On Digital Bangladesh
A convener of a UpoZila Awami Volunteer League in GoforGao occupied a pond and dubbed it – DIGITAL FISHERIES. I bet he really wishes to realize the dream of his dear Jono-Netri; well, in his own inflected way!
The word DIGITAL, thus, is in flux in Bangladesh. Divorced from its binary origin, it rather, has morphed into an Awami political jargon. Even the arch rival BNP once tried to adopt the term and complained of DIGITAL KARCHUPI during the last general election that was felt to be fair and square by every sane measure. Now DIGITAL is largely an Awami promise and Awami burden was well.
Other than using my tablet for work, I am pretty much non-digital. Binary is not my forte. But I understand the utmost importance of digital or electronic governance for the very purpose of economic uplifting. But this is no panacea, for e-governance is no substitute for good governance and rule of law. This fact is clearly demonstrated by a report in a national daily that an online tender process was thwarted by AL-associated goons by intimidating the prospective contractors for a so-call SAMJWATA.
Bangladesh has gone digital and is going digital with lightning celerity even without a clear vision from the previous or the present government. And Bangladesh, we all know, will continue to go digital – no matter what the "slogan" of the government is; because the private sector of Bangladesh, unlike its public counterpart, is smart and understands what DIGITAL means.
Our honorable Prime Minister has access to many IT experts including her IT-expert expatriate son. And it is no rocket science that she can not comprehend what needs to be done in terms of supportive government policy. But I am sure; at this juncture, nothing is more important than establishing the RULE OF LAW. Once that is achieved, the dream of DIGITAL BANGLDESH shall not in yonder for long, for our entrepreneurs are really smart and forward thinking.
Mohammad Zaman
10/17/2009
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