It is sad to learn that being citizens of the country, a great portion of the school and university students do not know much about Victory and Independence Day. According to a quick survey, two third of the participants, mostly from English medium background, have failed to give correct answers when asked about the dates of these two national events of Bangladesh.
On the occasion of the upcoming 41st National Victory Day that falls on 16 December 2012, this reporter randomly asked the same questions to at least 50 students, out of which thirty students were ‘O’ level candidates or private university students, whilst the remaining twenty students were selected from public universities.
Although the survey does not represent the total population, however, from this short sample it was evident that four decades after our liberation, the country’s young generation is still not well familiar with the history of Bangladesh.
16 December will be celebrated across the country, marking our ultimate victory over the Pakistan’s occupation forces in 1971 through a nine-month costly armed struggle. The celebration is one of inspiration as it can motivate the citizens of the nation, by lifting their spirits, to bring about positive changes in the society.
Mainus Sultan, a student of a private university said that he happily celebrated previous year’s national victory day with national flags.
“I don’t actually know what happened on this day, but my friends and I enjoyed ourselves by joining in the celebrations,” Sultan says.
A black car that was parked right next to Sultan continuously honked, as his friends waited in the car for him. On the cars bonnet was tied a large national flag. The irony of the situation lay in the fact that these students barely know the history of the birth of Bangladesh, yet every December, they stick a flag on their cars to portray their patriotism. What was even more ridiculous was the size of the flag- the flags measurement was incorrect since it was able to cover the length of the bonnet. This just seemed like another way for them to exhibit their pride without knowing the proper history.
Apparently, nowadays, it has become a trend for the new generation to portray their patriotism, not because they’re actually patriotic, but because it is a style statement to exhibit a national spirit. Does a victory day t-shirt or hair-band with National flag and “Ami Bangali” imprinted backpack really represent one’s love or passion for their country?
“If the younger generation continues to follow this trend, the nation may lose its traditional and cultural heritage. Our history may as well disappear slowly with passing time,” Shamima Nargis, a concerned school teacher stated.
The trends followed by today’s young generation, their overwhelming fascination towards western life style pose great threats to our history and culture. Their lack of knowledge regarding the true history of the country may result in the loss of the nation’s history and culture.
“The victory, which was earned at a brutal price of 3 million Bangladeshi lives has lost its value to this generation,” says Sharmin Mahtab a student of Dhaka University.
“Only educational institutions cannot single handily solve this problem, I believe that parents should also teach their children about the nation’s history,” she points out.
“Perpetuation of our national culture by passing on the ideals of our rich history to the next generation is a difficult and important undertaking. Our previous generation failed when it came to making their successors learnt about the country’s history,” says Jahed Akbar, a student of Jahangirnagar University.
“Despite of all the hardship that our country men goes through, at the end of the day, each citizen should feel proud to be a Bangladeshi and look forward in achieving success at every field of their life,“ adds Akbar.
Whilst this reporter spoke to students at the Teacher’s Student Centre (TSC), most students blamed their parents and teachers for not focusing enough on guiding today’s youths to the right direction. As a result, the society is now facing a crisis. Many of them are patriots by heart, but without the knowing about the proper history of our independence their love for the country will not be wielded.
The students also said that Madrasas and English medium schools do not include lessons or courses on our national history. Moreover, in some cases, the history of Bangladesh has been selectively left out from the academic curriculum of both Bangla and English medium schools. “History is not a subject that is offered in our schools and even if it is offered at all, the classes are usually based on European history. However, they is a course called Bangladesh Studies which includes Bangladesh’s history, geography and other information,” says Mashrur Anwar, an ‘O’ level student.
In English medium schools History as a subject is often not widely studied as it can’t fetch expected grades. As a matter of fact, students of ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels barely choose history as a course.
According to educational experts the study of Bangladesh’s history should be made mandatory for students in all levels of education to find a way out of this crisis. Alongside these measures, the government should also take initiative to make history a mandatory subject in all kinds of educational institutions of the country.
Published at the Daily Sun
KHAMIN 
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