Monday | 13 January 2025 | Reg No- 06
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Monday | 13 January 2025 | Epaper

Revive social values

Published : Thursday, 4 July, 2019 at 12:00 AM  Count : 264
Haradhan Ganguly
Haradhan Ganguly

Haradhan Ganguly

They were hemmed in by bystanders as if to enjoy shooting of a action movie and so there is no question at all to stand up to. So Rifat (25) of Barguna was being hacked to death in open daylight by assailants, sorry, artists as if to them.

But the High Court strikes the first blow to our conscience to raise the question, "what has this society come to?"
On 27th June, the High Court expressed shock at learning that nobody came forward to protect Rifat Sharif when he was being hacked by assailants, although many captured video footage of the attack. The High Court observed "this is a picture of social degradation. This failure to save Rifat by onlookers had not been seen in Bangladesh earlier."
What a cruel reality echoed in such observation that deletes the divide between processing filming a movie and hooliganism that is still distortedly oblivion to our conscience. Yes the so called charmed spectators raised in sudden bustle one off; Rifat might have been likely saved. Which was once common in our traditional social bondage now got down in dark chapter in our social life which the High Court termed it "had not been seen in Bangladesh earlier".

In Rifat episode, this again is pointing to our basic moral crisis. Since law will follow its own course. But through this depravity, growing social alienation and getting people's around cruelly tells us more alarming story that is undergoing in our social fabrics. We are where? Where is our community or mahollah bondage? The concept of our neighbours: who will come first in protecting us in right or wrong is finding its doomsday in Bangladesh's social life.

Rather neighbours in thousands and other enthusiastic spectators will be found busy to take selfies or taking video footage in Banani's caught fire in a high rise or in any road accident or snatchers' attacking without coming ahead for rescuing victims. As if there is police to look after this. Police could not sit idle. They will do their jobs and they are doing it. But community's social responsibility enriched by our thousands of years cultural bondage, eternal feeling of brotherhood, our values and ethos?

Are community's weak bondage and self-centeredness being the causes of some mismatches rooted into the rising process of middle class and their influence upon?

Branko Milanovic, an economist, draws an "elephant" curve to capture the income story of the middle class decline in the west and middle class rise in the developing world. The chart shows the status of income groups from poor-rich to represent the group's shares of total global income over the period between 1988 and 2011.

Almost half of the world's population, with incomes of less than USD1 to about USD4 are counted as poor and live almost entirely in the developing world. Another 40 per cent of the world's population, with income between USD 4 to USD 50 a day, make up an "incipient"(below USD 10 a day) middle class, with the exception of a small proportion of that group living in rich countries, this is the "new" middle class of the developing world.

Together, these groups are represented by the broad and hunched back of the elephant. A much smaller rich world middle class has income between USD50 to USD 200, they are represented by the elephant's head. Finally a tiny world's rich group-including the top 1 percent of households in the world by income and are represented by the elephant's trunk (Dr Mustafa K Mujeri).

The elephant curve illustrates that the middle classes in the developing world have been the big winners of open and globalized markets, growing in size and enjoying income gains. In contrast, rich world's middle-class declined as a share of population and appears stuck at the bottom of the elephant's trunk.
What is happening to the middle-class in Bangladesh? Dr Mujeri, executive director, Institute for Inclusive Finance and Development (InM) in his a latest article wrote , over the last three decades, the opening and integration of markets has led to the emergence of a rapidly growing and forward looking middle class in Bangladesh. This budding middle class- no doubt relatively poor compared with the middle class elsewhere. The new middle class is on the rise, growing in numbers and capturing an increasing share of the total income in the country.

But they are coming out of the psycho-factors they held up from forties to seventies of last century, they are becoming more prone to "winners take all" in power political, social and cultural arena and capturing lion share of unearned income. So by their blessings and leading, state itself becoming precedent creator of impunity of mass killing one after another. People has seen that cruel "indemnity order" that was stately upheld and started through killing of principal Gopal Krishna mauri up to one after another during different regimes without having any justice.

People saw the raping story of Purnima going unheeded and then naturally it is ending up to a devastating epidemic. If state sponsored crimes goes unpunished and it was taken as ideally moral stand, then what message goes to the countrymen and what moral rights are having for punishing other villainies in society. Since we have precedents of indemnity order, cruelty in 21th August grenade attack and other one after another killing, many of them still have gone in the world of mystery. The natural follow-up of all stigmas have created a structure of impunity from justice as their end results.

This impacted middle class in their being alienated from all positivism. It is also infected cultural ethos. Society is divided and middleclass know that every positivism will go in vain in twilight due to powers that are near to among them, So better keeping off implication in complexities. So in one side their economic gain and struggle and on the other naked disparity and exhibition of stripped power blessing, in political term crony capitalism have made middle class mentality self cantered.

So in one place we need market perfection. But last not the least, we need an all embracing cultural movement which the people saw on the eve and during our liberation war. People will find again awakening against all stigmas. Humanism against all odds could only be enshrined through an all pervading cultural pursuits which are sadly no more all over. It will be like seventies of the passing century. Peoples' arousal towards rationality is the need for Bangladesh now and this must not be understood negative like anarchy and violence. It must supplement with the go of the government.

Only awakening cultural quest will drive middle class back to self-consciousness of what is to be done at the time of needs to keep up humanism which they showed up in 1969, 1971 and in all the democratic movements during sixties and seventies. This culture of self-consciousness seems to be abolished today.

The writer is a retired Professor and a freelance contributor





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