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Development of surface and ground water resources with  (i) Inadequate scientific studies,  (ii) Inaccessibility of the existing database,  (iii) Unsustainable population growth,  (iv) Absence of source sustainability,  (v) High biological and industrial pollution of waters,  (vi) Pursuance of outdated and defective policies, and  (vii) Conflicts among competing stakeholders  have led to water shortages for public supplies, irrigation and other uses in most parts of India in general and Andhra Pradesh State in particular. This group discusses the water problems in various parts of India, methods presently adopted to tackle those problems by various governmental, non-governmental, international and other agencies, and suggest alternate strategies for cost-effective and sustainable supply of water of adequate quality and quantity for all the users.  Conflicts between India and neighbouring Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Nepal and Bhutan in sharing waters of transboundary rivers and aquifers may also be discussed. In addition, members may highlight success stories in tackling water problems in other countries for India to draw lessons and emulate them.  Anyone can subscribe as a member of the group and post messages, files, pictures, database etc. without any prior approval. Dr. R. Jagadiswara Rao <jagadiswara@yahoo.com>, Former Professor of Geology, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, AP 517502 is the moderator of the group. If undue clogging of mailbox with messages is a problem, the subscribers can choose the appropriate message delivery option (i.e., Individual emails, Daily digest, Special notices or No email) by going to their Yahoo's "Edit My Membership" page. Members may also visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/India_WaterProblems to post and view messages etc. The accompanying Figure depicting "Benefits and Costs of Irrigation Projects of Andhra Pradesh" is a case to ponder for suggesting better strategies of project construction.

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[ALOCHONA] Dhaka-Delhi military nexus poses danger to regional peace

Dhaka-Delhi military nexus poses danger to regional peace

M. Shahidul Islam

 

Recent statesmanship of our leaders resonates exactly what the wise poet-philosopher Khalil Gibran had decried so passionately in the wake of the First World War. And, not surprisingly, the Lebanese-descent poet had found his prophesies so justified that the poor statesmanship of his country's leaders had landed Lebanon into a series of civil wars from which it is yet to fully recuperate.
   

It is unfortunate that despite being a homogenous nation, we too now stand at the twilight of a dreaded destiny. The ongoing debate over the content of the Indo-Bangladesh joint communique January 12, 2010 is creating such an uproar positively from the government side and dismissively from the opposition that its architects in Delhi are bemused by the success a communique as begun to wrought in for them.
   

Despite the debate?s political undercurrents being healthy and essential due to Bangladesh getting embroiled, perhaps unwittingly, into Indian geopolitical adventurism as a war ally, much of the perceived ramifications of ongoing Indo-Bangladesh entente remain amiss in the frenzied whiz, due mainly to the controversial nature in which the communiqe as been prepared.
   
   Non-binding instrument
   

That notwithstanding, our people should know few facts for certain. First, our PM and her team had inked three agreements and two MoU, which do have requisite locus standi in international law and diplomacy. Secondly, it is the joint communique January 12 which seems to have compelled the BNP leader, Khaleda Zia, to state publicly that ?the BNP government would not honour those commitments, once in power.?
   

From a legal perspective, the three agreements do have the stature of international treaty and impose mandatory obligations on the signing parties. The two MoUs, however, have semi-binding legal implications.On the other hand, a joint communique mere laying out of a vision for the future, a tentative road map of some sort to fashion mutual relationship, and, it does not impose serious legal or diplomatic obligations on the signatories unless formal agreements are signed subsequently on the basis of those commitments.
   

Yet, people have become wary of some specific contents of the joint communique for obvious reason. Those ?contents of concerns? are outlined in section 22 through 26, expressing agreed stands of both countries to (1) declare Ashuganj in Bangladesh and Silghat in India as ports of call; (2) allow by Bangladesh to India the use of Mongla and Chittagong sea ports for movement of goods to and from India through Bangladesh?s road and rail; (3) give Nepal and Bhutan (by Bangladesh) access to Mongla and Chittagong ports; (4) construct the proposed Akhaura - Agartala railway link with Indian finance; (5) allow Nepal a transit through Rohanpur-Singabad broad gauge railway link; (6) convert Radhikapur - Birol railway line (by Bangladesh) into a broad gauge one, and (7) to offer (by Bangladesh) railway transit link to Bhutan.
   
   Legal implications
   

All of the above, coming in the form of expressed intent in a joint communique do not make the parties obligated unless detailed agreements are signed subsequently, outlining in specificity the terms and conditions for the usage of one nation?s sea ports by the other, for instance. Even when agreements are signed, they need to be ratified by respective parliaments to accrue the statutory and obligatory status of binding international treaty.
   

The International Law Commission decided conclusively not to accord binding legal status to joint communique between nations in its 1959 report to the General Assembly (1959, 2 Y.B. Int. Law Comm ,pp 96-97), which was prepared in the wake of developing the comprehensive Vienna Convention on the law of the treaties. In the Aegean Sea Continental Shelf Case (Greece V. Turkey), Greece alleged that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) had jurisdiction on the dispute due to a joint communique issued at Brussels on May 31, 1975 ? between the Prime Ministers of Greece and Turkey?having declared that the dispute ?should be resolved by the court.? The ICJ decided that the joint communique as not a binding agreement to warrant imposition of burden on the ICJ to establish jurisdiction on the dispute (Aegean Sea Continental Shelf, Judgment, ICJ, Reports, 1978, p-3).
   
   Geopolitical agenda
   

Why then India choose to foist upon Bangladesh these non-binding obligations that pulls our nation toward allowing ports and land transits to India via its territory? The reason is purely geopolitical. Delhi wants to show both China and Pakistan that it had overcome its embedded geopolitical handicap with respect to landlocked Northeast India and its military prowess has reached a desired stage that enables it to prosecute simultaneous wars with both the adversaries, by using the advantage it seems to have gained recently in Bangladesh, and, by making it possible to spare an entire theatre of required forces which could be put against Pakistan.
   

Many cynics among us might argue, why the nuclear armed India should bank on such conventional approaches to warfare? The answer is: no war starts with the aim to use nuclear arsenal as opening salvo. The nukes are mostly deterrent weaponry that ensures Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD), and, the conventionally weaker party, like Pakistan, is likely to use nuke in desperation as first strike.
   

