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Monday, August 31, 2009

[mukto-mona] Shadhinota Chitona Moncho 3rd Anniual Aniv.Photos:Bapsnews [8 Attachments]

[Attachment(s) from HakikulIslam Chowdhury included below]

pls publish Shadhinotachtonamoncho 3rd annunial Ani.
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Attachment(s) from HakikulIslam Chowdhury

8 of 8 Photo(s)


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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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[mukto-mona] Destination mind.



Sometimes I wonder where is the real beauty is it inside me or outside? Swami Shantanand Swarasswati once came to my off in New York and talked about our mind and music. He said if our mind is inside us and all our thoughts springs from the mind then truly we live in our minds. Fine music is pure honey to nourish our minds. We were sitting in 87th floor of the Empire State Building on a deserted evening and swamiji said all roads leads to our mind where we meditate create and contemplate. The best place in our existence. Our nirvana is in the deep of our minds. So cultivate your mind and always travel into the deepest alleys of your mind. Your body is just a shadow, your real YOU is in your mind. This conversation came back into my mind while listening to Ravi Shankar and Anoushka's following sitar duet. What a powerful music to collect our scattered existence back to our minds. Listen to this.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KXk_8_8oLY&feature=related


Regards

Akbar Hussain






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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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[mukto-mona] MUSLIM DENIAL - THE FUEL OF FALSEHOOD: By Syed Akbar Ali



MUSLIM DENIAL - THE FUEL OF  FALSEHOOD

 

By Syed Akbar Ali

 

[Syed Akbar Ali is a noted writer and activist from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He can be contacted on ali.syedakbar@gmail.com]

 

"The Messenger will say

 

'My Lord,

 

surely my people

 

have taken the  Quran

 

for a joke" 

 

Surah 25:30.

 

 

I believe in Islam and the Quran because Islam is not a religion. It is a deen or a way of life. A lot of Muslim people will most likely get upset with what I write. This is a certainty. This is because they are in a state of denial.  They feel embarrassed to admit that the problem lies in their religion.  Especially the more religiously inclined among them know what it is to be embarrassed. This is because they themselves are experts at embarrassing people in their 'holier than thou' games. 

 

Therefore when you point out that they are also not exactly in the right way, they will disagree because they fear embarrassment.  This is an irrational fear because  it is better to realize mistakes now and remedy them than to flounder, fail and flop all over the place like fools.

 

There is nothing wrong with the human being. God says in the Quran that He made the human in a perfect form.   I have always wanted to have an extra pair of hands but we have to accept that God knows what He is doing.  There is nothing wrong with the human being.  The hardware is perfect.  Only the software can be corrupted – and it frequently is. What is put inside the human brain can make him a monster.  I believe all religious software – without exception – is corrupted.  But I believe in Islam and the Quran because Islam is not a religion. It is a deen or a way of life. The Quran is not a book of crazyhorse mantras but it is a book of guidance that the Muslims should hold in their hands like a map to find their way - everyday.

 

But the Muslims have left the Quran very far behind.

 

"The Messenger will say 'My Lord, surely my people have taken the Quran for a joke"  Surah 25:30.

 

This is the complaint of the Prophet himself. The prophet's inheritors will ignore the Quran.  But they will deny it vehemently.  The Shiahs are vehemently arguing that an eight year old child who disappeared down a well hundreds of years ago will emerge one day as the 12th Imam who will rule the world.  In Iraq the Shiahs and Sunnis are killing each other by the tens and hundreds everyday because of such beliefs.  They both deny that they are in the wrong. Both believe they are on the right path !

 

The Tabligh cult is now threatening knife fights at mosques because they too feel that they are on the right path and they do not like the path taken by others. A newsreport from the NST (circa March 2006) describes a tense situation in a mosque in Kelantan created  by two groups of religious folks – one group from the tabligh cult and the other group from the local mosque.  While the resident group was having its discussion, the visiting tabligh group decided that they were different  and started having their own sermon inside the same mosque. This almost led to a fight and police reports being lodged by both parties. From the news report it is obvious that two flavors  of religion inside the same mosque were an explosive mix. 

 

When it is pointed out to them that all the Islamic countries around the world are failing or have already failed, they deny it. They say it is because of Zionist conspiracies, Jewish conspiracies, Western conspiracies etc. It is everyone else's fault except theirs.  Many also feel that if the Islamic countries are collapsing it is because they do not uphold the religion how it should really be upheld.  They prescribe an even bigger dose of an even more concentrated form of their religion.  This is suicidal.  This is the Club of Doom.  They want to increase the levels of religious toxicity in their country.

 

In the book 'Warriors of the Prophet – The Struggle For Islam'  the writer Mark Huband quotes Nadia Yassine, the daughter of  Sheikh Abdesalam Yassine, the leader of the Moroccan Islamist Movement in the 1990s. Morocco has been ruled despotically by King Hassan since 1962. Hassan has used torture and long term imprisonment to suppress any opposition to his corrupt regime. And how does the Islamist movement want to save Morocco ?

 

"The world is becoming foolish. It's going too fast and if it's not slowed down there will be fewer and fewer people who can keep up with it. Economic inequality is monstrous. At the same time we want to return to spirituality. The Islamic movement is essentially spiritual.  And the great chaos we are living in is essentially spiritual….It is because religion alone can give people a new life".

 

And the cow jumped over the moon and the dish ran away with the spoon!   The only solution to get  out of being left out  of the economic inequality is to get fully involved  in the world economy. Muslims need to manufacture things, build cities, think creatively,  read and write freely,  vote in free and fair elections and do the million other things that the free world does. There is nothing spiritual about making a good quality car, serving your customers well or writing useful software.  To give people a new life, they need steady jobs, comfortable homes, schools with good teachers and books, hospitals and roads. That is how you give people a new life.  Religion cannot give people any type of life – other than misery and misfortune.

 

Many things have been tried so far to bring up the Islamic countries to be at par with the rest of the world.  But they have all failed.  The only thing that has not been tried on a sufficiently large scale is a critical and vigorous questioning of the religion itself.  People are afraid of questioning their religion because in many countries – including Malaysia – questioning the religion or criticising the religious authorities can result in prosecution and jail.  Thus are mistakes and wrong beliefs perpetuated.  As the very sick nursery rhyme goes "When the bough breaks the cradle will fall. Down will come baby cradle and all'. The devil is surely laughing from the treetops.

 

The denial syndrome – that there is nothing wrong with the Muslims and that everything is wrong with the rest of the world – not only afflicts knife wielding cults and fervent religionists in Morocco but also the cream  of the Muslim intelligentsia.  Here is Dr Abu Hamid Abu Sulayman from his book 'Crisis in the Muslim Mind'.  Dr Abu Hamid was the Rector of the International Islamic University here from 1988 until the demise of Anwar Ibrahim (circa 1998) and also Chairman of the International Institute of Islamic Thought.  I have quoted from Dr Abu Hamid's writing  at various places in this book. He has very correctly identified many weaknesses and failures of the Muslim ummah around the world but still the denial syndrome is evident. Despite saying that  "the thought of the ummah as it stands at present is in need of reform"  Dr Abu Hamid concludes his book by emphasizing that the role of the ummah  includes "guiding the future course of human civilization in fulfillment of the ummah's responsibility to correct the progress and thought of humankind."  Despite being unable to clothe itself or "even feed itself" he feels that the ummah is still responsible to correct humankind !   When Rudyard Kipling or the West makes statements like this we say that they are being arrogant. 

 

The Muslims have no choice but to learn to question their religious beliefs and especially to question their religious scholars. How many more hundreds of years are the Muslims going to wait in poverty, despair, violence and hatred – waiting for the right Imam to emerge from a well in the ground or for the right conditions to emerge for the restoration of their lost greatness ? 

 

The proper management of Communism has turned China into a giant in just 50 years.   They have got rid of religion and relied almost completely on science and common sense.  Their people are now enjoying growing standards of living, they appreciate art and culture and can look forward to an even better life over the next 50 years.  None of the Islamic countries can say the same thing about their past or their future.

