Daily Online Alochona: Aug 31, 2008

Sunday, August 31, 2008

[mukto-mona] Re: When Will South Asia Learn to Use Its Abundant Resources of Solar Power Properly

WRT: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/message/49634

Mr. Kamdar,

Your energy-article should be an eye opener for everybody. It seems
to me that energy crisis is carefully perpetuated by the powerful.

Energy abounds in nature and the technology is there to tap it. In
fact, it is surprising that every household does not yet have a set-
up to tap the two most common sources -solar and wind energy- for
daily use. Imagin every household with huge solar panels and a
windmill to supply energy for a family (including charging batteries
for their electric cars)!

I guess a thing like this will happen as social "phase-transition" at
the "critical point".

tistarbahe

------------------------------------

*****************************************
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], 190Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:mukto-mona-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:mukto-mona-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
mukto-mona-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

[mukto-mona] Sign Petition Protesting Terror Against Christians in Orissa

To: The President of India
To

The President of India

It is with deep concern and dismay that we hear the recent news pouring out from Orissa.

The atrocities perpetrated by the Sangha Parivar and Hindu fundamentalist outfits, against Christian community and their Missionaries in the state is a threat to our national unity and shame for our secular entity.

Hundreds of Christians have been chased out of their homes and attacked and looted. When the carnage enters into the fourth consecutive day, scores are dead and many missing. Attack against the Christian community runs unabated.

We request you to immediately direct the central and state government apparatus to contain these unfortunate (but intentionally master-planned) attacks against the Christian community and also use your offices to thwart any other such incidents from happening, in the future.

We request all secular and democratic forces of the country, intellectuals, media, to sign and express your solidarity against the attempts by VHP/BJP/Hindutwa outfits that are spreading and spearheading their long-held agenda of communal hate and religious fundamentalism.

We stand for a united India, in which all communities could live alongside each other in complete trust, unity and brotherhood.

We also appeal to the leaders of Hindu community to restrain their hooligans, whose doings would help only to make the whole nation bow our heads in perpetual shame.

Sincerely,
To sign the petition, click on

http://www.petitiononline.com/RAJ1962/petition.html

------------------------------------

*****************************************
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], 190Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:mukto-mona-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:mukto-mona-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
mukto-mona-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

[mukto-mona] Time to open the jail gates

Time to open the jail gates

Mozammel H. Khan

By the time this piece appears in print, Begum Khaleda Zia, the mandala of misrule and his son Tarique Rahman, the avowed guru of corruption (his critics called him the king of corruption), could be out of jail through, of course, "due process of law" as repeatedly asserted by their followers. Begum Zia presided over the most despicable administration this country has ever endured. Her family members, especially her two brothers and two sons, became the symbol of corruption and abuse of the state authority bestowed on their sister and mother, respectively. When she had all set to steal the scheduled January 22 general election and she was only eleven days away from becoming the fourth time PM of the country, the so-called one- eleven came on her way. Her opponents, who she asked her supporters to crush once and for all, along with the general people, except for the die-hard supporters of the alliance government and their beneficiaries, heaved a natural sigh of relief.

Although the main function of a this 'unusual' administration was to assist the reconstituted EC to hold the general election with a genuine voter list, the government embarked on a self-destined agenda under a reconstituted ACC to punish the corrupts and promulgated ordinance under emergency rule to meet that end. However, from the beginning, the actions of the ACC and the government in dealing with the politicians of the two major political parties gave rise to various hypotheses as regard to the inner intent of the government. One of the most common one that had the most supportive evidences was that the current government was trying to white-wash the sins of the BNP-Jamat alliance government to 'create a level playing field' which was too steep for them to climb in a free and fair election. The hypothesis gained credence by the fact that the biggest wrath of this government fell on Sheikh Hasina who and her only surviving sister even have no dwellings of their own to reside in the city, while Zia family enjoys the ownership, through the benevolence of the state, of two palatial houses in the posh area of the city including one inside the cantonment .

After her arrest she was sued one after another on charges of extortion and corruption, dragged to the court house even when she was seriously ill, while the immediate past PM whose regime has been marked by the biggest plundering of the national wealth and abuse of authority remain virtually unscathed. Begum Zia and her adherents constantly accused the government that it was trying to destroy the Zia family. However, a simple analysis would add more merits to the hypothesis that, in fact, all of its actions exactly are geared towards doing just the opposite.

Her brother who was allegedly only second to his own nephew in the corruption scale was even not in the big list of suspected corrupts. Her second brother was arrested a few weeks ago and was released on bail in no time. However, the stories of his wanton corruption appeared in a number of highly credible print media right after his arrest with vivid descriptions of what and how he did towards making our national carrier a financial failure. One of these media is so credible and its journalism is so objective and investigative that one of its recent stories led to the cancellation of a land lease involving the President and his wife by the government. However, charge against him is as vague as many who have already been convicted on the basis of accumulating wealth disproportionate to his income.

Naturally, the highest number of cases was filed against Tarique Rahman, but so far he is facing no trial. Five cases of extortion against him have been stayed by the HC and there was no news of appeal by the state against the stay order. Quite to the contrary, when the extortion case against Sheikh Hasina (I do not dare to compare Sheikh Hasina with 'uncompromising' Khaleda Zia!) was stayed by the HC, the then addition AG (current AG) appeared in front of the TV cameras in a melancholy mood as if it was a personal tragedy for him and appealed to the appellate division in no time resulting in its overturn.

Recently, he has made a record-setting history by securing bails, not in one or two, but in five cases in a single day, including Zia orphanage trust case in which his mother, the PM, has allegedly diverted money (2.1 crores) from PM's relief fund to so-called Zia orphanage trust run by him and which he has allegedly misappropriated in its entirety. The principal counsel of the ACC could not attend the bail hearing as he was ill (I came to know through my personal source) and the HC did not have time to waste by adjourning the proceedings, since this was not the case of an ordinary ('faltu') person! That is not all. He has added one more laurel to his credit by securing bail directly from the appellate division in the bone-chilling case of sharing Tk 21-crore bribery booty with his erstwhile crony following the murder of Humayun Kabir Sabbir. In this case too, reportedly neither did the AG attend nor oppose the bail. This is what the authority claims to be the 'due process of law'. A very similar 'due process of law' took place while H M Ershad was acquitted in corruption cases one after the other, after Tarique and Babar went to his house and made a deal of joining JP with the four-party alliance. To make the matter worse, this 'due process of law' was initiated in the aftermath of the vandalism and the killing of an innocent citizens by the BNP thugs on the streets. Since there was no arrest in these hooliganisms even when the emergency rule is in force, this is a clear precedence of the appeasement of violence and terrorism that carries not much reassuring message to the nation about the future course of politics, which the current administration pledged to fix. In a corollary of the 'due process of law', BNP secretary general's son, a convicted thief and hijacker in his own right, has also been granted bail.

