June 25, 2022, will be considered a memorable day in the history of Bangladesh because the Hon'ble Prime Minister of Bangladesh inaugurated the Padma Bridge on this day. By making the impossible possible, she has shown the world that capacity can never be an obstacle to development. If the purpose is honest and there is a firm conviction, any impossible can be made possible. After the Amazon, Padma is the fastest flowing river in the world. With the construction of a 6.15 Kilo Meter bridge over this fast-flowing Padma, the confidence of Bangladesh has not only increased, but also the capacity of the engineers in Bangladesh has been applauded worldwide. Sheikh Hasina has received wide praise for this construction from international leaders, including the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Even ambassadors of different countries have praised this achievement of Bangladesh.
In today's write-up, I will not discuss the technical aspects of the Padma Bridge or its impact on the economy. Instead, I will shed light on a slightly different issue. I listened to the entire speech of the Hon'ble Prime Minister at the inauguration ceremony of the Padma Bridge on the television screen. Listening to her address, I discovered a different Sheikh Hasina who was humble and confident. Throughout the speech, I was fascinated by her choice of words. At some point, I witnessed the image of Bangabandhu in her while she was speaking. Just as Bangabandhu always presented herself to the people with a robust and confident attitude, Sheikh Hasina addressed the audience very confidently on June 25.
The fellow citizens have not witnessed such an outstanding achievement since the independence of Bangladesh. Therefore, the importance of the Padma Bridge is much higher. The complexity of the construction of the Bridge was much more significant. Since the Padma is a fast-flowing river, it was a highly complex task to build such a giant construction on this river. Her speech reflected the image of a capable leader. She logically presented the overall issue of Padma Bridge in front of the audience. On the one hand, she mentioned the challenges associated with the construction of the Bridge; on the other hand, she also spoke about domestic and foreign conspiracies.
She firmly presented the Padma Bridge to the nation as a symbol of Bangladesh's self-esteem. She mentioned that the Padma Bridge has again proved that Bengalis are the heroes as a nation. The Bengali nation can snatch victory by facing any challenge if it wants. Just as Bangladesh became independent in 1971 under Bangabandhu's leadership, the country under Sheikh Hasina's leadership has built the Padma Bridge. I saw her being emotionally prone in the middle of the speech, which was very natural. Because after the assassination of Bangabandhu and her family on August 15 1975, Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana became orphans. She briefly described the story of her six years of alien life. She also mentioned how the two sisters lived horrible lives after losing all their family members.
She mentioned in her speech that during her life in exile, the Awami League leaders elected her as the President of the Bangladesh Awami League. Therefore, she came to the country and earned the love of her fellow citizens by serving them. Soon after, she went out of her emotions and, without sarcasm, hoped for the revival of the good sense of those who criticised and opposed the Padma Bridge. She called upon all to share the Padma Bridge's achievements without contempt for anyone.
She also highlighted the potential economic importance of the Bridge. She mentioned that the construction and operation of the Padma Bridge would facilitate communication between the south-western district and other parts of Bangladesh, including Dhaka, and change the people's financial situation in those areas. She also considered the Padma Bridge an essential part of regional cooperation as it is connected to the Asian Highway Route AH-1, creating opportunities for its proper use. This will bring about a revolutionary change in the communication of South Asian countries, including the internal communication of Bangladesh. At the same time, she expressed optimism about the effective use of Mongla Port, the second largest seaport in Bangladesh, through the Bridge.
Above all, she called for the unity of the people of Bangladesh. The economic liberation of the people of Bangladesh has come under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina in continuation of the country's independence, which was achieved under the leadership of Bangabandhu. She emphasised the difficulty of building the Padma Bridge and gaining the status of a developing country. She hoped that Bangladesh would become a developed country by 2041 and achieve all the goals under the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
By witnessing her entire speech, I discovered a unique height of confident Sheikh Hasina in which the image of Bangabandhu has reflected. She was seen as very fluent and robust throughout her address. No such leadership has emerged in Bangladesh after Bangabandhu. In the last 13 and a half years, Sheikh Hasina has been admired not only in the country but also in the world for the achievements of Bangladesh. From the leader of Bangladesh, he has become a regional and later a global leader. Today we can see her gaining recognition from other countries. I don't believe that the country's people have ever seen such a confident Sheikh Hasina.
She also presented the issue of the contribution of the Awami League to Bangladesh's development and the upcoming elections to the people through her speech. She expressed her gratitude to the people for putting their trust in her for her efforts to change the destiny of Bangladesh. At the same time, she also expected that the people of Bangladesh would have confidence in her in the future.
It can be said without hesitation that under Sheikh Hasina's leadership, Bangladesh will achieve more economic and social goals and stand tall on the face of the earth. In the last 13 and half years, Sheikh Hasina has proved what Bangladesh could achieve under her leadership. Therefore, respecting her confidence, the people of Bangladesh should have confidence in Sheikh Hasina in the upcoming 2023 elections. If we trust her, Bangladesh will attain further development, and there will be a smile on the faces of the people of Bangladesh. We must acknowledge that Sheikh Hasina symbolises self-confidence and firm conviction as that of Bangabandhu.
The author is a Professor at the Department of Public Administration, the University of Rajshahi
