT effectively, to enhance competitiveness of the dairy industry and to provide benefits to the rural masses. Towards digital Bangladesh we can use the Indian experience of using ICT in different sectors of the agriculture.

iv) Other Service Delivery OrganizationIn the public sector, ICT can be used for more efficient governance. In a developing country like Bangladesh, there is a significant need for introducing transparency and efficiency in government operations. Through E-governance, the service delivery organization can effectively deliver their service to citizens. By separating the delivery of services from decision-making, the chances of corruption are reduced. Further, E-governance reduces the time in interactions with the government. For instance, The Internet can be used as a cheap communication channel that governments can use to reach out to their citizens and vice versa. For instance, citizens can monitor the progress of various government initiatives online. ICT also enables effective planning. Simulation can be used as a good tool for what-if analysis. It helps the citizens understand the parameters of public systems (over a period of time) like pollution levels, provision of basic infrastructure - schools, water, electricity, health care, commuting times, etc.

6. Increased Connectivity

An important step is to improve connectivity. With a PC density of 2.9 per 1,000 population and a tele-density of 32 fixed lines per 1,000 population, Bangladesh needs to increase penetration in terms of PCs and communication lines. Connectivity options to the rural areas can be improved, by using wireless access. In addition, Cyber cafes in the urban centers and village information kiosks in the rural areas will enhance the IT access throughout the country.
The high cost of IT equipment accessories which acts a barrier towards proliferation of IT access needs to be lowered. Due to high tariff levels, the cost of hardware and software in Bangladesh is significantly higher as compared to the rest of the world. For instance, A PC in Bangladesh costs around 12-15 months of average per-capita income as compared to China's 4 months and USA's 12 days. Hence, we need to reduce the tariff levels of ICT equipment and accessories to bring even a bigger population under Internet coverage.

7. Role of Private Sector

Private companies and NGOs can partner, in order to enhance awareness and utilization of ICT at the grass-roots level. For instance, NGO's can work to bring elementary computer literacy to the people of rural Bangladesh. They can make arrangements so that IT professionals and educators visit rural schools and help students get familiar with technology.In addition, Bangladesh needs an efficient innovation system of industry, science and research centers and universities to create new knowledge and technology. In this regard, we need an effective higher education system that provides specialized training, education and research. 8. The language Divide

We may consider to import simputer without tax from India. Importation of new inventions such as the Simputer can further reduce costs by providing affordable computing. The Simputer was developed by scientists from the Indian Institute of Science, and a software company called Encore. One can get computing facilities at a drastically lower cost as simputer only cost US$150 per piece compared to US$ 400 for a PC. Further, it has a local language interface. This is an instance of how the scientist, academia and industry can collaborate to develop technology to suit a particular economy.Bangladesh has a sizeable population without English literacy. Creating and maintaining locally relevant content in bangla is a challenge. Nevertheless, Bengali language content will make ICT more relevant and accessible to a broader cross-section of the population. Hence, we need to develop applications that support Bengali language. In addition, we need to develop voice applications that will let Bangladesh rural people to communicate with ICT tools using the spoken Bangla.
In Bangladesh IT literacy is critical to ensure that people can derive appropriate benefits from the technology revolution. However, at a more fundamental level, providing basic IT education is the first step towards enabling our people to use ICT. Today, only 55% of the Bangladesh population is literate. Huge subsidies, however, should be given to IT education and ICT literacy programs and not in higher education. In addition, higher education must also function in a free-market environment.

9. The Political Commitment

Our government must take proactive steps to take technology to rural citizens. However our dream towards digital Bangladesh has a long way to go. Digitalization of Bangladesh will depend how best the Government can leverage the power of ICT to increase the access to information of its population.

