“We the elected representatives of the people of Bangladesh, as honour bound by the mandate given to us by the people of Bangladesh whose will is supreme duly constituted ourselves into a Constituent Assembly, and having held mutual consultations, and in order to ensure for the people of Bangladesh equality, human dignity and social justice on the 10th day of April 1971.” 

Social equality refers to a state of affairs where all individuals within a particular group or society enjoy the same rights, liberties, and possibly status. This includes civil rights, autonomy, freedom of expression, and equal access to public resources. In essence, it represents the equitable distribution of resources, opportunities, and privileges, devoid of discrimination based on immutable attributes such as race, gender, or social class. 

At its most basic, the concept of human dignity is the belief that all people hold a special value that’s tied solely to their humanity. It has nothing to do with their class, race, gender, religion, abilities, or any other factor other than them being human. “Human dignity” does not appear in the US Declaration of Independence or the Constitution. The phrase as we understand it today wasn’t recognized until 1948. The United Nations ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 1 states: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” Suddenly, dignity wasn’t something that people earned because of their class, race, or another advantage. It is something all humans are born with. Simply by being human, all people deserve respect. Human rights naturally spring from that dignity.

Social justice, in contemporary politics, social science, and political philosophy, the fair treatment and equitable status of all individuals and social groups within a state or society. the accounts define social justice, or justice itself, in terms of broad categories of human rights, including the entire range of civil and political rights (such as the rights to personal liberty and to participation in government), economic and social rights (such as the rights to employment and to education), and solidarity or group rights (such as the rights to political independence and to economic development). Social justice is the view that everyone deserves equal economic, political and social rights and opportunities.” It is related to distributive justice. 

Sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is non-violable. All means including military should be utilized to safeguard our sovereignty and territorial integrity. Comprehensive national power should be utilized to its maximum. 

Spirit of Liberation War. Equality, human dignity and social justice, democracy, nationalism, social and economic security for all, freedom of expression and thought, rule of law, patriotism, corruption-free society, secularism in worldly matters and pluralism etc. 

Democracy. Westminster type with certain modifications as agreed to by the two dominant political groups by a constitutional amendment. A balance may be proposed between the powers of the President and the Prime Minister. 

Economic and Social stability. Identify the corporate advantage of BD and turn them into competitive advantage. Like manpower, agriculture, gas and oil, if discovered in the Bay. Coal may be too expensive to extract. Economic solvency and value-driven society should be able to address this. Attainment of a just and egalitarian society, free from exploitation of man by man. 

Religious Tolerance and Coexistence. All religions should thrive together in harmony, which is rooted in our history for centuries together. In worldly matters, we should all learn to live like true Bangladeshis. This is already incorporated in our Constitution. 

Social and National Values. This is the most critical challenge of our society. This needs to be revived at all levels of society. Family and educational institutions can play a transformational role. Political and social leaders have to take lead. It needs a sustained national movement. 

Good Governance and Accountability. Extensive training for our bureaucracy. Strict legal measures to punish the law breakers, and corruption. Ani-corruption Commission needs to be made fully independent without any sort of restrictions. It will only report to the President and the Parliament. The Commission may be upgraded as a constitutional body. 

Environmental and Climatic Sustainability. The looming challenge that may destroy the sustainability of this greatest deltaic nation-state. This is looming large to cripple our society. The southern part of our country is already under threat. 

Sustainable Blue Economy in the Bay of Bengal ---this is future for Bangladesh. We should keep our Sea healthy and ensure its biodiversity is not disturbed. The Bay is a great hub of fisheries. There are reports of a formation of a dead zone, plastic pollutions and depletion of oxygen in water. These are serious concerns that need to be arrested for our sustenance. 

Institutional Vitality for all types of institutions like constitutional, statutory, autonomous, private, educational institutions, family, etc. Vibrant institutions can ensure better security, both human and traditional. These institutions should work independently without unnecessary executive interference. 

In Bangladesh,  dominant party state is ruling the roost. That is fine. Seemingly, there is no alternative. 

