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Tuesday, May 27, 2008

[ALOCHONA] AL: Jalil charged with ill gotten wealth

Jalil charged with ill-gotten wealth

Courtesy Daily Star 28/5/08

 

 

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday pressed charges against Awami League (AL) General Secretary Abdul Jalil in a case filed for amassing wealth worth Tk 36 lakh illegally and concealing information in his wealth statement.

ACC Deputy Assistant Director Enamul Haque Chowdhury, the investigation officer (IO) of the case, submitted the charge sheet to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court of Dhaka.

Jalil is currently in Singapore on parole for medical treatment.

The AL general secretary was arrested on May 28 last year and remained in custody for over eight months without any specific charges. Finally on January 1 this year, he was shown arrested in this case filed on December 18 last year with Ramna Police Station.

Jalil had been ill since his detention. He was first taken to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital on June 4 last year after complaining of chest pain.

Later, he was shifted to LabAid Cardiac Hospital for treatment of kidney complications. Five medical boards were constituted to monitor his health since his arrest.

In a letter signed on July 2 last year, Jalil pleaded with the government for his release on humanitarian grounds, and said if necessary, he would quit politics.

Considering his illness, the caretaker government set him free on parole on March 3 this year and Jalil flew off to Singapore the same night.

The former minister submitted his wealth statement of properties worth about Tk 63 lakh to the ACC on August 18, 2007 through the jail authorities.

The first information report (FIR) of the case said Jalil in his wealth statement concealed information about Tk 21.25 lakh he had spent building a house at Chakdeb in Naogaon and another Tk 33 lakh for constructing a hotel and a market in the same area.

The ACC investigation, however, found that Jalil had amassed wealth worth Tk 36 lakh illegally and concealed information about wealth worth Tk 3 lakh in the statement.

In the charge sheet, the IO mentioned that the charges brought against the accused were primarily proved and he should be brought to trial.

Forty-three people were shown as prosecution witnesses in the case.

The case will be transferred to the Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court, Dhaka for taking cognisance for trial. Later, the case will be moved to a special court for full trial.

The AL leader also withheld information about his wife's gold ornaments worth Tk 3 lakh and Tk 7.2 lakh spent for purchasing two cars, the FIR added.

According to the FIR, the former minister's illegally accumulated properties include a three-storey building on eight decimals of land in Naogaon worth Tk 41 lakh and 61 decimals of land worth Tk 40,000 in Bhimpur of Mohadevpur.

 

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[ALOCHONA] Daily Star Editorial 28/5/08 - AL Should Rethink

Daily Star Editorial

AL's extended meet decision for movement

 

It must be rethought in greater national interest

 

THE decision taken at an extended meeting of the Awami League, based on the sentiment of its grassroots leaders and workers, not to participate in the on-going dialogue and general elections unless party chief Sheikh Hasina is freed introduces a worrying new element into the political dynamics of the moment. The concern is fundamentally that if the AL sticks to its decision to boycott the voting, a situation will likely arise that can only complicate an already fraught political atmosphere. We at this newspaper have stated earlier that our politicians and our political parties must put the national interest above any other considerations. It is especially at a time like the present that such maturity is called for.

The sentiments involved in the Awami League's demand for Sheikh Hasina to be freed are understandable. However, we also note that as a party, the AL has traditionally been in favour of elections even in some of the most trying of circumstances. Where the exigencies of the present are concerned, it cannot but be the responsibility of the party and its leaders and workers to ensure that nothing is done that can jeopardise the holding of the elections promised for the end of this year. The fact that Sheikh Hasina herself has in a message to her party voiced her support for the elections must basically be taken into account.

The elections are yet six months away, but a process of dialogue aimed at facilitating a smooth passage back to democracy between the parties and the government is already underway. The Awami League, as a major stakeholder in national politics, should make its valuable contributions to the dialogue by being part of it and voicing its demands through it. And especially when the detained BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia has instructed her party to join the dialogue, the AL should also be part of the process.

The nation is in no mood for a return to the kind of chaos which caused the political changes of 11 January last year. Given such realities, it now becomes the responsibility of the Awami League to rethink its latest position regarding the dialogue. Political agitation on the streets at a time when the national endeavour is toward a peaceful return to democracy is farthest from the public mind. We therefore call upon the Awami League to uphold its own tradition by taking part in the dialogue and taking full preparations for the upcoming general elections. Surely its grievances and demands, let us reiterate, can be thrashed out at the dialogue.

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[ALOCHONA] South Asia :Indian terrorism paws on Bangladesh

South Asia :Indian terrorism paws on Bangladesh

By Abu Zafar Mahmood

Strategic importance of Bangladesh to the global powers is special The symptoms of it`s excellence and growing tendencies indicate that it is baby yet and will be a superpower in real by 2040s and a country of middle income within 10 years.

It walks ahead tolerating expansionist threats and pressures from the closest neighbor in one side and on the other hand catastrophic disasters of nature since it`s independence. The SIDRE and two floods within 3 months in 2007 had pushed the nation in all-round danger. More over, it has to address the enmities and face the sabotages of the insiders and foreign intelligence networks. Thousands of Indian intelligence cadres already infiltrated in disguise and some of them are dedicated in provocations in extremism into it.

But as a matter of fact,Bangladesh stands and head up with the global attitude desperately. It has been learning to participate and fight the competitors in everywhere confidently, acquiring the knowledge of reaching the row of the super powers.

Bangladesh is in a process of upgrading attention on it`s own defense of food, water, environment and strong governances, on the other hand turned attention on placement of it`s millions of working population with priority basis. It steps with the cooperation from all powers and United Nations.

India`s expansionist tendencies in South Asia now-a-days are more than open secret. It is already grown as a dangerous threat to it`s neighbors and North-east region of it`s own. Indian hegemonies stretch in various ways and techniques. Their water war on Bangladesh is comparable with atomic war in it`s damage. Indian Border security force-BSF has been terrorizing Bangladesh in border areas killing innocent peoples through gun fire every alternate day. At the same time ethnic cleansing and killing Muslims and lowborn nations is one of their routine works to keep them in fears inside India.

It`s ministers, diplomats and intelligence agencies interfere Bangladesh`s affairs openly now and then. Keep pressurize on economy, politics and diplomacies. Poses threat to it`s foreign relations, tries to create direct clash between Indian extremist political extremists and Bangladesh in a strategic policy where in a certain situation might grab Bangladesh finally. Bangladesh has no business in involving into other country`s internal affairs, moreover, don't like to allow foreign authority`s interfere in it`s internal process. But India has been stretching hegemonies to expand it`s power paws towards breaking the backbones of it`s neighbor. The students of Dhaka University leaded rallies toward Indian High commission against Indian interference and the infiltration of RAW in Bangladesh.

Arian Brahmin Extremists have been discriminating the Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and all schedule peoples in India. This Arian group is highly fanatic and ruthless to other religious groups and nations. "Songho family" is a house of combined fanatic Hindu political extremists. These communal cadres are the alternative political armies against Muslims and other religious groups and nations.RAW use some of them in abroad too.