 

Let us be honest and objective.  Will a Saudi Arabia even exist over the next 50 years ?  Many Arabs totally dislike the Saudis for naming their country after a family. The 'Al Saud' is a family name and is not the name of a country.  Imagine our country having a name like 'Al Mahathir Malaysia'.  Sounds ridiculous doesn't it ?  But this is what has happened in Saudi Arabia.  And today the Osama bin Ladins of the world and their mysterious "Al Qaeda" cohorts are already planning attacks and other forms of anarchy to oust the 'Al Saud' family from their perch in Saudi Arabia.  If they are successful, perhaps they will change the name of the country to  'Bin Ladin Arabia'. If they can do it once, why not twice ?  The present day Saudi Arabia is already a hotbed of Wahhabism –  a fanatic form of religion which has indeed been the incubator that has spawned the Osamas of the world.  Wahhabism has now spread all over the world including to Malaysia through subtle proselytizing by the Saudis.  The University of Medina in Saudi Arabia is the foremost school for exporting Wahhabism  all over the world.  Many students, including from Malaysia,  are given places by the Saudis to study at the University of Medina. The net result is that there now exists in Malaysia a significant presence of Wahhabi adherents who are beginning to be a cause for concern.  The proper name for Wahhabism is actually 'salafi' and many Wahhabis in Malaysia call themselves the salafis. 

 

Wahhabis feel that they are upkeepers of a more purer form of religion than other Sunnis. The Wahhabis believe that their version of religion is derived from the salaf or the earliest three generations that succeeded the prophet - the generation of the sahaba or companions, then the tabiin (second generation) and finally the tabii tabiin (third generation) after the Prophet. They reject many rituals and other understanding of religion which is practiced by the Sunnis which they say were liberal innovations or bida'a  that came after these three earliest generations. They use this word bida'a or liberal innovations very freely to describe many things that came into being after the first three generations.  Before and soon after Abdel Aziz Ibn Saud  the founder of Saudi Arabia established the Kingdom his supporters set off on murderous religious expeditions inside the land where they would wipe out entire villages including men, women and children who were not Wahhabis.  This was done to cleanse Saudi Arabia of bida'a.

 

The Deobandi  madrassas in India which have given birth to the Taliban and other terrorists are strongly Wahhabi influenced.  Beginning from the 1970s until now there are fights and clashes between the Wahhabis and the other Sunnis in India.  In India the Wahhabis also call themselves the 'Tauhidis' or monotheists. These are just different labels but they all profess Wahhabism.  I know of an ex-Wahhabi who ran away from India to Malaysia to avoid getting arrested after getting into a fight with Sunnis in India.

 

In the early 1960s the Ikhwan ul Muslimeen terrorist group in Egypt also became Wahhabi influenced.  In Malaysia their numbers are growing rapidly. In the Internet there are fierce debates and name calling between Malay Wahhabis and other Malay Sunnis.  There is bound to be a major clash between these groups some day.   Wherever Wahhabism has taken root there have been fights and clashes between them and the other Sunnis.  

 

Every year millions of followers of the sect of Ahlul Sunnah Wal Jamaah or Sunnis celebrate the birthday of the Prophet. This celebration is called Maulud Nabi and in many countries like Malaysia, India and Pakistan there are processions and vast gatherings held to celebrate the prophet's birthday.  These processions are actually a tradition popularized by the Turks from the time of the Ottoman Caliphate.  Again the Wahhabis term these processions and celebrations another example of bida'a  or liberal innovation.  During this year's Maulud Nabi in April 2006 in Pakistan a bomb exploded  at a gathering of people celebrating the Prophet's birthday. According to my Pakistani friends  on the Internet 48 people were killed and scores injured.  Normally religious killings in Pakistan take place between the Shias and the Sunnis but this time some accusing fingers have been pointed at the Wahhabi or Salafiyah movement in Pakistan who disagree that the prophet's birthday should be celebrated publicly with processions and gatherings.  The accusation against Wahhabi involvement in the bombing  is yet to be proved true but it is mind boggling  how much hatred can be generated in the warped minds of people in the name of their religion to the extent that they are willing to murder human beings just for celebrating someone's birthday.   These incredible hatreds are always lurking just below the surface and can explode at any time.  In Pakistan it is really scary to stop and think that neighbours may be planning each others' death and destruction over parades and beards.

 

In Saudi Arabia, the Wahhabis were actually put into power by the British during the 'Great Game' before World War Two.  But  Saudi Wahhabis  believe that God had chosen them to rule Saudi Arabia and inherit the oil wealth that flows in that nation.   Boosted by increasing oil prices which has made them among the wealthiest human beings on the surface of the earth, the Saudis are now convinced that their wealth is due to their upholding the true religion - wahhabi salafism.  They are really proud of their wealth (which is now actually starting to decrease) and they make no excuses to show it off. The more religious fanatics among them want to export this Wahhabi ideology to the rest of the ummah and cleanse the ummah of the  bidaa or liberal innovations. It is their fervent belief that it is because the ummah has strayed by upholding bidaa that the ummah is in such bad shape all over the world. Wahhabism will save the world.   Welcome to the Club of Doom again.

 

They are locked in a denial syndrome.  The Wahhabis feel that  the reason for the backward and poor condition of the ummah all over the world is non adherence to their purer form of religion. Hence they want to prescribe an even greater dosage  of an even more toxic form of religion – Wahhabism - as the great panacea for the ummah.  Doom, doom and more doom. That is Saudi Arabia and their Wahhabi fruitcake.

 

Closer to home Indonesia is still in turmoil.   Despite  three different presidents  after the long rule of President Suharto, Indonesia is yet to enjoy the benefits of a modern democratic  economy.   Complicating the situation in Indonesia is the rise of the religious faction which is taking full advantage of the new democratic  tradition to openly preach  their version  of religion.  Of course when they cannot click with reality  they can fall back on the tried and tested religious hate mongering that is the staple tool of so much religion  based politics. It is therefore not surprising that there are more religious clashes in Indonesia now.  A prime example is Bali. The island of Bali is not only blessed with beautiful beaches and sunshine but it is inhabited by Hindu Indonesians who have developed  on  an almost natural  attitude to be hospitable to visitors. Hence there is a thriving tourism industry on the island which ultimately provides the people of Bali more economic opportunities.  This has caused Bali to become a target of the hate mongers among the Sunni religious fanatics in Indonesia.  Hence we have seen the bomb blasts at the famous Kuta Beach in Indonesia where the Malaysian university lecturer Dr Azahari and his other Malaysian henchmen were involved as the bomb makers and plotters.  They believed that they were fighting for their religion. 

 

They will deny that their violent actions are totally useless and wrong. They will deny that there is anything wrong with them. 

 

To date Indonesians have exhibited significant amounts of religious tolerance towards people of other religions and also towards the various shades and sects of religion within Islam. But this seems to be breaking down.  Again in the characteristic of a Failed State where local religious authorities act independently of the Central Government  local governments and religious tribunals in Indonesia are imposing their own versions of religious laws but often backed by local enforcement.  Hence a preacher in East Java was thrown in jail for reading prayers in the local language instead of in Arabic.  Another man was sent to prison for five years for writing a book that was condemned as 'deviant' by the Indonesian Council of Ulama.  The religious authorities breathe in different oxygen altogether. They feel that they have the right to interpret things the way they want and take their own action without regard to the Central Government. Throughout the history of the Islamic nations this has always led to the break down of law and order and the eventual breaking up of their societies.

 

We have already described the newsreport about a tense situation in a mosque in Kelantan created  by two groups of religious folks – one group from the tabligh cult and the other group from the local mosque.  While the resident group was having its discussion, the visiting tabligh group decided that they were different  and started having their own sermon inside the same mosque. This almost led to a fight and police reports being lodged by both parties. From the news report it is obvious that two flavors  of religion inside the same mosque were an explosive mix.  These types of clashes and violence between the members of the same religion takes place because the ummah is in a state of denial.  Each sect, flavor or cult feels that the fault lies in the other fellow. "We are the best and we are on the right path".  This type of dysfunctional behaviour ultimately leads to nowhere except violence and doom.  But again the majority of the ummah will deny that their religion causes problems.  "Why do you want to mengaibkan or highlight our differences?" will be their retort. Just sweep everything under the rug.

 

 

I now live in Bukit Jalil, close to a large mosque  which is the largest center for the tabligh cult in Malaysia.  Living so close I inevitably get to meet some of these people. They are perfectly normal human beings at least when  they come to eat  at the restaurants or when they come to board the train at the LRT stations.  A group of seven of these karkuns – a strange name they call themselves now – were on the train. They were from Southern Thailand. They were obviously very poor people but they had been on a religious journey – away from home – for four months. They were rubber tappers and farmers. One of the karkuns, in his mid 30s said that he had six children to feed back home. He said his one room attap house was no bigger than the train compartment we were sitting in. Upon asking who was taking care of the six kids for four months while he was away, he smiled widely and said 'My wife'.  When I asked 'how does your wife earn money when you are away for four months ?' he replied 'God will provide. Besides it is the rainy monsoon season now and I cannot tap rubber. This is a good time for me to travel on tabligh'. 

