No ideology should be imposedBring down corruption, cronyism and nepotism-Towheed Feroze is a former journalist! Well, the eyes of the world are on Bangladesh, with almost all international news bulletins containing at least one reference to the forthcoming elections.Most people feel that at this moment, the key task for the authority is to ensure national election, referred to as landmark-polls, is held free of manipulation, violence and underhand tactics.The elections held under the previous regime were not without controversy, and the general feeling is back to back contentious elections, without credibility, was one of the grievances fuelling the July-Aug movement.Interestingly, during the 2009 elections, which was held in a non-contentious atmosphere, I was with the bdnews24.com and vividly remember the poll time euphoria followed by an overwhelming feeling of optimism.How that invigorated sentiment gradually turned into bitterness is known to us all so won’t get into that.However, with the youth emerging as a major driving social force in Bangladesh, the days ahead will definitely be shaped by the aspirations and visions of the young.It may sound odd but at 54, Bangladesh is now looking to the future with the eyes of the young.Party allegiance aside, most young voters harbour the desire to see some key changes which will not ensure a Eutopia but will put the country on the trajectory of democratic principles.Speaking to several young voters, got an idea about what they want to see in the coming days.Unsurprisingly, the most important thing mentioned was the right to disagree and openly express one’s opinion.With demons of a totalitarian government still lurking, each and every young person has stressed the need to have an environment where a doctrine is not injected into the national psyche.“In the past, we saw a concerted campaign to erase most ideologies in favour of one particular one,” said Angshuman Chowdhury, adding: “such indoctrination is usually counter productive as we saw during the 2024 July Aug uprising. Historical figures who would have retained the general veneration came tumbling down because of the relentless cult of personality campaign.”Abdullah Al Bake, a journalist, agrees with Angshuman, saying that instead of the deification of a person, more emphasis should be given to replicating the work of that individual in real life.“The mistake most parties in power have made is that instead of choosing a set of illustrious people to set as examples, they decided to lionise only one, resulting in entrenched resentment among the masses.”No leader will be forgotten if that person had done something significant, observes, Asha Islam, a university student.Respect cannot be imposed and foisting a cult has never had a favourable ending, she warns.Arpita, a DU business faculty student feels that instead of trying to present a saint like persona of someone, any leader needs to be accepted as a human being, with virtues and, definitely, some vices.In our country, the tendency is to make someone a prophet – something which will never be welcomed by us, adds Arpita.“We will happily look up to someone who is human and not a demi god.”Among most young, the issue of corruption in all spheres of life is a scourge which needs to be tackled with a realistic approach.Saying we will eradicate corrupt practices is easy, platitudes do no cost much, but let’s be realistic, making public services free of venal culture should be the goal, maintains, Ikhtishar Ahmed, a sportsman.When we talk about corruption, we usually mean illicit or underhand financial dealings, but the word corruption also involves moral degradation involving nepotism, cronyism and favouritism, Ikhtishar feels.Agreeing with him, Abdulla Al Bake, a journalist, says: “in the days ahead, we need to see a country where favouritism and nepotism are sidelined to give chance to skilled people.”Beyond all the lofty rhetoric in the past, we saw, party or political allegiance becoming the only criterion for selecting person (s) for public service posts, deplored Bake, saying: “this means without a political label, skills become futile and meaningless.”Echoing Bake’s sentiment, Shahnoor Karim, a former journalist, feels that in the days ahead, the government in place needs to set an example by selecting people for responsible posts based on talent, skills and capability.“All over the world, ‘jobs for the boys’ culture will remain and we cannot change that, but what we can do is to start the process of including merit-based recruitment in all sectors.It’s the demand for the recognition of merit rather than providing jobs based on quota which triggered the seismic events in 2024, recalls Fahmida Akhter, a social worker.“We all know there will be appointments based on party allegiance but if the new government wants to show they mean to act on their pledges of reform then for the first time they need to set aside some key posts where people will be chosen

Source: bd News24 February 12, 2026 06:35 UTC