But I can always encourage for more competitive party politics. Bangladesh should have at least another strong political force.  We suffer from ‘ first past the post’ or ‘winners take it all’ lacunae, if I may call it so.  I am suggesting revision of this system. This is already under discussion in political and civil society circles. I am producing here the idea of  proportional system. However, there is a lack of clear cut idea about this system. I am trying do a research on this in the following statements. 

Proportional Representation  aims to create a representative body that accurately reflects the overall distribution of public support for each political party. Unlike winner-takes-all systems, where only the majority or plurality matters, PR ensures that each vote counts toward proportional representation. Used in 85 countries, this system allocates seats to parties based on their share of the vote. This will encourage rise of smaller parties and thus put a check on the dominant party system. 

Montesquieu explained that the human liberty can be safeguarded only if the concentration of powers in a person or a group of persons could be avoided. Under the present dispensation, Bangladesh suffers badly suffers from this syndrome. Elected tyrants need to be avoided. 

Mixed-Member PR (MMP): Used in 7 countries, MMP combines single-member districts with party-list seats. Voters cast two votes—one for a candidate and one for a party list. There may be 300 single member seats and another 300 party-list seats. 

Germany uses MMP (known as “personalized proportional representation”). Germany uses a mixed voting system that combines elements of proportional representation with features of first-past-the-post voting. Here’s how it works:

1. Two Votes: German voters have two votes represented by two columns on the same ballot paper.

2. First Vote: The first vote is for the voter’s local MP, elected through a First Past the Post system, similar to the UK. Each constituency has one MP.

3. Second Vote: The second vote is for a party, not an individual candidate. This vote determines the percentage of seats a party will get in the Bundestag (Germany’s parliament). Parties publish ordered lists of candidates in advance to fill these positions.

4. Seat Allocation: The first vote elects 299 members of the Bundestag. Candidates only need more votes in their district than anyone else to win. The second vote allocates the remaining 299 seats proportionally based on parties’ overall vote share. No votes are wasted in the list system.

In summary, Germany’s electoral system combines personalized proportional representation with party lists, ensuring a balance between local representation and overall party strength. 

New Zealand also adopted MMP, with modifications.

Other countries like Bolivia, Lesotho, and Romania have used MMP in their elections12.

Two Votes: In most MMP systems, voters cast two votes:

• One vote to choose the representative for their single-seat constituency (similar to first-past-the-post voting).

• Another vote for a political party.

Systems of proportional representation have been adopted in many countries, including Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. 

Opponents argue further that, by making it possible for small parties to be represented, proportional representation encourages the formation of splinter parties that can result in weak and unstable government. 

That is unlikely to happen in Bangladesh today as it is predominantly represented by two major parties. Article 70 may be applied here that is floor crossing by the MPs. No such restrictions are imposed in the Constitutions of India, Malaysia and in the mother country of democracy i.e. the UK on floor crossing. But our political history dictates that there is a necessity of some kind of restrictions in our constitution but not to the extent as it is prevalent. 

Article 70 of the Bangladesh Constitution needs to be revised—to what extent? It states, “ A person elected as a member of Parliament at an election at which he was nominated as a candidate by a political party shall vacate his seat if he---(a) resigns from that party; or (b) votes in Parliament against that party; but shall not thereby be disqualified for subsequent election as a member of Parliament” . 

He may be allowed to vote against the party except during time when a motion of vote of no-confidence is moved or during move of a money bill or during election of Speaker or Deputy Speaker.  

According to Montesquieu, absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely. By separating the functions of the executive, legislative and judicial departments of government, one may operate as a balance against another and, thus, power should be a check on power. He laid greater emphasis on the political and natural liberty of a citizen. He has explained that the union of executive and legislative powers would lead to despotism of the executive. This is palpable in the Bangladesh Constitution. 

Balance in the Powers between the President and  the Prime Minister ( Executive Organ). 

The President, apart from appointing the Prime Minister and the Chief Justice , should also appoint all the judges of the Supreme Court and their equivalents like in the Election Commission or Anti-corruption Commission etc. without being advised by the PM.  However formation of committees for nomination remains valid for suggesting names to the President. 

