As a teacher of Bengali language and literature for many years (at Columbia University and for International Baccalaureate, besides numerous private lessons) the subject of text book contents and designing of curricula are near to my heart. Living in a globalized world monocultural/monoreligious text books should not be encouraged, especially in the land which boasts of a naturally existing cultural pluralism.
There is a lot to be said on this subject. I am increasingly worried about the tendency toward monolingualism. Bangladeshi youngsters do not have any opportunity to learn another 'Indian' language other than what they get in Z-TV or Star-TV whose shows they guzzle. Those soap-opera serials provide some learnings of Hindu culture though I wonder how much of that seeps in through the dazzle of sequined saris, jewelley and make-up.
If this is any consolation for my Hindu friends -- when I was a 2nd grader more than half a century ago, the Bengali text books had only Hindu cultural contents and hardly any reference to Muslim presence in Bengal other than a poem or two by Jasimuddin or Nazrul. I doubt that my Muslim identity was harmed or damaged, or belittled by that fact in any way.
However, as soon as I read Nripendra Sarkar's article I telephoned Dr. Monsur Musa. He gave me his e-mail address and I forwarded the article to him. He promised to look into the matter and do something to correct the situation in the very near future.
Farida Majid
P.S. One suggestion for a possible publication of the article: "Islamized Education" in the title is a bit misleading, and does not quite describe the problem of monoculturalism in curricular contents of text books.
__._,_.___
*****************************************
Sign the Petition : Release the Arrested University Teachers Immediately : An Appeal to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh
http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/university_teachers_arrest.htm
*****************************************
Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/news/daily_star/daily_star_MM.pdf
*****************************************
MM site is blocked in Islamic countries such as UAE. Members of those theocratic states, kindly use any proxy (such as http://proxy.org/) to access mukto-mona.
*****************************************
Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/index.htm
*****************************************
Mukto-Mona Celebrates Earth Day:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Earth_day2006/index.htm
*****************************************
Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/kansat2006/members/
*****************************************
MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari
http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm
*****************************************
German Bangla Radio Interviews Mukto-Mona Members:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/german_radio/
Mukto-Mona Celebrates Darwin Day:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/index.htm
*****************************************
Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/new_site/mukto-mona/faq_mm.htm
****************************************************
VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/
****************************************************
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
-Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190
Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
__,_._,___