Bangladesh’s youth is unhappy

So, you are a Bangladeshi middle-class youth who has fulfilled all his/her basic needs and now has a moderate amount of income flowing in. You are seeking the luxuries of this life but as you explore the possibilities, you realise that Bangladesh has very little to offer of all the world's luxuries. 

Now what? 

Now, in the search of all the worldly luxuries you will travel outside of Bangladesh and spend the money on all the things that you could not have in Bangladesh. 

In due time, some might wonder - what if you never came back to this seemingly godforsaken place? A place where you cannot vote (debatable), where you write with fear clenching your heart (who knows who might harm you), you cannot buy a car without giving triple the amount of the car's price as tax. This is a place where you do not even have PayPal! Seriously, which country does not have PayPal in 2021.  

But that is not all - then comes the second-highest tax burden on you. Yes, on you! And you want to talk about it to your friends? You will have to give 20 percent VAT for every minute on the phone call whereas in India unlimited calling comes with the monthly data packs. 

But we have the internet right? Well, we give VAT for that too and still, we cannot see any difference between 3G and 4G when we are traveling outside Dhaka. 

You will have to wait until you turn 21 (voting age is 18) to get your digital national identity card which will then allow you to get a SIM card or to open your own savings account. 

Illustration: TBS

Let us say, you have come this far and opened a savings account - now you will hear half of the nation saying, "it is haram" while the other half is not slightly bothered about how you plan your future. But they should, right? After all, the youth is the future of this country.

Meanwhile, you get admitted to a public university and it takes you five years to complete honors and two more for masters. With seven years gone, now comes the pressure of Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) exam and your youth is almost over.

In a country of 160 million people with many still unemployed, the government gives an average of 1,500 people all it could provide to lead a luxurious life every year. There is an inoperable business environment because we are living in one of the worst business-friendly countries in this world. So, what do you do? Maybe you leave this country for good or you keep on living in this labyrinth.

Now let us take a flashback and simplify the Bangladeshi youth's screaming soul. All of which started from a lack of luxuries - either because it is not found here, or people are too poor or because the government is taxing so much. 

So, am I trying to say that all the Bangladeshi youth are greedy and unhappy? Yes, most of them are. Bangladesh's youth are truly greedy and unhappy. See their politics. Observe their academic activities. All of it for themselves - consuming it all and not caring about the people around them. 

But this has resulted from the fact that they do not have anything else or any aim in their life except consumerism. If anyone is to blame for this situation, then it is you - the generations before who have failed to teach us and lead us toward a great aim. You made us like this. All we learned from you was - money is a success. 

You have taught us to think about I, me, and myself. Just tell us, what should be the ideal aim of a Bangladeshi youth right now? We have no Liberation War left to fight for, we have no dictator to raise a voice against, no cause to be united. 

So, give us an aim and make us unite again. We will give you the best in return like your generation gave us in 1971.

Mashrur Rahman Mahin is a third-year law student at Jahangirnagar University.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.