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Wednesday, April 15, 2009

[mukto-mona] Barun Gandhi, the another Mudi_two nation theory



Dear Mr. Kamruzzaman,

 

Thank you very much for your concern about the poet Mosharraf Khokon. However, could you please share with us how the two nation theory had buried?

 

Mosharraf Khokon

--- On Wed, 4/15/09, Salahuddin Ayubi <s_ayubi786@yahoo.com> wrote:

From: Salahuddin Ayubi <s_ayubi786@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [world_peace_movement] Barun Gandhi, the another Mudi
To: world_peace_movement@yahoogroups.com
Date: Wednesday, April 15, 2009, 9:06 AM

Engr. Sahib,
                     If two nations theory iws indeed dead and burried then is there any reason for Bangladesh to exist as a separate country. We might as well join India and become part of a large country. How would you like it Engineer sahib to live like the Muslims living in West Bengal? Wake up and think deeply before  you say something stupid. I would request you to engage your bloody brain befre you open you trap.
                      Ayubi


From: akm kamruzzaman <kmasud1991buet@ yahoo.com>
To: world_peace_ movement@ yahoogroups. com
Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2009 9:35:45 PM
Subject: Re: [world_peace_ movement] Barun Gandhi, the another Mudi

Dear friends,
Shuvo Noboarsho.  I am very much surprised as Mr. Khokon uttered two nations theory which is dead now. Bangladeshi people burried the two nation theory by achieveing thier glorious freedom through fighting.Barun Gandi failed to particapiate in the election as India is a secular country.Look at our two nations theoary lover Pakistan. What is going on there? So it is not authentic and fair to utter this type theory which may make you questionable dear poet.
 
Engr. Masud


--- On Tue, 4/14/09, mosharraf khan <mosharrafkhokon@ yahoo.com> wrote:
From: mosharraf khan <mosharrafkhokon@ yahoo.com>
Subject: [world_peace_ movement] Barun Gandhi, the another Mudi
To: world_peace_ movement@ yahoogroups. com, mukto-mona@yahoo. com, mukto_mona@yahoo. com, alochona@yahoogroup s.com, sonarbangladesh@ yahoogroups. com, mukto-mona@yahoogro ups.com, voice-of-south@ yahoogroups. com, odhora@yahoogroups. com, muslim-professional s@yahoogroups. com, bangladesh-zindabad @yahoogroups. com, amra-bangladeshi@ yahoogroups. com, notun_bangladesh@ yahoogroups. com, bangla-vision@ yahoogroups. com
Date: Tuesday, April 14, 2009, 1:10 AM

Dear brothers & sisters,


Greetings from the heart of Bangladesh .

 

Barun Gandhi, the another Mudi have failed to participate in the election for his fascist comment "I will cut the hands of Muslims" in a public election meeting. Actually this is not new by the fanatic Hindus of India. Late alone Shibsena, Bajorong Dal of BJP who demolish the historic Babri Masjid; Jawharlal Neheru, the great-grandfather of Barun Gandhi didn't believe the separate existence of Muslims. He even believed a separate country for Muslims. Obviously there are few good Hindus in India like few dalal of India in Bangladesh who fond of Indian dancing girls and dada like Mudi, Barun and Gandhi very much.

 

We salute those Hindus of India who believe two nation theory i.e. two separate nation, Muslim & Hindu in the sub-continent could live like a peace loving neighbor.

 

Thanks & Regards,

Mosharraf Khokon

Poet, OrganizerSecretary General, WPM







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[mukto-mona] FW: Mighty Americans



 
Friends> 
Shias and Sunnis are blowing each other up during the Jumma Prayer every week. Mohammed himself said, "Out of 73 Sects in my Ummat, only One Sect will be in Heaven with me---rest 72 will be burning in Hellfire". My question, how long these Muslims will keep on harping that no religion teaches violence? If no religion teaches violence then why these Sunnis are blowing up Shias in the Mosque? How you can look in the mirror and claim that Islam is tolerant. I can understand blowing up a Jew, a Christian, or a Hindu—but why Kill a Shia? Just because the Shias do not accept Abu Bakker, Omar and Osman as rightly guided Caliphs---they become worthy of being killed by the injunction of none other than Your Holly Prophet? There is no dispute here of Water, Land, Injustice or for that matter anything else. Why in the 21st century, these Muslims are dreaming of imamat and khilafat based on Divine Intervention Theory---when the western style liberal, democratic, constitutional form of government idea has triumphed without a shadow of a doubt? Isn't it a pathetic example of infantile and inferior intellectualism at its worst? Isn't it a great example of the titanic Clash of Civilizations? The Western nations realized the importance of secularization of Japan (the emperor's denouncement of his divine nature in 1946.)
You see, Japan's Fascist Military ruling Elite thought that Japanese must rule the world under the Divine Father—His Royal Highness, The Emperor. They saw Japan as One Divinely Sanctioned Government on Earth—therefore, they had God given right to rule others. That suicidal philosophy and that mental illness were corrected once and for all by us--The Mighty Americans. We showed them who 'was the true god on this earth'. The reasoned, rational, and common sense loving Japanese immediately saw the rationale for accepting the Western Idea of 'Secularization' and dumped the 'Divine Right Theory' in history's garbage can. Could it be that the Time has come for the Muslims to get the same shock treatment? For the survival of the Human Race--We the Americans must defeat these Sectarian mindsets---these irrational believers---these forces of darkness—possessed by the heart of darkness---just as we had decisively defeated Nazism, Fascism, Slavery, Communism, and Totalitarism. The alternative is one failed state after another—ruled by One-Eyed-Mullas.

