Development in our country has not been stagnant. It has been fifty years since we gained independence, and during this time, our per capita income and average life expectancy have increased. Electricity has also reached even remote villages, and we are close to achieving self-sufficiency in food production. Gone are the days of threadbare clothing, as countless buildings now dot the landscape and vehicles ply the roads. Girls are receiving an education and excelling in various professions. Our people have spread across the globe, earning a reputation for their hard work.
But that’s the only problem. All development is taking place along capitalist lines. It is not that no development was made during the Pakistan era; it did develop. However, the character of the development seemed capitalist. Therefore, the more development that was made, the more discrimination increased. The rise of regional discrimination was mainly visible, and class discrimination was also increasing inside, although it didn't appear in the key form at that time. The development of independent Bangladesh is of the same character.
Earlier, the internal gap between West Pakistan and East Pakistan was discernible, but it is no longer visible now, even though it still exists. Under the steamroller of development, a small group of indigenous ethnicities is being uprooted from the land they have been living on for generations, turning them into refugees - refugees in their own country.
And whether class discrimination will decrease, it is growing by leaps and bounds along with development, without any interruption. Another aspect of this kind of development is animosity towards nature. Nature is being disrupted by the axe of development, and pollution in river water has increased. The influential quarters have taken over the rivers, and air pollution has seen a pickup. Air pollution in the capital, Dhaka, has now reached three times the tolerable level. The city is now one of the worst in the world in terms of liveability. Deforestation for development is not only a phenomenon but also a symbol of development.
It may sound unbelievable now, but an initiative was taken to build an auditorium by cutting down all the trees in a garden that survived in a short space in Dhaka's Gulistan area. It was saved by public opinion. Twenty-one years later, in exactly the same way, an axe fell on the trees in Suhrawardy Udyan. The benefits and uses of plants need not be explained in detail; it is known to everyone, but we have to learn that again when we are in danger. This is the real character of this particular type of development.
A surreal step was being taken to destroy the Arial Beel and build an airport there by singing the songs of development. The trees of Osmani Udyan have somehow survived, and the trees of Suhrawardy Udyan also seem to survive for now. It's the same cause: public opinion. Arial Beel also survived as the public opposed it. The initiative of building a modern facility jeopardizing Lalon Akhra in Kushtia could not be resisted as it was difficult to build local public opinion.
The ongoing efforts to cause permanent damage to the Sundarbans for the sake of development cannot be stopped, despite the efforts of conscious people, it has not been possible to make an impact on public opinion. In fact, it is difficult to create public opinion where the state itself is an opponent. The media is not cooperating either, maybe for greed and fear. The World Press Freedom Day is observed every year, and a list of the countries is published based on the state of press freedom. It appears that Bangladesh's position continues to decline, and out of 180 countries, Bangladesh has reached 152nd. No one can provide any hope that this descent will stop.
Many daredevils post statuses on Facebook, and some fall into the clutches of the Digital Security Act. Fear has become a major obstacle to freedom of expression. Fear grips from within; muffles the voices and cools the blood. There is a fear that some pro-government supporters will kindly go to the police station and file a complaint. If that happens, not only a defamation case will be pending, but serious charges of treason may also be framed. It is not negligible that those who spoke against the tree-cutting crusade in Suhrawardy Udyan were labelled anti-liberation war spirits by the honourable minister of the Ministry of Liberation War.
In the government's eyes, if the patriotism of citizens is contrary to the spirit of the liberation war, then where will patriotism go to save its own life, to which court? How can public opinion be created to back any courage in favour of patriotism? The honourable minister mentioned that the present garden (Suhrawardy Udyan) used to be a racecourse, but he did not recall how much interest Bangabandhu had in converting the racecourse into a park. The Ministry of Liberation War took an axe to cut down the trees, 50 of which were planted by the orders of Bangabandhu. Was Bangabandhu himself against the spirit of the Liberation War, or has he become so now?
Who is the artisan behind all of this development that took place in Bangladesh? The artisan is labour—the hard work of the working class. They work tirelessly in the country's factories and agriculture, bringing money from abroad by selling their labour. Those, who became rich, were not in a race of giving labour, they were busy with how they become wealthy as quickly as possible as anyone else. The competition is not about investment.
After December 16, 1971, most of the factories that existed were taken into state ownership, and there was no alternative way forward. But most of those, who were deputed there to operate them, were not qualified. They had no interest in running them. Many of them bagged the posts by climbing the ladder of party loyalty. Mismanagement and looting started. While all the industries were profitable during the Pakistan period, they all quickly turned into loss-making establishments during the Bangladesh period. Many were laid off. Thus, the transfer to private ownership began. Employment did not increase. Those who contributed to the development--beautiful on the outside but empty on the inside, did not receive even the slightest part of it. The plight of workers in the industrial sector is reflected in the news of the death of 1,318 workers and hundreds of thousands of injured workers in an accident at the Rana Plaza garment factory.
This picture also is not telling the whole truth. In order to get the real picture, another incident has to be taken into consideration. Seven workers died and an unknown number of workers were injured in police firing at an under-construction power plant in Chattogram's Banshkhali. The workers gathered together for their due wages and they demanded an eight-hour workday instead of a ten-hour workday during the month of Ramadan. Needless to say, the workers did not carry any weapons with them, they did not vandalise, and they didn't engage in any illegal activity. But the local police fired indiscriminately to scatter the workers on behalf of the owner. Not only that but those who were the victims of police firing were also accused in the case filed by the police. Their condition seems they escaped to survive. If you want to live, do you have to run away?
Emeritus Professor, University of Dhaka
END/TDM/EHM