BNP has already attributed the bail as synonym to acquittal, white-washing all the sins, and has challenged the acting AL secretary to prove that Tarique Rahman is guilty of any misdeeds, albeit it is the responsibility of ACC and the government to prove the charges of a dozen or so cases pending against him. It boils down to that fact that all members of the Zia family would be out of jail, if not already, in no time through the 'due process of law'. This only added a very compelling argument in favour of the hypothesis that the government and the ACC colluded to reestablish the Zia family in the political arena by washing all their dreadful sins through the 'due process of law'.

If members of the Zia family, the perceived nucleus of corruption and the plunder of state wealth, could be out of jail, then no one could disagree with AL acting Secretary when he said, "if "champions of corruption" are released, the government has no moral or legal right to keep detained the leaders and workers of other parties arrested on "so-called" corruption charges." Those who so far have been convicted were mostly on the vague charges of "accumulating wealth disproportionate to his income" or in some cases possessing a bottle of unlicensed liquor. At this stage, it would be impossible for the government to counter the arguments that all these arrest , convictions, and bails were guided by the government discriminatory policy of who they want to eliminate from the political scene. It is, therefore, the high time for the government to open the jail gates for all those who have been convicted or accused on the vague charges, in addition to any convicted thieves and hijackers. This, though, would acknowledge its failure but would surely add a few points to its badly plummeted credibility.

The ACC chief, who I still revere, owes a solemn apology to those who he lectured, travelling from city to city, to instill antipathy against corruption in the mindset of the young and adult alike. His bureau's actions or inactions have put a burden on the conscience of many of his admirers, foremost among them is my friend and fellow DS contributor, Dr. Abdullah Dewan of Michigan. The battle is lost. Should he continue to head the ACC? It is a decision solely lies with himself.

Dr. Mozammel H. Khan is the Convenor of the Canadian Committee for Human Rights and Democracy in Bangladesh.

Mozammel H. Khan

Canadian Committee for Human Rights and Democracy in Bangladesh

__._,_.___

***************************************** 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

__,_._,___

Re: [mukto-mona] Atten: Dr Sukhamaya Bains

I am not bent on carrying out this debate any further. The basic point is
once a land is conquered by a bunch of alien horsemen, whose descendants
remain secluded and form their own society, converts a bunch of people to
increase their political base; the hearts of the whole bunch remain in a
distant holy land and minds set with the leader of a community less than
five thousand strong, the rule by such a group does not become automatically
home grown. I support Professor R. C. Majumder's contention for that
reason. However, I never would say that the British rule was not alien.
But had they not come to India, we would all be prostrating towards Mecca by
now.
Even the mighty later day Mughals had to pay the Ottomans tributes to the
extent of twenty per cent of their earnings. What Muslim rule can do to a
nation was properly understood by Kamal Ataturk, and much earlier by Akbar
and by his great grandson Prince-consort Dara Shikoh. Akbar wanted to create
a new religion by mixing the old, and was ridiculed by the Mullahs that
"Allahu Akbar" meant Akbar is Allah and not Allah is almighty. Dara wanted
probably to discard Islam altogether, and his fate, and earned the title of
apostate. Anyway, the friendly nature of the Muslim rule in India is amply
recorded in "Sources of Indian tradition" edited by Ainslie T. Embree of
Columbia University, and in the writings of Koenraad Elstand others. Europe
had its dark age due to the imposition of Christianity, the root of the dark
age in India may be properly atributed to the decay of Buddhism and the
spread of Islam. As far as I am concerned, there was no such thing as
Hinduism, except that a the peoples on the south of Persia were termed
Hindus by them. Hinduism had always multitude of faiths which coexisted
without much recorded violence.

------------------------------------

*****************************************
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], 190Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:mukto-mona-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:mukto-mona-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
mukto-mona-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

[ALOCHONA] Citizens condolence meet for Anwar Zahid: Unity of nationalist forces urged

Citizens condolence meet for Anwar Zahid: Unity of nationalist forces urged

Staff Reporter

Speakers at a citizens' condolence meeting on late journalist Anwar Zahid called for unity of the nationalist and Islamic political parties to safeguard the national independence and sovereignty of the country.

National Citizens' Condolence Committee organised the meeting at the National Press Club, which was presided over by former Chief Election Commissioner Justice Abdur Rauf.

Justice Abdur Rauf said political leaders must be united to shun politics of mud slinging for establishing democracy on a firm footing.

"It is necessary for political parties to give up their personal interest for greater interest of the country," Justice Abdur Rauf said.

He said that if the political parties failed to be united, a coterie would take opportunity to depoliticise the country.

He held the view that necessary steps should be taken to reform the political leadership in the country so that politics based on morality, justice and honesty could flourish in the country.

BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain said that the nationalist and Islamic forces must be united as the national independence and sovereignty of the country is in danger at the present time.

"We can resist the anti-liberation forces if the nationalist and Islamic forces could unite following the deals of Anwar Zahid," he hoped.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Prof Abdul Matin called for framing a strong national unity between the nationalist and Islamic forces so that it could help fulfil the dream of late politician Anwar Zahid.

BNP standing committee member Lt Col Mahbubur Rahman said Anwar Zahid was a patriot who always tried to lead his life with honesty through writing and political activities. Barrister Rafiqul Islam Miah said Journalist Anwar Zahid always dreamt of repression free politics.

"Anwar Zahid's dream would not be fulfilled if the nationalist and Islamic forces did not unite," he said.