 SaifDevdas
islam1234@msn.com





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[mukto-mona] Re: Allah confused

Allah is an abstract word refers to the nur which in english is dark matter, that is, without the sun's light and moon's reflected light.
Allah is the nur[darkmatter], sun is siraj and moon is muner in qurran. So word Allah can't be confused as has been suggested by Mr. Sarma's subject.

there is nowhere in the quran ever mentioned the word heaven. What is heaven in bible it is asman in quran and asman means layer of skies. So myth-makers can invent and wishes to go heaven with as many women as they choose but its not quranic. It is ignorance to perpetuate things that does not exist in quran. It is a libel or slander against a book that should be avoided at any cost.

--- In mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com, "sarmabb2008" wrote:
>
> I am utterly confused. It is not about Allah, but about the heaven. They say as many as 70 wife-like women would be given for each pious man in the heaven. But what the pious man would do with them ?
> We know Adam, the earliest and hence dearest person of the original god was kicked out from the heaven for doing something with Hawa bibi (For children this act is written as "eating a contra-banned fruit by the name Gandam". The adults and religious experts know it was narrated in this way only to hide the truth from the children).
>
> Now if Adam, one of the best man gets such treatment from the original god for doing that act in the divine heaven only once, who on earth can be so fool to expect that the same god would allow that act to happen in his sacred heaven ?
>
> Yours etc.
> Bijon B. Sarma
>


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[mukto-mona] Re: Current issue of the Weekly Parichoy



Hi everyone
 
Please visit www.ProbashiVoice.com. a online daily newspaper
 
Thanks
 
Editor
Akbor Haider Kiron

On Wed, Apr 15, 2009 at 3:26 PM, Parichoy <parichoy@gmail.com> wrote:


--
Weekly Parichoy
New York, USA

Tel : 917-749-1179 Fax : 718-559-4835
Web : www.parichoy.com



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[ALOCHONA] The Curse of Historical Rivalries in Arakan State of Burma



The Curse of Historical Rivalries in Arakan State of Burma

By Ahmedur Rahman Farooq. Norway

For 3.5 million Rohingya Muslims of Arakan State of Burma, history has turned out to be an instrument to subject them to the worst human rights violations like denial of citizenship, a ban on marriage without government permission, severe restrictions of movement, religious persecution, extortion, land confiscation and restrictions on access to education etc. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which works in northern Arakan State and has also operated in the camps for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, has described the Rohingya as one of the ten world populations in danger of extinction.

However, turning the wheels of Rohingyas' history backward and distorting the records of Rohingyas' glorious past in the multicultural society Arakan which is traced back to the 7th century, the Burmese military regime and the majority of Rakhines of Arakan State brand the Rohingyas as the 'Bengali immigrants' alleging that 'In the time of the British government, it was that the British brought Bengalis and Indians of India (now Pakistan, India and Bangladesh) into the nation with various intentions. ....The British ruled Rakine State (Arakan) for 123 years from 1827 to 1948. During that period, Bengalis entered the nation en masse.' Ref: The New Light of Myanmar, a state-run news paper of the Burmese military regime, dated Jan 30,2009.

The anti-Rohingya camps brand the Rohingyas as Bengali immigrants because of their close affinity with the neighboring people of Chittagong of Bangladesh linguistically, religiously, culturally and physically. Notably, Rohingyas share an Indo-Aryan physical features of dark and pale skin like the people of Bangladesh and India because of being the descendants of the people of the Indo-Aryan stock.

However, the focal point of the historical rivalries is whether the Rohingyas existed in ancient Arakan Kingdom before its annexation with the British colonial rule in 1827. Even though there is a tug-of-war between the Rohingyas and anti-Rohingya camps over many issues of the history of ancient Arakan, but at least there are few issues where there is an unequivocal consensus among the Rohingyas, the anti-Rohingya camps and the world historians. They unanimously agree that the names of many kings of the ancient Arakan before the British colonial rule, were 'Muslim' like (1) Solaiman Shah Narameikhla (1430-1434), (2) Ali Khan Meng Khari (1434-1459), (3) Kalima Shah Ba Saw Phyu (1459-1482), (4) Mathu Shah Doulya (1482-1492), ( 5) Mohammed Shah Ba Saw Nyo (1492-1493), (6) Nori Shah Ran Aung (1493-1494), (7) Sheikh Modullah Shah Salingathu (1494-1501), (8) Ili Shah Meng Raza (1501-1523), (9) Ilias Shah Kasabadi (1523-1525), (10) Jalal Shah Meng Saw Oo (1525), (11) Ali Shah Thatasa (1525-1531), (12) Salimshah (1608). All the historians including the anti-Rohingya camps also unanimously agree that all those kings used coins with Muslim inscriptions like Kalima 'la-ilaha-illallah', 'Muhammedur Rasulullah' etc.


This is an irrefutable evidence that the Muslims existed in Arakan either as a ruler or as a predominant factor in ruling the ancient Arakan Kingdom. This is also an irrefutable evidence of the peaceful coexistence of all the people of Arakan irrespective of caste, creed or color who have concentrated to defend the peace and prosperity of their motherland Arakan. So, it is quite illogical to raise a controversy as to whether those kings of Arakan were Muslims or simply used Muslim names and titles and coins under a tremendous Muslim influence.

Now, comes the question of 'Rohingya' name. The anti-Rohingya camps allege that the word 'Rohingya' has sprang up by 1950s and it was never heard before. But for one's easy reference, here is a simple record of 1799th publication: ' A Comparative Vocabulary of Some of the Languages Spoken in the Burma Empire' which was published by Francis Buchanan in 1799, in the fifth volume of Asiatic Researches. This piece provides one of the first major Western surveys of the languages of Burma.

But the article goes beyond this and provides important data on the ethno-cultural identities and identifications of the various population groups of the ancient Arakan in terms of topography, history, antiquities, the condition of the inhabitants, religion, natural productions (particularly fisheries, forests, mines, and quarries), agriculture (covering vegetables, implements, manure, floods, domestic animals, fences, farms, and landed property, fine and common arts, and commerce (exports and imports, weights and measures, and conveyance of goods). Ref: SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 1, No., 1, Spring 2003, ISSN 1479-8484 Link: http://web.soas. ac.uk/burma/ Comparative% 20Vocabulary. PDF

Dr Francis Buchanan, later known as Francis Hamilton or Francis Buchanan-Hamilton (15 February 1762 - 15 June 1892) was a Scottish physician who made significant contributions as a geographer, zoologist and botanist while living in India. From 1803 to 1804 he was surgeon to the Governor General of India Lord Wellesley in Calcutta.

