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'How patriotic are we?'

5 May 2006, 18:00 PM
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
By Jamiul Walid, On e-mail
5 May 2006, 18:00 PM
My letter refers to Mr. Shamsher Chowdhury's thought-provoking post editorial 'How patriotic are we?" To me, the word 'patriotism' is jargon over-used by clever politicians for mobilising common people in their favour and realising their goals. I am sorry to say that, in practice, patriotism is the least priority in my life and for that matter nobody should expect me to demonstrate patriotism the way I am taught by the politicians or in the schools. The key, which the writer has rightly pointed out, is honesty. If you are honest and sincere, you will be automatically doing things as one may expect from a patriot. However, you cannot achieve honesty by using good words only. Human beings are by nature vulnerable to vices and, in our society where values are eroding at an alarming rate, we are particularly prone to dishonesty. It is, obviously, the responsibility of the state to devise a realistic mechanism so that none, from a lawmaker to a peasant, can escape the law and have no choice but being honest. How can we do that?

Information technology can be a viable answer. Introduction of machine readable personal ID cards and establishment of central database is helping many countries in Europe to keep people away from crimes, tax evasion, illegal bank transaction etc. It's a simple solution. Money is in the heart of all crimes and the key-motivating factor for a man to be dishonest. Schools, police stations, offices, banks, telephone subscription centres, airports, trade license issuing authorities, vehicle registration authorities, hospitals and so on may store information of all their transactions with customers in the central database through compulsory use of ID cards. This way it will be possible to track one's activities and would ultimately limit the use of illegal money. Once you know that you are being monitored it will be easy for you as well to refrain from illegal acts.

The infrastructure needed for this will, of course, call for a huge investment. Initially, the government may build the infrastructure and all the stakeholders, including customers, could share the cost later. I believe, if the government launches this project as a part of its anti-corruption campaign, many foreign countries would come forward with necessary fund and technology.

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I am writing this based on my experience in Europe. I am sure there is someone among the readers of your esteemed newspaper who is more knowledgeable about the use of database and would share the technical aspects of my proposition.