The President should be able to declare a state of emergency, when he feels of such a necessity,  without being advised by the PM. After six months, the parliament may decide on its continuity.  

The President should also appoint the defence services chiefs and the vice-chancellors of the universities without being advised by the Prime Minister. The president may, however,  receive recommendations from the government or through a committee formed for the purpose. 

That said, the services chiefs and the services shall remain accountable to the executive government for all practical  purposes. All selected ranks in the armed forces should  get vetted by the president, being the supreme commander. 

The President should have power to grant pardons, reprieves and respites and to remit, suspend, or commute any sentence passed by any court, tribunal or other authority   without being advised by the PM. He may, however, entertain recommendations from the government for his consideration. 

The President himself may head the interim government to oversee the conduct of the general election. Tenure of the interim government may be extended up to six months.  A council of ministers may be formed, in  consultation with  the major political parties in the parliament, to run the routine activities of the government. Members of the council shall be forbidden from contesting in the general election. This may be treated as a doctrine of necessity, given the confrontational political culture of the country. 

The President may be elected by a wider electorate consisting of members from all tiers of local government up to Union Councils and municipalities , over and above the members of the Jatiyo Sangsad and provincial parliaments, if introduced. 

I am not suggesting universal adult franchise here as that will create confrontation between President and the Prime Minister. This is bad for the functioning of the executive government. Pakistan is a bad example of this practice. They have now corrected it. 

The French and Sri Lankan systems may be studied for reference and direction. We may get clear direction from their systems. I have, in fact, taken this idea from the French and Sri Lankan models. Bangladesh is a good case for such models. Well, this is, how I think. 

 Episode Three 

Thoughts on Parliament, Judiciary, Federal/ Unitary Structure, Election Commission,  Freedom of Press, etc. 

The tenure of the parliament may be reduced to four years. This may contribute to minimize political instability. This may also reduce corruption. Elected representatives may better concentrate on the demands of the electorate. Accountability to the electorate is the essence of democracy. 

Political parties should devise strategies to nominate more number of women in the general or local elections. There is, probably, now a suggestion from the Election Commission to nominate one-third of the candidates from the women. This should be taken forward in right earnest.   

An upper house may be introduced like that of the UK  and India to put a check on the Lower House. Over and above this, there will be another check from the President. 

The Upper House of the Indian Parliament, known as the Rajya Sabha or Council of States, currently has 245 members. Among these, 233 members are elected from states and Union Territories, while the President of India nominates the remaining 12 members for their contributions to art, literature, science, and social services1. The Rajya Sabha’s strength cannot exceed 250 members according to constitutional limits. Similar is the structure in the United Kingdom. 

Selection of Judges for the Higher Judiciary. 

We may introduce a system like that of Indian of selection of judges.  I am much convinced about the selection of judges in the Indian Judiciary. Practically, here the executive has  hardly any interference in its selection. 

The Indian  collegium system, which involves consultation among judges, has been the traditional method for selecting judges in India’s top courts. It ensures transparency and independence in the appointment process. The  Chief Justice of India (CJI)’s opinion for the appointment is formed in consultation with a collegium of the four senior-most puisne judges of the Supreme Court.

In India, judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts are appointed as per the provisions of the Constitution. Here’s how it works:

o The Chief Justice of India (CJI) and other judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President of India.

o Article 124(2) of the Constitution specifies this process.

o When a vacancy is expected to arise in the Supreme Court, the CJI initiates a proposal and recommends a candidate to fill the vacancy.

o The CJI’s opinion for the appointment is formed in consultation with a collegium of the four senior-most puisne judges of the Supreme Court.

o The appointment of judges to High Courts also follows a similar process.

o The Chief Justice of the High Court is appointed by the President.

o For permanent judges of the High Court, the Chief Justice initiates recommendations, and the President appoints them.

o The collegium system plays a crucial role in these appointments.

I am so impressed with this system. This needs more detailed deliberations. 

The Commission should be fully empowered to conduct the elections independently. All state agencies should extend all possible support and cooperation to the Commission for conducting a free, fair and peaceful election. Such cooperation should be binding as spelt out in our Constitution. This should be followed in letter and spirit. 

