Bangladesh on the peace index

With the Institute for Economics and Peace now informing us that on the Global Peace Index 2014 Bangladesh ranks 98 among 162 nations, we remember the essentially pacific nature of our people and our society that has shaped our heritage.

There can hardly be any denying the truth that politics in Bangladesh has over the last many years been of a volatile nature. The reasons are, of course, those that are known to all of us here and to people abroad. But go beyond politics, to the very roots of our tradition. And what is unmistakable about those roots is that they have consistently upheld a caring, orderly and forward-looking society in our fundamentally pastoral existence over a long stretch of time. It is only natural, therefore, that despite the upheavals in our lives there has always been a spirit of resilience among our people. They wish for nothing more than to be given a chance to pursue the kind of peaceful existence they generally have.

The GPI ranking surely will act as a spur to our continued efforts to build a peaceful, egalitarian society for ourselves. It should specifically be for our political classes, on all sides of the spectrum, to take the index into consideration and reconsider their priorities. The GPI ranking, if anything, is an argument for better politics. 

All said and done, the GPI ranking makes us happy. But let us not be complacent about it. We need to move further up from our 98th position.