 

This is the type of  frightening answers you can get from these religious folks. They are high on some strange religious 'spirit' which simply numbs them to the real world.  The greatest commitment  which the human being should uphold is to take care of his wife and children.  But they can just drop all their responsibilities and go traipsing around the world, wasting their lives and even causing tensions in the mosques. A totally useless bunch of fruitcakes. 

 

The Muslims have been brainwashed into denying  that they may be upholding something that is less than good.  Another example is their complicated  rules about marriage.   Two recent cases have been reported in the Press where young Muslim couples have run into problems trying to get married because their fathers' consent had not been obtained.  Society should protect its young girls  from being 'carried away' by unscrupulous suitors but at the same time women who are mature enough to get jobs, rent houses and take care of themselves in adult life should exercise their right  to get married.  But this is not the case according to the Shafi sect. According to the Shafi sect, a girl who wants to get married must get the consent of her 'wali' or guardian – starting first with her father. If she has no father it can be a 'brother' or her paternal uncles.  She cannot get herself married. 

 

This is not written anywhere in the Quran.  According to the well known book 'Shariah The Islamic Law' by Abdul Rahman I. Doi the concept of guardian or wali for marriage rites varies according to the different sects.  Muslims the world over are divided into numerous sects. The largest two are the Ahlul Sunnah Wal Jamaah and the Syiah.  The Ahlul Sunnah Wal Jamaah are further divided into the Shafi, Hanafi, Maliki and Hanbali sects. The Shafi and Maliki sect require the consent of the wali as a necessity for a young woman to get married.  But the Hanbali and Hanafi schools merely require the consent 'as a condition'.  The Hanafi and Maliki place greater emphasis on the actual marriage proposal and the acceptance.

 

But in Malaysia we think that our marriage rules are written in stone.   There was a case in Malaysia where because of certain family issues, a father refused to consent to his daughter getting married.  The girl had to go to the trouble of suing the father in the religious court to compel him to consent to her marriage.  In the end the girl did get married but it has possibly estranged her relationship with her father almost permanently.  This issue would not have arisen if the girl was a legal adult and the father's consent was not required.

 

In another more terribly sad case, a 23 year old nurse had forged a death certificate claiming her father was dead and therefore unable to consent to her marriage to a young man. For reasons best known to her, she did not want to seek his consent to get married.  When the father found out  he applied to the religious authorities who promptly annulled her marriage – notwithstanding the fact that the young woman was now two months pregnant.  This is a nightmare.  What becomes of her child if her marriage is annulled ?  Is there any legal authority anywhere in the world who can prevent the girl from remarrying her ex husband again ?  Surely her baby will need a father.  Where has justice been served by annulling a marriage between a man and an adult woman and  denying a child a father all because the bride's father was upset his proper consent was not obtained ?  It is obvious now that while the father derives some strange satisfaction from seeing his pregnant daughter's marriage annulled the daughter will remember this predicament and bear the stigma for the rest of her life. Is this how we hope to establish  an exemplary ummah and be a shining beacon for the rest of the world ?  The world does not care for this type of ludicrous behaviour. If at all, the world will only stop to laugh at the antics of the Muslims.  Again this type of sad story would not have happened if the father's consent was not required.  The girl was already 23 years old, a legal adult and working as a nurse.

 

From my own experience I once assisted a young girl in a family who was to be married.  Her father had passed away but she had her mother, sister and a whole bunch of maternal uncles here in Kuala Lumpur. Belonging to the Hanafi sect she would have had no problems at all getting married  because the Hanafi sect does not make marriage so difficult.  Unfortunately for her in Kuala Lumpur the religious authority is  from the Syafie sect. The presence of her mother and her maternal uncles was of no use to the Syafie sect.  She had no choice but to obey the requirements of the Syafie sect. This is where the circus started.  Since her father had passed away but her paternal uncle was alive, the Syafie sect  required that a paternal uncle 'consent' to her getting married. The paternal uncle was an oafish moron who had estranged himself  from the family and lived in Singapore and did not want to journey to Kuala Lumpur to help her out.  I had to assist the young girl write appealing letters  to her uncle as well as the religious authorities to expedite her desire to get married.  Official forms had to be obtained, sent to the uncle in Singapore who then had to go to the Majlis Agama Islam Singapura (MUIS) and attest that he consented to her marriage. The forms then had to be dispatched by the MUIS to the religious department in Kuala Lumpur and acknowledged by the local religious authority before the marriage could be solemnized. This process took about three months.  All this just to get married. They do tie themselves up in knots.

 

But what beguiles me - as I have quoted from Abdul Rahman I Doi's book above -  is that this need not always be the case. According to Abdul Rahman Doi, in the other sects like the Hanafis and the Hanbalis the consent of the guardian wali is not required for marriage to the same extent as the Shafi sect or the Maliki sect.  But don't we all serve the same God and believe in the same Islam ? The degree of difficulty one has to endure to get married seems to depend on which sect or old scholar you choose to follow.  Where is the role of God and Islam within this scheme of things ? 

 

But the Muslims are in a state of denial.  To them everything is hunky dory fine and well.  Even when they tie themselves into knots and fall down, to them it is alright.  They are falling down in the name of their religion. But, as I said before, Islam is not a religion. It is a deen or a way of life.

 



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Mukto Mona plans for a Grand Darwin Day Celebration: 
Call For Articles:

http://mukto-mona.com/wordpress/?p=68

http://mukto-mona.com/banga_blog/?p=585

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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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[mukto-mona] Re: [Members] Information needed for Database onDiasporaphilanthropy/charity



Appreciate you all using my personal email arif.sahm@gmail.com going forward. encourage not to use this office email.
 
Thanks for your understanding.
 
Arif S Ahmed


From: members-bounces@mail.drishtipat.org [mailto:members-bounces@mail.drishtipat.org] On Behalf Of Ansar Ahmed Ullah
Sent: Monday, August 31, 2009 10:24 AM
To: Sadia Faruque; members@mail.drishtipat.org
Cc: info@freedomfound.org; asif.saleh@drishtipat.org
Subject: Re: [Members] Information needed for Database onDiasporaphilanthropy/charity

You maybe interested to know we are organising a NRB seminar in London on 3 Sept. Your London representatives are most welcome to attend where you will meet Bengali diaspora representatives. Will forward details.
 
Ansar 
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, August 30, 2009 11:36 AM
Subject: [Members] Information needed for Database on Diasporaphilanthropy/charity

Dear Friend,
 
We are writing to seek your assistance in compiling information on Bangladeshi Diaspora (Non-Resident Bangladeshi) philanthropic initiatives for a project being jointly undertaken by the Bangladesh Freedom Foundation (
www.freedomfound.org) and Drishtipat (www.drishtipat.org).
 
Remittances from Bangladeshi migrants play a critical role in the country’s economy with its contributions to the development budget estimated to be ranging from 30% to 40%. While most of the remittances are directed at the household level, a very small portion is said to be transferred in the form of individual and faith-based charity. There is also a gradual increase in the number of Non-Resident Bangladeshi (NRB) or Diaspora groups organizing and arranging for collective transfer of resources for development purposes in their home country beyond individual to individual giving. Organized Diaspora philanthropy remains largely untapped, not well documented and an area with potential for further organizing and strengthening.
 
To address this knowledge gap, the Bangladesh Freedom Foundation and Drishtipat are undertaking research for building a database on Diaspora philanthropic organizations and select case studies with the long term objective of increasing the flow of information, resources, knowledge, and expertise. The research is being supported in part by a grant from the Asia Pacific Philanthropy Consortium (www.asiapacificphilanthropy.org).
 
As a first step we are requesting for information on different Bangladeshi Diaspora philanthropic initiatives and organizations that you may be involved with or are aware of. We would greatly appreciate any contact information and website addresses that you can share with us and also if you could share this letter with your friends and colleagues so that we can reach a wider audience.  We hope that this will help more Diaspora members to contribute to Bangladeshi causes in an informed manner. 
 
