Noor Hossain’s Sacrifice Inspiration for the Country’s Progress
Hiren Pandit
Noor Hossain’s Sacrifice Inspiration for the Country’s Progress
Noor Hossain was a very ordinary person. However, courage, initiative and love for the people of the country made him history. He is now an inexhaustible symbol of the struggle for the rights of the masses, the struggle for democracy in Bangladesh. The chest is the heart of Bangladesh in the poet’s words.
A 25-year-old young man takes off his clothes and participates in the movement by writing “Let the dictatorship die in white” on his chest and “Democracy Mukti Pak” on his back. On November 10, 1987, he was marching in the unrestrained mass movement against the dictatorial Ershad government. It was reported in the media that he was shot dead by the police in that procession. After a short education, he was employed as a mason’s apprentice. Father used to drive auto-rickshaws in Dhaka city. Noor Hossain’s self-sacrifice created strong momentum in the anti-Ershad movement.
Many students, youths and unknown people have been martyred in the wave-like movement against General Ershad’s nearly 9-year dictatorship. Even before this, many people were martyred in the anti-Ershad movement, including Selim-Delawar and many others whose names are not known. Noor Hossain and later in 1990, Ershad-backed terrorists killed Dr. Shamsul Alam Khan Milon. Ershad fell on December 6, 1990. No martyr’s dignity is looked down upon. The names and identities of the commanders who sacrificed themselves in the just war on the battlefield are clear. Many of the soldiers have to be remembered anonymously. The place and memory of the martyrs in history are determined due to the specific moment and environment, personal role, the spirit of self-sacrifice and background etc. in the course of events of the mass movement of unarmed people.
Noor Hossain was a conscious participant of the laboring people in the democratic movement of the 1990s. Being a supporter of the Jubo League or Bangabandhu’s ideology, he brought his friends to the mass procession. There was a united movement in the simultaneous program of the three alliances of many democratic political parties of the country, with several rounds of mass demands including democracy against Ershad’s highly corrupt autocracy, which has held power by forming parties within the military regime. The movement of the alliances started earlier to demand the withdrawal of Ershad’s martial law and on November 10, 1987, there was a blockade and siege of the secretariat to demand the resignation of Ershad. It is the government that blocks public transport to stop the crowd, creating a strike-like situation.
Noor Hossain left the house the night before and decided to go to the procession by writing his dream on a chalkboard and spent the night with a friend in an under-construction building in Motijheel. That friend painted it on him. When the parents came looking for them, Noor Hossain turned them away with a sheet covering them. That was the main story.
After the assassination of Bangabandhu at the hands of anti-independence domestic and foreign forces, black darkness engulfed the country, and the progress of the country came to a standstill. Sheikh Hasina took responsibility to chase away that darkness. After passing through many struggles, ups and downs, she continues to light the torch, initial crisis-limitations turn for liberation begins newly. Just as the peopleare united in the morning to remove all the garbage, and are rich in promises, so the wind of auspicious promise is seen blowing from the day of her return to the country since 17th May 1981. In 1996, the Awami League under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina won the national parliamentary elections and came to power. Sheikh Hasina took over as Prime Minister for the first time. Then she became the Prime Minister for the second time in 2008, third in 2014 and fourth time in the 2018 elections. Sheikh Hasina led the Awami League as a symbol of party unity in the most difficult times. There are always many struggles and in the struggle for democracy. Efforts are being made to institutionalize democracy in Bangladesh. The trial of Bangabandhu’s killers and later the prosecution of war criminals in 2010, which were once taboo subjects, have done these hard things. There is an opportunity to go forward again to carry forward the ideals of the Bengali nation.
Awami League started working as a pioneer for the overall welfare, development and liberation of the people of Bangladesh. The government is dedicated to the welfare of the people. Bangladesh will become the world’s 29th largest economy by 2030 and 23rd largest by 2041. Meanwhile, Bangladesh has been declared a ‘middle-income country’ effective from 2026 and will debut as a ‘developed country’ in 2041. The big proof that Bangladesh is moving forward is that the per capita income of the country’s people has increased in the last few years. Current per capita income is $2,824. However, the economic recession and the Russia-Ukraine war are putting some worries about this progress.
A major aspect of Bangladesh’s success is economic development. Bangladesh has surprised the world in various indicators starting from per capita income, and average life expectancy. Bangladesh is considered a role model for development. Self-respect and own money Padma Bridge has not only established Bangladesh as a state of advanced and unstoppable progress but has taken Bangladesh to a status of self-respect. When the World Bank complained about the Padma Bridge in Bangladesh and complained corruption, Bangladesh showed the world that we can do it by announcing the construction of the Padma Bridge with its own money. We have bravely faced the Covid-19 pandemic. The government has provided covid vaccine to everyone at a cost of 20 thousand crore taka. Still, now it is the best example in the world and world leaders have praised its initiative to manage the global crisis. Awami League has fought for democracy, human rights, and economic self-reliance over these four decades. This course of struggle was unfavorable.
In 2020, the poverty rate fell to 20.5 percent and the extreme poverty rate to 10.5 percent. However, it must be said that we are not out of the world now facing many problems due to the recession and the Russia-Ukraine war. Various development partners especially the World Bank, IMF, ADB, JICA, Goldman Sachs, Wall Street Journal, HSBC, Citibank NA, and Bangladesh are being called by different names including Diamond, and Emerging Tiger. This is why it is ahead of many countries in the world including neighboring countries in terms of consistently high GDP growth, poverty alleviation, education, infrastructural development, reserves, remittances or remittance income, exports, per capita income, income, social security and other key indicators of the economy. But the whole world is now facing challenges due to the global recession and the Russia-Ukraine war.
As we all know the ongoing corona pandemic and the recent Russia-Ukraine war have almost crippled the entire world economy. High inflation and foreign exchange crisis are becoming more pronounced in all countries, including developed, underdeveloped and developing countries. Due to the disruption of the global supply chain, the rising prices of essential commodities, including fuel oil, have made the dire situation in public life very visible. As a result, various international organizations including International Monetary Fund (IMF), and World Bank have expressed a strong fear of global economic recession. According to the revised annual forecast of the World Trade Organization (WTO) published in the media, the world economy is suffering from various reasons besides the Russia-Ukraine war. As a result, the trade will decrease globally in 2023.
This year, the growth in world trade in goods is 3.5 percent, but it will decline dramatically in 2023. That year the growth will be only 1 percent. The current global economy is facing a multifaceted crisis. The economy of most countries is affected by tight monetary policy. In addition, rising import costs of fuel, food and fertilizers are exacerbating the threat of food insecurity around the world and exacerbating the debt crisis in developing countries. As a result, world trade may shrink further next year.
Hiren Pandit is a
researcher and a columnist.