This year, the final match of the T20 World Cup was played between India and South Africa. But, quite surprisingly, as soon as a supra-normal catch was completed by Surya Kumar Yadav, the country that had exploded in unadulterated abomination and fury, mainly on social media, was Bangladesh. Whether Surya’s feet touched the boundary line or not became almost a national issue there.

The overenthusiastic Bangladeshi netizens were mighty certain that the line was pushed back treacherously by the Indiamaneuvered ICC during the South African innings. They were also certain that the final match was a vulgar exhibition of the cricket-corruption bonhomie curated by the BCCI. The hullabaloo had reached that eccentric height where, besides the ICC, one of the legends of South African cricket ~ Shaun Pollock ~ had to come forward and ‘defend’ Surya’s lawful catch against the hate-mongering campaign of the anti-India bloc in Bangladesh.

This mindless exhibition of unrestrained hatred, on the part of the Bangladeshi populace, against India, might have sent shock waves to many in both the countries. But, the startling truth is that this hatred has assumed a structural shape in Bangladesh, the root cause of which can hardly be explained in simple terms. It is, in actuality, linked with the fast-growing distrust and disregard between the masses of the two neighbouring nations, especially over the last few years. Therefore, the anti-India slogans, such as “bharat jader mamar bari/bangla chharo taratari” (supporters of India must quit Bangladesh immediately), during the recent quota reform movement in Bangladesh, must be understood vis-àvis the politico-structural hatred of a considerable portion of the Bangladeshi populace against both their government and the Indian nation.

The governments on both sides of the massively porous border must reflect on the circumstances very seriously and take immediate and effective measures to strengthen the mutual trust and respect that have historically been the hallmark of the bilateral relationship. However, to achieve that end, both the governments, especially the government of Bangladesh, have to understand the nature and origin of the structural hatred that has been silently dictating popular behavioral patterns during mass movements, such as the ongoing quota reform movement.

A close study of this movement would reveal the truth that the movement is as much about the rights of the Bangladeshi students as it is about the aspirations of its educated youth. The question of identity has also become an important issue in the entire discourse. The heavily misinterpreted slogan of the ongoing movement ~ “tumi ke? ami ke? razakar! razakar!” (who are you? who am I? razakar! razakar!) ~ has obliquely, and quite interestingly too, brought the question of identity to the forefront. This is an extremely tricky slogan, in the sense that it intends to communicate a greater truth by way of refuting outright the linguistic content of the slogan.

The efficacy of this interpretation can be easily substantiated by citing another popular slogan of the movement ~ “chaite gelam adhikar, hoye gelam razakar!” (demanded rights, only to become razakar!) ~ that clearly foregrounds the protesters’ collective refusal of the fundamentalist identity forced upon them by none other than their Prime Minister herself. Having said that, it is also to be mentioned here that the extremist and the fundamentalist forces of the country, and possibly beyond, must have been overactive during these trying times with their malevolent political agenda of overthrowing the current establishment by hook or by crook. But it does not mean that all the protesters were overenthusiastic about translating the secret agenda of the fundamentalist forces into reality through this movement.

Instead, most of their rhetoric has reflected a shared desire to bring about equity and justice in the country, which, according to them, is missing alarmingly in the present Hasina-led Bangladesh. Therefore, the onus now rests on the Bangladeshi government to convince this generation of aspiring youth that the government is committed to provide a discriminationfree system to them at any cost. In this context, it should be kept in mind that this new generation of youth is not dismissive about affirmative policies like the reservation system, but they are dead against the misappropriation of the same.

Their slogan ~ “quota jodi thaktei hoi, krishoker chheler quota chai” (if quota has to remain, it has to remain for the children of farmers) ~ reflects their collective concern for justice and economic equality. In fact, many of them are raising a voice for not only the children of farmers, but also for other marginalised groups, such as the dalits and the ethnic minorities that have been living in extreme poverty for decades now. Therefore, it is high time that the Bangladeshi government devises better ways and strategies to handle these issues, rather than flamboyantly labeling the protesters as razakars or traitors. The timely intervention of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh is a laudable but insufficient step. The matter has to be resolved politically and economically, in order to foster a sense of confidence and pride among the youth of the country.

There is no denying the fact that Bangladesh has been doing relatively well on the economic front under the Awami League government. But the greater question remains ~ can democratic values and practices be substituted by economic success? The answer is a big no. Until and unless democratic practices revive in Bangladesh, there is no hope of turning the dream of a “Sonar Bangla” into a tangible reality in the near future. Conducting free and fair elections, recruiting deserving candidates in the five lakh vacant posts in the government sector through an impartial mechanism, generating more job opportunities in both government and private sectors for the unemployed youth, extending the benefits of reservation to the truly marginalised communities for an inclusive and holistic growth, and creating an environment of trust and self-esteem among the people of all sections in Bangladesh constitute the immediate need of the country to bring itself back on track.

Instead of doing that, if the Bangladeshi government decides to continue with its policy of denying the hard-earned rights of its citizens through the Liberation War and playing the perpetual blame game, with necessary help and support from this side of the border, the structural hatred and its periodic and violent eruptions shall only force the entire nation into another phase of absolute anarchy and misrule. Therefore, the mindless outburst of the structural hatred at Surya’s catch must be seen as only the tip of the volcano that is sleeping for long in Bangladesh and waiting too impatiently to erupt once again.

(The writer is Assistant Professor, Department of English, Rabindra Bharati University and can be reached at dd@rbu.ac.in)