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Tuesday, August 2, 2011

[ALOCHONA] Re: All set for conceding another 13.5 acres of Goainghat to India



Experts against borderland handover sans reciprocity


Strategic analysts wonder how the government can unilaterally hand over the country's territory to theIndians even without informing the nation in this regard. They have demandedtransparency and a clear statement of the status of Bangladesh territory toremove fear and confusion and also bring back confidence of the nation.(The New Nation )

Former BDR chief Maj Gen. FazlurRahman, a veteran of a border skirmish with the Indian border security forcesover the control of Padua at Sylhet Tamabeel border in 2001 said Indian forcescame here initially to support the training of freedom fighters in 1971 at acamp set up inside the country.

Now they have made claim on theland and the government is reported to have handed over it telling nothing to the nation.

He said after the liberation, thefreedom fighters at Padua camp left it but some

Indian forces continued theirpresence taking advantage of the friendly relations. Political leadership at that time almost ignored the presence of these forces in the camp withoutanticipating that it may one day become an issue to cost the nation's ownershipover the land.

He told The New Nation lastevening commenting on the news report of the recent handing over of 220 acresof Padua land to the Indian authority in the wake of the Indian Home Minister PChidamboram visit to Dhaka last week.

More land at Kanaighat border wasscheduled to be handed over Monday.

Fazlur Rahman said after theindependence BDR also continued tolerating the camp inside about 1.25 km ofBangladesh territory but it continued at the same time the inspection oforiginal border pillars at their advanced locations from both sides keeping thecamp behind within Bangladesh.

He said the initial dispute cameto the fore when the Indian border security forces (BSF) made an attempt tobuild a feeder road over the no man's land connecting the camp with one oftheir nearby border outpost about 10 km away.

Maj. Gen Fazlur Rahman said asthe BDR resisted the move a protracted border war broke out in which the Indianforces landed with a brigade capacity but they were beaten back. They thenattacked BDR outpost at Roumari in an attempt to hit Bangladeshi bordersecurity forces in total surprise. But it was also defeated.

Bangladesh maintained its hold onthe Padua totaling over 230 acres of land. After the skirmishes,the Indian government sent a letter to Bangladesh government inviting adelegation to discuss the issue however without any precondition. In thatclaims made by both sides were discussed but its final settlement was leftbehind to be carried out when the Indira-Mujib agreement will be finallyimplemented.

This is how they raised the claimon the Bangladeshi land and made it disputed in the first place although allthe subsequent governments in Bangladesh maintained the nation's hold on theterritory with all steadfastness.

He wondered how the presentgovernment can make the hand over of the land without working out solutions toall outstanding disputes of land and other issues that come under Indira-Mujibagreement. How can it unilaterally agree to secede the land that belonged tothe country.

Fazlur Rahman, as far as heguesses, the total of adversely possessed land between Bangladesh and India mays tand at between three to four thousand acres, besides the disputed enclaves.Here why piecemeal settlement has been resorted only in areas where India hasits highest interest.

Referring to the enclavesproblems, he said Bangladesh is likely to get 17,000 acres of land from Indiaif it gets its all enclaves back against losing about 7,000 acres under theexchange programmes of the enclaves. The nation expects a two-way traffic, hesaid.

Another strategic analyst and a veteran soldier Maj. Gen. Ibrahim said lack of transparency of the governmentaction is only making the nation extremely scared of what is taking place atthe high power centers.

He wondered why the government is only surrendering land without the Indians reciprocating it where Bangladeshhas its claims. Why it is at one border zone, not covering all border pointsand why it is prior to Indian Prime Minister's visit when all outstandingissues are scheduled to be resolved.

He said he protests unilateralsurrender of land and demanded clear statement from the government to removeconfusion and bring back confidence to the nation.

Meanwhile, former Chief of ArmyGen Mahbubur Rahman in a clarification of the New Nation's report publishedyesterday on Tamabeel land transfer said he was not the BDR director general in1980. Actually, he attended the annual border summit with BSF in 1989 in Delhiwith the BDR chief Maj, Gen Atiqur Rahman as a member of the delegation in hiscapacity as director operations. He was a colonel that time, he said.

http://thenewnationbd.com/newsdetails.aspx?newsid=13434


On Mon, Aug 1, 2011 at 11:27 AM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:

All set for conceding another 13.5 acres of Goainghat to India

Everything is set for conceding another 13.5 acres of cultivable land to India at Kulum Chhara in Goainghat upazila tomorrow (Monday).

Bangladesh survey officials in the Indo-Bangla Joint Border Demarcation team said it was agreed to set bamboo pillars inside Bangladesh at Kulum Chhara border conceding 13.50 acres.

Confirming the decision ADC (Revenue) Ahmed Shamim Al Rajee told UNB that demarcation and setting of bamoo pillars at Kulum Chhara border are scheduled for tomorrow.

Law enforcing agencies including police, BGB and plain clothed security officials are being deployed in the area so that the joint border demarcation team can carry out its task without any disturbance, officials said.

Kulum Chhara area is in addition to 261 acres, including Padua, in Goainghat border already conceded to India during the last two weeks. Bamboo pillars have been set on the new line of border despite angry demonstrations by villagers.

Lamenting at the loss of their crop lands, farmers in these areas said Indians are not allowing them to go to their land, which they cultivated for ages. BSF threatens to shoot them if they venture to cultivate the newly demarcated lands.

Dildar Hossain, former MP of the area said the villagers under the banner of 'Amra Simantabashi (We the residents of the border)' will launch vigorous movement after the Ramadan to thwart the government move to handover the lands to India which the farmers used to cultivate for ages.

He questioned the necessity of fresh demarcation of border and viewed that the present subservient government has taken the step to handover certain areas of Bangladesh territory to India.

http://www.unbconnect.com/component/news/task-show/id-54528

Also:
http://amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2011/08/01/96473
http://amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2011/08/01/96471




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[mukto-mona] Sexual Apartheid in Muslim societies

Sexual Apartheid in Muslim societies

Oppose unequal nakedness and indecent exposure laws as a response to Hijab


Muslim society observes double moral standard and unequal nakedness in covering the male and female bodies. Muslim societies suffer from sexual segregation and repression. The most serious sexual problem is not premarital sex or AIDS; it is the failure to accept our children's sexuality and teach them to accept it and enjoy it responsibly.

As we all know that Adam and Eve were created naked. They lived together yet they felt no shame. My mother says I took birth naked, and it was not thought shameful by her.

However, when I grew little older, I was taught that some of my body parts are shameful. I covered the scandalous parts of my body. It was very easy to hide my penis, particularly when there was no erection.


