Feature
Freedom Fightersare our Superheroes
Sujash Islam
 THE greatest things in the world may not stay forever but they tend to etch a lasting impression upon us and lead us to do more great things for the future. We will have to remember our glorious past that gives us inspiration to do something good for the country. Some may say, past is past. But they must be overlooking something that they should not! 1971 is the most glorious time of our nation. The War of Independence began from March of 1971. The brave people of our country started the fight against the oppressors, the military of West Pakistan. The people of our country were resilient enough, having been the victim of the massacre done by the military. They fought fearlessly for our country's honour. The Freedom Fighters did not hesitate to lay down their lives to give us an independent country-Bangladesh.
These days, the young generation of our country often imagine what would have happened if superheroes like Batman or Spiderman were seen coming to our rescue, fighting culprits, saving our lives from danger. They even tend to fantasise themselves as those superheroes! But they often forget about the reallife superheroes without whom we would not have gotten this country. It is painful to see some students are not serious enough while singing the national anthem! Perhaps, they do not know what had cost us to earn the right to sing this anthem. Most of the students of our country learn the history just to pass examinations. Moreover, the students are always kept buried under heavy lessons and they do not get sufficient time to learn about their country from textbooks. But they have to rediscover the history, and the glory of our Independence War. If they think carefully about it and try to understand the sufferings of those 9 months in 1971, then they will surely feel sorrow as well as pride because of the martyrs. And this feeling will give rise to their obligation to do something for the welfare of Bangladesh. The young generation should respect the martyrs because the martyrs did something for our country that even a superhero cannot even do. So, our freedom fighters are our superheroes.
The number of people living below the poverty line is still very high in Bangladesh, and thus members of the 'now-generation' should be conscious of their expenditure habits. Instead of spending huge amounts on showpieces for personal belongings, why can't we help at least a single family in celebrating the festival by cutting down our own expenses?
Despite these minor odds, the overwhelming gaiety of this national day is beyond compare. When we watch the Mongol Shobhajatra coming out of the Charukala with scores of people in masks and colourful attires roving round the streets of Dhaka, we feel pleasure in the thought that the fight against evil has started. Where is the mighty evil that can match such humane force of nationalism?
True, with their pompous screams, the evil forces have been trying to engulf our society. In fact, they have taken refuge within many of us. But do we give up? Should we? Never. As part of our ongoing struggle for existence and prosperity, we need to crush the hidden evils.
Pahela Baishakh is the power that our generations have cultivated and upheld with much patriotic intensity. Our present generation is surely well-set to embrace our nation's long-drawn battle towards glory. Long live Pahela Baishakh!
(Sabrina Hasan Shoily is a BBA student in NSU and Dr. Faheem Hasan Shahed is a faculty of English at AIUB)
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