Nursing and empowering organisations of poorly-focused farmers, workers, small businesses and students are crucial for reforming the democratic institutions severely affected by the ousted Awami League regime, said discussants at a seminar held on Friday.
They also said that reforms by the existing power structures would be futile until powerful organisations of the foot soldiers of the July uprising pushed for distribution of power that was mostly concentrated as one-party rule.
The seminar on democratic transition and institutional erosion in Bangladesh and the way forward was organised by Dacca Institute of Research and Analytics at Press Institute Bangladesh in Dhaka.
Presenting the keynote paper, SOAS University of London鈥檚 economics professor Mushtaq H Khan said that new dynamic forces emerged from the July uprising needed support for being mobilsed so that they could demand and preserve the protective rules and national interests.
Sharing her frustration over the unfulfillment of the July uprising spirits, Shireen Parveen Haque, who recently served as the chief of Women Affairs Reform Commission, said that the commission鈥檚 recommendations for decentralisation of power to amplify the voices of marginalised women were 鈥榓busively鈥� criticised by mobs.聽聽
Member of Local Government Reform Commission, professor Kazi Maruful Islam, also a faculty member of Dhaka University鈥檚 development studies department, said that strengthening local government would empower the marginalised groups but the challenging journey required ideological strength.聽
Dhaka University鈥檚 sociology professor Samina Lutfa said that the post-uprising politics in Bangladesh must consider the incidents of historical injustice and achievements of Bangladesh and not undermine people鈥檚 basic rights, some of which are chartered by international conventions.
National Citizen Party joint convener Ehtesham Haque said that July uprising participants now witnessed forced prioritisation of elections although they had desired a real change of the contemporary dominant politics.
Moderated by Dhaka University鈥檚 development studies professor Asif M Shahan, the seminar was also addressed by PIB director general Faruk Wasif, Amar Bangladesh Party general secretary Asaduzzaman Fuaad, Brac Institute of Governance and Development executive director Imran Matin, Student Against Discrimination NSU coordinator Sadab Mubtasim Prantik and DAIRA research director Mohammad Asaduzzaman, among others.