A concerned citizen’s take on the right side of history
History always serves the narrative of the most powerful. Nonetheless, it does have a side that is for the righteous and for the just
History is far from impartial, it changes sides at its convenience. Like our flawed human senses, history also listens to the voice of the loudest, finds its home in the brightest corner, and serves the narrative of the most powerful.
Being a keen enthusiast of the history of Bangladesh, I have read, heard or seen almost all the versions that the respective governments imposed upon us at different times. The range of variations among these versions is wide and shameless. For instance, we haven't yet settled the score on the "who declared our independence first" debate, and now we are having to write yet another chapter in the blood of our youngs.
Nonetheless, history does have a side that is for the righteous and for the just. The line between right and wrong tends to be surprisingly fluid and it's pretty easy to suddenly find ourselves on the other side of the line. Amidst the avalanche of misinformation these days, how do we define and choose to stay on the right side? How do we prepare for the next stage of the ever-evolving political landscape and adjust our position so we don't get the blood of the innocent in our hands?
Where history starts for the Gen-Zs
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Take the 2006-2008 period. What was the right side at the time? Boomers thought the right thing to do was to side with traditional politics and they rejected Noble Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus. Most millennials like myself took a position against the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) administration that had gotten us the crown for corruption five times between 2001-06. Since Dr Yunus was kicked out of the race ruthlessly, we opted for Bangladesh Awami League (BAL) or the infamous, widely ridiculed "No Vote." I personally went for the latter, for the record.
BAL secured a landslide victory with 263 general seats, counting the alliance parties. It has been 8 years since the last election. The country was eager to welcome a democratically elected government, and BAL dazzled the country with their "Digital Bangladesh" and "Bringing War Criminals to Justice" campaigns. Rallying behind BAL seemed to be the right side of history at the time.
One paramilitary coup (2009) and one equity market crash (2010) later
Fast forward to 2013 - millennials came out on the streets again to demand capital punishment for the war criminals. Hundreds of thousands of youngsters roared from Shahbag, and the mighty BAL government listened to our prayer.
The agenda coincided with that of the incumbent party. A movement that started spontaneously, got politicised within the first few days. We stood there day and night, fiery slogans boiled our blood, and just like that a great divide came into existence: so-called Progressives vs so-called Islamists.
The definitions are still a bit vague to me, because I identify as neither. I only wanted the war criminals to be punished and the blood debt paid off. In a matter of weeks, Jamaat e Islami was dismantled and steps were taken to ban them from conducting any political activities. We ignored any allegations of state-sanctioned violence on the participants of the mega-demonstration led by Hefazot-e-Islam.
Smelled like victory, felt like we were in the right, at the time anyway. Or was it just the first step towards abolishing all the opposition parties and taking away our sacred right to vote?
Students step into the ring
The movement for road safety in 2018, the outburst in campuses across the nation after the murder of Abrar Fahad in 2019, and the quota reform movement of 2024 - all had one thing in common, they all had young citizens at the forefront.
The generation we thought were oblivious of complex subjects like citizen rights, patriotism or what February 21st even means, took to the streets and showed us how to start a fire and keep it going until something changes. We are dazed, humbled and forever grateful.
I have raised my voice alongside them from thousands of miles away, I have defended and explained their actions to foreigners, and I have tried to contribute by fighting online propaganda against the movement. I celebrated when they made it possible for Dr Yunus to come back and finish what he couldn't start back in '06. Standing here today, I am pretty confident the right side of history is the side of the students, getting rid of an authoritarian regime, putting an end to the killing of innocents.
The treacherous line might now be slithering away
Now it's time for all of us to take a step back and sharpen our understanding of the right side of present events. We are overjoyed that an interim government has taken over with one of our brightest minds at the helm. With the hope of a better Bangladesh, let's also pay attention to the things that are going unnoticed amid the adrenaline rush.
Political backgrounds of the central coordinators of the movement are just coming out. Asking questions is being considered as anti-movement, or worse, pro-BAL. Series of religion-centric violence and robberies has broken out throughout the country, which surprisingly are still subject to speculation as to who is behind them.
Our neighbour's mainstream media is relentlessly trying to portray a picture of a non-tolerant Bangladesh, while indeed that great divide between progressives and islamists is becoming more and more evident in the post-movement social media conversations.
While I have no doubts about the qualifications of the advisors, there is considerable evidence of political ties for several of them. Same goes for the new appointees for key roles in the administration. There's nothing wrong with this really, but an imbalance here is obvious and a little alarming. Maybe they will act in an impartial way, maybe not, only time will tell.
What really worries me is that on the streets and in the digital world, students with no political motives or background are still fighting the good fight, with the strongest of convictions and ironclad loyalty to the cause, while the movement seems to now have changed both its rules and target endgame.
We just need to remember that today's heroes who we follow unconditionally might become tomorrow's tyrants. Therefore, let's never stop asking ourselves, "Am I on the right side of history about this?" Let's never stop asking our leaders, whoever they may be, "Why do you think you deserve my loyalty?" Let's never stop wondering, "Could things be better than they are today?"
Saleh Chowdhury is a Senior Principal for Global Expansion Strategy at Google. reach.salehchowdhury@gmail.com
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.
