The demographic dividend is not destiny -- it’s a choice. Bangladesh has 15 years to act, but the window shrinks daily. Without a bold vision, this youth bulge could ignite unrest rather than prosperity, echoing the Arab Spring’s unfulfilled promise.
Societies that silence dissent eventually silence innovation, justice, and even hope. The cemetery of nations is filled not with those who spoke too much, but with those who spoke too little.
Democracy depends on two simple protections: that people can speak, and that they will not be killed for speaking. In Bangladesh, labeling someone a nastik is painting a target on his back, and should be seen for the incitement to violence that it is.
What happens when the interests of the elite class collide with those of an ever more assertive aspiring elite? We're about to find out.
Are there signs that the old elite consensus that governed Bangladesh for five decades is breaking down, and, if so, what will replace it?
If we don’t redraw the line between what’s acceptable and what must never be tolerated -- we’re not just broken. We’re part of the problem.
When justice is replaced by selective rage, even agents of hope risk becoming architects of chaos -- threatening the very foundation of the New Bangladesh.
We have still to define a national identity for Bangladesh, and we need a national dialogue on the matter or we will remain a fractured people.