However, in his article, Dr Francis Buchanan wrote:

'I shall now add three dialects, spoken in the Burma Empire, but evidently derived from the language of the Hindu nation. The first is that spoken by the Mohammedans, who have long settled in Arakan, and who call themselves Rooinga , or natives of Arakan. The second dialect is that spoken by the Hindus of Arakan. I procured it from a Brahmen and his attendants, who had been brought to Amarapura by the king's eldest son, on his return from the conquest of Arakan. They call themselves Rossawn, and, for what reason I do not know, wanted to persuade me that theirs was the common language of Arakan. Both these tribes, by the real natives of Arakan, are called Kulaw Yakain, or stranger Arakan.

The last dialect of the Hindustanee which I shall mention, is that of a people called, by the Burmas, Aykobat, many of them are slaves at Amarapura. By one of them I was informed, that they had called themselves Banga ; that formerly they had kings of their own ; but that, in his father's time, their kingdom had been overturned by the king of Munnypura, who carried away a great part of the inhabitants to his residence. When that was taken last by the Burmas, which was about fifteen years ago, this man was one of the many captives who were brought to Ava.

He said also, that Banga was seven days' journey south-west from Munnypura: it must, therefore, be on the frontiers of Bengal, and may, perhaps, be the country called in our maps Cashar.'

Giving a record of the 'Rooinga' vocabulary, Dr Francis Buchanan mentioned 50 words spoken by the 'Rooinga' tribe by that time like: ( 1) Bel - Sun (2) Sawn - Moon (3) Tara - Stars (4) Kool - Earth (5) Pannæ - Water (6) Auin - Fire (7) Sheel - Stone (8) Bau - Wind (9) Jorail - Rain (10) Manush - Man (11) Meealaw - Woman (12) Gourapa - Child (13) Mata - Head (14) Gall -Mouth (15) Bahara - Arm (16) Hat - Hand (17) Ban - Leg (18) Pau - Foot (19) Zoomtroo - Beast (20) Paik - Bird (21) Maws - Fish (22) Goom - Good (23) Goom nay - Bad (24) Boddau - Great (25) Thuddee - Little (26) Botdean - Long (27) Banick - Short (28) Awg* - One (29) Doo - Two (30) Teen - Three (31) Tchair - Four (32) Pansoee - Five (33) Saw - Six (34) Sat - Seven (35) Awtoa - Eight (36) Nonaw - Nine (37) Dussoa - Ten (38) Kau - Eat (39) Karin - Drink (40) Layrow - Sleep (41) Pawkay Bayra - Walk (42) Boihow - Sit (43) Tcheilayto - Stand (44) Marim - Kill (45) Hoi - Yes (46) Etibar - No (47) Hayray - Here (48) Horay - There (49) Ouchalo - Above (50) Ayray - Below.

Notably, except four words e.g; Ban, Thuddee, Tcheilayto and Etibar out of these 50 Rooinga words, all other 46 words are still commonly spoken by the Rohingyas of today's Arakan and the people of Chittagong alike some ones with a little change of accent, object and area. So, this is an irrefutable evidence that the word 'Rohingya' has originated from 'Rooinga', the name of a tribe of the Muslims of the ancient Arakan. It did not spring up like a mushroom in 1950s.

There is no denying the fact that the ancient Arakan was a multicultural society which was inhabited by many communities like the Rakhines, Rohingyas, Chakmas, Hindus, Christians, Mros, Khumis, Kamens and some hill tribes. In the words of Dr Shwe Lu Maung:

"The Rakhaing King was the patron of all religions and culture. Siddikh Khan Mosque was built by the Rakhaing King in 1430 AD. It is the first Mosque in all Burma. I suggest that UNCESCO may please take due action to restore this oldest Myanmar Muslim heritage. ....(1) The Rohingya issue is a cultural and political issue. (2) The politicians recognize the Rohingyas. I am a disciple of Bogri Kra Hla Aung and Chairman Kyaw Zan Rhee. I worked with them in 1966-67. We have about fifty Muslim comrades with us in Bogri's party. Both leaders told me that we have to give due rights and recognition to the Muslim Nationals. As their disciple I recognize and respect the Rohingyas. (3) Presidents U Shwe Tha, U Maung Sein Nyunt, U Padi Phru, U Kyaw Hlaing,Dr. Khin Maung, Bo- Mhu Htun Kyaw Oo, Red Comrade Oo Khin Maung, Khaing Ahnar Ni are the politicians and they all recognize the Rohingyas. I also met General Khaing Raza with Dr. Yunus at Dhaka in 1991. I would assume that General Khaing Raza also recognizes the Rohingyas. Same conclusion applies to Commander Saw Tun who was killed along with General Raza."

History is a mirror which reflects the past of a nation and in many cases it guides a nation to the road of peace and prosperity. In order to achieve peace and prosperity, it is immensely necessary to take care of only the positive and constructive events of the history and to bury the dirty ones.

Rivalries will beget rivalries and it will never solve the problem. This will simply poison the life of the people of Arakan not only for today but also for the future generations. So, in order to let peace prevail in Arakan and to restore communal harmony between two warring communities - the Rakhines and Rohingyas, it is extremely important to bury the course of historical rivalries and to initiate a politics of peace to create a society for all the people of Arakan which would be free from political oppression, economic exploitation and cultural slavery.#
............ ......... ......... . ............ ......... ......... .......
Norway. Email: arahman567@yahoo. com www.rohingyareview. com

http://newsfrombangladesh.net/view.php?hidRecord=258091



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[ALOCHONA] Interesting and Incisive does not Truthful Journalism Make



Interesting and Incisive does not Truthful Journalism Make

Apr 14, 2009



Some readers (MH, Zia) have left comments on a previous post about how Ms. Paul is a one-woman opposition party, and how her commentary is interesting and incisive. MH actually suggested that we were attacking the messenger instead of the message. Instead of responding in the comments, let us expound on this on a more prominent forum.

