Our beloved motherland stands on a piece of map, built upon the dreams of millions and a patch of green. Yet today, the heart of that motherland is deeply exhausted, desperately endangered. The economy, which once served as the beacon of hope for the sweat and sustenance of millions, now lies in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), counting its final moments. Meanwhile, standing right beside it, a festival of plunder unfolds on the red carpet of power. The regal chairs all around are once again crowded with party sycophants and political cronies. The record of the past six months reads like a series of heavy sighs. In just six months, 95 operational factories have shut down. In an instant, at least 62,000 hardworking individuals have been rendered jobless. The hands that supported families, the eyes that harbored dreams of building a future for their children—those very eyes now face sheer darkness. According to a study by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), 19 out of 31 key economic indicators are sinking. These are not merely dry statistical figures; they represent the daily agony of millions of ordinary citizens. When one must return home from the market empty-handed, when tears well up in parents' eyes while struggling to manage household expenses—it becomes painfully clear how gravely hospitalized the nation's economy truly is. Revenue collection is at zero, the burden of bank loans has skyrocketed, the doors to foreign investment are virtually shut, and the wheels of industrial production have ground to a halt. The Annual Development Programme (ADP)—the very dream of progress that people live by—now stands paralyzed. But the greatest tragedy is that amid this severe crisis, naked politicization of the bureaucracy continues in the corridors of power. The warning from prominent economist Debapriya Bhattacharya leads us back into that familiar darkness—where loyalty to the party, rather than merit, becomes the sole criterion for appointment. The history of 2001 to 2006 remains vivid in our memories. The carnival of bank looting, the empire of tax evasion, and the nightmare of worker layoffs seem to have returned in 2026 under a new guise. Alas! Once there was the courage to roar against injustice, a voice of protest. Today, everyone watches their all being lost before their very eyes, yet remains enveloped in a strange, motionless silence! Will we remain silent even today? If we keep our eyes, ears, and conscience shut, tomorrow's dawn may bring even more ruthless news. When the numbers of this misery double in the next report, we will not even have the ground left to shed our tears. Therefore, the time is now—to awaken, to speak up, and to stand vigilant for the truth to stop this bleeding of our homeland.

Author: Dr. Abul Hasnat Milton, Journalist, Political Analyst, and Chief Editor, The Source News Bangla