I had a younger sister. She too was taught to cover up shameful parts of her body. It was not difficult for her to hide space between her legs. However, she could not conceal her breasts, and these were becoming more prominent day by day. My sister's anatomy was a big problem for her and a threat to our family honor and a great source of humiliation for all male members of our family.

When my mother was young she too had faced this problem. She had solved the problem by wearing sack like attire called Burqa. However, my sister was told to wear a fashionable letter box type Burqa. That depersonalized her completely, so much so that I could not recognize my sister in the market place.

This had one advantage. Burqa could be used as a camouflage to protect our family honor, not my sister. That was not our concern. It gave my sister anonymity while in market place and saved us, male members of the family, from humiliation and from fighting those who might molest her, we saved our family honor while allowing men, molest her in public places.

When I was a kid, I used to take my penis in my hands, and I liked this activity. However, whenever my mother used to see this, she would scold me saying. It is a dirty thing. When I grew older touching my penis or being naked was totally prohibited. I was astonished why adult members of my family were so terrified by my little monster. I am hiding between my legs. It was considered shame full part of my body.


In addition to sexual segregation, there is complete silence and repression on sex in Muslim society. With the result, I was put in dark, there was no one with whom I could talk about sex except my friends who knew nothing. I wanted to see what girls hide between their legs. I wanted to touch that place. However, how can I say so? .

There was another problem: a perpetual penis war or more technically phalacrotic war, is going on in Muslim societies.

My parents thought penetrator in the sexual act superior to female partner being penetrated that degrades her socially. In other words, my mother had humiliated herself and her brothers and parents by marrying my father.

Being a male member of my family I was honored as a warrior, a penis Mujahid and my sister was considered as a threat to our social prestige. In the interests of family honor, it was thought necessary to restrict her movements, keep an eye on her activities violating her privacy and covering her whole body from the predatory penis Mujahids.

In fact, Jihad under Mohamad's command was a form of penis war in which fallen enemy's women became the property of the Victor, and this was done in the name of Allah most merciful and by the perfect man, a role model for Muslims.

Islam only knows penetrative sex, animal sex and treating women as a sex object and does not consider sex as a relationship. Sex under Islam is like masturbation as if Muslim men masturbate themselves over their women.

The phallocracy is so strong in Muslim societies that had not f__king our daughters and sister been Haram (prohibited), in order to uphold family honor, we would have never let our sisters and daughters marry to someone else and degrade ourselves.

It is what is happening in Muslim societies where incest is a common practice. If my sister does not accept my sexual advances, I can kill her accusing her of adultery. If she accepts the relationship, she can be killed by other male members of the family, if they come to know about it.

Muslims generally do not f__k their sisters and daughters, but they do not allow them to have a relationship with other men of their choice. Muslim men play the role of pimps as they get the reward for protecting their sisters and daughter's virginity and handing them over to other men through arranged marriage deal. More the age difference between bride and bridegroom, more money they get.

Being a male is a great privilege in a Muslim society. My penis was considered as a weapon for restoring family honor, that is if any one f__ks my sister. I will f__k his sister. This way Muslims f__k their sisters and daughters without violating Sharia law. My mother was proud having given birth to a male child and ashamed of given birth to my sister.

In view of this, my support to muslim women including hijabi sisters is unconditional. I oppose any ban on hijab, covering of women from top to toe. My only grievance is that they do not support my right to walk around naked, free of clothes.
I want indecent exposure laws to be repealed. I consider clothes as an uniform of so-called civilized man who has killed 120 million fellow human being in last six decades. Furthermore, our clothes reveal our social status, cultural identity, nationality, etc. more than our individual self and these are the markers of divisions within humanity based on caste, color and ethnicity. I believe in oneness of humanity and have renounced these symbols along with Islam.

I see Hijab, a piece of cloth similar to an Islamic flag and tall mosque minarets built in Western countries by immigrant Muslim community as a sign post to claim public sphere in the west, like a dog marks his newly won territory with urine (and its smell). It can be also understood as a threat of assimilation, as a response to the dilemma of being same and yet different in western society. our clothes are part of our identity politics and have nothing to do with religion.


I appeal to all of you to:

Oppose unequal nakedness and support letting the women walk bare breasted and allowing breastfeeding a baby in public.

Oppose indecent exposure laws

Support clothes-free beaches, swimming pools, other public places

oppose phallocracy, the belief that penetrator in a sexual act to be superior and carrying social prestige and degrading female partner who was penetrated.

Support dismantling patriarchical social system


M.A.Hussain

http://deconstructingislamism.com/unequalnakedness.htm

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Oppose-unequal-nakedness/231394266877166

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[ALOCHONA] Arrest Warrant Sought for CIA Lawyer Who Authorized Drone Attacks



 

 

 

Arrest Warrant Sought for CIA Lawyer Who Authorized Drone Attacks

Tara McKelvey, The Daily Beast


Tara McKelvey reports:

 

"On July 18, Pakistani lawyer Mirza Shahzad Akbar, working with Smith, filed a formal complaint, or a First Information Report, in a police station in Islamabad, accusing Rizzo of murder and war crimes. The written complaint holds him responsible for the death of an 8-year-old boy, the son of Maezol Khan, who was killed by a missile early in the morning on February 14, 2009, while he was sleeping in a courtyard of his house in the town of Makeen, Pakistan."
READ MORE



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Re: [ALOCHONA] Justice Party, a new name for Jamaat! Jamat highly fore sighted



Yes indeed a bunch cowardly traitorous geniuses. Too afraid to face their past and acknowledge their crimes against humanity & come clean. So a new gimmick changing their name. Will they sacrifice their elders in order to get power. Name changing is not even imaginative, a cheap copy from  Erdogan's party in Egypt. Erdodan is a hundred times smarter than these clowns in Jamaat.

 

BTW what number Bhuiyan are you. You join the ranks of the Bongo Mahathir, Joglu the fake Ottoman, Hakka Hua (Foxy) Alamgir & Hannan the Bureaucrat. What a crowd!!!

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Banglar Bhuiyan
Sent: Jul 31, 2011 4:51 AM
To: "alochona@yahoogroups.com"
Subject: Re: [ALOCHONA] Justice Party, a new name for Jamaat! Jamat highly fore sighted

 

Jamat e Islami politically opposing destruction of Pakistan. These leaders are more and highly far sighted than any other politicians of Bangladesh or then East Pakistan.
 
Todays Bangladesh is:
 
Secularist
Faith on Allah removed from the constitution
Removal of "relations with Muslim world" from the constitution
Passage for India
Border Killing
Indian Market creation
Padma water taking offs
 
All were known by them in advance in 1971
 
 

From: Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com>
To:
Sent: Monday, 25 July 2011, 9:35:02
Subject: [ALOCHONA] Justice Party, a new name for Jamaat!

 
Justice Party, a new name for Jamaat!
Hannan Amir, Razzak Secretary General
Jamaat is on the verge of a split. Five of the party's top leaders are in the dock for crimes against humanity and it is almost certain they will be sentenced. In order to shrug off the this stigma, the younger and moderate leaders of the party plan to reorganize the party and give it a new name – Justice Party. Shah Abdul Hannan and Barrister Razzak are to take leadership of the party.
Five top leaders of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami are now facing charges of crimes against humanity. The International Crime Tribunal has almost completed investigations against the imprisoned Jamaat leaders – the party's Amir Moulana Matiur Rahman Nizami; Naib-e-Amir Delwar Hossain Sayeedi; Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mujahid; and Assistant Secretary General Abdul Qader Mollah. The trial against them will start shortly. It is likely that these leaders, as well as Golam Azam, will all be sentenced to punishment. This has given rise to two divisions within the party leadership as to who will then take over the reins.
Actually even before the leaders were arrested, conflict had arisen between the old conservatives and the younger, relatively modern leaders. The younger leaders felt that the entire party was having to bear the brunt of war crime accusations leveled against a handful of the leaders. Also, the conservative mindset of the older leaders was a deterrent for the general people to be drawn to the party. That is why the younger leaders had been calling for a change in leadership, but no heed was paid to their demands. After all, the majority of the party's leaders and workers around the country supported the old leaders.
If the senior leaders are eventually sentenced, the younger and moderate leaders will want to make use of this opportunity to give the party a facelift and clear it of its negative image. They may even consider a change of name for the party.
Sources within the party say that Jamaat-e-Islami may be given the new name of Justice Party. This has not been finalized as yet and they might come up with a new name. The "new and improved" party may then see former Secretary of the Bangladesh government Shah Abdul Hannan as its Amir and Barrister Abdur Razzak and Secretary General.
Speaking to PROBE, Barrister Razzak dismisses such speculations as mere rumours. He says there is still a long way off for Jamaat's party elections. The members will then decide on the leadership during the election. The election is held in December every year.
In the meantime, the Bar Council has not given its approval to the foreign lawyers appointed by Jamaat to fight their cases. Barrister Razzak says, "We have appealed to the High Court, but have our doubts about the outcome of our appeal."




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[ALOCHONA] FW: The ideology of thought control in Pakistan Dawn By Maheen Usmani



             The "ideology of Pakistan" comes in vari-colored packages and 'moraks' in Bangladesh and we are too dumbed down by the politicians to pause and ponder.  One of the packages is labeled "Shonarbangladesh," a web magazine of the Jamaat. There is also the newspaper Amar desh.
                        
             The interesting point made by this article is that the brainwashed people are the literates, the educated and the middle class.  We in Bangladesh automatically assume that the illiterates are the ones who are the first to be duped by the bogey of Islam.
 
              In my opnion illiterates are the smarter and being more genuinely religious, they are the ones who reject the fake 'dharmo-onuragi' amongst the populace and the politicians.  Our literate middle class people love false mollas or 'bok-dharmiks'.
 
                Farida Majid    


The ideology of thought control in Pakistan

By Maheen Usmani

 DAWN.COM

 

Denial is not just a river in Egypt. It has become something of a personality cult in Pakistan. Nowhere is this cognitive dissonance more visible than amongst the educated who refuse to accept facts and logic, clinging instead to a neurotic persecution complex.

 

Columnist Khaled Ahmed says: "The vast majority of literate Pakistanis take comfort in ignorance, skepticism and conspiracy theories. The self-glorification of an imagined past matched by habits of national denial have assumed crisis proportions today when Pakistan's existence is under far more serious threat from fellow Muslims than it was in 1947 from rival non Muslim communities." What lies beneath this inability to critique and lack of intelligent analysis? Undoubtedly, one's education influences views on politics and society. As Robert Frost aptly puts it: "education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence."

 

To sift the chaff from the grain, let us consider a ubiquitous slogan about the 'ideology' of Pakistan. A staple of our school textbooks, it echoed in massive public rallies as well as debates on secularism. Pakistan ka matlab kiya? La illaha il lallah (What is the meaning of Pakistan? There is no God but Allah) has become the rallying cry of the campaign to Islamise Pakistani society. Ironically, it is a slogan that was coined long after the creation of Pakistan, but it is now being falsely ascribed to the leaders of the Pakistan movement in 1947.

 

Religion has often proved to be a powerful binding factor which has merged heterogeneous groups into a distinct nationality. Through appeal to supernatural authority, religion promotes national unity as a divine command. Examples abound in contemporary history: the Greek church as a source for Greek nationalism, the Catholic church as a factor in Irish separatism, Judaism and the state of Israel, Islam and Pakistan.

 

Soon after he seized power in 1977, General Zia ul-Haq sought to create a nation based on religion rather than on secular principles. An important part of the Islamisation agenda was defining the Islamic 'ideology' of Pakistan. In stark contrast to modern textbooks, no textbook written prior to 1977 mentions the 'Ideology of Pakistan'.

 

Since education was a key factor in Zia's Machiavellian manoeuvrings, a presidential order was issued that all Pakistan Studies textbooks must "demonstrate that the basis of Pakistan is not to be founded in racial, linguistic, or geographical factors, but, rather, in the shared experience of a common religion. To get students to know and appreciate the Ideology of Pakistan, and to popularise it with slogans. To guide students towards the ultimate goal of Pakistan – the creation of a completely Islamised State."

 

Instead of being a Muslim state as envisaged by its founders, Pakistan was recast in the mould of an Islamic state, where Islamic law would reign supreme. A state sponsored and systematic purging of liberal and secular values of future generations of Pakistan ensued.

 

History was rewritten to redefine Pakistani as an Islamic society, and no research on ancient India, the medieval period or the colonial era. Our history was linked with the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates, thus alienating it from ancient Indian history. This interpretation creates a Muslim consciousness that seeks it's identity outside India.


Historian Mubarak Ali cautions "History should not be influenced by religious beliefs since history has no religion. Pakistan came into being in 1947, but our history existed before this which cannot be deleted."

History textbooks written soon after Partition – a time when the grief of shattered families who experienced communal killings was at its peak – show a more liberal mindset. The history of the subcontinent was taken to start with the ancient Indus valley civilisations rather than with the conquest of India by the first Muslim invader, Mohammad bin Qasim, in 712. In contrast to today's history books, these books contained discussions of the empires of Emperor Ashoka and the Maurya dynasty. Has there has been a deliberate revival of communal antagonism over 30 years after Partition? Undoubtedly, the permanent militarisation of society requires a permanent enemy.