There is one tiny element missing from Ms. Paul's most incisive writing: something called "Truth". Lets examine that claim a bit.

Weekly World News is probably one of the most "interesting" news outlets out there. Why, right now they are asking you to register because "ALIENS ARE COMING! Be the first to know. SIGN UP NOW!"

And you must take them seriously too: they are, after all, the World's ONLY reliable news. If you don't believe me, check out their masthead.

So "interesting" does not make a commentary or news "truthful."

Before diving into the "incisive" claim, let us look at evidence of Sunita Paul plagiarizing the writing of others: Mashuqur Rahman, the New York Times, The Daily Star, The Hindu, and multiple other Indian news outlets.

The fact of the matter is, to paraphrase a famous quote: what is truthful in Sunita Paul's writing is not original, and what is original is not truthful.

Do you value incisiveness more than the truth? Do false, made-up stories attract just because they are incisively made up? Then this post has no value to you. But if you believe truth is an integral requirement of a commentary, then read on.

As MH, Zia and others did not challege the logic and evidence presented to show that "Ms." Sunita Paul is a plagiarist, a cheat and a fraud, can you tell me why we should believe anything else he/she writes?

In other words, if the integrity of the messenger has been proven to be fake, how can we believe the message?

It is easy to agree with the "message" if we do not look at it analytically, and may I suggest that you are falling in that trap. Being a rational person, I can not help but analyze what I read. And I must say, most of the claims do not even pass the smell test.

Allow me to cite some examples:
From her April 14 article, Suppressed trip, hidden meeting and treatment luxury of Bangladeshi politicians, we will analyze some passages.

You be the judge:
Check here two points! Sajib Wajed Joy could not bring his former wife Christine Ovemarrie as they already got separated long time back. Secondly, on April 13, 2009, he had two-hour long closed door meeting inside the ministry of Home Affairs with none but Tanjim Ahmed Sohel Taj, the junior minister for the ministry.
...
Joy was very dissatisfied to see long list of Awami League leaders and activists as collaborators and conspirators of the massacre, which came out from the statements of the BDR jawans during interrogation. He gave instructions to Sohel Taj to brief Kahar Akhand on twisting the information for trying to salvage as many as possible BAL men. There were also discussions on strategizing to save Barrister Fazley Noor Taposh, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Sahara Khatun, Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Mirza Azam, Liakot Sikder and other BAL men.

Mr. Wajed's wife's name is spelled incorrectly. Besides that, what does Mr. Wajed's marital
status have to do with this story? Unless Mr. Wajed is trying to get married, this is irrelevant.
Still not good enough for you? Then check out this report from the New Nation (or your favorite online Bangladeshi newspaper for Jan 11, 2009)
Sajib Wazed Joy, son of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, arrived in Dhaka at early Saturday from United State of America (USA).

Joy was accompanied by his wife Christine and their daughter Sophia and mother-in-law and brother-in law landed. This is first visit of Joy to Bangladesh after the landslide victory of the AL-led grand alliance in the December 29 national election.
Reporting this married couple (at least 3 months ago) as "already got separated long time back" is nothing but yellow journalism.

But let us ignore this journalistic ethical lapse for a moment, and apply the smell-test to this reporting. Since "Ms." Paul is "deaf and dumb" according to her own bio, it would be fair to assume that her primary means of communication is via email.

In another post, she has also written that she has never been to Bangladesh.

Are we being asked to suspend disbelief, and believe that not only someone emailed her the news that such a meeting took place, but also emailed her specific information regarding what Mr. Wajed tasked Sohel Taj to brief Kahar Akhand?

Presumably, if the meeting at all took place, these hand-picked people who were present must have found Ms. Paul so fascinating (having never spoken to her in person or even via phone, since she is "deaf and dumb"), they are risking their loyalty, job and possibly freedom to pass her these secrets over email as soon as the meeting is over?

Do you buy this? In that case, my great-grand-father left me a huge white building across the street from Curzon Hall in Dhaka that I want to sell to you at a very good price.

But what of "Joy was very dissatisfied to see long list of Awami League leaders and activists as collaborators and conspirators of the massacre"? Did Joy forget that our
fearless journalist had already exposed him? If so, let me refresh Joy (and MH and Zia's memory): on March 29, 2009, in an article titled "Bangladesh: Manipulation of BDR massacre probe", our Ms. Paul wrote:
14. Why Prime Minister´s son Sajib Wajed Joy came to Dubai on February 27 to meet some of the fleeing mutineers,

15. Why Joy handed over thick envelops to each of the fleeing mutineers at the Dubai airport,

17. Why Sajib Wajed Joy has been instructed by her mother not to come to Bangladesh before the investigation issue is over,
("her mother"? Fine; people make mistakes, let it slide)

I don't know if Mr. Wajed was at the Dubai airport on Feb 27. But I will play the Devil's advocate, and agree that the questions described above may be, just may be, true. I will even ignore for a moment how this self-described "never been to Bangladesh" journalist knew this. (We will get back to this in a minute)

One problem that liars have is they forget what they lied about, and a future lie often ends up contradicting a past lie. Looks like our "Ms." Paul is no exception. Because if you compare the March 29 and April 14 articles, these inconsistencies become clear.

So Mr. Wajed defied an instruction from his mother to return to Bangladesh?