Author Syed Ahsanul Alam is a Governance analyst, Professor of Marketing at the University of Chittagong and Chairman, Center for Good Governance. He is an Internationally reputed Policy Strategist on Governance. His recent administrative post includes Vice Rector( IIBT) Premier University, Director, Sadharon Bima Corporation., Treasurer. USTC (SWC), Representative of the President,USTC. He lectured widely at variousUniversities at home and abroad and has numerous International publication(See Internet) in his credit.The Author may be reached at Fax : 880-31-2550872,E-mail:professorparvez@gmail.com,Web: www.goodgovernancebd.org

A Cautionary Note to Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

2009-01-07T23:27:00.001-08:00

A Cautionary Note to Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
-Prof. Syed Ahsanul Alam Parvez*

After a landslide victory you are assuming the premiership of Bangladesh when the world is facing one of the worst recession of contemporary history. There are good reasons to believe that Bangladesh will face the trauma of the global recession by late 2009. The have-nots and the poor people of our country will not be able to bear it. So you have no option but to be proactive and act in time to surprise the world. Your and our creator gave you a lifetime chance to write your name in gold as the world's most benevolent lady prime minister by turning Bangladesh to a middle income country during your office this time as prime minister. You have to address the issue of income distribution and social justice in our country very thoughtfully. You should be the first Prime minister of Bangladesh with the aim of raising awareness and creating framings and visions that promote equal dignity for all citizens in the country you govern.

Premier Sheikh Hasina:
I hope you will share with my concept- "Road map to good governance- The Nine-I model" (see http://www.goodgovernancebd.org/ for details) for building a democratic society ensuring good governance. However political democracy rests on economic democracy, and economic democracy assumes a social order that provides equal opportunity for every member of the society to become economically self-sufficient and free from the dominance of some who control their subsistence in today's world.

I am confident you will share the ideology of "the equitable distribution of wealth." The key to economic self-sufficiency is growing the productiveness of the economy in such a way that lifts artificial barriers to equal access to those social institutions (e.g. Capital, credit) that determine who will become empowered as future capital owners. In Bangladesh only then can today's property less citizens receive just share of their capital assets as well as wages for their work to meet their economic needs and develop to the fullest extent of their human capacities.
You have no time to rest but to move forward with your supporters as well as the supporters of Begum Zia, because at least 10- 12% of her supporters trusted you in this election for at least two reasons.

1. In view of many, the former prime minister wanted to salvage the "Maha Chors" and political cronies of her party which seemed like she wanted to present the nation a reign of corrupts and extremists. A political blunder on the part of an experienced former prime minister.

2. According to her critics, Begum Zia, during her honeymoon with "Razakars", "Al-Badars", and "Al-Shams" not only distributed political sweets but also distributed our national flag to them which was earned with the sacrifice of millions. The new generation voters expressed sharp reaction in this election by rejecting the collaborators of the genocide in 1971.

Honorable Prime minister:
The world changed a lot. I know that now you know it better than anyone that you have to cope with international diplomacy of the world politics. Global circumstances cannot be ignored. See Barack Obama meticulously organized his team to salvage the sinking US economy and bring the change for which he is elected to his office.
You should meticulously arrange and rearrange the medium sized cabinet which you can gradually expand evaluating the performance of the cabinet members. You can throw out the bad performers after six months if they fail to give us good governance for which the country paid heavily last two years in both economic and political terms. If the credibility of any of your ministers are questionable or if anyone of them were convicted or corrupt at least by perception, kindly throw them out as soon as the first evidential complain against them reaches you. Congratulations for bringing new faces as ministers and junior ministers, thus creating a space for new leadership in your party.

Madam Prime minister:
Can you consider of giving some lessons to your cabinet crews so that they see how ministers in other democratic countries behave. Kindly arrange some cultural training for your ministers so that they can think, talk and act democratically.
People of Bangladesh no more wants to see vehicles carrying national flags in fish markets, marriage ceremonies, birthday parties, "gaye holuds", clubs or community centers. Please teach them that, this is how they create a distance with their electoral and ensure confirm defeat in the future elections. There is a dogma in Bangla that "joto mantri toto porajoy." Please instruct them not to irritate citizens with sirens and police men to demonstrate the presence of a minister. Ministers should limit themselves in using national flags in official business only and use sirens only while rushing to the airport or the parliament or any other urgency. In this way people will not hate them but will talk to them with open minds, irrespective of political identity. This approach will make them accountable to the people from all walks of life present in different social programs. This will pave the path towards a new accountable political culture.

Madam PM--- Media is your friend not foe:
We have a very strong vibrant media now to act as a watchdog against misrule and misgovernance and corruption. Our media has always played an admirable role to see a truly participatory and functioning democracy in the country where hopes, aspirations and will of the people will prevail and not trampled by elected despotic and authoritarian rule. Kindly instruct your ministers not to waste time by countering the media. The media cannot bring down any government. The media can only inform the government in advance that the voters will bring them down in the next election. Unfortunately some politicians always failed to receive the media message until they miserably fail in elections. The ministers should correct themselves seeing the public reactions in the mirror of the media.

