Evolution

Since my childhood I have seen the power of student unity in various aspects of life. The students of this country have always taken the first step for any movement that we have seen in the pages of history. Probably being brought up in a university campus gave me the extra exposure to have the raw insights that was quite intriguing for anyone of that age. But I also observed the slow evolution of the student unity transforming into student political unity! Whether that’s a good thing or bad is beyond my ability to judge and also I don’t want to die early.

It all started for me when it was the great 90s with the movement against president Ershad. I saw how students got united disregarding their political affiliation. How they torched the railway tracks yet stood there with a red flag to stop the train from getting into harm. I saw how students asked the passengers humble to get off the bus before setting it on fire. I saw how they entered school classrooms and asked most gently the teachers to stop taking classes. At night I used to hear strange sounds. I had to ask one of my uncles who was a university student at that time what the sound was about. He replied with a great expert look on his face: “Those are gunshots. “They” are practicing. “They” are also making sure that everyone else knows that “they” got arms and be careful.”   - Never got the guts to ask who these “they” were. Then I saw the victory of student unity. Celebrations with sweets. I saw a fair and sound election. Then I saw the people who shared sweets running with sharp objects to beat each other.

During my college years, it never crossed my mind to enter politics neither to think about it. Although our college was politics free yet there were always groups who were involved in local political factions. I saw some classmates carrying pistols in their socks. (Oh God Almighty knows what they were carrying in their undies if only socks itself had pistols!!!) Then there was this incident that made me shake up a bit.

I wasn’t a great idol good boy but was renowned for my unusual stings and unconventional wickedness that sometimes even the teachers had to deal with. (for example: even I once called the principal a goat loud enough in open without knowing she was just next to me). So, it was a sunny morning. I was entering the college with my mountain bike that I used to roam around. On the ramp, there was this guy who used to be a “Pota” (“pati”+ “neta” = Pota; wannabe big shot leader). As I was trying to push the bike up the ramp he looked at me as if I was trying to push him off a cliff and with a vacant “gurgle-ish” voice asked me- hey take the cycle off the ramp and carry it over the stairs.” I was dumb founded thinking I was wrong or maybe I heard him wrong. Asked him, “Hey Dude ! (Now calling them “dude” is very insulting itself which I did not know at that time, they prefer to be called by “Big bro”-Borovai!), this ramp is for cycles, why don’t you just move an inch so that I can get up? (Now asking them to move? That’s beyond the manners for a commoner to a Wannabe big-shot). His reply came like a thunder: “did you take something?” (Referring to drugs!!!’Coz he never thought I was in normal state to ask him to move!!!). As always, the great Scion replies with the usual sting in the ass: “if I had taken anything, I would had been sitting on the ramp and asked others to use the stairs to pull up their bikes!!!” after that I simply entered the class. After the whole day of classes, when I was coming out from the college building, a guy came to me and asked me that “that” “Pota” is calling me to talk with him. Asking my other friends on the same route to wait a bit I went towards the back of the building. Even then nothing came into my mind as I had no dimension of thinking in this way negatively ever before. Just when I turned the curve I saw 3 or 4 guys with some “things” in their hand along with the Pota. The Pota came forward and started to push me. Using very offensive not-writable words with a physical push was too much at that moment for a poor tame college guy like me. When push comes to shove everyone revolts. So did I! Even before the Pota could imagine, I started punching and kicking him with all I have and fled the scene as soon as possible as I knew if they get hold of me, I would be nothing but a punching bag !

The following day was a horrific one. I explained the details to my parents and got grounded. My dad went to college and I also followed him after a while. I noticed a quite handsome number of goons around the campus who have been asked to “teach me a lesson”. Local security authority was informed as well as local political influential personnel.

After many more days passing by, I finished my grad school years, my post grad years. Yet I am constantly and intentionally biased to be rigid and reserved to express my political views. The moment I forget this or unintentionally cross the mental border I set for myself I find I move inside an argument where I feel out casted. Some people think I am mentally imbalanced. Some think I am against them (No matter which political party they support) and some even think I am not a Bangladeshi at all. (How pathetic!).

To me, this is my motherland. No one is more proud than me if you ask me of this country. But if you ask why I am proud of? I can’t reply. Because this pride comes from my veins-it’s my instinct. There are no reasons to be this much proud yet I am. Indians think we are bangla speaking people who deviated from the spirit of being “Bangla”. Pakistanis think we are muslims who are deviated from Islam. My point is, we are not a mix of India neither Pakistan. The mixture that you see is something unique and that uniqueness is called being “Bangladeshi”. It’s a pity that even after so many years we ourselves have never tried to uphold this uniqueness. Rather we always try to find the attachment of our uniqueness towards others adjacent cultures. The identity crisis that we are moving through is created by ourselves.

The incident that I mentioned was a glimpse of how student unity moved to student politics towards benefits for politics aka benefit for political backed people. What’s the result of this? The recent movement against Vat on education of private universities made me think once again of those golden days. When the ethics was stronger than logics. Morality stood on top of everything and we respected each other’s own spaces.

The political factions are just using the brilliant brains of this country to ruin the development of a happy peaceful nation. Each and every person who is academically a student is meritorious. Injecting the logics of a certain interest group in the name of being liberals, being soldiers of Islam, being atheist or open to religion, being in the side of the spirit of liberation war etc. All are same. If I launch a television channel and transmit Islamic programs the whole day and night it does not make my channel Islamic TV unless I morally and spiritually belief in Islam. Same goes to this, there are options for students and the demo that runs behind those option written doors are full of wealth and power. Actually it’s all vacant and null.  

Coming to the end, let me open your mind once again. The political parties say they are here for the benefit for people and for the welfare of society and country (huh?!). How many political parties have you seen has implemented their student wings to make even a single road stay neat and clean? Why isn’t there a movement against clean streets of the city? Why haven’t the student wings deployed their boys to control the jaywalkers in the busy streets of the city? Why there is no political mass movement for stopping motorbikes to stop using the footpaths?

There are thousands of causes that are for our benefit. No one moves for these other than the social entities/NGOs. Why? Because of they felt it more than us? No, because they know how to control a big market with minimum efforts. And we the mango people are very good at carrying orders instead of asking the reason of it.