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A Kind of a Dystopia

Sumaiya Ahsan Bushra
Photo: Kazi Tahsin Agaz Apurbo

The declaration made earlier in the week to call for Sunday's Hartal by the opposition party and then declaring Hartal the consecutive days Monday and Tuesday, has made the young minds of the society question the very notion of equality. Belonging to a democratic nation, where all lie under the umbrella of equality, it is truly mind boggling to see how nothing ever gets done in this country. The amount of suffering, ranging from severe to mild, every day, one comes face to face with headlines on the news -- people are murdered ruthlessly, with body parts mutilated and dispersed all over the city, abducted, and raped. The mild sufferings range from mugging, petty crimes, deprivation of water, electricity and mass traffic. These are only a few to name, while many more lie unseen under those dark circles of misery.

The disappearance of a political leader now takes us to a different level all together. Yes, it is logical to search for him and issue reports, seeking public help and maintaining the protocols involved. But why do the young people of the nation have to suffer? Why are the candidates appearing for the HSC examination having to suffer for a crime they have not even committed? Why are the students attending university final examinations having to pay the price? Where is our egalitarian approach there? Every time, something wrong happens, it is the mass people who bear the weight. Business transactions come to a halt, mass movement stops and thousands of people get injured and many lose lives.

Of most, the students are the biggest losers in this cat and mouse chase. The HSC students, who have been preparing for the last two years to sit for this exam, are now in a limbo. The examination schedule, in it self is sometimes three months long and on top of that these unplanned hartals have further delayed their chances of moving on with life at a normal pace, if not quickly to catch up with their counterparts all over the world. Some examinations have been rescheduled for the same date of the next month. How is this even fair?

Will the nation's influential people ever give us the incentive to stay in this country and be the real torch bearers? From the look of things, it seems quite bleak. As these young students suffer and become frustrated, their prime aim will eventually be to leave the country. Abhishekh, a student appearing for HSC exam says, “The situation is really peculiar. We were supposed to have our Statistics exam this month, but the government had to re-schedule it for next month. Some of us are very frustrated with it, while some of us are fine because it is a tough subject. But then again, this disturbs the whole system of education because there are students from other streams like Arts and Science and they will be done with their exams while we will still be taking ours. Also, the chances of the question paper to leak remain high in these situations.”

Will the nation's influential people ever give us the incentive to stay in this country and be the real torch bearers?

In circumstances like these, where the opposition decides to call for hartal at a stretch, it not only disrupts the lives of ordinary people, but also causes a break down in the system, particularly the educational institutes where everything is determined upon proper planning and execution. The results of these examiners will be delayed if this condition persists and no solution is sought leading to further chaos.

In addition, university students are in the same position. Every week, they have to face a new barrier. Electricity and traffic congestions are the most popular ones. But, now there is a new addition to this family of problems. These students who have spent the last three months, cramming, finishing off projects, preparing for exams are now stuck. The examinations are delayed to a date they are not certain about or scheduled to be held in the weekends. Even if the examinations are to be held on a particular date, what is the guarantee that they will be able to conduct it? With the plague of hartal, everything seems doubtful. In some cases, students have to appear for more than two exams a day, which is an extra pressure for them. Naushin, a student, says, “This is ridiculous. I am done studying, but now we are waiting for the day to arrive. It is really ironic and there is no justice.”

This brings us to the final question as the youth of today- will they ever hear our voices and our pains? Will they ever solve our problems or will they remain the same and mingle with trifling issues?