Stop the Bleed

As a faculty of the university, I was invited to lecture in some high-profile places, public and private. I had a small car that I drove myself. Once, as I was returning home after a lecture the host was eager to help me. He took my car key and asked the secretary to bring it to the reception. To help her find, my host described it as an 'old' car' parked near the exit. Yet we are a poor country and people indulge in the display of indecent luxuries. Wonder how poets viewed poverty as the pride of their lives that in turn made them great. Nazrul was not rich and had his share of misery. People in the country struggle for basic needs of life, beginning with food. Once I visited the ailing father of the caretaker of the house. He was in the midst of a meal, eating pantha. There was nothing else as his wife struggled with the cooker to warm up the meagre lentil. The damp matchsticks would not light up. Yet, there have been times when the world behaved different. Ratan Tata is an example of some such persons who chose to give away much wealth at the peak of his business. Once, I sat next to a Minister of the Government as I flew from Dubai. I do not know what made him fly in the economy class. Whatever the reason, it was a nice gesture, better than walking past the aisle with a makeup smile.

We live in a world of contrasts. As the country prepares for elevation from the LDC, the poverty within is on the rise. Inflation is a killer, in particular for those on fixed income. We now have one of the highest bank interest rates in the world. It is considered a cure for the inflation, the two of them supposedly move in opposite directions. In our case they appear to be moving in the same direction. Luxury abounds while the poor go hungry. Is there any cure? Amartya Sen showed how the hoarders were the reason for nonavailability of food during a famine. A similar group of people may be the reason for the high prices of food in the country, now in a difficult situation. Have we crossed an irreversible tipping point? In a similar fashion, consider the mugging on the streets that go unabated in some cities. The school goers in the morning and office returnees from late work in the evening or travellers from out of the city are some of the victims. This is also a trauma as it is not a one-day peril for a school goer, or a school teacher or a morning walker. I once asked a police officer, a former student, why it cannot be controlled. He was uncomfortable in his reply. It is the politicians who intervene as the muggers are locked up. Perhaps, we need a Singham like situation. May sound amusing, but it is a desperate situation needing desperate measures.

As bad practices continue unabated, the country sinks not only in water along the coastlines, similar to Maldives, but also in social abuses. The cure requires out of the box thinking. How about engaging some of the habitual young muggers in an unconventional manner such as digging the canal, that has now been revived? They will be better engaged and the society will benefit. At the least, it will be a deterrent to the future wrong doers. It could begin in a manner similar to taking people on remand, though for a longer period, say a month at a time. Britain did something similar as some prisoners were transported to a distant continent. America created an island with a similar purpose. Too much caution is not an option as we see now in disbursement of forfeited property owned through abuses. Cannot be easily sold in spite of court rulings and regulatory support. Most such places lie abandoned. How about razing them to the ground and return to farmers from whom the lands were taken, sometime under coercion? Sounds weird! Mao was also weird when he talked about the hundred flowers to bloom to the extent of forcing white collar workers to the fields. As I look back to my university days, it does not seem weird. This is how China rose. In a similar manner Tuglak was called the mad king when he wanted to shift the capital from Delhi. But his ideas had reasons, though not allowed to happen by vested interests. Against this background, look at us as we concentrate on the city of Dhaka. Much wrong has been done to some cities as offices were shifted from where they naturally belonged to. Yet there are countries with two capitals. We could have three, for business, legislation and administration. This would be a natural progression for Dhaka to make it live better by stopping the bleed from excesses that now prevail.

chowdhury.igc@gmail.com