Returning officers ( RO’s) for the general election may be selected from the Commission’s in-house officers, District Judges or the equivalent armed forces officers. Deputy commissioners and superintendents of police of the district may be placed at the disposal of the Ros for the election purpose. 

The Election Commission should conduct training of its officers round the year, irrespective of the election time or not. This training may be extended to the nominated RO’s, when needed. 

The Election Commission may develop a linkage with the concerned organizations of the United  Nations for necessary technical or specialized support and training. 

I am not suggesting immediate creation of provinces but I am just broaching the idea. In fact, this idea has already been floated by some of the politicians.  Rationales are: Dhaka is highly congested. A unitary government sitting at the capital city is trying to control almost all activities of the State, mostly through bureaucratic channel. This is almost an impossible task. There is a huge system loss. Development should be decentralized and that is the call of the day. It is an uphill task to administer 180 million plus people from one central capital. Moreso, development is skewed in Bangladesh like eastern part is more developed than the western. 

To start with, the original four administrative divisions that existed in 1971 may be upgraded to provincial structure. This will pave  way to develop these cities and areas ensuring a more balanced and equitable development. Dhaka should survive as a viable city as it is one of the most polluted cities of the world. Its population concentration is just the double than that of Manhattan in New York.  This is happening due to climate migration and unemployment so people are moving  from rural south to Dhaka and Chattogram cities. 

Stronger local government system, as envisioned in the Constitution should be implemented in letter and spirit. We can gradually move towards municipal government, especially in Dhaka and Chattogram, to start with. This is of dire necessity. Municipal government will greatly reduce system loss and enhance coordination. 

 

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” 

Freedom of the press, which gives media like newspapers and TV news the right to communicate and express opinions, is essential to democracy and the protection of human rights. Democracy is a process, which should also be upheld by a free and independent press.  

Freedom of the press is essential  to investigative reporting. Investigative journalists need to report on  serious issues, such as political corruption, crimes, major corporate scandals, human rights abuses, siphoning of money abroad, over invoicing and under invoicing in international trade, favouritism, cronyism, mysterious murder cases and so on.

Freedom of the press gives journalists, publishers, and TV channels the freedom to criticize any politician or legislation, regardless of how the target feels about it. Political communication is essential to creating sound democracy. Political communication is also necessary for educating the electorate. 

Editorial independence gives editors the freedom to make decisions and draw inferences without interference from the publication’s owners. There are allegations of such interference in Bangladesh. Why is this so important? If a big story about the publication’s owners or an advertising client emerges, editorial independence lets the journalists cover it without retaliation. Editorial independence is important to freedom of the press. I find this freedom existing in Dailies like the Daily Star, New Age, Prothom Alo, etc. This spirit should be followed by all, if not already doing so. 

All black laws related to independence of press should be scrutinized by a special commission created for the purpose. At this point in time, this aspect should be seriously looked into. 

All said and done, there should be effort to make the journalists work as one unified professional group. Government and the owners may sponsor  advanced and specialized  training for the journalists. They should be encouraged to learn one or two foreign languages. Bangla is our state language. That said, English is an international language or lingua franca, which we cannot avoid. There may few TV channels dedicated to 24 hours English broadcast like NDTV, BBC etc. 

Episode Four: Thoughts on Economy and Corporate Governance, Self-reliant Economy, Climate Change, Health and Higher Education, Water Sharing in our Common Rivers, etc.  

I do not intent to dwell much on it, because I am not competent to do that. But as a citizen, I will only raise few issues.  

In a recent case of recruitment in Malaysia, a Syndicate of 100 Bangladeshi recruitment agents  siphoned off over 1 billion USD out of Bangladesh. According to an agreement between the two countries, a worker would need to spend just Taka 98, 990/ to get his job and fly there. But in reality, he had to spend taka 5.44 lakhs or USD 5,000. Employers, certain officials of the Malaysian government and even the Bangladesh High Commission in Malaysia, as reported in the press, get a share of the extra money. 

