Saturday | 5 October 2024 | Reg No- 06
বাংলা
   
Saturday | 5 October 2024 | Epaper
BREAKING: ● 3 die in Sherpur flood; 60,000 stranded      ● Ex-president Badruddoza Chowdhury passes away      ● Killing during students' movement: 9 bodies to be exhumed in Sylhet      ● Malaysian prime minister leaves Dhaka for home      ● CA seeks Malaysian support for Bangladesh to be ASEAN dialogue partner      ● Malaysian PM assures of attention to 18,000 Bangladesh workers       ● Bid to kill Khaleda Zia: Sheikh Hasina among 113 sued      

Tarique Rahman emerging as a leader to steady the ship 

Published : Saturday, 21 September, 2024 at 12:00 AM  Count : 750
AR Sumon
Southeast Asia is currently facing a period of unrest marked by violence and underlying tensions driven by conspiracies. There appears to be a significant shortage of skilled and capable leadership across the subcontinent. Additionally, there are evident signs of power abuse and desperate efforts to cling to power unfairly in these nations. In this discussion, I will focus on three countries, as their cultures and customs are quite similar, and cooperation among them could help stabilize Southeast Asia.

After the fascist regime, an interim government led by Dr. Professor Muhammad Yunus is in charge in Bangladesh with huge challenges. The role of this government is to make necessary reforms in the state and create a fair environment for elections in the country.

The allies of the fallen dictator are still trying to make things harder for him. Additionally, many large political parties, along with smaller ones, are demanding elections as soon as possible.

However, the reality is, agents of the fascists still remain in almost every level of Bangladesh's administration. A fair election cannot happen just like that. It will take time for the right conditions to be created.

At a public meeting organized by BNP on Democracy Day, Tarique Rahman, the acting chairman of the party, said that under no circumstances should the interim government be allowed to fail. On behalf of BNP, he also gave guidance to provide the government with proper support.

At the same time, he warned the government not to take any actions that could cause trouble for themselves. He urged both the people and the government to stay alert against various internal and external provocations. He called the interim government a "people's government" and urged everyone to stay united, forgetting divisions, to face any situation and keep the country stable.

BNP and its alliance prepared 31 proposals for state reforms, but he left room for further improvements, suggesting that more ideas could be added or removed to make things even better.

His speech was objective, precise, and concise. It was warmly received across almost all levels of society. It has become very clear that Tarique Rahman is becoming a more mature, skilled, and experienced politician every day.

There are some more points to discuss about Tarique Rahman, which I will try to address later in this writing.

Despite being a regional power, India's foreign policy has become more oppressive rather than strategic. They have interfered unnecessarily in the internal matters of almost every country in the subcontinent and acted outside diplomatic norms to serve their own interests. This has left India without many friends in the region, and the effects are already being felt in India's politics, economy, and global relations.

On the other hand, Pakistan and Bangladesh face similar issues. Widespread corruption, money being smuggled out of the country, high unemployment, and social inequality have created instability in both nations. For political gain, the ruling powers in both countries have repeatedly made their administrative and other institutions ineffective. As a result, the people in these countries are deprived of justice and good governance.

Nearly 1.75 billion people live in the Indian subcontinent, making it huge market for global trade. Whoever holds influence over this region will naturally dominate business and trade, securing their own interests, especially Bangladesh's geographical location is important. In this context, the United States and China are using all their strategies to compete for influence.

Besides India and Pakistan, Bangladesh, though smaller, also holds significant importance in this region. However, both Bangladesh and Pakistan have failed to effectively use diplomacy to protect their own interests. This failure is due to rampant corruption and self-serving political leaders in both countries. The lack of capable and patriotic leadership has led to this situation.

It's safe to say that none of these three countries - India, Pakistan, or Bangladesh - have proper leadership, despite having old political parties and experienced politicians.

Recently, when Sheikh Hasina, the most notorious fascist dictator in Bangladesh's history, lost power due to a student-led movement, she fled to India, where she was given refuge. This act is unbecoming of a democratic nation. Modi or India has never truly fostered a friendship with the people of Bangladesh; instead, they aligned themselves with a specific political party, the Awami League, and its leader, Hasina. As a result, the relationship between the two countries is becoming more strained.

In light of Bangladesh's current situation, both of India's main political leaders, Modi and Rahul Gandhi, have spoken in a similar tone regarding Bangladesh. Both have broadly claimed that minorities, especially Hindus, are being persecuted in Bangladesh, which is simply not true. Meanwhile, in India itself, the internet has been shut down, and the minority community in Manipur is being oppressed with state support, with the situation in occupied Kashmir being quite similar.

Not being an old political party, PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) has become one of Pakistan's most popular political parties, led by Imran Khan. He briefly served as the head of state in Pakistan and was making progress in reviving the country's struggling economy. He had significantly reduced corruption in Pakistan and sent a clear message to local corrupts and their foreign allies that a sovereign nation would determine its own foreign policies and other matters. However, due to international diplomatic conspiracies and corrupt politicians and other corrupt associates within the country, he is now imprisoned, and Pakistan has once again becoming a dysfunctional state.

In Bangladesh, there were two major political parties: BNP and the Awami League. Under the current circumstances, the Awami League has lost its political legitimacy. After 15 years of extreme fascist rule, the party, along with all its affiliate organizations, became void after indiscriminately opening fire on protesting students and civilians in July 2024, killing countless people. Now, the party stands in the dock for legal judgment.

In this situation, the remaining political organizations, including BNP, are the ones that can now reflect the people's hopes and aspirations. Among these parties, BNP is the largest, so it's clear that people's expectations are centered on it.

Undoubtedly, in the near future, all responsibilities of the BNP will fall on Tarique Rahman. It goes without saying that he endured tremendous oppression and torture while imprisoned. Can he rise above personal vengeance and party interests to dedicate himself to the development of Bangladesh, nation-building, and, most importantly, ensuring justice for the country?


Challenges Tarique Rahman Must Tackle as a Patriotic Politician or to become a great leader: Safeguard the country's independence, integrity, and sovereignty, Fulfill the genuine aspirations and expectations of the people, regardless of party affiliation or ethnicity, Overcome domestic and international diplomatic obstacles to establish a corruption-free and well-governed state, Hold corrupt individuals within his party and the nation accountable, and work towards creating a united and organized Bangladesh, Restore and protect the rights of the people, Ensure the judiciary operates with complete independence and freedom,  Eliminate all forms of syndicates to allow citizens to afford essential goods with their earnings, Ensure social security, enabling law enforcement agencies to operate without political interference, Improve the quality of education and tackle unemployment issues, Guarantee fair wages for all and Ensure that no citizen is subjected to unnecessary harassment.

If he successfully meets these challenges, he will not only become a revered leader in Bangladesh but also a respected leader throughout the subcontinent and beyond. This is the moment and the opportunity for him to prove himself as a true leader of the people. If he succeeds, history will honor his name. If he fails, he will be forgotten.

The writer is a photojournalist and a feature writer of the Daily Observer



LATEST NEWS
MOST READ
Also read
Is a full-scale war in Middle East imminent?  
How UN stays relevant by prolonging ME crisis
Unchanging value of literature in the age of algorithms
Teachers should focus on social justice in classrooms
Our fiscal transparency in the report of USA
Joviality in self exploration
The observance of the world teacher's day in the new light
Natural gas crisis in Bangladesh: Is LNG the only solution?
Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury
Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Online: 41053014; Advertisement: 41053012.
E-mail: info©dailyobserverbd.com, news©dailyobserverbd.com, advertisement©dailyobserverbd.com, For Online Edition: mailobserverbd©gmail.com
🔝