Dhaka: Land Adviser AF Hassan Ariff today emphasized the high expectations surrounding state reforms, highlighting that the country has never been governed in alignment with the aspirations of the 1971 Liberation War. "People's demand for reform this time is very strong while people's expectation is very high on the interim government which came through a mass uprising as the state failed to meet the people's aspiration of the 1971 Liberation war in the last 53 years," he stated. According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Ariff made these remarks during the award ceremony of the '5th Inter-Religious Harmony Debate Festival' at the RC Majumder auditorium on Dhaka University campus. He stressed that reforms are not mere events achieved through specific acts, but rather a continuous process that needs to be implemented across various sectors and stages of the state. Ariff pointed out the impracticality of expecting the interim government to fulfill all necessary reforms for the next century, expressing hope th at future political parties in power would carry forward the process to meet public expectations. He cited the Bangladesh Rin Salishi Board as an example of reforms aimed at establishing people's rights, particularly in providing relief to farmers from oppressive loan conditions. Discussing constitutional reforms, Ariff remarked that it is unrealistic for the 17 crore citizens to gather and revise the constitution article by article. Instead, he advocated for a systematic approach, mentioning that the constitution reform commission is engaged in nationwide consultations, a process set to continue until December. The debate festival saw Dhaka University's Anthropology debating club emerge as champions, with the DU Law department as runners up. The event, organized by DU World Religion and Culture (WRC) debating club, featured 32 teams from 20 universities. Distinguished speakers included DU Arts faculty dean Professor Dr. Mohammad Siddiqur Rahman Khan and Director of the Centre for Interreligious and Intercu ltural Dialogue Prof Dr Mohammad Elias, among others. The festival was chaired by the WRC debating club president and attended by various notable figures from the academic community.
