হসন্ত-২

Our I-hate-politics generation

“Why do I have to know when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman gave his revolutionary speech?  For GOD’s sake, I am a CSE student, I will never need the knowledge of liberation war!”— a high CGPA holding student was expressing her dismay on highest level. As it seems, this history course is a mandatory for her and she couldn’t give more damn about it. Even though it was a winter morning, I felt sweltering under my shawl hearing her words, resisted my rampant mouth so hard from throwing some word-bullets to her. Apparently, for this generation, keeping hundreds of silly relationship dates on neuron-drawer is fine, but when it’s about country’s history it seems overloaded, hence, the cliché sentence goes on- history is so tough to remember!   

Just for the sake of conversation, I asked my Ugandan friend about their history thinking he will not take much time. Surprisingly, he proved me wrong snatching away my 15 minutes for drawing the doodle of his own history. That was a jaw-dropping moment for me at least. That is an African country I am talking about—the country which does not even share a uniform language—several tribes varying in different languages and culture. Still, he made his way of remembering every significant detail. And here, our young generation is struggling remembering their victory day! No wonder they would compare a sportsman with freedom fighters! 

We don’t bother to comprehend country’s increasing GDP percentage, as long as our facebook likes and comments are skyrocketing in upward direction. Our sawed-off attention is paid to border-killing but that’s ok, we play zombie-killing virtual games with much enthusiasm. This so called “over-qualified” cerebrum is occupied with the restaurant check-in dreams, ergo, what’s going on with Farakka barrage, not our headache at all! Tribal people are struggling for their rights? Why the hell we have to think about that? I am not a part of ethnic society, so that’s just another futile breaking news of media! Renowned pathology lab is using expired reagents? Why messing with our hawkins-labeled brain for that? We are not sick yet, thereupon, that’s fine too. Middle East is refusing to take our workers? That’s super fine. We are never going to be in that worker-list, why aching our back? As long as our heads are on our shoulder, killing bloggers are nothing to be afraid of, after all, we are not word soldiers! Our garments shipment got cancelled but we are student and that’s businessman issues, better not to explode our sensitive heads by knowing the inside news. Bangladesh bank money heist issue doesn’t leave us in blank thought. Why would it? Over thinking is for losers, moreover, our hand money is already covered from our parents, so cheers!

Did those lines sound familiar? Yeah, that’s the echo of our day to day conversation. Our uptight mind encircled our thoughts in the same box like others—it makes us think and feel alike—we feel united, not slightly even thinking how ridiculously we have cloned our own idiocy and still multiplying it with much pride. Readers might wonder how this article’s annexure was a holler about this generation’s unwillingness of knowing history and why now I am chattering about political knowledge. Politics is that goliath’s box where hides country’s every aspect—economics or education— health or housing—culture or bureaucracy anything! Basically, from my vantage point, I believe, the very idea of patriotism can be achieved through political knowledge and that’s where politics play the tricks!

Sadly, this is an era of “I hate politics” generation. The word “politics” stimulates only two pictures through this generation’s optic nerves, one Sheikh hasina and another, Khaleda Zia. Is that even a real picture? Apparently yes, but actually no, a big no!  Politics can never be about specific person in any democratic system and it never will be. We are certainly going through a crestfallen phase where a good picture of politics is too far-fetched! Still it doesn’t mean we can hate politics; it will be like cutting off your head because of headache!

Politics pays for the newly inaugurated flyover on which our Mercedes Benz rolls over, it builds the colorful bridges so that we can update profile picture keeping it as background. It definitely draws the blueprint how to suck our blood, as it seems from mass point of view or it may even be partially true, but then again at the end of the day, politics also manages our security to make sure we can hang out peacefully. Thereafter, it may fail sometimes, but it tries to keep the market balanced so that our shopping list can always be checked. Then again, politics tries to take responsibility of all the basic needs of underprivileged, just to make sure our country have a pretty face in world-insta-profile!