The Indian power groups have been nursing a dream to take control the South Asia entire and the part of South East Asia, like British-Indian Empire. It is popularly known that this group stayed behind the killing Mahatma Gandhi when the 1st round competition against the Muslim`s power group was over in 1947.The Arians captured the political power of India utilizing the communal genocide between the schedule class Hindus vs. Muslims.

Dozens of Separatist nations and revolutionary groups have been fighting for freedom from Arian`s fanatic communal influence and economic suppressions in India. In some places the conflicts exposed demanding regional autonomy and in other places armed struggles for Independence.

Even the lowborn Hindu people who are differentiated in titles - Schedule castes(SC),Schedule tribes(ST)and backward classes(BC) have been discriminated by Arians, the small group, who invaded the original Indian`s land through `Chanyokkyo principle` . This low born schedule class are even have no right to touch Arian`s body, foods, clothes etc and are discriminated even in their religious place-Hindu Mondir where all Hindu go to pray their Gods Goddess.

The Arians are not look like same as non-Arians of India. It is very much easy to identify the differences because of the color and the body structure of these two anthropological generations. This foreign Arian nation captured the Indian throne in Delhi in August,1947 and have been spreading their Intelligence network across South Asia targeting to bring those nations and countries under Delhi`s Command as was done during British –India colonial age.

This Arians are ruthless as Adolf Hitler's Gestapo cadres in Germany. Who killed millions of Jewish peoples pushing them in Gas Chambers! The main tactics of Arian politics of keeping control not being leaders directly. Generally they guide and keep control the leaders through advice keeping them behind the scene. This is the major policy of hiding their cruel face from the general public. Mr. Gandhi was acceptable to these Arian terrorists until he presented the success of capturing Delhi throne from the Muslims .The great leader Gandhi was assassinated by the RSS activist terrorist Nathuram Godse on January 30th, 1948 .He started one Marathi newspaper "Agrani" and then after renamed that into" "Hindu Rastra" . He scooted Mr. Gandhi 3(three) times with Beretta semi-automatic pistol at close range (Time magazine, Feb 9, 1948).This RSS has been opposing All India Muslim league. Mr.Nathuram surrendered himself to police, rather than running away. He said," No one should think that Gandhi was killed by a madman".

Rashtriyo shevak shongho-RSS was founded in 1925 headed by Keshan Baliram.The goal was to unite all schedule classes of Hindu under Arians political umbrella. Make them overlook the discriminations of class and caste. To work to achieve a Hindu Rastro; the ideology of the shongo, closely associated with political Hinduism, came to be known as Hindutto.

The Shongho family consist of almost 20 fanatic organs,such as:- Bojrong,Bharatiya janata party(BJP),Bharatiya kishan sangho,Biggan Bharati,Sangkolpo,Sanskar Bharati,Shakar Bharati,Adhi vakto Parishod,Vit salahkar parishad,Sebha Bharati,HinduSwamyamsevak sangha,Swadeshi jagaranMancho,Akhil Bharatiya Biddahrti parishad,Swaraswati Shishu Mandir,Vidya Bharati,Bonobashi KalyanAshrom,Bharatia mojdur sangho,Rastriya sevok samity and Bishwa Hindu parishad(world Hindu Council).This social picture is shown shortly to let know about the past political history which might be helpful to address the present and future crisises.

Bangladesh is the Bordering country of India and located close to her North-Eastern region provinces-better known 7 sisters. This entire region is almost free from Arian Society; this region is the land of mainly non-Arian nations, castes and tribes. The west Bengal society is almost similar to 7 sisters. It has been deprived and discriminated by the Delhi power groups and has been ruled and controlled by the high born Hindu-Brahmins. Delhi power groups always distrust and posses' different attitude on the development and economic upgrade of lives.

Bangladeshis are growing rich faster mainly for their direct connections with the developed world through their independent moves, which is impossible by the peoples of North-Eastern India, because it remains and is treated as Delhi`s colony. But the reality is that the backward neighbors are under pressure of their daily needs to join with Bangladeshis to be feed for closest ways of collecting the daily needs.

It could be clearly mentioned that present Bangladesh and this region though separated by political boundary now but it has been ruled under the same administration for hundreds years. The anthropological characteristics and even the lifestyles, food habits are similar to each other in this vast area, far different than the rest of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

India is a huge country with vast population and become a super power. This super power has been enjoying the privileges of the modern world. Indian rich persons are in the top list of the global riches. The central government and their entire sources are busy to support them across the world. It is clear that they are pushing Bangladesh in various ways for monopoly business. Indian government has been trying to dominate Bangladesh to take control and run Chittagong port, to let Tata group, Meettal group to invest in Diamond mines in the name of coal mines and oil mines etc to suck all of Bangladeshi minerals. But never want Bangladesh export it`s products for the benefit and consumptions of Indians at the world`s cheapest price which Bangladeshi Industrialists and Indian consumers could afford easily.

Bangladesh is ready to welcome any challenge of providing the items in Indian north-eastern bordering region at the unbeaten cheapest price of the world, if the Indian Power group agree to sign in an agreement with Bangladesh for export materials in India, showing their sincerity to feed and bring them in easy life like India`s developed parts.

But it is not so easy to do, as easy to say. As because the power groups of Indian policy makers have strong limits in it. They have to keep maintain differences in Indian society. The non-Arians are not allowed to exercise the same civil rights as the Arian enjoys.

Moreover, the central government has been pressurizing Bangladesh to provide them the corridors (path), thus Indian government might involve Bangladeshis to kill the rebels and separatists and growing a long term fight between Bangladesh and Indian extremists. But not supporting the region by exporting the items of daily needs. Even they pressurize Bangladesh by so many ways to identify the opposition politicians and handover them to the hands of the Indian Armies. Bangladesh has no business involving itself in Indian internal affairs and conflicts. If it does mistakenly the same, then automatically the entire armed rebels of that region will keep targeting Bangladesh in Guerilla war and the Anti-Muslim fanatic syndicates will take advantage from that and will simply jump up to civil war and countless killings. In that circumstances the Indian Army might get the scope to invade Bangladesh in the name of security of India and declare Bangladesh an Indian province which will justify the Nehru doctrine about joining east Bengal with India.

The Indian Security forces-BSF kill Bangladeshis inside Bangladesh border every other day by gun fire. They already attacked and trespassed some areas in borders though were defeated, lost lives and surrendered to Bangladesh Rifles.

On April18th, 2001 Indian Army attacked Bangladesh in Beruberi in the morning, It is 200 kilometer north-west from Raumari border area .That`s a very complicated and hard to discover by invaders from outside. They were strengthened with 500 regular soldiers wearing BSF`s uniform in the battle.

