Of civic duties and responsibilities

As citizens of a democratic state, we have many civic rights --- ordinary and fundamental (protected by the Constitution) --- and in violation of any rights the aggrieved can take shelter for legal actions against the violator. The accused may be any individual, group or organization, any or some state agencies or even the state as a whole. And if the executive branch of the government and judiciary fail to protect the rights of citizens that will justifiably arouse grave national concern.

But rights do not come alone. To every right there is a correlative duty. Rights involve duties and one cannot exist without the other. For every given right there must be an equivalent duty. As citizens we have some obligations which are called civic duties and responsibilities and we must therefore, be fully aware of our civic duties and responsibilities, as we are of our rights.

All the public-spirited citizens will always try to strike a balance, and find a proper relationship, between their rights and their duties and responsibilities. We cannot and should not attach undue weight to individual rights neglecting our duties and responsibilities and if we do so there will be chaos in the community or the state to which we belong.

As a democratic country Bangladesh requires the active participation of its citizens in all national affairs. In order for the government to be effective the citizens must fulfil their civic duties. And it is quite unjustified to think about protection of rights without carrying out duties. Besides defining the rights of the citizens the constitution of Bangladesh vividly outlines duties of its citizens. In article 21 (1) it says, "It is the duty of every citizen to observe the Constitution and the laws, to maintain discipline, to perform public duties and to protect public property."

But the prevailing state of affairs shows that the majority of us are either oblivious or unaware of our duties and responsibilities imposed on us by the constitution and law of the land. Insouciance towards the Constitution and law has become our national character. We tend to indulge in breaking discipline, not maintaining it. Rampant distrust of government and other organizations has made the people indifferent in participating in social and civic organizations, paying taxes levied by the government, protecting public properties and so on.

Degenerative politics has withered our sense of the common good. Some more unscrupulous others have taken it for granted that violating law will not bring any perilous consequences for them and hence they indiscriminately grab public properties and abuse power in pursuance of parochial self interests.

Sometimes, abuse of rights makes us forget our duties. Businessmen and industrialists feel it is their right to carry out their activity wherever and however they want disregarding the climate and ecology. Therefore, they grab public land, diffuse harmful chemical waste in air or water bodies putting the climate and ecology at a stake. Public servants whose duty is 'to strive at all times to serve the people' feel it is their right to harass or manipulate the service seekers in every possible way.

The politicians, especially of the party in power, feel it is their right to do according to their will and none can restrain them from doing so. In the similar way almost every citizen thinks it is their right to violate law in every sphere of their lives. The crux of the matter is that a growing aura of undisciplined behavior and a tendency to escape civic duties and responsibilities have taken control over our national psyche.

But escaping duties or being unaware of them will not bring any good for us in the long run. Instead, it will badly affect national integrity and put adverse effects on our own lives. After all, we have to lead social life after all. Therefore, it is of paramount importance for the citizens to be aware of their civic duties and responsibilities alongside their civic rights. And to raise this awareness the government, civil society organizations and the individual citizens all have a role to play.

Establishment and spread of civic education can play an instrumental role in creating the kind of community which we would wish for the twenty-first century. Civic education is an important pathway through which citizens could be educated about the roles that they are expected to play for the betterment of their country. This will widen mutual understandings and relationships among individuals and groups in society. It will also create a sense of duty and responsibility in them towards their family, community and the nation at large.

Every citizen needs to be educated with civic education, but the main focus should be on the younger ones, the students. Because they are the ones who will lead the tomorrow's Bangladesh and they are at an age where they could be more easily taught to develop the necessary social consciousness. The schools and colleges should play the most pivotal role in bringing positive transformation in the attitude, character and nature of our students by instilling in them all the necessary qualities of an ideal citizen. The curriculum also needs to be designed keeping the similar goal in mind.

We can succeed in creating a kinder and gentler society only through civic education. We would also be able to keep our promise to give our love, our loyalty and skills, in the service of our country; and to work assiduously to build a prosperous and peaceful nation.


The writer is a journalist

---M Munir Hossain