 

Although Edward Everett may state that "education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army", the task of defending Pakistan's ideological borders has been entrusted to the military as they are defenders of the 'faith.' Textbooks extol the achievements of Muslim conquering heroes, as well as those of the Armed Forces. In sharp contrast, no contributions by any heroes in fields like education, medicine, law or social work are highlighted.

September 6 commemorates the defense of the country against an Indian attack in 1965. According to our textbooks, it was India which attacked Lahore in the middle of the night, without any provocation, but our army won this war. The reality is that Pakistan started the 1965 war on August 5 by sending soldiers into Kashmir and India retaliated the following day.

 

Instead of the soul searching and accountability undertaken by nations like Japan and Germany after devastating wars, our history textbooks explained the separation of East Pakistan in 1971 as an evil design by India which created the guerrilla group Mukhti Bahini in order to seize Pakistani territory. Although we lost half of Pakistan, there was no mention of the gross inequalities which led to the grievances of the Bengalis. Tens of thousands died, millions were displaced, atrocities were committed and the country was rent asunder. But the guilty were never punished.

 

The seeds of the distortion of history and the preponderance of religious dogma which were sown decades ago are bearing fruit today. Examples from the curriculum designed by the Federal Ministry of Education abound. The Social Studies textbook for Class 7 says: "European nations have been working during the past three centuries, through conspiracies on naked aggression to subjugate the countries of the Muslim world."

 

14-year-old students of Pakistan Studies are being taught that: "one of the reasons of the downfall of the Muslims in the sub-continent was the lack of the spirit of jihad."

13-year-olds are instructed: "In Islam jihad is very important…..The person who offers his life never dies….All the prayers nurture one's passion of jihad."

Thus, a primary and secondary school environment is being created which is nurturing prejudice and extremism. "College and university come much too late; change must begin at the primary and secondary school level," sums up physicist and lecturer Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy.


Although religious schools or madrassas in Pakistan are often blamed for breeding extremism, only 6 per cent of children are educated in these schools. Furthermore, research does not confirm the link between madrassa education and terrorism. The cause for the intolerance experienced by Ahmadis, Hindus and Christians lies in public education, structured as it has been to defend Pakistan against some phantom enemy. Non-Muslims are forced to read the same textbooks which contain derogatory remarks against Hindus, e.g being eternal enemies of Muslims. Our myopic educational system discourages questioning and causes ethnic and religious minorities to be viewed with suspicion.

 

Pakistan is primarily a young country, so it is the youth which is severely impacted by rampant unemployment, inflation, corruption and violence. Many amongst this disenchanted segment have started seeing religion as their anchor and are attracted to demagogues like Zaid Hamid. A self-proclaimed jihadist who claims to have fought against the Soviets in Afghanistan, Hamid banks on the insecurity and frustrations of college students and television viewers. Just as Adolf Hitler dwelt on Germany's 'wounded honour' in his famous beer-hall oratory in Munich (where he promised that Germany would conquer the world), Hamid calls for the Pakistan Army to go to war against India and liberate Kashmir, Palestine, Chechnya and Afghanistan.

 

Our curriculum stresses the formal and ritualistic aspects of Islam, as against those which emphasise social justice. Science and secular knowledge are regarded with contempt. Dr Hoodbhoy says, "I have never seen a first-rate Muslim scientist become an Islamist or a terrorist even when he or she is a strong believer. But second-and third-rate technologists are more susceptible. These are people who use science in some capacity but without any need to understand it very much—engineers, doctors, technicians, etc.—all of whom are more inclined towards radicalism. They have been trained to absorb facts without thinking, and this makes them more susceptible to the inducements of holy books and preachers."


The steady diet of religious fundamentalism and blind faith has clouded objective and rational thinking, and transformed Pakistan from a moderate Muslim-majority country into one where the majority wants Islam to play a key role in politics. A 2008 survey by World Public Opinion found that 54 per cent of Pakistanis wanted strict application of Sharia. The British Council polled 1226 young Pakistanis between 18 and 29 in 2009 and found that 'three-quarters of all young people identify themselves primarily as Muslims. Just 14 per cent chose to define themselves primarily as a citizen of Pakistan.'

 

Pakistan's skewed priorities may account for the huge amount spent on its ever increasing "defence needs" and only 1.5 per cent of it's GDP on education. But lost in the brouhaha over the lack of access to education is the dire need to revise the dogmatic and distorted school curriculum. As the pendulum swings in Pakistan between radicals and moderates, we need our friends to stand with us and demand that Pakistanis don't need an education which stunts, blinds, distorts and deadens any more. As Alvin Toffler said, "The illiterate of the future will not be the person who cannot read. It will be the person who does not know how to learn."

 

Maheen Usmani is a freelance journalist. She has reported on varied subjects, ranging from socio-political issues to sports, travel, culture and counter terrorism.

 




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Re: [ALOCHONA] Re: India wants total surrender: Beware of these RAW writers



Ejaz

Nobody is asking you not to be concerned about India. But to give a communal twist to everything as Zoglul the Pretend OTTOMAN does reflects Pakistani & muslim supremacist thinking. That is not helpful and only be construed as ill-motivated.  

 

You dont seem to have a problem with his provocative headline but you have problem with a response. Second what makes him or you for that matter the sole guardian of the interests of Bangladesh. You have your interests and conceptions and others have theirs.

 

Robin

-----Original Message-----
From: ezajur
Sent: Jul 31, 2011 2:33 AM
To: alochona@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [ALOCHONA] Re: India wants total surrender: Beware of these RAW writers

 

The comment you made is hysterical gibberish. Pakistan has nothing to offer Bangladesh and can take nothing from Bangladesh. The country with whom Bangladesh has the most critical relationship is India. That's why a lot of people are concerned about India. Its far better to be worried about India (like me) than not to be worried about India at all (like you).

Zaglul, like you or me, could be many things. But he is not an Islamist Paki agent just for being worried about India.

Ezajur Rahman
Kuwait

--- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, "Turkman" <turkman@...> wrote:
>
> ... and Islamist Paki Agents in B.D. want total domination of the world.
>
> --- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, Isha Khan <bdmailer@> wrote:
> >
> > ------- Forwarded message ----------
> > From: Zoglul Husain <zoglul@>
> > Date: Sat, Jul 23, 2011 at 3:54 PM
> > Subject: RE: India wants total surrender
> > To: Isha Khan <bdmailer@>
> >
> > I thank Zana Ghutekurani for refuting the anti-Bangladesh false propaganda
> > of Bhaskar Roy. I refer also to Shah Ahmad Reza's article in Amar Desh, 15
> > June 2011, where he refuted Bhaskar Roy:
> > http://www.amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2011/06/15/87311.
> >
> > As we do not have a think tank for the patriots, we are dependent on
> > individuals who sincerely do the work whatever way they can.
> >
> > *Bhaskar Roy* is a regular contributor to reportedly RAW's website, South
> > Asia Analysis Group (SAAG). He frequently writes for the Bangladesh section
> > of the SAAG website.
> >
> > One of the other regular contributors to this website is *B. Raman* or
> > Bahukutumbi Raman, a former Additional Secretary (Retired), Cabinet
> > Secretariat of the Government of India and former head of the
> > counter-terrorism division of India's external intelligence agency RAW. He
> > is currently the director of the Institute for Tropical Studies, Chennai. As
> > a former intelligence official, B. Raman regularly writes about security,
> > counter-terrorism and military issues regarding India and South Asia (from
> > Wikipedia).
> >
> > There is another frequent contributor to SAAG, *Kazi Anwarul Masud*, a
> > former diplomat and Secretary of Bangladesh. He projects the views of RAW.
> >
> > The website link of SAAG is:
> > http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/
> >
> > The link of its Bangladesh section is:
> > http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/searchb10.asp?search=bangladesh&searchtype=all
> >
> >
> > The latest 30 articles in the Bangladesh section are: (You can access the
> > other articles from the above link, by clicking the word 'NEXT' at the
> > bottom of each page)
> >
> > 1. *LET BANGLADESH SOLVE ITS POLITICAL
> > ISSUES*<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers46/paper4531.html>by
> > Bhaskar Roy on 6/6/2011
> >
> > 2. AS PRIME MINISTER MANMOHAN SINGH PREPARES FOR BRICS
> > SUMMIT<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers45/paper4422.html>by
> > Bhaskar Roy on 12/4/2011
> >
> > 3. BANGLADESH: PAST MUST BE RESOLVED TO ENSURE
> > FUTURE<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers45/paper4401.html>by
> > Bhaskar Roy on 29/3/2011
> >
> > 4. THE FALL OF NOBEL LAUREATE MUHAMMAD
> > YUNUS<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers44/paper4370.html>by
> > Rajeev Sharma on 9/3/2011
> >
> > 5. DERAILING INDIA-BANGLADESH RELATIONS WILL COST
> > BOTH<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers44/paper4325.html>by
> > Bhaskar Roy on 9/2/2011
> >
> > 6. PAKISTAN: SALMAN TASEER'S MURDER & THE BLASPHEMY
> > LAW<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers43/paper4266.html>by Kazi
> > Anwarul Masud on 9/1/2011
> >
> > 7. CAN FOSSILISED IDEOLOGY DERAIL BANGLADESH'S
> > DEVELOPMENT?<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers43/paper4215.html>by
> > Bhaskar Roy on 7/12/2010
> >
> > 8. OPPOSITION SMEARING BANGLADESH'S CROWNING
> > GLORY<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers42/paper4141.html>by
> > Bhaskar Roy on 2/11/2010
> >
> > 9. CHINA'S RAILWAY LINK-UP WITH CHITTAGONG VIA
> > MYANMAR<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers42/paper4103.html>by
> > B.Raman on 18/10/2010
> >
> > 10. BANGLADESH: FEEL FOR THE STONES WHEN CROSSING THE
> > RIVER<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers41/paper4056.html>by
> > Bhaskar Roy on 22/9/2010
> >
> > 11. *INDIA-BANGLADESH EMBARK ON STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP -
> > SILENTLY*<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers41/paper4032.html>by
> > Rajeev Sharma on 11/9/2010
> >
> > 12. CONSOLIDATING
> > BANGLADESH<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers40/paper3987.html>by
> > Bhaskar Roy on 19/8/2010
> >
> > 13. SOUTH ASIAN STAKE IN GLOBAL
> > CONSTRUCT:<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers40/paper3959.html>by
> > Kazi Anwarul Masud on 31/7/2010
> >
> > 14. ANATOMY OF BANGLADESH OPPOSITION: SK. HASINA MUST
> > ACT<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers39/paper3867.html>by
> > Bhaskar Roy on 19/6/2010
> >
> > 15. CHINESE INTEREST IN HAMBANTOTA, CHITTAGONG PORTS --- AN
> > UPDATE<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers39/paper3863.html>by
> > B.Raman on 16/6/2010
> >
> > 16. BANGLADESH ON A STRATEGIC
> > TIGHTROPE<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers38/paper3796.html>by
> > Col. R. Hariharan on 5/5/2010
> >
> > 17. IS COEXISTENCE WITH RADICALIZED ISLAM
> > POSSIBLE?<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers38/paper3748.html>by
> > Kazi Anwarul Masud on 5/4/2010
> >
> > 18. BANGLADESH ECONOMY- PROBLEMS & PROSPECTS- PART
> > II<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers38/paper3735.html>by Kazi
> > Anwarul Masud on 27/3/2010
> >
> > 19. BANGLADESH ECONOMY- PROBLEMS & PROSPECTS- PART
> > I<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers38/paper3734.html>by Kazi
> > Anwarul Masud on 27/3/2010
> >
> > 20. BANGLADESH AND SHOCK
> > DOCTRINE<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers38/paper3718.html>by
> > Kazi Anwarul Masud on 14/3/2010
> >
> > 21. INDO-BANGLA RELATIONS IN THE NEW GLOBAL
> > CONSTRUCT<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers37/paper3663.html>by
> > Kazi Anwarul Masud on 13/2/2010
> >
> > 22. INDIA & BANGLADESH-SECURITY RELATED
> > ISSUES:<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers37/paper3652.html>by
> > B.Raman on 6/2/2010
> >
> > 23. CAN INDIA AND BANGLADESH CREATE A
> > WIN-WIN<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers37/paper3647.html>by
> > Bhaskar Roy on 4/2/2010
> >
> > 24. SHEIKH HASINA VISITS INDIA - A VIEW FROM
> > DHAKA<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers37/paper3629.html>by Kazi
> > Anwarul Masud on 27/1/2010
> >
> > 25. INDIA AND BANGLADESH MUST COME
> > TOGETHER<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers36/paper3592.html>by
> > Bhaskar Roy on 6/1/2010
> >
> > 26. TERRORISM IN BANGLADESH - MONSTER CHILD OF BNP -
> > JAMAAT<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers36/paper3509.html>by
> > Bhaskar Roy on 17/11/2009
> >
> > 27. PRO-POOR DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY AND GLOBAL
> > SECURITY<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers35/paper3420.html>by
> > Kazi Anwarul Masud on 17/9/2009
> >
> > 28. BANGLADESH, INDIA AND THE GLOBAL
> > CONSTRUCT<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers34/paper3396.html>by
> > Kazi Anwarul Masud on 6/9/2009
> >
> > 29. BANGLADESH: SITTING ON HISTORY'S
> > EDGE<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers34/paper3386.html>by
> > Bhaskar Roy on 3/9/2009
> >
> > 30. BANGLADESH ECONOMY IN GLOBAL
> > MELTDOWN<http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers34/paper3383.html>by
> > Kazi Anwarul Masud on 2/9/2009
> >
> > ------------------------------
> > Date: Sat, 23 Jul 2011 10:58:10 +0600
> > Subject: India wants total surrender
> > From: bdmailer@
> > To:
> >
> > India wants total surrender
> >
> > by Zana Ghutekurani in FaceBook
> >
> > Bhaskar Roy doesn't understand why the people of Bangladesh are not happy
> > with India, though he praises Bangladesh Awami League and Mujib.
> >
> > In his article Eurasia Review he says : "In 1971, the most common words on
> > the lips of a common Indian was "Joi Bangla", victory to Bangladesh. The
> > India-Bangladesh honeymoon lasted till August 15, 1975, the day Sk. Mujibur
> > Rahman was assassinated" …. that one night India-Bangladesh relations went
> > into a tail spin".
> >
> > He asks, "Should religion divide Bangladesh and India? If that were so, then
> > East Pakistan would not have broken away from West Pakistan to liberate
> > itself. Language, culture, tradition, blood and history proved much stronger
> > than religion. India has around 18 per cent Muslims and Bangladesh has
> > around 14 per cent Hindus".
> >
> > Why Mr Roy informed 14% Bangladeshis are Hindus I do not know. Did he make
> > mistake? or over the years the population of Hindu migration into Bangladesh
> > increased, or they have plan to migrate ? Let me not become paranoid now
> > before reading the whole article.
> >
> > Though Mr Roy gave us wrong data, this is not my problem, the problem is his
> > claim "Language, culture, tradition, blood and history proved much stronger
> > than religion" which sounded very contradictory to me. Because:
> >
> > 1. Urdu was created inside India, yet did not get place.
> >
> > 2. People of Bangladesh, who are Muslims and mixed have blood connection
> > with Afghanis, Middle Eastern gene pole (Muslims are not restricted to
> > marrying within castes).
> >
> > 3. Traditional (e.g.,celebrating EID, Shab-e-Batar) similarities with other
> > Muslim countries. 4. Bangladeshis have clearly afghan and middle eastern
> > influenced eating habits (Polaw,Firni, use of various spices, Halwva etc).
> >
> > 4. Along with many other ancestors (e,g., adivasi tribes ) Bangladeshis have
> > blood connection with Afghan, Persia and other Middle Eastern countries. The
> > blood connection also connects them with Muslims in India and also in
> > Pakistan apart from religion.
> >
> > 5. The most striking difference is suggested by History which suggest that
> > there were a clear difference between East Bengal and West Bengal even
> > before the arrival of the Muslims.
> >
> > Therefore, when Mr Roy tells, "Historically, in the region of greater India
> > that is Bangladesh there was hardly any religious conflict to talk about
> > between the two communities" I did not have anything to say, as he
> > completely forgot to mention all the conflicts and the struggles that the
> > people of this part were having and how they were subjected to change
> > themselves to adjust with the minority.
> >
> > But things did not stop here , he surprised me while advises "it would be
> > wise for today's politicians like Begum Khaleda Zia to heed the advice of
> > these roving philosophers of yester years if they really want peace and
> > development."
> >
> > When the/a Roy tells about the development of Bangladesh, it may scare our
> > people as probably people will not be able to trust it. The article itself
> > contains the main reasons. One obvious reason is that Mr Roy's inability to
> > understand the reasons behind the dissatisfaction of the people of
> > Bangladesh.
> > Later he accuses two political parties of this country, BNP and Jamaat for
> > harbouring "visceral hate-India mindset" because "After all, they were
> > committed to Pakistan and remain so" . Especially he deliberately accuses
> > Jamaat-e-Islami (JEI) and its allied religious groups.
> >
> > I have no information on if Jamaat and other Islamic parties expressed its
> > hatred towards India, but, if anyone criticise Indian aggression and actions
> > towards its neighbouring countries and if this is interpreted as "visceral
> > hate-India mindset" I question the objective of such articles.
> >
> > Mr Roy keeps on saying, "In the early part of this decade the JEI leaders
> > appeared to have been confident to form the government in Dhaka on their own
> > by 2012. They also spoke of making Bangladesh a confederate of Pakistan." At
> > this point it seems he is scared of a Bangladeshi Party in Bangladesh for
> > its work inside Bangladesh. I wonder why is that?
> >
> > The second political party he accuses is BNP. "But what is Begum Khaleda
> > Zia's enduring problem with India?", he asks . "Her late husband President
> > Zia-ur-Rehman was a liberation war hero and fought along with Indian
> > soldiers. But why did he turn against India so viciously? He even banned
> > "Rabindra Sangeet, songs written by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. But
> > he stopped short of changing the Tagore Song "Amar Shonar Bangla" which
> > Bangladesh adopted as its national anthem after liberation. Today, Tagore is
> > more alive in Bangladesh than even in India, clearly underlining how strong
> > culture can be as a cohesive bond surmounting religious barriers."
> >
> > Again , I am not sure if Mr and Mrs Zia ever expressed their "visceral
> > hate-India mindset" and banned "Rabindra Sangeet? Neither I realised why he
> > was advocating for Tagore written national anthem which was written 100
> > years ago when the condition of the subcontinent was completely different.
> > Then he keeps going on, "But she has always suggested by her behaviour and
> > policy a deep emotional link with Pakistan". Yes , Mr Roy mentions current
> > Pakistan's 13 times, expressed his enormous "visceral hate-Pakistan
> > mindset". Completely forgot that in 1947, the people of east Bengal
> > constituted Pakistan willingly along with other present Pakistani provinces.
> > He was completely oblivion of the fact that the present day Pakistan was a
> > part of British India, quite a big number of its population migrated from
> > present India too. If he could not forget expressing his hatred to formation
> > of Pakistan , if India could not remove its animosity towards its own people
> > for choosing and wanting to build a nation and harbour their "visceral
> > hate-Pak mindset", how can how can they expect others to love them?
> >
> > The article is a packed with wrong information, hatred towards Pakistan,
> > hatred towards the muslims, accusation towards two political parties
> > supported by many Bangladeshi people, alluring people towards development,
> > and showing Bangladeshis the "only way" of development is to suck up India,
> > preparing people not to change national anthem, accusing people for their
> > personal choice (liking or disliking India) and of course trying to make
> > people grateful towards India for the distress caused during 71.
> >
> > To read the article of Roy:
> > http://www.facebook.com/l/WAQDkmBh4AQD8uK3HWFAFc48rm4q1eXJVsQnOMJVTdglXkA/www.eurasiareview.com/can-india-find-a-way-to-bangladesh%25E2%2580%2599s-heart-analysis-20072011/
> >
> > Please note, the writer Mr Roy writes for SAAG. SAAG is the South Asia
> > Analysis Group, a non-profit, non-commercial think tank. It says "The
> > objective of SAAG is to advance strategic analysis and contribute to the
> > expansion of knowledge of Indian and International security and promote
> > public understanding", in other words to influence and change opinion of
> > people according to their goal. In other words this is part of Indian
> > Intelligence.
> >
> > Personally it is hard for me to hate anyone though I get annoyed by these
> > types of works. In Bangladesh I have seen many writers are feeding people
> > with their garbage works. And exploiting peoples' trust to satisfy I request
> > those pretending "atel" garbage writers to grow some social responsibility
> > and not to engage in exploiting peoples' trust.
> >
> > My words will not stop people from working in ignorance, rage, anger, envy ,
> > jealousy or even in exchange of tangible interests , but nothing wrong in
> > asking for being sensitive and accept those people who are different and
> > bear their difference.
> >
> > I also request people from remain alert and aware about the activities of
> > those organisations, such as, SAAG. This is an example of how India keeps
> > its eyes on other countries and influence.
> >
>



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[ALOCHONA] Interesting read: history of medicine



Interesting read on the History of Medicine


-----Forwarded Message-----
>From: Sekhar Ramakrishnan
>Sent: Aug 2, 2011 9:02 AM
>To: foil-l@insaf.net
>Subject: [foil] EPW on daya's history of medicine
>
>A very nice review, with a good summary of the book. The book is sold
>online at
http://www2.xlibris.com/bookstore/bookdisplay.aspx?bookid=90516
>
>Sekhar
>
http://beta.epw.in/newsItem/comment/190216/
>
> Economic & Political Weekly Vol XLVI No.31 July 30, 2011
> Capitalism, Democracy and Medicine
> By: Mridula Ramanna
>
>The Art and Science of Healing since Antiquity by Daya Ram Varma (USA:
>Xlibris Corporation), 2011; pp 413 (price not stated).
>
>[Mridula Ramanna (mridularamanna@hotmail.com) is with the Department of
>History, SIES College, Mumbai.]
>
>Writings on the history of medicine have included valuable contributions
>from social scientists and medical professionals, and attract a wide
>readership of both academics and general readers. The author of The Art
>and Science of Healing since Antiquity, Daya Ram Varma, studied medicine
>at Lucknow from 1950-55 and is professor emeritus, Department of
>Pharmacology and Therapeutics, at McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
>Written for a broad a­udience, the stated aim of the book is to address
>the questions of why there are so many schools (systems) of medicine and
>why they are likely to continue for long. The evolution of these schools
>is explored from the point of view of the prevalent s­ociopolitical
>context. Based on an impressive range of secondary sources, the book has
>17 chapters and three appen­dices, including a review of the
>historio­graphy of works in this field, a list of natural drugs currently
>used by modern medicine as therapy and the 1978 Alma Ata Declaration on
>Primary Health Care.
>
> 'Do No Harm´
>
>The chapter on "The Science and Art of Medicine" endorses the view that
>medicine includes a scientific aspect and an applied aspect in the form of
>therapeutics, which could be treated as the art of medicine. While great
>advances were made in medical science from Susruta and Hippo­crates to the
>first quarter of the 20th century, Varma notes that there was minimal
>progress in therapy. The essence of medical science involved discovering
>the causes of diseases and how to treat them. But since science is not
>neutral, there could be both the "good and bad" use of medical science,
>for example, the use of ultrasound technology for sex detection
. Even
>though the Hippo­cratic principle is "Do No Harm", physicians can do harm
>since they too are subject to societal prejudices. Social, p­olitical and
>economic factors influenced advances in medical sciences, more so than in
>physical sciences, because medical needs are an integral part of society.
>The author contends that the replacement of the feudal mode of production
>by the capitalist mode of production was a major impetus in development of
>medicine. Commendably, Varma highlights the gender bias in medicine. The
>commercialisation of medicine led to the creation of a market for the use
>of hormones by women, when no real need for them exists, and women´s
>bodies were subjected to medical interventions, as is evidenced by the
>numerous and increasing births by caesarean sections. The relative silence
>on the role of women is illustrated with various examples, like the
>contribution of Rosalind Franklin to the discovery of the double helical
>structure of DNA which was ignored. Varma credits the feminist movement
>with the posthumous recognition of her role. The other example of bias in
>medicine was the attribution of cholera in the early 19th century, to the
>poor of London or to the colonies, before the demonstration by John Snow
>that cholera was water borne.
>
>Chapters four to 14 discuss different medical schools. The author suggests
>that witchcraft and magic were the forerunners of medicine and natural
>sciences, and that the earliest healers were probably women. The stages of
>medicine from the birth of humans to the beginning of "­materialistic"
>medicine around 700 BC comprised phases, which are termed as "intuitive"
>medicine, "observational" medicine and "spiritual" medicine. It was after
>these stages that "materialistic" medicine began with the ayurveda and
>Chinese medicine systems and Hippocrates. Egyptian medicine, which was
>"empirical" medicine originated a thousand years before these schools.
>Despite the many gods and demon figures in Egyptian beliefs, the medical
>papyri bear evidence of physicians of different specialisations,
>veterinarians, dentists, surgeons, and various medicaments of animal and
>chemical o­rigin. There are also gynaecological and surgical papyri. The
>weakness of Egyptian medicine was its silence on the theory of health and
>disease. Its advances were checked with the decline in central political
>authority and the many invasions that Egypt encountered.
>
> Egyptian Medicine
>
>The ayurveda and Chinese medicine systems are regarded as marking the
>transition to materialistic medicine. While not much is known of the
>medical system of the Indus Valley civilisation, ayurveda is associated
>with the Vedic age, reaching its peak during the Buddhist period. That is
>when, in Varma´s opinion, it made a dramatic shift towards materialistic
>medicine. Its significance was not in the correctness of its formulations
>or its pharmacopoeia but in the materialistic theoretical approach of the
>tridoshas. He further contends that the stagnation of ayurveda coincided
>with the decline of Buddhism and did not occur during the Moghul or
>British rule. Varma contests the view that ayurveda is the oldest medical
>science and points out that the Egyptian papyri are older than ayurvedic
>texts. The current popularity of ayurveda is attributed to the spiritual
>appeal, the natural therapeutic regimen with herbs, yoga and diet, its
>efficacy and its association with nationalism. The three main features of
>Chinese medicine are the following: (1) disease is internal to the yang-
>yin relationship and not due to external factors, (2) herbs are healing
>tools, and (3) acupuncture can produce healing and analgesic effects. The
>yang-yin is a universal philosophical approach and not limited to
>medicine, yang-yin can be distinguished but not separated, and can control
>and transform each other. The classification of diseases was based on an
>excess of yang or yin. Different diseases could have the same treatment
>and conversely the same disease could have different treatments, because
>it could affect different people differently. An important feature of
>medicine in China was the role of the State, which took over the
>healthcare system by opening hospitals and centres to train physicians.
>Both the ayurveda and Chinese medicine systems have maintained their
>continuity.
>
>Elevating Hippocrates to the position of the father of medicine, according
>to Varma, reflects a western bias in medical historiography. A comparison
>of ayurveda with Greek medicine shows the latter as more materialistic and
>divorced from religious overtones, which was a major development.
>Hippocrates´ theory of the four humours was a significant contribution,
>health being considered as a state of ­balance between them, with disease
>reflec­ting imbalance. Corpus Hippocraticum was based on close scrutiny of
>disease and on clinical observations. While most of what it contains was
>in the Charaka Samhita, 500 years earlier, the latter is not free from
>religiosity. Galenic medicine did much to advance the rich legacy of
>Hippocrates and emphasised philosophy and ethics. The period from Galen to
>the Renaissance is the phase when medical science regressed with the
>increasing control of the church and the emergence of feudalism. It was
>asserted that everything known was written in the holy books and men were
>to imbibe the truth as revealed by messengers of god. The Islamic medicine
>system, the Unani Tibb, is based on Galenic medicine. It not only
>popularised science by translating Greek texts into A­rabic but also made
>original contributions in astronomy, mathematics, chemistry and medicine.
>The rapid increase in the number of followers of Islam and its spread in
>Persia, Mesopotamia and Egypt, which themselves had advanced civilisations
>and science, contributed to the expansion of Islamic medicine. It is
>popular today in many parts of the world.
>
> Schools of Medicine
>
>"The Age of the Witch Hunt" looks at the phenomenon of discovering witches
>and burning them alive and ascribes it to the culture generated by the
>emerging capitalism, slavery, the assertion of the power of the church and
>to gender biases. Other reasons postulated are the inexplicable illnesses
>of different types, locations in in­accessible geographical regions, the
>greed to confiscate property belonging to the ­s­o-called witches,
>conflict between different Christian denominations, and unexpected natural
>disasters. It was also used as a means to suppress rebellion. The author
>sees this tendency extended today to p­olitical dissent.
>
>Surpassing all schools of medicine and second to modern medicine is
>homeo­pathy, which originated as a reaction to the sinister use of toxic
>doses of suspect drugs and bloodletting by followers of the Hippocratic
>medicine system. Homeo­pathy believes that disease and sickness are caused
>by disturbances in a hypothetical vital force and these disturbances
>manifest themselves in unique symptoms. This vital force reacts and adapts
>to internal and external causes, referred to as the law of susceptibility.
>Varma holds that the basic premise of homeopathy is wrong, but opines that
>it will survive until modern medicine convincingly demonstrates its
>superiority.
>
>The comprehensive chapter on therapeutics is based on the premise that the
>history of medicine revolves around h­uman efforts to eradicate a disease
>or at least to alleviate suffering and that drugs occupy a central
>position in this endea­vour. The period preceding Hippocrates was the
>golden age of Therapeutics, when the Peruvian bark (source of quinine),
>poppy plant (source of morphine) and ­willow bark (source of salicin, the
>precursor of ­aspirin) were discovered. But from the Hippocratic era to
>the 20th century, Varma contends, all kinds of drugs were used, which did
>more harm than good, with the notable exceptions of the anti-smallpox
>vaccine and carbolic acid. With the advances in natural sciences and in
>chemistry and a better understanding of human physiology and pathology, a
>scientific approach to drug discovery began in the 20th century. The
>discovery of sulpha drugs and penicillin opened the way to treating
>infectious diseases, insulin enabled the treatment of constitutional
>diseases, some progress was made in the treatment of cancer and the
>contentious areas of gene therapy and stem cell research promised hope.
>
>Unlike other schools of medicine modern medicine realised that the
>mysteries of health and disease are knowable, and that the gaps in its
>understanding of h­uman physiology and pathology of diseases could be
>filled. It is neither allo­pathy, in that it is not based on administering
>massive doses of medicines, nor is it Hippocratic, in that it is not based
>on the four humours theory of diseases. Advances in all branches of
>science made it possible to solve problems, reject the older theories of
>diseases and identify specific causes of diseases, whether environmental,
>genetic or due to deficiencies of essential nutrients. The recognition of
>neuroplasticity, nerve regeneration, brain neurotransmitter and receptors,
>mechanism of different kinds of pain including phantom pain,
>electrophysiology of the heart, advances in immunology and public health
>measures has opened new approaches to therapeutics and prophylaxis.
>Surgery and dentistry can do marvels and prognosis is more accurate. While
>the achievements are monumental, challenges remain in the form of diseases
>like diabetes, hyper­tension, heart failure and Alzheimer´s disease. The
>author is optimistic that all diseases can be conquered. Much of the
>criticism of modern medicine is based on the role of medical
>professionals, not on the science, per se. Doctors are in no way different
>from other professionals. They have been both heroes and assassins, have
>placed o­bstacles to health reforms on the one hand, and on the other
>functioned as s­ocial workers. They face dilemmas in deciding whether to
>save or not to save the life of a terminally ill patient in agony. Varma
>opines that medical ethics is determined by the prevailing norms and civil
>laws of a given society and can differ widely.
>
> Ushering in Capitalism
>
>Joseph Needham posed the question why science grew in the west and not in
>China, India or the Islamic world. While supporting his supposition that
>it is due to differences in social structure and culture, the author
>suggests that the rivers Yangtse, Ganges and Nile did not allow for
>des­pondency in China, India and Egypt, r­espectively. ­Europe needed to
>dismantle feudalism and acquire colonies, and capitalism was ushered in.
>This together with democracy and the freedom to pursue research gave great
>impetus to science. In the concluding chapter, Varma answers the question
>as to why alternative systems of medicine continue to exist. This is
>neither due to the strength of these systems nor the weakness of modern
>medicine but due to the poor healthcare in most countries of the world.
>When universal healthcare becomes the norm, says Varma, the popularity of
>other schools of medicine would decline.
>
>The premises in the book are clearly spelt out, the arguments cogently put
>across, the style is lucid, and examples from many situations familiar to
>the lay reader makes it a good buy. Careful editing could have avoided
>repetitions.
>
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>Foil-l@insaf.net
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