One Bangladeshi boy of the area at first happened to see the BSF infiltrated in when they asked him to show the nearest BDR camp. The boy recognized them exactly and misguided the enemies, lied them intentionally. He ran to the BDR camp within no time and explained the details to the BDR. Only 10 soldiers were at the BOP to take position and started fighting 50 times stronger soldiers.400 plus BDR soldiers moved and reached the battle field within 3 hours from Netrokona and other BOPs. They took position, counterattacked the enemies. Indian forces were overconfident of the victory and they were found under the open sky and were easy to target them within the close range.BDR won the battle. Eighteen(18 )dead bodies of Indian forces were found. But the numbers of casualty were many times than that as the local people's report. The commander of the Indian Forces was Indian Bengali was also dead. He was a coln.Most of the dead bodies were of regular Indian army as were identified later.

On April 19th 2001 around 10am Indian Army attacked Bangladesh in Padua with 1 full brigade strength of forces. Their Artillery regiment positioned against Dawky Bridge. The Indians entered within 15 to 20 yards of BDR position with two armed personnel carriers. Major Kalam of BDR was ordered to go to Indian Army from his position and to order them to surrender otherwise all of them will be killed. Mr. Kalam went and ordered accordingly. Indian Army rightly understood the situation, took decision for saving own lives and 77 persons surrendered quickly in the first row and the rest of the Brigade surrendered serially to BDR.Then BDR ordered other Indian soldiers to move from the positions and retreat to Indian land with all of their APCs . IG of BSF staying in Assam came unconditionally under BDR command automatically and carried the order of the DG ALM Fazlur Rahman ndc, psc of BDR to demolish the entire 4 and half kilometer road which they built earlier.

Indian Army carried out the order and demolished the road. Inspector General of BSF reported to Director General of BDR about the demolishing of the road, not to BSF Chief according to the war convention. This miracle victory was made possible without any gun fire and casualty, exceptional record in war history. The cowards saved lives and were allowed to go back home safe.

The Indian army invaded Sikkim by the name of security reasons when the Sikkim `s leader married an American lady. India captured that country showing the reason that Sikkim became the cause for security threat to India as was replied by Indian power.

It is one of the principal policies of Bangladesh not to encourage any terrorism. Rather to join and support against any kind of international terrorism. Bangladesh fights against it joining in global peace core of United Nations with influences and major capacities.

It is the only Muslim majority society in South Asia where the Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, tribal peoples and backward peoples altogether have been living in one united society in peace and harmony because of their commonness of political history, anthropological similarities and a longtime unity of fighting against common invaders. So the stories of attacking the Hindus by the Muslims in Bangladesh and the Bangladeshis attack Hindus in India are fake talks by some Indian corners. These propagandas may be taken as merely purposeful blackmailing. The world knows it clearly that Indian authority hides the real truth of practicing Indian hegemonies over Bangladesh, other neighbors and North-eastern region of India in their own styles.

Moreover Indian external intelligence network-RAW and the government itself propagates against Bangladesh to make belief the international communities that Bangladesh is a terrorist country and it is the heaven of terrorism which is just opposite to the reality.A communal organization "Hindu-Buddhist-Christian yokko parishod, Ny branch" has been using this false propaganda to the US immigration for finding political asylum of Hindu peoples misusing Bangladeshi identifications. One special group taken this anti- Bangladesh stories as their source of income. This fanatic organization has been made originally to work against the interest of American interests in South Asia now and in the long run.

The 7 sisters of India are the seven unexposed and isolated states – Assam, Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Arunachal which for many years were close to foreigners. This land is better known to the world as the North-Eastern region of India, It`s borders with China, Tibet, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar (Burma).India's remote north-east, the area comprises the seven states stretching from Tibet in the North to Myanmar in the south, among them Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Assam. Extensive complex violence continues in the seven sisters of India that terrorize the whole region and across India and bordering countries.

The main active extreme armed organizations are who have been fighting for regional autonomy and liberation ,such as: United Liberation Front(ULFA),The national democratic front of Borland(NDFB),National Liberation front of Tripura (NLFT)All Tripura tiger force(ATTF),Nationalist Socialist council of Nagaland(NSCN),Meitei extremists in Manipur, Kamatpur liberation front of west Bengal(KLO).All of these forces have been fighting to liberate their nations.

Let`s mention some of their recent activities and operations:-

1) On May 13th 08 (Tuesday) a series of bomb attack killed at least 80 people and injured at least 150 in historic city of Joypur,Rajsthan, in India.7 bombs were blasted within 12 minutes .Each bombs blasted in the difference of 500 meters. The terrorists used bicycles in bomb poerations.Two bombs were made inactive as the police said. A group of people calling itself Indian militant group has claimed responsibilities in videos and e-mail sent to Indian television stations and a Hindu nationalist party. The officials believe that bombings were designed to stoke tensions between India's Hindu majority and Muslim minority.

The blursts were primarily aimed at 3 targets, viz: to disrupt the religious harmony, to paralyze the financial hub of Rajasthan, create a fear in the mind of foreign and local tourists coming to this golden triangle destination, reply of terrorists outfits to the Indian govt.in that region including the fencing the whole border, creating paramilitary forces and making a separate command in western region.

This blursts took place in succession to the October 11th, 07 in the dargah of Ajmer sharif, Ajmer which were done almost 7 months ago. That were aimed also the religious harmony of the region and provoke the communal riots.

The area chosen for blurst is very sensitive for tourists with major hotels, monuments and shops like lmb, bmb, national handloom, howamohol etc.

2) On August 25th 2007 a series bombing were exposed.Atleast 42 persons were killed and 54 were injured. The 1st bomb was exploded in Lumbini amusement park and the next bombs were exploded in a restaurant name "gokal chat Bhander" two more bombs were defused in other parts of the city.

3)On July 2006 Bombay train bombings were a series of 7 bombs blasts that took place over a period of 11 minutes on Suburban Railway in Mumbai(Bombay).209 peoples dead and 714 were injured.

4) Two explosions occurred in the courtyard of Jam e masjid, a 7th century mosque in old Delhi (India) Friday after `milad- un- nabi` in Jumma day.Milad un nanbi is the birthday of Prophet Mohammad(s).

5) 6 grenades' burst in the same day at Srinagar, Kashmir that injured 26 peoples as the Irish examiner.com released the news.

6) The Varanasi bombings were series bombings that occurred on March 7th 2006. 28 persons were killed and 101 persons were injured.

7) On December 13th 2006, 5 gunmen infiltrated in the Indian parliament house in a car with home ministry and parliament labels while both Razyosobha and loksobha were adjourned for 40 minutes prior to the incident. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the opposition leader Sonia Gandhi had already left from the parliament. The guard and the police officers were killed and the terrorists were also been killed.

8) On December 2005, two near-simultaneous blasts took place in markets in central and south Delhi, crowded with people shopping ahead of religious festivals next week. The third blast occurred in the city of Guvindpur which is in the southern part of the city. Officials say 50 people were dead and at least 80 more are in the treatment in hospital. Most of these killed died in southern sarojini market, they say.

When terrorism can be defined as "peacetime equivalent of war crime" then this sites of low intensity conflicts are prime spots for terrorism in India.

