Within a short span of time, multiple protest programmes have taken place in the capital Dhaka. On Sunday, battery-run rickshaw drivers took to the streets at various points in the capital protesting against the High Court order to ban and restrict the movement of battery-run rickshaws. The drivers blocked city streets, which led to massive traffic congestion across the capital on Sunday. The battery-run rickshaw drivers finally left the streets after an assurance from the police.
On the same day, in connection with the death of a student of Dr Mahbubur Rahman Mollah College (DMRC) at the Dhaka National Medical College in Old Dhaka, a group of DRMC students carried out extensive vandalism and looting in Dhaka National Medical College and Shaheed Suhrawardy College campuses. The day also saw a group of people tried to create chaos by taking position on the road in front of the Prothom Alo office in the city’s Karwan Bazar area for the whole day on Sunday.
At around 10:00pm on Sunday, students of Dhaka Polytechnic Institute clashed with the students of Bangladesh Textile University (BUTEX).
Today, Monday, battery-run rickshaw drivers blocked the Agargaon intersection, which caused severe traffic congestion in the surrounding roads. As the day advanced, news also poured in that students of Shaheed Suhrawardy College and Kabi Nazrul College attacked the students of Dr Mahbubur Rahman Mollah College. Dozens of students have been injured in the incidents and admitted to hospital. These incidents occurred within a day or two nd are jut the tip of the iceberg.
Interim government's adviser Mahfuj Alam in his Facebook post on Sunday wrote attempts have been going on for the last few days to unleash anarchy at different parts of the capital city. Even chief adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus in his address to the nation said conspiracies from home and abroad have been hatched to destablise the country.
After the fall of the Awami League government amid the student-people's uprising on 5 August, people from various sections including the garments sector and student community have taken to the streets and raised their various demands. There were genuine as well as irrational demands. In some cases, the authorities bowed down to the irrational demands. For example, the demand of the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exam candidates were irrational. However, the authorities conceded the demand and cancelled the exam. Later, the decision was castigated. The garment workers have staged demonstrations and blocked roads demanding their arrears. Definitely their demands are genuine.
But the question is why these issues of garment sector are not resolved and the unrest in the garment sector continues. Being the lifeline of the economy, the authorities should give highest priority and settle the issue as the country's image is tarnished abroad. As a result, the RMG export will be affected in the long run.
Let us come to the beginning as to why the chaos is all around. Interim government's adviser Mahfuj Alam in his Facebook post on Sunday wrote attempts have been going on for the last few days to unleash anarchy at different parts of the capital city. Even chief adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus in his address to the nation said conspiracies from home and abroad have been hatched to destablise the country.
Who are the foreign conspirators? Who are the local conspirators? The government intelligent agencies must carry out investigation to unearth those culprits, and take measures to prevent their sabotage. One thing should be kept in mind that those who are unseated from power are very powerful. They have made huge amounts of money through graft. They laundered money. They had a group of people from the administration, the law enforcing agencies and intelligent agencies. These people assisted the ousted government in all their illegal activities. They have connection with powerful people outside the country. So the ousted quarter won't want the interim government reach its destination smoothly.
Under such a circumstance, what interim government should do to tackle the situation and restore law and order. The most important thing the government has to do is to build up unity among the various sections of people. The government has to engage the politicians, civil society members, media people and professional bodies regularly.
The country is at a critical juncture. Uncertainty looms large. Economy is gloomy. Inflation is very high. People's income is low. Unemployment is also high. So crisis is all around like chaos. So in such a circumstance, the government must look before it leaps. A small mistake may bring a catastrophe for the country. The freedom people achieved through the student-people's uprising may fall apart anytime. It is time to cite 'eternal vigilance is the price of liberty'.
*Rabiul Islam is a journalist at Prothom Alo. He can be reached at rabiul.islam@prothomalo.com