Syed Didar Bakth of Liberal Democratic Party, Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Kamruzzaman, NDP Chairman Khandaker Golam Mortuza, Advocate Miah Sadequr Rahman, Sheikh Anwarul Hoq, Shafiul Alam Pradhan, Maulana Jafar Ullah Khan, Atiqul Islam, National Press Club General Secretary Kamal Uddin Sabuj, Mostafa Kamal Majumder, the Editor of New Nation, Journalist Sadeq Khan, Shawkat Hossain Nilu, Tazul Islam, Alamgir Majumder, Barrister Rafiqul Huq, Reazuddin Ahmed, Editor, News Today, Abdul Hye Sikdar, Barkatullah, Abdus Shahid, President DUJ, and Elahi, Newaz Khan among others, addressed the condolence meeting.

__._,_.___

[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.] To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com

__,_._,___

[ALOCHONA] More than 75% Indians live below poverty line

--- On Sun, 8/31/08, Muhammad Javed Iqbal <javediqbalkaleem@yahoo.com> wrote:

From: Muhammad Javed Iqbal javediqbalkaleem@yahoo.com

Subject: [notun_bangladesh] More than 75% Indians live below poverty line

To: notun_bangladesh@yahoogroups.com

Date: Sunday, August 31, 2008, 12:22 AM

My heart bleeds for the Indian poor. Almost 90% Indians live below
poverty line. The government of India is callous and shameless when
it comes to rescuing its poors. To hide facts, it has arbitarily
fixed the povertyline at Rs 10 per day, whereas the standard fixed
by world bank and asian bank was US $ 1 which has now been increased
to 1.35 dollars due to increasing food prices.

I wonder how ungrteful and thankless we Pakistanis are who are far
more better off than the Indians.

Whereas the minimum wage in Paksitan is Rs 6000, Government of
India has fixed it at Rs 1250. No wonder, many emploees of Indian
government live below poverty line, not to speak of millions who
work in un-organized sectors or are unemployed. India's
population living below povertyline exceeds 90% because now the
Asian Bank has fixed povertyline at Us $ 1.35 per day per person.
An Indian expert has calculated Indian poverty in the
following manner:

No. Earnings of diffrent types of employees in India Converted into
Rs./month
1. Average cost of employee* in Air-India Rs. 53,000
2. Average cost of employee* in MARUTI UDYOG Rs. 24,000
3. Average cost of employee* in the MUMBAI MUNICIPAL CORP. Rs.
16,000
4. Minimum starting salary in the FIRE Dept. in Mumbai Rs. 7,000
5. Average earning of an Indian - US$ 440 per year or about (This is
based on a GDP of US$ 440 billion
and 1 billion people) Rs. 1,727
6. Minimum earning required, as per WORLD BANK, to live at above
poverty line, for underdeveloped
countries like India, China etc, about US$ 1.0 per day or US$ 30 per
month Rs. 1,410
7. MINIMUM WAGES, as per Government of India, for all the States,
about Rs. 40 to 60 per day per
person, average about Rs. 50 per day. For 25 days per month Rs.
1,250
8. POVERTY LINE definition, as per Government of India, see below
for
explanation, at Rs. 10 per day,
per person, approx. Rs. 300
Other related & relevant data In millions, people
9. Number of people, in India, who are below poverty line About 300
million (30 Cr.)
10. Number of people, in India, who work in the organized Public
Sector, i.e. with the Central and State
Government About 19 million (1.9 Cr.)
11. Number of people, in India, who work in the organized Private
Secto About 8 million (0.8 Cr.)
12. Number of people, in India, who work in the unorganized Sector
About 320 million (32 Cr.)
13. Number of people, in India, who are unemployed approximately
About
300 million (30 Cr.)
14. Number of JOBS which need to be created every year, to fulfill
the
aspirations of the people of India
About 10 million/yr. (1 Cr.)
15. Number of people BORN every year in India (China is only 10
million per yea About 27 million/yr. (2.7 Cr.)
16. Number of people, in India, who are below 35 years of age About
700 million (70 Cr.)

1. About us The World Bank's definition of the poverty line**, for
under developed countries, like India, is US$ 1/day/person
or US $365 per year. As per this definition, more than 75% of all
Indians are, probably, below the poverty line!
As per the Government of India, poverty line for the urban areas is
Rs. 296 per month and for rural areas Rs. 276
per month, i.e. people in India who earn less than Rs. 10 per day.
As per GOI, this amount will buy food
equivalent to 2200 calories per day, medically enough, to prevent
death. At this level of earning, even in a poor
country like India, survival on Rs. 10 per day is a nightmare! This
actually translates to Rs. 3650 per year or US $ 75 per year.
On what basis have our planners decided this definition of "Poverty
Line"? Does it mean that the person will get enough food to stay
alive? How and where is he or she supposed to cook it? What about
the minimum needs in education, housing, health services,
clothing,and other basic necessities? Are we supposed to live on
pavements and sleep under trees from birth till death? YOU BE THE
JUDGE!
The minimum wages in India, vary from state to state and city to
city, and average Rs. 1000 - 1250/month or
Rs. 12,000 - 15,000/yr. Or US $ 250 - US $ 300/yr. India's per
capita is US $ 440 per year. (China's is US $ 990).
If India could provide Roads, Electricity, TV's and Telephones in
every village, it would improve, education, health,
family planning, agriculture, animal husbandry, GDP and reduce
migration from vllages to cities.

*Cost of employee = salary & wages + all allowances including
housing + perks + retirement benefits.

**1 million = 1,000,000 or 10 lacs. 1 lac = 1,00,000. 1 crore = 10
million = 1,00,00,000.

To verify you can look at this link:

http://www.wakeupca ll.org/administr ation_in_ india/poverty_ line.php

M .Javed Iqbal

__,_._,___

[ALOCHONA] Fw: [notun_bangladesh] Why do foreign powers shore up dictatorships?

--- On Sun, 8/31/08, abid bahar <abidbahar@Yahoo.com> wrote:

From: abid bahar <abidbahar@Yahoo.com>
Subject: [notun_bangladesh] Why do foreign powers shore up dictatorships?
To: notun_bangladesh@yahoogroups.com, chottala@yahoogroups.com, "bdresearchers@yahoogroups.combangladesh" <bdresearchers@yahoogroups.com>, "NFB News from Bangladesh" <nfb@citech-bd.com>
Date: Sunday, August 31, 2008, 11:56 AM

Why do foreign powers shore up dictatorships?