Another fact is: The concluded deal with Dhaka has been in Delhi?s war book for quite sometimes, and, the necessity to have Bangladesh on India?s manageable turf has much to do with the bringing to power of a friendly regime in Dhaka in early 2009. It all started in late 2005 when the Indian military adopted a new strategy called ?cold start?, which its army chief, General Deepak Kapoor, said in December 2009 to be entailing (1) simultaneous capability to wage wars against China and India, and, (2) projection of power from the Persian Gulf to the Malacca Strait that connects Indian ocean with the Pacific. The cold start doctrine has been tested and war gamed with the USA as an ally.
   

That is why, almost coinciding with Bangladesh PM?s Delhi visit, Indian defence ministry allocated another $10 billion to its defence budget, making the defence expenditure 34 per cent higher than what was spent in 2009-10 financial year. And, bristled by this deadly Indian move, Pakistan?s army chief, General Parvez Kayani, reacted angrily during a recent meeting with his General Staff officers. ?Proponents of conventional application of military forces, in a nuclear overhang, are chartering an adventurous and dangerous path, the consequences of which could be both unintended and uncontrollable.? Meanwhile, aware of what India has been doing, Pakistan too has embarked on beefing up its conventional wherewithal and received in early January the first of four Swedish-made airborne early warning aircraft, at a cost of $900 million, which can detect all aircraft taking off and landing at all forward Indian air force bases. Besides, Islamabad is spending another $250 million to buy four more early warning aircrafts from China.
   
   China-Pakistan alliance
   

All these developments have contributed greatly in producing a highly controversial and over-ambitious joint communique ollowing the recently concluded Indo-Bangladesh summit. The communique as designed more to showcase a cemented military alliance between the two neighbours than being a blueprint for regional connectivity and economic development, as is touted.
   

The summit also took place at a time when Delhi was determined to display such an alliance-like posture with Dhaka, due to other geopolitical developments in the region.For example, on Nov. 27, 2009, Indian Defence Minister, A.K. Antony, said, Growing military ties between China and Pakistan are a serious concern to India?. He added, The increasing nexus between China and Pakistan in military sphere remains an area of serious concern, which we must address. Meanwhile, India's air force chief has gone on record saying, China was a bigger threat than Pakistan to India.
   

Delhi's sabre rattling with such intensity also helped ignite further radicalism in Pakistan?s internal politics. On January 2, Pakistani Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer, Syed Munawwar Hasan, called for a defence pact between Pakistan and China to ensure that an attack on either is interpreted an attack on both.He also called for forming a bloc comprising Pakistan, China, Iran and Central Asian states to checkmate what he termed US-Indian aggressive advances in the region.
   

Dhaka's next move should factor in such realities in letter and spirit. More so, if it wishes to pursue balanced foreign and defence policies that aim at furthering regional peace and security by being equidistant in an emerging new Cold War that now sweeps the continent of Asia. In this new madness, the scramble for Bangladesh has become epicentre, and, like Lebanon, it too has attained a notorious potential of becoming a regional pawn among the contending powers.
   

The Author is a Justice of the Peace (JP) and a member in good standing of the International Bar Association (IBA) and the American Society of International Law (ASIL).

 

http://www.weeklyholiday.net/front.html#01

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[mukto-mona] Fwd. Comments Re. political economy of insurgencies and protests- Ishtiaq Ahmed

 

 

Fwd. Comments Re. political economy of insurgencies and protests- Ishtiaq Ahmed

 

-- On Wed, 1/20/10, Sandip <sandip.kumar.dasverma@gmail.com> wrote:

From: Sandip <sandip.kumar.dasverma@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Fw: View: Political economy of insurgencies and protests Ishtiaq Ahmed [d
To: "omar ali" <omarali502000@yahoo.com>
Date: Wednesday, January 20, 2010, 2:13 PM

Dear Ishtiaq:
It is a long time that I saw an article from you. I fully agree with you. Both movement deal with poverty and poor people. Except that there is heaven and hell difference.
They deal with the same people but Jihad is predatory to the poor people and the so called Maoists are just the opposite, they tend to empower the poor.
And Jihadi deal with lure of heaven for the poor to capture political power everywhere. Maoists deal with changing the living hell, that the poor are forced to live in.
Thanks for highlighting the contradiction.  SAT, World Bank, IMF are predators of the 3rd world and their modus operendi was exposed by Robert McNamara, when he was publicly fighting Regan withdrawal of USA's World Bank assistance.
Best wishes,
Sandip

--- In asiapeace@yahoogroups.com, omar ali <omarali502000>
>
> --- On Mon, 1/18/10, kirfani@... <kirfani@...> wrote:
>
> From: kirfani@... <kirfani@...>
> Subject: View: Political economy of insurgencies and protests â€"Ishtiaq Ahmed [dailytimes]
> To: Kirfani@...
> Date: Monday, January 18, 2010, 8:33 PM

   <<...As far as I know, the Naxalites want poor men, women and children to get
> adequate food, education and shelter. In popular imagery the movement wants to
> transform the living hell in which they now live into some idyllic paradise on
> earth. Naxalites do not prey on young boys of impoverished families and use them
> as suicide bombers to indiscriminately attack men, women and children.

  ...the Taliban agenda is
> just the opposite. The ideas of human dignity and decency as understood by
> modern people are anathema to the Taliban.

Wherever the Taliban juggernaut has run roughshod, it has crushed under its deadweight girls, their schools, flogged women for stepping out of their homes without a male escort, stoned to death men and women for alleged adultery and so on. Their victims are almost invariably the poor and weak sections of society. So, the social and economic agenda of the two movements is diametrically opposite one another.

   To ascribe to the Taliban the role of social emancipators is a bad joke.

 

The so-called Islamic emirates that the Taliban established in Swat and Malakand Agencies threatened parents to be ready to marry their girl-child of 9 or 10 to Taliban warriors. The purpose of life on earth according to the Taliban is to do jihad and [not] build peace and prosperity, and then one enters paradise after exiting his life on earth...>>


> Dear All,
> This time I try my hands at contextualizing the
> political economy of insurgencies and protests. Comments are
> welcome.

