Elephant in the room?
THE wielders of power, ensconced in its citadel, seldom venture demolition of established order so that their vested interests are protected from its falling debris. Until their moribund equation with the existing systems crumbles their preferred choice is status quo -- whether it is the BNP or AL holding the sceptre.
However much their politicians profess change, they carefully avoid the risks it involves. They talk ad nauseam of engineering, for example, in election whenever they see their prospects threatened, but maintain a deafening silence about undertaking social engineering to benefit the larger segment of our population because it might affect them adversely.
That's the pattern of our political behaviour! As a result, even as an "Awami" train has taken off with its front emblazoned with an invisible banner inscribed with the AL government's promise of a "Digital Bangladesh," it is frequently subjected to jerks, jolts and jitters. So much so that those on board are getting restive, not only because of discomfort and inconvenience but also due to apprehension as to the train's destination.
The digital overlords are, in the meantime, nonchalant about the socio-economic equilibrium required for a nation advancing together towards such a goal, about which the people are increasingly becoming sceptical. Unless the purpose and who will be the beneficiaries, of this "Digital Bangladesh" with "Vision 2021" are made clear, it is little more than hollow rhetoric on the surface.
In the first place, there is reason for public apprehension with regard to its feasibility in the face of a global recession without being provided with economic stimulus. Although the government has already handed out a bailout worth Taka 6,000 crores, its scope and coverage are rather narrow; with the exclusion from its windfall, if any, of the larger segment of our population, who will certainly be out of even its trickle-down effect.
Observers see it more as a quid pro quo between the relatively well-off business community in the name of salvaging the RMG export sector and a band of elitist politicians of the BNP -- composed of members of higher echelons of society -- and AL, which is also of the same ilk, though having a pro-poor stance.
Bangladesh came into being with socialism as one of its founding creeds holding out a promise of equal opportunity and egalitarianism, if not distribution of wealth in line with classical socialistic patterns. In a resource-poor Bangladesh we also heard of sharing poverty with each other.
Those lofty socialist dreams soon disappeared in thin air with the appearance of a band of greedy politicians who found a bonanza in the Bretton Woods prescription of economic conduct. Then, in keeping with the global trend, IMF-World Bank dominated economy came to rule the roost in our economic lives -- leaving the country's poor millions lurching.
Nevertheless, "Digital Bangladesh" is by all means a tremendous idea, though it cannot be achieved piecemeal. The entire country with its entire population will have to move together to achieve this goal. But even a casual glance at the present socio-economic milieu will reveal a divided society hardly capable of moving as a single body. Yes, "Digital Bangladesh" is indeed suggestive of progress and prosperity that are meant to be shared by all, but the wedge existing between the political class and the people renders it elusive.
Any such venture presupposes dismantling of the old socio-economic order and bringing about at least socio-economic equilibrium, if not equality, to involve the entire population in the process. More importantly, it would perhaps also require state intervention in favour of the entire people, and not only a segment. Through massive social engineering Singapore and South Africa did it by bringing their multi-racial society, immersed in terrible socio-economic disparity, on the same wavelength of national interest and moral standard.
In the large swathe of the underdeveloped world, the politicians do put on a messianic mask but seldom break with the past, steeped in social injustice and pervasive delusion, lest they themselves have to part with their vested interests and privileged position. We eagerly look forward to embracing a "Digital Bangladesh" with "Vision 2021," but the entire population will have to be taken along to make it a reality.
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