Mahmud ur Rahman Choudhury
http://www.thebangl adeshtoday. com/leading% 20news.htm

Last Monday we have seen the nature of Military dictatorships with reference to Pakistan and Bangladesh. This Monday we will explore one of the key bases of power of military dictators and see why and how foreign powers shore up dictatorships, again with examples of Pakistan and Bangladesh. In a number of previous commentaries, I have covered in details why, how and to what extent foreign powers have been involved with and had infact infiltrated into our law-enforcement agencies, our intelligence services and our military forces. So I will not cover these aspects here.
Two sorts of Weak States come in for some form or other of interventions by Strong States: (1) Weak States with natural resources which Strong Sates need and covet and (2) Weak States so geographically located as to serve the purpose of stepping-stone to other resource-rich areas or to states which pose a direct physical threat to Strong States. There is a range of intervention options starting from diplomatic and economic pressures, to attempts at "regime change" and finally to outright military conquests and occupation. We are concerned here about aspects of "regime change". The question however is: Why would Strong States support dictatorships as opposed to democratic regimes in Weak States?
Democracy in Weak States has a number of problems: they are divisive and so they lack control; they are corrupt and so costs of investments in exploitation of resources are high; they are unstable and so decisions change abruptly in a short time with changes of governments and ultimately they are answerable to their electorates who may not favor giving away resources to foreigners. Dictators, on the other hand, do not suffer from these disadvantages: they are decisive; they have absolute control; corruption is restricted to a small coterie of elites and finally they are not answerable to anyone. It stands to reason therefore, that the preferred form of governance in Weak States is dictatorship or at least the most authoritarian of democracies - from the point of view of Strong States. It also stands to reason that Weak States are allowed and even persuaded to remain weak, so that exploitation of economic resources can continue unhindered and advantages
continue to accrue to Strong States.
The strongest of the Strong States, the USA had been and still is shoring up dictatorial regimes of various sorts and grades throughout South America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia and in its endeavors, the USA is supported by other strong states of Europe and Japan who all benefit from the resources exploited from weak states in these diverse parts of the world. When such dictatorial regimes turn "rogue", that is they refuse to serve the interests of USA, they are subjected to outright conquests and occupation such as Iraq and Afghanistan; in other cases they are subjected to unending diplomatic and economic pressures to "comply" such as Iran and North Korea. The USA is a global player; other regional or "wannabe" global players pursue the same policy such as Chinese support to military dictatorship in Myanmar and its occupation of Tibet and Indian support to the Nepalese monarchy and dictatorial regime changes in Bangladesh.
Having stated general principles, let's get down to the brass-tacks of concrete examples of Pakistan and Bangladesh. When the Russians invaded Afghanistan, the USA found an opportunity to sort out Russia and in Pakistan the USA found a stepping-stone to get to Afghanistan. A regime change was initiated to throw out Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto and bring in General Zia ul Haq. With Pakistani help everything was done to get rid of the Russians including financing, training and arming the Taliban; Osama bin Laden was a part of that effort. When General Zia ul Haq got too patriotic, nationalistic and religious for US tastes, he was replaced with another regime change purportedly democratic but equally authoritarian in mind-set. When the Afghan Taliban turned "rogue" and took on the USA in direct attacks, another regime change was initiated with General Pervez Musharraf in chair which permitted conquest and occupation of Afghanistan by US and EU military forces. The
Indians were happy with this latest regime change because it kept a nuclear armed Pakistan engaged with the never-ending business of fighting "global terrorism" and because it weakened Pakistan by aggravating internal divisiveness. When internal divisiveness led to such instabilities that Pakistan was on the verge of disintegrating as a State, a "democratic regime" change was again initiated - it remains to be seen where this leads to but probably it will lead to complete control of Pakistani nuclear weapons by the US, making India very happy indeed for removing a deadly threat to itself. This was an example of initiating and supporting dictatorial regime changes in "Weak States so geographically located as to serve the purpose of stepping-stone to states which pose a direct physical threat to Strong States".
The case of Bangladesh is slightly different although results are the same. Bangladesh is an example of "Weak States with natural resources which Strong Sates need and covet". Resources which Bangladesh has consists of some natural gas, some coal, cheap manpower, sea ports and a location which could help in linking up two distant but trouble torn regions of India. So Bangladesh is directly important to India which wants transit through Bangladesh to its south-eastern provinces, port facilities for its south-eastern provinces and gas to fuel its industrial development in West Bengal and Assam. Indirectly, Bangladesh is important to USA and European states who see in Bangladesh a "sweat-shop" producing and exporting cheap goods and services which are too costly to produce in developed industrial economies. Additionally, Bangladesh is seen as a potential purchaser of technology based goods and services which advanced economies produce such as cars,
aircrafts, computers, telecommunication equipments, weapons and of course surveys and exploitation of gas and coal. So India, USA and EU states have some stake or other in politics and governments of Bangladesh.
Like in Pakistan "regime changes" have been brought about in Bangladesh, some of them involving great violence and bloodshed, the net results of which were military intervention in politics and the hoisting of dictatorships on the people of the Country. However, to elucidate my major contention, I am going to explore this latest regime change in the form of Emergency.
Before the Emergency, that is, around November 2007, US and British diplomats were so visibly busy talking to our politicians, our civil society, our academicia and our media that it was difficult to imagine who had more at stake in the upcoming elections - these foreign diplomats, or our people, politicians and our Caretaker Government. By December 2007, these foreign diplomats were openly rooting for a suspension of the elections. In fact to make matters smooth for some sort of military involvement, a FAX purportedly from the UNDP was procured through devious channels with even more devious authenticity stating that all UN peace-keeping missions for Bangladesh Armed Forces would be stopped if elections were not suspended forthwith. This FAX was used to convince Army Generals to agree to some sort of military intervention in politics and the same FAX was again used to "persuade" the President to sign on the declaration of Emergency.
After the Emergency was declared the Chief of Staff of the Army went to the media with a long list of dos and donts which included reforms in politics, anti-corruption, changes in leadership, good governance etc raising hopes in the people that now perhaps things were going to change for the better.
Also foreign diplomats took it upon themselves to propagate the virtues of the Emergency Government until such time that things started going sour. The US Ambassador Butenis was posted out to a 3rd grade post in Iraq and the British High Commissioner Anwar Chowdhry was posted out to be hidden away within the labyrinthine folds of British bureaucracy. The new US Ambassador, a few weeks after landing in Dhaka and while talking to a gathering of Bangladeshi- Americans declared that he was "the new sheriff in town", indicating a change in policy. US, UK, the EU, India and even Pakistan were now all for withdrawal of the Emergency and holding of "free, fair and credible elections" in Bangladesh.
India meantime, went a step further and invited the Chief of Staff of the Bangladesh Army to visit India which he did to a rousing state reception, normally reserved for visiting Heads of States. Before the visit, Indian media was awash with expectations of better India-Bangladesh relations; transit facilities through Bangladesh, port facilities, export of gas were all mooted in the Indian media. As to what was actually discussed and whether these issues came up for discussion at all, still remains a mystery. The Chief of Staff returned from the visit with a present of 4 horses which need a million takas monthly to house and to feed. There is an ancient Indian adage which goes: "if you want to destroy your enemy, present him with a sacred white elephant which needs so much money to maintain that your enemy will go bankrupt". Were the Indians sending us a subtle message through the present of these 4 pedigree horses to the effect that they would hoist on
us a government which would destroy us, if we don't fall in line with them?
By now people of Bangladesh are well aware of how the Emergency has led us to the dumps and how grievously we are all suffering for it. With nothing having changed for the better, the Emergency is on its way out and the new agenda is "election". Therefore lessons # 1, 2, 3, 4… ad infinitum is to make efforts to be masters of our own fates and to not rely on foreigners to sort out our own problems. We can only do this if we have not just elections, but democracy, the more of it the better, however much pain and suffering we may have to bear for it and however flawed that democracy is. Democracy is the only way in which we can empower our people to master their own fates.
I have run out of column space and have to end here but next Monday I am going to explore, for the benefit of our readers, how our own politics are destroying our hopes for democracy.

