The tide of patriotism must be raised again

There have been many atrocities in the world committed in the name of religion. Countless incidents of murder, genocide and rape have taken place. Patriotism, too, has caused no less bloodshed in its name. The story of the so-called patriots Hitler and Mussolini is not a fairy tale. It is a very real and harsh truth. The current president of the United States is busy creating state terrorism. He is raising the desire for plunder and world domination, and mixing religion with it, both outside and inside his own country.

But these are all distortions of patriotism. True patriotism loves the people of the country. It is not blind. This patriotism must be democratic. It does not deny the democratic rights of the people. Instead, it recognises those rights and works to protect them. This kind of patriotism is self-defensive. It does not think of attacking other countries. It only seeks a secure place for itself.

In this context, the position of the mother tongue must be given the highest importance. Human culture is made up of many elements, and all are important. But language is the most powerful among them. Language is greater than religion. We can take great pride in the fact that we led a campaign to protect the honour of our mother tongue. The role of that movement in the creation of Bangladesh was not secondary but primary. Our movement received praise from the whole world. It has even been accepted as an example to follow. Today, every country is making efforts to protect its own culture. Faced with the serious threat of globalisation, endangered cultures are defending themselves by turning to their mother tongue. This is natural. The mother tongue is the best medium of education and the main means for self-identity.

The patriotism that goes hand in hand with democracy is like a mother, full of affection and compassion. In contrast, aggressive and fascist patriotism is patriarchal. The mother tongue is closely linked with the mother.

In 1971, the greatest truth for patriotic Bengalis was the oppression of women. No other single incident terrified and infuriated Bengalis at home and abroad as much as the oppression of women. In July 1971, a meeting of the Awami League parliamentary party executive committee was held in Mujibnagar. At that meeting, the then Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmed described the barbarity of the occupying forces by giving the example of the oppression of women. He said that the Nazis had burned people in gas chambers, but the invading Pakistanis had gone even further. In Tajuddin's words, "After brutally torturing the women, they tied them to a tree, stripped them naked, and shot them in their private parts. Every good son of Bengal must take revenge for this. The women must be brought back to its place of honour. We will not rest until we can do that. Until then we will not claim to be the good sons of our mother.” (Abdul Aziz Bagmar, ‘Dream of Independence: Emergence and Achievement’, p. 220).

The main point is this: if we do not want to sink into despair; if we do not want to surrender; and if we do not want to slide into degradation, then patriotism must be re-established. That is the broad path to unity.

We must stand with patriotism. But we must not consider patriotism enough by itself. The question will immediately arise: what kind of patriotism do we want? What is needed is a patriotism that works towards building a democratic state and society. By democracy, I mean equality of rights and opportunities among citizens, the decentralisation of state power, rule by elected representatives at all levels, and above all, the recognition of the fundamental rights of citizens.

The tide that once rose has now subsided, but it is possible to revive it. For that, only people inspired by patriotism and committed to democracy will have to come forward. Unity will be needed. The leadership of the two major parties has already been tested, and those leaders have failed the test badly. Hope now lies with new leadership, the kind that will develop through the movement. If that movement moves forward, people will move away from religious fundamentalists.

If there is no country, where will the leaders of the country be, whether they try to protect it or not? The unconstitutional interim government of Bangladesh has handed over country’s lands, ports and many things to foreigners through secret agreements. There is a movement against this. A government spokesperson has said that the agreement was made with the consent of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami. As a result of this anti-national agreement, no importance has been given to protecting the country’s independence and sovereignty. Yet these people have been given the responsibility of running the country.

The country must be saved. Otherwise, how will we survive, no matter how important we may be as individuals? If there is no country, there is no reason to think that foreigners will show any respect for important individuals.

A flow of terrorism, corruption and despair is taking place. Security in people’s lives has decreased. The rule of money now dominates everything. The teenager who once jumped forward at the sight of someone else’s danger and stood up against injustice now has only one dream and it is to become rich quickly. In the pursuit of this greed, such young people can do anything. Just as a few days ago some teenagers killed a schoolboy they knew out of greed for money and then cut his body into pieces. The same thing is happening everywhere in society at different levels and in different ways, in an atmosphere of mob terrorism. Compassion has disappeared. And there is no fear left. On the other hand, people are indeed terrified and angry when they see and hear all this, but they are unable to show any organised reaction. Everyone is busy with their own affairs.

The first and foremost responsibility for curbing crime lies with the state. But the state is failing to fulfill that responsibility. This shows who is really in control of the state. Many law enforcement officers are not worried when they see crime. Instead, they feel happy, hoping to get bribes from the criminals.

The flow is also of capitalism. This capitalism does not believe in production, investment or innovation. It believes only in plunder. It does whatever is necessary for the purpose of plunder, including killing its own people. It does not hesitate. We want a reverse flow against this. It is not a spontaneous one, but a well-organised one. A patriotic movement is necessary, a movement that will not be blind. It must know that its goal is to make the state and society democratic. Without this movement, the country has no future, no matter how much we cry or express our anger. This is not a new movement. It already existed. It now needs to be accelerated and deepened through proper organisation. Without this, the country will not survive. That is, none of us will survive.

Writer: Serajul Islam Choudhury, Emeritus Professor, University of Dhaka