> Best regards,
> Ishtiaq

> Ishtiaq AHMED (Professor) ::
> Visiting Research Professor :: Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) :: 469A
> Bukit Timah Road, #07-01 Tower Block, National University of Singapore,
> Singapore 259770 :: 65-6516 8105 (DID) :: 65-6776 7505 / 65-6314 5447 (Fax) ::
> isasia@... (Email) :: www.isas.nus.edu.sg (Website)
>
> Concurrently Visiting Research Professor :: South Asian Studies Programme
> :: Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences :: National University of Singapore ::
> Shaw Foundation Building :: AS7/04-12, 5 Arts Links, Singapore 117570 :: 65-6773
> 1635 (DID) :: 65-6777 0616 (Fax) :: www.fax.nus.edu.sg/sas/ (W) :: Company
> Registration No.: 200604346E
> ISAS is dedicated to the study of contemporary South
> Asia.
> Important: this email is confidential and may be priviledged.  If
> you are not the intended recipient, please delete it and notify us immediately;
> you should not use or copy it for any purpose, nor disclose its contents to any
> person. Thank you.

> Daily Times, Tuesday,
> 19 January 2010
> http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\01\19\story_19-1-2010_pg3_2
> View: Political
> economy of insurgencies and protests Ishtiaq Ahmed
> The ideas of human
> dignity and decency as understood by modern people are anathema to the Taliban.
> Wherever the Taliban juggernaut has run roughshod, it has crushed under its
> deadweight
> A colleague made an interesting comment that the Naxalite-Maoist movement in India
> and the Taliban movement in Afghanistan and Pakistan are the result of economic
> factors. That is indeed very true. While both are fuelled by economic
> deprivation, still one cannot assume that economic deprivation automatically
> leads to armed resistance or aggression. The recorded history of the last two to
> three thousand years shows amply the constancy of economic deprivation in all
> societies and all cultures. On the other hand, the story of resistance is
> discontinuous; it has come and gone. There have been long periods of history
> when the wretched of the earth meekly submitted and did nothing to overthrow
> their oppressors. I sometimes wonder how a handful of Englishmen ruled India for
> 200 years without encountering any resistance when nationalist writers tell us
> that British imperialism drove this region from prosperity into poverty.
> Moreover, overthrowing oppressors has not always been achieved through violence.
> India's freedom struggle under Mahatma Gandhi and the civil rights movement of
> the African-American underclass of the southern states in the US are cases in
> point. Perhaps more important to analyse is the type of vision and programme
> that resisting groups want to implement.
>
> The Indian Maoist movement
> originally emerged as an armed struggle laced in Marxist revolutionary ideology
> in the late 1960s in West Bengal against landlords and corrupt and brutal
> officialdom, but after the parliamentary Communists of the CPI-M came to power,
> it petered out in that province. It then emerged as a violent confrontation
> between Dalits and upper caste Thakurs (landowners) of Bihar and eastern UP. It
> spread to the tribal people of Orissa and also to other parts of India where
> pockets of abject poverty exist. Unable to eke out even a miserable livelihood
> in the tribal habitats, more and more of such oppressed sections of society
> joined the Naxalite movement. Maoist insurgencies are now found even in southern
> India. As far as I know, the Naxalites want poor men, women and children to get
> adequate food, education and shelter. In popular imagery the movement wants to
> transform the living hell in which they now live into some idyllic paradise on
> earth. Naxalites do not prey on young boys of impoverished families and use them
> as suicide bombers to indiscriminately attack men, women and children.
>
> In contrast the Taliban agenda is just the opposite. The ideas of human dignity and
> decency as understood by modern people are anathema to the Taliban. Wherever the
> Taliban juggernaut has run roughshod, it has crushed under its deadweight girls,
> their schools, flogged women for stepping out of their homes without a male
> escort, stoned to death men and women for alleged adultery and so on. Their
> victims are almost invariably the poor and weak sections of society. So, the
> social and economic agenda of the two movements is diametrically opposite one
> another. To ascribe to the Taliban the role of social emancipators is a bad
> joke. The so-called Islamic emirates that the Taliban established in Swat and
> Malakand Agencies threatened parents to be ready to marry their girl-child of 9
> or 10 to Taliban warriors. The purpose of life on earth according to the Taliban
> is to do jihad and [not] build peace and prosperity, and then one enters
> paradise after exiting his life on earth.
>
> The political economy of
> democratic protest in the West to economic deprivation is different. Thus the
> Corn Laws and New Poor Law of early 19th century England and the medical and
> unemployment benefits introduced by Chancellor Bismarck of Prussia paved the way
> for more welfare reforms in the 20th century. The Thatcherite-Reaganite
> onslaught on the welfare state heralded in the neo-liberal era of unbridled
> capitalism. It could only partially succeed in denting the social and economic
> reforms but failed to dislodge the welfare state. Politicians could not undo
> that because the electorate would never allow that to go too far. Therefore,
> democracy prevented the demolition of the welfare state in Western Europe. In
> the US, laissez faire capitalism had a stronger base. Therefore, the welfare
> state was never very advanced, though Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy,
> Lyndon B Johnson and now Barack Obama have been developing an American type of
> welfare state. Thus for example the economic crisis of 2008 has not devastated
> American lives the same way as economic crises do in the Third Word.
>
> The political economy of Third World economic deprivation is entirely different.
> Here there is no welfare state but there used to be once upon a time a
> developmental state that actively sought to promote education and unemployment.
> No doubt the developmental state was afflicted by massive corruption, yet it did
> deliver some social services. However, when the 1973 Arab-Israeli war broke out
> it greatly undermined the developmental state. As the price of oil rose, so did
> the prices of all other commodities. Suddenly one after the other Third World
> states began to see their foreign debt explode, causing an insurmountable
> balance of payments problem.
>
> They headed to the World Bank and IMF, which
> prescribed the so-called Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAP). SAP had a
> standard recipe for states in distress: cut spending on non-productive
> activities. In practice it meant cuts in spending on schools and hospitals,
> retrench on employment in the public sector. Since the private sector was poorly
> developed and millions of people were laid off from their jobs, there was now a
> sea of humanity available for all sorts of insurgencies. I remember visiting
> Senegal with a research team from Sweden in 1994. The streets were full of young
> men who were willing to steal anything. However, just a few years earlier they
> used to be employed as teachers and office functionaries by the state. SAP
> ruined their lives.
>
> Fortunately for the affluent world the African masses
> had no particular ideology to mobilise them. Therefore the most badly hurt part
> of the world was the least politically involved in armed struggles. Rather
> African warlords and Western gold and diamond hunters began to use them for
> civil wars over precious stones and minerals. In the Middle East the unemployed
> youths were forced to look for succour from other sources than the state. The
> only alternative left was the mosques. We all know that the Islamists exploited
> such opportunities to recruit cadres from among the young people facing anomie
> in the cities where they had come looking for work. The Afghan jihad absorbed
> some of them but not all. Thus while the economic origin of insurgencies and
> protests is undeniable, the forms of protest and resistance are mediated by many
> other factors as well.
>
> Ishtiaq Ahmed is a Visiting Research Professor
> at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) and the South Asian Studies
> Programme at the National University of Singapore. He is also a Professor of
> Political Science at Stockholm University. He has published extensively on South
> Asian politics. At ISAS, he is currently working on a book, Is Pakistan a
> Garrison State? He can be reached at
> isasia@...
>
Asiapeace
Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA)
www.asiapeace.org
www.indiapakistanpeace.org