__,_._,___

Re: [mukto-mona] Sara(h) Palin vs. Barak Obama!!

WRT: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/message/49646

Quite an absurd comparison, indeed. Dr. Jiten Roy has certainly proven that he is for McCain and against Obama, no matter what. I am going to vote for Obama-Biden with some concerns, and not because of a "no matter what" kind of mentality.

Some of the issues that Dr. Roy has raised about Barack Obama have been scrutinized by millions of voters. After that he has been nominated, through a primary election process, as the Democratic Party's candidate for the President of the United States, defeating another fully capable individual, Hillary Clinton.

I have a hypothesis: the American God decides who would be the president of the USA. In 1988 Michael Dukakis, and in 2004 John Kerry were asked by the American God to run inept campaigns so that their opponents (whom I considered less worthy of the position) would be elected. This year, the same God has spoken to McCain, and McCain has made his first blunder. To repeat Hillary Clinton, "no way, no how, no McCain."

While I do consider the choice of Sarah Palin to be a foolish act on the part of McCain, I also think that McCain being foolish or not the Obama-Biden ticket would have been better for the USA irrespective of whom McCain chose. After all it is McCain who would have been at the helm of his ticket. In other words, this time the American God seems to be on the side of the better candidate for the presidency of the USA.

Good luck to Dr. Roy's vote and campaign for John McCain!

Sukhamaya Bain

------------------------------------

*****************************************
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], 190Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:mukto-mona-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:mukto-mona-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
mukto-mona-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

[ALOCHONA] A Nationalist Agenda for Bangladesh - By MBI Munshi Bar-at-Law

A Nationalist Agenda for Bangladesh

By MBI Munshi Bar-at-Law

The installation of the Caretaker Government after the proclamation of emergency on January 11, 2007 by military fiat provides an excellent opportunity for the conscientious citizen to thoroughly reappraise and also reassess our political ideals and national objectives prior to the return of democracy. While the political parties have been striving to reestablish their credibility and relevance to a disillusioned and apathetic public the issue of what ideological principles the nation should rest upon has been largely set aside although this is the most important question of all for the nation to tackle. This article is intended to provide an intellectual framework upon which nationalist debate may take place and covers the political arena occupied by the BNP, Jatiya Party and Jamaat-i-Islami and to some extent the now defunct Freedom Party and other smaller nationalist entities such as Gen. Fazlur Rahman's newly established nationalist formation.

What is common to all these parties (except that of Gen. Fazlur Rahman which has only begun operations in Bangladesh) is that they have all failed miserably to uphold the nationalist ideal. The obvious reason for this failure is that there is no single accepted document or formal expression of the terms of the nationalist agenda for the 21^st century (although there exists many outdated opinions on the subject) and the majority of the general public has largely relied on intuition to determine a party's nationalist credentials in the modern era. There are several important books on the subject of Bangladeshi nationalism but they tend to over intellectualize the concepts and the basic principles put forward appear contradictory after closer examination. More often than not they involve matters that are subsidiary or ancillary to the main tenets of the ideology. This vagueness and ambiguity has allowed scope for the corrupt, opportunistic and mediocre to thwart and misuse the ideals of nationalism in favour of self-interest and greed. The main cause or reason behind this lack of ideological commitment is the absence of an objective standard or criterion for determining the legitimacy of decisions or actions approved by the party hierarchy when set against the requirements of nationalist ideology. A major consequence of this is that there exists an absolute minimum in ideological content and understanding within the party and an over reliance on charismatic leadership for guidance, however, misguided or irrational it might actually turn out to be for the country as a whole. It is due to this ideological failure that the Freedom Party and Jatiya party both fractured and then collapsed in quick succession during the early 1990's and is also the cause of the BNP's dramatic downfall after the 1/11 takeover by a military-civilian conglomerate.

The terms of the nationalist ideal according to this author may be explained through the use of the following four broad tenets or core elements of Bangladeshi nationalism–

1. Honouring the nation's independence and sovereignty achieved through immense struggle, blood and sacrifice in the 1971 Liberation War.

