CHANGES always occur in society after big phenomena like a revolution and a war. Such changes took place in Bangladesh after 1947 and 1971 when an evolution of social patterns became inevitable to keep pace with the ideology of the newly created administration. But one cannot wink at the social changes recently happening in Bangladesh. Some of these changes have occurred slowly with the progress of time while others are abrupt and upsetting.
The most conspicuous change in the social structure is the shifting of power from clan-based traditional social leadership to political leadership in rural Bangladesh. The traditional clan supremacy has broken down to yield place to portfolio-holders of the ruling party in unions and upazilas.
Moreover, previously, there were some office-friendly intermediaries among the gentry who were at the helm of liaison between ordinary people and corrupt officials at police stations and in other offices. They were highly influential in a local area. Now, their role is being played by party people because the corrupt officials cannot feel secure to take undue privilege without involving political workers. Through this process, people of simple backgrounds have turned into millionaires. Village matbars are going to be ousted from the scene now.
Because of the development of communication systems all over the country, remote places are now connected to the capital city. All mufassil upazila towns are connected to union-level market places. Almost all shops have fridges and they sell cold drinks, tea, coffee, chips, etc. Village markets have decorator service providers. People hire them to arrange wedding events and the likes under a canopy with chairs and tables for dining.
Battery-propelled vehicles are everywhere to ferry people and goods from one place to another. They transport things as well as culture through easy intermingling between localities. Thus, the gap between a village and a town has reduced.
Because of speedy communication via mobile and the internet, social media have taken a prominent place in society. The huge intrusion of Facebook and other platforms made society information-hungry. The instant spread of news about an event has empowered grass-roots people who use these platforms.
In most cases, young activists in parties are connected to members of parliament and local party leaders via social media. Members of parliament have to maintain a virtual fan group alongside their other supporting groups. The technology-using young generation is in close touch with high-ups in a locality. In most cases, formerly respectable and elder citizens of a locality are lagging behind the tech-using young generation in terms of information empowerment.
Respect for good performers in the field of education and sports has decreased. In earlier times, principals and headteachers of colleges and schools along with successful teachers were highly respected. This awe has shrunk greatly. A union council chair does not pay that much respect to them as was shown by his previous fellows.
In the past, people paid special attention to brilliant students who achieved extraordinary feats in public examinations. Nowadays, very few people bother about spending their time talking about them. They no longer feel any urge to encourage future scholars. Social recognition for good students is not as strong as in the days gone by when brilliant students were given special treatment by way of lodging and free studentship to upgrade the image of schools.
In previous decades, Middle-East-going people sent money to their relatives to buy plots of cropland in their respective villages. Hired labourers charges and inputs being costlier, share-croppers started to show less interest in taking leases of land for cultivation. This tendency harmed agriculture. So, the remittance-owning families started to invest in building residential houses.
In past decades, semi-pucca tin-shed brick-walled houses were a common housing pattern in villages. Recently, people having handsome money have constructed buildings with pacca roofs. The ill-gotten money of the upstart section of people is also contributing to the construction of developed housing patterns.
Former land-owning and aristocratic families are lagging behind this new group of rich village people in the race to enjoy modern residential amenities. As a result, society is witnessing some sort of loss of mutual admiration and blessing sharing. A detached and prejudiced relationship prevails.
The development of infrastructure, communications system and the inflow of money in rural areas would have a positive impact on social changes if these were accompanied by merit-based empowerment of local leaders, transparent earning and spending systems supported by the rule of law and administration of equitable reward and punishment through quick dispensation of justice. Otherwise, all growths are obesity, not health.
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Gazi Miznur Rahman, a former civil servant, is a writer.
