In crisis, Struggle, and Success: Dr. Nasir Uddin

It is a well-thought-out and well-made documentary marking the 61st birth anniversary of Acting Chairperson, Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Tarique Zia. At the outset, it begins with a few clips that depict the Liberation War and the airing of a historic announcement of Bangladesh's independence on the Radio from Chittagong Kalurghat's makeshift Radio Station by Major Ziaur Rahman.

The documentary at the beginning successfully lays the ground to recall our liberation war through which a new nation was born. It brilliantly highlights the sacrifices made by Tarique’s mother, Begum Khaleda Zia, and her ordeals in confinement by the occupation Army with her children during the liberation war days. It also depicts the struggles Tareq Rahman underwent in the formative years of his life.

The life and works of Shaheed President Zia as demonstrated in the documentary, will be a stark reminder of how Bangladesh saw a new level of development for the first time under his leadership. His canal-digging programme was a most innovative and visionary one under which Bangladesh marched to attaining food autarky. The documentary highlighted it very succinctly. Zia’s sudden and tragic assassination also came into the national spotlight with an outpouring of overwhelming sympathy from people of all social classes.

The documentary states Begum Zia’s journey to the national political landscape in the immediate aftermath of the Shaheed President Zia’s passing and her consistent, unrelenting, and long-standing struggle against the autocratic rulings of Ershad.

A reflection on Tarique Zia’s journey to national politics, the trials and tribulations he underwent during the 1/11 government, and his involuntary relocation to England for treatment of a critical spinal injury are presented so succinctly in the documentary that someone would easily be overwhelmed to watch it.

The documentary captures the views and opinions of people of all social classes, including intelligentsia, journos, social media activists, women, religious groups, workers, farmers, students, and Gen Z about Tarique Rahman and their expectations from this great leader and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. The most brilliant part of the documentary is the segments of short and very terse interviews of Tarique Rahman where viewers can have a first-hand idea about BNP’s policy on topical issues, which inter alia include women empowerment, information technology, robotics, cyber security, and the like. Tarique Rahman’s firm resolve to lay focus on IT education would go a long way in motivating youths and aligning Bangladesh in the global mainstream.

The documentary is a timely one and impressive in portraying the Bangladesh National Party in its true perspective and its apex leadership. The documentary captures in its entirety the hopes and aspirations of people from the leading party, the BNP, in a changing political landscape.

The brain behind the documentary, Mr Ashik Islam deserves all praise for making this unique documentary and translating his thoughts and ideas into actions. It reflects his knack for out-of-the-box thinking and translating ideas into reality. The documentary, replete with updated information about Tarique Rahman, will leverage the party to portray him in a new light to people of all sections of society. The documentary can be widely circulated to electronic media and to every corner of the country as the election euphoria kicks in.

Author: Dr. Nasir Uddin ( Ex Joint Secretary and Climate Change Consultant The World Bank.)