We the people of Bangladesh have been subjected to injustice in the history. We have always cried and fought for justice. But when the crunch fell on us, we failed miserably. Socially, Bangladesh is probably one of the most unjust country in the world.

How can a garment industry worker survive on an income of Taka 900 per month in today’s Bangladesh? It is not that the industry is not making money. In fact, the industry is making fabulous money. Personally, I know about a minor garment industry owner, who made a profit of Taka 80 crores last year. But what did he pay his workers? I am not surprised by the current disaffection, violence and anarchy in the industry or in the country as a whole.

Going back to history, Bangladesh was indeed exploited by the Pakistani rulers. We used to complain about everything during those days. But we saw what we are capable of doing to ourselves only after independence. The brutal corruption and deprivation imposed on the country by the post independence rulers led to the anarchy and famine in 1973-74. It was our own creation, whatever the apologists may say. Bangladesh continues with the legacy of that terrible betrayal at its birth.

There is a culture of exploitation inherent in our psyche which originates from our rural root. But, these days, who is the landlord or Zamindar? Anyone, who has accumulated wealth or risen to a position of authority behaves like a Zamindar of the past and look down upon the masses. In today’s Bangladesh, boasting about ancestry is no longer a fashion.

But you still hear people talking in terms of ‘us’ - the haves, and ‘they’- the vast multitude of have-nots, who are destined to be servants (or slaves) or to toil on the land and work long hours in other jobs to provide comfort to the ‘haves’. They work for very small remunerations to hungry and miserable. Those who are not lucky enough to find work or physically invalid become plain beggars. This is a South Asian problem, but the Bangladesh situation is the worst.

Recently I spent about six weeks in Bangladesh, most of the time staying in a flat in a newly constructed building in an affluent part of Dhaka. Various tradesmen ­ carpenters, painters, plumbers ­ were still working. Most of them were superbly skilled in their jobs without the benefit of any formal training. Most of them worked long hours ­ 12 to 14 hours every day. But how much were they earning.? The most experienced carpenter was earning about Taka 200 a day! In other countries, these people earn more than many so called professionals.

The point is that our ordinary people are not getting enough to survive or treated with any respect for their human dignity. They generate wealth by working hard in harsh conditions, but they do not get a minute share of it. The rich and powerful indulge in extravagant and wayward life style before their eyes. They are angry, resentful and filled with hatred. They are being exploited on one hand by their employers, and by the political and other elements on the other who incite them to violence in order to serve their causes by creating anarchy and lawlessness.

The condition of our vast masses ­ illiterate and living in subhuman conditions, does not allow them to behave rationally or intelligently. One can see the outburst of their anger and frustration every now and then on our streets.

The culture which makes us treat our own people like animals is unable to give us dignity or arouse patriotism. One can easily see the absence of both in our behaviour. Bangladesh is a prime candidate for Social Engineering to reconstruct our values to make us aware of the injustice inherent in our culture. Otherwise anarchy will continue to intensify. The time and condition has changed. But who will take the initiative? The signs are there that we are still not aware of our problem.

Faruk Choudhury
Sydney, Australia
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