On a recent morning in Dhaka, the tranquil routine of a school day was shattered by the terrifying crash of a military fighter jet on the premises of Milestone School. For a nation striving to define itself in the 21st century, such an incident is more than a tragic accident, it is a sharp metaphor for the fragile state of our collective aspirations, values, and the path we are treading for the generations to come.
Fractured Dreams, Fractured Youth
If we stand back and look at the present, the truth is hard to ignore. Our youth, the life force of Bangladesh, risk fragmentation into troubling extremes. On one side, many are consumed by social media, generating cheap, vulgar, or even abusive content for momentary fame and profit on platforms like TikTok and YouTube. Meanwhile, others are ensnared by the easy lure of online scams and betting schemes, playing out their ambitions in shadows rather than sunlight.
There is something even more sinister: groups delving into drugs, sex, extortion, and violence, offenses ranging from kidnapping to murder, happening with chilling regularity. Rotten politics infects young hearts, teaching them that power comes not from principle but from pettiness. Some even protest for automatic exam passes, seeking shortcuts not to learning, but to mere credentials. And for a segment obsessed with passing the BCS exams, the goal too often is not public service but private gain, adding to the ranks of government officers whose names become synonymous with corruption and abuse.
Yet, against this bleak landscape, there are islands of hope. A handful of young Bangladeshis are volunteering, serving society, and striving to change the rotten status quo. Some stand out as researchers, as innovators, as bold thinkers hungry for genuine progress.
The Real Crisis: A Corrupt Soul
The pattern behind these incidents is unmistakable. Whether it is the crash of a fighter jet over a school or a youth gone astray, our daily headlines seem to point to an epidemic of excessive greed, a culture of double standards, and a society tormented by its own cheap mentality and corrupt soul.
How did we get here? The malaise is not rooted merely in deprivation or lack of opportunity; it runs deeper. We have devalued honesty, glorified shortcuts, given platforms to demagogues and charlatans, and treated genuine talent and innovation as oddities instead of norms.
Which Bangladesh Do We Envision?
What kind of Bangladesh do we want to leave for our sons and daughters? A land where the worth of an individual is measured by virality, cunning, or criminality or one where dignity, justice, and service are once again revered?
The answer lies not in lamentation but in collective resolve. We must:
- Refuse to idolize transient fame and instead highlight stories of resilience, innovation, and decency.
- Make integrity, empathy, and excellence the cornerstones of our education and family systems.
- Build robust institutions that punish corruption and reward merit, ensuring fairness is not a privilege but a right.
- Cultivate environments—online and offline—where young people feel empowered to create meaning, not just noise.
A Call for Collective Action
Bangladesh’s future will not be shaped by the loudest YouTube channel or the latest viral scandal, but by the everyday choices we make as individuals and as a society. We must reject the easy cynicism that “everyone is corrupt” or “nothing can change here.” True transformation begins with naming the disease and searching for the cure within ourselves and our communities.
If we want a Bangladesh where schools are sanctuaries, not crash zones, where youth lead with purpose, not petty self-interest, then the time to act is now. The price of inertia is the further decay of the soul of our nation, a price too great for any generation to pay.
Bangladesh Air Force jet crashes on school; no casualties.