Default loans at six state-run banks rose by 42 per cent year-on-year to Tk. 85, 869 crore at the end of March, 2024. This indicates their fragile financial health condition due mainly to weak corporate governance. As the press reports, most of these leans were taken through irregularities and scams so it is difficult to recover such loans. That said, there should be concerted efforts to bring back that money. 

Seven large borrowers account for 57 per cent of the total default loans at Janata Bank, as reported in the press. The borrowers hold Tk. 14, 210 crore out of Tk. 25, 008 crore total defaulted loans of this state-run bank. At the end of 2023, Janata Bank’s default loan stood at 64.55 per cent to Tk. 25, 008 crore, the highest in the Banking sector. 

Corporate governance is totally lacking in reining in these banks. Political elites are ruling the roost. All should appreciate there is a great difference between corporate governance and top management. The two cannot be amalgamated. There is a law on this but corporate governance like board of governance/ trustees etc. behave like routine managers. They should confine themselves to policy-making mostly. 

Political economy is critical. If politics and governance are not correct, economy cannot be put on track. Economy will continue to go for nose-dive. Oligarchs are controlling the money. Siphoning off money is rampant. Eight different departments are supposed to oversee such flight of capital. Looks like they are failing or helpless. Financial intelligence should be revitalized. 

The last government was planning to heavily borrow from the banking sector, which would crowd out investment. Both internal and FDI are faltering. 64 percent of the total budget deficit will be covered by domestic borrowing so it would exacerbate pressure on taka and further affect dollar liquidity in the banking system. This was concluded during the last budget. The Interim government is to arrest it as much as feasible. 

In 2021-22, the debt servicing went past 2 billion USD, in 2022-23, it paid 2.67 billion USD and it is going to be over 3 billion in the current fiscal year. With reserves less than 20 billion, it would be difficult to repay 5 billion USD range per year because the payment has to be made in foreign currencies. 

There should be zero tolerance on capital flight, which often takes place in Hundi.  Hopefully the Interim government may be able to arrest it. 

Ease of doing business is problematic in Bangladesh. In world index, we are pretty low. FDI is almost missing. Local investment is also not encouraging. Capital market has just collapsed. Bank is not the source for huge and protracted investments. Corporate management for the banks should be revitalized, with Bangladesh Bank strongly monitoring it. 

We should take immediate steps to diversify our exports as our export basket is too thin.  This is likely to be risky during the crunch time.   

Inflation—9 percent or more on basic essentials—is taking its toll on the poor. There were indications of poverty reduction but inequality is increasing. Ginn co-efficient is increasing.  This is likely to create social unrest. These factors contributed to the nation’s last mass upheaval. 

There is growth in economy but it is not ensuring employment. Now is time to stabilize the economy instead of going seriously for GDP growth. India is also suffering from this problem. These factors also contributed to the last mass upheaval, resulting in the fall of the government. 

Around 14.5 billion USD  from export earnings are not brought back due to mal-invoicing. This is a conservative estimate. In reality it may be much more. Over and under invoicing are the great hurdles. 

18 companies have been cleared by the government to invest outside BD. But only in Dubai, 1300 Bangladeshi companies are investing. There are more in other countries.  This is a great irregularity. Can the Interim government arrest this situation? 

Social safety net covers 1.3 percent of GDP.  Pension benefits are also counted here . Its distribution mechanism is also problematic. Here there is a serious lack of governance. The Interim government may now seriously consider expanding its net, along with ensuring better governance. Open market sales should also be increased. 

Return on investment from mega projects is problematic. Priority of selection of projects—Karnaphuly river tunnel or more storage facilities in the oil refineries? We do definitely need more refineries for storage of our crude oil , a vital and strategic commodity. 

Central bank should be made fully independent in its operations but must be transparent and remain accountable to the President and the Parliament. The Banking Division of the finance ministry may not have any operational control over this bank. Governor of the central bank may be upgraded to a constitutional appointment. 

We should continue to expand both our backward and forward value-chains in the production cycle. We have serious scarcity of in-house raw materials on shore so we have to look for the resources in the Bay of Bengal. 

