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Friday, November 26, 2010

[ALOCHONA] Towards understanding Islam in postcolonial world order



Towards understanding Islam in postcolonial world order
 
Taj Hashmi
 
 Overview

As the discord between modern and traditional Muslims is ideological by nature, so is the conflict between Islam and the West. And ideology is more about power, influence and identity than a mere reflection of culture and belief system. While modern Muslim elites are unwilling to concede power and privileges to the mullahs, most mullahs and their followers — mostly rural and small town lower elites with traditional Islamic or "vernacular" education — are also unwavering about not conceding any ground to non-traditional "Westernised" Muslims.

The Iranian Revolution and the Taliban/al-Qaeda experiment in Afghanistan have inspired mullahs and their followers to go the Khomeini or Taliban way. Meanwhile, Western duplicities and open support for Islamists during the Cold War had further emboldened Islamists within and beyond the Muslim World. State-sponsorship of Islamism by Saudi Arabia, Gulf States and Pakistan, among other states, has also been a contributing factor to the rise of political Islam. Arab autocrats promote Sunni orthodoxy to contain Shiite Iranian influence; and Pakistani rulers sometime promote Islamists to bleed archrival India and to neutralise secular democratic opposition at home.

For distancing ourselves from any pseudo-history of Islamism, we need to understand that postcolonial Islamist re-assertion is a legacy of defeats and humiliation for the Ummah. "The death of Nasserism… in the Six-Day War of 1967", one analyst observes, "brought Islamism as the alternative ideology in the Muslim World." We also need an understanding of the Muslim psyche vis-à-vis the Muslim experience in Palestine, Kashmir, Iran, Algeria, Egypt, and among other places, Iraq and Afghanistan. How the Cold War allies – Muslims and the West – turned into adversaries or competitors in an uneven "elite conflict" in the Globalised World for conflicting hegemonies and ideologies demands our attention.

We also need to discern the Cold War Islamism from the post-Cold War one. While during the Cold War, Muslims considered the West a "suspect-cum-ally". Nevertheless, Muslims regarded the West as a friend against their common enemy, communism. Although, the end of the Cold War following the Russian withdrawal from Afghanistan had heightened Muslim optimism, they were soon crestfallen by the not-so-benign role of the West. Instead of ushering a new dawn of hope and empowerment for Muslims, the New World Order did not bring anything new to the Muslim World. By 1991, almost all the Muslim-majority countries — barring Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Malaysia — had became autocratic; and by 2003 three of them — Iraq, Sudan and Afghanistan — had been invaded by Western troops. In short, the cumulative unpleasant post-Cold War Muslim experience has led to the beginning of another Cold War. "Islam vs. the West" has become the new catchword. Meanwhile, pre-modern ultra-orthodox obscurantist forces had gained upper hand in many Muslim-majority countries. Interestingly, enamoured by the concept of transnational Muslim solidarity, Muslims in postcolonial societies are grabbing the elusive Ummah as their security blanket as weak and marginalised people find security in number. We may impute the prevalent obscurantism among sections of Muslims to their backwardness, lack of education and opportunities for various historical factors, but we cannot turn a blind eye to Western duplicities and hegemonic designs in the Muslim World. One can at best consider the Western lip-service to "democracy and freedom" in the Muslim World as condescending, insincere and deceitful; its insistence on bringing peace without justice from Algeria to Iraq and Palestine to Kashmir is simply shocking and terrifying.

Islamism, a postcolonial syndrome

Since most Muslim countries with a handful of exceptions were European colonies, the Muslim-West conflict is at least as old as colonialism. One may trace the roots of the conflict to early medieval era, even predating the Crusades. The inter-state conflicts between Muslim neighbours are by-products of colonialism. European colonial powers' arbitrarily drawing lines "across the desert", which created artificial states like Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia and truncated entities like Syria and Iraq; have further accentuated the conflict. The postcolonial ascendancy of the Pax Americana, which coincided with the beginning of the Cold War, divided the Muslim World between pro-American and pro-Russian camps. However, the end of the Cold War signalled the beginning of another between the Muslim World and the West. In the wake of the Cold War, the overwhelming Muslim majorities globally turned anti-Western in general and anti-American in particular. They were disillusioned with the West for its continued support for Israel and regimes hostile to their interests in the Muslim World. As substantial part of the global disempowered people, they also believe the West-sponsored Globalisation process has not been beneficial to their interests at all. We must contextualise Islamic reforms, resurgence and Islamist militancy and terrorism to the dilemma of postcolonial Muslim community. They can neither forget their pre-colonial and colonial pasts, nor can they fully integrate themselves into the modern world due to various cultural and economic constraints.

