“My country”
The other day a close friend of mine was lamenting on the state of the mind of our countrymen, and revealed to me some of his inner thoughts. I pass it along to the readers with the benevolent presumption that it might lead to a solo session on reflections--a dialogue with the self. This friend, whom I would call Kamal, has been working for many years overseas on contract, holding a high post in an international organisation. One day he announced that he would be returning to his motherland Bangladesh on the expiry of his contract sometime this year, and enjoy his double retirement. Almost all the Bengali residents in the city asked him the same question: why was he going back to his country, and why he would not try to get domiciled in that country and remain there. After some time, Kamal got bored with the question, and adopted a cryptic reply: "My country, good or bad". The second most popular query was that surely he was not going to lead a retired life; and they were curious to know what he wanted to do after retirement. "Nothing," Kamal snapped. "Do you know the art of doing nothing?" Some were shocked, some did not believe him, while some others did not give him the benefit of doubt. Kamal came to me for solace, and gave me a bit of his mind, because others would not and did not understand his philosophy. "What had happened to the nation?" He thundered in frustration. If well to do citizens cultivated this type of attitude, who would lead the society? He referred to the professionals holding posh jobs overseas, who were only concerned with their own lives. Enough is never enough. The curve in the graph must always be rising even with one foot in the grave. Even at the top, there is no such thing as a horizontal curve. Developing countries need rising curves; and it becomes a motto of private and personal life. Spiritually, avariciousness, and wants and desires have reached the dimensions of a bottomless basket (remember Kissinger?). Gratefulness to the Almighty is forgotten in the chase of Mammon. The tentacles of materialism have gripped a hundred million souls. There appeared to be no escape from the vicious circle. He quoted the great saint of Baghdad. Be satisfied with your present station, and seek not a change, because you do not know what is good for you. Be patient, and seek the blessings of the Lord; He is the most merciful and compassionate. Kamal moaned on the erosion and lack of faith in one's own self. He was very up-to-date with his reasoning. Look what happened to Eastern Europe suddenly and in a few months. Communism's godlessness could not hold for more than two generations. He stressed great spiritual significance to this historic change, and called for self analysis. I tried to bring him down to earth with the observation that the pattern of thinking in the developing countries is similar to the have-not mentality. The negative attitude towards life was due to frustration and lack of security. The sharpness of hunger blunts the conscience. Its effects are far reaching. The principles are eroded, the morality is compromised, moral courage disappears, and the willingness to suffer for principles evaporates. Temptation becomes irresistible. Therefore the have-nots cannot rule; because they are not accustomed to money and power. First self, then the party, then the country.
"Tell me," I asked Kamal, “how to develop the feel for the country? You say sympathy is not enough. Criticism is a negative virtue. Analysis will not solve the problems. The leaders are not up to the mark. There are double standards of effort, the list is endless and not at all secret. "Let me pose a counter question" Kamal retorted. Why nobody talks about moral values? Why the Planning Commission has not gone in for a moral rearmament programme? The majority of the experts in this august body are economists? Where are the 5-year and 2- year perspective plans for the development of the Bengali language? Why the focus on the issue is limited to one day in the year-- 21st February? I interrupted him. "We were talking about 'my country, good or bad'. We cannot discuss every subject in one evening." Kamal was unstoppable. “I am not worried. I am not alone. Coming back to the issue, let me remind you that the light from a small candle can remove all the darkness in a room; but no amount of darkness can remove the light of a single candle I mean you; if you go back to your country.”
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