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Proud Bangladesh!

11 September 2005, 18:00 PM
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
By Farah Tasneem Dhanmondi, Dhaka
11 September 2005, 18:00 PM
We fought the liberation war to free our great nation. About 34 years after we are proud of the 'democracy ' that we have. We as a people are indeed an ingenious lot. We have given a new meaning to the word democracy. In our democratic country, political parties create armed battalions out of their student wings. In our democratic country more votes are 'bought' than 'obtained', and ballots are burned, rather than counted. Our ministers think media is the greatest enemy of the country. But we have a great sense of pride: we defend our country against any degrading remark from foreigners. When an outsider says our country is a breeding ground for terrorists, we vehemently oppose. So, what do August 21, 2004 and August 17, 2005 prove ?

There are no terrorists in our country. So why Transparency International tagged us as the most corrupt country in the world? We commemorate it by posing it as a question in the BCS preliminary exams. Our country is not on the verge of a fundamentalist revolution--so what the number and might of extremist groups are increasing by the hour.

We Bengalees are in constant denial: we experience everything yet we see nothing; we suffer atrocities yet we do not protest or prevent. We are too proud to admit that there is something wrong with our country. It is more important for us to save the face than to save the soul. But isn't it more logical that we try to eliminate the causes of our problems, rather than hiding our shame with false pride?

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