As examples, we do not, any more, depend on foreign countries for cattle-supply, eggs, chickens, fruits like mango, guava and banana, all kinds of vegetables, fish, fabrics, toiletries and cosmetics, furniture, handicraft etc., and we are 98% self-sufficient in medicines. 

We are now in a state to be able to export mango and tea, if certain standards are maintained. Good news mangoes are being exported to China. Our Jamdani, Muslin and Tangail sarees are now far better. We even export medicines and leather products to developed countries like the USA, the EU, and Canada. 

We can easily be self-sufficient in onion, ginger, motorbikes, bi-cycles and light engineering products, provided we ensure better governance and support from the government. 

We have world-class tourism, and hotel and resort facilities in places like Cox's Bazar, St. Martin's, Sylhet, Kua Kata etc. So,  we can restrict our visits outside the country for at least next three to four years. This should be taken as a social movement.  We have the largest natural sea beach and the largest mangrove forests in the world. We need to brand them well. 

We need a good team of  renowned economists, agriculturists, entrepreneurs, sociologists and management specialists of the country to wriggle out of this beleaguered economy and take the economy forward.  

Soil degradation is happening faster than it was initially thought. Every year, the physical, chemical, and biological or economic condition of soil are getting degraded in and around 270 sq. km area, roughly the size of Dhaka city. Chief  Scientific officer at the soil Resource Development Institute of the department of Environment concludes if this trend continues, there will be no cultivable land left within the next 63 years. This will badly affect the food security of the nation. It is deteriorating mainly due to the excessive use of chemical fertilizers, rising salinity, industrial pollution, deforestation, and the improper dumping of electronic and medical wastes. Of the 23 lakh hectares of forest land, 5.3 hectares got degraded. The degradation rate is about 10,000 hectares a year.

The Constitution Article 18 A states, “ the State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to preserve and safeguard the natural resources, bio-diversity, wetlands, forests and wild life for the present and future citizens.” This is a clearly stated goal in the Constitution. I have already indicated it should be the core/ vital national interests of Bangladesh. The Bay of Bengal, which is our next frontier for resources and development, is dying at an alarming rate. There are reports of dead zone, fish poaching, and plastic pollution in the Bay of Bengal. Our only mangrove forest the Sundarbans is under threat.. This forest is dying due to paucity of sweet water, and there is a presence of a huge dead zone--60,000 sq. kilometres- in the Bay.

The Bay of Bengal, as part of the blue economy, needs to be explored. I have very recently published a research  paper on the blue economy of Bangladesh in the Springer-Nature. 

Bio-diversity of our nature is under threat. Difficult to get huge foreign fund so we should develop our in-house mechanism. Siltation is rising in the forest as sweet water flowing is decreasing in the big rivers that originate in the neighbouring countries. 

The UNGA adopted the Convention on the Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Water Courses, which created a legal framework for the equitable utilisation of the waters of transboundary rivers. It lacks a binding enforcement mechanism. Present state of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Jamuna, Teesta etc. rivers. Unilateral withdrawal of waters by the upper riparian country. Bad luck, we are the lower riparian. This also has its knock-on effects on the health of the Bay of Bengal and the Sundarbans, 

India-BD should come forward to resolve the sharing of waters as per this Convention. 

For the Ganges, guarantee clause should be ensured in the coming agreement like it was in the 1997 Treaty. The upper riparian country should ensure our fair share of water at the Faraka point.  For Teesta, proposed deal should be inked asap. 

No body talks about the UN Convention shown below on this and principles to be followed by the stakeholders. Should we not remind our friendly foreign country about this Convention? Was it really done? This is also true for the more than 50 other common rivers that flow between these two countries including the Ganges. It is also obligatory the negotiations should take place between two sovereign states, based on sovereign equality, not the provincial or state governments. How many dams have been built along the Teesta in Sikkim state before it enters West Bengal? Is it not a logical question? 