Gang Rape: The verdict in the case related to gang rape of Bilkis Bano Yakub Rasool and the killing of her family members in a small town - one of the most horrific incidents of 2002 communal violence in Gujarat - is likely to be delivered by a Mumbai court soon.

According to defense counsel Rajendra Shirodkar, Additional Sessions Judge U.D. Salvi's ruling could come as early as Friday or by Tuesday (Jan 22).

The tragedy in Randhikpur, a town 250 km from Ahmadabad, permanently changed the Bilkis Bano's life.

Six months pregnant at the time, she survived the massacre, but not before being subjected to gang rape by a savage mob that had attacked the family when they were attempting to escape from their village.

While eight members of the family were killed, six others went missing and three - Bilkis Bano, husband Saddam and Hussein, a relative - survived.

Of the 20 accused in the case, 12 had allegedly attacked the Rasools and raped Bano. Her foetus was aborted following the brutal gang rape.

The Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) special public prosecutor R.K. Shah argued that it was a planned attack and the conspiracy was hatched between Feb 28 and March 3, 2002.

Six police officers - Narpatsinh Ranchhodbhai, Idris Saiyed, Bhikhabhai Patel, Ramsingh Bhabhor, Somabhai Gori and B.S. Bhagoria - were charged with shielding the accused as they allegedly refused to take down Bilkis Bano's statement.

Two doctors, Arunkumar Prasad and Sangeeta Prasad, who conducted the post-mortem tests, were also arrested on the charge of fudging reports.

The trial in the case began in Ahmadabad. However, after Bilkis Bano expressed apprehensions that witnesses could be harmed and the evidence tampered with, the Supreme Court in a rare move transferred the case to Mumbai in August 2004.

Gujarat Cleansing: On February 27, 2002 Mr. Norendra Modi called a meeting in which the DGP and the Ahmadabad police commissioner were present. He said in Hindi,"Hinduon ka gussa uttrane do teen din tak' means Let the Hindus vent their ire for three days(The chief intelligence officer of Gujarat stated by oath in front of the commission).

The Chief Minister of Gujarat province, a BJP central leader Mr. Narendra Modi is well-known to the world for endorsing unlawful killings, creating obstacles to the Gujarat's anti-terrorism squad in November 2005 gunned down Sohrabuddin Sheikh. At a rally in his re-election as chief minister, Modi said that "he(SohrabuddinSheikh) got what he deserved, he had huge arms to kill me and the Hindus".Modi asked his followers," Does my government need to take permission of Soniaben (Sonia Gandhi) for this? Maut ka saudaghar (merchants of deaths) will be dealt in the same fashion on the land of Gujarat". After widespread of his comment Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi responding to the public allegation told Gujarat govt.is a "merchants of deaths".

After the death of Sheikh, his family filed a petition with the Supreme Court requesting an independent investigation. In it`s response to Supreme Court notice, the state govt. admitted that Sheikh had been murdered in a false armed "encounter". According to the Supreme Court order Gujarat Govt. create a special police team to investigate the case and submit the reports. in July, the Gujarat police filed charges against 13 police officials including DG Vanzara.who headed the anti-terror squad. In it`s charge sheet the investigators said that Sheikh and his wife Kauser Bi were pulled out of a bus by members of the anti-terrorist squad on November 22, 2005.They were secretly detained for 4 days.(They did not carry any weapons as alleged by Modi in his speech).According to the eye witness, early in the morning of November 26 Sheikh was taken to Ahmadabad, where he was shot by police officers. The whereabouts Kauser Bi remains unknown. Police investigations suggest that she was raped, killed and burnt.Mr. Brad Adams, Asia director of human rights watch said on December 07,07, "Modi`s remarks send a green light to the police that executing terrorism suspects is fine with his administration" American govt. cancelled his diplomatic and business visas permanently for his involvement in terrorism.

Water war: Indian central govt. already built dams and barrages over the 54 rivers flowing through India to Bangladesh. Gonga, Meghna & Brahmaputra are 3 largest international rivers of the world where the Indian government have been working on a plan to divert the river flow. For which the west Bengal, north –eastern provinces (7 sisters) and Bangladesh come under effect of permanent natural disaster. By the direct effect of Farakka barrage the strong waves of the river padma became weaker, the water flow lost forever and the padma dead within years. Similarly hundreds of the rivers lost it`s power of flowing and tides by the effects of the dams and barrages.

The joint rivers have been identified with the reference of Chakla-Rowshonabad map. It is clearly mentioned in this map that the ownership will be determined exactly from the middle portion of the rivers. The middle current of the Muhuri River is the centre mark. India violated the contact through building spars and groans and illegal permanent walls. In the meantime India took huge lands into their possession forcefully. They acquire huge lands by other rivers also. The impact of the water war of India against Bangladesh is no less than a nuclear weapon war against human and nature.

Bangladesh has been looking for electricity from Nepal and Bhutan, India opposed and made obstacles on the deal. Bangladesh and Nepal agreed for transit between both countries for their citizens in "Banglabond border", India allowed daily 6 trucks transactions and keep open the border only for one hour daily. After the defeat in the last battle between BSF and BDR the time of keeping open the border extended for 24 hours .But it needs uninterfered from 3rd party. Where Indian government stands with hard restrictions.

Dohogram and Angorepota are the lands of Bangladesh. But Indian Army occupied those lands. The sufferings of Bangladeshis in there know no bounds .Indian authority tighten their lives and allows them to go out from the area for only 1 hour daily. Their lives are more miserable than animals. India never show respect to Bangladesh on the arguments of freeing these peoples and leave the lands to Bangladesh.

But Bangladeshis have been working nonstop to buildup warm relations with India and other neighbors, though India don`t change it`s original intention of walking ahead to grab the weaker and continues hegemonies. It again strengthened the campaign against Bangladesh. Political analysts are found in saying that The Indian authorities create massacres in their own land by terrorism, Muslim cleansing, raping, using bombs and fire arms etc and pressurizes Bangladesh through creating lies and blaming Bangladesh.

Some Americans misguide the Whitehouse influencing in the formula to find the American interests in South Asia through India and accordingly to empower it to fight against China. They are really in fool`s paradise not knowing Indian`s double standard activities against America. It can be said clearly that India will stand directly encountering America in South Asia in near future if this wrong choice of friend continues. Indian power groups are not happy of finding the US Ambassador James F. Moriarty in Dhaka. It's real hard to blackmail Him. He is enough to oversee the American policies independently.

The non-antagonize relation between Bangladesh and India is very important for the growing needs of both the countries and South Asia entire, undoubtedly. The political steps of developing integrated relations in this region to be introduced immediately.

The entire region from the Valley of Himalaya Mountain to Bay- of Bengal is targeted by Indian Arian backed extremists to throw into continuous unrestness to keep the area destitute, economically and intellectually backward. Divide them politically, lifting the religious differences into communal struggles, creating avoidable matter to major political issue, ethnic differences into civil conflicts and finally turn nations more weaker and unsecured to the regional power. Thus they easily might grab the entire region`s natural and mineral resources of the land, take control over the ports, shipyards and sea resources of Bay of Bengal.