According to this article, it was known (to "Ms." Paul and "her" loyal readers) that
Mr. Wajed was at the Dubai airport giving thick envelopes (presumably containing cash) to fleeing mutineers. Then why, oh why, "Joy was very dissatisfied to see long list of Awami League leaders and activists as collaborators and conspirators of the massacre" as described in the April 14 article?

I mean, if he is the paymaster of the fleeting murderers, why would Joy have to "see" the long (or short) list? Shouldn't he already know about who was involved? Why would he have to defy his mother's orders to return to Dhaka so he could instruct Sohel Taj what to tell the CID officer about the investigation? He should have known all this by February 27, and not wait until the information came out during the interrogation.

The person hiding behind the Sunita Paul pen-name fell in the typical liar's dilemma, and forgot the previous lie.

Now let us get back to Sunita Paul's unbelievably good sources. I have received many emails explaining that the journalists in Bangladesh have the same information, but they are afraid to publish it. But Ms. Paul, being outside Bangladesh, is immune to such intimidation, so she can write about these.

Right.. do you really believe that the BNP-backed newspapers and journalists are such cowards that they would sit on such explosive news and not use it to topple Awami League from power? We saw BNP leaders claim that the BDR massacre was caused so Khaleda Zia's house could be taken by AL. Even they are not making these acquisitions, because even BNP does not believe this information.

The explanation? Ms. Paul is making these out of thin air. We have already proven that she is a liar, cheat and a fraud, so this fits perfectly.

Or, if all this does not make any sense to you, here is another explanation.

Sajeeb Wajed Joy was born in an affluent family. He has two masters degrees, or "twice masters" as it is uncommonly known. Who would know better than Joy himself where he was on February 27, and what was he doing that day, or what transpired at the meeting with Sohel Taj? Lastly, who will be immune if the story of the meeting between Joy and Sohel Taj leaks? Surely only Joy has that level of access and privilege.

And why didn't he just instruct Sohel Taj by phone about what to do, instead of coming to Dhaka in secret? Why, he is deaf and dumb, and can not use the phone (just like "Ms." Paul can not give us a phone interview, because she is deaf and mute.)

Conclusion: Sunita Paul is none other than Sajeeb Wajed Joy. All the accusitions against Joy? What a pefrect cover!

What? You don't buy this either? Then we will have to go back to the original explanation: Sunita Paul, when "she" is not plagiarizing from others, just makes stories up.

If you are still in the interesting and incisive camp, may I suggest some books by Tom Clancy or Don Brown? I believe you will find them far more interesting, incisive, and clearly labeled as "Fiction."

http://shadakalo.blogspot.com/2009/04/interesting-and-incisive-does-not.html



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[ALOCHONA] Fw: Re: Suppressed trip, hidden meeting and treatment luxury of Bangladeshi politicians - how credible is Sunita?




--- On Wed, 4/15/09, saeva@aol.com <saeva@aol.com> wrote:
I am really intrigued by statements of Sunita Paul regarding Bangladesh. It is not difficult to assume that if Joy had a meeting with Taj the matter happened closed-door, away from any eaves-dropper, much less the presence of someone like Sunita. However, the way Sunita writes it gives the impression that she has had the first hand info on such private conversations between the two gentlemen of the Awami League. That is too much for anyone to swallow who cares about knowing facts and not mere rumors. I wonder if she is not copycatting Judith Miller in yellow journalism! E.g., just read her statement below to draw your own conclusions:
What was the agenda of discussion of Joy with junior minister Sohel Taj? The discussion was mostly on fixing strategies of international media campaign centering the BDR massacre. Sohel has provided most of the information to Sajib Wajed Joy, which he received from Abdul Kahar Akhand, the investigation officer with Criminal Investigation Department, probing the BDR massacre case.
Who told Sunita what Taj and Joy discussed?

Sunita goes onto write: "Joy was very dissatisfied to see long list of Awami League leaders and activists as collaborators and conspirators of the massacre, which came out from the statements of the BDR jawans during interrogation. He gave=0 Ainstructions to Sohel Taj to brief Kahar Akhand on twisting the information for trying to salvage as many as possible BAL men. There were also discussions on strategizing to save Barrister Fazley Noor Taposh, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Sahara Khatun, Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Mirza Azam, Liakot Sikder and other BAL men."

How does Sunita know all such information about Joy? Are we supposed to assume that this woman who was born deaf and dumb is also a psychic?

My suspicion is that Sunita is trying to hem a story on the Peel Khana massacre that is mostly based on speculation and innuendos that may have little to do with actual facts. Personally, I have no problem if a writer were to state clearly that he/she suspects, or feels, or believes that such and such might have happened, which allows the reader to consider such as possibilities. But when the words are used in such a way that puts one as an all-knowing insider to the event (even of a private conversation), something that Sunita does consistently, truth gives way to falsehood. I have problem with such yellow journalism.

Regards,

Habib Siddiqui


--- --Original Message-----
From: Isha Khan <bd_mailer@yahoo.com>
To: Dhaka Mails <dhakamails@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wed, 15 Apr 2009 9:14 am
Subject: Suppressed trip, hidden meeting and treatment luxury of Bangladeshi politicians

Suppressed trip, hidden meeting and treatment luxury of Bangladeshi politicians

Sunita Paul
Every other time, when Sajib Wajed Joy, son and advisor of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed visited the country, it was duly publicized by Bangladesh Awami League with due dhamaka. But, this time, when the young self-employed American national arrived in Dhaka, there is visibly nothing! Only a small piece of news stated that he was in Dhaka to see his ailing father, nuclear scientist Dr. Wajed Miah.

Check here two points! Sajib Wajed Joy could not bring his former wife Christine Ovemarrie20as they already got separated long time back. Secondly, on April 13, 2009, he had two-hour long closed door meeting inside the ministry of Home Affairs with none but Tanjim Ahmed Sohel Taj, the junior minister for the ministry.

