The New Spirit of Independence: Renewal or the rise of chaos?

The modern world, marked by tumult and transition, has often been perceived by literary greats as teetering between regeneration and disintegration. T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land (1922) and W.B. Yeats’s The Second Coming (1919) delve into this precarious balance, with each text reflecting anxieties about societal collapse and the potential for dystopian futures. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958) revisits these themes within a colonial African context, offering a poignant exploration of cultural disintegration when traditional values and external pressures clash.

Together, these texts serve as warnings that misguided change or a lack of introspective renewal can lead to a devastating fall, a notion particularly relevant to contemporary Bangladesh. Without collective good sense, patriotism, and long-term vision, the promise of a "Second Coming" in the form of independence or social progress may instead unleash chaos, leading to spiritual, structural, and national decline.

Eliot’s The Waste Land encapsulates the existential despair of post-World War I Europe, portraying a fragmented, barren society bereft of meaning and direction. The poem’s vivid imagery—“a heap of broken images, where the sun beats”—symbolizes a spiritual vacuum and the collapse of a once-vibrant cultural order. Eliot juxtaposes myths of renewal, such as the Fisher King and the Grail legend, against the decaying modern world, suggesting that humanity has lost its moral and spiritual compass.

The poem warns that regeneration requires self-examination and a return to enduring values. For Bangladesh, the post-independence era echoes this theme. The country's journey from a hard-fought liberation in 1971 to its modern struggles with corruption, polarisation, and environmental degradation mirrors Eliot's desolate landscape. If collective efforts toward national progress remain marred by self-interest and short-termism, Bangladesh risks becoming a symbolic "waste land," where material progress masks deeper structural and spiritual decay.

Yeats’ The Second Coming offers an equally grim vision of societal collapse, prophesying an apocalyptic transition. The poem’s haunting lines, “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; / Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,” evoke an era of chaos as traditional structures disintegrate. Yeats envisions the rise of a monstrous entity—a “rough beast, its hour come round at last”—as the harbinger of a dystopian rebirth.

For Yeats, change without a moral or spiritual anchor breeds monstrosity rather than renewal. This idea resonates with Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, where the arrival of European colonizers disrupts the Igbo community's harmony. Okonkwo, the protagonist, struggles to reconcile his traditional values with the cultural invasion, ultimately succumbing to despair and death. The novel illustrates that external change imposed without understanding or adaptation leads to disintegration rather than transformation.

The parallels to Bangladesh’s sociopolitical trajectory are striking. The nation has witnessed rapid urbanisation, economic growth, and a burgeoning youth population. However, the underlying challenges—political instability, environmental crises, and a widening wealth gap—threaten to unravel its social fabric. If these changes are not guided by ethical governance, inclusivity, and sustainability, the “rough beast” of unchecked greed and divisiveness could rise, turning the promise of progress into a destructive force.

Achebe’s Things Fall Apart offers a microcosmic lens on cultural collapse, underscoring the perils of failing to adapt internal systems to external pressures. The Igbo society’s rigid adherence to traditional norms leaves it ill-equipped to withstand the colonial onslaught. Achebe critiques both the colonizers’ destructive imposition and the Igbo’s resistance to introspective reform. This dual critique aligns with Eliot’s and Yeats’s concerns about the consequences of stagnation or unexamined change.

In contemporary Bangladesh, parallels abound. The nation faces the dual challenge of preserving its rich cultural heritage while embracing modernization. The erosion of traditional values, coupled with political and social fragmentation, mirrors the Igbo society’s predicament. Without a balanced approach that integrates progress with cultural continuity, Bangladesh risks repeating the tragic fall depicted in Achebe’s novel.

Bangladesh’s journey since independence has been marked by resilience and progress, yet the country stands at a critical juncture. Political polarization, environmental degradation, and social inequality threaten to undermine the nation’s achievements. The July 2024 Revolution of students, a testament to the younger generation’s demand for accountability and justice, reflects both the potential for positive change and the risk of destructive upheaval if these movements are not guided by collective good sense.

The symbolic "Second Coming" of independence in 1971and/or 2024 offered Bangladesh a chance for spiritual and structural renewal. However, as Eliot and Yeats caution, renewal without introspection and moral grounding can lead to degeneration. Bangladesh’s political leadership, civil society, and citizens must prioritize long-term solutions over short-term gains, fostering a spirit of patriotism that transcends individual or partisan interests.

The literary warnings of Eliot, Yeats, and Achebe emphasize the necessity of internal renewal to counter external chaos. For Bangladesh, this means embracing inclusivity, sustainable development, and cultural preservation as pillars of progress. The alternative—a descent into spiritual and structural decay—would transform the nation into a “waste land” or lead to the kind of collapse Achebe’s novel forewarns.

For instance, Bangladesh’s vulnerability to climate change demands immediate action. Rising sea levels, deforestation, and pollution threaten to displace millions and devastate livelihoods. Addressing these challenges requires collective effort, guided by long-term vision rather than political expediency. Similarly, fostering social harmony and combating corruption necessitate a moral awakening akin to the renewal Eliot envisages.

Eliot’s The Waste Land, Yeats’s The Second Coming, and Achebe’s Things Fall Apart converge on a timeless truth: societies that fail to exercise introspection and moral clarity in the face of change are doomed to collapse. For Bangladesh, the risks are high. The new spirit of independence must be harnessed as a force for ethical governance, social cohesion, and sustainable progress.

The "Second Coming" must symbolise a positive transformation, rooted in patriotism and guided by collective good sense. Without this commitment, the nation risks descending into a spiritual and structural waste land, where “things fall apart” and the center cannot hold. Let Bangladesh heed the warnings of these literary giants and strive for a renewal that uplifts its people and preserves its legacy, ensuring that its future is not marked by a tragic fall but by enduring triumph.

* Rahman M Mahbub is the head of the Department of English, City University, and an academician, author, researcher and poet. He can be reached at rahmanmmahbub27@gmail.com