The United Nations is a global platform that people around the world are accustomed to viewing with a degree of solemnity and sanctity. Yet, an unprecedented drama was staged on that very stage. Taking along a "tax offender"—whom the country's High Court explicitly held liable for evading taxes to the tune of 666 crore BDT and whose writ petitions were all dismissed—Khalil paraded around the UN Headquarters. Furthermore, this was not done as an ordinary citizen, but as a massive exercise in political power to show off a personal agenda and draw applause. Using UN side events—much like the world’s heavy-hitting vested interest groups—to host an exhibition of selfies and applause at state expense: did this truly enhance Bangladesh’s image, or did it cause millions of people to bow their heads in shame?

BDT 666 Crore Tax Evasion: The Nation's Morality Fades in the Presence of 'Respected' Criminals

The judgment regarding years of accumulated tax evasion running into hundreds of millions—from 2012 to 2015—came directly from the highest court of the country. In plain terms, this can be called a massive financial offense. Yet, what elaborate arrangements were made to cover up that crime! In a country where an innocent farmer's cattle are seized for failing to repay a small agricultural loan of 5,000 BDT, or where young people are beaten to death over allegations of stealing rice or mugging 200 BDT; in that very same country, big fish who swindle 666 crore BDT walk the global stage puffed up with pride in expensive suits and ties. Does this bizarre national affliction—"a sword against the weak and polite tolerance toward the powerful"—not shake our conscience in the slightest?

The 'Khalil-Yunus-Lamiya' Trio and the Utter Failure of Political Power

It is often seen in Hollywood films that any professional crime syndicate gains a "rounded" or well-structured form when it includes a female member. Does watching this tripartite parade of Khalil, Yunus, and Lamiya in the corridors of the UN not remind one of those old movies? But behind the sarcasm and humor lies a cruel reality. It is natural for an ordinary citizen of the country to ask: would the head of state of the US or any Western nation permit their Foreign Minister to hold court at a sensitive venue like the UN alongside a tax offender owing millions of dollars? Before Khalil's influence, even Tarique Rahman himself appears utterly helpless today! Seeing how mainstream politicians have bowed their heads in this entire power dynamic truly invokes pity.

A Kick to the People's Stomachs, Yet a State-Funded Joyride to Washington and New York!

At a time when the country's economic growth has plummeted from 7% to a mere 2.2%, and when the price of fuel oil has been hiked by 20–25 BDT per liter overnight—leaving ordinary people struggling for breath—whose money was used to fund this lavish New York trip for this foreign-citizen Foreign Minister and his entourage? Do these "power exhibitions" and secret political pacts run on the blood-and-sweat tax money of ordinary citizens? Throwing conscience to the wind without the slightest regard for accountability, this plunder of state resources is not merely a mistake; it is a resounding slap in the face of the entire nation.

O Mother, Looking at You, My Eyes Cannot Turn Away...

Alas, my beautiful Bengal! The golden Bengal we dreamed of—where a thunderous roar was supposed to rise against injustice and oppression—has today become a grazing ground for oppressors and tax evaders. In the words of the poet, one might wish to say again today:

"Where is that impoverished attire of yours, where is that pale smile..." "Today, the radiance of those feet has spread across the sky!"

But alas, that liberating image is now lost behind the selfishness of a group of people blinded by the lust for power. Until the 200 million people of this country break their unjust tolerance toward these multi-billion-taka big fish and stand up, nothing awaits this unfortunate nation except humiliation while sitting in the corridors of the United Nations.

Author: Sachin Bangali, Columnist and Political Analyst