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 7th 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?”
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