An unfinished victory

Taiwan has had a peculiar history. When the Chinese Communist Party established the People's Republic of China on the Chinese mainland in 1949, the Kuomintang Party (KMT), after having accepted an apparent defeat, relocated its seat of government in Taiwan. Since then upto 1987, the country has had two long spells of dictatorship under Chiang Kai-shek and his son. In 1987, a series of political reforms were launched to democratise the polity. In 1996, the people of Taiwan completed their first direct presidential election. The presidential election of 2000 ended five decades of government under KMT and peacefully transferred power to the victorious Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). It is generally accepted that Taiwan has been steadily grooming its democracy to a vibrant state. The democratic process combined with an entrepreneurial and educated people, a remarkable political culture has enabled Taiwan to grow into an economic powerhouse. Most of all, this economic development and political stability have benefitted literally all levels of society. At least one indicator of the social fallout of economic prosperity is the 18 percent of central government expenditures (2001) is in education; and the literacy rate is 96.03 percent (above age 15). The per capita income is US$12,916. Taiwan is the world's 17th largest economy, 14th largest exporter, and has the third largest foreign exchange reserves.

More than these impressive data on development what is pertinent for the purpose of this write-up is the explanation(s) for the same. My assessment, although instantaneous and not deeply investigative, is that, despite many oddities in circumstances from the very beginning a strong-willed and perceptive leadership combined with planning has effectuated this miracle. A casual observer cannot but have this kind of assessment even during a short stay as the one I have had. Most of all, these people appear to have had a hard training in discipline in every sphere of life. Space constraint and the demands for infrastructural expansion have not resulted in chaos or indiscipline anywhere. There are too many public and private transports moving along myriad and imaginatively planned public thoroughfares, but there is not the kind of traffic congestion and deafening honking with which we the hapless Dhaka residents have grown accustomed to. Traffic police are rarely to be seen, and police for maintaining law and order are also a rarity in the public. Even at the risk of sounding funny I would like to share an experience of mine while crossing a street. I found that even an unaccompanied dog crossed the street alone by the zebra-crossing; and while doing so it did look sideways as human beings do.

Perhaps this dog is trained, and not all dogs are similarly trained. But, for me, this small incident did appear to be a big example of the extent of discipline in Taiwanese public life. As my humble studentship of history takes me through more and more pages of the history of development and progress of people I grow convinced of some core lessons. The major lesson that I draw is that, without discipline, and without planning by an adequately qualified leadership no nation can forge ahead. These impressionistic words of mine should not be misconstrued to mean an eulogy for a country which still has its existential problem. What I have dilated on is an objective reality observed on the ground.

Coming back to home scenario, and to reflecting on what our military victory on 16 December 1971 has so far delivered, I am afraid, I have to write that we are a deficit country in leadership, planning and discipline; the major deficit being in leadership, the other two are minor corollaries. Our track-record in transiting from nationhood to statehood was pretty impressive. We fought the shortest liberation war against heaviest odds, and against a formidable adversary. Even the global context in which this shortest liberation war was fought was, to a large extent, unfavourable. Therefore, the victory in 1971 was a near miracle. But the real miracle did not follow this near miracle. Such despondent words as these might sound like those of a Cassandra; and one might even counter me with a long list of some insignificant gains that have been achieved over the troubled and uncertain years. But there remains weighty logic to say that our victory remains unfinished.

One would like to see the ultimate light even at the end of the darkest tunnel. A retrospection on the long background of this nation reveals that every positive turning in the past was effected only when there appeared broad-based people's unity and solidarity plus right type of leadership direction. This can happen now and in future provided good souls of the nation unite to wrest a positive future out of the present.

Dr. Syed Anwar Husain is former DG Bangla Academy.