Madam PM-- Give target to Bangladesh diplomatic missions abroad:
To combat the global recession you have to increase the flow of foreign remittance which is presently in the decrease.
Please double the target of manpower export from Bangladesh to the countries that require skilled or semi-skilled manpower from Bangladesh. Let our ambassadors know that you will call them back if they fail to fulfill the new target of manpower export. Instruct them to explore new markets and also to create demand for our manpower in the countries already importing manpower from us. They should perform just like bank managers or have to come back home to do some other job. This is how you can fulfill your election pledge to create one job each house. Also remittances will show an uptrend and will give us a better position to combat the global recession.

Madam PM-- Form Council of experts with people who wants to volunteer:
Many experts from different subject matters do neither want to become minister nor get other government facilities in lieu of their service to develop the economy and governance. They only need your patronization to render service to develop different sectors to take the country ahead. There is no harm if you consider council of experts in different fields like 1.Governance, 2.Trade and commerce, 3.Banking, 4.Insurance, 5.Exploring new markets for manpower exports, 6.Employment creation, 7.Regulating price, and 8.Monitoring law and order, etc. These councils will submit reports to you every three months to assist you to call the respective ministers for a brainstorm towards policy decisions. This will help you to remain well informed and will also stop the ministers from going in the wrong direction.

Beware of Cars without number plate and MP's without tin numbers:
Will your government allow anybody to drive vehicles without a number plate? Your voters are eager to see whether you will allow MP's and ministers without tin number to run the country. Please don't allow tax evaders to handle the money of the tax payers. Give two options to the MP's without tin number which are- 1. They should rush to the NBR to get a number or 2. Quit from the government headed by the daughter of Bangabandhu. If mistakenly anybody without a tin number is sworn as a minister, instruct him to quit as he will be a glaring example for citizens not to pay tax.

Beware of Isolation syndrome:
Madam prime minister, may I draw your kind attention to the historical fact that some viruses in the civil-military bureaucracy and political nexus infect the prime ministers to develop a disease termed "Isolation Syndrome." The disease becomes chronic when political cronies build air tight, air con compartments for the Prime minister, creating a No way to talk—No way to write—No way to reach situations. Due to Isolation syndrome Prime ministers can't hear the people—can't read the mind of their people. The voters can only see their Prime minister in small T.V. screens. No wonder everybody understands the gravity of security threats for any prime minister, especially security threats for the daughter of the father of the nation. But at least fix a fax or e-mail for complains to reach you, which you can see during your breakfast. I am confident everybody responsible for governance will be highly alert.

When I was writing this open letter from the University of Chittagong, you were busy taking oath. I was overwhelmed with millions of other democracy loving people of Bangladesh to see a group of clean people (perceived) as cabinet ministers. Once again Congratulations Prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

Sincerely yours,
Prof. Syed Ahsanul Alam Parvez

*Author Syed Ahsanul Alam is a Governance Analyst, Associate Professor at the University of Chittagong, Bangladesh and Chairman-Center for Good Governance. His recent administrative post includes Vice rector- Premier University, Director-S.B Corporation (Sadharon Bima Corp), Treasurer-USTC (SWC), Representative of the President, USTC. He lectured widely at various business schools including University of Science and Technology, Open University, ABAC Thailand and also in Singapore. Rotarian Syed Ahsanul Alam is a well known Academician, Institution Building Personality and Activist for Good Governance. The Author may be reached at Cell: 880-1711 748 748, Fax: 880-31-2550872, E-mail: professorparvez@gmail.com, http://www.goodgovernancebd.org/.

2008-06-27T10:23:00.000-07:00

No Democracy – No Governance
By:Prof.Syed Ahsanul Alam
Information highway has integrated the world in such a way that economy and business have become borderless. Existing governance skills and knowledge becomes absolete quickly, specially in the absence of e-governance. For economic development and to maintain competitive edge with the global changes, governance reform including e-governances should be the top priority to design the future of Bangladesh.

