Symptoms of a massive revolt

Three years ago, the government decision for imposing value added tax (VAT) on private universities had sparked a fire among the students. It was somehow quenched in the face of stiff resistance. In April of this year, a fresh spate of revolt gathered momentum under the banner of Quota Reform Protests, placing the university students under the spotlight once more. And now our school children have taken to the streets, hell-bent to change the country's dysfunctional transport sector for good.

Over and over again our students are being tested to their limits. The point, however, the reason for linking the three above incidents for angering our students is deep-rooted and closely connected. The VAT issue, the Quota conundrum and the repeated failures to deter easily avoidable accidents in our roads have collectively fomented into frequent outcries. Noticeably, the public is also getting integrated, though slowly and silently.

Referring to the latest incident of the accident which claimed a couple of lives of two school students, the ceiling of tolerance of our tender school students has reached its edge. No matter how much the public, including this writer admire their courage, they have fearlessly unveiled a shocking reality. It's the reality of a defective state where corruption has been institutionalised by its very protectors.    

From a personal standpoint, this writer is ashamed to be a part of such state. Law makers to law enforcers, bureaucrats to members of the judiciary, many of our senior responsible citizens holding important public offices are continuously violating traffic laws, they are doing it deliberately and they talk about safe roads.

Rather surprisingly, it was our juvenile and barely teenager school kids who became the protagonists of the dreadful eye-opener. In fact, they have collectively slapped us in the face and not only the government. I wonder for how long the pain of it would prevail or if there is any pain felt by anyone so far.

Sorry but rationally, my answers for all the questions will be a straight "No". In our country the wakeup call for tackling disasters rings only then when one becomes a victim of it. It has been like this since our rulers at the echelons of power values little for the lives of its citizens.   

I have been closely observing, the government response in terms of addressing a crisis or a conflict resolution has been markedly poor. If it is diplomacy we (our government) seek appeasement. If it's a political issue, it resorts to crush political dissent ruthlessly. And if it's a non-political issue, it tries to politicise it while offering no effective solution.  Shouldn't our irresponsible VIPs, caught red handed for violating traffic laws recently, been at least handed out with a symbolic punishment?

Our students, irrespective of their age and academic levels, were never dim-witted with their demands. Their actions during the tumultuous years of 52, 69, 71 and 90 were spontaneous and spur-of-the-moment and non-political. When they came out of their class rooms and took to the streets -- it was always meant for ensuring the rights of the people. Thus, serving a political agenda was not always on the top.

Parallel to that, their ongoing demand for road safety is not only aimed to ensure safe roads for school-college-university students. It's a demand for the people's safety on roads -- built and maintained -- by the people's money.

Our numerable electronic media houses, writers, intellectuals, politicians, experts, senior citizens to members of the so-called Civil Society had organised innumerable talk shows on the topic of road accidents. Information and sets-of-recommendations to combat road accidents are aplenty in our websites. And also this writer has penned over a dozen futile editorials for at least three newspapers in the last year. However, most of them went in vain.   
   
In the end, which party succeeded in shaking the very foundations of our conscience -- not even a lakh -- but a few thousands of our unknown school students! The wakeup call they had signalled last week sent a clear message to the government -- mess up with us and we will get even stronger.

It will be always because of them Bangladesh got a separate lane for emergency commuting perhaps for a few hours. The credit for forcing cars and Rickshaws to commute in separate lanes also go to them. Be it a government minister, police high-up or even a judicial member they stopped almost anyone for violating traffic rule. They have outright proved to be the best of traffic sergeants. Furthermore, not to mention, this time they have appeared as a dangerous 'shock to a decayed system.'

Rather fascinatingly, the school students have done it without an organised leadership. It was a sheer example of a countrywide unison making a mockery of our political leadership. Be careful, in the past, they have also proved to be extremely dangerous for organising revolutions which have brought down several governments down to their knees.  
         
The symptoms, what I have been following so far, is clearly pacing towards a massive rebellion. That insurgence may well erupt on political grounds. And if it happens, students most likely will re-write and re-define Bangladesh politics by staging a massive revolution. It's bubbling and don't let it burst out.

Their street demonstrations and patrolling roads for ensuring road safety is not a political issue. Address the issue as a major national problem. Today merely a fraction of them are ruling our roads; but tomorrow they might well occupy a parliament consisting of 154 unelected members. Please don't politicize their agenda. Keep them out of your political ambitions; otherwise they might well 'make a politics out of you' and bring you down.

Remember one of their placards, "the roads are blocked since a major repairing work of the state is going on". Unless the government actively participates in that 'repairing work' -- the students might once more take to the streets, and this time in a bigger number. That said -- the symptoms of an impending rebellion are brewing, and brewing fast.

The writer is the Assistant Editor,
The Daily Observer