The Ummah represents a racially, culturally, politically and economically diverse global Muslim community. As Muslims have economic, political and sectarian differences, they also have different ways of resolving problems, organising dissent and protest, violently or peacefully, in the name of Islam or with secular agenda. Algerian Muslims, for example, fought a protracted bloody war of liberation against France. Algerian Muslims having the tradition of fighting a people's war against oppressive regimes are more likely to take up arms against their enemies than Muslims in some other countries. They are not that different from Afghans. As the French colonial rulers did not allow representative self-governing institutions and relatively free press, unlike what the British experimented in its colonies; Algerians lack the tradition of organising protests and demonstrations against their rulers in a peaceful constitutional way. The French allowed no Gandhis in their colonies either. Consequently, as Fanon has argued, the "colonised, underdeveloped man" in Algeria metamorphosed himself into a "political creature in the most global sense". Unlike the "colonised intellectual", the relatively free peasants posed the biggest threat to the French in Algeria. [1] The postcolonial Algerian government's maintaining the colonial hierarchical systems, especially in the realm of education by continuing with the French and Arabic medium schools to create the employable and under-employable, French and "Vernacular" elites respectively. According to Roy, Algerian Islamist "lumpen-intellectuals", mostly with science or engineering background, had been striving for "lumpen-Islamism". He has

demonstrated how corrupt autocracy in Algeria was responsible in culturally Islamising the polity by toying with Islamism for the sake of legitimacy.[2]

The situation in Egypt, Sudan and Somalia is not that different from Algeria; the only major difference being their different colonial experiences. Unlike Algeria, Egypt was not sharply polarised between Western and Vernacular elites, as the titular heads of state or the khedives (later glorified as kings up to 1952) ran the administration with both Western and Arabic elites. By gagging the freedom of expression, proscribing all opposition parties and even executing dissenting politicians, postcolonial rulers have left no space for constitutional politics either in Egypt. As under Nasser and Sadat, Hosni Mobarak's government also does not allow political dissent. Since April 2008, there has been a crackdown on the anti-Mobarak "Facebook Revolution" by Ahmed Maher. This youth movement through Facebook and Twitter has been mobilizing support for boycotting sham elections under Mobarak.[3] Dissident Muslim Brotherhood and others also face persecution on a regular basis. This has paved the way for clandestine organizations, especially the Jihadists. It is noteworthy that Pan-Islamist thinker Jamal al-Din Afghani's Egyptian "great-grand-disciple", Hassan al-Banna was the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood; and Banna's disciple, Sayyid Qutb directly inspired Ayman al-Zawahiri "who in 1967 established the first jihadist cell in the Arab world". [4]
 
It is noteworthy that Indian (Pakistani after 1947) Islamist Maulana Maududi (1903-1979), who founded the Jamaat-e-Islami (Party of Islam) in 1941, was both influenced by the Brotherhood and his writings also influenced the latter. However, Jamaat and Brotherhood were (are) different as well; while Maududi admired fascism, Banna had admiration for socialism and wanted social justice for the poor. Interestingly, although the Egyptian Brotherhood holds a supranational ideology, the FIS in Algeria has been primarily an Algerian nationalist movement for "Islamo-nationalism".[5]
 
——————–

Taj Hashmi is a professor of security studies at the Asia-Pacific Centre for Security Studies in Honolulu, Hawaii.

[1] Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth, Grover Press, New York 2005, Ch V, pp.181-234

[2] Oliver Roy, The Failure of Political Islam, I.B. Tauris, London 1994, pp. 75-88

[3] Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, "The April 6 Youth Movement", September 22, 2010 http://egyptelections.carngieendowment.org/2010/09/22/the-april-6-youth-movement (accessed November 22, 2010)

[4] Fawaz A. Gerges, Journey of the Jihadist: Inside Muslim Militancy, Harcourt, Inc. New York 2006, p.37

 
[5] Ibid, pp. 129-30
 


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[ALOCHONA] Who is afraid of Taslima Nasrin?




Taslima Nasrin, the Bangladeshi-born writer, has become a legend in her own lifetime. She is hailed outside of Bangladesh as the most important writer in Bangladesh not only by laymen, but also by connoisseurs of literature. All over India, Europe and America, she is recognized as a literary icon. If you travel to Calcutta, Delhi, Bombay or London, New York, Paris or Hamburg, you cannot help being asked about this fallen literary goddess. While traveling by train in India, I heard with my own ears some fellow passengers fulminating against the ban on one of her books in Bangladesh. As a Bangladeshi, I was pelted with question after question as to why the Nasrin was not being allowed to get back to her motherland. The questioners, however, belonged to a particular religion different from that of the writer. They seem to nourish a very lofty idea about Taslima Nasrin as an incarnation of truth. Nasrin has become a living myth after the recurrent proscriptions of her books and her move into self-exile.

