Former Jahangirnagar University professor Anu Muhammad said on Friday evening that democratic governance would not be possible unless four types of inequalities namely class, ethnic, religious, and gender are eliminated.
鈥楾he interim government has yet to initiate any discussions on addressing these inequalities,鈥� he said.
He made the remarks at a discussion titled 鈥楾he Uprising of Students and People: Democratic State and the Share of the Working Class鈥�.
Samajpath organised the discussion at about 4:30pm at Sirajul Islam Lecture Hall of Dhaka University.
Professor Anu Muhammad said that the working class people constituted the majority of the country鈥檚 population.
He also said that majority of the people killed or injured in the student-led mass uprising were working class people. 鈥楳ost of the students participating in the movement come from working-class and farming families. Their interests, however, are not being protected,鈥� he said.
Urging the government to meet demands of the working class, he said, 鈥楨veryone is aware of the gross domestic product, but it鈥檚 a misleading figure. If a democratic state is to be built, the demands of the working class must be fulfilled.鈥�
At the discussion, labour leader Satyajit Biswas said, 鈥榃ithout meeting workers鈥� rights to trade unionism and participation to national and local government elections, democratic governance is meaningless.鈥�
Writer-activist Tuhin Khan emphasised the need for reforms in the labour and education sectors and formation of a labour council.
He said, 鈥楲abourers are the main driving force of the country.
Private university teacher Dr Shahzad Firoz said that the essence of the movement initiated under the banner of 鈥榚quality鈥� was the demand for justice.
鈥業f you continue with a 鈥榥eo-liberal economy鈥� where the state provides no services to the people, inequality cannot be eliminated from society,鈥� he said.
Among others, the discussion was addressed by jute mill worker Alamgir Hossain, garment worker Md Uday, student movement activist and tea worker organiser Tanzila Begum, rickshaw worker organiser Obaidul Islam, and student movement organiser Sujoy Shuvo.
