I once read a proverb which went something like this “A butterfly flapping its wings in China can cause ripples in the air in Hawaii.” At first I was stumped, how can a tiny butterfly in China effect anything in the other corner of the globe. Then I realized that what it basically means is all actions in the world are interrelated specially in our globalized materialistic times. I know this sound like some kind of doomsday saying but in fact it is a fact. Our each and every action affects someone else even if in some small ways. Why this narrow focus on politics, current affairs and history only then? Well policies, treaties, laws, bills, acts, laws passed in various parliaments all around the world would basically have an effect on the next generation of grown ups and continuous generations to come. People who at present are in their early and late teens mostly. As per history I am a strong believer in the fact that our past determines our future. We must learn from our past so that we do not commit the same mistakes in the future. Again unfortunately we all are good at giving advices but when it comes to following them there are very few practitioners.
Before I go any further I believe a few confessions are in order. I am an addict of current affairs and to some lesser extent of politics. I am based in India for the last 6-7 years and my day does not seem to be complete if I haven’t gone through one Indian and one Bangladeshi newspaper at the least and then kept abreast of developments through the various news websites. Also I am a major history buff fascinated with the period of World War 2. So you may feel my views a little conceited of my brethren and in general and are free to vilify me if that is the case.
Coming to politics and talking more specifically of student politics. Firstly I do not blame a single teenager or person from the young generation if they are not interested in it especially after the state of politics due to the “oh” so many numbers of esteemed leaders. Not all of us are like the current US President Barack Obama who when asked in school in Indonesia about what he wanted to be in the future promptly replied”United States President.” I find it hard to believe that in a country like Bangladesh where thousands of students laid down their lives during the language movement of 1952, where lakhs laid down their lives to win our freedom in 1971 student politics main concern now is controlling tenders for various government jobs, gaining control of student halls in various universities, and acting as hired guns for the highest bidder. It was indeed a great shame to see the condition of the Chatra league in the streets of Dhaka a few months back. I wonder what would student leaders like “Salam, Barkat, Rafiq, Jabbar” and others who laid down their lives during the language movement think if they could only see their successors in actions. But wait why would you blame the students only for this? They would do what is taught to them only. There are very few leaders but many flowers. So you have people who have money to burn entice these students from their educational pursuits with the promise of making a quick buck for doing their biddings and once you are in to these sorts of nefarious activities it is very hard to come out of it. Lets face it does a student have any options then rather then continuing. The less I say about the academic scene in universities the better. Mismanagement at the highest level through politically motivated appointees has only made the plight of the average student worse thereby driving them further. Even internationally reputed universities such as North South have seen ugly scenes of student violence which are unforgettable. This does not mean that the students are angels. Each party has their own faults and mistake and it is high time we solve this. Student politics in earlier times were based on a purpose or ideology, may that be the language or freedom movement in Bangladesh or in more recent times the Tina man square protest in the 1980s in China which led to massive human rights violations. Few countries in the world have a massive, responsive, well organized student movement as present in Bangladesh but alas it is put to all the wrong uses. What ultimately is the result is that governments are run by people who may not be incompetent but have their own vested interest at heart based on the present not in the future. Ultimately we will be the ones who would end up suffering. There are certain glimmers of hope such as shown in the massive protest seen in Dhaka University campus last year against the 1/11 rule. But again such glimmers are too few and far in between to give any positive diagnosis.
Now moving to current affairs or for clarity’s sake lets simplify it to international relations/international politics. Why is this important? To use one very hackneyed phrase the world today is much closer then they were ever before. Policies of one country especially of the developed ones affects the faith of various developing countries and by that the developed countries try and shape the policies of various developing countries to meet their own needs. The generation of today of which I am a part of must be made aware of all these things as it is our future that is being decided in places such as “The White House” ”Lokh Sabha” “Songsod” the “United Nations” “Kremlin” and “10,Downing Street” and other parts of the world. The Copenhagen summit to be held in sometimes is supposed to deal with the serious issue of climate change and global warming. It is touted as the successor to the Kyoto protocol and already it is in trouble due to the negative attitudes of various countries and the ambiguity of the text. Do many of us care? I was watching “Day after tomorrow” a movie by….. Which deals with the same subject. Made in 2004 it basically deals with catastrophic changes in the weather pattern but no one takes actions until the catastrophe strikes first. We are like that unfortunately. Although we may know deep within ourselves about ozone layer depletion and green house gas effect we would rather look the other way and let someone else deal with it. Not realizing that it night be too late.