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[ALOCHONA] Irene Khan says: Bangladesh main problem corruption

Irene Khan says: Bangladesh main problem corruption

 

 

Former Secretary-General of Amnesty International Irene Khan Thursday revealed that corruption remains main problem in Bangladesh as it turned life of the right-deprived downtrodden more disastrous."Change has come to many countries but it is yet come in our country. Corruption in the country is massive," she said in her stark observations that she has also laid down in a book from her experience from leading the global watchdog on human rights.

Irene Khan made the remarks while talking to reporters after the launch of her book titled 'The Unheard Truth: Poverty and Human Rights' at the BRAC Center in the city.Irene, a Bangladeshi citizen, is currently a member of the Board of Governors of the NGO-major BRAC.

She explained that corruption in the country is immense because "a simple police personnel, registration officer to a cabinet minister resort to corruption".The ex-Amnesty chief executive emphasized establishing human rights of the poor in order to alleviate poverty."If we want to protect human rights of the poor, we also have to empower them," she added.

Asked to comment on the one-year tenure of the AL-led Grand Alliance government, she said although one year is not a long time, the government has done some good works. "But the major problem still lies-and that is corruption."She urged the Finance Minister to include human rights as part of government's initiative to alleviate poverty. The human-right campaigner on the global plane noted that the Human Rights Commission is yet to start their work, the Information Commission has been formed but there is no guidance of its function.

In her book Irene says without tackling discrimination, addressing insecurity and empowering the poor to hold their governments accountable, economic aid is ineffectively applied and it encourages political corruption and injustice while only haphazardly benefits poor people. Finance Minister AMA Muhith addressed the function as chief guest while BRAC chairman Fazle Hasan Abed was present as special guest.

Renowned economist Rehman Sobhan, former advisers to caretaker government Dr. Akbar Ali Khan and Hossain Zillur Rahman also spoke, among others. BRAC Development Institute (BDI) director Prof Syed Hashemi chaired the event.
Speaking on the occasion, the Finance Minister said all humans are born equal with rights. He congratulated Irene on her bringing out this important book "as poverty, given its nature, remains a challenge".

Prof Rehman Sobhan advocated for Irene's accounts on making governments deliver on basic rights by making them mandatory through judiciary and public litigations.

 

Former adviser Dr. Akbar Ali Khan appreciated that Irene didn't hesitate to criticize those who are liable for poverty and not for protecting human rights.He expressed his dissatisfaction over the performance of the AL government as they are "yet to submit the yearly wealth statements of their cabinet ministers, MPs and their family members although they pledged it in their election manifesto in two places"."We get excited, but there was no implementation although a year is gone. In fact, there is no problem in our strategy, the problem is in implementation," he added.

Echoing Irene's views, Hossain Zillur Rahman said poverty is still regarded as the number-one issue in the world. The policymakers need not focus on micro-interventions rather on a major intervention to address the issue.

A Dalit minority leader, Panna Lal, spoke about the continuing social and economic exclusions both locally as well as nationally.

 

http://www.ittefaq.com/issues/2010/01/22/news0846.htm

 

http://www.amadershomoy.com/content/2010/01/22/news0883.htm

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[ALOCHONA] The India factor in Indo-Bangladesh Relations

The India factor in Indo-Bangladesh Relations

Taj Hashmi

An understanding of the 'India Factor' is essential for figuring out what went right or wrong in the recently signed Hasina-Manmohan MOU; and as to why Bangladeshis are again so polarised on the MOU. While pro-Awami Leaguers are gaga about the understanding between the two prime ministers, anti-Awami Leaguers, mainly BNP-Jamaat supporters, simply consider the deal a 'total sell-off to India'. For the right or wrong reasons, the Awami League is called 'pro-Indian' and BNP 'pro-Pakistani', or as some people ridicule it as 'Bangladesh-Now-Pakistan'. I bring in a personal anecdote to explain the prevalent 'tribalism' in the polity of Bangladesh, which is not helpful in understanding domestic and international issues Bangladesh needs to resolve.

Recently one passionately loyal Awami League supporter abruptly asked me at a party in Honolulu, "Do you believe in Greater Bengal?" Before I could say 'yes' or 'no', the apparently urbane Bangladeshi-American wife of an American diplomat came to the absurd conclusion: "O, you are BNP; you won't support Greater Bengal." Instead of telling her off to spoil the party, I simply told her I belonged to none of the parties in Bangladesh. This artlessness reminds us of George W Bush's now infamous quote, "You're either with us or against us."

