The Dream of Building a Neat and Prosperous Bangladesh!

— Md. Zillur Rahman Chowdhury

Update Time : 12:00:04 pm, Tuesday, 8 September 2026
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Bangladesh is a land of rivers, water, and fertile soil—a country of dense, deep green. It is an agrarian nation filled with flowers, fruits, and birds. The stories of granaries overflowing with paddy, cow-sheds full of cattle, and ponds brimming with fish belong to this beloved Bangladesh. In the eyes of the poet: “In what peerless beauty, Mother, have I beheld you, Rural Mother! Shining with graceful charm amidst flowers, crops, wet clay, and water.” This is the legendary tale of Mother Bengal’s beauty. The people of this land were happy—happy like the man in the poem “Happy the Man.” Their homes, courtyards, flowers and fruits from their own trees, shade, fresh air, paddy from their own fields, fish from their ponds, milk from their cows, and muslin from their own looms—they had it all! They never had to beg from anyone for their essential needs. The chirping of birds, the murmur of rivers, and the soul-stirring melodies from the open throats of carefree boatmen were all part of Bengal. Life was as simple, fresh, orderly, and joyful as nature itself. Every necessity for living was abundantly available in the soil of this country.

Drawn by the fragrance of this fertile soil, many came from afar to rule and exploit this land. You surely remember the Borgis (marauding raiders)? That history of exploitation is brutal and long. Under thousands of years of foreign rule, the backbone of the Bengali people was not merely eroded; it was broken. In most cases, these outsiders suppressed our simple ancestors in this land of alluvial soil and looted its wealth. Consequently, the country’s potential collapsed. Do we not remember the emaciated farmers forced to cultivate indigo instead of paddy on their small plots of land? Decades of oppression and misrule shattered the socio-economic structure of this nation. They destroyed our pride piece by piece. They did not just steal our pride and heritage, the famous muslin; they even severed the fingertips of the master weavers so that this industry could never stand again!

Their greatest damage was depriving this country of its freedom, binding a peace-loving people in the chains of slavery for centuries. The result of that exploitation and oppression was the faded face of Mother Bengal. Do you remember the Great Bengal Famine of 1770 (chiyattorer monnontor )? During that tragedy, ten million people perished in a famine caused by the predatory tax system imposed by plunderers. Trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty, illiteracy, and superstition, the people of this land faced a monumental crisis just trying to survive; standing tall or thinking of independence was almost forgotten. For a thousand years, the people of this land could not govern or manage their own country, society, economy, or politics. Yet, to free their motherland from the octopus-like grip of invader oppression, the freedom-loving people have a glorious history of repeatedly sacrificing their blood and lives. This nation will never forget the souls lost in the centuries-long struggle for freedom: “How many lives were sacrificed at the altar of the temple of freedom, written in tears.”

Following a long tradition of struggle, Bangladesh achieved independence in 1971. That long-awaited victory was fought against discrimination, exploitation, and oppression—earned at the cost of millions of lives and a sea of blood. An opportunity emerged to build the nation on our own terms. People filled their hearts with hope, believing true liberation was finally at hand. That genuine dream resided in the hearts of ordinary citizens. Consequently, they expressed their democratic spirit in every movement, struggle, and national election by voicing their expectations and opinions. They spontaneously participated in acceptable elections and movements. Conversely, when met with deception and political maneuvering, these same people turned away. Whenever given the chance, the common people never failed to deliver the right verdict. They have placed political parties of nearly every ideology into power, giving them the opportunity to serve the nation. Yet, the cherished socio-economic liberation of the people of Bangladesh remains elusive to this day!

The primary reason for this is the lack of national unity, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence. Even with differing political ideologies, there are examples around the world of nations uniting on core national issues to build a prosperous country together. But that is absent in our nation. The violence born out of disunity, division, and conflict has claimed—and continues to claim—the lives of many political leaders, activists, members of various forces, public and private employees, and ordinary citizens. This pattern has continued for 54 years since independence. This is precisely where the dreams of the country and its people are stuck! Everyone remains fixed, obstinate, and unyielding in their own ideologies and arguments; no one is willing to compromise. As a result, movements take place, elections are held, and governments change, but political coexistence and a stable Bangladesh are never realized. The flow of socio-economic development fails to remain continuous; instead, it is repeatedly disrupted.

Building an advanced and orderly society depends on the beauty, intellectual honesty, and mental refinement of its educated citizens. The clearer, more constructive, refined, logical, and polite people’s thoughts, words, and behaviors are, the more beautiful society becomes. When individual behavior improves, collective social behavior follows suit, making the overall image of the nation graceful and orderly. Through mutual interactions based on best practices, society advances toward excellence. This discourages social ills such as quarrel, conflict, division, malice, gossip, slander, reluctance to work, laziness, drug addiction, terrorism, oppression, irregularity, corruption, and illiteracy. Society gradually becomes familiar with better ideas and actions, elevating the quality of life. Society becomes creative and productive.

Through education and the pursuit of knowledge, new experiences and discoveries are continuously added to society’s repository. Society progresses by shunning the evil and embracing the good. Over time, as a society becomes more research-oriented, it develops a scientific temperament and advances in information technology. As knowledge and experience grow, people’s speech, behavior, and actions become more polished and refined; the standard practice of language, literature, and culture increases, enriching the beauty of social norms, thought, and style. Non-violence, unity, solidarity, mutual coexistence, and a sense of accountability further elevate society. The more knowledge is acquired and the more truth and beauty are practiced, the more people adapt to a clean, well-organized, rhythmic, balanced, and mature life. As a result, human lifestyle, society, and the nation become neat, orderly, and prosperous. Since independence, we were supposed to walk this path. We are independent, we are free; yet the answer to how successful we have been in building this dreamed-of neat and prosperous Bangladesh remains unknown!