President Obama won the Nobel Peace prize a month back. Need less to say it seemed a very bizarre decision at the very least. Although I agree it might be a hasty decision taking in the fact that he has assumed office only about nine months back he has indeed taken some bold actions. Showing a willingness to reestablish contact with Iran who his predecessor George Bush had labeled to belong to the “Axis of Evil” he has shown the willingness to move away from conventional biases. His speech to the Muslim world a few months back from Cairo University was a significant occurrence extending the hand of peace to the Muslim world at large and some veiled well disguised displeasure on the actions of USA’s erstwhile ally Israel in the West Bank and Gaza strip. These steps while nothing concrete or substantial as many might say are a significant start and we can only hope that he has the ability strength and willingness to follow up on them. To repeat my well worn out question how many teenagers are actually aware of all this but can recount the history of UEFA Champions league or the English Premier League from at least 5 years earlier. As we lie in our bed tonight in the relative safety of our home there are million of children in Pakistan’s tribal areas such as Waziristan who do not have a roof over their head or even the promise of safety of life because of violent conflicts going on between government forces and extremist elements. Same was the case in Sri Lanka a few months back. The same story is being repeated in Yemen now and in places such as Palestine, Israel or Lebanon the story is decades old. What fault has these children committed? For the matter of fact what fault has their parents committed? Their only fault was that they were at the wrong place and for that their whole future life now lay in ruins? But again who will take the blame? They would be termed as “Unfortunate Casualties” and left to that. Months later some effort might be done to rehabilitate them but by that time will it actually matter at all? The child will remember nothing but running for his life and the hard life in the displacement camps. Can anyone return their smile? We owe it to them if nothing else to see that the same mistakes and same faults are not repeated when it is our chance to run this world.
Now to History! As I said our present and future is hidden in our past. The position of the United States as a world super power can be traced back to the post World War 2 era. They were one of the only countries who came out of World War 2 without a scratch. Which gave them the power to dominate a post war world and slowly but surely they emerged as the only super power from the 90’s after the break up of the Soviet Union. History teaches us about our past. It tells us to take pride in being what we are. The history of mankind itself is fascinating from early days as cavemen who were afraid of even fire to the modern versions we see today. Through history we should learn to be proud of our origins rather then running like drones after corporate MNC jobs and the dream of a citizenship that many of us do. The Republic of Bangladesh won its freedom after a bloody 9 month struggle and the cost of 3 million lives. Even though we have huge potential for growth but it is indeed unfortunate that the people in power are more immersed in their petty squabbles then working together for a better future for our country.
Again don’t get me wrong. I know we are all patriots at heart and have only the best interest of our nation at heart. Many of us I pray will go on to enlighten the name of Bangladesh in the global stage at a later time. But we can no longer sit at home and twiddle our thumbs when it is our future that is being decided. The funny thing is we are not even consulted for the purpose. I know grown ups might know what is best for the future and will take the right and necessary steps, but can we really remain silent? Pretty soon it would be our turn to run the world and to decide its future. The least we can do is have some knowledge and preparation to run it, rather then waiting for the right time to actually come. Now don’t get me wrong; in no way am I advocating you guys to switch to BBC World and Al Jazeera from Star Sports or MTV on a 24 hour basis. With so many issues that there are it will turn even the most cheerful of us morbid. But at the very least try and learn, understand and care. After all it is your and my future too. It is OUR future.
No comments:
Post a Comment