How long can a nation survive on promises when kitchens are empty, factories are silent, and nights are swallowed by darkness? Bangladesh today resembles a grand house with bright banners at its gate but a dying lamp within. Six months after the present government assumed office, the gap between the language of power and the lives of ordinary people has grown dangerously wide. Ministers speak of recovery, reform, and renewal; citizens count coins before entering the kitchen market. A government may control Parliament, but it cannot command an empty cooking pot to remain silent.
The market tells a harsher story than official speeches. During the government’s first six months, prices of edible oil, flour, lentils, salt, potatoes, garlic, eggs, powdered milk, and vegetables rose, while rice remained broadly stable. Official inflation declined from 9.13 percent in February to below 9 percent, yet statistical relief has not reached the dining table. Trading Corporation of Bangladesh data indicate that most necessities became costlier. Inflation may fall on paper while hunger rises at home. International conflict and disruptions to LNG supplies have created pressures beyond Bangladesh’s control. Yet responsible government begins where excuses end. Gas rationing, costly emergency purchases, weak planning, and fragile import dependence have exposed an energy system built like a house of cards. When fuel becomes expensive, every road becomes a tollgate, and every commodity carries the hidden price of energy.
Electricity has become an unreliable visitor. Villages endure long hours of load shedding; irrigation pumps sit idle, businesses lose customers, and students study by candlelight. Darkness is no longer confined to remote settlements; it has reached Dhaka as well. On August 11, nationwide load shedding reportedly reached 3,007 megawatts. Although installed generation capacity is about 29,500 megawatts, fuel shortages have reduced actual generation to roughly half. The arithmetic is cruel: wages must be paid even as machines cannot run.
Industry insiders reported that gas shortages forced more than 900 textile mills to suspend production, although sectoral bodies dispute some figures. All 57 factories of Meghna Group were reportedly closed as of August 10 due to gas and electricity shortages, placing more than 65,000 livelihoods at risk. Industrial Police data recorded around 457 factory closures between June 2024 and June 2026, though energy shortages were only one among several causes. Nevertheless, unreliable energy has become a knife cutting an industrial body already wounded by reduced orders and weak investment.
The government entered office carrying an impressive basket of commitments: the July Charter, constitutional reform, a bicameral Parliament, revival of closed industries, “Made in Bangladesh,” one million ICT jobs, inflation-linked wages, and Family Cards for low-income households. They formed a contract written in the ink of public hope. Yet prices remain punishing, investment remains weak, and factories await energy instead of slogans. Implementation moves slowly while hardship moves quickly. Plans are seeds, not harvests.
Political divisions are deepening. The ruling BNP, Jamaat, the NCP, and other forces that once stood together against authoritarianism increasingly speak from across trenches rather than at the table. A rights-group report documented 529 incidents of political violence between January and June, resulting in 79 deaths and injuring more than 4,124 people; 302 incidents reportedly stemmed from BNP infighting. Extortion, local domination, revenge, committee disputes, and property grabbing were recurring causes. The BNP claims to have disciplined more than 5,000 members, but punishment after a scandal is not prevention.
The July movement carried dreams of accountable government, democratic institutions, freedom of expression, economic justice, and an end to extortionist politics. If ruling-party activists seize businesses, occupy property, manipulate tenders, and silence critics, the government will gradually find itself where the former Awami League regime once stood. Fascism does not always return wearing the same face; sometimes it changes its flag and keeps the same chair. Public anger is smoke, and wise governments search for the fire. No government can afford to ignore this warning.
The way forward requires urgency, competence, and humility. The government must publish a transparent emergency energy plan, diversify LNG and fuel sources, rapidly repair terminals, prioritize gas for productive industries, and expand renewable power with measurable deadlines. It must dismantle commodity cartels, strengthen TCB distribution, audit electricity billing, and support low-income families and affected workers. The BNP must confront extortionists and property grabbers through prosecution rather than ceremonial expulsion and convene cross-party dialogue on the July Charter, economic recovery, and democratic restraint.
Bangladesh does not lack plans; it lacks the discipline to turn them into power, food, employment, and justice. The government still has time, but time is a candle in a storm. Restoring electricity, protecting industry, controlling prices, and honouring the democratic spirit of July are tests of legitimacy. If these tests fail, the people who once carried hope through the streets may return, carrying anger. A ballot can build a throne, but only performance can keep it standing. When homes remain dark, no government’s promises can cast a shadow forever.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author
The writer is an Assistant Professor of English, IUBAT and DRS, UPM, Malaysia