Minister Taj left Bangladesh on February 22, just few days before the bloody massacre inside Bangladesh Riffles (BDR) headquarters. When the massacre took place, he simply disappeared and even Bangladesh missions in Washington and New York were unable to say, where he was. Government sources although claimed he was taking treatment of spinal complications, but in reality he was not! Where he was hiding? Why?

Sohel Taj recently told Bangladeshi press, while commenting on the garrison residence of BNP leader Mrs. Zia that if it was he, the house would have been vacated instantly. No doubt, the statement was made with political intention. But, why Mr. Sohel Taj and his relatives are continuing to capture a multi-storied building at Dhaka´s Gulshan area, which was illegally constructed by encroaching land belonging to the lake? Is he going to vacate that illegally built building and let the authorities demolish it as they did with Rangs building?

What was the agenda of discussion of Joy with junior minister Sohel Taj? The discussion was mostly on fixing strategies of international media campaign centering the BDR massacre. Sohel has provided most of the information to Sajib Wajed Joy, which he received from Abdul Kahar Akhand, the investigation officer with C riminal Investigation Department, probing the BDR massacre case.

Joy was very dissatisfied to see long list of Awami League leaders and activists as collaborators and conspirators of the massacre, which came out from the statements of the BDR jawans during interrogation. He gave instructions to Sohel Taj to brief Kahar Akhand on twisting the information for trying to salvage as many as possible BAL men. There were also discussions on strategizing to save Barrister Fazley Noor Taposh, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Sahara Khatun, Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Mirza Azam, Liakot Sikder and other BAL men.

Sohel Taj will be providing a budget to Sajib Wajed Joy from the ´source money´ available with Ministry of Home Affairs for international media efforts and lobbying in building an impression worldwide that the present ruling government was not involved behind the BDR massacre.
The next agenda of discussion was to determine the entire purchase programs of the Home Ministry, so that Joy can play ´effective´ role as a lobbyist for foreign companies in supplying various items for the ministry, earning huge amount of ´kick-back´. It is also learnt that, Sajib Wajed Joy held another meeting with the minister in charge of telecommunication ministry with the agenda of obtaining a license to launch a mobile phone company and a massive internet service providing company with pe rmission including Voip facilities.

Now, let me go to another topic! For years, it has become a ´fashion´ for Bangladeshi politicians in spending millions of dollars in the name of taking treatment abroad. The latest figures in this list although is junior minister for local government ministry and a prime suspect in BDR massacre case, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, he in rather spending leisure time in Singapore and possibly going to prolong his stay for months, just to avert possible legal consequences. Mirza Azam, another suspect is also trying frantically to leave the country any time. Barrister Taposh is already abroad.

According to information, Bangladeshi politicians have spent more than 1 million US dollars in past one year only in Singapore for treatment, leisure and other purposes. It is noteworthy that, every Bangladeshi citizen gets permission to carry only US$ 5,000 each year. In this case, the huge amount of spent money might have been either brought by those politicians through illegal channels or might have been used from their foreign bank accounts. No one ever cared to investigate this matter nor there ever any discussion on this issue, as politicians belonging to almost all the parties involved in such illegal practices.

And, finally, one question again! Will the probe report on the BDR massacre ever be released? Or, what will be the ultimate fate of the army probe report, as the ruling government is determined in killing this report by hook or crook ... Can the members of army probe team ignore the eyes of the ´mighty´ rulers in Dhaka and finally let the nation know the truth behind the BDR massacre, the killers, collaborators and conspirators?

According to latest information, ministry of Home Affairs in Bangladesh was forced to finally issue a letter to Defense Ministry giving consent on trying the killers, collaborators and conspirators of BDR massacre under army law. This is surely a good sign. But, until the report is published and culprits tried, nothing can be said with all certainty in a country like Bangladesh, where politicians are mighty enough in shifting any adverse situation finally in their favor.

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/98368




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[mukto-mona] Poisoning the minds of children!



Dear friends,
 
The last paragraph of the article below reads:

"No civilised country in the world today will permit racism (communalism is akin to racism and anti-semitism) to be propagated at the popular level, especially at the child's level. It is shocking that more than sixty years after independence hate speeches can still be given during mass election campaigns threatening to cut off the hands of Muslims. It is totally unacceptable that our children are still exposed to hatred towards other communities despite secular governments making promises about "detoxifying" the education system. A promise last made in 2004 when the victory of the secular forces provided a historic opportunity to combat communalism and to restore the civilisational values of the freedom struggle which were getting severely eroded under BJP rule. However, more than four years later, schools are free to choose any textbooks they please and there is no regulatory framework in place for whetting textbooks before they can be used."

 

Well, the UPA government at the center has not done its duty. However, have we, as a bit more civilized citizen (?) done our duty? None of us has bothered to file suites in the any High Courts or the Supreme Court to see what happens. Agreed, most of those judges come from communities that lean towards BJP/RSS. However, at least some of them in the Supreme Court have shown that they can cause some headaches to BJP/RSS. It seems that they are going to make Varun Gandhi promise that he won't deliver hate speeches (though I would have liked him to be left in the locker to rot for a little while). If they can do that, I think they could ask state governments too to make sure that none of the books adopted in any school, public or private, use hate filled texts.

 

I guess we are all civilized couch-citizen! We all think that someone else will do it, and we will watch the results on the TV. Come on wake up!! I am committing Rs. 5,000 towards initial court expenses. Let us have some more commitments, and someone should take a lead in hiring a Supreme Court layer; someone would then collect the committed funds and we will see what happens in the court. Right now I am in New York for another month and a half, else I would have taken the lead.

 

If hate speeches can be banished from election campaigns, certainly we should be able to get hate books banned from schools and colleges!

Regards,

Satinath

==================
 
Poisoning the minds of children
 

Aditya Mukherjee and Mridula Mukherjee

The heavy cost the nation had to pay for poisoning the minds of young children was seen in Gujarat during the mass murders following Godhra and in Orissa recently.