Just as every individual goes through an apprenticeship on the path to becoming advanced and successful, so do nations and societies. However, it seems that the political and economic apprenticeship of Bangladesh and its people is not ending even after more than half a century! We are stuck in endless talk and preparation; when it comes to implementation, we repeatedly stumble! Our stories of political violence, instability, unearned income, loan defaults, corruption, lack of transparency, inefficiency, and poverty are not shrinking day by day! In contrast, Japan, nearly destroyed in World War II, not only turned itself around within four decades but also dominated the global economy and continues to do so today; their per capita income is around $36,000 USD with a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.925. Meanwhile, our per capita income, which was around $94 USD in 1971, has risen after 54 years to just $3,020 USD in the 2025–26 fiscal year (BBS), with an HDI of 0.685. Although per capita income has increased slightly, high inflation raises debate over whether the real purchasing power of the people has actually improved. Furthermore, income inequality continues to widen. The greatest concern is that if we proceed at this pace, Bangladesh’s ability to transition into a developing country will face severe challenges!

Society does not rebuild itself automatically; leadership is indispensable. Today, the primary guidance and inspiration for society come from the government, acting as the voice of the people. Governments take many forms, but the goal of every patriotic government is the same: the development of society and the improvement of people’s living standards. If a democratic system of government is to be established in a country, there must be complete honesty, transparency, and acceptability in elections. Otherwise, that government will lack the trust and support of the people. A government formed through political tricks resorts to oppression to survive, making it incapable of transforming society because it lacks public trust. However, when a government is transparent and accountable, it receives public support in building the nation and society. The aspirations of the people are genuinely reflected in its work, and society accepts it, moving forward on the path of development and prosperity. Yet experience shows that in this country, movements, mass uprisings, or revolutions happen repeatedly; blood is shed and countless lives are lost, but the desired change never comes.

People welcome, adopt, practice, and maintain the creative initiatives of a government that is welfare-oriented, transparent, and accountable. For example, people will accept and work alongside the government to build an orderly and prosperous society when the government implements quality educational planning, ensures unadulterated food and medicine for public health, constructs eco-friendly and planned infrastructure (houses, offices, roads), utilizes land, rivers, canals, wetlands, forests, and mountains while preserving biodiversity and ecological balance, and executes effective waste management rules across homes, offices, streets, and water bodies. Regrettably, Bangladesh has not walked the path of planned, integrated, well-structured, and artistic development over the long past. Whatever progress has been made remains chaotic, untidy, and disorganized. Although the people of Bangladesh are repeatedly disappointed in realizing this dream, they are immensely patient. They lose repeatedly, yet they take to the streets again and sacrifice their lives for change. That desired change does not come easily, yet they cherish the hope in their hearts that one day it will—they do not give up hope!

Neither the villages nor the cities of Bangladesh are developing in a planned manner. Rapid urbanization is taking place, but through entirely unplanned ways. People purchase land wherever they can and construct buildings according to their personal whims. Both villages and cities are expanding. People build houses on agricultural land according to their own designs. As a result, roads almost everywhere in our country are crooked. Markets, shops, and houses spring up right along the roadside across both rural and urban areas, and waste is dumped indiscriminately by the roads. No one complies with eco-friendly sanitation and waste management practices during construction. Now, piles of garbage are accumulating everywhere—in villages, cities, and industrial zones alike. Both land and water are becoming polluted. Heavy rainfall leads to waterlogging in cities and flooding in villages! The environment is under severe threat.

Even in educational institutions, where people should learn how to lead an orderly life, there are heaps of garbage. In government offices and courts, where educated individuals carry out executive duties to build society, foul-smelling, unhygienic environments prevail. Their washrooms are unfit for use. No one seems bothered by this; things remain as they are, kept dirty yet continually used! This state has persisted for years, if not worsened. Across the country, modern architecture and round-the-clock management for public toilets—like those found in developed countries—are virtually non-existent. People relieve themselves wherever and however they can. In some places, waste left on sidewalks spills over onto main roads and floats away, while we simply stand by and watch, as if there was never anything to say or do, past or present.

Without a change in political culture, and without reining in corruption, injustice, misdeeds, and high-handedness, a society built on integrity, good governance, justice, moderation, and aesthetic behavior cannot be established. The suppression of evil and the protection of the good will not be ensured, and stability will not return to the country. Crime, anarchy, and mismanagement will not cease. Securing quality food, clothing, shelter, education, healthcare, entertainment, and a clean environment for all citizens will remain difficult. Socio-economic inequality will not decrease; it will increase. A healthy environment will not return, nor will domestic and foreign investment grow. In this reality, Bangladesh is suffering immensely today.

In this unstable and difficult situation, someone must make a great sacrifice for the sake of the country, society, and its people. National unity and solidarity must be established. Rot at the top—stopping the decay at the head—must be halted at any cost. Only then will peace and comfort return to society. The rule of law will be established. Fear, anxiety, and distress will be erased from society. Democracy will be strengthened. Human talent and initiative will flourish. Education, knowledge, and research will expand. Citizens will practice their rights and duties responsibly. Society will become refined, and taste will evolve. Information technology, fashion, architecture, and design will flourish. Environment, ecological balance, and biodiversity will all be restored; and our country will become prosperous and orderly, just like developed nations. Once again, this land of fertile alluvial soil will become a green Bangladesh, a pristine Bangladesh—the land of those happy people!

Author: Retired Chairman (Grade-1),

Bangladesh Land Port Authority,

Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh

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