July 24th to June 25th. Almost a year. It’s a different time. Did you know that on July 1st of last year, the calendar was going to change? Initially, there was a quota reform movement in government jobs. It turned into a one-point movement, remove Hasina. And then the miracle happened. Sheikh Hasina is on a roll. It was a terrible, unbelievable, breathtaking, dramatic, tragic turn. There was no government in the country. And then there was an interim government. There will definitely be a movie in the future with this exciting episode of 100 hours of tension.

One.

But then? There are many stakeholders in the country. hundreds of political parties. Everyone is silent. The smaller the group, the louder the leader’s voice. All have become public servants. Now all eyes are on a sign. The certificate will be issued in July. It will be based on political consensus.

Coordinators of the anti-discrimination student movement were at the centre of the July Movement. At this point, that’s all we know. I don’t know the inside. The deposed leaders of Awami League, however, say that there was a deep-rooted conspiracy behind the movement. Conspiracy is the food of politics in this country. We have been doing it for decades, for centuries. We see the conspiracy behind any change. I hope the peddlers of this theory will soon find out the conspirators.

We were talking about July. August 5th was the D-day of change. A certificate will be issued at that time. A paragraph about what we want, where we want to go, what we want to go through – this was expected at that time. Then people would listen to the coordinators. People loved and respected him. That didn’t happen. This shows that everyone was unprepared for D-Day.

The government is now draughting the certificate to be given to the protesters. That is, it is going to be a government charter, in which the support of political parties will be sought. It will be based on political consensus. A political consensus? What’s that again? All parties want to insert some of their ‘stomach wards’ or tied bulls into the charter. Everyone will agree that this is not a bad thing. I do not see how the conflicting parties can agree on the wording of this charter. If so, it would be another revolution.

So why are we so obsessed with it? Will the writings of the Charter change our lives? In the preamble of the Constitution of seventy-two, all the beautiful and pleasant words of this world were removed and put in place. We have got democracy, we have got socialism. Religion was also on fire. Nationalism is an essential component of the nation state. It cannot be ignored! And then there are human rights in this book. What’s happened? From the beginning, it was one hit after another.

The words of the Constitution remained on paper. In a country where the majority of the people do not know education, literacy means only going to class five, they did not even know that they have been given the ownership of the country in this holy book. They are not responsible for the owners because they do not know. Will the situation change if a new law is passed? The real owners of the country will not know what is written in it. The majority of the people have not seen the Constitution. It’s far from reading.

 

What’s left and what’s left?

 

Those who fought in 1971 and 1920 did not do it for themselves. They fought for the freedom of the country. Attempts were made to buy their loyalty by misleading them with various bribes. It still happens. The fighters need to stand up against it. If not, they will have to part with these funds. There will be countless warriors like a frog’s umbrella. Bribe trade will continue, as the previous governments did. His evidence is there.

 

Two. 

 

He was a freedom fighter. This is the second time the country has become independent. “We’re getting” “July Warrior” “now.” The fighters will be given state recognition in July. They will get various benefits. You’ll get a job, you’ll get paid, you’ll get paid. The warriors who came in search of fortune from the vast regions of Asia used to take sticks, swords and guns for the royal power for the goods of money, taluks and wealth. They were mercenaries or mercenaries. We have already made a section of the freedom fighters mercenaries by providing them with various spiritual facilities. There are many ‘fake freedom fighters’. If you somehow manage to collect a certificate, you can get a large amount of allowance while sitting.

Again, due to political animosity, many real freedom fighters did not get certificates on their foreheads. This is also the case with the July fighters. They are being thrown back into the trap of the quota against which they had agitated. As a result, they can be easily isolated from the rest of the population.

The society must take responsibility for the treatment and rehabilitation of those who have died, those who have been permanently crippled, those who have been injured. This was not done for the freedom fighters of 1971. But the idea of showing them as a privileged community in the eyes of society by repeating the fatwashing scheme launched in the name of the freedom fighters of 1971 did not come from a well-thought-out plan.

Those who fought in 1971 and 1920 did not do it for themselves. They fought for the freedom of the country. Attempts were made to buy their loyalty by misleading them with various bribes. It still happens. The fighters need to stand up against it. If not, they will have to part with these funds. There will be countless warriors like a frog’s umbrella. Bribe trade will continue, as the previous governments did. His evidence is there.

 

Three. 

 

There is a minimum age to vote and stand for election. It is proposed to reduce it further. This is a political thought. Parents have a strong desire to abolish political party organisations from educational institutions. Even the leaders of political parties do not allow their children to do student politics. If you don’t believe me, you can continue your investigation. Those who think about politicisation, look for their children, where they are doing what, what they are studying. My child will study at home or abroad and someone else’s child will be my stick – this is the mosaic of so-called student politics in this country. What else do they have to do except beat up the leader of the opposition party and zindabad in the name of the leader of the political party?

In educational institutions, there are lathis, chappatis, machetes, cocktails, guns. There are groups of teachers. They want to be provosts, vice-chancellors, members of various commissions or ambassadors by showing political loyalty. It’s not just education. If there is so much degradation, the demands and blockades of a handful of people are washed away and an entire batch of examinees are given auto promotion! This is where the culture begins.

On the one hand, he will sing the songs of youth, on the other hand, he will throw them into the well of party politics and brighten their future. A generation will get a degree without exams. Is there anyone who will give them a job? So where do they go? Do you want to go to the Middle East and work 18 hours a day, 10 by 10 in a room with 20 people sleeping on mattresses, or get a broker and drown in the Mediterranean Sea on the way to Europe, the heaven of dreams? Or to live by eating a leader’s stick or extorting him?

• Mohiuddin Ahmed, writer and researcher