Taking a page out of Martin Luther King's 'I have a dream', Tarique Rahman voices assurance with 'I have a PLAN'
Whether that plan reshapes Bangladesh’s political future, as King’s dream reshaped America’s, remains a question history has yet to answer
Some speeches outlive their moment. They become reference points, invoked, echoed, and reinterpreted across time and borders.
One such speech was delivered on 28 August 1963, when an estimated 250,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington in one of the largest mass mobilisations in United States history.
They came to demand justice and equality, and to hear a young Baptist minister whose words would reshape a nation's political and moral imagination.
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From the steps of the memorial, Martin Luther King Jr articulated the core demands of the US Civil Rights Movement: equality before the law, dignity for Black Americans, and a future unbound by racial discrimination. Historians later described the address, now known globally as the "I Have a Dream" speech, as a turning point that helped transform American law, politics, and public conscience.
Tides of time passed. The setting changed. The country was different. But the cadence of history returned in an unexpected way.
An entirely separate atmosphere of age and political arena, this same thought echoed in a different light.
A different podium, a different promise
On 25 December 2025, at a podium along Dhaka's 300 Feet Road, BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman addressed a vast sea of supporters following his return to Bangladesh after more than 17 years in exile.
His homecoming rally drew nationwide attention. The address was broadcast live. International media, including the BBC, Reuters, Al Jazeera and The Telegraph, covered the event prominently. The BBC described him as a leading contender in the upcoming national election, headlining its report: "Front-runner to be Bangladesh PM returns after 17 years in exile."
As the speech drew to a close, Tarique briefly turned away from the microphone, only to return and deliver a line that quickly became the rally's most quoted moment.
"Dear brothers and sisters," Tarique said addressing the crowd, "Martin Luther King, you've all heard his name? You've all heard his name. There is a famous dialogue of his. 'I have a dream'. Today, standing on the soil of Bangladesh, I want to say in front of all of you, as a member of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, I have a plan…For the people of my country…For my country."
He appealed to the people's support to turn his "I have a plan" into a reality.
The phrasing, intentional or not, drew immediate comparisons to King's historic refrain.
Dream and plan
King's speech was rooted in moral vision. Delivered at the height of the struggle against racial segregation, it imagined a future America defined by equality and justice, appealing to the nation's conscience rather than outlining policy prescriptions.
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream . . . I have a dream that one day in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today . . . This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning.
My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountain side, let freedom ring. And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that. Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi, from every mountain side. Let freedom ring…
Tarique Rahman's address, by contrast, was framed as a political assurance at a moment of transition. Opening his speech with the words "Beloved Bangladesh," he emphasised peace repeatedly and spoke of rebuilding the country through unity, democratic governance, and economic stability.
"We want peace," he said more than once, pledging to build a Bangladesh where people of all faiths and regions – Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Christians; those from the hills and the plains – could live safely and go home at the end of the day without fear.
"We have people from the hills and the plains in this country – Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Christians. We want to build a safe Bangladesh, where every woman, man and child can leave home safely and return safely," he said.
Tarique further said, "Let us all take a pledge together that in the days ahead, whoever comes to take responsibility for running the country will make their utmost effort to govern the nation in the light of the justice and righteousness of the Prophet Muhammad [PBUH]."
He described a vision of a country that would serve as a "sanctuary" for its citizens, particularly for mothers concerned about the safety and future of their children.
He urged collective effort, saying the time had come for everyone to work together to rebuild the nation.
Leadership in a moment of uncertainty
Tarique's return comes at a politically sensitive juncture. The interim government, which assumed power on 8 August 2024 following the student-led mass uprising that ended the Awami League's 15-year rule, is nearing the end of its tenure. National elections are scheduled for 12 February 2026, and political mobilisation has intensified across the country.
Against this backdrop, in his speech, Tarique avoided overt calls for retaliation or reckoning. Even when referring to his mother, former prime minister and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, he asked only for prayers, describing her as a leader who loved her country more than her own life.
Standing before his supporters, arms outstretched, he offered not a dream, but a commitment.
"Today, standing upon this soil," he said, "I say to you: I have a plan – for the people of my country, for my country."
Whether that plan reshapes Bangladesh's political future, as King's dream reshaped America's, remains a question history has yet to answer.
