[mukto-mona] Greeting 1415 with trepidation and deadly shadows of 1175-76

Picture this:
 
   ----A chaotic political situation ends in the hostile takeover by an unrepresentative govt. with feeble legitimacy
 
------A military backed govt. and private monopolies hoarding reserve foodgrains
 
------Consecutive years of natural calamities hampering agriculture, habitats and livelihoods of people
 
------Food prices out of people's reach due to heavy taxation
 
------Destruction of idegenous economy by greed of outsiders influencing the govt. policies
 
No, it is not 2008, Bangladesh.
 
It was the great Famine of Bengal 1769-70 (the Bengali year 1175-76) or the infamous
 
  
 
CHHIYATTORER MANNONTOR
 
          The great Bengal Famine of 1770, one of the greatest catastrophes in the annals of history in which 10 million people, one-third of Bengal's population perished.  And as experts and Amartya Sen have told us, despite the natural disasters the famine was man-made and could have been averted.
           
        It is what created the image of a 'starving Bengali' that is seared in the collective memory of the world.
         
         238 years later, are we any wiser?  I invite all of you to find other similarities and hopeful dissimilarities.
 
         Good luck for the year 1415 Bongabdo!
 
               Farida Majid

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