Our Objectives

 

Nationality

 

The frenzy of religious politics divided the motherland of the Bengali nation in 1947. The partition of Bengal between the western part, rich in minerals and industries, and the eastern part, rich in agriculture, divided and thereby crippled the nation. The great language movement of 1952, the rout of the Muslim League in the election of 1954, the students’ movement of 1962, the upsurge of 1969 by the students, peasants and masses, and finally the war of independence in 1971 – all contributed to the dismemberment of Pakistan, a State based on the concept of religion, and thus created a possibility of establishing an egalitarian and secular nation state. But the possibility could not be materialized due to the policies pursued by Mujib, Zia and Ershad. Sheikh Mujib saved the base of religious politics by preserving the existing system and saving war criminals, and he initiated the criminalization of politics and economy and in the following course General Zia and General Ershad criminalized politics, economy and state further and tightened the grip of religion over the nation.

After the successful upsurge in 1990 by the students and masses against the military rule of Ershad the Khaleda Government came to power. But they also Islamized individuals, society and state further and the successive Hasina Government continued the same process. Since after 1971 Sheikh Mujib tactfully and Zia, Ershad, Khaleda, Hasina openly raised Islam against Bengali nationalism, which was the achievement of the war of independence of the Bengali nation. Thus they have destroyed the sense of national identity, secularism and patriotism. As a result, the country has become an unbridled hunting ground for all kinds of external domination and despotic rule. Bangladesh is the product of Bengali nationalism. But there is a conspiracy to weaken, to make dysfunctional and finally destroy the state by weakening that very Bengali nationalism by religion.

The inhabitants of Bengal have been endangered through ages by the outsiders of different national identity and languages. Since mediaeval time the alluvial and resourceful land was invaded by predatory foreign fortune seekers. They ruled this land for centuries. They grabbed women and wealth, led luxurious and sensual life and preached religion. The local weak state and the society, torn into pieces and stagnated by the caste system, turned into a state of tyranny and a society of inhumanity by their long rule. Their religion could have spread under the support and protection of the state and due to the disunity, infatuation and fear of the local people. Under the protection of the central state ambitious generals also invaded and occupied different areas of Bengal by raising the banner of religion. A considerable number of religious preachers, called Pir-Darbish-Awlia, were nothing but soldiers. These soldiers occupied and ruled different areas as sensuous rulers. By taking advantage of naivety and tolerance of the local people and by destroying the beneficial social values and the sense of righteousness, truth and beauty they imposed foreign faith and customs of the invaders upon the local people of Bengal and thus perpetuated their foreign rule as well as the foreign ideology. Due to prolonged domination by foreigners the natives of Bengal have lost their sense of honor and ability to think independently, and hence have become dependent on external powers both physically and mentally. As a result, the natural evolution of the natives of Bengal has been obstructed and ultimately the process of nation formation on the basis of language has also been foiled.

Being devoid of patriotism and nationalism the natives of this land consider the foreign land holier than their own motherland and the foreign nation as their own instead of those people who preserve their cultural heritage. In most cases, the role of religion here has been to give legitimacy to torture, oppression, plunder and debauchery of all the past foreign and present despotic rulers, to kneel before the aggressors and to restrain the protesting conscience of the oppressed people by turning them into fatalists. That is why, not only the Mullahs, the merchants of religion, but also the military and election based political rulers -- all become the custodians of religion.

The people living at the lower strata of society are fatalistic. Religion is the driving force of their life. Upper classes are based upon them. Naturally, the ruling upper class people use religion at their will to preserve the existing system of exploitation. So, the middle class aspiring for better life is the main force of social change here. In the past the conscious young section of the middle class played the leading role in all major movements. But since most of the movements led to elections, the plunderers and resourceful criminals were elected by the fatalistic and backward people’s vote. Thus the fruits of all the movements of the advanced people passed out of their hands.

The social system is basically religious in our country. So, the ordinary people grow here in the environment of religion, and as a result their mind-set becomes backward, hostile to change, violently offensive to different opinion or faith, opposed to arguments, apathetic to civilization, devoid of talent and intellect, short-sighted, sensualist, self-centered and dependent on the rulers of the society. These people think that the world is momentary and life beyond death is everlasting. So, they want to engage themselves ceaselessly for the everlasting life and work less or least, if possible, for this momentary life. These people, meditating for the world beyond death, are not inquisitive as they are not reasonable, they are not eager to search or investigate as they are not inquisitive and they are not discoverers or inventors as they are not eager to search or investigate. So, these people with blind faith and without the ability of comparative judgment cannot pursue reasoning and truth and are incapable to dream of changing social system or building any great thing.

Their scripture has permitted the practice of knowledge. But that is conditional and strictly confined to a small boundary. Crossing the boundary and moving into the wider world of knowledge is even a punishable offence. In that case, there is scriptural permission to declare the wise man as Murtad and to kill him. Thus by closing the scope for pursuit of open knowledge closed men and a barren society have been made. As these men cannot make any new creation, they learn grabbing only, and their last hope is plunder.

