King For A Day

14th July, 2025

Dear Yunus,

 Do you know who I am? For a day, I was a king. Actually last night, I had one of the most beautiful dreams of my life. Do you know what I saw in my dream? I saw that I was the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Don't worry; I never dreamed of being prime minister for five years. I only dreamed of being the Prime Minister for a day.

 Although it might sound funny, at the beginning of my dream, I saw that the common people of Bangladesh were rallying for me and marching in the streets. They were making festoons and banners in my name, hanging them on the streets. They were all shouting, "East or West, Fahad is the best."

 Then everything went dark. My eyes slowly opened in the dream, revealing an eerily quiet and beautiful environment. The atmosphere was so calm and quiet that I could hear my own breathing. When I opened the window to take a deep breath of fresh air, I heard the calls of busy birds. Although I dislike hearing crows, I carefully noticed that no crow was calling.

 After breakfast, I rode my bicycle to the Secretariat. The guards of the secretariat honored me and invited me inside. They guided me straight to the Prime Minister's office. Sitting on the big chair of the Prime Minister, I felt a little hesitant at first, but later I thought that I had to do a lot for this motherland. I took a piece of paper and a beautiful brown-colored pen from a lovely pen holder, then wrote down 10 words on it, The words are,

Food, clothes, residence, education, health, climate, mineral resources, administration, corruption, technology. I think that improving these aspects is crucial for the progress and peace of a country.

 Bangladesh is a self-sufficient country in food production, thanks to our rich soil. To harness this wealth, we require skilled farmers and advanced machinery. So I picked up the nearby telephone and called the agriculture minister of my country. He came to me in a very quick time. I told him, you know very well how important agriculture is for our country. I instructed him to establish one-room agricultural schools in every village, utilizing volunteer students from agricultural universities. In cases where space is limited, we'll designate a corner within each primary school for agricultural school. These initiatives aim to empower old, unskilled farmers while promoting agricultural innovation. Additionally, I announced a two-month exemption on duties for agricultural machinery to enhance accessibility. After preparing the necessary documents, the minister departed to initiate these vital measures.

 Climate is very important for Bangladesh. Planting trees is very important to maintain the climate. Therefore, I urge the law minister of Bangladesh to enact a law requiring every government department and educational institution in Bangladesh to plant one tree every day at their own expense. In the current global situation, planting trees should be considered a moral responsibility for everyone.

 Despite the presence of numerous garment factories in our country and our successful garment exports, we still face a significant annual import of clothing. To address this issue, I convened a meeting with the Minister of Industry and Commerce of Bangladesh. I proposed the implementation of a 75 percent duty on all clothing imports into Bangladesh. This strategic move aims to reduce our country's dependency on imports and strengthen our domestic garment industry.

 Despite substantial funding, the healthcare sector's condition remains poor, emphasizing the need for systemic improvements. So, I contacted the Health Minister of Bangladesh, and together we visited Dhaka Medical College Hospital, one of the largest in the country, in disguise. During our visit, I showed him the actual conditions inside the hospital often lacking sufficient doctors and plagued by unpleasant odors. We then proceeded to an upscale private hospital in the capital to illustrate the standards hospitals should meet. After our inspection, the Health Minister and I returned to the Secretariat. This time, I summoned the Law Minister of Bangladesh and instructed him to draft law prohibiting government doctors from practicing in private hospitals outside their official working hours, from 7 am to 5 pm. Additionally, I directed the Health Minister to swiftly assemble a monitoring team tasked with ensuring doctor presence in hospitals.

 The population in Bangladesh surpasses its land size. It is necessary to construct multi-storied buildings to conserve agricultural land. While cities boast many such structures, villages lack them. Hence, I summoned the finance minister and urged him to provide low-interest loans for constructing multi-storied buildings in villages, thereby preserving agricultural land. Additionally, I directed that houses under the Asyaran project, aimed at aiding the poor, be built on unproductive, uncultivable land.

 In addition to other challenges, Bangladesh faces a significant drug problem, with 24% of the population smoking cigarettes, posing serious health risks. While eradicating cigarettes entirely is challenging, I've tasked the finance minister with raising cigarette prices tenfold. This measure aims to deter ordinary citizens, particularly the poor, from wasting money on cigarettes, while also reducing consumption among the middle and upper classes. Furthermore, I've urged the law minister to draft law mandating the death penalty for repeat drug offenders. By imposing severe consequences for drug dealing, we aim to mitigate this pressing issue. While these measures may not entirely eliminate the problems, they represent significant steps towards addressing them.

 Although Bangladesh has a sufficient number of schools, colleges, and universities, there are some flaws in its education system. I reached out to the education minister to discuss these issues. I explained that many students in our country study complex subjects at various government universities, but often they cannot apply this knowledge in their professional lives. For instance, a student who graduates from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology with a degree in computer software engineering might pass the BCS exam and join the administrative service, where their primary job might be unrelated to their field of study, such as maintaining law and order. In this case, their specialized knowledge remains underutilized. I suggested modifying the BCS exam system to better align career paths with academic backgrounds, ensuring that graduates can find employment that utilizes their specific areas of expertise.

 In our country, there are many teenagers like me who work and earn money to sustain their existence. Some of them work as motorcycle mechanics, while others work as cooks in food stalls or as construction workers. Most of them have no formal education, but since they have been working in these fields from a young age, they have developed significant skills in their respective areas. I want to establish a school in every district for such teenagers, where they can gain complete knowledge in the field they are skilled in. By acquiring more in-depth expertise in their area, they will be able to contribute to the country’s progress.

 One of the biggest problems in our country is corruption. I called the Director General of our country's Anti-Corruption Commission and informed him that I am reducing the salaries and allowances of all officers by 20%. However, I am granting them all the necessary powers to catch corrupt individuals. The remaining salaries of the organization's officers will be funded by confiscating the property of those who have acquired it through corruption.

 There is a lack of modern technology in both the government and non- government sectors of Bangladesh. Therefore, I call on the Finance Minister to reduce the duty on technology products as much as possible. I urge him to implement a zero percent duty on all instruments that are to be imported for research and medical testing.

 Although Bangladesh has a lot of mineral resources. But there is no area to store them. In this case, we should increase our reserves of mineral resources. Therefore, I call upon the Minister of Mineral Resources of Bangladesh to renovate the old reserve factories of Bangladesh and establish new reserves and ask him to take the initiative to find new coal fields and gas fields.

 Then suddenly I heard someone's voice and after a while, I felt someone's touch on my body. When I opened my eyes, I saw my mother standing in front of me and telling me to get up early because I was going to be late for school.

 The interesting thing is that, like Nizam who saved the life of Mughal emperor Humayun, I could not become a king for a day in reality, but I managed to become a king for a day in my dream.

 Throughout the whole day, I pondered my dream. Although the dream itself is entirely unrealistic, the solutions I discovered within it are not impossible to implement.

 I have one more dream, but this dream is not that dream; it is the goal of my life. I want to build a garment factory where all my employees are transgender. In fact, in our country, transgender people are often neglected due to social identity. There is no selected employment for them. So I want to make it a garment factory for them. All employees there will be transgender.

 I have written to share my fairy tale with you. These ways will be useful to some extent to maintain the peace, liberty and progress of the common people of our country.

 Hope I haven't wasted too much of your time. I never expect a reply to this letter. But if you think there is something new in it, definitely let me know.

Be well and be safe.

Your regards,

Fahad (Half citizen)

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