2. Non-interference in the Islamic values and beliefs of the people as enshrined in the constitution [Art. 8 (1A) – Absolute trust and faith in the Almighty Allah shall be the basis of all actions]. The emergence of Bangladesh is a direct consequence of the Two Nation Theory and the Lahore Resolution and the war of 1971 was not intended to negate either of these ideas. Bangladesh remains a majority Muslim nation and the nationalist creed requires the respecting of Islamic values with particular emphasis on the virtue of toleration which is a peculiar characteristic of the people of this region who generally abhor all forms of fanaticism It is for this reason that compared to the secularist approach the non-interference method can accommodate Muslims, non-Muslims and even people of no faith since none will be interfered with provided that all practice toleration towards each other and adopt the policy of mutual respect [i.e. Art. 2A – The state religion of the Republic is Islam, but other religions may be practiced in peace and harmony in the Republic] (see below).

3. Adherence to the inclusiveness of Bangladeshi nationalism which is based on territorial exclusivity rather than on ethnic exclusivity. In other words, a Bangladesh national should be appropriately described as Bangladeshi [i.e. Art. 6 (2) – The citizens of Bangladesh shall be known as Bangladeshi] rather than a Bengali which tends towards territorial inclusiveness with West Bengal which is a part of India and where the Bengali identity is subservient to the superior and universal Indian one. A Bangladeshi can never accept his identity to be subsumed into a larger Indian one which is an entirely separate nation as per the partition of the subcontinent in 1947 into three separate territorial parts and two political entities (India and Pakistan). This separate consciousness of Bengali Muslims began during the 1905-1911 partition of Bengal which was vehemently opposed by the upper-class Hindu landlords whose power and influence over their Muslim tenants dwindled during this period but Hindu dominance again reasserted itself once the partition was rescinded seven years later and the Muslims were returned to their former slavish existence.

4. Aggressive promotion and advancement of the national interest and an uncompromising attitude to national security.

While all the parties claiming to uphold the nationalist agenda have been more or less consistent in protecting Islamic values this has often been done opportunistically or exploitatively. All that this condition requires is non-interference as opposed to the 'excessive' or overt promotion of Islamic values which tends to have a negative effect (a major reason why Islamic parties do badly in elections) on public sentiment which is still very much influenced by the secularist/Indian propaganda about the 1971 war which illogically views Islam as responsible for the atrocities committed by the Pakistan army. Bangladeshis are by nature and temperament moderate in outlook and sentiment and are equally tolerant in matters personal and so a too rigid approach on religion normally gets a negative or unfavorable response. Non-interference in Islamic values is the least onerous of the conditions in the nationalist agenda since it is a negative requirement requiring virtually no action to implement. This is not the same as the secularist agenda favoured by the AL and other leftist parties since they have promoted interference in the Islamic values of the people with the objective of eroding religion from society and rendering the state totally neutral in matters of faith and have even gone so far as to undermining Islam through propaganda and ill-motivated government policies - this is the complete opposite of non-interference and is widely resented by the general public.

The third condition has usually been a problem for the anti-nationalists such as the Awami League party as the notion of Bengali nationhood became untenable when West Bengal showed no signs of seceding from India after 1971 and even more importantly - from a nationalist perspective - after the CHT insurgency when the tribal groups refused to adopt Bengali customs even after the vocal and uncompromising demand of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman that they do so. This issue was resolved when President Ziaur Rahman amended the constitution and designated all citizens of Bangladesh as Bangladeshis emphasizing the territorial rather than the ethnic aspect of our nationhood.

It is, however, in the area of national interest and security that sharply differentiates the nationalists from the other ideological inclinations. In the past, too much emphasis has been placed on the dichotomies raised by faith vs. secularism or Bengali vs. Bangladeshi but these are only indications of attitude and the real test is whether a party is prepared to assert the national interest and aggressively ensure the security of the nation and state. If the answer is in the positive in both cases then by necessity the party in power is advancing the majority faith and Bangladeshi nationalism as well. All the nationalist parties (BNP, Jatiya and Freedom) were established on the twin pillars of national interest and security. The events of 1975 (both 15^th August and 7^th November) were attempts to reassert the national interest against encroachments and interference from India (this statement is not intended as approval or disapproval of either of these events but simply of their occurrence as a factual and important part of our history. The question, however, needs to be posed whether the nationalist agenda could have reasserted itself so forcefully without these violent incidents having taken place. Similarly the ruthless suppression of communist revolutionary forces after Gen. Ziaur Rahman ascension to power could be described as a dire necessity since Indian infiltration into Bangladesh had been so extensive and pervasive that a lesser response may have been easily defeated) and Ershad is claimed to have wanted to establish another army division to thwart any possible invasion by Bangladesh's big neighbour. It is the AL and other leftist parties that have continually compromised on the national interest and security in order to serve their real masters in New Delhi.

The national interest and security involve by implication the most complex political, social, economic and military questions. It is for the country's political leadership to determine which economic or political system best serves the national interest or which social policies should be implemented to advance overall national well-being. There is no easy answer to these questions but what is needed is a set of practical policies that can produce a dynamic and fast growing economy that will sustain an educated and healthy workforce and in turn finance the internal and external security needs of the country. Sectional interests must not be allowed under any circumstances to become an obstacle or hindrance to national development and economic prosperity.

Gen. Ziaur Rahman, Gen. H.M. Ershad and Col. Syed Farook Rahman when they formed their political parties had these objectives in mind but gradually overtime the ideological elements of their party program became diluted and the pursuit of money became more important. While Gen. Ziaur Rahman and Col. Syed Farook Rahman were personally incorruptible their followers and the subsequent generations of leaders were far less inclined to follow this lead and became addicted to the pursuit of wealth and indirectly compromised on the fourth tenet of nationalism – national interest and security. It was with this new generation (especially in the case of the BNP) which saw the sidelining of committed nationalists and the promotion of the most disreputable and corrupted elements of the party and this is the surest sign of internal decay and clearly indicates the disintegration of the party as a united political force.

In conclusion one should evaluate where Bangladeshi nationalism stands today and especially in the light of the 1/11 change over. It is grievously unfortunate that even without the anti-nationalist parties (i.e. AL, JSD, Workers Party etc) at the helm of power Bangladesh has drifted very far away from all the four core principles of Bangladeshi nationalism. The most obvious failure of the caretaker administration in securing our national objectives appears to be the appeasement of India and the adoption of their foreign policy as our own. This assimilationist agenda has adversely affected our national interest and security and must be reversed if Bangladesh is to remain an independent nation. It is in the area of national security that Bangladesh must concentrate and policy-makers should not be fearful of offending India (which will naturally be the target of any security policy) since India has no qualms about offending Bangladesh which it often describes as a sponsor of terrorism and a threat to its security. The countering of Indian propaganda will also necessarily take a high priority in Bangladesh's security policy but New Delhi's canards against its neighbour has unfortunately been embraced by anti-nationalist parties such as the AL, JSD and Workers Party who have described the country as a hotbed of Islamic fundamentalism and an exporter of terrorism.

Bangladesh has yet to devise a security strategy even after almost 37 years of independence which is quite astonishing and at the same time completely unacceptable. One of the principal tasks of a government is to ensure the security of the nation from external threats and this can be best achieved if those responsible for the defense of the nation have a detailed security policy to guide them. National security in this broader sense refers to the requirement to maintain the survival of the nation-state through the use of economic, military and political power and the exercise of diplomacy. This may be accomplished on several different levels and should include the following –

using diplomacy to rally allies and isolate threats
maintaining effective armed forces
implementing civil defense and emergency preparedness measures
ensuring the resilience and redundancy of critical infrastructure
using intelligence services to detect and defeat or avoid threats and espionage, and to protect classified information
using counterintelligence services or secret police to protect the nation from internal threats

To implement these features effectively in Bangladesh would require a National Security Strategy to be devised. The first step would be to set up a National Security Council which will bring together in one place all the relevant agencies, bodies and experts on this vital issue. This would include the President, Chief Executive, Chiefs of the army, navy and air force, intelligence heads, other security officials belonging to law enforcement, diplomats and experts from various fields who will be called in as the need arises or be allotted to an advisory board attached to the NSC. The NSC would be assigned the responsibility for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising the chief executive on matters related to national security. At regular yearly intervals the NSC would prepare a National Security Strategy document that will guide all elements of our defence, security and intelligence apparatus and also influence the manner and conduct of our foreign policy. The advantages to such an approach would be consistency and comprehensiveness in our national security outlook. While I have tended to concentrate on the defence aspects of security the NSS would give equal priority to strengthening economic security, expansion of trade and investment, and promoting economic development. The NSS would provide guidelines and proposals on economic security, energy security, transport security and terrorism finance. This would involve the business community as stakeholders in the nation's security with direct input in policy formulation.

Probably the only reason that a National Security Strategy and NSC have yet to be established in Bangladesh is the apprehension of the adverse reaction it might generate in New Delhi. A truly nationalist party would disregard such considerations and put the nation's interest and security first. India has never compromised on its national security requirements which usually targets Bangladesh so there should not be any hesitation on this side of the border in doing the same in regard to our own defense needs. Critics may argue that this would undermine democracy and put too much power in the hands of the military. This ignores the fact that political parties have continuously undermined the national interest requiring occasional interventions by the army. To prevent such occurrences this paper argues for the institutionalization of the nationalist agenda so that each arm of the state apparatus and machinery works to fulfill that objective. It would, however, only work effectively under a democratic system as the people will be the final arbiters in determining if any particular government is actually living up to the nationalist ideal. An extended military role in state affairs should not be considered since the present army is not the same as the army of Gen. Ziaur Rahman, Col. Syed Farook Rahman and even Gen. H.M. Ershad which actually fought a war and understood the meaning of the words national interest and security (this statement will probably seem unpalatable to many because of certain actions taken by these individuals but those unfortunate but necessary incidents of our history constitute the basis of Bangladeshi nationalism and also its defence. There is some dispute whether the Jail Killing incident of November 3, 1975 falls into this category since many suspect that this was orchestrated by RAW to prevent a strong leadership emerging around Tajuddin Ahmed. The acquittal of 12 accused in the case by the High Court lends credence to this view). The present army although describing itself as modern and democratic is actually more a peacekeeping force having the mentality of compromisers. The army's approach to the national crisis since 1/11 has been superficial and wholly unprofessional (What is the objective and plan for this intervention and where is the exit strategy?). Rather than seeking the advice of committed nationalists and experts they have resorted to taking assistance from various individuals of dubious backgrounds and qualifications. A democratic political party representing the nationalist ideal would serve the nation better provided the top leadership remains incorruptible and appoints statesman to the helm of government affairs rather than amateurs and opportunists.

MBI Munshi

September 1, 2008

Dhaka

Facebook ID - Mohammad Munshi

__,_._,___

[mukto-mona] MUKTANGON BLOG - A PROMISING ONE.

Please visit :-

a) An interesting debate we recently had on socialism, party literature, role of political parties during the Emergency (by Incidental Blogger):
http://www.nirmaaan.com/blog/wordsandbites/98

b) A vivid and colorful recollection of festive boat race (noukabaich) in rural Bengal (by Rezaul Karim):
http://www.nirmaaan.com/blog/reza/194

c) An e-book on post 1/11 Caretaker Government which is now open for feedback from readers (by Imtiar Shamim):
http://www.nirmaaan.com/blog/admin/200

__,_._,___

Re: [ALOCHONA] Re: How Bangladesh should react to increasing influence of Islam

I will appreciate if you kindly explain from where you made a huge leap to conclude:

"There is no option for a true Muslim to be a secularist", and "Prophet Mohammed (sm) was not a secular, his shabi were not secular. Muslim Caliphates after prophet were not secular, ...".

I understand it is possible for different people (or party) to interpet Quaran in different ways (sometimes intentionally to satisfy their own ulterior motives and sometimes unintentionally without any ulterior motive), but I will apprecaite if you can provide some explanation of your conclusions which deos not necessarily agree with lot of conventional beleives.

Thanks,

- mashuque

----- Original Message ----
From: Mohammed Ramjan <mramjan@hotmail.com>
To: alochona@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, August 31, 2008 8:08:51 AM
Subject: RE: [ALOCHONA] Re: How Bangladesh should react to increasing influence of Islam

Despite of the subject/points for and against M. Anis and Ms Farida Majid, I have the followings:

There is no option for a true Muslim to be a secularist. Yeaa Kana budu – we only pray for you, Ibadat -which extend from personal life to statehood life.

Leading a multicultural life does not mean that a Muslim have to be secular.