Be that as it may, the main point is that Taslima Nasrin's fame has gradually been rising to dizzy heights of eminence. What have some people discovered in her which we failed to do? How has she managed to earn for herself such a big reputation? It is time to delve deep into these questions. If we carefully analyze the whole lot of writings she has by now produced, we cannot but see that except for Select Columns and a few poems, the remainder is a hotchpotch of half-baked ideas and stray thoughts in the guise of pompous claptrap. The mystery behind her fame lies in the fact that however shoddy her writings may be in the original, they have been highly gauged in their translations done by expert hands.

Most of her novels bear testimony to her nodding acquaintance with the genre. The best she has done is try to give a pretty materialistic interpretation of our society, culture and religion in her magnum opus Select Columns. But the motif she has tried to establish in them has been illustrated much more cogently by many of her compatriot authors.

The bulk of her writing can be bogged down to atheism or secularism or extra-religious humanism. It is okay. None should smell a rat in this effort. Bangladeshi writers like Ahmad Sharif, Aroj Ali Matubbar and Humayun Azad have done the same thing in a more effective way. They have arguably been critical of religion as a whole, regardless of any particular religious community, and upheld the doctrine of secular humanism. But Taslima Nasrin is seen fighting only against one religious community and its culture. She likes to pick holes only in Islam and overlooks others. This is surely a sign of incompetence in one who aspires to be a good writer. And for this reason she cannot be on an equal footing with other nonconformist writers of Bangladesh.

This is the reason why people opposed to the Muslim community are taking advantage of Taslima Nasrin's authorship. Personally, I do not know if she at all realizes that she is playing a cat's paw, and working against her own people and culture on the pretext of truth seeking. If she had been an inveterate atheist, she would have abandoned all religions equally, and employed her talent only in unbiased secular pursuits. She could have then found faults with all of them. We wouldn't have worried because, this too is a well-accepted approach to critical investigation into men, matters and morals and many a writer has earned global recognition trying their hand at it. But Nasrin's views are anything but atheistic. They rather seem to be slanted towards a means which is either a fool's rush or a highly clever scheme.

The Nobel laureate V.S. Naipaul is more or less possessed of the same skill. He is also prone to undermining the religious feelings of Muslims. His Beyond Belief is a scathing criticism of Islamic people and their culture. If he had been an atheist, or a dialectical materialist, or even a dispassionate secularist, he would have made an equal treatment of all religious communities and their cultures. We would have had very little to object to it. But Naipaul seems to make a deliberate attempt to tarnish the image of a particular community and join hands with those who tend to mistake Islam for terrorism and confuse Laden and the Taliban with general Muslims. He can be easily charged with being a tool under their thumb. We will certainly not forget Naipaul, the author of A House for Mr. Biswas, but, at the same time, we must not hesitate to say that his genius fades into insignificance when he deliberately turns provocative.

Salman Rushdie too belongs to the same cult (careerist cult) and his writing is targeted on Islam to a great extent. He treats Islam as a 'paranoid' religion and keeps mysteriously silent on other faiths. A true atheist is equally critical of all religions irrespective of whether it is Hinduism, Christianity or Islam. By attacking Islam he has drawn the attention of people of other faiths and could headed for the Nobel Prize. His move to the United States is certainly indicative of his move towards the Nobel Prize.

The continuation of this legacy may one day come down to our Taslima Nasrin, who is a feminine version of Naipaul or of Rushdie to a lesser degree. Although her writing is not as cerebral as those of Naipaul and Rushdie, she can serve the purposes of others. Her virulent criticism of Islam is hugely titillating for many.

But what real thing can she gain by all this incitement? In fact, she is cherishing an illusion. A spectre of an aspiration for something which she does not deserve is behind it all. There is no denying the fact that she has a real flair and a critical eye for writing. If she brushes up her talent, she can master her creative and intellectual acumen at least to the point of being one of the most distinguished writers in Bangladesh. She should not mortgage her conscience to climb to the peaks of success.

As there is no reason as to why Taslima Nasrin should be acclaimed so strongly throughout the world, there should equally be no reason why her books should be banned or she should be banished from her country. We may disapprove of what she says, but we should have the mind to protect her right to say what she feels, to practise her freedom of speech. This is the hallmark of a secular democratic countrya country which we dearly achieved in 1971 at the cost of the lives of three million people. Taslima Nasrin was born and bred in the same motherland as we were. In addition, she has not committed any offence subversive of the state. So she preserves every right to come back to her country for the asking. The government should take all possible measures to ensure her safe return. It should not bother about the chorus of indignation against her raised by religious fanatics inside and outside the country. The self-proclaimed guardians of Islam should not be allowed to go too far in dealing with the Taslima Nasrin issue. As a matter of fact, it is they who have made her a hot subject of debate, and thus pushed her into a prominence she does not in reality deserve. If you do not like her writings, you may jolly well shut your eyes to them; or give a flat 'No' to them; or write her off as an eccentric old bore. But you can never be in pursuit of her to put her to the sword.

