Our divided nation
The current sorry state of the country after 36 years of independence is not desirable but definitely unavoidable. Perhaps, this is the ultimate destination of a country whose people fail to agree on some fundamental ingredients essential for nation building. The ingredients are nationhood, national hero, and patriotism. A nation can't march forward on a democratic path without these ideological subjects.
For giving birth to a nation, there is a need for a national leader or leadership to construct what famous Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci calls the "headquarters" of a movement. Nations or people become capable of meaningful and effective political action only when they are organised. They become a people or "historical subjects" only when they are organised as such.
The leaders of the Awami League laid the foundation of the "headquarters" of the subsequent movements during the fifties. In the sixties, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman came to the forefront of the leadership, especially after the death of Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy in 1963.
The subjugation, repression, and economic deprivation meted out to the Bengalis by the Pakistani rulers brought them under a single banner of Bengali nationhood. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who had emerged as an unparalleled leader, acted as a catalyst in consolidating this nationalism. The historic 6-point demand was not only a charter for leading the country towards independence but was also a testimony to Bengali nationalism.
Through various movements and struggles, Mujib guided the nation towards the independence struggle. Bangladesh was born as an independent country after 9 months of bloody war under his leadership in 1971, although he was in a Pakistani jail.
We got an independent Bangladesh, but the process of formation of the nation based on Bengali nationalism, which was in its infancy during the 50s and 60s, still continued.
In fact, it takes a long time to consolidate nationhood. India had entered the process of becoming a nation in the late 19th century, and the process continued for several decades after independence in 1947.
Finally, India now stands on a solid foundation of Indian nationhood through unifying its people, taking into account regional, religious, caste, ethnic and linguistic differences.
But the process of becoming a nation or a "people" stopped suddenly after the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975. The nation-in-the-making process would have been consolidated but, instead, it had not only been stopped but was counteracted through another formula of Bangladeshi nationalism conceived by a journalist-turned minister of Ziaur Rahman's cabinet.
And the seed of disunity was thereby implanted in the very core of a nation. The poison-tree that was sown in the late 70s still continues to pour venom and manages to keep the country divided.
As I have already mentioned, in reference to leadership for carrying out a movement, especially a national movement, we find that the countries, which are born through war or mass struggle must have a national hero. In other words, the birth of a nation is closely linked to a national leader.
We can cite here the examples of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi of India, Mohammad Ali Jinnah of Pakistan, Kamal Pasha of Turkey, Gamal Abdul Naser of Egypt, Sukarno of Indonesia, Nelson Mandela of South Africa, Mao Tse Tung of China, and so on.
All these leaders, who had played the leading role in carrying out movements in their respective countries, are respected and revered by their fellow countrymen and leaders. There might have been controversies centring them but, for the sake of national unity, the countrymen kept the heroes above all debates.
A pearl is formed around a tiny particle. Without the particle, apparently having no face value, formation of this precious gem is not possible. Similarly, a nation can't be formed without a particle -- a national hero. And you can't create a hero at your whim.
Heroes are created through struggles. Bangabandhu became a national hero through leading the nation into the independence struggle and freeing the country from Pakistani occupation. But we have failed to give him due recognition. We killed him.
Like Bangabandhu, Gandhi was also assassinated. But the Indians never forgot their national hero, and keep him above all controversy. They did it because the Indian leaders understood that they needed a hero who could keep the nation united.
They told the people that, despite his limitations as a human being, they must get united under the umbrella of a national leader like Gandhi.
And what did we do? We not only killed Bangabandhu, we also assassinated his character. We tried to replace him by others. We destroyed his all achievements. Despite readymade references available in front of us, our rulers intentionally discarded those and tried to infuse their own theories to make a new nationhood and national hero.
And what was the fallout? The country's people are still divided. To us self-interest is the best interest; individual is greater than party; party is greater than country. Our businessman earn money here but accumulate it in foreign countries, our meritorious sons get foundational education here, but serve foreign nations, our intellectuals live on the sweat of the poor, but serve the interests of multinational companies.
Patriotism is the by-product of nationhood and national hero. If a person finds her/his identity (nationhood) and gets shelter under an "umbrella" (national hero), patriotism will automatically arise within her/him.
Can you find an Indian who compromises with national interest? That does not mean that all Indians are angels. There are corrupt people, plunderers, and thieves, but they all are patriotic.
After three decades of independence, we are lamenting over our achievements. In fact, nothing mentionable has been achieved, or whatever was achieved stands on a false foundation.
We are reprimanding politicians indiscriminately for this failure. But we are not investigating the root cause behind it. How can a country thrive on democracy when its formation has been aborted? How can the people of a country get united when its national hero has been defiled?
Nathuram Godse killed Gandhi, but the Indian nation-in-the-making was unhurt. But the assassins in Bangladesh not only killed Bangabandhu but also killed the Bengali nation-in-the-making.
The death of a person, Mujib, would not have figured so prominently if the growth of nationhood was unhindered. But the plotters were aware of the fact that their mission would fail if Bengali nationalism, based on which the country got independence, was not wiped out. After introducing Bangladeshi nationalism, they knifed the constitution and abolished secularism, another ideological weapon of our liberation struggle.
Against the backdrop of 11/1, many people are providing prescriptions to get out of the ills that have engulfed the country. Some think that our ailment will be cured with the ongoing symptom-based treatment. But we should take into account that a divided nation can't prosper.
Democratic values will not work in a country where people do not value its past glories, achievements and traditions. Patriotism will not awaken within the people unless they get united under a common nationhood and national hero.
Unless and until we understand this simple logic and act towards this direction, our freedom will be a mirage.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments