Insights

Arriving in Dhaka in August is like visiting Bangladesh at the height of its annual misery. Last fortnight, our eastern neighbour was reeling under flood waters. The aircraft between Dhaka and Cox’s Bazar was flying over vast spaces submerged under water. If people make a nation, it could be said that nearly a third of Bangladesh was virtually floating over water, with people perched over trees, riding boats, rafts made out of stems of banana trees, and even drums.


I was visiting Bangladesh after full 16 years. During my previous visit in 1991, Bangladesh was breathing easy with elections round the corner. Dictator General H. M. Ershad had just been deposed. Contrastingly, the people this time seemed to be enjoying a respite from a fractious democracy. Democracy during the last 16 years was no happy experience for Bangladeshis. The rule of the two warring Begums, Khaleda and Hasina, had torn down the polity to the last man down the line.  Fatigued by strikes, bandhs and walkouts in the Sansad (Parliament), the current interim government is seen as a relieving interregnum.


It is widely acknowledged that the country is under a military backed government. Yet there is no sign of men in khaki patrolling the streets of Dhaka. The newspapers are replete with stories of ill-gotten riches of politicians of all varieties and their minions, being unearthed. Hasina is already cooling her heels inside the jail and Khaleda is virtually under house-arrest. Instances of abuse of power during the last 16 years are being brought to book. Sixteen upper floors of massive Rangs Bhaban in central Dhaka were demolished under Supreme Court orders. The edifice was a monumental symbol of misuse of power by the powers that be in the past.


While the people seem to be enjoying the scrutiny of the past misrule by begums and their corrupt progeny, it is not certain in what shape the people’s power would be restored. The present incumbent cannot overstay the welcome period and it will begin to dissipate soon. But the generals in khaki have already indicated that they would like to have a permanent stake in the future dispensation in the country. It is a poignant commentary on Bangladesh politics which was thought to be firmly on the road to democracy. Alas! Democracy does not translate into responsible governance in most Muslim countries. 

Notwithstanding all its poor governance, Bangladeshis have grown confident of themselves. Economic fortunes are clearly upswing. Dhaka is dotted with hundreds of skyscrapers. Sixteen years ago, only the commercial district of Motijheel had them. Now they are all over the sprawling city which is said to be crammed with 12 million people. City thoroughfares are choc-a-bloc with cars at all hours of the day. Shiny cars do symbolize the soaring private wealth. But the near absence of public transport is a powerful reminder of the priorities having gone wrong. The railway system too is archaic with roof-top traveling being commonplace.


Private universities abound. The last count puts their number at 52. Every single large building complex in the posh Dhanmondi and Gulshan areas of Dhaka hosts a University. Private engineering colleges too proliferate. There are eight private TV channels vying for people’s eyes and ears. Madrassas, each more orthodox than the other, are mushrooming all over the country. International NGOs are another racket. Some of them even run private universities.


The new confidence mainly stems from the country’s march to economic self-reliance. Though still some way behind in food self-sufficiency, Bangladesh has done well on the front. Remittances from overseas Bangladeshis have gone up after 9/11 which now stand at $6 billion annually. Nearly two million Bangladeshis are now said to be working in Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Japan besides three million elsewhere in the Gulf etc. Bangladeshi ready-made garments (RMG) are now sold worldwide, albeit under foreign brands. This sector employs as many as three million women which has led to significant rise in women’s empowerment and fetches almost $6 billion annually. The country has done well on the pharmaceutical front too. Now 250 large pharmaceutical companies export medicine to 50 countries. Significant leaps have been made in manufacturing of shoes, leather goods, ceramics and in the fishing sector.


People everywhere seem to be well-fed and well clothed. But for Bangladesh to look less cluttered, the governance and planning rulers must make the people their priority rather than politics.

Bangladesh has over 700 rivers. The Brahmaputra and Padma (It is how Ganga is known here) are truly magnificent. During monsoons, they expand to merge together to flood the southern deltaic land. Rain runoffs from the entire Himalayan system from India and Nepal hurtle down to Bangladesh’s river system. Economist M. Shafiuallah at the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute told me: Even when there is not a drop of rain here, we get flooded. His comment is significant. The country has hardly any hills or natural barriers to store water. It all drains off to the Bay of Bengal, washing down crops, cattle and human beings. Rich silt deposits contribute to soil’s fecundity. That is how they are the major resource but are also the principal hazard.

United Airline’s 37-seat aircraft flew us into Cox’s Bazaar. It is a beautiful seaside town sandwiched between hills on the east and roaring Bay of Bengal on the West. It is situated on a 200-km long beach. We spent three days discussing total quality management (TQM) in the voluntary sector on the invitation of an NGO. Sessions were interspersed with visits to beach and sylvan hilly tracts studded with scenic waterfalls. The region is less peopled by Bangladeshi standards. Several Buddhist temples pop out of the hills and tribal Chakmas, if I am not wrong inhabit them.