We do not raise Taslima Nasrin to a zenith she does not deserve. Nor do we exclude her from a position she is worthy of. We are not afraid of her thoughts, ideas and speculations. Nor are we tempted to claim her as the only one of her kind.

Dr. Rashid Askari writes fiction and columns and teaches English at Kushtia Islamic University. E-mail: rashidaskari65@yahoo.com

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=163770



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[ALOCHONA] 2011 Pharmaceuticals Training Program provided by Amreteck Pharma,USA



Amreteck Pharma, USA plans to develop Pharmaceutical professionals in Bangladesh, India & China using the strategies & techniques that are being used in the USA Pharmaceutical Industries.

Bangladesh is far behind as far as quality pharmaceuticals skill workers are concern. Amreteck Pharma, USA believes that Bangladesh would need to develop minimum 10,000 quality pharmaceutical professionals (QA, QC, Engineering, Validation, Operators, EHS, Inspection, Audits, R & D) every year to meet its growth projection in the Pharmaceutical sector.

Amreteck Pharma, USA would start working on these programs in 2Q, 2011. Please see the snapshot of the program to develop Quality Pharmaceutical skill workers. Actual USFDA and US Pharmaceuticals working experiences will be used during the following training programs:

 

Quality Assurance Personnel Training Program:

1. Technique of Reviwing Batch Records, SOPs, GMP documents

2. Determine the sampling size and number for the in-process and final step of the manufacturing process

3. Technique of conducting products failure

4. Technique of Conducting Batch Failure Investigation

5. Planned & unplanned Deviations

6. Develop and Management of CAPA system

7. Products Disposition Plan

8. Prepare for USFDA, MHRA, ANVISA (Brazil), WHO and other regulatory inspections

9. Develop & Management of  Equipment & Process Change Control System

10. Develop & Management of  Document Change Control System

11. Technique of Developing Anual Product Review (APR) Documents

12. Annual GMP Training Program

13. SOPs Training and Implementation Procedure

14. Management of QA personnel

15. How to conduct internal and external GMP Aduits

 

Quality Control (QC) Lab Personnel Training Program:

1. Technique of Understanding and Operation of the Lab Equipment

2. Lab Equipment Calibration and Verification

3. Technique of Recording QC Lab Testing Data

4. OOS Investogations and Reporting

5. Raw Materials Testing requirements and reporting

6. Method Validation

7. GC Method & HPLC Methods

8. Qualification of Lab Equipments

9. QC Sampling Techniques

 

Validation Personnel Training Program:

1. Technique of Writing & Executing IQ, OQ, PQ, PV, CLN Validation Documents

2. Technique of Developing Manter Validation Plan & Project Validation Plan

3. Technique of Writing SOPs

4. Products Scale-up Technique and Documents requirements

Engineering Personnel Training Program:

1. Develop and management of CAD Drawings

2. Technique of understanding the requirements of the process equipments, systems, facilitites, utilitites

3. Technique of Dry Run/Engineering Run

4. Development of Engineering TOP (Turn Over Package)

5. Development and Management of Maintenance Program

6. Development and Management of Calibration Program

 

Regulatory Personnel Training Program:

1. Technique of Development and Submisssion of Products DMF Files

2. Understanding of US FDA NDA, ANDA fillings requirements

3. Understanding of reporting of process changes to US FDA

4. Understanding the USFDA, MHRA, ANVISA (Brazil), WHO and other regulatories agencey DFM files review process and communication

 

Contact us at info@amreteckpharma.com for more topics that are being provided by Amreteck Pharma, USA!!!

 

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Founder/CEO/Pharmaceuticals Consultant,

Amreteck®  Pharma, USA
 
               
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[ALOCHONA] China, India threat to BD on water issue: BAPA



China, India threat to BD on water issue: BAPA

Green
 
Activists at a citizens' rally on Friday in the city stressed integrated watershed management in the South Asia region to ensure smooth and adequate water flow of the international rivers.(UNB)

They said that China and India are planning to build dams in the upstream of the major international rivers. If they implement the projects, water flow of these common rivers will fall drastically in downstream areas and Bangladesh will turn into desert for want of water and its ecosystem will be changed. Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan (BAPA) organized the citizens' rally in front of the National Press Club in the city this (Friday) morning.

Chaired by BAPA general secretary Dr Abdul Matin, the rally was addressed, among others, by Seba executive director Dr Nuruddin, Green Voice coordinator Alamgir Kabir, Citizen Rights Movement secretary general Tushar Rehman and environmentalist Abdur Razzaque.

The speakers at the rally said that according to the international mass media and River Movement sources, the Chinese government is planning to construct a big dam in upstream area of the Brahmaputra to set up a 510 megawatt power plant. This comes as very sad news for Bangladesh and India.

They observed that if China will implement the project, the downstream countries like Bangladesh will face serious water-related problems in the near future.