"Wherever they went, they had a sword in their hand. Their army went like a storm in all the four directions. Any country that came their way was destroyed. Houses of prayers and universities were destroyed. Libraries were burnt religious books were destroyed. Mothers and sisters were humiliated. Mercy and justice were unknown to them."

This is what lakhs of children going to RSS-run schools will learn about Islam, at the tender age of nine, from their textbook Gaurav Gatha for class four published by Saraswati Shishu Mandir Prakashan (an RSS-run publishing house).
As visible proof of Muslim atrocities the same book also teaches:
"Delhi's Qutb Minar is even today famous in his (Qutbuddin Aibak's) name. This had not been built by him. He could not have been able to build it. It was actually built by emperor Samudragupta. Its real name was Vishnu Stambha…. This Sultan actually got some parts of it demolished and its name was changed."
While thus demonising the Muslims, strangely it does not occur to the Hindu communalists how apt the above description is of what they themselves have been up to in Gujarat, Pune and Ayodhya in recent years. In Pune, the library of the Bhandarkar Institute was vandalised, in Gujarat mothers and sisters were humiliated and murdered, and in Ayodhya the Babri Masjid was demolished.
In the understanding of the Sangh combine (Parivar or family connotes a decent, humane value and cannot be associated with organisations that promote hatred and murder) led by the RSS, the role of Christians is no better than that of the Muslims.
The RSS-run Vidya Bharati Sansthan, which claims to be engaged in providing to the young generation education in religion, culture and nationalism, has the following to teach children about Christians in book no. 12 of a series published by the Sansthan. Followers of Christianity are portrayed as anti-national and a threat to the integrity of India and it is said:
"It is because of the conspiratorial policies of the followers of this religion that India was partitioned. Even today Christian missionaries are engaged in fostering anti–national tendencies in Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal, Bihar, Kerala, and other regions of our country because of which there is a grave danger to the integrity of present day India."
Warnings unheeded

The heavy cost the nation had to pay for this kind of poisoning of the minds of young children ( a poisoning aided by the BJP using state power whenever and wherever they got hold of it) was seen in Gujarat during the mass murders following Godhra and in Orissa recently. For years before the Godhra riots secular activists like Teesta Setalvad had been warning repeatedly that if the communal hatred being taught to Gujarat children went unchecked, then Gujarat was heading inevitably towards the kind of communal carnage it witnessed in 2002.

After all the children in Gujarat who were exposed to the RSS type of education were not only learning to see the enemy in Muslims and Christians, they were also learning how to deal with it.
Children reading the Gujarat State Social Studies text for class IX would learn:
"apart from the Muslims even the Christians, Parsees and other foreigners are also recognised as the minority communities. In most of the states the Hindus are in minority and Muslims, Christians and Sikhs are in majority in these respective states".
In the Gujarat State Social Studies text for Std. X, which virtually eulogises fascism and Nazism, the children would learn how to deal with these 'foreigners' who are making the Hindus a minority in their own country.
"Internal Achievements of Nazism: Hitler lent dignity and prestige to the German government within a short time by establishing a strong administrative set up. He created the vast state of Greater Germany. He adopted the policy of opposition towards the Jewish people and advocated the supremacy of the German race. He adopted a new economic policy and brought prosperity to Germany….He instilled the spirit of adventure in the common people."
That in order to maintain the purity and supremacy of the 'Aryan' race millions of Jews were butchered was not even thought worthy of mention.
After all, the RSS ideologue, Guru Golwalkar, had categorically stated in We or Our Nationhood Defined, p. 55-56:
"German race-pride has now become the topic of the day. To keep up the purity of the race and its culture, Germany shocked the world by her purging the country of the semitic racesthe Jews. Race-pride at its highest has been manifested here. Germany has also shown how well nigh impossible it is for Races and cultures, having differences going to the root, to be assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson for use in Hindusthan to learn and profit by."
These are only a few samples of the kind of ideological poisoning that is undertaken by the RSS and its allies. We have in our book RSS, School Texts and the Murder of Mahatma Gandhi: The Hindu Communal Project, Sage, New Delhi, 2008, (authored by Aditya Mukherjee, Mridula Mukherjee and Sucheta Mahajan, all Professors of History at JNU) tried to show extensively how the vicious Hindu communal propaganda not only led to the murder of one the greatest living Hindus, Mahatma Gandhi, but even today threatens the very survival of the great legacy of our freedom struggle — a secular, multi-cultural democratic state.
No regulatory framework

No civilised country in the world today will permit racism (communalism is akin to racism and anti-semitism) to be propagated at the popular level, especially at the child's level. It is shocking that more than sixty years after independence hate speeches can still be given during mass election campaigns threatening to cut off the hands of Muslims. It is totally unacceptable that our children are still exposed to hatred towards other communities despite secular governments making promises about "detoxifying" the education system. A promise last made in 2004 when the victory of the secular forces provided a historic opportunity to combat communalism and to restore the civilisational values of the freedom struggle which were getting severely eroded under BJP rule. However, more than four years later, schools are free to choose any textbooks they please and there is no regulatory framework in place for whetting textbooks before they can be used.

(The writers are professors of history at Jawaharlal Nehru University.)

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[mukto-mona] Where are the children in these elections? -- sorry for wrong header earlier.