So, terrorizing and ethnic cleansing in the region by the Arian backed terrorists is considered by the security analysts as an international terrorism in South Asia. United states,China,France,Russia, Britain, and other members of the security council should not keep shut mouth anymore, India`s double standard attitude is a real threat for the neighbors, specially for Bangladesh. All nations should stand united for addressing the Indian terrorism and expansionist paws and extend support for maintaining peace in South Asia.

----------------------------
Abu Zafar Mahmood, journalist and analyst of South Asian affairs,
e-mails:nynews21@gmail.com
rivercrossinternational@yahoo.com

http://newsfrombangladesh.net/view.php?hidRecord=201696

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[mukto-mona] Fwd: Invitation to attend press conference from the CFI metro NYC



Austin Dacey wrote:

From: "Austin Dacey"
To: "Jahed Ahmed"
Subject: Study of Indian scientists' religious and ethical worldview to be released by Center for Inquiry
Date: Tue, 27 May 2008 11:56:15 -0400

Dear Jahed,

Please pass along my personal invitation to this press conference, open
to the public, on June 5 at 11am at 777 UN Plaza (44th St and 1st Ave)

Best wishes,
Austin

_________________________


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Austin Dacey, PhD
Representative to the United Nations
Center for Inquiry
+1 (212) 504-2937
adacey@centerforinquiry.net


INDIAN SCIENTISTS EMBRACE BIOTECHNOLOGY AND AYURVEDIC MEDICINE
SIMULTANEOUSLY, NEW STUDY FINDS

**First-of-its-kind national survey of over 1,000 professional
scientists reveals a diverse picture of belief and opinion amid dramatic
cultural richness**

New York, NY (May 7, 2008) -- A major new survey of Indian scientists'
opinions and attitudes regarding religion, ethics, and society will be
released at United Nations Plaza on June 5, 2008, where lead researchers
will present a summary report of key results.

Among other intriguing findings, the study shows that only 8 percent of
Indian scientists express ethical reservations about genetic engineering
and stem cell research, while 90 percent somewhat or strongly agree with
the teaching of traditional Ayurvedic medicine in university degree
courses.

The groundbreaking sociological study is the first in a series,
Worldviews and Opinions of Scientists, which aims to explore the
worldviews and opinions of science professionals in various non-Western
societies. This international academic research project is conducted by
the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture at
Trinity College (ISSSC), in Hartford, Connecticut under the direction of
Professors Barry Kosmin and Ariela Keysar.

Prof. Keysar noted that "Secularism has a unique meaning in India. A
vast majority of scientists perceive secularism as tolerance for various
religions and philosophies and this is reflected in their approach to
scientific issues."

Other survey questions cover topics such as Reasons for Becoming a
Scientist, Status of Women, Scientific Literacy in India, Opinions
Regarding Evolution, Ethical Constraints on Science, Belief in God,
Belief in Miracles, and Spirituality.

The ISSSC study survey of 1,100 Indian scientists was designed in
consultation with Dr. Meera Nanda, author of Prophets Facing Backwards,
and conducted in cooperation with the Center for Inquiry-India, for
which the distinguished scientist Dr. P.M. Bhargava serves as a chief
adviser.

Prof. Kosmin explained that "India was chosen because of its increasing
scientific importance on the global scene and its special constitutional
commitment to 'develop scientific temper'."

A summary report of the survey will be released at a press conference
and seminar on June 5, 2008 at 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (lunch will be served)
at 777 United Nations Plaza, 44th St. & 1st Ave., 2nd Floor.

The Worldviews and Opinions of Scientists series is conducted in
cooperation with the Center for Inquiry, a non-governmental organization
in special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of
the United Nations. The Center is an international educational network
concerned with the scientific outlook and its intersection with public
policy and development. Online at www.centerforinquiry.net.


###



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[mukto-mona] Article: Can Judeo-Christian-Islamic God exist?

Can Judeo-Christian-Islamic God exist?

When I was growing up in a little village in Bangladesh, my parents used to remind me that there is a supernatural being in the sky who created all of us and everything else in the world. My young mind, without questioning accepted it as true simply on the basis that �my parents said so�. It is just a simple example of childhood indoctrination. I am quite sure that almost all of you have experienced it. I have heard about god from childhood and keep hearing about him. So far I have never experience god as of yet, is it because he does not exist or he does not want to communicate with me? Whatever the answer might be I inclined to ask is it possible for god to exist? By god, I mean Judeo-Christian-Islamic god.
You may say that they are not the same thing. One of the common misconceptions is that people tend to distinguish among the three monotheistic religions in terms of rituals, and say that they are different. When Judaism, Christianity and Islam claim that there is only one god, they essentially denying the existence of any gods but one. Therefore, they cannot possibly talk about three different gods. The biggest difference among these religions is that each claims that their way of knowing god is the true one. Let us say that I have no idea about god and my parents never taught me anything about it, then how would I know that I�m choosing the right path to know god. I would probably conclude that each of these religions 33.3333% probability of being true which is pretty low to bet my destiny on.
According to the world�s three institutionalized monotheistic religions, god is defined as omnipotent, omnipresent, indestructible supernatural entity. These attributional definition simply claims what characteristics god possibly posses without explaining the essence of god. He is omnipotent which means that god can do anything. Really? Can god make it true that He never existed? Can god make it true that 2+2=5? The classical question about god�s omnipotence gets it all, can god create a rock that is so heavy that he cannot lift it. The amazing thing about this question is that the answer always leads to the conclusion that god cannot be omnipotent. In other words, it is logically impossible for god to be all-powerful. Can he be omniscient or omnipresent then? It simply means that can god see all events before they happen. If god is omnipresent, then He must have known that Hitler was going kill more than 6 million people, and he still let Hitler to commit atrocities. It really strikes me that god knowingly and intentionally let evil like Hitler to come in existence. Initially one may think that there�s no problem for god being omnipresent. However, it is mutually inconsistent with God being transcendent. A being that exist outside of time and space and exist everywhere�cannot be true at the same time. Therefore, it is logically impossible for Judeo-Christian-Islamic God who posses previously mentioned attributes to exist.
If there was really a god who knows everything, then he must have known that people will question his existence in the future. If that god is rational, then he must have provided with empirically verifiable evidence for his existence. Alas, such evidence nowhere to be found. Of course, theists will tell you that you must have faith in god. The thing theists seem not to get is that faith cannot make things true. I have super duper strong faith that the sky is green. I will have true belief if the sky is actually green, otherwise it will be false. Important thing to notice that having a strong faith does not make the sky green. Many people claim that they know god because they have extremely strong faith. It is same thing as an eight-year-old Harry Potter fan who believes that the story is real. When someone tells you that he or she knows something because of faith, you know that they are talking garbage. The Judeo-Christian-Islamic god does not and cannot possibly exist.
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[mukto-mona] Che in India

 
This is reproduced from Himal Southasian on Che Guevara's visit to India in 1959 when India-China relations became strained ( Nehru avoided a straight question on China). His opinion on Gandhian way  may annoy Naxalites and Maoists but it's important to any unbiased (compulsorily adhering to scientific temper) reader.