There is a saying, for real growth, invest more into education and health. Bangladesh spends less than one percent of its GDP in public health sector, compared to Nepal’s 5.6 per cent, and Sri Lanka and India’s 3.8 percent. Developed economies like the UK spends about 10 percent of their GDP. The UNESCO suggests spending four to six per cent in education sector. In Bangladesh, individuals bear up to 72 percent of all health care costs through out-of-pocket payments. This imposes heavy burden on impoverished families thus forcing them to forgo treatment or incur debt. World’s Food Security Monitoring says 36 per cent of Bangladesh’s population suffers from food insecurity coupled with poverty and malnutrition. 8.61 million people in the country were pushed below the poverty line due to out of pocket payments in 2016. Over 20 percent of the health budget are embezzled.  Due to sorry state of public health in Bangladesh, Bangladeshis accounted for 57.5 percent of medical tourists in 2009. The number surged by 83 percent from 2017 to 2019. 

Our government hospitals need thorough overhaul and expansion. These should be made self-sufficient with modern amenities as far as possible. China has offered to invest in our health sectors. That should be availed as soon as possible. If possible, we have to have a complete general/ specialized hospital in each district. We should introduce referral system in our public health.  

Medical universities, outside Dhaka, should start functioning with latest medical and research facilities. Dhaka is getting crowded.  

On education, which is hailed as a great equalizer,  the government spends a meagre 1.64 percent of the GDP. This is significantly lower than the averages for the LDCs, which is above three per cent.   According to the UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report 2022, Bangladeshi families cover 71 per cent of the total education costs. This creates serous disproportionate pressure on fixed-income and poor families. This factor contributed to the last student-led mass upheaval. 

Given the goodwill, we can easily upgrade the quality of our university and medical education, and hospital management. With the assistance of countries such as Singapore, we can establish many varieties of training centres for transforming our people, willing to go abroad for an employment, into competent human resources. 

University education should concentrate more on research and publications in order to get a higher ranking in world ranking of universities. There is a saying universities are primarily meant to create new and unique knowledge for the society. Teaching is, of course, important. Academic posts in the universities may be decided, primarily based on meritocracy and management abilities. There is serious lack of publications in the Clarivate-indexed journals. To be a professor, you got to have fifteen Clarivate-indexed journal papers published. This is a conservative estimate. There is doubt if this is followed in our universities. Research Budgets are extremely negligible in our universities. Private sector should be drawn to the process. 

University teachers and administrators should have a separate pay scale. They should be paid handsomely to retain the best brains in the country. 

A dedicated research university may be created immediately. It will offer PhD programs, as an example. Publication in Clarivate-indexed journals may be made a pre-condition for the award of this degree.  

Functions and powers of the University Grants Commission may be upgraded and revitalized. Separate Ministry for higher education may be created.  

National interest should be the foremost factor in deciding the course of our foreign relations. National sovereignty and territorial integrity may not be compromised at any costs. However, there is a concept called shared sovereignty, which needs to be honoured to function better in this complex interdependent world. Territorial integrity can, under no circumstances, be accepted. So our issues with the CHT, Rohingya refugee issue with Myanmar, occasional killing of our unarmed citizens in the border areas by the BSF, siphoning off people’s money out of the country through illegal means, climate change impacting life and property of Bangladesh etc. may be treated as issues of vital national interests. As such the concept of blue economy in the Bay of Bengal should be promoted across the world for its exploration.  

Diplomacy should be backed by military and para-military forces. No diplomacy is workable unless backed by potent military forces at the brink time. They should work in unison and harmony. Again a nation’s foreign policy typically works in tandem with its domestic policy, which is part of public policy. Together, the two policies complement one another and contribute to strengthen the country’s position both within and without.  A vibrant and duly-elected parliament can add vitality and weightage to its foreign relations. 

We should pursue multilateralism, regionalism etc for our security and development. Despite many limitations of the United Nations, we should steadfastly follow the UN Charter and its rules and conventions. We should continue to contribute our forces for the UN peace support operations. 

