February 26, 1972 wrecking of a country which had adroitly managed to stay out of a cruel war that raged all around it for than a decade.
Elsewhere in Asia the same kind of unrest is spreading as a result of Ame- rican policies. The Thais are coping with a steadily increasing rebellion. Malaysia and Singapore are extending the hands of friendship to China not knowing whether it is the right thing to do IN his despatch ("Patriots Overnight" January 8, pp 62-3), Harish Chandola has expressed one genuine fear which may well be shared by many students of Bangladesh affairs. It is, in Chan- dola's own words, "Is Bangladesh being created in the image of Pakistan? Must knowledge of handling Pakistan affairs be borrowed to create a new administration?" ANSWERS IN THE NEGATIVE These are pertinent questions which must of course be answered in the negative. The revolution in Bangladesh will certainly remain incomplete if the people and the government of the new state cannot create an administration which is not only responsive to the popular wishes and democratic aspirations of the 75 million people but is also capable of facing up to the new realities in the country's political and economic fields. Having sacrificed millions of lives, the people of Bangladesh cannot afford to turn their country into a playground of bureaucratic red tapism, gross mismanagement and downright inefficiency, all of which have been the hallmarks of the successive administrations in what was once known as East Pakistan.