Beijing-based environmentalists organization 'Green Earth Volunteers' noted that the millions of years' bio-diversity and eco-system in the Brahmaputra river basin will be destroyed if China goes ahead the dam project, they said.

About the proposed Tipaimukh dam of India, the green activists said although India is saying that they will never implement any project that will be harmful for Bangladesh, till now they did not postpone the Tipaimukh project.

BAPA general secretary Dr Abdul Matin said although India and China are both friendly countries of Bangladesh, they are the sources of threat for Bangladesh when it comes to water and river issues.He stressed the need for introducing an integrated water sharing policy to ensure reasonable waters for the South Asian countries. A set of demand was put forward at the rally.

The demands include cancellation of the proposed dam of China in the upstream of Brahmaputra and formulation of integrated plan for sharing waters of the international rivers in the South Asian countries.

 



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[ALOCHONA] Transit for Tripura Power Plant : Deal likely next week

Transit for Tripura Power Plant : Deal likely next week

Bangladesh is likely to sign an agreement with India next week to
allow the neighbouring country transit for a year and a half to carry
power plant equipment to Tripura from West Bengal.

The deal would not be done as part of the on-going talks on transit
and transhipment between Bangladesh and three neighbouring nations --
India, Nepal and Bhutan, said Shipping Secretary Abdul Mannan
Howlader.

The governments of the two countries would sign a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) next week allowing India to have road and river
transit without any charge, he said.

India would not pay any fees for the transit in line with the agreed
principle of the joint communiqué signed by the prime ministers of the
two countries, said a high official at the shipping ministry.

Bangladesh has granted India the waiver to transit fees only for
transport of power plant machinery because of the friendly relations
between the two nations, the secretary said.

He said India would pay Bangladesh the estimated cost of Tk 25 crore
for renovation and repair of roads and ports, and Bangladeshi
contractors would do the work.

"It was agreed that Ashuganj in Bangladesh and Shilghat in India shall
be declared ports of call. IWTT [Inland Water Trade and Transit]
protocol shall be amended through exchange of letters. A joint team
will assess the improvement of the infrastructure and the cost for one
time or longer-term transportation of ODC [Over Dimensional Cargo]
from Ashuganj. India will make the necessary investment," reads the
joint communiqué.

A team led by a joint secretary of the shipping ministry has prepared
a MoU, which now lies with the law ministry for vetting.

The shipping secretary said the MoU could be signed on Monday or
Tuesday after the vetting is done.

A 726-megawatt power plant is under construction at Palatana in the
Indian state of Tripura. Heavy equipment for the plant would be taken
to Tripura from Kolkata by waterway and roads through Bangladesh
territory.

The consignments of equipment would enter Bangladesh through Raimongal
River in India via Angtihara. From there those would be brought to
Ashuganj through waterways via Barisal and Chandpur.

They would be transported to Tripura by road from Ashuganj via Akhaura
in Bangladesh.

About 16 kilometres of 45-kilometre road from Ashuganj to Akhaura need
to be repaired along with other roads for transport of the equipment,
said a high-up of the shipping ministry.

Roads and Highways Department has already appointed a Bangladeshi
contractor for the job.

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority has also started
renovating the Ashuganj river port.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=163828


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[ALOCHONA] Woman tells of her ordeal at border hearing

Woman tells of her ordeal at border hearing

Satkhira, Nov 26 (bdnews24.com) — A delegation of Indian border guards
on Friday heard a Bangladeshi woman who described her ordeal of being
raped and then seeing her husband get killed at the hands of their
colleagues who detained them on the other of the border.

Some members of India's Border Security Force (BSF) raped the woman,
of Balabari village, Ashashuni Upazila, and then killed her husband
Rabindranath Mandal when he tried to save his wife, she told the
hearing.

The woman said that a patrol team from BSF's Ghojadanga camp detained
them when they were on their way from India to Bangladesh on April 22
last year. Rabindranath had gone to India illegally for treatment in
2008, she said.

The hearing took place during a BDR-BSF flag meeting at Bhomra border
in Satkhira.

The following morning, the woman said, the BSF jawans left her and her
husband's body at the Zero Line at Lakkhidari.

They were later rescued by Bangladesh police and border officials. The
victim accused some unidentified BSF personnel when she filed a case
with Satkhira Sadar police.

Bhomra company commander Subeder Munsur Helal headed the five-member
BDR team while the BSF delegation was led by Ghojadanga camp commander
A C Sanjay Kumer.


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[ALOCHONA] Re: Bangladesh Fooled By Indian Tansit Deal--Says who?

Mr. Ezajur,

You see foreign ownership of industries in BD (especially by India) can not be considered FDI. India is buying successful (I mean profitable) industries in BD that has been built up by Bangladeshis - they are not investing in new sectors of industries such as the IT sector because they know that Bangladesh will become a competitor of India! Telecoms is not a manufacturing sector - it is a service sector.