1. No democracy No Governance: Human rights associates once stated in its report that, “Democracy is based on two core principles; Participation and accountability”. Therefore in the light of above observation when there is less or absolutely no democratic prevalence in a nation that mean there is leakage or loopholes in government as well. So the scientific formula is no democracy no governance.
2. Reforms for Good governance in Bangladesh: Every citizen wants democracy and development. For independence and democracy thousands of lives have been sacrificed. Only independence was won but rule of law, good governance is still a far cry. A corrupt syndicate created a vicious cycle of exploitation and as axis of violent politics & mis-governance. But good governance is the precondition for any economic development & stability. Therefore, to restore democracy for common man and not for the large favorite kitchen cabinet, also to serve the mandate of the common people of Bangladesh Govt. and opposition are liable to work as a joint venture in this regard, as no one would come from outside to resolve our national issues. Now there is a dire need of progressive, promoting and positive reforms not words in the national interest of Bangladesh.
3. Good Governance: A pre-condition for economic growth. It seems a profound systematic reform in governance, development and management of all Bangladesh government activities including constitutional matrix, economic, education, trade, tax and privatization elements are absolutely necessary. Lot of blood has been shed, yet the aspiration of independence is not fulfilled. People of Bangladesh had already suffered much military cum political corruption for more that three decades. For how many more years do they have to cry for good life & good governance? For the last 35 years, we have seen the changes in political leadership and government. A number of political programme have been taken for socio-economic developments, poverty elimination, pollution and population control, drugs, violence and crime control. Yet there are some questions that need to be addressed with the perspective of Bangladesh politics and governance system.
4. Proposed Governance Reform: The competition of survival in the 21st century is expected to increase over time. To meet the increasing global challenges of competitions & the quality of our governance it is crucial to bring change promptly and effectively. In this regard I would like to pursue urgent reforms on the following issues:
a) Reform for investment friendly governance.
b) Reform for ending red tapism of the bureaucracy & ensure one stop service for foreign investment.
c) Reform for more efficient BOI to analyze & attract foreign investment promptly to protect national interest.
d) Reform law to control extortion & corruption.
e) Reform law to established e-governance within the first three years of the next government.
f) Introduce the ombudsman system including the law, tax, bank, police and administrative ombudsman.
g) Reform legal system & separate judiciary executive organ.

If our Government is courageous enough, it could take a move for comprehensive governance reforms. It can make a breakthrough for a sustainable development of future Bangladesh. It is possible that the curses of violence, corruption, bribery and mis-management can be eliminated through these reforms.

5. Election 2007: Will people’s aspiration come true? The 9th parliamentary election may be an opportune moment which the citizens may skillfully utilize towards good governance by ensuring that honest, apt and patriotic people gets the leadership to overcome governance crisis. Citizens are not merely the passive voters; they are also active citizens and above all “the owner of the country”. They don’t want “democracy for the party,” They don’t want “government for the party”. But they want “government of the people, by the people and for the people”.

Although the people are electing representative for the parliament, one can examine the kind of political system in which the MPs are elected & operating inside & outside the parliament. One thing we have to remember, our elected representative are operating in state machinery inherited from the British & Pakistani Colonial rulers. For good governance & rule of law we have to give serious thought to establish democratic institution & also strengthening the existing weak institutions which are gradually failing to act as a backbone of a democratic society. Reforms are required that would help uninterrupted economic growth & development – development which will meet the needs of common people. The common people do not want to hear assurances of false hopes any more; they want to get the benefit of democracy & fruit of good governance. Today they want skills, knowledge and expertise of their leaders. They want to have special breed of people who can significantly change their lives and set them up on a footing so that they can compete with people from any other part of the world.

The current speed of the problem solving approaches and the attitude of the political leadership to address good governance issue are hopeless. With the increasing rate of the governance crisis & problems arising thereto, we have to decide to solve national issues keeping national interest above party interest & thus remove the road block to the development of a potential country like Bangladesh. Because as the owner of the country the citizens of Bangladesh deserve the fruit of democracy & has the right to have a good quality life in a peoples republic in a true sense.

The Author Syed Ahsanul Alam is an Associate Professor of Marketing, University of Chittagong and Charman, Center for Good Governance & Former Vice-Rector-IIBT, Premier University.
E-mail: goodgovernancebd@gmail.com
Fax: 880-31-2550872