If you know of or are a part of any organization who is engaged in philanthropic or charitable programs in Bangladesh from abroad, it would be greatly appreciated if the organization’s name and contact email address/phone number/website can be emailed to sadia@drishtipat.org by September 15, 2009.

Thank you again for your time in this matter and we look forward to your continued cooperation.
 
Sadia Faruque
Project Coordinator
 
On behalf of,
 
Asif Saleh                                                                                                             Safi Rahman Khan
Executive Director                                                                                                  Executive Director
Drishtipat                                                                                                              Bangladesh Freedom Foundation
asif.saleh@drishtipat.org                                                                                        ed@freedomfound.org

  
The Bangladesh Freedom Foundation is an independent grant making organization that supports the growth and advancement of philanthropy in Bangladesh towards freeing people from poverty, ignorance, and oppression.
 
Drishtipat is a non-profit, non-partisan volunteer organization committed to safeguarding human rights in Bangladesh through action-oriented projects funded by its Diaspora Bangladeshi members and implemented by its Bangladesh based partner organizations.


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Mukto Mona plans for a Grand Darwin Day Celebration: 
Call For Articles:

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http://mukto-mona.com/banga_blog/?p=585

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Sunday, August 30, 2009

[ALOCHONA] Urgency of tackling climate change




WITH the clock ticking and less than a hundred days to go until ministers from around the world meet at the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, now is the time for the UK and [South Asia/India/Bangladesh] to work together to get a climate deal that is fair to the region's economy and its people.
 
 
Bangladesh is suffering the most because of climate change. Photo: Adnan/ Drik News


We are here in South Asia to hear what climate change means for millions of people in India and Bangladesh. For this region, the case for the urgency of tackling climate change is beyond question.

Flooding of the Kosi river over the past two years has driven millions from their homes in Nepal and Bihar. Cyclones Aila and Nargis have killed thousands and displaced millions more in Burma, Bangladesh and West Bengal.

Torrential rains have caused terrible landslides across the Himalayas. And now a weakened monsoon is causing a drought, which threatens hundreds of millions of farmers all over India, Bangladesh and Nepal. Once again, the number of farmer suicides is increasing.

While none of these natural disasters can be directly attributed to climate change, scientists predict that they will become more frequent and more severe unless we act. Alongside the terrible human toll, these disasters exact an economic cost -- with the loss of economic growth in South Asia from environmental causes equivalent to double that from the global economic crisis, each and every year.

It is the poorest who are most vulnerable to these natural disasters. And it is the poorest who are most severely affected by climate change. They must be at the forefront of our minds as we decide what sort of deal we want at Copenhagen. Doubly so, because they have done the least to cause the problem and their voices are rarely heard in the negotiations or the media.

It is their voice we have come to South Asia to hear. Yet we have also come to listen to those communities, businesses and Governments around the region who are pioneering responses to climate change. From sustainable forestry in Nepal, to flood-resistant crops in Bangladesh, to renewable energy production in India, there is much to learn.

We can also draw encouragement and optimism that the world is taking the issue more seriously. In July world leaders, including Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Gordon Brown, agreed to strive to keep global temperature rise within a 2 degrees threshold, beyond which the risks of dangerous climate change rise significantly.

As well as coming to listen, we have also come to South Asia to explain that we recognise the role that developed countries must play in facing up to our duties to help solve the problem of climate change. And we are here to work with the Indian and Bangladeshi Governments, to help secure an ambitious, fair and effective deal in Copenhagen.

Firstly, the UK recognises developed countries' historic responsibility for climate change. The developed world must lead in the response and must do more. That means ambitious commitments to reduce emissions, including from the United States and Europe. The UK has set out plans to reduce its emissions by one third by 2020 compared to 1990 and our Climate Change Act puts our stringent targets in legislation. We are prepared to go even further as part of a global deal.

Secondly, developed countries must meet our commitment to provide the finance and technology to help developing countries address the challenges of climate change. Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently launched a climate finance initiative which put a global figure of around $100 billion every year by 2020 to help developing countries address climate change, including adapting to its impacts. Finance needs to flow in the context of an ambitious global deal.

Thirdly, on the basis that action must be lead by developed countries, we recognise that at this stage, developing countries in South Asia will not take on national emission reduction targets. But equally, we know that allied to strong action by developed countries, we need developing countries to pursue a low carbon development path if we are to have a hope of tackling the problem of climate change.

That is why it is welcome that India is taking important steps to increase the use of renewable energy, particularly solar power, to increase the energy efficiency of its economy and to increase forest cover. It is demonstrating the carbon savings that can be achieved through these actions. But it is taking these steps to put its economy onto a low carbon path because it recognises the benefits for its energy security and sustainable development.

Bangladesh, a very low-energy consuming country, is pursuing a low-carbon growth path whilst building its resilience to climate change, reducing the risks climate change poses to national development.

This is the kind of action, which the UK stands ready to assist. We are keen to learn how, as part of a global climate deal, we can help India and Bangladesh to build on these plans, thereby helping to tackle together the climate challenge and lift millions more out of poverty.

We are here together because we recognise that whilst we cannot hope to eliminate poverty in South Asia without facing this global climate challenge; neither can we hope to achieve a global climate deal without facing this region's development challenge.

The decisions made in December at the climate conference will be some of the most important the world will take for decades and are vital for the future security and prosperity of South Asia.

We look forward to all countries playing their part in an outcome at the Copenhagen climate change talks, which is good for development and good for the future sustainability of our planet.



To know more about UK's position at Copenhagen, visit: www.actoncopenhagen.gov.uk.

The Rt Hon Douglas Alexander is UK Secretary of State for International Development, and The Rt Hon Ed Miliband is UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=103678




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[ALOCHONA] Will it happen?



Time is a crucial factor in every crime. Time soothes pain and removes scars. High profile criminals become ordinary human beings and their crimes lose attention and victims become generous and forgiving. The memories of Holocaust remained a matter of great concern to the Jews because they are still afraid of annihilation by their adversaries. The Jews due to their constant fear to be overwhelmed by their mortal enemies, the Arabs, politically keep this memory of the Holocaust alive to draw world attention for support and help. The genocide in Bangladesh in 1971 and its local henchmen Jamate Islami is not a matter to be washed away by time. The long expected trial should have taken place long ago and the Awami League had two stints of power in the country to finish this trial. In the third stint of power there was promise and some movements in this respect. But politics does not have morals always. After 39 years the demand is there but will is not strong enough to conduct the trial. Late Gen.Ziaur Rahman was a freedom fighter himself but did not show any interest in matter. During the tenure of Begum Zia she herself became a company of the collaborators. We also should not forget that even Awami League itself made a political understanding with the collaborators when they had power before. The Jamate Islami has made many calculated inroads into many strategic national sectors under the umbrella of BNP and now is in a position to dictate or threaten the present government. In the present circumstances it will need tremendous audacity and will power to conduct this long awaited trial. The spectre of Islamic fundamentalism has spread its tentacles everywhere and this has gained some satanic powers to dictate some terms. The nation will be relived if the collaborators are really put into trial but how far this will happen is a matter of guess for many.

 

Akbar Hussain

Canada

 



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Re: [ALOCHONA] Orign of the Tribes of Chittaging Hill Tracts (CHTs)



Goebbelsian Isha

Can you ask your mate Abid to footnote his story. Without footnotes or source informations (original or secondary) this is worthless.




 

-----Original Message-----
From: Isha Khan
Sent: Aug 28, 2009 9:01 PM
To: Dhaka Mails
Subject: [ALOCHONA] Orign of the Tribes of Chittaging Hill Tracts (CHTs)

 


By Abid Bahar, Canada

Introduction:Arakan was a medieval kingdom located at the edge of South Asia became a province of Burma after the Burmese invasion in 1784 and the subsequent annexation of it with Burma. To the people of India and Bangladesh, Arakan became sadly memorable for the tragic massacre of the Moghul prince Shah Suja and his entire family by the Arakanese king Sandathudamma.