At times rabidly loyal Awami supporters convey the wrong message to the detriment of their country, party and leader. Not only anti-Awami Leaguers consider the party "pro-Indian", but some immoderate supporters of the party unwittingly also give similar impression about their party. BNP supporters on the other hand, knowingly or unknowingly, give the impression that they prefer Pakistan to India, if not to Bangladesh.

In view of the widening gap between the pro- and anti-Awami Leaguers over the vague MOU, it seems the not-so- insightful Awami leaders either do not understand the "India Factor" in South Asian politics or are too eager to appease India and its overseas sponsors. Although the west has been traditionally enamoured by Indian religion, art and culture, and of late by its "secular democracy", market economy and economic growth; its neighbours in the Asia-Pacific and Muslim World are nervous about the ascending Indian behemoth.

Bangladesh should have given a second thought about the dire consequences of unilaterally giving so many concessions to India. Sheikh Hasina should have understood the implications of not addressing some pressing bilateral issues, such as the problematic Farakka Barrage; the proposed Tipaimukh Dam; the disputed Talpatti Island and corridor for Bangladeshi enclaves in India.

The MOU should have also resolved once for all the so-called 'push-back' of 'illegals' into Bangladesh from India and the presence of anti-Bangladesh militants in India who demand the so-called Swadhin Banga Bhumi to carve out Bangladeshi territory for Hindu refugees/immigrants from East Pakistan, presently living in India. We simply cannot believe the way PM Hasina defended her not raising the Tipaimukh issue with her Indian counterpart. She assured her people on the assurance of the Indian PM that 'no harm' would come to Bangladesh through Tipaimukh. She has turned us speechless by admitting that she personally does not know anything about Tipaimukh Dam; whether it is an irrigation barrage or a hydro-electric dam, she is not sure about it. If this is diplomacy to protect one's own country's interests from a traditionally unreliable neighbour like India, then Bangladeshis have reasons to be more reliant on God!

India's hegemonic behaviour in the past and its not-so-benign design to emerge as the new hegemon in the Indian Ocean are least acceptable to China, Pakistan, Myanmar, Indonesia and even Australia. The average Bangladeshi has tremendous misgivings about India as well. Keeping in view its long-term security interests, Bangladesh should not throw itself into the Indian orbit. Whatever one has managed to grasp from the MOU, it seems Bangladesh has unilaterally granted India access to its ports and an unimpeded transit to Indian goods and possibly soldiers to contain its rebellious North-East. It is not clear from the MOU if India is willing to give Nepal and Bhutan transit facilities to Chittagong and Mongla ports.

The Awami leadership seems to be too complacent and naïve to understand that what India might get away with, Bangladesh can ill-afford it. India might gain some leverage and respectability in the West by coming closer to America and Israel. Muslim-majority Bangladesh has more to lose than gain by coming too close for comfort to India; and to Israel via India.

Conversely, while the West is enthusiastic about India, it is at most lukewarm towards forging ties with economically and militarily insignificant Bangladesh. Consequently Bangladesh's alienating China and its regional allies by almost giving a blank cheque to India seems to be an ill wind that blows nobody good. Bangladesh is oblivious of the fact that India, by strictly adhering to Chanakya's advice, has hardly been friendly and helpful to any of its immediate neighbours (excepting tiny Maldives). On the same token, India may be the only country in the world having bad to very bad relations with all its immediate neighbours. In view of this stark reality, one is not sure if India will behave differently this time with Bangladesh.

One wonders as to why Sheikh Hasina and the admirers of her latest 'gesture of good will' towards India are not cognisant of the 'India Doctrine' at all. Cultivated assiduously by most Indian leaders from Nehru to Manmohan Singh (V P Singh and I K Gujral were possibly the only exceptions in this regard), this doctrine stands for two things:

a) establishing Vrihat Bharat (Greater India) with a view to asserting Indian hegemony in the Indian Ocean and b) to extract maximum economic benefits and political leverage from smaller neighbours by intimidating them on a regular basis.

As the act of not recalling Nehru's not-so-hidden desire to undo the Partition of 1947 is a political blunder, particularly for Pakistan and Bangladesh; so is forgetting about India's annexation of Kashmir (1947), Hyderabad (1948), Goa (1961) and even independent Sikkim (1975).

Bangladeshis' remaining grateful to India for the creation of their country is one thing; their paying no attention to India's unmistakably meddlesome approach towards their country is altogether a different matter. Bangladesh should not forget about India's harbouring, training and arming LTTE fighters to disintegrate Sri Lanka; arm twisting Nepal for befriending China; denying Bhutan the right to have formal diplomatic relations with China; and last but not least, promoting insurgencies in Pakistan through its missions in Afghanistan. Bangladesh has every reason to keep in mind India's direct involvement in the creation and promotion of Bangladeshi dissidents and criminals on both sides of the border since 1975. One may especially mention the separatist Shanti Bahini, nurtured by India for more than two decades up to 1996.

One cannot believe the way the government and its supporters are defending the MOU, which reflects the inept and clumsy handling of the bumpy Indo-Bangladesh relationship by the Bangladeshi team. Ignoring the global and regional implications of the 'India Doctrine' and the omnipresent 'India Factor' in Bangladesh politics amounts to abandoning the basic lessons of diplomacy. Bangladesh should pay heed to Reagan's "Trust, but verify" approach to the Soviet Union, in regard to its relation with India. To succeed politically, politicians here must learn how to play the 'India Card' to manage the 'India Factor', which is a life-blood for Awami League's main adversaries — the BNP, Islamists and some leftist groups and parties.

Politics, to a great extent is all about people's perceptions. If the average Bangladeshis continue to perceive the Awami League as "pro-Indian" (as many do), the Hasina Government will have difficulties in imposing a ban on religion-based politics and trying the War Criminals of 1971. Realpolitik or pragmatism demands that Bangladesh remain steadfast to the principle of positive neutrality. Putting all its eggs into the not-so-safe Indian basket might be too costly for not-so-rich and not self-reliant Bangladesh in the long run. As giving fillip to 'Islam-loving' parties is counter-productive, so is antagonising China and the Muslim World by coming so close to India, which has found new allies in the US and Israel.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions of the author expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.

