United News of Bangladesh

The Liberation War of 1971, the mass uprising against autocracy in 1990 and the student–people’s uprising of 2024 are all rooted in the same aspiration and are not contradictory to one another, said Debapriya Bhattacharya, Convener of the Citizen’s Platform, on Tuesday (January 13, 2026). “According to the Proclamation of Independence of April 10, 1971, the goal was to establish a sovereign state ensuring equality, human dignity and social justice. The Liberation War was the principal means to build that state. The subsequent movements emerged from the same aspiration to realise those ideals,” Debapriya said. He was speaking at a programme, titled ‘National Election 2026 and Citizens’ Expectations’, organised by the Citizen’s Platform in the city. “The struggle for independence in 1971, the anti-autocracy movement in 1990 and the 2024 uprising were all driven by people’s quest for equality, dignity, justice and rights,” Debapriya said. Read more: Politicians also face growing security concerns alongside citizens: Debapriya After the Liberation War, he said people had hoped for dismantling the old structures and building a new Bangladesh, but that aspiration remained unfulfilled. “As a result, people united against autocracy in 1990.” Referring to recent history, Debapriya said that over the past one and a half decades, freedom of expression has shrunk, power has become increasingly centralised, and corruption and misgovernance have intensified. “In protest against these developments and to establish a state based on equality and justice, students and ordinary people once again took to the streets, leading to the mass uprising of 2024.” Emphasising that there is no conflict among the three historic moments, Debapriya said, “We believe there is no contradiction between 1971, 1990 and 2024. In all three periods, people stood up for their rights and dignity.” He underscored that a credible national election is now the country’s most pressing need. “There are many questions, fears and uncertainties among people regarding the election and the post-election governance system.” “The biggest question remains whether the election will be free and fair. Beyond that, another concern has now emerged— even if the election is fair, will it be meaningful at all, or will Bangladesh once again drift back to the old trajectory?” he added. Debapriya said the Citizen’s Platform has reached out to people across all eight divisional cities, engaging them in dialogues to capture their hopes and aspirations. The platform has also conducted workshops at 15 universities to reflect young people’s perspectives on Bangladesh. “Incorporating the views of marginalised and deprived communities along with collective national aspirations, we have prepared a citizens’ manifesto,” he said. Calling it a non-flexible manifesto, Debapriya said the platform will not stop at drafting the document alone. “We have already launched a Reform Tracker. Through this, citizens will be able to monitor how much reform any government undertakes and to what extent citizens’ expectations are fulfilled.” He said the manifesto was prepared through coordination with 150 national institutions and reflects the state vision of ordinary citizens and the younger generation. Read more: Debapriya urges stronger govt, EC role to rebuild trust “The manifesto is framed on the ethical foundation of the Proclamation of Independence of April 10, 1971. Our core objective is to amplify the voices of marginalised people, women and the disadvantaged—those whose voices do not usually reach the upper tiers of the state, namely the government and bureaucracy,” Debapriya said. The Citizen’s Platform will prioritise programmes over rhetoric and work towards building an inclusive state to ensure the implementation of the manifesto, he said.

Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh on Thursday said the local-level development is affected by poor institutional effectiveness as the efficacy of public institutions has gradually eroded in the country. “Capacity of public institutions to service the disadvantaged groups, profile and prestige of local leadership have diminished overtime. Citizens’ voice has weakened too.” said Citizen's Platform Convenor Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya. Read more: Economic mismanagement creating instability in market: Debapriya He was addressing a media briefing in the city’s BRAC Centre Inn to share local opinions received from a series of sub-regional consultation meetings. The Citizen’s Platform arranged the seven consultation meetings between June and October this year to understand how much the local realities reflect the national development narrative. More than 500 engaged citizens from 25 districts of Bangladesh participated in the meetings and expressed their views and opinions. Dr Debapriya said that citizen’s voices, role of CSOs and NGOs and civic activism of students suppressed by a “culture of fear” that has intensified in the recent past. Middle class on the retreat He said that local situations reveal that the leadership role of the middle class is retreating in setting social norms and inclusive cultural approach in society. “Their socio-cultural role has been squeezed. The middle class is also under pressure due to lack of employment, high inflation and decline of income,” he added. He said that the disjunction has widened between national development narrative and local experience as there is uneven distribution of the development gains due to discriminatory design, weak delivery and limited access to resources and public services. Dr Debapriya said that, according to the consultation participants, the impact of ongoing inflationary pressure has fallen disproportionately on the marginalised groups and people with low income. “Traditionally ‘left behind’ groups are not being able to reach national averages,” he said. Read more: Economy needs transitional policy to overcome the crisis: Debapriya The gap between national development narrative and local realities, and asymmetries were aggravated further by lack of democratic accountability, he added. Focusing further on local realities, he said the rich tradition of cultural activities gradually receding; social fabric weakened as values of tolerance, trust and compassion withering away; and political space for pluralistic views, conversation and engagement narrowing. “There is rising concern among the district-level citizens that the smooth developmental progression of Bangladesh may get jeopardised due to adverse national and global economic outlook, as well as because of the apprehended political violence during the upcoming democratic transition,” said Dr Debapriya.

Some 28 percent youths aged above 18 left studies to support their families amid the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, according to an online survey conducted by Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh.