Mujtoba Ahmed Murshed
Sometimes I feel an atmosphere of deep remorse when I see tears around me and wish with all my heart for Bangladesh to become a truly humane country. But who really cares for the tears and struggles of those who are not part of power politics? So far, no one. Politicians, despite their slogans about working for the people, continue to display their own achievements without revealing the dark truths that lie behind them.
This political self-deception pushes ordinary citizens into despair. A painful reminder came this week through a report by the human rights organisation Odhikar, which stated, “Incidents of human rights violations continued during July to September 2025, even after more than a year of the interim government’s rule that followed the mass uprising of August 2024.”
According to BBC News, Odhikar reported that at least forty people were killed in extrajudicial incidents between August 9, 2024, and September 30, 2025. The report adds that eleven of these killings occurred between July and September 2025. Of the forty victims, nineteen were shot dead, fourteen were tortured to death, and seven were beaten to death while in the custody of law enforcement agencies.
In its quarterly review, Odhikar observed that even after the end of fifteen years of authoritarian rule, the overall human rights situation remains alarming. The organisation urged the state to honor its obligations and refrain from further violations.
However, the same report welcomed the interim government’s ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) on 17 July 2025, describing it as a ‘significant milestone’ reflecting a renewed commitment to human rights. Odhikar also called for the establishment of National Preventive Mechanisms under OPCAT to monitor detention facilities.
This development aligns with the government’s decision to approve the National Human Rights Commission Ordinance 2025, which significantly expands the commission’s jurisdiction and authority. After the cabinet meeting, Law Advisor Asif Nazrul said at a press briefing that the previous human rights body had been ‘toothless and ineffective.’ He added, “We have now made it stronger, ensuring it becomes a genuinely empowered institution capable of addressing human rights violations.”
He further explained that the definition of human rights has been broadened. “Beyond the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution, the commission will now have the authority to act on issues recognized under international human rights declarations and conventions ratified by Bangladesh, as well as customary international law.”
Yet the people still ask, will it work? Will these steps finally end the pain that ordinary citizens endured during the sixteen years of Sheikh Hasina’s autocratic rule, pain that, according to Odhikar, still continues under the interim government?
The system in Bangladesh seems never to find its rightful course. Why does this happen? Is it because those in key positions lack competence, or because they lack the heart to feel for the people they serve?
When I speak of the right heart, I mean a compassionate and functional governance that understands the essential needs of the people, and nothing is more fundamental than food security.
A recent report jointly released by the Food Planning and Monitoring Unit of the Ministry of Food and three United Nations agencies revealed alarming data. By December 2025, about sixteen million people in Bangladesh’s disaster-prone districts are expected to face a severe food crisis, while 1.6 million children are at risk of acute malnutrition.
The study analysed food security and nutritional conditions among 96.6 million people across thirty-six districts, including the Rohingya camps. It also warned that the number of people facing food insecurity is likely to increase during the last eight months of the year compared to the first four months.
While reading this report, I could not help but remember my own teenage years during the famine of 1974. I was only fourteen, but I remember the hunger, the emptiness, and the unbearable hours spent without even a handful of food. The entire nation was in agony, and thousands perished. The memory of that suffering still haunts me.
That is why this new warning must be taken seriously. Authorities must act now, not after the crisis begins. If this looming food shortage unfolds unchecked, it will not remain limited to the affected districts. It will exert enormous pressure on the rest of the country. Starvation and deprivation can easily push desperate people toward unrest, crime, or social disorder.
Bangladesh is not a large country, and its geography offers little buffer against the shocks of war or the challenges of rapid food production. For this very reason, our national priorities must remain people centered rather than militarily driven. True security does not come from the expansion of arsenals but from investments in human development, ensuring access to food, healthcare, education, and peace.
Bangladesh must urgently strengthen its food grain supply chain through cooperative partnerships with friendly nations and build strategic food reserves to withstand emergencies. Equally important is the establishment of a transparent and efficient distribution system so that food reaches those in need without delay or corruption.
In addition, targeted employment opportunities should be created for people in disaster-prone and economically vulnerable zones. Sustaining their livelihoods will not only help maintain social stability but also keep communities resilient and self-reliant in times of crisis.
We need peace, not provocation. We need balanced diplomacy, not heated rhetoric that might draw us into conflicts with neighbors. We need guns that offer flowers, not bullets. Indeed, a nation’s dignity does not rest in the size of its army or the weight of its military machines, but in the depth of its humanity.
If Bangladesh truly aspires to be a humane state, a nation built on compassion, equality, and justice, its leaders must listen to the silent cries of those who have no voice. The people of this land do not need wars, nor the ruthless games of power, nor the endless politics of revenge. They need dignity, peace, and the promise of a bright future. They need food security all the time but not war torn tears.
The writer is a poet, litterateur, and political analyst