 

http://opinion.bdnews24.com/2010/01/22/the-%E2%80%98india-factor%E2%80%99-in-indo-bangladesh-relations/

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[ALOCHONA] The dying Ganges

The dying Ganges

 

Ashraf Dewan

 

 

 

THE Ganges, one of the largest rivers in the world, is providing fresh water to 500 million people in South Asia. The river is particularly important in delivering waters for domestic, industrial, and agricultural sustainability in the region. About 37% (area-wise) of Bangladesh depends solely on the Ganges for freshwater supply, which is not only supporting millions of lives but is also substantially important in maintaining the ecological balance of south-west Bangladesh as well as the largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans.

In 1975, India commissioned a barrage on the Ganges at Farakka, 18 km above the India-Bangladesh border, in order to divert a portion of dry season flow to increase the navigability of Calcutta port. Right after it went into operation in 1975, the freshwater supply of the Ganges decreased considerably, with a number of consequent effects in the south-west part of Bangladesh.

For instance, the Ganges-Kobadak project, popularly known as the G-K project, is facing acute water shortage since commissioning of the barrage. Salinity both in surface water and in groundwater increased significantly, which is affecting agricultural production and drinking water availability. In effect, public heath in the Ganges dependent area is under severe threat.

Around 685 km of waterways have already disappeared, and erosion and deposition patterns have changed noticeably. The top-dying disease of Sundari trees in the Sundarbans is believed to be the result of reduced flows of the Ganges. This situation will be aggravated in the context of climate change as IPCC, in 2007, warned that the headwater source of the Ganges at the Gangotri glacier was going to disappear by 2035.

Another study reported that rainfall would be 3-7 times higher in the coming decades due to climate change, which may result in more frequent and catastrophic flooding in Bangladesh. The depositing of sediment of the Ganges system would change dramatically, which could have spectacular impacts on erosion and deposition patterns.

This write-up can be of use in discerning the morphological situation of the Ganges in Bangladesh. Long-term remotely sensed data (1972-2008), mean monthly discharge at Hardinge Bridge (1934-2008) and rainfall data of 10 stations of south-west area (1950-2008) of Bangladesh were utilised. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) was used to estimate morphological changes between 1972 and 2008.

Planform analysis revealed that both the right and the left banks of the river underwent dramatic changes since 1972, and the changes were particularly evident during the period before the treaty between the two countries. The main course of the Ganges widened many times in many places in 1984, 1989 and 1995, indicating severe lateral erosion. Erosion was more pronounced near the Ganges-Jamuna confluence near Aricha. Erosion rate per year was about 85 sq. km from 1972 to 1984. The highest erosion was observed in 1984, when more than 160 sqkm land was eroded. During 2001-2008, erosion rate reduced to about 65 sqkm/year.

In contrast, deposition of the Ganges has been increasing with the span of time, which may be attributed to soil erosion upstream as well as increasing human interventions on natural flows. Estimation showed that in 1972, char areas in the Ganges measured 312 sqkm, whereas in 1984 and 2008, char areas increased significantly. Total areas of chars were 454 and 360 sqkm in 1984 and 2008, respectively. Calculation of sinuosity index showed that the Ganges is turning to wandering shape, meaning that the river is neither braided nor meandering in shape. In addition, few pockets throughout its course are being developed, where many-fold increase of lateral erosion is observed.

An assessment has been made to correlate these morphological changes with water flows and rainfall. The water flow data was divided into treaty and non-treaty periods. This computation clearly indicates that the morpohology of the Ganges is highly correlated with the consistent flows from upstream.

Though a 30-year water treaty has been in effect between the two countries since 1996, recent water flow analysis revealed that Bangladesh is being deprived of its due share during lean season. However, wet season flows of the Ganges have been on the rise in recent years.

Consequently, many tributaries and distributaries of the Ganges are being filled up as a result of increasing sedimentation. The Gorai, which plays a crucial role in flushing salinity further downstream, virtually dries up during dry season. Hence, to keep the Gorai river flowing, the Bangladesh government has started dredging that costs a good amount of money. Rainfall analysis of 10 stations in the Ganges dependent area of Bangladesh shows very subtle changes in the rainfall regime. Hence, water diversion by India is the only factor for the recent morphological changes in the Ganges basin in Bangladesh.

It is claimed that the normal flow of the Ganges from its source has been less than in the past and withdrawal of waters using 34 dams including Farakka in the upstream does have a significant impact on Bangladesh and its economy. If this situation continues, 37% (area wise) and one-third of the population of Bangladesh will face a critical situation in the coming decades. Probable climatic change may also aggravate the hydrological effects.

In order to keep the Ganges system alive, Bangladesh should have undertaken the construction of the proposed Ganges Barrage, which would help us to save water to be used during dry season. In addition, the Joint River Commission should play an active role to monitor the guaranteed water flow stipulated in the 1996 treaty.

Management of the large amount of sediment deposited by this river should also be taken into account in order to save people and agricultural lands from persistent water-logging, which has become a common phenomenon in Jessore and Sathkira region due to siltation in the river beds.

Since India agreed to consider Bangladesh's claim on water resources during the recent visit of Bangladesh's prime minister in New Delhi, we should keep demanding our due share according to the 1996 treaty. If we fail to maintain continuous flows in the Ganges system, it will be really impossible for us to save the environment and ecosystem of the entire south-west region of Bangladesh, including the largest mangrove forest of the world, the Sundarbans.


 

Dr. Ashraf Dewan is Associate Professor, Department of Geography & Environment, University of Dhaka.
Email: dewan1971@gmail.com

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=122856

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[mukto-mona] Association of Bangladeshi Canadian : OBJECTIVES

Association of Bangladeshi Canadian

 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES:

The aims and objectives of A B C shall be but not limited to:

1. To unite all the Bangladeshi Canadians into one bondage and to extend a helping hand   in solving their problems.

2. To uphold the national unity and consciousness through the observation of Cultural and social events of Bangladesh.

3. To help establish close and friendly relations among the Bangladeshi Canadians & other Canadians so that we may stand up next to one another at times of need.

4.   To help propagate and preserve our culture, our values and dignity of our family life, in a new land and a new foreign society and to transmit these values into our future generations.