It is important to note that Shah Suja before taking shelter in Arakan was the Moghul Govornor of Bengal (1639-60) and was being chased by the Moghal General Mir Jumbla. Suja was given the assurance of assylum by the Arakanese Mogh king. However, soon after his arrival in Arakan, Suja was robbed and then in 1661 at the order of the king the entire family was massacred. This tragic event triggered anger and frustration both in Arakan among Suja’s followers that accompanied him and also in the Moghul capital Delhi against the brutal murder of the royal family. Subsequent to the death of Shah Suja, the Moghals led a campaign led by Shah Suja’s uncle Shaista Khan who reconquered Chittagong. After the massacre of the Moghul prince and the chain of events of repeated uprising led to internal chaos in Arakan. At the same time, with the mighty Moghul presence in the Bay, Arakan lost its lucrative revenue from piracy and of slave trade. The new circumstances brought an end to the infamous â€Å“Golden age” of Arakan that survived through causing human suffering and misery.

In our contemporary period the event of Suja and the massacre of his family is not the reason why understanding the dynamics of ethnic relations in Arakan and by extention in Burma becomes so central; it is largely to watchfully understand the roots of racism in Arakan and to recognize the refugee production trends of the region. Indeed, Alamgir Serajuddin expresses rather bluntly the reasons behind the Arakan problem by saying, "The Arakanese [Rakhines] were a daring and turbulent people, a terror at once to themselves and to their neighbours. They fought among themselves and changed masters at will. Peace at home under a strong ruler signaled danger for neighbours."(1) True, Arakan a kingdom based essentially on slave trade when it had strong leader was a constant threat to its neighbors for its robbers but taking advantage of the internal chaos there led the Burmese occupation of Arakan and the subsequent neglect under the Burmese rule and the continued Burmese annexation of the Arakani territory subsequently turned Arakan into a tiny and backward province of Burma-no doubt it is the price of being disorderly.

Despite its present improvised existance, Arakan continued to make headlines in the international media not for any glorious present but for producing refugees. The people that have been exterminated are no more the Moghs but are the Rohingyas of northern Arakan. They complain that Rakhine hoodlums along with the Burmese military are involved in a war of intimidation against them. Rohingyas have been taking shelter in Southern Chittagong. Burmese Military government and their Mogh collaborators claim that these refugees are â€Å“Chittagongnian people”originally from Bangladesh. Contrary to the claim, surprisingly even the more recent, the 1978 Rohingya refugees were found to carry Burmese National Registration cards. (2) But in the 1991-92’s there was the fresh eviction of refugees, the latter Rohingyas arrived in Bangladesh without the NRC cards. Rohingya leaders claim that the NRCs were being confiscated before the eviction.

Chris Lewa of Forum Asia says Rohingyas were â€Å“… being discriminated against on the basis of their ethnicity and religion. They have been excluded from the nation-building process in Myanmar and the military regime has implemented policies of exclusion and discrimination against this group aimed at encouraging them to leave the country. These systematic policies have maintained underdevelopment and have been the driving force behind two mass refugee exoduses to Bangladesh, in 1978 and again in 1991/92. The combination of human right violations the Rohingya face -- from the denial of legal status to restriction of movement and economic constraints -- creates food insecurity and makes life in Northern Rakhine State untenable for many. Chris Lewa adds, â€Å“Rohingya children, in particular, are innocent victims suffering from the debilitating consequences of these government policies, which dramatically affect their physical and mental development, and will have long-lasting effects for the future of the Rohingya community.” (3)

It appears that the influx of refugees from Burma is not a new phenomenon. The present research findings show that Burmese invasion of Arakan resulting in the creation of refugees has been a cronic problem in this region. Even before 1978 mass eviction of the Rohingyas, historically there had been large scale refugee movements to Chittagong of Bangladesh. As a result of the historic Burmese invasions of Arakan, in addition to the contemporary Rohingyas exodus, it even led to the rise of Arakani origin population in southern Chittagong and in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. Among them are the Chakmas (Northern Chittagong Hill Tracts), Rakhines (In Cox̢۪s Bazar), Marma (In Banderbon), Tanchainga (in the central Chittagong Hill Tracts).

Burmese Invasions of Arakan

Among the many Burman invasions, there had been three major recorded attacks on Arakan. First was by Anawrahta in 1044 A.D. and the second invasion was by Min Khaung Yaza̢۪s invasion in 1406 and the third major invasion was by Budapawa in 1784.

Anawrahta̢۪s Invasion of Arakan (1044)

Anawrahta (1044-77), by killing his own brother claimed the throne of Northern Burma for himself. He made Theravada Buddhism as the dominant political religion of Burma. It was in 1044 A.D. he invaded Arakan. Anawrahta, who also destroyed the Mon kingdom in the South, was known as one of the most violent kings of Burma. Ironically he also introduced Buddhism in Burma. He gave Buddhism, (originally a nonviolent religion,) a racial and political dimention in Burmese politics.

Anawrahta was known as a â€Å“religious fanatic” and his attack of Northern Arakan left some mark in this direction. At this time, the Chandra-Rohingyas (Hindu-Muslim mixed) population of Arakan were concentrated in the north was racially different from the Burmese population. The xenophobic king invaded Arakan as a mission to bring change from an Indianized population into an Asian variety and helped settle Tabeto-Burman Buddhist population. It was during his time that Chakmas, although racially mongoloid, but speaking a Chandra- Chittagonian language even felt threatned by the xenophobic invasion, left Arakan for Southern Chittagong.

King Min Khaung Yaza̢۪s Invasion of Arakan (1406)

In 1406 A. D., the second Burmese invasion was led by the Burmese King Min Khaung Yaza. As a consequence, Noromi-kala, the king of Arakan along with his large followers took asylum at Gaur, the court of Bengal sultan Gaisuddin Azam Shah. This invasion also led to a large scale influx of people who were the followers of the king to settle in Bengal.

In 1430 A. D., after 24 years of exile in Bengal, Sultan Jalal uddin Khan sent his General "Wali Khan as the head of 20 thousand pathan army" to restore Noromikla to his throne. Noromi Kla now takes the name Sulauman Shah and becomes the king. He shifted his Captial to a new palace site in Mrohaung.

In 1431 General Wali Khan removes Noromi Kla and rules Arakan. General Wali Khan, the first independent Muslim ruler of Arakan. He first introduced Persian as the official language of Arakan. Noromi-kla again escapes to Bengal to seek help from the Sultan of Bengal.

1433 Nadir Shah, the Bengal Sultan sent General Sindhi Khan with 30,000 solders to help restore Noromi -kla as the king. After this event, Arakan becomes a province of Bengal. Wali Khan was killed in the battle and his followers were allowed to settle near Kalander River. In return for the help, the Arakannse king promised to return the twelve feuds of Chittagong, which most likely be the the whole of southern Chittagong that was then under Arakanese rule. Arakan began to pay annual taxes and Persian continued to be used as the court language. The consequence of the retaking over of Arakan by Noromi -kla with the help of the Muslim army had the effect of the settlement of a great number of Rohingya Muslim population in Arakan. (4)

Budapawa̢۪s Invasion of Arakan (1784)

The 1784 Burmese invasion of Arakan was considered by historians as a genocide for its ruthlessness massacre of Arakanese population of both Rohingya and Rakhine groups. In the month of December, 1784 Burmese king Budapawa attacked Arakan with 30,000 soldiers and returned with 20,000 people as prisoners, destroyed temples, shrines, mosques, seminaries, and libraries including the Royal library. Muslims serving the Royal palace as ministers were also massacred.