Oops! Earlier subject head was wrong. So this is the same thing with more appropriate header. Sorry for mixup. Regards,
Satinath
 
 
Dear friends,
Let us try to think of one thing that will go towards making the lot of children better. I think it is "voting rights to children" -- all individuals, ten years old or above should have right to vote! Off hand, one would say, that's ridiculous, children do not understand anything. They have no capacity to make judgment about parties and candidates. However, let us try to be a bit analytic.
Particularly in a country like ours, more than half of the population is illiterate, Yet we have adult franchise -- all individuals 18 or above have right to vote. One could have easily argued that voters must bee at least high school graduates before they can vote, as otherwise they have no understanding about anything. However, most civilized countries have no such restrictions. This is because in case of restrictions (like the necessity of high school diploma) on who can vote, the more powerful ones will make sure that the exploited ones never get to possess high school diplomas.
Even though the fate of the poor in our country has not improved much, I am sure, everybody will agree that it would have been much worse, had they not have the right to vote in their hands. Voting rights for a group attracts politicians to them and make promises. Even if just a few promises are kept, that is a plus. Voting rights for children will attract politicians to them and make promises. Even if just a few of the promises are kept, that will be an improvement.
As far as ability of the children to vote prudently is concerned, let us try to figure out how the poor illiterate vote. They talk to the ones who they think to be wiser. On the basis of their conversation with the ones who surround them, particularly the relatively wiser one, they vote. If children had to vote, mostly they are going to vote in accord with their parent's advice. Hence as far as percentage of children's votes going to different candidates is concerned, it won't be much different from those cast by their parents and the ones they regard to be wiser ones. However, voting rights for children will make them a power block to be reckoned. Their needs will be recognized and addressed; at the very least promises will be made, and some of them even implemented. They will not be totally ignored. True, parents are already there to care for the children and demand their welfare. However, right now, without voting rights in the hands of children, care for children is not as important as it would have been with votes in their hands. Votes for their care would be doubled -- their own votes, plus their parents' votes. It certainly would make a difference.
Hence I reassert that voting age must be lowered right down to ten years of age if we want to improve the lot of our children!
Regards,
Satinath
====================
Where are the children in these elections?

Thomas Chandy

All political parties must make investing in children a national priority.
 
Around 13 million children under the age of 14 work as child labour
Compulsory elementary education still remains a distant dream

Paromita comes from a poor family in West Bengal; her father spends his earnings as a daily wage labourer on drinking alcohol and gambling. Paromita was brought to Kolkata by an older woman from her village at the age of 11 to work as a domestic worker. The woman found the girl work in a south Kolkata household. Paromita was given Rs.100 a month and made to work more than 14 hours every day. She was also beaten regularly by her employer. Paromita and her sisters have never been to school.

For Paromita and millions of other socially and economically underprivileged children in India, what do these elections mean? Yet again the world's largest democratic exercise sees the concerns of children remaining on the fringes of policy debate as an analysis of the manifestos of the two big parties — Congress and BJP — shows.
At its Karachi Convention, the All-India Congress Committee took a resolution on fundamental rights. The party made a declaration then that any Constitution which may be agreed to on its behalf should provide, or enable the Swaraj Government to provide for, among other things: Free primary education, and prohibition against employment of school-going children in schools. That was in 1931. It is 2009 now and the 15th round of elections since Independence are in. The Congress has been in power for the most number of years than any other party since Independence. In fact, till 1975, the Congress was the only party to win a majority in the parliamentary elections. So how much has the party delivered on the resolutions it made at that historic convention in Karachi?
Compulsory elementary education still remains a distant dream. Fifty per cent of children drop out of elementary school in the country. Official figures report that approximately seven million children are out of school. Around two million children under the age of five die every year. Almost half of all children under the age of five are malnourished. The country has the shocking distinction of having the world's largest number of sexually abused children. India also arguably has the highest number of children facing exploitation and neglect.
Around 13 million children under the age of 14 work as child labour. The Government of India is committed to the United Nations Convention on Rights of Children. Article 32 of the UNCRC, for example, states that 'State parties recognize the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education." This is rarely followed in spirit. Further, the distinction between hazardous and non-hazardous labour is arbitrary. There is little coherence between elements of the government's policy towards child labour and the articles outlined in international conventions.
The government claims to have introduced new laws during its time in power to eliminate child labour. The reality is that it merely brought in a notification including child domestic work and employment of children in hotels, restaurants and dhabas as hazardous labour under the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act (CLPRA). Millions of children, especially under the age of 14, are employed in the agriculture sector and other unorganised sectors but the manifesto is silent on this.
In its manifesto, the Congress has promised to set up one model school in every block of the country. Over the next five years, the party promises to add one more model school in every block. This will mean a substantial increase in expenditure on education. The Congress has not spelt out clearly how much of an increase in budgetary allocation it envisages for education. In 2008, the State spent less than five per cent of its budget on children, mainly for education and healthcare.
The Congress also promises to focus on the outcomes and achievement levels in education and not just on enrolment in school. However, it offers nothing new except for a teacher training programme and improvement of physical infrastructure of schools, which are already being addressed by the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan. Also, the party is silent on the promise it made on the Fundamental Right to Education Bill.
The BJP does not fare better either. The party has made some promises on child related issues but significantly there are glaring ambiguities too.. Its manifesto offers to raise the budgetary allocation for education from six per cent to nine per cent. However, it is not clear what proportion of this will go for school education and how much for higher education. Again, interestingly, instead of a solid commitment to prohibiting all forms of child labour up to the age of 14 and a comprehensive rehabilitation programme for children rescued from child labour and their families, the party promises to set up a national child labour commission. This is hardly an innovative solution to tackling modern-day slavery of children and will only create further confusion. Moreover, it is not clear how different this body will be from the existing National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) which is mandated with the promotion and protection of child rights. Setting up another commission will further fragment policy approach to children's issues.
For example, will cases of corporal punishment and sexual exploitation (or any other violence against children) be taken up by the NCPCR while the new commission handles child labour issues? Now what happens if a child worker is sexually exploited by the employer? Will both the commissions serve notice on the employer or will both say "it doesn't fall in the ambit of our mandate and it's for the other commission to take action?"
Nineteen per cent of the children in the world live in India. India is a youthful nation; the 440 million people in the country aged below 18 years are its future. India can only rightfully take its place on the world stage if it takes steps to ensure that the future of its children, and therefore the country, is secure. All political parties must make investing in children a national priority and indeed this is critical to ensuring sustainable progress in social and economic productivity.
(The writer is CEO, Save the Children. To know more about the organisation's work, log on: www.savethechildren.in )

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