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How Bangladeshi Future Generation Might Look Like

Yesterday, on May 16, 2021, I spent another aimless day on Dhaka streets. I was accompanied by Asif in the search of battery dealers in Puran Dhaka. We celebrated Eid-Ul-Fitr 2 days back, and the city was still vibing. Although shops were closed and our initial intention went in vain, I discovered something more interesting on that evening.

Puran Dhaka (Or old Dhaka) is the most congested locality in Bangladesh (I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the most densely populated area in the world). I doubt whether there has been any recent demographic study there, but apparently, this area has a significantly higher presence of children between the age range of 5 to 10. For a clustered urban space with unhygienic living standards, the mortality rate for the adult population should be reasonably higher compared to other parts of Dhaka city.

Having stated the preamble, let me tell you what caught my eyes yesterday. I saw hundreds of children playing with toy guns like this on the road:



Children playing with those toy guns shooting each other

I was quite amazed seeing a huge volume of little goons hovering around the streets of old Dhaka. I won’t argue they will be violent/ militant down the line, since I believe childhood fantasies fade away quickly as children grow up. Rather, I think this group of children is going to show some certain characteristics when they reach adulthood:


1. They will be smarter than their previous generation (90s kids) who I believe to be emotionally imbalanced while making logical decisions. 90s kids are the witness of technological disruption and the advancement of the internet. As a result, they think of themselves as the caretaker of old-fashioned thinking as a precious memory to cherish. The upcoming generation will not value emotion that much, and go for logical decisions more.

2. Social endorsement will play a crucial role in the purchasing decisions of the upcoming generation. This toy-gun trend has spread like wildfire and other children brought the guns based on peer review.

3. By the end of 2030, the Bangladeshi population will reach the tipping point of 20 crores. Traffic jams will also converge to the highest level of nuisance. Today’s kids will probably depend on two-wheelers for their mobility solutions.

4. I am anxious about the education of our new generation. Bangladesh has got cancer named Madrasa education, which suffices in terms of blinding a child’s potential from the bud right in his/ her childhood. Some think our government is incentivizing this cancer to remain in power, but I am skeptical.

to be continued…

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