As you have said - so far FDI from India is virtually zero. Whatever FDI they have made is in the "service" sector - that does not manufacture anything that use raw material and labour of BD and exported from BD to other countries.

Lets face it those cheap goods they dump in BD's market needs local distributors, agents etc. But that is hardly a job creation scheme in BD! The real jobs comes from FDI that creates factories, use local raw materials and local labour force. In the last 20 years India has done none of that. Those who have no interest in our well being - we should not have any interest in helping.

We all remember the proposed investment of billions by Tata that never materialised because the price for a unit of gas Tata was willing to pay was much below whole sale market price - our gas is a very precious commodity. And quite rightly the previous BD government did not pursue this any further.

This discussion thread has shown one important thing about us educated bangladeshis - we are vey naieve and stupid to think that India is going to help us to prosper and become richer. In a globalised world - everybody is looking after their own interest. But who is looking after our interest - if we don't look after ourselves?

What I have seen so far I do not have much faith in present government to look after our interest - they are more busy to make India richer. I wish I had a friend like Bangladesh - I can dump cheap goods in her market, choke her growth and ask for free transit to export my goods to the rest of the world, and transport machinery and powerplants through BD to industrialise other parts of my country and become richer.

Many thanks for your response.

Salam

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[ALOCHONA] FW: OPEN LETTER TO DARUL ULOOM DEOBAND FROM BHARATIYA MUSLIM MAHILA ANDOLAN



                     The problem with many "Muslim" women's organization in Bangladesh is that they are just female cadres of the jehadi Islamists comprised of completely brainwashed hijabized zombies. The secular women's organizations, on the other hand, do not have enough knowledge of religious matters and therefore are unable to fight the illegal anti-women fatwas on religious grounds.  The net result is the continuing oppression of Muslim women by illegal religious fatwas. 
 
                      Farida Majid        
 



Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2010 19:54:35 -0800
Subject: OPEN LETTER TO DARUL ULOOM DEOBAND FROM BHARATIYA MUSLIM MAHILA ANDOLAN

 

OPEN LETTER TO DARUL ULOOM DEOBAND

FROM

 

BHARATIYA MUSLIM MAHILA ANDOLAN

 

We the activists of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan condemn the fatwa issued by Darul Ifta, Fatwa department of Sunni Islamic seminary, Darul Uloom Deoband stating that divorce pronounced by the husband on phone is valid even if the wife has not heard it due to network problems. It says that 'for talaak to take place it is not necessary that wife should hear it or witnesses are present.' In October this year they also ruled that talaak pronounced in jest is also valid. 

 

We demand an answer from all those mullas, muftis and qazis who have nothing better to do than pass fatwas which ruin the lives of so many women. We ask you 5 questions and we demand an answer to all of them:

 

  1. Who are you and what is your authority in passing fatwas? In a secular democracy like India and in a religion that denounces clergy ship, from where do you get the authority to pass dictates which are unConstitutional and unIslamic?
  2. What is the source of illogical, stupid and laughter-evoking fatwas like women should not be riding bicycles, women should not talk loudly, they should not work in male company and without a veil, that women cannot be a judge and that she cannot be talking to her fiancé before marriage and many other much much more ridiculous rulings? Don't you think twice before you defile a rational, progressive and liberal religion like Islam? Don't you have an iota of a sense of responsibility? 
  3. A Muslim man today feels empowered and emboldened when irresponsible muftis and qazis send letters and notices on his behalf to his unsuspecting wife abruptly terminating her marriage. Divorcing ones wife by letters, emails, SMSs is a recurring phenomenon which gives no opportunity to a harried wife to even know what went wrong where and how. Instead of dissuading men from resorting to this unIslamic method of divorce, the qazis are actually providing an easy conduit to men who think of marriage as some joke and his wife to be some piece of furniture to be discarded at his will. What do you feel when you read the verse no. 4:35 which insists on arbitration before divorce? Do you suffer from selective amnesia and forget all those verses which are just and fair to women?
  4. Is there no control over the qazis and maulana? Are they free to speak nonsense and defile the religion and hurt the dignity of Muslim women? You have given a bad name to Islam. Give us one good reason why Muslim women should not approach the police station and put these irresponsible mullas behind bars?
  5. When practically all Islamic/Muslim countries have codified the family law, why is the Darul Uloom not taking an initiative to call for codification of Muslim personal law in India? You have to tell us your views on codification.

 

We challenge the Darul Uloom Deoband to be answerable to Muslim women on the above and many more such pressing issues. We urge you to stop taking the community and Muslim women for granted.

