BNP Accelerates Drive to Meet People’s Expectations
Professor Morshed Hasan Khan
The country’s most popular, people-oriented political force, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), is now in power. In the new Bangladesh after the mass uprising, the party came to power through a landslide victory in a free, impartial, peaceful and festive election. Although the BNP leaders do not call it power but rather responsibility. That is, the sacred responsibility of ensuring peace, security, happiness, prosperity and good governance of the people of the country is now on the BNP government. The responsibility that martyred President Ziaur Rahman took on his shoulders. The one who came to power by taking on the adventurous responsibility of pulling a war-torn, fragile and corrupt country. Then his constant rush, relentless work and boundless dreams in state formation gave him immortality. Whose place in the history of the world is as a short-lived yet visionary leader.
In the changed political context of the 1970s, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was formed on September 1, 1978. That day, at a crowded press conference at the capital’s Ramna Restaurant, President Ziaur Rahman read out the manifesto and answered various questions from journalists for about two hours. One of the beauties of the party at the time of its establishment was the participation of all, from the right wing, the left wing, and the moderates. On that day, he said in unequivocal terms that in reality, a new party is being formed for national needs, that this party will strengthen the nation and take the country and its people forward.
President Mr. Zia said at that time, we achieved independence in 1971. Many people thought that this independence was not necessary. But economic freedom can be achieved only through independence. If we make good use of the vast national resources that Bangladesh has, we can take the country forward on the path of development in a short time. We jumped into the war of independence with this belief. I have seen that thousands of men and women gave their lives for the independence of the country. We must not forget them, we must ask why they sacrificed their lives. They believed that they would be able to live in peace if the country became independent. The new party’s pledge is to realize their dream. According to President Mr. Zia, the main goal of the nationalist party was the pledge of independence, economic development of Bangladesh, democratic progress, national unity on the basis of Bangladeshi nationalism, and the creation of a sense of self-reliance among the people. The 19-point program was the main ideology of the party. The four basic ideals of state policy, namely democracy, unwavering trust and faith in Almighty Allah, nationalism, and socialism in the sense of economic and social justice, were the essence of the party program.
Prominent political researcher and writer Mohiuddin Ahmed has written some important things in this regard in the flap section of his book ‘Time-Untime’. According to him, ‘BNP was born in a military camp, in the hands of an army hero, when he was at the center of power. Such political parties usually disappear when they are thrown out of the circle of power. BNP is an exception in this regard. The party has not only survived, but has also taken its place as an alternative force in electoral politics. Whether there is democracy in the country, whether democracy is practiced in BNP, can be a matter of debate. But there is no denying that the party represents a large section of the country’s population.’
The 19-point declaration of martyred President Ziaur Rahman are guidelines for the liberation of the state. In a word, it can be said that martyred President Ziaur Rahman brought attention to state formation in the contemporary political context through the formulation of these 19 points. Just as he showed the path of democracy as the basic principle of the constitution in his political philosophy, he also talked about the good aspects of socialism, social and economic justice. He showed the practical implementation of the dream of an independent, united and sovereign state combining all the good aspects of the social system. Just as he gave priority to the contemporary Muslim majority in these 19 points, he taught the path of national unity to everyone regardless of religion, caste and tribe. In his theory, martyred President Ziaur Rahman talked about an educated nation free from illiteracy to form a self-reliant nation. His 19 points contained all the materials for people of all classes and professions of a country to live with self-respect and dignity.
When martyred President Ziaur Rahman was working tirelessly to build Bangladesh as a modern state, when Bangladesh was moving forward as a rapidly advancing country in the world, at the same time, as part of a domestic and foreign conspiracy, he was assassinated on May 30, 1981, at the age of just 45, in the Chittagong Circuit.
This momentous statesman of Bangladesh’s history lost his life in the brutal bullet of some errant members of the army in the House. After the martyrdom of President Ziaur Rahman, his wife, Begum Khaleda Zia, took over the party in 1982 due to the urgent need of the country and democracy. From an ordinary housewife, she became the head of one of the main political parties of Bangladesh and the first female Prime Minister of Bangladesh. At that time, BNP was the internal and it was quite difficult to deal with the national crisis. However, Begum Khaleda Zia, the country’s leader, with her uncompromising leadership and boundless patience and wisdom, took the party forward like a flowing river. She became known as the ‘uncompromising leader’ in the movement against the military ruler Mr. Ershad.
In this regard, researcher Mohiuddin Ahmed said in an interview with BBC Bangla about his book ‘Time-Untime’ that while martyred President Ziaur Rahman created the BNP from within the circle of power, Begum Khaleda Zia later took it forward as a political party. He said, ‘It was not a political party in the way that political parties are created in our country. BNP was formed as a political party during the anti-Ershad movement, under the leadership of Ms. Khaleda Zia. The BNP that we see today, although its icon is Mr. Ziaur Rahman, is the one who brought the party to this level.’
Since its establishment, BNP has gone through various ups and downs. Just as domestic political opponents have tried to eliminate the party, foreign powers have also sometimes conspired against the party. This moderate liberal party has repeatedly fallen victim to conspiracies after gaining the unwavering support of the people of the country in a very short time. Although BNP is moving forward at a rapid pace by breaking the web of all conspiracies and plots.
In particular, the infamous One-Eleven government tried to undermine the party’s top leadership, former three-time successful Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia and her son PM Tarique Rahman. The fascist party Awami League has also repeatedly tried to destroy the BNP using the courts. They thought that they would erase BNP from the politics of this country through imprisonment, oppression and torture. But that did not happen. Rather, the party has become more popular and more well-organized through confrontations. In difficult times, millions of leaders and activists of the party have kept BNP on its feet. They themselves have sustained the BNP, built by martyred President Ziaur Rahman on the streets, despite imprisonment, attacks, cases and political conflicts.
The contribution of the BNP to the July 24th mass uprising is immense. Lakhs of leaders and activists of the party, who have been continuously struggling against Hasina’s fascist regime, took to the streets to fight from mid-July. The sacrifices made by BNP leaders and activists to overthrow a fascist regime in collaboration with the common people under the instructions of patriot PM Tarique Rahman will be remembered with lifelong respect by the freedom-loving people of this country. The sacrifices and sacrifices of hundreds of leaders and activists of the party made the July 24th mass revolution glorious.
In the nearly 5 decades since its establishment, BNP has proven itself as the spokesperson of the masses by speaking about the independence-sovereignty, democracy-voting rights and development of this country. Every corner of the fifty-six thousand square miles of the country is filled with the workers and supporters of this party. The absolute majority of the party in the 26th election reminds us of President Ziaur Rahman when the party was founded. The journey of BNP started with the great vow of serving the needs of the country and the welfare of the people, today the sacred legacy of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s leadership is the pathfinder on that path. The BNP government is giving utmost importance to the implementation of the 31-point plan formulated by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman for state reforms.
If BNP succeeds in implementing these for the betterment of the state and the people in a fascism-free country, then Bangladesh will go far ahead. On this day of its 48th founding anniversary, I wish the party all the best.
Author: Professor, Department of Marketing, Dhaka University and Convener, White Party, University of Dhaka.