 We should put our best efforts to revitalize our regional organizations, both in South Asia and beyond. We may even try to reach out to the ASEAN and the BRICS. It is a good to learn we are already a member of the ARF. Bangladesh may strongly pursue China-Myanmar-Bangladesh connectivity as part of the BRI, as BCIM has faltered. Bangladesh should remain engaged with the Indo-Pacific strategy of the USA.   Both Western and Asian countries may be cultivated for better relations and economic support, keeping in view our national interests. Under no circumstances, should we follow appeasement and bandwagon, as we are a self-respecting nation. Once Pakistan’s democracy stabilizes, there should be efforts to revitalize the SAARC.  

Full transparency should be maintained in all our foreign relations initiatives. The Parliament should be kept posted on all important matters in our foreign relations. All foreign treaties or understanding reached with any foreign countries should be discussed on the floor of the Parliament before these are put into action, as spelt out in our Constitution. 

Bangladesh may not allow transit or corridor for goods and cargos to any foreign power that wants to connect  one part of its territory with its another part. There is a possibility Bangladesh may get entangled as a proxy, for no fault of it, in a case a war breaks out between the two neighbours. There can be no assurance that no war materials will be carried during crunch time. 

There is a recent history of war breaking out between the two neighbours in the north of Bangladesh. These two militaries are still standing eyeball-to-eyeball, with occasional skirmishes, mostly along the McMahon line. 

Connectivity is a welcome gesture but not at the cost of our sovereignty and territorial integrity. Bangladesh should not get caught up in the fighting between outside powers. Connectivity may be pursued in region like South Asia or Asia or East Asia. Connectivity between only two countries may not be cost-effective, and win-win. 

Thus said, Bangladesh should not allow its territories to be used by any foreign insurgent groups. 

Balancing is a good concept in foreign relations but that needs to be handled most maturely. Slight  maladjustment may bring disaster to Bangladesh because of geopolitical realities. 

All our foreign ministry officials should be trained in all segments of diplomacy, both at home and abroad. Craftsmanship for economic diplomacy should specially be congregated. Expertise in one or two foreign languages should be encouraged or made mandatory. 

There should a formal arrangement for better working relationship between the Ministries of Defence, Foreign Affairs and Home.  A coordination committee may be formed for routine consultation. Ministry of Foreign Affairs may be the coordinating Ministry. 

Bangladesh should pursue a defensive defence policy. Unless a war is imposed on the country, Bangladesh should not show any inclination to aggressiveness or offensive posture.  So its armament and logistics provisioning policy should be crafted as such. Defence economics should be adjusted in accordance with growth and fall of its GDP. Bangladesh should aim for modernization and technological improvement of its military. Improvisations and self-sufficiency should be aimed at both in armament procurement and training.  Thus said, Bangladesh’s equipment procurement may be made more diversified. Bangladesh should aim to develop its armament production capabilities within the country, as much as feasible.

As part of its modernization program, Bangladesh should prioritize its air defence segments in all three services. If we can create an effective air defence umbrella, we should then be able to fight comfortably, and for that we have enough assets. Bangladesh should undertake extensive research and development program to make military expenditure more cost effective. It should go for more storage facilities spread around the country. More specialized forces should be raised in all its services. Bangladesh should now go for more quality than quantity. Bangladesh should develop amphibious operations capability as the Bay of Bengal is our potential repository for essential resources. Bangladesh Navy should be made an effective three dimensional force. 

Bangladesh should also develop an extensive and exhaustive para-military forces to be able to fight alongside the regular military forces. These forces should be trained to undertake independent guerilla type minor operations, working under the operational control of regular forces.  Bangladesh military should undertake continued joint and collective training, at regular intervals. Bangladesh should develop itself as a regional hub of the UN peace support training.  

Military intelligence may be revamped to primarily collect strategic level operational intelligence. Political intelligence may be its secondary tasks. 

National command authority may be clearly articulated for knowledge of the nation.   

People’s awareness should be generated, which works as great deterrent.  Deterrence is a concept that works well when such an intention is clearly conveyed.  We should draw lessons from our War in 1971, which practically drew its strength from people’s hopes and aspirations. 

Military personnel should be allowed to challenge Court Martial verdicts in the Supreme Court. This is allowed in countries such as in India and Malaysia, etc.  Article 26 of the Constitution that prohibits such an action may be reviewed.