Dhaka University incident
It is sad to see pictures of student led agitations on the streets of Bangladesh. It is sad to read about the incidents of people being killed in violent clashes and public and private property being destroyed as a form of protest. It is even sadder to see teachers jumping on the band-wagon with unruly “students”. It seems even 36 years after independence we are unable to recognise that violence only hurts us as a nation since we are no longer under foreign occupation.
In any civilised country a minor incident where one spectator blocked the view of another during a mere soccer match would not have sparked nationwide violence. The army is partly to blame.
At the same time, the so-called “students” do not have a carte blanche to hit out at law enforcers. Law enforcers are also sons and daughters of the soil and they have a job to do and make a living. They are human beings too and expect to be treated with equal dignity and honour. Just because they may not have had the good fortune to have a higher education does not mean they can be treated as the enemy. It is not only confounding but also utterly shameful that their teachers have used this minor incident to make political demands. Bangladesh is a country of some 150 million people. Most of the teachers and students involved in this incident clearly enjoy a tremendous amount of social privilege by virtue of being the select few that are in our highest seats of publicly funded educational institutions. Imagine what will happen when the student(s) depicted in the newspaper photos as beating up someone in uniform comes to a position of authority himself; (s)he will only know how to be destructive. May be that's what we are seeing today from the so-called student leaders of yester years!
Perhaps as a nation it is time we came to our senses and realised that violence isn't the only way to deal with an issue. Army officers and anyone in a position of authority also have to realise that they have been entrusted with safeguarding our nation in one form or another. By dawning a uniform, they must remind themselves of that solemn vow to protect Bangladesh the vow to protect our people who include people like Choles Ritchil, the rickshaw puller who was killed in these violent incidents, the students who were watching the soccer match and anyone and everyone who is a citizen and a resident of sovereign Bangladesh.
Students have to realise that they are the future of the nation. Instead of arming themselves with brick-bats, they need to arm themselves with knowledge and skill. Instead of learning how to set fire to cars, they must learn how to design and build cars so that one day global automobile manufacturing industry can take a foothold in our country. Students should learn how to strengthen our legal system and our administration so that one day we can be truly independent, instead of having to follow antiquated statutes and rules imposed on us by the British centuries ago. Students must learn how to deal with the healthcare and social needs of an over populated nation how to turn that liability into a powerful asset. Teachers must realise that moral responsibility to guide and mentor their students to build that confidence.
I would like to see exemplary punishment of all those who were responsible for mistreating the students in the first place. I would like to see the immediate expulsion of all students who are judicially proven to have taken the law into their own hands and I would also like to see suspension if not life-time ban of all teachers who misguided their students into turning this into a political protest. Trouble makers have no business in participating in building a better Bangladesh. We are better off without them, especially when we have no shortage of people.
This is a litmus test for the interim government of Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed. We would like to see a fair but stern reaction to this sudden eruption of violence that has posed a national security threat. Do not fail us because if you do, we will very soon revert back to the days of cancerous corruption at every tier of society. More than anything else, we would like to see this interim government succeed in its holy mission of cleansing our society and not allow itself to be sabotaged by this type of incidents.
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I welcome the actions by the CTG and the army for their flexibility and prompt actions after the regrettable DU incident. We need to keep in mind that the incident was prompted by the actions of an individual or few individuals of the army and must not blame the army as an institution. The army has admirably bent backwards in accommodating the students' demands. Prompt actions by the CTG and the army must be appreciated.
Nothing can justify violence and destruction of properties as a means of protest. The government must take any measure needed so that the unruly elements do not use such incidents to disrupt peace and stability. The nation as a whole should stand behind the CTG and our patriotic institution of army, in their effort to protect peace, public life and property. Citizens must be vigilant that trapped, corrupt politicians can not manipulate these incidents to destabilise the country and escape the rule of law that has indicted many of them for misuse of power and corruption.
The CTG and the army need all out support from the law abiding citizens to ensure that our objective of establishing a just and corruption free society is not compromised under any pretext.
Iqbal Mahmood, Ph.D., P.E.Associate Engineer. Petra Geotechnical, Inc. Murrieta, CA
Iqbal Mahmood, Ph.D., P.E.Associate Engineer. Petra Geotechnical, Inc. Murrieta, CA
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