CPI in West Bengal, then practically under Promode Dasgupta, gave no importance to the visit, perhaps ignoring Cuban revolution as it was not led by a communist party by name although CP of Cuba, led by Comrade Blas Roca, paralysed Havana and helped the ouster of Batista.

SR

The roving revolutionary (http://www.himalmag.com/2007/december/che_in_india.html)
With the 40th anniversary of Che Guevara's death just past, there has been a revival of interest in this iconic revolutionary.
BY : OM THANVI
The imposing mansions of Vedado, a posh area of La Habana, tower over a small house that contains a quaint blue room. It is hard to believe such a modest edifice was once the home of Commander Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, the most powerful leader of Cuba after Fidel Castro. But in fact, this famous revolutionary was well known for his self-effacement. The house is now home to the Centro de Estudios Che Guevara, the Centre of Che Guevara Studies, an institution run by Che's son, Camilo Guevara March.
A few weeks ago, I visited the Centro to gather information about Che's little-known 1959 visit to India. Since Camilo was just about to leave for Argentina, Che's motherland, to attend a function on the occasion of his father's birthday, he instructed Research Officer Lazaro Baccalao to assist me. Baccalao shared a variety of relevant information, such as the names of the delegation members and the follow-up actions taken. He also dug out the report that Che submitted to Cuban authorities upon his return from India and other countries, and showed me a calendar decorated with photographs of Che's meetings with several major Third World leaders.
One photo showed Jawaharlal Nehru with Che. The warmth of their relationship is documented in Che's report, and is reflected in Nehru's gift to Che – a khukuri that Baccalao reverently showed to me. The ivory-handled weapon was sheathed in a walnut scabbard engraved with a depiction of a woman whose identity Camilo, Baccalao informed me, was eager to learn. I told him that it was not a woman but a goddess, probably Durga, the symbol of shakti. When I noted that there was no better gift for a leader as powerful as Che, Baccalao smiled with pleasure.
Che earned Fidel Castro's resolute admiration when the two fought together against the Cuban military dictator Fulgencio Batista. In February 1959, when Castro's revolutionary government was established after two years of guerrilla warfare, he declared Che a "natural-born citizen of Cuba". Six months later, Castro sent Che on an official tour of Asia, Africa and Europe. As an informal sort of foreign-cum-commerce minister, Che's goal was to build confidence in and goodwill toward the new government, and to explore markets for Cuba's main commodities, particularly sugar.
'National leader' in Delhi
Che left Havana on 12 June 1959. He celebrated his 31st birthday in Madrid, and flew to Delhi via Cairo. His plane reached Palam on the night of 30 June. Since Che had no official position in the Cuban government, this "national leader of Cuba", as he was described in official communications, was received at the airport by a welcoming committee of one, Deputy Chief Protocol Officer D S Khosla, who later accompanied him to the newly built Hotel Ashok in Chanakyapuri.
The Cuban delegation accompanying Che was likewise small: a mathematician, an economist, a party worker, a captain of the rebel army, and a single bodyguard. Pardo Llada, a rightwing broadcaster, also joined the delegation in Delhi. Though Llada was ostensibly sent to assist Che, it is rumoured that Castro wanted some respite from his popular daily radio programme in Havana. In any case, Che was not happy to have him, and Llada ended up returning home midway through the trip.
On his first morning in Delhi, Che met Nehru in Teen Murti Bhawan, the prime minister's residence. Nehru had a soft spot for socialist countries, and Che clearly admired the Indian leader. "Nehru received us with an amiable familiarity of a patriarchal grandfather," Che wrote in his report, "but with noble interest in the dedication and struggles of the Cuban people, commending our extraordinary valiance and showing unconditional sympathy towards our cause."
Formal talks took place before lunch, and Che explained that Cuba wanted to establish diplomatic and trade relations with India. Though Cuba did have a consulate in Calcutta, India had no diplomatic set-up in Cuba, with the Indian ambassador in Washington instead attending to Indian affairs in Cuba. The two delegations agreed to establish diplomatic missions as soon as possible, and post-lunch plans were made for the Cuban delegation to meet with Indian trade officials. How tasty the lunch was is difficult to say, but Llada, in one of several half-baked stories about Che's trip, described the occasion in rather disparaging terms:
Nehru, his daughter Indira, and her young sons, Sanjay and Rajiv, were all in attendance. The venerable Indian Prime Minister showed exquisite manners, explaining each exotic dish in turn to Guevara and his comrades, while Che, smiling politely, attempted to display some interest. The banquet went on in this fashion for over two hours, but the only words that came from Nehru's mouth were about the meal in front of them. Finally, Che could stand it no longer and asked: "Mr Prime Minister, what is your opinion of Communist China?" Nehru listened with an absent expression, and answered, "Mr Comandante, have you tasted one of these delicious apples?" "Mr Prime Minister, have you read Mao Tse-tung?" "Ah, Mr Comandante, how pleased I am that you have liked the apples."
Those who knew Nehru find Llada's account difficult to swallow. But even if the mealtime conversation was insipid, things picked up in the afternoon. The delegation visited the Okhla Industrial Area, where they saw wood-moulding machines and met with Commerce Minister Nityanand Kanoongo, which proved to be an important meeting for future Indo-Cuban trade relations. In the evening, Che spent a half hour at the Cottage Industries Emporium.
The following day, 2 July, the delegation met Indian Defence Minister V K Krishna Menon. A national daily's front-page photo of Che smiling broadly while talking to Menon suggests a cordial meeting, as does the caption: "The daring rebel leader is seen in a mellow mood as he chats with the Defence Minister." The delegation also met senior defence officers and members of the Planning Commission, and visited the Agricultural Research Institute and National Physical Laboratory. At the latter, Che tested the efficacy of a locally designed metal detector by waving it across his shirt pocket.
The next day, Che visited a community development project in Pilana, near Delhi, meeting with farmers and viewing a school. Later that day, he met with Minister for Community Development and Cooperation S K Dey. On the fourth day, he met Minister for Food and Agriculture A P Jain, as well as additional bureaucrats within the commerce and industry ministries. During this meeting, Che listed the products that Cuba was hoping to import from India – including coal, cotton textiles, jute goods, edible oils, tea, film and trainer aircrafts – and what it wanted to export, including copper, rayon cords for tyres, cocoa and, most importantly, sugar. His comments on the meeting suggest just how astute he had become about the principles of international trade in such a short period of time: "With the Secretary of Commerce we held a cordial meeting that prepared the ground for future trade negotiations. This can be of great importance. As the standard of living of three hundred eighty million Indians improves, their need for sugar will grow and we will be able to acquire a new and valuable market." Indeed, Castro once said that whatever work this gun-loving doctor was assigned, he would soon become an expert at it.
Che's keen interest during his Pilana visit is documented in both his report and in several photos. Apart from photographs of official meetings during the delegation's five-day visit to Delhi, there are several informal snaps, including one in which the Gandhi-cap-wearing farmers of Pilana are garlanding the revolutionary leader. In his report, Che reflects on the poor conditions of village schools in words that still ring true till today: "The school, pride of the cooperative, was based on the extraordinary efforts of two teachers who were taking care of five classes that it was running. Haggard children with visible signs of illness on their faces, squatting on the ground, were listening to the explanations of the teacher."