 

 

 




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[ALOCHONA] Poisonous Fruits and Fish that you eat





--- On Wed, 24/11/10, Mohd. Haque <haquetm83@yahoo.com> wrote:

Date: Wednesday, 24 November, 2010, 1:59 PM

Recently some guests from home were wondering at my house, how the apple she buys rots within few days. And she says back home you keep it for weeks nothing happens, it may shrinks due to moisture loss but will not rot.
 
I was also shocked to hear - 'you know no fly comes to these fruits and you will not see any fly in our fruit shops'.
 
I heard about formaline's use to keep the fish fresh but fruits as well?
 
What a 'wonder land' that we live in, in a whole some manner and in all cases - specially in cities, fruits, fish are given unusual longer shelf/storage life using this deadly chemical.
 
There are no flies in those open or road side shops proof adequately that this is the reason insects dare to bite the poison that can take their lives and will damage human immunity, liver and kidney.
 
This is happening openly, I asked my guest not to eat them.   
 
What surprised me most is government's indifference to the health of common people.
 
This could have been taken as example of 'lack of concern' for our people had it been Ayub Khan or Yahia khan or even Ershad. How come, this is the government who claimed to give us our freedom and lead us to dream. Forget about BNP they are led by the Jamati who were against our freedom and prosperity, well beings!
 
To contain this deadly practice which does not require much of resources, does it?
 
69's cyclone did not attract the Paki's sympathy, reasons are well known, drunk Yahia could not get down from his helicopter. But our own government- do not get drunk (at least publicly) than why nothing is happening to Sidor hit people, few years gone by, many of them still on street? If you urgue that government is short of resources than do you know that nothing is being used from the donors commitment even that 100 million dollar given by Fael Khair (Saudi Arabia) nothing has been used.




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[ALOCHONA] The India doctrine and the elimination of political opposition in Bangladesh



The repression of the political opposition and the increasing intolerance of the ruling alliance headed by the Awami League should not be considered as politics as usual in Bangladesh. We are witnessing the final acts of a play that had been suspended in 1975 but has now been renewed under improved circumstances for the AL and its principal backer India. The forcible removal of Khaleda Zia from her cantonment residence and the decision of the BNP to call a hartal (shut down) for 30th November in reaction to the eviction should not be seen in isolation from the wider political undercurrents now influencing events in Bangladesh. The hartal is not simply about the dispossession of a single house but more precisely its symbolic meaning as the loss of sovereignty and independence of the entire nation. The BNP has presented the hartal call as a protest against the undignified and hasty dispossession of a former Prime Minister of her home of 40 years but the party should have found more courage to openly and directly challenge the real grievance of the nationalist forces in Bangladesh which is the Indian hold and domination over the country's future. The objective simply put, is to implement the India doctrine of hegemony and control over Bangladesh (as described in the book The India Doctrine (1947-2007) and to give permanency to the Awami League as the governing party representing Indian interests in the country. None of this can be achieved, however, without the elimination of the political opposition. Once the opposition seizes to be a threat to the Awami League the agreements on transit, deep sea port and defense cooperation will be put into effect. For now everything is under suspension so as not to gift an issue to the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami. Already one important piece in the nationalist and patriotic armour of Bangladesh has been broken and that is the army. The Peelkhana massacre was merely the last stage in the disintegration of the armed forces. The army had become rotten from within a decade ago when it decided to make peace keeping its primary mission and the defense of the nation a mere secondary concern. The primary actors in the 1/11 changeover, for example, were a mercenary and incompetent bunch but they represented the highest echelons of the armed forces. If the opposition were to also disintegrate or become obsolete due to government repression and violence then the gains of 1971 will eventually become erased and the country rendered a mere vassal State of India.   

                                                                                         

Sohail Taj

 

Postgraduate Student

 

University College London



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[ALOCHONA] Re: [KHABOR] Awami League



Friends


If one is real honest n clear in h/her conscience then s/he canNOT and should never ever compare BAL(former BAKSAL) with democracy n civility.

BAL  N DEMOCRACY NEVER EVER GOES SIDE BY SIDE WITH HARMONY RATHER BAL N DEMOCRAZY(FASCISM) GOES WITH RIGHT BONDAGE LIKE OWN KITH N KIN. 

BAL(BAKSAL) MEANS AUTOCRACY,RUTHLESS SUPPRESSION OF OPPOSING VIEWS,CLOSE THE DOOR OF FREEDOM OF PRESS, THINKING N MAINLY SHUTTING THE DOOR FOR PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY FOR WHICH THEN E.PAKISTANIS HAVE SHED OCEAN OF BLOOD BY BAL'S ACTION OF INSTALLING ONE PARTY BAKSAL RULE.

BAL MEANS  REIGN OF TERROR OF HUNDREDS OF RAPIST(including teachers aligned to BALIST ideology) BROAD DAY LIGHT KILLERS, LOOTERS,TENDER HIJACKERS,LAND GRABBERS,VANDALIZING HINDU TEMPLE N MANY MANY VICES THE SONAR CHELEYS POSSES TO UPHOLD TO MAKE BANGLADESH SONAR BANGLA.