5.   To try to uphold the integrity of our homeland among Bangladeshis living in Canada by uniting them into one forum, one stage, one umbrella through feelings of brotherly relations.

6.  To rise up in one voice to protect, to help build our homeland and try to help our people at times of danger, calamity, oppression aggression and distress.

7.  To help educate our children and future generations of our language, culture, heritage, our way of life and values, and dignity of our family bondage, and to try to help them from being lost in a foreign culture thereby losing their own precious identity, life and values.

8.   To try to appreciate and to learn the good values of a foreign society.

9.   To try to propagate, to help one another in caring, in trying to get established in a foreign environment, in setting up a career and in keeping the harmony of national entity and feelings.

10.  To try to engage in the overall welfare of our seniors of our community.

 

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"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
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[mukto-mona] 1,5000 Pounds for UK-visa renewal!

1,5000 Pounds for UK-visa renewal!

http://portal.ukbengali.com/?q=node/426

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[mukto-mona] My column on Haiti

http://www.amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2010/01/22/14928   Sincere regards, Quazi Johirul Islam UN Operations in Ivory Coast   Ph: 12129634432 Ext. 1723368 email: islamq@un.org http://quazijohirulislam.blogspot.com

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[mukto-mona] Fwd: FW: INTERESTING HISTORY of India

 

Forwarding a very interesting royal read. Perhaps someone may want to shed some light on some of the darker nooks and corners of the sordid and salacious, lascivious and lustful human drama with all the twists and turns of a royally befitting tale, not unlike those from the popularly known tales from a thousand and one nights of a different era! And I am sure even many thousands and thousands more of such nights would not suffice to cover the told or untold stories of all the philandering at multiple levels of human society. 

 

Or, perhaps some one out there could feel motivated to do a scholarly in depth research in the events from a rather recent history. 

 

-Kalim

 

 

From: latif42@hotmail.com
To: kirfani@aol.com
Sent: 1/21/2010 10:47:36 A.M. Eastern Standard Time
Subj: FW: INTERESTING HISTORY of India

 

 

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From: durrani.hina@gmail.com
Date

Hina Durrani

Uneximp International L.L.C.
P.O.Box - 1205, Dubai,
United Arab Emirates
Tel  :   04 - 2978393
Fax :   04 - 2978339
Mob :  050 - 5593549

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: momina adil <mominaadil@hotmail.com>
Date: 2010/1/19
Subject: INTERESTING HISTORY of India
To: mominaadil@hotmail.com

