Chintito
Good News is Not Dalali
Jatrabari flyover, Dhaka. Photo: Firoz Ahmed
The share market is doing well, going upwards that is; but there is no news, there is no appreciation from any quarters, only the privileged are enjoying the profit. There is suspicion that something ominous is around the corner, and that this is an artificially created goodness. But at the moment the road is straight, uphill all the way, and not a single protesting investor, small time or otherwise, on the street.
It now takes two to three hours less, or lesser, time to cross the Jatrabari junction; but there is no appreciative news, no interviews of passerby asking them their feeling of joy, only the privileged are enjoying the benefit of the partially operative flyover. There are misgivings that the operators have hiked the published toll. But at the moment travellers are willing to lighten their pocket to save journey time.
Hundreds of more villages have been connected with electricity and the overall load shedding has been reduced to some extent despite the exponential country-wide increase in demand; but there is no news, there is no appreciation by sharp columnists and sharper talk-show talkers, only the privileged are enjoying the fruits of quick-renal and several giant electricity generating plants. There have been criticisms, largely in political circles, that rules were flouted in awarding work orders in the government's bid to close the gap between demand and supply. But at the moment people are participating in partisan debates over the election-time government more under the glow of the evening light, the breeze of the overhead fan, and the comfort of air-conditioned ambience.
Some street lights in the capital and several remotely located railway crossing guardrooms (to name a few) are now powered by solar energy; but there is no news, there is no cheer from environmentalists and those breaking their voice to save our resources, only the nation is benefiting from the wisdom and sagacity of some decision-makers. There will however be media vilification the day any of the solar power installations will be blown away by the wind, or go out of order. But at the moment we are building our capacity by drawing strength from the power source of our planet.
Today the road from Chandra to Savar Memorial is a four-lane pothole-free smooth avenue with a divider; but there is no news, there is no enthusiastic acknowledgement from transport unions or even the drivers who ply back and forth, only the vehicles are complaining less with their usual squeaks and groans. There will be under-the-breath scepticism that such hurriedly-made roads do not last, that they have seen dozens of such cases in the past. But at the moment one can have a relaxing ride while perusing the flank views at a faster rate than before.
In our form of democracy, or perhaps in most others, a bulk of scholars, think tanks, print and electronic media personalities, exude their anti-government and/or anti-incumbency sentiments publicly to portray themselves as 'neutral'; totally strange that, because they fear that speaking in favour of the good things a government or the powers that be or a serving head of state does is akin to being a broker (read dalal) of the current establishment. Is that not a travesty of the truth?
For the media, which also has to run as a business house, what with the usual hassles of employment, marketing, product promotion, etc. there is this gut feeling that anti-government sells, as most people more often than not like to hear and read nasty things about powerful people, who for many reasons are unable or unwilling to deliver in some, several or many issues.
The problem arises when indeed the high and mighty are making headway in some areas, which is not easy considering our limited resources and large population in a densely populated delta. It is then that the scholars, the think tanks, the print and electronic media often choose to remain silent for fear of being dubbed a dalal if they speak well of the government; which also means that their statements and standing is not totally the correct picture of the prevailing situation.
There have been ½-hearted attempts by some newspapers to set aside half-a-column to project a good news or a good cause or a success story. But they soon lost steam, being inundated with news of murder, building collapse, fire deaths, political rivalry, hartals, child victims of petrol bombs, bank embezzlement, corruption at private and public levels, disappearance of public figures, factional killing...
From the depths of such an abyss have arisen the likes of the rising Bangladesh cricket team and India-conquering champion golfer Siddikur Rahman, our painters and photographers, our poets and stage performers, our scholars and scientific prodigies, our architects and engineers, the millennium development goals achievers, our immaculate record in UN missions, the service to the mass by our NGOs, the rise of a breed of academics and professionals from the thatched huts of the villages and the slums of our cities... the list is long.
The list is long enough to publish a daily newspaper with only good news, and yes, it should be called the 'Good News'.
The front pages of some newspapers have become so unpleasant that many readers are now put off by bad news and more bad news. In fact, newspapers and TV news are losing readers and viewers as fast as the terrorist is pulling the trigger, or the bomb fire is flashing through a bus full of people.
Let there be more news on births and natural deaths, of marriages and amicable divorces, of dispute settlements and friendly partings, of human struggles and inhuman achievements, of money recovered and culprits apprehended, of facial surgery for acid victims and their life anew, of electricity and water supply in our slums, of education reaching where Aila had tread, of sacrifices that light candles, of songs of life and dramas that take your breath away... Many would find it hard to believe that all this goodness does happen in our Bangladesh; only they do not make headlines or even the inside page because we have that gut feeling that bad news sells.
Why don't you flood the media phone lines and email inboxes with the good news happening around you, to people around you, to you? A more beautiful Bangladesh is just a phone call or an email away.
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