When General Ershad was ousted in December 1990, there were only a handful of newspapers and only one state television. The size of the civil society was very small and narrow… At that time the position of the Supreme Court Bar Association was leading. So the amount of discussion we needed to set a well-organized goal never attracted much attention.
We got an extraordinary President like Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed. He pacified the revolutionaries.
We found two leaders who were willing to accept each other’s views after a successful joint effort. It was in the mid-1990s that these issues were first uncovered.
The caretaker government system has mediated some of the uncomfortable situations and brought stability to the society and freedom of the media. The system was in effect for about 15 years until the 2008 elections.
In 2007-08, General Moin-Masud and his civilian partners attempted to reinvigorate electoral and judicial reforms. The judiciary was separated from the executive in the belief that this would prevent the monopoly of an elected government. But the opposite happened. An elected government with a large majority has killed the independence of the judiciary. Chief Justice SK Sinha lost his job because he wanted to take control of the lower courts. It did not end here, the intelligence officer beat him and threw him out of the counter. Other reforms of the military-backed government of 2007-08 did little to change us.
The second revolution or second liberation led by students ushered in a new era of hope. Thousands of students participated in the revolution. Top opponents of the then government also entered the field. Civil society is much bigger now than it was in the early 1990s. Now there are three dozen TV stations and dozens of Bengali and English newspapers. Clear and conscious voices are slowly taking over YouTube and Facebook. Apart from the elite parties, Islamists, marginalized groups and minorities are also aware of their position in society and ready to engage in politics constructively.
What we need now is to initiate a lot of rational discussions, debates, write great articles and conduct a lot of research activities from the bloody streets of our campuses, cities and villages. These debates require massive student participation. Also we need involvement from every group in the country including diaspora.
This is a golden opportunity to build the country according to our wishes and dreams. Initially, these debates and discussions may seem offensive. But if students, political parties and civil society act responsibly, we can transform into a republic that will last at least 100 years… not 15 years.
