In the fiercely competitive atmosphere of today, leadership skills are crucial for professional and personal development. One of the leader’s most essential traits is how they interact with ordinary people. Some people want to become influential to become unbeatable, while others want to become powerful to aid the ordinary person. When Golam Rabbani decided to confront Bangladesh’s corrupt political system, he knew he was in for a challenge. Golam endured immense hardship like all great leaders, but it did not crush his spirit but strengthened his resolve.
In Bangladesh, bipartisanship is the name of the game. It refers to a system in which each party nominates its candidates. To persuade voters to support their party, the chosen candidates must fund an expensive campaign themselves – they seek power for personal and commercial gain. That is why many business people join political parties despite having no political experience.
To make matters worse, the police forces are also deeply corrupt and are the main perpetrators of atrocities, all to curry favor with the powerful and wealthy elite. Sadly, all of this occurred during Golam’s campaign for the office of the Mayor in Chauddagram. In the election of 2010, he spent all his life savings to finance the election, only for the corrupt election culture to completely wreck everything. He suffered brutal torture, especially from the police, who hauled him into custody. The leading cause was his protests against his rivals and the electoral system.
On September 25, 2011, the abuse left him gravely hurt. In addition, he was arrested multiple times during the next two years and faced brute force as the rigged system tried to break his resolve. The torture did not end with him because the police harassed his family as well when they attacked him at his home. His mind and body were so painful that he was no longer even aware of the moments when he was tormented.
Even now, he finds it challenging to absorb everything because the trauma of those years has left permanent marks on his mind. One event occurred on the morning of September 25, 2011, when his group, the National Youth Forum of Bangladesh, organized a discussion meeting at the National Press Club on leadership. Former Army chief General Mahbubur Rahman was present. He discussed the government’s anti-democratic actions and the administration’s nepotism. The police attempted to halt the program when they unexpectedly entered the location. They let him continue, only for them to torture him in front of the public as soon as the program ended.
In addition, on November 22, 2013, in front of the Supreme court, Motsho bhavan was subjected to another horrific attack by the police, who beat him with batons and shotgun handles to the point that they shattered his hand. He had to spend two months in the hospital, but even there, the police did not allow him to recover in peace as they stood outside the building. He was subjected to such brutality and repeated detentions that he frequently made newspaper front pages and became well-known in the community.
Even after going through hell and back, the corrupt system could not break his spirit; instead, it gave him even more strength to do whatever he could to aid his people. Whatever unpleasant circumstances were happening to him then couldn’t stop him from accomplishing what he was doing. His primary mission is to ensure proper political practice; even the party he belongs to will continue to fight inside the party if necessary. He wants to establish a formal political training institute in the name of Bangaleer patshala, which he already established in the USA. Bangaleer patshala will be the first political school where he will initiate social work-based politics.
Social workers and trade union activists are society’s most neglected members because all corrupt politicians and black money business people control the whole political system. They don’t want to allow any progressive and hard-working activist due to fear of lack of popularity. Nayan Bangalee has spent more than ten years in a trade union and 14 years in social work activities through community-based organizations. He realized that this was the only solution to fix this problem.
He was the survivor of the non-judicial killing by the secret agent of the government because he was always bold against the ruling party and its improper political practices. They offered him several times to join their party, but he refused. Due to this principle, he lost his colorful career in Bangladesh Supreme Court and all the success he had already achieved. Now he is a forced displaced person who believes he will make politics more societal.
