BOSTON / PHILADELPHIA, Oct 28 (IPS) – The scholars and the widespread individuals of Bangladesh dared to do one thing in 36 days of July-August that was thought-about merely unimaginable by most individuals simply days earlier than August 5, 2024. They stated ‘sufficient is sufficient’ to an outdated order that outraged their humanity, robbed their dignity and the rulers imagined that their citadel of energy was merely impenetrable. The revolutionists refused to bow all the way down to the murderous regime that knew no bounds to its cruelty and plundering. They have been able to sacrifice their lives for the liberty of the besieged nation.
This revolution is exclusive in so some ways. It’s a revolution within the digital age that’s rooted in meta-modernist philosophy. The outdated political management with its moribund attraction and bankrupt philosophy proved irrelevant on this agenda. As Professor Yunus, the Chief Advisor to the Interim Authorities, has rightly stated, ‘Now’s the period of a brand new era’.
Meta-modernism is the cultural philosophy of the digital age, coined by Mas’ud Zavarzadeh in 1975. meta-modernism is the Age of the Web or extra balanced worldview. As one analyst places it, we went from modernism — “Make it new!” Let’s form Historical past! – to postmodernism — every little thing sucks! Nothing actually issues! — to meta-modernism – perhaps issues are usually not this black-and-white, perhaps there is a center floor.
Meta-modernist thinkers understand the current world round them as a risk to their very existence. They work with pragmatic idealism and don’t have any grand narrative pondering or any orthodox certainties. In different phrases, they attempt to strike a steadiness between all of this. They acknowledge that they must face the issues of the society.
Arguably, all of the actions of Bangladeshi revolutionists together with their wall posters, adopted a framework of Meta-Modernism. It’s understood that the brand new Bangladesh is outlined in a brand new ideology. Scholar revolutionaries have stated that our ideology is mirrored by means of the language we use. The premise of the brand new ideology is language. It’s a revolution of change from the cultural context of fascist imperialist language to the native (spoken) language of the individuals. In different phrases, new beliefs can be mirrored by means of the language of the individuals.
It might be incorrect to assume that this individuals’s revolution was all a couple of change of presidency. Its victory is in contrast to 1947 and 1971. In each these circumstances, there was a change of presidency with none structural change. Because of this, the incoming authorities adopted imperialist practices of exploitation left behind by the British. Subsequent governments turned the nation right into a failed democracy, to be able to management, exploit and subjugate its residents. The police have been used as an enabling drive to subjugate the residents, whereas the legislature and judiciary labored because the rubber stamps to maintain the overall management of the federal government. This evil social system has corrupted the mindset and habits of our individuals. An immoral society was fashioned with no worry of accountability, whose driving drive was unfathomed greed and mantra — the ‘rule and exploitation by repression’. Authorities workers noticed themselves as bosses and never as public servants. They thrived upon corruption in any respect ranges.
There are actually two competing ideologies in entrance of Bangladesh – certainly one of decaying fascism that desires to resurface below outdated management and the opposite is the younger management of equality and morality. Because the revolution demonstrated, the ‘New Bangladesh’ doesn’t approve fascist-supporting corrupt establishments. It needs a corruption-free new society. It’s for paradigm shift – a transformational change.
The Chief Advisor and Scholar Coordinators have clearly highlighted the beliefs of New Bangladesh by means of their speeches and interviews. Dr. Yunus stated, ‘We’re all one nation’. It is a clarion name to determine a holistic change in society. Such a radical change in society requires a change in values. A change in values lies within the change in public ideology.
The brand new Bangladesh isn’t the outdated Bangladesh with a brand new cowl. It calls for a change within the elementary values of human habits, actions, and beliefs. These embody structural modifications, private modifications, expectations.
To grasp the ideology of this modification, one has to pay attention rigorously to the speech of Mahfuz Alam, the ‘thinker’ of the motion. 5 factors could be deduced from his current talks: (1) unity, (2) ‘language is their inspiration’, (3) group management, (4) they’re kids of time, and that (5) they don’t seem to be a slave to conventional pondering. His views replicate in the present day’s meta-modernism.
For any transformational change to succeed, the change brokers should personal it, direct it, and finally excel in it. We predict that this revolution of holistic change can profit from the revolutionary approaches adopted in China and Cuba that have been additionally led by youths. They owned the revolution and didn’t enable it to be hijacked by the reactionaries. We see a few of these traits within the minds and mission of the Bangladeshi revolutionaries.
The underside line is, bringing any modifications in outdated tradition habits was by no means a simple activity. This revolution has offered a chance to vary the future of Bangladesh as by no means earlier than.
The meta-modernist youths of Bangladesh have come to steer and transfer ahead; they won’t return to the outdated methods. Their message is evident: if you don’t be a part of us, the nation is not going to await you. If older generations don’t undertake the brand new view of change, we worry additional instability and chaos to come back, whose consequence can’t be nice.
Dr. Mawdudur Rahman, Professor Emeritus, Suffolk College, Boston, USA. He could be contacted at: [email protected].
Dr. Habib Siddiqui is a peace and human rights activists. His newest guide – ‘Bangladesh: a polarized and divided nation?‘ is offered within the Amazon.com. Each are members of the steering committee of Esho Desh Gori – Let’s Construct Bangladesh.
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