Prothom Alo:
Can’t we solve our own political problems? Is our mindset responsible for this, or is there a historical context to this?
There may be anthropological and geographical reasons for this. There was a time when Calcutta was most advanced in knowledge, science, thought and study. From Japan, China and the states of Indochina, Iran, Iraq and Egypt to South America, no city was comparable to Calcutta. When politics started in the Indian subcontinent under British rule, we find some names among the Bengali leaders like Surendranath Bandopadhaya, Chittaranjan Das, Sher-e-Bangla AK Fazlul Haque and some others. But political leadership did not remain in their hands. It fell into the hands of the rulers of North India.
Many are of the opinion that Bengalis, from an anthropological point of view, lack political capacity and mentality. We fail to demonstrate long-standing political acumen. We cannot be united forces. Again, many believe that because of Bangladesh’s geographical location, its climate, the way we get bountiful harvests with minimal labor, our eating habits (where rice is essential), the people here are not physically or mentally strong either.
Anthropological and geographical reasons explain the failure of democracy in Bangladesh. If we look at the anti-British movement, we wonder why the Bengalis could not succeed. In the 19th century, Bankinchandra Chattopadhaya raised the question why Bengalis could not develop as a political force. Rabindranath Tagore also raised important thoughts on the issue. We need to dig deeper into their thoughts on the issue to find an answer.
Prothom Alo:
Political unrest impacts society in various ways. Young people are the most affected. A large number of them want to leave the country. How do you see it?
Good students at universities, even colleges, are desperate to leave the country and go abroad. They believe that the politics of this country will never improve and that public life will never be good here. They believe that the country survives through the rule of law, but that there is no justice in politics. Young people feel that politics has reached a state of anarchy. They will not have a healthy and normal life if they stay here. Some of the youth had already had such thoughts. But over the last 10 to 15 years, this situation has grown considerably. It is very important to determine why young people want to go abroad. Generally speaking, the answer is that there is no healthy political practice here. And if there is no sound policy, it will inevitably have a negative impact on the youth.