The fact that farmers could be so extremely poor while heavy industry was thriving deeply disturbed Che, as did the inequality of landholdings in India. He found it unjust that "a few have much and many do not have anything." At the same time, he was deeply impressed by how the Hindu religion protected its cattle wealth, which he saw as the backbone of the rural economy. Both of these understandings would help Che define his own ideologies in later years.
The mysterious Krishna
Though Che was known to be an introvert, one who often spent his time reading and writing poems, his stay in India revealed, perhaps even brought about, a far more outgoing and entertaining side. At the residence of the Chilean ambassador in New Delhi, for instance, he demonstrated how to do sheershaasan (a headstand), spontaneously putting his head on the ground and raising his feet towards the sky in the midst of a lively discussion.
His letter-writing in Delhi also suggested Che's growing extroverted dimension. In this epistle to his mother, Che confesses his nervousness about botching diplomatic niceties, but also confides that his sense of a great calling was giving him the confidence to influence others. "Now India, where new protocolar complications produce in me the same infantile panic", he writes, referring to deciding how to respond to various official greetings.
Something which has really developed in me is the sense of the massive in counter-position to the personal; I am still the same loner that I used to be, looking for my path without personal help, but now I possess the sense of my historic duty. I have no home, no woman, no children, nor parents, nor brothers and sisters, my friends are my friends as long as they think politically like I do, and yet I am content, I feel something in life, not just a powerful internal strength, which I always felt, but also the power to inject others, and an absolutely fatalistic sense of my mission which strips me of all fear.
I don't know why I am writing you this, maybe it is merely longing for Aleida [his daughter]. Take it as it is, a letter written one stormy night in the skies of India, far from my fatherland and loved ones.
A hug for everyone, Ernesto
On 5 July, Che and his delegation left Delhi for other parts of India. Through the records of Cuba's Radio Rebelde, we know that they may have seen Lucknow's Institute of Sugar Investigation, though no other sources confirm this visit. What can be corroborated is that the delegation was in Calcutta on 10 July, as an English-language daily published a photograph of Che's visit to a factory in Agarpada. A senior officer from Calcutta told me that Che also met with B C Roy, then Chief Minister of West Bengal. Shockingly, the Calcutta communists – at a time when the Communist Party of India had not yet split – completely ignored the presence of this great leader of the Cuban revolution.
In Calcutta, Che met a mysterious though influential figure, to whom he refers as 'Krishna' in his report. Though there is no clue to Krishna's identity, it clear that the meeting had a great and long-lasting impact on Che, particularly with regard to his thinking about nuclear weapons:
We had an opportunity of meeting a wise person called Krishna, who seemed like a person far above our world of today. He with his simplicity and humility, a characteristic of his people, talked to us for quite some time, stressing the need for using the entire resources and technical capacity of the world for peaceful use of the nuclear energy. He strongly condemned the absurd politics of those who dedicate themselves to storing hydrogen bombs in their international discussions.
Several of my friends have suggested that 'Krishna' could have been J Krishnamurti, but I feel that this is unlikely, as Krishnamurti had left Delhi in May 1959 for a three-month visit to Kashmir. Whoever Krishna was, an hour after Che returned to Havana from his 17-country visit he held a press conference, at which he gave the following account of his visit to India:
People of India were sympathetic toward the Cuban people and we saw that they are trying to solve the problems of too little cultivable land and the large estates. While talking with Krishna, the learned Indian, we became aware of the evils of the means of mass destruction and when we saw the frightful truth at Hiroshima we felt ashamed for having been glad at times when the atomic bomb was dropped on that city by the democratic powers during World War II.
An anecdote shared by one of the delegation members sheds further light on the extent to which Che continued to value what he learned from Krishna. Apparently, when the Cuban ambassador in Tokyo told Che that they would visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to pay homage to the Japanese soldiers who died in World War II, Che angrily retorted, "No way I'll go! Where I will go is to Hiroshima, where the Americans killed 100,000 Japanese!"
The practical revolutionary
Che's newfound respect for Mohandas K Gandhi and the satyagraha movement also merits special mention. When Che was in Delhi, journalist K P Bhanumathy interviewed him for All India Radio. Bhanumathy, who still lives in Delhi, told me that Che used to speak like an astrologer – thoughtfully, with long pauses. "If we ignore his military uniform, heavy boots and Monte Carlo cigar," she recalled, "then his simplicity and politeness was like that of a holy priest." During the 1959 interview, Bhanumathy bluntly said to Che, "You are said to be a communist but communist dogmas won't be accepted by a multi-religious society." Che's reply is telling:
I would not call myself a communist. I was born as a Catholic. I am a socialist who believes in equality and freedom from the exploiting countries. I have seen hunger, so much suffering, stark poverty, sickness and unemployment right from my very young days in [Latin] America. It is happening in Cuba, Vietnam and Africa – the struggle for freedom starts from the hunger of the people. There are useful lessons in the Marxist-Leninist theory. The practical revolutionary initiates his own struggle simply fulfilling laws foreseen by Marx. In India, Gandhiji's teachings had its own merit which finally brought freedom.
According to Bhanumathy, Che expressed great respect for both Gandhi and Nehru. At one point, Che noted, "You have Gandhi and an old philosophical heritage; in our Latin America we have neither. That is why our mindset has developed differently." In his report, Che also mentions Gandhi and the role of non-violence in the Indian struggle for Independence. Perhaps alluding to what Krishna said to him in Calcutta, Che observed: "In India, the word war is so distant of the spirit of the people that they didn't resort to it even at the tense moments of their struggle for independence. The great demonstrations of collective peaceful discontent forced the English colonialism to leave forever the land that they devastated during one hundred and fifty years." Ultimately, it was the understandings that Che came to about social justice while in India, rather than those about non-violence, that would significantly affect his final years.
From India, Che went on to Bangladesh, then East Pakistan, and onward to Burma, before travelling on to Indonesia and Japan. On his return journey, he swung through Singapore and stopped in Sri Lanka, then Ceylon. After pushing on through a few countries in Africa and Europe, however, Che began to hear rumours about Castro's ill health. Being unable to establish telephone contact, he returned to Havana on 8 September 1959. Though Castro immediately gave Che several significant responsibilities, including the post of industries minister, Che quickly tired of the office work. He also became fed up with the Russian type of socialism, which he disparaged for using the methods of capitalism to exploit Third World countries for the financial and strategic gains of Russia.
Leaving his government office, Che returned to the jungle and to his guns. Even in India, he had been dreaming about fomenting revolutions in other parts of Latin America. According to one of the members of the Cuban delegation, Che had said one night: "There's an altiplano [a high plateau] in South America. There is Bolivia, Paraguay, an area bordering Brazil, Uruguay, Peru and Argentina … where if we enter a guerrilla force, we could spread the revolution all over South America." Back in his revolutionary guise, Che attempted to bring about socialist revolutions in the Congo (now Zaire) and Bolivia.
Why these exploits failed constitutes another story altogether. Nonetheless, Cubans and other Latin Americans continue to see Che Guevara as no less than a heavenly prophet. His aspirations prompted him to abandon the corridors of power, thrusting him instead onto the minefields of a violent fight for the freedom of others. Though Che was executed on 9 October 1967, his ideas have since inspired untold thousands to rise against tyranny. Forty years after his death, his vision continues to fire many a revolutionary.


