Shahidul Alam 

The optics were poor. Until recently, the new government hadn’t been able to tame the rising prices of essentials. The injured were still woefully neglected and there was rising insecurity. The government had set up reform commissions in key sectors and the commissions were hard at work. In time one hopes they would yield results. Long term planning does matter, but when you are bleeding, what you immediately need is a tourniquet. 

I go to a small barber shop in Lalmatia. The barbers, all Biharis from the nearby Geneva Camp, were thrilled with the fall of Hasina, so I was surprised when, in November 2024, my barber came up with the unlikely statement “It was better before”. Of course it wasn’t. No one was being shot from helicopters. People weren’t being burned alive. There was no curfew. We had access to Internet, and people could openly criticise the government. All very different from how it used to be. But perceptions matter, and a few days later, in a private conversation with Professor Yunus at Jamuna, I started our conversation with what my barber had said.  

I could see where the barber was coming from. Our expectations after 5th August 2025 were sky high. It went even higher when Professor Yunus became chief advisor. We wanted instant change. The fact that much of the old establishment remains; that billions of dollars have been siphoned away for years; that a bureaucratic culture steeped in foot dragging and corruption is still in place, means that the environment is hardly enabling for efficient action. Especially for an inexperienced government that has had zero preparation time.  

There are many things the government has to deal with, some of them exceedingly serious. The disinformation spread by India hasn’t helped. Awami League still has money to burn, and are determined to see the new government fail. The treatment of the injured remains a problem and the law and order situation is of serious concern, particularly with the recent reports of rape. However, there is one area where the government has been successful. It has been able to put a lid on the soaring prices and remarkably, except for some items like soybean oil, the prices this year are the same or even lower than during ramadan in 2024. Quite remarkable considering that year on year prices have always gone up in Bangladesh’s history. 

This alone has had a significant impact on public perception. When I went to get my haircut this time, the same barber piped in. “This government should stay for five years.” It might have been an impulsive response, but it was heartfelt. I’ve seen it being echoed in tea stalls and in conversations with riksha drivers. 

This is something political parties vying for power should remember. You have to deliver on key areas. People now have agency, and they will not put up with empty rhetoric. The habit of collecting protection money. The reinvigorated practice of bribery. The nepotism in the job market and the plain old corruption at all levels that seems to be creeping back, will not be tolerated for long. If an empowered public can bring down someone as ruthless and powerful as Sheikh Hasina, they can bring them down too. And they might not stop where they did last time. 

As for the Interim Government. Congratulations on putting a lid on prices. But your job is far from over. The injured still need urgent attention and the law- and- order situation must immediately be tackled. Strong rumors of corruption and profiteering by newly formed students party and BNP and Jamaat are on everyone’s lips. The fact that two students are on the cabinet while ‘their’ party is electioneering makes mockery of a level playing field. The (non) performance of the health ministry is shameful. 

Favouring the business groups accused of rape, murder and land-grabbing does nothing for your image. Don’t be scared by politicians claiming you are not an elected government. Elections are a recognised mechanism of assessing public popularity. It is the people who brought you in and you still have overwhelming public support. So while you may not have been elected, you do have legitimacy. But as my barber points out, this legitimacy will only last as long as you deliver. So get your act together. Take a bow for where you’ve done well, but make sure you deliver on other essential fronts too. A sleepwalking government will not solve our problems. 

Take the public into your confidence. Listen to the many people out there who can help you with good advice. And please do get your finger out. This is time for decisive action. While the political parties are busy electioneering, use your local and international goodwill to implement action political governments never will. You won’t be here forever, but if you can deliver on the things that matter to the ordinary Bangladeshi, you will remain forever in their hearts. 

Human rights activists were up in arms upon discovering that the new Cyber Protection Ordinance (CPO), was only cosmetically different from the abandoned and much reviled Cyber Security Act 2023. That a government that had come in on a human rights ticket could draft such a law left us flabbergasted. There had been many ‘consultations’ which really led to very little change to the CPO. Where was the problem? How come a government that included so many with a human rights background had drafted a law that saw things from a security perspective rather than with a protection lens? 

The last consultation with civil society, had almost led to fisticuffs. But as I was leaving Faiz Taiyeb Ahmad who had been appointed as special assistants to chief adviser and had been involved in the heated debate I refer to, came up to me as I was leaving and asked if we could convene a meeting at Drik, where we could talk it over without anyone becoming too aggressive. We discussed it in ‘Voice for Reform (VFR)’ and while we were getting our act together, Faiz kept badgering me about the proposed consultation. In a hurriedly convened VFR meeting we decided that getting together both the ministries involved and a small group who could voice our concerns might work. Dr. Asif Nazrul, the law adviser readily agreed to attend. Together, we would iron it out. Things were a bit heated when we started, but as soon as both sides realised they were trying to get to the same place, we started working together, and at the end, we seemed to have arrived at a place which addressed all our concerns. It got me wondering why we hadn’t been able to do this earlier. This realisation, that we need to be able to put our differences aside and genuinely work together. And that being both critical and constructive could provide a pathway to our elusive democracy is what continues to give me hope. Huddling together in small rooms, worrying more about outputs rather than who gets credit, might be the solution.  

And the Awami Leaguers out there licking your wounds. Get real. There is zero chance of you coming back right now. Repent, beg forgiveness and stop putting a spoke in the government’s wheel. In time the wounds might heal and you may just stand a chance of being forgiven. But that will depend on how you behave now. Forget Hasina who deserted you. Her money is stashed away. She fled leaving you to face the music. Denial will get you nowhere. If you are to stand any chance at rehabilitation, it must begin with an acceptance of what Hasina’s regime did. Truth must be faced before healing can begin. And as for India, our bullying neighbour. Accept that you’ve lost your former colony. This is an empowered Bangladesh, who will no longer play to your tune. We don’t want you as an enemy, but you too must repent and mend your ways. We can have a shared prosperous future, but only if there is mutual respect. And respect will have to be earned.  

First Published in The New Age on 19th March 2025