The ongoing shifts in values
Amit Roy Chowdhury
At the mid 70s at Darsana, a small industrial town on the South-West of Bangladesh, I do clearly remember the days of my childhood, the way of my schooling or my grooming up to adulthood. I knew my family, their personal likes or dislikes. When I had to interact with the society, I had to accommodate myself allowing others to negotiate through their exclusive zones. I learnt a set of ideals in tune with post liberation ethos and I was taught to get over selfish impulses. Heroes were known and villains were not unmarked either. But people could easily single out a miscreant, an extortionist, a corrupt officer, an immoral professional or an illegal money monger. They were numbered but were emphatically repulsive. Over the years, the situation scrolled reverse. The honest people are overwhelmingly outnumbered in the society. More alarming is the trend that they cease to win an access to the elite club of honor. At the end of the day, the stellar performers find themselves alien in their own surroundings, much to their distress they are left out uncared and unsung.
Bangladesh emerged as a nation state with its strong commitment to inclusive socio-economic order and social justice. Bangladesh proved her potential by addressing many issues of MDGs, leaving behind many of the developing nations. But the thing that concerns us much is all pervasive corruption that swallows up one third of our total GDP. I wont like to focus on the prevailing economic order that allegedly harbours such breeding grounds for corruption. I should rather stress on underlying human motives that simply ratify primitive longings for power and money that we fail to bring under reins.
I would bring forth some striking contradictions of attitudinal parameter that varies in the declining order during the last three decades. I can recap some shining faces from my fading memories- a cross-section of my teachers ranging from primary to university level who influenced me obsessively, gave shape to my identity, organized my disjointed thoughts or instilled values in my biological way of becoming a human being. I do recollect some renowned physicians, lawyers and sports personalities who were, beyond any doubt, selfless and committed in their concerned areas. I can dig out from the pool of oblivion a panel of such political personalities; who represented their political faiths with astounding conviction and commitment with an ample authority on issues that concern us. They were not exceptions; simply unpretentious and extraordinary in their respective disciplines. I dont know where they are now or even whether they are alive or not. Again, I assert they were among many others. Thus I developed a sense of love and interest in politics and they still haunt me in my seclusion with their ideals that stand a stark contrast to the present trend of politics; where hypocrisy largely predominates.
But now I have known many of my colleagues due to job affiliation, some teachers are leaders in ranking who manage to attract thousand students daily to their private coaching centers. Guardians, on the other, are equally pursuing the most short-cut methods to ensure their wards career elbowing out other aspirants by any means. Unfortunately enough, I had to survive a myocardial infarction in 2013 and in the way unfolded another chapter of injured feelings. Having enjoyed some favors from a BMA leader, I managed a serial of a gold medalist cardiac professor that was almost like getting a lottery prize. I met the doctor practicing in a well reputed clinic in the capital and to my utter surprise I found the doctor unusually aggressive when he saw that I had already done my routine investigations. He penalized me by repeating the tests and kept me waiting at the capital for a week. I cant imagine how the medical ethics allows a professor to deal a heart patient so harsh who just struggled back to life. One late afternoon at the early 90s, if my memory serves me right, I obeyed a traffic signal at the Royal intersection at Khulna and stopped my motor bike while many others were passing out without helmet, smart and bold. Predicting a kind of innocence of a poor commuter, two law enforcers swooped on me, my valid travel documents came under rigorous scrutiny and finally they seemed to have been annoyed as they discovered nothing wrong with me. If I continue to cite such examples, this write-up would certainly tax on readers` patience. But I can say unhesitant corruption plagues every sphere of public life.
We have every reason to believe that we have still some uncompromising, honest and dedicated citizens in politics and in other professions as well. So there remain little options other than scanning out first the exceptions who still stick to morality and they must be brilliantly focused lest their success stories of integrity and patriotism should get lost in negligence. It is high time we started launching a social movement by creating wider awareness and helped all patriotic forces get united to reign back degrading moral values and destroy the Frankenstein of corruption. Lets return to the values of 71 and get engaged in building a prosperous Bangladesh getting out of the rat race for worldly gains.
The writer is an educationist