 


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[mukto-mona] Essay - Family secrets, state secrets by Rahnuma Ahmed

Family secrets, state secrets

Rahnuma Ahmed

http://shahidul.wordpress.com/2008/05/27/

 

First published in New Age 26th May 2008

 

History is never more compelling than when it gives us insights into oneself and the ways in which one's own experience is constituted.

 

Amitav Ghosh, in a letter to Dipesh Chakrabarty

 

I do not see my life as separate from history. In my mind my family secrets mingle with the secrets of statesmen and bombers. Nor is my life divided from the lives of others.

 

Susan Griffin, A Chorus of Stones

 

'We hated it if anyone asked us about her'

 

'MANY widowed mothers were forced to re-marry, some for reasons of social security,' these were Amena's opening words when I went to interview her. Amena Khatun works as a conservator and archivist for the Liberation War Museum. She was speaking of their family life after 1971.

 

Things did not always transpire as intended, she added. Her mother's second marriage had been short-lived.

 

My father? He is Shahid Abdul Kader, he had a furniture business, it was new. But by then the war had started, and his friends and workmen had left to fight for liberation. I was a few months old, my other brother, the one younger to me, was not yet born. My elder brother was two and a half years old. I think my father was planning to go away, to join the struggle, but it happened before he could make arrangements for us. They took him away. We lived in Mymensingh, our area was full of Biharis, I think they could sense what was happening, and they targeted my father. Actually, it was a Bengali woman, a razakar, who came and called him. She came and said, so-and-so wants to talk to you. My father stepped out and found a group of Bihari men and women waiting for him. It was May 28, 1971.

 

My grandmother, it was her, my nanu who raised us. Her struggle was much greater. My mother? Oh, she was very young, only seventeen or eighteen, she hardly understood anything. She was forced to re-marry, this was later, in 1977 or 1978. She had no other choice.

 

For us kids it was a new experience, we had not seen a man before. My mama was five years older to me, he and my older brother, they were the only men in the house. My uncles came later but nanu didn't like them, she was worried that they would take us away, put us to work on the farm, that we would have to give up our studies. My younger chacha had wanted to marry my mother but she didn't agree to the proposal. She said, he was like a brother.

 

And in the middle of all this, here was this new man, we could tell that he was intimate with her. When he appeared, she was a different mother. Sometimes I think, did we deserve this? If my father had lived, life would have been very different.

 

By the time my mother gave birth to a daughter, that phase [her married life] was over. That little sister of ours was the most exciting thing that could have happened in our lives, she lit up our home, all our dreams centred around her. We couldn't think of anything else. We didn't want to.

 

But whenever we went to the village, people would say, she was born of your mother's second marriage, wasn't she? We hated the sound of those words. Of course, what they said was true, for them it was not unusual. They were just curious, they would keep asking us and I don't blame them. But I hated it, bhaiya didn't like it either. My sister? She was too young to understand. But how can you stop people talking, and so we stopped going to the village. We wouldn't go, hardly ever.

 

Much later, right before my sister took her matric exams, we were forced to tell her. In a sense, she found out for herself. You see, her friends kept asking her, 'But if you were born in 1971, how can you be this young?'

 

I guess we needed to grow older to come to terms with the truth.

 

'A dirty nigger'. Racial prejudice and humiliation in the British Indian army

 

'As a child, I remember hearing only idyllic stories of my father's life in the British Indian army,' writes novelist Amitav Ghosh, in a letter to historian Dipesh Chakrabarty.

 

But towards the end of his life, before he died in 1998, my father told me a very different story. During the siege of Imphal, he had turned away from the main battle to confront a South African officer who called him a 'dirty nigger'. After this, other stories poured out, stories of deep-seated racism within the army, very different to the idyllic picture that Amitav had grown up with. He writes, why did my father (and, in some sense, all our fathers) avoid telling us these stories? Speaking of such things must have been difficult, he muses, especially because they were at odds with their vision of themselves as 'high-caste, bhadra patriarchs'. He adds, what may seem to be mere instances of racism were not so, they represented the system itself. Western liberal thought, whether that of JS Mill, or Bentham, or any other nineteenth century British writer, is built on racism, writes Amitav.

 

His question is: if we reproduce these silences of history, are we denying or abetting in structures of exclusion and oppression?

 

Post-independence armies of South Asia

Did racism survive the departure of the white colonisers in 1947? Are post-independence armies of South Asia non-racial and hence, non-racist? Is it meaningful to talk of race and racial differences in our cultures?

 

East Pakistani (later Bangladeshi) scholars spoke of ethnic differences in racial terms. They said, Pakistan's military commanders perpetuated the recruitment policies of their colonial masters. 'Martial races' – meaning Punjabis and Pathans – were over-represented in the national armed forces, whereas the majority Bengali population, and smaller minorities like the Baluchis and Sindhis, were largely excluded. Indian historians maintain, imperial institutions like the army and the civil service allowed particular forms of racist practices, because of their proximity to the ruling race. They also say, racism survived independence. The north-eastern provinces, known as the seven sisters, have been subjected to decades of racist oppression by successive Indian governments.

 

Is ethnic discrimination in Bangladesh racist? Educated paharis, who have suffered militarily, tell me that 'ethnic discrimination' as a term does not do justice to the horror of their experiences. I was speaking to a young woman whose father was hung upside down for days, and later died a broken man. And to a young pahari man who was detained for several weeks, and was severely traumatised because of what he was made to witness.

 

Family secrets can be state secrets. Our mothers and fathers need to tell us stories. We need to discover ways of talking about silenced histories. And about the silenced present.

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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

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Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/news/daily_star/daily_star_MM.pdf

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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.

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Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/index.htm

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Mukto-Mona Celebrates Earth Day:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Earth_day2006/index.htm

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Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona 
http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/kansat2006/members/


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MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari
http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm

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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

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Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona:

http://www.mukto-mona.com/new_site/mukto-mona/faq_mm.htm

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VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/

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"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




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