Generation, you may start complaining now, after all that’s what you do best. Corruption is in every sector? Brother, honest people like you didn’t join governmental job. They left for higher salary, private job or left country for good. Mismanagement is the real problem? – trust me if you would come back from foreign university after completing management degree, things would have been changed. Technical difficulties are at its peak? – I wish you could use your engineering knowledge here without selling it to the money-machine. Injustice lies in every core?—only if you all could keep your hands out from bribery. I am not saying you are blubbering all wrong, rather I would say, you are absolutely right. However, complain is a precursor of change, not the prevention of it. Nevertheless, this country has only one basic need now—change!

Talking about change, like every other moron out there I ask myself, who are going to bring change? Useless writer like me who just snores their dream after putting mis-shaped words on offset colored prison cell? Nope! Change doesn’t climb that straight ladder, it never did. As Gautama Buddha said- “No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.” We are the only traveler of this zigzag journey of change-making and for that my dear generation, you need to get clinched to your political history.

Believe it or not, big changes don’t come without revolution and one and only element of revolution is spirit. Let’s use my useless pen to picture a flow-chart of Bangladesh’s political revolutions in short. The partition of Bengal in 1905 surely left an effect on people regarding religious issue, then again, it also provoked an aftermath—huge political crisis rising from Swadeshi Movement, begun by Indian National Congress. Eventually, the partition ended up with re-unification in 1911. This spirit of Swadeshi Movement had reminded Indians what they were capable of and that’s what made them snatch their freedom in 1947. Revolution is just the layers of onion—it may make you weep for a while, yet, every layer of revolution is giving birth to another—that’s worth weeping, isn’t so? This 1947 lead to 1952’s “language movement” to 1969’s “mass upsurge”. Ultimately, the very essence of 1905’s Swadeshi Movement bestowed us with a country- Bangladesh. See that’s how revolution works, on the wings of politics.

Just a food for thought, even after having numerous shortfalls why European countries are still at peak of development? Because, the idea of acknowledging politics in an early age is much appreciated worldwide, in Europe, mostly. Uk has British Youth Council, the UK Youth Parliament and the Scottish Youth Parliament which have no direct power, albeit close working relationship with parliament members exists. 

Did I wipe off the confusion-fog in your head—why we need to know Bangabandhu’s revolutionary speech? That’s where our spirit-ghost lies. When our lack of political knowledge is constantly backstabbing us, how we are going to bring about a revolution? We don’t even want to know what our father of nation said on 7^th March because that’s not included in syllabus. Moreover, we have abandoned the idea of knowing politics and country’s current situation without even thinking how it might affect our country’s future. Politics is now become a job of backbenchers and failed students, while it was a work of meritorious students back then—maybe that’s where all the difference lies. Thus, this is high time we need a change in our view-point, to take over future iron-throne!

I am not focusing my criticism-gun only towards the young generation while they are doing their best given this circumstances. Our education system and curriculum need to be modified. Mostly, English medium curriculum should be vastly enhanced by the inclusion of country’s historical write-ups. Then again, as always the most common proverb goes, “Charity begins at home”, just like that, political education should start from family too. Our restaurant hang outs should be filled with chattering from history to current affairs. Indisputably, this is a decade of Hemmingway’s “lost generation”, where stupidity is a fashion, nerd is a slang. We need to get out of this mindset immediately before it becomes too late. Last but not the least, the ancient friend of every change—book, needs to be back on every hand.

You may say, one step doesn’t count, but remember “one” is the introduction of everything, say it revolution or evolution! I believe like Burmese diplomat Aung San Suu Kyi, “We will surely get to our destination if we join hands.” As I have already mentioned, our country is going through a bad phase and to recoup from that, only remedy we have is our youth. Let’s have the motto not only to go through the problem, also grow through it! Let’s try to check-in the past to canonize our celestial history—procuring spirit from every revolution—seeking solution in our sepia-epoch. Otherwise, like the remark of Gautama Buddha I would ask this generation, “However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them?”