The need for mindfulness in Bangladeshi politics

In Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), a common term we often hear is “mindfulness.” What this prescribes is that people should focus on the present and should not worry too much about the past or the distant future. This leads to a decrease in anxiety about unnecessary things and a more efficient outlook towards handling daily stresses. I cannot but think that this approach if taken seriously by stakeholders, may 

help Bangladeshi politics being entrapped in discourse with ill intentions that are not just counterproductive but malicious as well.

Discourses online are dominated by past events in Bangladeshi history, creating further division and hatred amongst people. While questions of historical significance are important to explore, the way they are being done is not useful for our present purposes. It is important to resolve the role of Jamaat-e-Islam during our Liberation War, as it is important to get the facts right about the killing of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family. 

But it is even more important to stay focused on the present and pay attention to alleviating present problems that affect the masses the most. Historical events matter little to people of the present who are failing to make ends meet. The cost of living is skyrocketing, and hospital expenses are prohibitive for many hard-working people. Digging up old debates that are designed to divide the nation at this time will only distract us from the tasks of the present that we must undertake in order to make the country more liveable for the common people.

Take the example of the recent increase in value added taxes and supplementary duties. While some platforms and parties, including the BNP, have stated their opposition to the hike, more could be done. Where is the all out response from activists? What are the student leaders doing to resist these changes? What concrete steps, beyond words in press conferences and releases, will the political parties take to resist this anti-people decision taken by the interim government? Surely, it would make more sense to tax the rich further if the government needs more funds. 

Why this imposition of an additional burden upon the middle, lower-middle, and lower classes, already suffering from the rising cost of living? Who do the political parties and platforms cater to? If they are failing to address these changes with as strong a resolve as possible, what is the cause of that? Even protestations on social media have been subdued. The decision that will determine whether or not people in the lower economic classes will be able to live with dignity has received scant attention.

Compare this issue that focuses on the present to that of the interview of Major Dalim, released by notorious provocateur Elias Hossain. Social media has been buzzing with discussions for weeks. Even meme groups, which only exist for entertainment purposes, indulged in this topic. Elias Hossain was successful in doing what he wanted to do. He hijacked social media with an unnecessary debate. What matters more is the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness of the people of Bangladesh at the present time. 

If we were able to hijack social media in a similar way about the tax and duty issue, and create a strong social movement that could force the interim government to reverse a woeful decision and instead increase taxes on the ultra-rich and the luxury items that they purchase rather than daily essentials of the lower classes, that would be much more pro-people than digging up dirt from the past. 

Social media algorithms, of course, have something to do with this sorry state of affairs. Social media thrives on clickbaits and audio-visuals. However, much needs to be said about the way Facebook influencers cater to their audiences. They know very well that the people they cater to do not have the willpower or the courage to take to the streets against something like tax hikes but will happily indulge in non-issues from the past. Therefore, the influencers purposefully create storms out of nothing on issues that they know will create the most controversy. Issues that create the most good, in these cases, are readily sidelined. 

It is imperative that we remember that these issues that are harder to sensationalise are the ones that matter the most in real terms. They need to be discussed and debated most urgently by the citizens as they affect them much more—and directly—than a disgraced army officer’s opinion. Additionally, it would be a politically prudent decision by the BNP to mobilise its party members to protest against this tax and duty increase to show that they are a pro-people force. 

Giving official statements against the policy is meaningless if we do not see some tangible political programmes denouncing it. This would also distinguish the party’s political platform as an opposition force to the interim government, which would help it as it will have to fight this government and other parties in the coming days to schedule a general election sooner rather than later. Keeping that election in mind, it would also help the BNP to increase its popularity among people if it were to launch a strong movement against the hike.

Instead, we like to talk about other things and focus on things that are of lesser importance. That is why people like Elias Hossain get the opportunity to steal our attention. They have long been deceiving the people of Bangladesh. While it is true that their questionable material sometimes helped fuel the fight against the dictatorship of Sheikh Hasina, we are paying too high a price by continuing to indulge people like him, and losing focus on what matters most. We need to focus more on the everyday struggles of the people. This may be difficult as there may be a class barrier between many of us and the people who are most affected by those issues. But we must bring the issues that matter the most to the fore, especially when the interim government fails to do so.●

Anupam Debashis Roy is a PhD student at the University of Oxford.