The Burmese king in order to put down the Arakanese Buddhist spirit also took away Mohamuni, the famous Buddhist statue, a symbol of Arakanese pride of independence. The Mohamuni was cast in bronze amd colored in gold. It was sent across the mountains of Taungpass. There were hundreds of Moghs and Muslims forced to carry the statue to Burma through the inacessable mountanious pass which led to the death of hundreds as they were on their way to Burma. The kings advise to his invading commenders that "If one cuts down the 'Kyu' reed, do not let even its stump remain." Ga Thandi, the king of Arakan took shelter with his followers in the deep jungles of Chittagong where his decendents still live in Bandarbon. They now call themselves as the Marma. Interestingly, among the people Budapawa carried with him were Rohingyas, a British scholar visiting Burma in 1799 met some people who identified themselves as the Rohingyas. (5)

During the time of the Burmese invasion of Arakan, Chittagong came under the British rule. The British never attempted to rescue the Arakani king to his throne. To escape the brutal attack of the Burmese King both Muslims and Hindus of Arakan fled to safety in Chittagong. Puran Bisungri, a Hindu Rohingya "was an officer of the police station of Ramoo."He was born in Arakan and fled the country after Burmese invasion in 1784.” (5) Harvey says, traditionally Burmese cruelty was such that " to break the spirit of the people, they would drive men, women and children into bamboo enclosures and burn them alive by the hundreds." This resulted in the depopulation of minority groups such that "there are valleys where even today the people have scarcely recovered their original numbers, and men still speak with a shudder of 'manar upadrap' (the oppression of the Burmese)."(6)

During the invasion of Arakan, the Burmese king took with him 3,700 Muslims and settled them in Mandalay. Some of them were known to even become the Ministers to the Burmese king. The decendents of the 3,700 Muslims are known as Thum Htaung Khunya (Three thousand seven hundred). For the continued oppression, in Southern Chittagong, a term was coined for Arakan of now Burma as the "Moghur Mulluk" meaning the land of lawless people, generally referring to the Burmese oppression of the time. The Arakaniese Muslims and Hindus that continued to escape to Chittagong ro settle there were called by the Chittagonian Bengalis as the â€Å“Rohi.” "During the seven years of their operation, the population of Arakan was reduced by no less than half. During the early months of 1884, a quarter of a million {refugees took shelter} in the English territory of Chittagong."(7)

The oppression of the Burmese became clear from what refugees had to say at the time: We will never return to the Arakan country; if you choose to slaughter us here we are willing to die; if you drive us away we will go and dwell in the jungles of the great mountains.(8) It was during this time that Rakhines of Bangladesh in the Cox̢۪s Bazar area, Rohingyas in great numbers and some smaller Arakani tribes also took shelter in Chittagong. The most significant rise of nonBengali settlement in Chittagong took place due to this Burmese genocide that took place in 1784.

Brithish rule (1826 AD - 1942 AD)

After the Burmese conquest of Arakan, the Burmese king demanded the fugitives be returned. In 1824 a decisive war between the Burmese and the British took place resulting in the British occupation of Arakan. By now due to the merciless massacre, Arakan almost became depopulated. "When the British occupied Arakan, the country was a scarcely populated area. Formerely high- yield peddy fields of the fertile Kalandan and Lemro river valleys germinated nothing but wild plants for many years. (9)

Mogh Memories of the past and the rise of anti-Rohingya racist jolts and shaking in Arakan.

It was in the Kalandan and Lemro river valleys where Rohingya Muslims were farmers and peasants. There were fewer people to cultivate the land. Rakines males normally love to enjoy entertainment than do the hardwork. Rohingyas were the hardworking peasants.The British adopted the policy â€Å“to encourage the ...inhabitants from the adjacent areas to migrate into fertile valleys in Arakan as agriculturists. ... A Superndent, later an Assistant commisioner of Bengal, was sent in 1828 for the administration of Arakan Division, which was divided into three districts repectively,: Akyab, Kyaukpyu, and Sandoway, with an assistant commissioner in each district.”(10) After the British conquest, despite the memories of horror, but naturally out of nostalgia, some Rakhines and Rohingya refugees from Chittagong returned to Arakan. Aye Chan, a xenophobic Rakhine writer calls these returnees as the settlements of foreigners in Arakan. He calls them as â€Å“Influx Viruses.” Surprisingly, he remains silent to the Rakhine returnees to Arakanese returning home. He also finds the huge Rakine (Mogh) and Rohingya settlement in Southern Chittagong due to Budapawa’s genocide as normal. He characterizes the slight increase in the Muslim population in Arakan after the British conquest as the settlement by "Chittagonian Bengali Muslims."(11) Aye Chan's claim of these people as being Chittagonians is due to the fact that he didn’t take into account the fact that many of the original uprooted people of Arakan returned to Arakan to claim their possessions. Given such a disturbing climate in Arakan after such a destruction by the Burmese king, one wonders, why Chittagonians living in a relatively peaceful region would migrate to Arakan. Naturally, the Muslim migrants were the original Rohingya inhabitants of Arakan returning to their ancestral homes. It is evident from the fact that in the aftermath of the genocide, despite the return of order by the British occupation, but the fear of uncertainity still persisted and the returnees driven by nostalgia and even many other Rohingyas preferred to work in Arakan only as "seasonal labourers."

1930 and 1938 anti Indian riots.

In the meantime, there was 1930 and 1938 anti Indian riots and Burma for Burmese campaign led by the Monks made Muslims of Arakan felt the threat of their existence in Burma but the British census at this time made things more complicated for the Arakani Rohingyas. The British identified the Rohingyas of Arakan as the Indian Muslims.

Japanese Rule (1942-1945)

The next large scale migration of Rohingyas to Chittagong took place during World War 11. In 1942 Japan occupied Burma and the ultra-nationalist Buddhists jointly massacred the Karens, the Mons and in Arakan the Rohingyas. Feeling the threat of extinction, and certain Rakhines determined to drive out the Muslims of Arakan, Muslim leaders officially took the already existing name for their suffering community as the â€Å“Rohingyas.” However, Rohingyas were conveniently identified by the Rakhine extremists as being the â€Å“Chittagonians.” During the time of Japanese occupation, the number of Rohingya death in Arakan was staggering to be over 100,000. Rohingyas call the event as the "Karbalai Arakan," the bloodshed in Arakan. (12)

In 1942 when the British withdrew from Arakan, the Japanese immediately took over control of Arakan. The Arakanese xenophobic hoodlums began to incite people with the slogan, "our brothers came, and your brothers left you." The hoodlums began to attack the Muslim villages in souhern Arakan and the Rohingya Muslims fled to the North where they took vengeance on the Rakhines in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships(13) Ashraf Alam provides a list of 294 villages destroyed in the pogroms of 1942: (a) Myebon in Kyaukpru District 30 villages; (b) Minbya in Akyab District 27 villages; (c) Pauktaw in Akyab District 25 villages; (d) Myohaung in Akyab District 58 villages; (e) Kyauktaw in Akyab District 78 villages; (f) Ponnagyun in Akyab District 5 villages; (g) Rathedaung in Akyab District 16 villages; and (h) Buthidaung in Akyab District 55 villages. (14) In 1950, a memorandum by the public of Maungdaw demanded the protection of fundamental rights and demanded an unconditional repatriation of Rohingyas from Chittagong. Yoger claims that during this time the Arakani Muslim migration to Chittagong was at 20,000.(16)

There was no action taken by the British to bring the Rohingya refugees back to Arakan. But due to this event, the Rakhine-Rohingya relations deteriorated further. Aye Chan says: "It is certain that hundreds of Muslim inhabitants of southern Arakan fled north. â€Å“(15). At the same time Chan from his chauvinistic believes contradicted himself by saying that Rohingyas in Butheding, Maungdaw etc. areas in the north bordering Bangladesh are migrants from Chittagong. In this Chan seems to have failed to keep consistency in his arguments.

Rohingya Refugees in Chittagong during U Nu̢۪s period (1948-1962)

In 1948 Burma became independent from British rule. Rohingyas again began to be protectionless. Aung San became Burma's democracy leader. He was trying to bring ethnic harmony through dialogue with ethnic minorities but the entire team of democracy leaders including Aung San was assisinated by powerful quarters who sought to control Burma by force.

1958 Rohingya refugges took shelter in East Pakistan; the number of refugees identified as being 10,000. (17) 1959, Burma agreed with East Pakistan governor Zakir Hossain to take back Rohingya refugees who had taken shelter in Chittagong in 1958. When questioned "why refugees were pouring into Pakistan from Burma, the Govornor replied that the government of Burma had noting to do with it. Actually the Moghs of Arakan were creating the trouble." (18) In

1960 The Daily Guardian, Rangoon, 27th October 1960 reports that Burmese "Supreme Court queshes expulsion orders against Arakanese Muslims."(19)

It is true, the disturbances were not entirely foreign inspired. Pumped up in prejudice by the

leading Pongyi activist, U Ottama, from 1930̢۪s Arakan became anti-Rohingya and anti-Muslim.

(20)

Rohingya Refugees during Military rule (1962-)

In 1962, General Ne Win took over power and confiscated most Indian and Chinese owned busineses in Rangoon and began his â€Å“Burmanization policy” which advocated that "Burma is for Burmans," referring that Burma is for racially Mongoloid and religiously Buddhist people. Ne Win first began a policy of "divide and rule" in Arakan between the Mogh and the Rohingyas. His government identified the Rohingyas as "Indian Bengalis" from Chittagong migrated to Burma during the British period beginning from 1826. (20)

As mentioned warlier, in 1978 an officially recorded 207,172 Rohingyas took shelter in Chittagong. UNHCR and Amnesty International investigation found out that Rohingyas were carrying Burmese National Registration cards. I have personally visited the refugee camps in Ukhiya of southern Chittagong. The area was as if a sea of refugee camps. When asked people if they had any documents provng their citizenship, little children ran to their parents to fatch the documents. I have seen NRC certificates with Burmese seal testifying their Burmese nationality.