Religion creates a particular mode of thinking. So, it is not a matter of faith only. Rather it is a total system of life, including one’s identity, social customs and behavior, culture and daily life. So, only by bringing economic change no social change can be brought significantly, unless there is a change in the philosophy of man with a view to introducing new world outlook and a new way of life.

Almost all the great achievements of this nation like the movement against the partition of Bengal (1905-1911), the language movement (1948-1952) and the war of independence (1971) are the products of nationalist movement. In the holy land of Bengal Bengali nationalism is the most effective weapon in the fight against the brutally oppressive state and inhuman society. In order to make society civilized and democratic Bengali nationalism will have to be established as an antidote to religion as well as secular national culture based on Bengali nationalism will have to be built instead of religious culture. Life of every individual will have to be reorganized through national culture. Only then there will emerge the new man, society and nation.

The struggle for developing the nation and building the independent nation state is not unique to Bangladesh. Small and big many nations of the world are illuminated by this awareness. Many small nations are struggling for autonomy. The developed nations of the first world also have been able to build developed states only by fully developing themselves as nations and freeing their societies and states from the domination of religion. As men of advanced thinking we are now confronted with the task of building a new Bengali nation as well as its State, the inevitable culmination of which is the formation of a sovereign united Bengal.

 

Democracy

 

The country will be ruled democratically. In the interest of establishing meaningful democracy the isolation of the armed forces from society and their bureaucratic and autocratic system will have to be abolished and they will have to be brought under the control of the people. Cultural and political awareness as well as nationalism and patriotism will have to be engrained in them. So these subjects will be essential part of their educational and training course. If the armed forces are not controlled by the people, democracy cannot be protected and cannot continue. But in the prevailing situation, as the majority of the people are backward and unconscious, in most cases, the people’s representatives, elected on the basis of universal adult franchise, are bound to be fraudulent and criminal. That is why the unity between the conscious, honest and patriotic section of the people and the armed forces, rekindled with the consciousness of Bengali nationalism, will bring revolutionary change to this country. The Bengali nation will be boastful of the armed forces that emerged through the great national war of independence and will engage in the defense of the sovereign nation state.

One of the components of democracy is socialism. It teaches one to sacrifice for others and to become committed to the greater welfare of the society. As a result man becomes more humane and attains more democratic values. Private ownership is necessary; and it is necessary in the interest of social advancement and development. But individuals must not be allowed to be absolute. Otherwise, society becomes overwhelmed by discrimination and injustice. Socialism is the struggle of the oppressed against discrimination and over-centralization of wealth and power. Without socialism no democracy is democracy and it becomes democracy of the bureaucrats and the rich. So, what we need is democracy with socialistic characteristics or socialist democracy.

 

Civil Bureaucracy

 

Bureaucrats are the paid servants of the people. But these servants have become masters of the people. The independence and domination of the bureaucrats are a threat to democracy. Democracy that prevails in our country is the democracy of the bureaucrats and the rich. Here everything depends on bureaucracy, because all power is over-centralized. Since the state is bureaucratic it has become the center of corruption. As all the economic activities are basically controlled by the bureaucrats, the formation of the rich and the poor also depends upon them. Whichever government comes to power the bureaucrats are the permanent rulers here. In order to establish control of the people over bureaucrats at all levels of administration the people’s representatives will dominate and the bureaucrats will be subservient to them.

 

Feminism

 

The position of woman in a society is the standard of judgment for it. But in our society the most wretched conditions are those of woman. This is due to the fact that this society is backward, reactionary and preoccupied by religion. The influence of modern education and times has brought some change to the conditions of woman. But in most cases they are like coating, because the inferior and uncertain conditions of women in the family, society and state have not changed much. Women’s power will have to be established for making the advancement of society and democracy easier and uninterrupted. So, everywhere of the society and state there must be women’s own representatives. Women will build their own power structure in administration, legislature, judiciary, armed forces, police, etc. Thus women will enter into the decision making positions of the society and state. Only then there will emerge a powerful, brave, intellectually developed and humane society.

 

Conclusion

 

In order to build a modern society, secular nation and socialist-democratic state we will win in the struggle of national liberation and thereby build up a mighty state of a nation and a union of nations. In the assembly of nations of the world the Bengali nation will be amongst the best. Other minority nations those who live in this country will enjoy full autonomy. Bangladesh will be run on the basis of five principles e.g., nationalism, secularism, democracy, socialism and feminism, which will be considered as the extension of the four principles of the Constitution of 1972. This extension will be the recognition of the advancement of the nation. In order to complete the unfinished war of independence we will free the country and nation from the bureaucratic statecraft and religious politics, and thus we will establish an egalitarian and affluent Bangladesh. All the oppressed nations on earth will be liberated by following the example of Bangladesh and a new civilization of mankind will begin its journey.

 

Author: 

General Secretary

Committee for the Establishment of National Government

Dhaka, Bangladesh

Revised: 25 January, 2007