Bangladesh's journey of independence for centuries until 1971 had never been easy. Alien rule and crisis in post-colonial state stood in the way of building institutions that could guarantee discipline and public welfare. Democracy and economic salvation were the guiding lights to steer national movements. The challenges of underdevelopment also have made the people extremely self-motivated to change their conditions.
The country's resilient farmers have brought food autarky. A few generations of desperate overseas jobseekers and enthusiastic new ones of freelancers have emerged as one of the largest armies of foreign currency earners. Peacekeepers from this earlier backward country prove the world has something to learn from them.
Millions of once helpless women have not just established Bangladesh as the birthplace of modern microcredit but also written the apparel success story.
The size of the middle class consumers has expanded in the meantime as they avail of goods and services at home and travel to different countries for holidaying and medicare.
Aspiring to become a middle income country on the global stage, Bangladesh is seen as an emerging country but its economic progress in terms of freedom from famine, illiteracy, crisis of clothing and medicare, and lack of infrastructure can't be measured by mere economic yardsticks.
The problem now is that such achievements may have given birth to certain complacence among some important groups of people and their dependants. Many of us have lost their minds to join any competition for shining.
Despite some success, the recent performance of the cricketers, handling by the management in particular, exposed a lack of competitive attitude. Respective authorities have failed to ensure that workers and professionals excel significantly in their skills to capture more sophisticated jobs at home and abroad.
When business competitiveness is essential for earning higher profit, making local industries viable or attracting foreign investments, we are struggling with the old system and habit of making excuses.
With longing for entering the status of a middle income country and at a critical moment of the graduation process, we've almost suddenly discovered that the country would lose some concessional facilities while trading with other nations and blocs after graduation.
Are we not then ready for the graduation or scared of competition on raising quality of our products, services and human resources?
Questions may also arise if Bangladesh has fallen into what is called the middle income trap before fully attaining the status.
Question paper leaks in public examinations and recruitment tests result from a tendency to come out successful without facing any competition. Massive default loans and profiteering motive demonstrate the trends of seeking short-cut way to be rich.
Some measure of immunity provided for public servants from being implicated in graft charges indicate an administrative love affair with monopoly. Barely any interest is visible in making functional the government's Competition Commission, founded to prevent and address oligopolistic private sector behaviour.
There is no other powerful incentive than a culture of competition in society which can help improve quality of education, encourage business growth, and protect functioning institutions from degradation. It's also an assurance of justice where people can feel they can access services and grow as any professional. It's not either possible to accommodate aspirations of 170 million without allowing them to compete for whatever they wish to pursue as career and social goals.
After 50 years of independence, Bangladesh has come of age when it should have no reason to fear a fair competition in any area of life, economy and state affairs in order to encourage growth of individuals and society. The people, especially the new generation among them, are at least mentally ready to take up a challenge of attaining higher qualities at local and global level.
Charity, however, must begin at home for inspiring sons and daughters of the soil to explore anything anywhere. Hunting diverse talents can be a defining initiative for further progress.
So, the next national priority should be promotion of competition to secure the most brilliant results and select the best of the bests in all sectors including in election of public officials for building a better future for the country and its people.