This revealation by international agencies, forced the Burmese government to accept the Rohingyas back to Arakan.(21)

In 1982 the military rulers passed the Citizenship Act in which it made a povision that Burmese people' ancestors who came to settle in Burma before 1826 will be considered as "foreigners." Rohingyas were seen as people migrated from Chittagong of Bangladesh after 1826. Aye Chan and other similar Rakhines followed this line of xenophbic interpretation. Aye Chan wrote dehumanizing books and articles, identifying Rohingyas as the Bengali Muslim Immigrants" from Bangladesh.Contrary to such assertions, Rohingya’s earliest ancestory in Arakn however, dates back to the 8th century. Our research shows that Rohingyas called by the Arakan’s Tibeto-Burman population as the â€Å“Kulas” were the offsprings of the aboriginl Indian Chandras, Arabs, Persians, the soliders of the Bengal Sultan's army, the offsprings of the Mogh-Portuhuese captured Bengali slaves, Portuguese offsprings. (22). The name Rohingya was adapted by these people from various origins as a survival mechanism.

In 1990-92 again over 2,68,000 Rohingyas were sent back to Bangladesh. This time the Burmese government made sure that Rohingyas do not carry any official Burmese document. Rohingyas continue to be identified as "foreigners" and now suffer in the land they were born and brought up. The Burma's military in alliance with the Rakhine ultra-nationalist plays a extermination policy based on fear and intimidation.(23)

Habib Siddiqui identifies some of the major armed operations of intimidation against the Rohingya people, orchestrated by the Burmese government since 1948:

01. Military Operation (5th Burma Regiment) - November 1948

02. Burma Territorial Force (BTF) - Operation 1949-50

03. Military Operation (2nd Emergency Chin regiment) - March 1951-52

04. Mayu Operation - October 1952-53

05. Mone-thone Operation - October 1954

06. Combined Immigration and Army Operation - January 1955

07. Union Military Police (UMP) Operation - 1955-58

08. Captain Htin Kyaw Operation - 1959

09. Shwe Kyi Operation - October 1966

10. Kyi Gan Operation - October-December 1966

11. Ngazinka Operation - 1967-69

12. Myat Mon Operation - February 1969-71

13. Major Aung Than Operation - 1973

14. Sabe Operation February - 1974-78

15. Naga-Min (King Dragon) Operation - February 1978-79 (resulting in exodus of some 300,000 Rohingyas to Bangladesh)

16. Shwe Hintha Operation - August 1978-80

17. Galone Operation - 1979

18. Pyi Thaya Operation â€" July 1991-92 (resulting in exodus of some 268,000 Rohingyas to Bangladesh)

19. Na-Sa-Ka Operation â€" since 1992.(24)

Despite a clear evidence of Burmese invasion and atrocities on the Rohingyas, resulting in the latter to take shelter in Chittagong, xenophobic writer̢۪s continue to propagate that Rohingyas are "Chittagonians." The intensity of the nationalist hatred by the military reached so deep into the Burmese consciousness that today even some Burmese people began to believe that indeed Rohingyas are "Chittagonians" from Bangladesh. Contrary to this, the present research found that the production of refugees in general and the Rohingya refugees in particular from Arakan is not a new phenomenon; the study reveals that the internal troubles in Arakan along with the historic Burman invasions of Arakan from time to time led to the rise of not only the tribal people in Chittagong and in Chittagong Hill Tracts,( the Arakanese Rakhine settlements in Bandorban and Cox's Bazar, a result of mainly 1784 Burmese invasions, the Chakma settlements in Chittagong Hill Tracts) but also the Rohingyas settlements in the entire southern Chittagong area upto the Sangha River close to Bandarbon.

In understanding the refugee problem in Western Burma, the phenomenon of intolerance seems to be the deep-rooted cause. In Burma, Burma̢۪s xenophobic authors continue to brand Rohingyas as the Chittagonians of Bangladesh. Rohingyas are not recognized as the "taingyintha" (indigenous) people of Burma for their racial differences with the Rakhines and the Burmans.

It is an encouraging sign to see that, while the ancestors of the Rakhine Moghs of Bandarbon and Cox's Bazar, the Chakmas of Chittagong Hill Tracts and the Rohingyas of Southern Chittagong were originally from Arakan took shelter in Chittagong and Chittagong Hill Tracts throughout this period, in Bangladesh, they are not being seen by Bangladeshis as foreigners from Arakan. It is evident that after the independence of Bangladesh these nonbengalis together with the Bengalis are now being identified on their territorial identity as being the Bangladeshis. The Bangladeshi Rohingyas in southern Chittagng, who migrated before 1971 are also being considered as Bangladeshis. Justifiably, in the democratic Bangladesh, no one should question the birth right of citizenship of the Chakmas, the Moghs and the other smaller tribals and the Bangladeshi Rohingyas.

In Arakan however, even after a million Rohingya people left Arakan, who now live in deplorable condition in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Japan, Thailand, and in the Gulf states, these ultra-nationalists continue to justify that Rohingyas are not Burmese citizens. It appears that the problem in Arakan is deep enough to go away sooner. This is evident from what U Khin Maung Saw, a typical Arakani xenophobe had to say, "As a born Arakanese [I am as a Rakhine author] is obliged to write the true story of the so-called "Rohingyas."(25) It denied the Rohingya rights by saying” the so-called Rohingya.”Today, Arakan’s â€Å“true hisory â€Å“refers to an exclusionist history that Arakan belongs to the Rakhines

only and wish Rohingyas should be sent to Bangladesh.

Reacting to the Burmese policy of extermination of the Rohingyas, Saeed Khan wrote:"People have migrated for work or love or whatever reason during the entire history of mankind... If we go by the logic that …Rohynga people have roots in Chittagong they should all be thrown out of present day Burma/Myanmar then by that logic every person of nonaboroginal root should be thrown out of Australia, and every person with non native American root should be thrown out of America, every one with roots in West bengal in Bangladesh should be thrown out and everyone with roots in East Bengal should be thrown out of West Bengal/India. And if we keep on going like this we will reach a point where everyone should be thrown out of everywhere as according to science and genetics there is no so called "pure race". According to science every one in the present world has roots in a group of people out of Africa. So should we all go back to Africa? (27) In sending everybody to Africa, the only problem is that eversince huma races left Africa, half of Africa dried up to become the uninhabitable Sahara desert. In the meantime, Burmese invasion of Arakan on the Rohingya people continues and they escape persecution by land and by sea by boat risking their lives; those who survive live in refugee camps as Burma’s stateless refugee people.

________

Postscript:

________

In the above article, a review of the historical documents on the orign of the Tribes of Chittaging Hill Tracts show that all the major tribes of Chittagong Hill Tracts, especially the Chakma of Northern Chittagong Hill Tracts, Marma of Bandarbon and the Rakhines of Cox̢۪s Bazar and the Rohingyas settled in Southern Chittagong were originally migrants from Arakan of Burma, the latter one the Rohingyas are the most recent migrants and the Rakhines migrated as late as during the British period.

After the liberation war of Bangladesh, the tribals staged armed rebellion against Bangladesh claiming them as being the aboriginal people; on this ground they even wanted the independence of Chittagong Hill Tracts. In this conflict the tribals armed by India, the total number of people both tribals and Bengalis that lost their lives were 1677 among them 1329 were Bengalis) Artifacts found and the given names of Chittagong Hill Tracts show Bengalis have been in Chittagong Hill Tracts from Prehistoric times. The new Bengali settllers in the Hill Tracts however were people mostly from Northern and South Western Bangladesh who land lost land due to river erotion or from the gradual desertification in those regions and according to the most recent Bangladesh census the population of Chittagong Hill Tracts is 45% Muslim Bengali and the rest comprised 55%.

