Staff Reporter:
The Liberation War of 1971, the mass uprising against autocracy in 1990 and the student–people’s upris-ing of 2024 are all rooted in the same aspiration and are not contradictory to one another, Debapriya Bhattacharya, Convener of the Citizen’s Platform, said yesterday.
“According to the Proclamation of Independence of April 10, 1971, the goal was to establish a sovereign state ensuring equality, human dignity and social justice. The Liberation War was the principal means to build that state. The subsequent movements emerged from the same aspiration to realize those ideals,” Debapriya said.
He was speaking at a program, titled ‘National Election 2026 and Citizens’ Expectations’, organized by the Citizen’s Platform in the city.
“The struggle for independence in 1971, the anti-autocracy movement in 1990 and the 2024 uprising were all driven by people’s quest for equality, dignity, justice and rights,” Debapriya said.
After the Liberation War, he said people had hoped for dismantling the old structures and building a new Bangladesh, but that aspiration remained unfulfilled. “As a result, people united against autocracy in 1990.”
Referring to recent history, Debapriya said that over the past one and a half decades, freedom of expres-sion has shrunk, power has become increasingly centralized, and corruption and lack of good governance have intensified. “In protest against these developments and to establish a state based on equality and justice, students and ordinary people once again took to the streets, leading to the mass uprising of 2024.”
Emphasizing that there is no conflict among the three historic moments, Debapriya said, “We believe there is no contradiction between 1971, 1990 and 2024. In all three periods, people stood up for their rights and dignity.”
He underscored that a credible national election is now the country’s most pressing need. “There are many questions, fears and uncertainties among people regarding the election and the post-election gov-ernance system.”
“The biggest question remains whether the election will be free and fair. Beyond that, another concern has now emerged— even if the election is fair, will it be meaningful at all, or will Bangladesh once again drift back to the old trajectory?” he added.
Debapriya said the Citizen’s Platform has reached out to people across all eight divisional cities, engag-ing them in dialogues to capture their hopes and aspirations. The platform has also conducted workshops at 15 universities to reflect young people’s perspectives on Bangladesh.
“Incorporating the views of marginalized and deprived communities along with collective national aspi-rations, we have prepared a citizens’ manifesto,” he said.
Calling it a non-flexible manifesto, Debapriya said the platform will not stop at drafting the document alone. “We have already launched a Reform Tracker. Through this, citizens will be able to monitor how much reform any government undertakes and to what extent citizens’ expectations are fulfilled.”
He said the manifesto was prepared through coordination with 150 national institutions and reflects the state vision of ordinary citizens and the younger generation.
“The manifesto is framed on the ethical foundation of the Proclamation of Independence of April 10, 1971. Our core objective is to amplify the voices of marginalized people, women and the disadvan-taged—those whose voices do not usually reach the upper tiers of the state, namely the government and bureaucracy,” Debapriya said.
The Citizen’s Platform will prioritize programs over rhetoric and work towards building an inclusive state to ensure the implementation of the manifesto, he said.