BAL MEANS CONNIVERS WITH THE POWER N EXPERT IN PALACE POLITICS( installation and down fall of 2/3 governments within 72 hours in 1954 in then E.Pakistan with Abu Hossain Sarkar/Ataur Rahman etc etc)in then Pakistan facilitating continuation of oppressive rule from the bestial West Pakistanis.

BAL MEANS A BLESSING FOR THE LUICHCHA ERSHAIDDA TO CONTINUE HIS "SHOIRACHAR REIGN" HAD IT (bal) NOT BETRAYED THE CAUSE OF THE PROMISED BOYCOTT OF GENERAL ELECTION GIVEN BY THE SOIRACHAR IN 1986.THE PEOPLE OF BANGLADESH HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN OF THIS TREACHEROUS ACT OF DEMOCRACY CHAMPION >

BAL MEANS CLOSED EYE ABOUT HINDU  STAAAAN'S  ATROCITIES,BIG BROTHER ACTS N VIOLATION OF ALL INTERNATIONAL RULES/CONVENTIONS N NO PROTEST AGAINST KILLING OF BANGLADESH ON DAILY BASIS BY THE BASTARD BSF.

BAL MEANS CHUNGA  FUKAIIING THRU PAA CHATA K.JIBIS FOR THEIR ETERNAL FRIENDSHIP WITH HINDU  STAAAN WHICH IS COSTING THE NATION VERY DEARLY.

There are hundreds other lines could be drawn to prove that :

BAL  N DEMOCRACY NEVER EVER GOES SIDE BY SIDE WITH HARMONY RATHER BAL N DEMOCRAZY(FASCISM) GOES WITH RIGHT BONDAGE LIKE OWN KITH N KIN. 

Faruque Alamgir


 
On Fri, Nov 26, 2010 at 2:14 AM, Mohiuddin Anwar <mohiuddin@netzero.net> wrote:
Awami League is the destoyer of Democracy in Bangladesh. They never allow opposition to work during their rule. Look at pre 75 and during during Hasina rule. They used full governme nt forces to suppress opposition activities. Duiring 75 the than Awami League abolished multiparty democracy and created one party rule. Basically they slaughtered democracy which war broght back by Khandker Mushtaque in Bangladesh and Zia broght bacxk muliti party democracy again in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Awami League was allwed to function by the Zia government. Current Ami leadersip forgot that part of the history and again after gaining power again they are suppressing opposition BNP with all the reopurces of the government like, Police/RAB/ISPr and the higher court judges. Even the higher court judges cannot take independent decision under Hasina rule. Therefore we see accuised murderer and a vandal who are beliver of Awami idioligy became jidges of Higher court.tolerance of opposion is unknown to Awami dictionery. if you donot believe in Awami idiology, you are nobody in Bangladesh. If you are a government employee you will become OSD or loose your government job. . If you are a businessmen/Contractor you won't get any government tender work even you won't get a government job. Government jobs/tender works are reserved for Awami/BKSAL believer. Currently pro-government Chatro League controlling the tender business hundred percent. Genuine/legitimate contractors cannot submit tender. Even you won't ger  your seat in university dorm. there is no hope for believer of non-Awami idiology. But the reality and good news  is that the  Awami rule is not peermanent in Bangladsesh, people won't tolerate such misrule  in Bangladesh. Peoples anger will be reflected in next election make no doubt about it.Even the Awami rule might end before the next election. Hasina well known as arrogant and Hortal Konnya cannot survive politically for long time .
 
 
 
---------- Original Message ----------
From: Sitangshu Guha <guhasb@gmail.com>
To: khabor@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [KHABOR] Awami League
Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2010 23:22:28 -0500

 

For development we need democracy, for democracy we need AL

Awami League is not just a political party, it is an institution; it established Bangladesh, it leads the freedom fight. AL is a party of the people, by the people, for the people. Its glorious history is Bangladesh�s history. You can�t think Bangladesh without AL or vice versa.

AL rule Bangladesh for less than 11 years, reactionaries ruled 29 years! How you expect development, creativeness or democracy? When the country was heading towards Afghanistan during 2001-2008, it is AL, which again turns the direction of the country towards democracy. It is a great achievement.

We had noticed that, all the bombs, grenades always fall on AL or progressive forces? Why? Because reactionaries does that. Go back and see how Zia & Ershad come to power? Backdoor. Did you notice that, every time Khaleda Zia leaves power, there was political turmoil? Because these reactionaries loves to come to power through back door.

No country develops with the reactionaries in power. Bangladesh is no exception. For development we need democracy, for democracy we need AL. Bangladesh to become a digital country, let AL come to power for the 2nd term. Obama will not be elected for the 2nd term, but Sheikh Hasina will.



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