Bangladesh constitution rightfully accepts the tribals as the citizens of Bangladesh. However, there is a growing concern that Hasina government giving the tribals the aboriginal status and therefore special status over the Bengalis is denying the rights of Bengalis in the land of their birth. In contrast, it is true, India the broker between the Tribals and the Hasina government itself to stop the the fear of seperation itself settles non Kashmiris in its occupied Kashmir. Many in Bangladesh fear that Bengali rebellion and the move by Hasina against its Bengali population will help the excelleration of Ihe tribal separatist movement that originally began from the time of Bangabandu Sheikh Mijibur Rahman) See for more details on the Hill Tracts:

̢ۢ For details on Chittagong Hill Tracts and comments see Abid Bahar, Issues of Dispute and Contemporary Problems in Chittagong Hill Tracts,http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/message/49338?l=1

_________________

COMMENTS on

Abid Bahar̢۪s, Issues of Dispute and Contemporary Problems in Chittagong Hill Tracts :

http://indigenousissuestoday.blogspot.com/2008/08/august-5-12-2008-five-key-indigenous.html

Koya said...

Dear Friend,

I belong to the Gond tribe of India and you must be aware that in India tribal are being systematically

displaced and killed in the name of development by the Indian Government policies and USA expansion

policies in India.

We have registered a political party by the name "Prithak Bastar Rajya Party" where we will be demanding

a seperate Bastar State to safe gaurd the interest of the tribal.Evo Morales is an inspiration for us.

Below is also a video link which might give you some insight to our plight.

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=1O2WwESwJhw

I would be grateful if you can mobilize some support for us in your country.

Regards,

Prabhat

bhumkal.blogspot.com

AUGUST 13, 2008 1:14 PM

Peter N. Jones said...

Prabhat,

Thank you for sending along this important information. A post on the Gond indigenous peoples is up - let us hope that this gets disseminated around so that more people become aware of what is happening.

Peace.

AUGUST 14, 2008 7:00 AM

Anonymous said...

Several things contributed to the Chittagong Hill Tribes's problems:

(1) The prominant one is about Kaptai dam, built during Pakistan period. In reacting to this the tribals legitimately showed histaria but enthusiast foreign inspiration especially from Juric Univesity helped the Chakma tribal leadership to hijak the issue by the more marxist elements of the Chakma groups.

The Chakma leadership romantacized the problem and took the issue as a matter of class struggle and recommended to its tribal followers (a)to fight for the independence of Chittagong Hill Tracts (b)lived by 50% tribals and 45%Bengalis. On top of this lack of reality check, written records show (c)all these tribes took shelter in Chittagong Hill Tracts to escape Burmease invasion of Arakan. The last one, the Rakhines took shelter in 1784. (d)The total Tribal population is even less than a million.

(2)Rmanticizing with the independence idea created fear among Bangladeshi people.

Further romanticizing continues today by almost every tribal groups, even small tribes as the Tanchangyas (2000 families) to change their name to Tanga (Burmese), and adapt Burmese script as their written language.

(3)India took advantage of the alienation and helped arming the tribals.

(4) To its effect now there is the loss of trust between Bengalis and the Tribals.

Tribals instead of romancing with the wrong idea of Marxism, should learn the majority language and compete with Bengalis and enjoy the freedom given to everybody as being Bangladeshi. Such freedom is missing in the military ruled Burma and in the so-called secular Indian north East where groups like Mizoos, Asamese demanding independence are being massacred by droping bombs from the shy.

It is too bad that the Chakma marxist leadership made more steps backward for all the tribes to now make the tribals in general suffer.

AUGUST 18, 2008 11:12 PM

Peter N. Jones said...

Thanks for the contribution Abid. I've hotlinked it because it is really very informative.

Issues of Dispute and Contemporary Problems in Chittagong Hill District.

As it points out, the issues are much more complicated then many realize, and the biggest problem has been the lack of inclusion of indigenous concerns and voices.



_______________

Endnotes

(1) Alamgir Serajuddin, Asiatic Society Bangladesh, Vol. xxx (1), June, 1986.

(2) Abid Bahar, â€Å“Dynamics of Ethnic Relations in Burmese Society:A Case Study of Interethnic Relations between the Burmese and the Rohingyas,”An Unpublished M.A. thesis, University of Windsor, Canada, 1981

(3) Chris Lewa, Issues to be Raised Concerning the Situation of Rohingya Children in Muanmar(Burma) Form- Asia, Nov. 2003.

(4) Mohammad Ashraf Alam, A Short Historical Background of Arakan, Arakan Research Society, Chittagong, Bangladesh, October 2006, http://www.rohingya.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20&Itemid=30

Also see Muhammad Enanmul Haq and Abdul Karim Shahitya Visharad’s work â€Å“Bengali Literature in the Court of Arakan 1600-1700.”

(5)Francis Buchanan, â€Å“A Comparative Vocabulary of Some of the Languages Spoken in the Burma Empire." Pp.40-57; Also â€Å“Francis Buchanon in South East Bengal (1798) His journey to Chittagong, the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Noakhali and Comilla.” Also in Michael Charney, â€Å“Buddhism in Araka: Theories of Historiography of the Religious Basis of Ethnonyms” in the Forgotten Kingdom of Arakan from Dhanyawadi to 1962.

(5) Ibid, 1992, 79

(6 ) Harvey, 1947, 161; A Short historical background of Arakan, Internet site: http://www.rohingyatimes.i p.com/ history/history_maa.html, also see N. M. Habibullah,History of the Rohingyas,Bangladesh Co-operative book society Limited, 1995; De Barros. J. 1973. Da Asia: decadas III & IV. Lisboa: S. Carlos., Habibullah, A.B.M. 1945. ‘Arakan in the Pre-Mughal History of Bengal’ Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (Letters 11).

(7) Cited in M. Habibullah, History of the Rohingyas, Bangladesh, 1995, p. 27.M.S. Collins also cited in the book; see Abdul Haque Chawdhury, Chattagramer Ittihas Prosongo, (the old Society and Culture of Chittagong), part 11, 1975, p2., 16.

(8 ) Harvey, 1947, p.181;

(9) Charney, 1999, p.279

(10) Furnivall, 1957:29.

(11) Aye Chan, Enclave, 2005; Also see abid Bahar, â€Å“Aye Chan’s Enclave Revisited,” 2007.

(12) Rohingya Outcry

(13) Moshe Yegar, The Muslims of Burma” A Study of a Minority Group, Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden Moshe Yoger, 1972:67

(14) Mohammad Ashraf Alam, A Short Historical Background of Arakan

(15) Aye Chan, 2005.

(16) Moshe Yoger, 1972, p98.

(17) Pakistan Times, August 26, 1959.

(18) Pakistan Times 27th August 1959

(19) 1960 The Daily Guardian, Rangoon, 27th October 1960.

(20) Abid Bahar, Tagore's Paradigm Exposed in "Dalia", June 03 2008, http://groups.google.com.vn/group/soc.culture.bengali/msg/80428f57a0e9a903,

(21) Rohingya Outcry and Demands, Rohingya Patriotic Front (RPF), Arakan (Burma), 1976,.

(22) Abid Bahar, Dynamics of Ethnic Relations in Burmese Society:A Case Study of Interethnic Relations between the Burmese and the Rohingyas,An Unpublished M.A. thesis, University of Windsor, Canada, 1981

(23) Ibid

(24) Habib Siddiqui, What is Happening in Burma? http://www.albalagh.net/current_affairs/0090.shtml

(25) U Khin Maung Saw,The Origins of the name â€Å“Rohingya” 06, 11, 2005 ; Sara Smith Faked History, Burma Digest, 28, 11, 2005.

(26) Aye Chan, â€Å“The Development of a Muslim Enclave in Arakan (Rakhine) State of Burma (Myanmar)" in U Shw Zan and Aye Chan’s Influx Viruses, The Illegal Muslims in Arakan, ((New York, Arakanese in United States, Planetarium Station 2005), 14-33. The book was published in the United States. It was also published on line website.http://www.rakhapura.com, 2005, accessed on November 20, 2005.

(27) Banglanari, Yahoo group, January, 19, 2006, fight4rightnow@y... banglarnari@yahoogroups.com,


--------------------------------
( This article was originally published as â€Å“Burmese Invasion of Arakan and the Rise of Non-Bengali Settlements in Chittagong of Bangladesh,” February 15 2006. It was was also published in the author’s book, Burma’s Missing Dots, chapter 6, Flapwing Publishers, 2009. A post script on contemporary developments is also added with the present article)

Abid Bahar, Canada
E MIal :
abidbahar@yahoo.com
 



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