Prophet Mohammed (sm) was not a secular, his shabi were not secular. Muslim Caliphates after prophet were not secular, how and from where some Muslims tend to be secular we do not understand. Western magnetic induced man and women can have such aqida which is far from Islam.

Secularist people can do all kinds of heinous act not the Islamist. Hitler Mussolini all was secular.

At the end I would request all the forum members to use modern English not the Victorian from which the west has shifted a long ago.

Thanks

Mohammed Ramjan Ali Bhuiyan

Kuwait

To: alochona@yahoogroup s.com
From: farida_majid@ hotmail.com
Date: Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:28:55 -0400
Subject: RE: [ALOCHONA] Re: How Bangladesh should react to increasing influence of Islam

Dear Anis saheb,

        I will comply with your request to explain the Qura'anic verse. Explicating the language of the Qur'an is always a pleasure, and in this case there could an additional reward of exposing the nature of falsehood, i.e., the basic premise of your mischievous piece. But I humbly refuse to engage in any "point by point" argument as per your invitation.

      Wa la talbisoo alhaqqa bilbaTili wa taktumoo alhaqqa wa antum t'alamoona [2:42]
And cover not Truth with falsehood, nor conceal the Truth when ye know (what it is).

       The verb root 'labasa' or 'cover' gives rise to other words such as 'lebaas' meaning cloth or clothes. So, here, 't-albisoo alhaqqa' meaning 'covering or cloaking the truth' indicates a strong sense of intentionality. In ...bil baTili ..., 'bi' is a frequently used preposition in Arabic most often translated in English as 'with'. The word 'baTil' can have many nuanced meanings such as 'falsehood', 'illegal' 'unjustified' 'harmful' etc.

       The verse, therefore, is more than a simple interdiction against lying. It captures the act of deceitful men succinctly and cautions against indulging in telling the worst kind lies -- that which cleverly and intentionally conceals the truth in order to cause unjustified harm. Your article, along with some of the Jamaati-style propaganda, is the best example of what the Qur'an has explicitly forbidden us to do.

      Your knowledge of Islam is indeed very poor otherwise you would not have used the word 'Islam' so indicriminately to describe such a variety of things ranging from dishonest political posturing, political propaganda, misogynistic politics and even the Arabic language of the Qur'an.

        To say that almost all Islam-'ponthi' people were against the independence of Bangladesh is one of the most insulting remarks to the sovreignty of Bangladesh, to the general populace of this populous country, and it is surely one of the most sinful lies one can possibly utter! It is also an unforgivable insult to the religion of Islam in Bangladesh.

         The truth is only a handful of crooks were involved in heinous activities during the 1971 War of Liberation intent on preventing the independence from Pakistan. And these crooks only pretended to be Pakistan's collaborators. They were much worse than that, and unfortunately they are still with us. Any good Muslim, anywhere in the world, would hesitate to call them co-religionists.

         Secularism, by the way, is a constitutional issue. It protects the rights of religions especially in a multicultural, multireligious country like Bangladesh.

         Thanks.

         Farida Majid

To: alochona@yahoogroup s.com
From: dr_anisur_rahman@ yahoo.com
Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2008 06:30:54 +0000
Subject: [ALOCHONA] Re: How Bangladesh should react to increasing influence of Islam

Dear Ms. Farida Majid,

It seems to me that your e-mail address has been hacked becuase it
looks unusual to me that a secularist like you are quoting from from
Quran. If it is not hacked, then the assumption I made in my article
that influence of Islam is increasing amoung Bangladeshis is true.

I do not know what the verse you mentioned means. My knowledge about
Islam is almost nil. Please give us a translation of it.

I will higly appreciate if you kindly let me know what are the
falsehoods I am trying to spread in my article. It contains 11
points and if you identify the point(s) you have question about, then
I will try to clarify my position.

Regards.

Anis

--- In alochona@yahoogroup s.com, Farida Majid <farida_majid@ ...>
wrote:
>
>
> How Bangladesh should react to such wicked exercise in
indecent exposure of lies?
> We should remind ourselves of the Qur'anic caution:
>
> Wa la talbisoo al-Haqqa bi alBaTili wa taktumu al-Haqqa wa
antum t'alamoona.
>
> --Sura
Baqarah, verse 42
>
> May Allah save us from such spread of falsehoods
that this author is spreading.
>
> -- Farida Majid
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Dear Alochoks,
>
> Like elsewhere in the world, the influence of religion is
increasing in Bangladesh. You will hardly find any mosque in Dhaka
in Friday which can provide space for all those who come to pray.
The spread of Hijab is also noticeable. Religion based political
parties are expanding their support base. It has posed a risk for
the country because countries like India are trying to create a
fundamentalist image of Bangladesh and using the rising Islam as a
tool for that. What should we do in this situation? I tried to
analyse it in my article published at:
>
> http://www.sonarban gladesh.com/ article.php? ID=235
>
> Please share your views on this critical issue.
>
> Regards.
>
> Anis
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _
> Get thousands of games on your PC, your mobile phone, and the web
with Windows®.
> http://clk.atdmt. com/MRT/go/ 108588800/ direct/01/
>

Talk to your Yahoo! Friends via Windows Live Messenger. Find Out How

__,_._,___

Daily Online Alochona

Banner Advertiser

Sunday, August 31, 2008

[mukto-mona] Re: When Will South Asia Learn to Use Its Abundant Resources of Solar Power Properly

[mukto-mona] Sign Petition Protesting Terror Against Christians in Orissa

[mukto-mona] Time to open the jail gates

Re: [mukto-mona] Atten: Dr Sukhamaya Bains

[ALOCHONA] Citizens condolence meet for Anwar Zahid: Unity of nationalist forces urged

[ALOCHONA] More than 75% Indians live below poverty line

[ALOCHONA] Fw: [notun_bangladesh] Why do foreign powers shore up dictatorships?

Re: [mukto-mona] Sara(h) Palin vs. Barak Obama!!

[ALOCHONA] A Nationalist Agenda for Bangladesh - By MBI Munshi Bar-at-Law

[mukto-mona] MUKTANGON BLOG - A PROMISING ONE.

Re: [ALOCHONA] Re: How Bangladesh should react to increasing influence of Islam

Blog Archive

Link List

Addvertise

Reffaral Link