Forwarding this mail but i dont know the authenticity

Sonia was at the Davis School of languages in Cambridge and certainly Rajiv did not graduate. He was ill for the first year's exam, had to go to India to attend his grandfather's funeral the second year and merrily failed the third.   INTERESTING HISTORY! At the very beginning of his book, "The Nehru Dynasty", astrologer K.N. Rao mentions the names of Jawaharlal's father and grandfather. Jawahar Lal's father was believed to be Motilal and Motilal's father was one Gangadhar Nehru.   And we all know that Jawaharlal's only daughter was Indira Priyadarshini Nehru; Kamala Nehru was her mother, who died in Switzerland of tuberculosis. She was totally against Indira's proposed marriage with Feroze.    Why? No one tells us that! Now, who is this Feroze? We are told by many that he was the son of the family grocer. The grocer supplied wines,etc. to Anand Bhavan (previously known as Ishrat Manzil) What was the family grocer's name? One frequently hears that Rajiv Gandhi's grandfather was Pandit Nehru. But then we all know that everyone has two grandfathers, the paternal and the maternal grandfathers. In fact, the paternal grandfather is deemed to be the more important grandfather in most societies. Why is it then, no where, we find Rajiv Gandhi's paternal grandfather's name? It appears that the reason is simply this. Rajiv Gandhi's paternal grandfather was a Muslim gentleman from the Junagadh area of Gujarat . This Muslim grocer by the name of Nawab Khan, had married a Parsi woman after converting her to Islam. This is the source where from the myth of Rajiv being a Parsi was derived. Rajiv's father Feroze, was Feroze Khan before he married Indira, against Kamala Nehru's wishes. Feroze's mother's family name was Ghandy, often associated with Parsis and this was changed to Gandhi,sometime before his wedding with Indira, by an affidavit. The fact of the matter is that (and this fact can be found in many writings) Indira was very lonely. Chased out of the Shantiniketan University by Guru Dev Rabindranath himself for misdemeanor, the lonely girl was all by herself, while father Jawahar was busy with politics, pretty women and illicit sex; the mother was in hospital. Feroze Khan, the grocer's son was then in England and he was quite sympathetic to Indira and soon enough she changed her religion, became a Muslim woman and married Feroze Khan in a London mosque. Nehru was not happy; Kamala was dead already or dying. The news of this marriage eventually reached Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (better known as Mahatma Gandhi). Gandhi urgently called Nehru and practically ordered him to ask the young man to change his name from Khan to Gandhi. It had nothing to do with change of religion, from Islam to Hinduism for instance. It was just a case of a change of name by an affidavit.  And so Feroze Khan became Feroze Gandhi. The surprising thing is that the apostle of truth, the old man soon to be declared India 's Mahatma and the 'Father of the Nation' didn't mention this game of his in the famous book, 'My Experiments with Truth'.  Why? When they returned to India , a mock 'Vedic marriage' was instituted for public consumption. On this subject,writes M.O. Mathai (a longtime Private Secretary of Nehru) in his renowned (but now suppressed by the GOI) 'Reminiscences of the Nehru Age' on page 94, second paragraph: "For some inexplicable reason, Nehru allowed the marriage to be performed according to Vedic rites in 1942.  An inter-religious and inter-caste marriage under Vedic rites at that time was not valid in law. To be legal, it had to be a civil marriage." It's a known fact that after Rajiv's birth Indira and Feroze lived separately, but they were not divorced. Feroze used to harass Nehru frequently for money and also interfere in Nehru's political activities. Nehru got fed up and left instructions not to allow him into the Prime Minister's residence Trimurthi Bhavan. Mathai writes that the death of Feroze came as a relief to Nehru and Indira. The death of Feroze in 1960 before he could consolidate his own political forces, is itself a mystery. Feroze had even planned to remarry.   Those who try to keep tabs on our leaders in spite of all the suppressions and deliberate misinformation, are aware of the fact that the second son of Indira (or Mrs.Feroze Khan) known as Sanjay Gandhi was not the son of Feroze. He was the son of another Muslim gentleman, Mohammad Yunus. Here, in passing, we might mention that the second son was originally named Sanjiv. It rhymed with Rajiv, the elder brother's name. It was changed to Sanjay when he was arrested by the British police in England and his passport impounded, for having stolen a car. Krishna Menon was then India 's High Commissioner in London. He offered to issue another passport to the felon who changed his name to Sanjay. Incidentally, Sanjay's marriage with the Sikh girl Menaka (now they call her Maneka for Indira Gandhi found the name of mythological Lord Indra's Court dancer rather offensive!) took place quite surprisingly in Mohammad Yunus's house in New Delhi . And the marriage with Menaka who was a model (She had model for Bombay Dyeing wearing just a towel) was not so ordinary either. Sanjay was notorious in getting unwed young women pregnant. Menaka too was rendered pregnant by Sanjay. It was then that her father,Colonel Anand, threatened Sanjay with dire consequences if he did not marry her daughter. And that did the trick. Sanjay married Menaka. It was widely reported in Delhi at the time that Mohammad Yunus was unhappy at the marriage of Sanjay with Menaka. Apparently he had wanted to get him married with a Muslim girl of his choice. It was Mohammad Yunus who cried the most when Sanjay died in the plane accident In Yunus's book, 'Persons, Passions & Politics' one discovers that baby Sanjay had been circumcised following Islamic custom, although the reason stated was phimosis. It was always believed that Sanjay used to blackmail Indira Gandhi and due to this she used to turn a blind eye when Sanjay Gandhi started to run the country as though it were his personal freedom. Was he black mailing her with the secret of who his real father was? When the news of Sanjay's death reached Indira Gandhi, the first thing she wanted to know was about the bunch of keys which Sanjay had with him. Nehru was no less a player in producing bastards. At least one case is very graphically described by M.O. Mathai in his "Reminiscences of the Nehru Age", page 206. Mathai writes: "In the autumn of 1948 a young woman from Benares arrived in New Delhi as a sanyasini named Shraddha Mata (an assumed and not a real name). She was a Sanskrit scholar well versed in the ancient Indian scriptures and mythology. People, including MPs, thronged to her to hear her discourses. One day S.D. Upadhyaya, Nehru's old employee, brought a letter in Hindi from Shraddha Mata. Nehru gave her an interview in the PM's house. As she departed, I noticed (Mathai is speaking here) that she was young, shapely and beautiful.  Meetings of Nehru with her became rather frequent, mostly after he finished his work at night. During one of Nehru's visits to Lucknow, Shraddha Mata turned up there and Upadhyaya brought a letter from her as usual. Nehru sent her the reply and she visited Nehru at midnight..." Suddenly Shraddha Mata disappeared. In November 1949 a convent in Bangalore sent a decent looking person to Delhi with a bundle of letters. He said that a young woman from northern India arrived at the convent a few months ago and gave birth to a baby boy. She refused to divulge her name or give any particulars about herself. She left the convent as soon as she was well enough to move out but left the child behind. She however forgot to take with her a small cloth bundle in which, among other things, several letters in Hindi were found. The Mother Superior, who was a foreigner, had the letters examined and was told they were from the Prime Minister. The person who brought the letters surrendered them..."I (Mathai) made discreet inquiries repeatedly about the boy but failed to get a clue about his hereabouts. Convents in such matters are extremely tightlipped and secretive. Had I succeeded in locating the boy, I would have adopted him. He must have grown up as a Catholic Christian blissfully ignorant of who his father was." Coming back to Rajiv Gandhi, we all know now that he changed his so called Parsi religion to become a Catholic to marry Sania Maino of Turin , Italy.   Rajiv became Roberto. His daughter's name is Bianca and son's name is Raul. Quite cleverly the same names are presented to the people of India as Priyanka and Rahul. What is amazing is the extent of our people's ignorance in such matters. The press conference that Rajiv Gandhi gave in London after  taking over as Prime minister of India was very informative. In this press conference, Rajiv boasted that he  was NOT a Hindu but a Parsi. Mind you, speaking of the Parsi religion, he had no Parsi ancestor at all. His grandmother (father's mother) had turned Muslim after having abandoned the Parsi religion to marry Nawab Khan. It is the western press that waged a blitz of misinformation on behalf of Rajiv. From the New York Times to the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post, the big guns raised Rajiv to heaven. The children's encyclopedias recorded that Rajiv was a qualified Mechanical Engineer from the revered University of Cambridge. No doubt US kids are among the most misinformed in the world today! The reality is that in all three years of his tenure at  that University Rajiv had not passed a single exam. He had therefore to  leave Cambridge without a certificate. Sonia too had the same benevolent treatment. She was stated to be a student in Cambridge. Such a description is calculated to mislead Indians. She was a student in Cambridge all right, but not of the University of Cambridge , but of one of those fly by night language schools where foreign students come to learn English. Sonia was working as an 'au pair' girl in Cambridge and trying to learn English at the same time. And surprise of surprises, Rajiv was even cremated as per Vedic rites in full view of India 's public. This is the Nehru dynasty that India worships and now a foreigner leads a prestigious national party because of just one qualification being married into the Nehru family. Maneka Gandhi, though Indian, herself is being accepted by the non-Congress parties not because she was a former model or an animal lover, but for her links to the Nehru family. Saying that an Italian (or any foreigner) should not lead India will amount to narrow mindedness, but if Sania Maino (now Sonia) had served India like, say, Mother Teresa or Annie Besant, i.e. in anyway on her own rights, then all Indians should be proud of her just as how proud we are of Mother Teresa. OR Saying that any other party which comes to rule India is better is again equally worse.  The point is Indians who nominate the people to stand in these elections; and the people who vote their rulers (i.e. the authorities) must know that truth eventually comes out some day.

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