Your "I Have a Plan" Our "We Have a Dream"

 

Rabid Mahmud Chanchal :-

Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous speech is not "I have a plan", but "I have a dream". On August 28, 1963, he gave this historic speech against racism and discrimination at a huge rally in Washington. which highlighted the dream of equal rights for blacks. Similarly, Tariq Rahman, who spent his life in exile in London since 2008, made a historic homecoming to Bangladesh on 25 December 2025 with his wife Zubaida Rahman and daughter Zaima Rahman. After a long 17 years of exile, he returned to the country to a huge welcome from the leaders and activists and his arrival brought about a big change in the equation of the country's politics, especially the next elections. Tariq Rahman said "I have a plan" in the first reception organized after his homecoming. Tariq Rahman's booming words "I have a plan" became more powerful than American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech to more than two and a half million people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. A word spread at a supersonic speed all over Bangladesh. Because of this statement, he was called as the Luther King of Bengal. However, although Tariq Rahman did not explain in detail about "I have a plan", he highlighted some things in his election rally. Among which we got idea about family card, farmer card, health card. The people of Bangladesh have trust in his "I have a plan". The result of which we can see in the election held on February 12.

BNP was able to form the government by getting a huge majority (209) on February 17. However, before returning to this democratic trend, Palak was joined by a dark chapter in the history of Bangladesh. Tariq Rahman's "I have a plan" and a brief flush back of the events that took place in the century and a half before its full implementation, we have to turn back with a little wooki, or our expectations will remain unfulfilled. 

Flush back:-

A long and a half era of dictatorship came to an end on August 5, 2024 through bloody struggle and sacrifice. Before this time, during Sheikh Hasina's regime (2009-2024), there were serious incidents like major human rights violations, widespread corruption, money laundering, suppression of opposition parties and extrajudicial killings. This includes a total of 152 criminal cases, including 135 murders, 7 crimes against humanity, and 3 kidnappings. Where the movement to overthrow the government is also responsible for genocide. 

Murders, disappearances, extra-judicial killings, harassment with false cases, possession of property and houses of opposition party leaders and activists, including the media's mouthpieces and singing their own excuses, have not been committed in this country in the past one and a half years. 

According to human rights organization Odhikar alone, at least 402 people went missing from 2009 to 2017 under the Awami League government. The United Nations and various human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have condemned the Bangladesh government for these incidents, including extrajudicial killings. RAB, a Bangladeshi paramilitary force, has been blamed for most of these incidents, but RAB has never acknowledged the allegations. Although the victims returned free from police custody, the Awami League government denied their involvement in the disappearances. According to the report of the Center for Law and Arbitration, 82 people went missing from January to September 2014. Most of the victims were opposition party leaders. Since the disappearance, at least 49 of the victims have died and others remain missing. At least 20 opposition party leaders and activists were picked up by security forces ahead of the controversial 10th parliamentary elections in 2014. As of 2016, at least 89 people have gone missing.

In 2016, relatives of people who mysteriously disappeared formed a platform called Mother's Call to ask the government to trace the whereabouts of their loved ones. Various political parties, including BNP-Jamaate-e-Islami, have been struggling continuously, but they have not achieved the expected results due to the suppression of the government. In this way, when the country is almost on the brink of life and death after losing its democracy, the students-A mass uprising began to take root. The quota reform movement started afresh after the High Court Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court on 5 June 2024 declared the circular issued by the Bangladesh government on 4 October 2018 as invalid, and it turned into a non-cooperation movement when the then Sheikh Hasina-led government started its usual crackdown. Due to this popular uprising, the then dictatorial Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned on August 5 and fled the country and took refuge in India. On the other hand, if the dictatorship escapes, Bangladesh faces a constitutional crisis. At one point, three days later on August 8, an interim government was formed with Dr. Muhammad Yunus as the chief adviser.  Dr. Muhammad Yunus assumed responsibility as the Chief Advisor to the Interim Government of Bangladesh on August 8, 2024 and remained in this position until February 17, 2026. That is, until this time he was in charge of running the state for more than 1 year and 6 months, which is known as the interim government period in the history of Bangladesh. We all know the contemporary history after that. 

Present:-

After various protests and conflicts, finally, on February 17, 2026, Bangladesh joined the democratic railway line again. However, I think that the expectations of the people of Bangladesh in the implementation of Tariq Rahman's plan must be taken from the above mentioned events. Instead of giving family card, farmer card, health card, urgent steps are taken to ensure the civil rights of the people of Bangladesh such as life security, disappearance, murder, extortion, terrorism, filing of false cases, harassment by various forces, extrajudicial killings, money laundering,Uprooting all forms of hegemony over Bangladesh by foreigners including stopping corruption. To develop an environment of full democratic practices within the country. We want to say "I have a plan" and we have "we have a dream" by calling for the establishment of a developed world country by establishing a system of fair and impartial elections as well as the permanent exclusion of those involved in dictatorial activities and blocking all avenues of dictatorship in the future. Hopefully you will be able to be the privileged son of martyred President Ziaur Rahman and uncompromising leader Begum Khaleda Zia. You must be able to. You have to implement "I have a plan". You have to remember that failing your "I have a plan" means failing the "We have a dream" of 20 million people. 

Author: Journalist and columnist 

Email:rabidchanchall@yahoo.com