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Saturday, January 7, 2012

Re: [mukto-mona] Madrasa Curriculum should be reformed !!!!!



Educational curricula should be made uniform..  Any religious education should also include the criticism of religious views.

On Sat, Jan 7, 2012 at 5:08 AM, Muhammad Ali <manik195709@yahoo.com> wrote:
 

Outdated Madrasa Curriculum- Unemployment forced graduates into militancy Says Prof Abul Barkat

Sunday, October 2, 2011
Star Correspondent
The outdated madrasa curriculum should be reformed as it forces 75 percent graduates to remain unemployed, providing them the scope to get involved with extremism and militancy, said noted academician Prof Abul Barkat yesterday.
Annually at least five lakh madrasa graduates, mostly from Qawmi madrasas, fail to get a job. A portion of them can get easily involved with militancy, a proven fact of an analysis on the background of militants arrested in the last five years, he said.
The new education policy does not say anything to modernise the Qawmi curriculum. The government should seriously think about the reform, especially of Qawmi madrasa, for human development and establishing a secular state, he viewed.
Prof Barkat was speaking at an unveiling ceremony of his book titled "Political Economy of Madrassa Education in Bangladesh" at Cirdap auditorium in the city. The data used in the research-based book were collected in 2008.
Non-government organisations Nijera Kori and Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD) organised the function.
Talking about the growth of madrasas, he said there were 4,330 madrasas in 1950 in the country, which jumped to 54,130, both Qawmi and Alia, at present. The annual growth is 4.65 percent, while that of mainstream educational institutions is 3.04 percent.
At present there are around 1 crore madrasa students, of whom 67 percent have a background of extreme poverty, while the number of teachers is over 3.64 lakh, he said.
Around 40 percent of madrasa managing committee members are involved with religion-based political parties, 27 percent are with BNP and 22 percent are with Awami league, the research finding said.
Over 50 percent of madrasa students consider religion-based political party leaders as a role model while 70 percent of Qawmi and 60 percent of Alia madrasa students think madrasa is the easy way to reach heaven.
Speaking as the chief guest, noted historian Prof AF Salahuddin Ahmed stressed the need to create mass opinion for reform in madrasa curriculum.
Dhaka University international relations department Prof Amena Mohsin and Nijera Kori Coordinator Khusi Kabir also spoke at the function.
 




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

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

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

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[ALOCHONA] Re: [KHABOR] Re: Goom, Khoon....



Alarming rise in disappearances

Extra-judicial killings declined last year, says rights body Odhikar

While there has been a fall in incidents of extra-judicial killings, the number of 'enforced disappearances' allegedly at the hands of law enforcers saw an alarming rise last year, the rights group Odhikar said yesterday.

Revealing its Human Rights Report 2011, the organisation termed the country's overall human rights situation in 2011 "disappointing", noting that violence on women and journalists had also registered a rise.

Odhikar said 30 persons became victims of enforced disappearances last year while the number was 18 in 2010 and two in 2009.

Only those whose disappearances were linked to members of state-run agencies have been counted. Of the 30 incidents, the Rab was reportedly behind the disappearance of 14 individuals, the police behind 13, including 11 through its Detective Branch, and others were responsible for three others who disappeared.

Releasing the report at Jatiya Press Club yesterday, Odhikar Secretary Adilur Rahman Khan said, "The state might have adopted this tactic [enforced disappearances] due to national and international outcry against extra-judicial killings."

The report also said 46 persons were reportedly tortured by different law enforcement agencies. Of them, 17 died.

The annual document was prepared on the basis of newspaper reports and information from Odhikar activists working across the country.

Another rights organisation, Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), in its recent report put the figure of mysterious disappearances and secret killings at 51 during the same period. Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission expressed its concern over the rise of such incidents.

According to the Odhikar report, a total 84 persons fell victim to extra-judicial killings in 2011. The figures were 127 in 2010 and 154 in 2009.

Noted politicians, lawyers and journalists also spoke at the function chaired by Odhikar President CR Abrar. The speakers suggested that the government set up a tribunal to deal with incidents of disappearances, secret killings, deaths in custody and 'crossfire'.

Disappearance is an old issue in Bangladesh, and it has started again, Abrar said, adding that such incidents in 1973-74 were also protested.

CEO of Boishakhi TV Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul said the report might have flaws, but the government has to defend it with data, "not by batons".

The report said 206 journalists came under attack in 2011. The number was 178 in 2010 and 145 in 2009.

Odhikar said India's Border Security Force killed 31 Bangladeshi nationals last year when the killing of 15-year-old Felani was a much-talked-about incident. The number was 74 in 2010 and 98 in 2009.

The report also said the number of deaths due to mob beating decreased in 2011, but now it has taken a "dramatic turn". One Shamsuddin Milon, 16, was killed after police handed him over to the public at Tekerhat Mor in Noakhali from the police van, observed the report.

A total of 161 people were killed in mob beating last year. The figures were 174 in 2010 and 127 in 2009.

According to the report, the number of dowry-related violence shot up to 516 in 2011 from 378 in 2010.

Moreover, as many as 711 women and children were violated last year when 88 of them -- 54 women and 34 girl children -- were killed after rape.

The report said 672 women became victims of sexual harassment during the same period. Of them, six were killed, 59 injured, 91 assaulted, 12 abducted, 15 became victims of attempted rape and 29 committed suicide.

It said a total of 135 people were killed in political violence last year while 220 in 2010.

In addition, many incidents of violence, arson and loot took place in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in 2011 when 40 people were killed, 17 were abducted and 18 women violated.

Odhikar also said the government made the Anti-Terrorism Act 2009 more repressive and strict last year and expressed its concern that it might be used as a weapon against political rivals, demonstrators, journalists and human rights activists.

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=217466

http://amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2012/01/08/125926
 


--- On Wed, 12/28/11, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:

From: Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com>
Subject: [KHABOR] Re: Goom, Khoon....
To:
Date: Wednesday, December 28, 2011, 5:41 AM


 

http://www.jjdin.com/?view=details&type=single&pub_no=315&cat_id=1&menu_id=1&news_type_id=1&index=0



http://amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2011/12/28/124321

On Sun, Dec 25, 2011 at 10:46 AM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:
Read more:

 http://www.bd-pratidin.com/?view=details&type=gold&data=Emirates&pub_no=596&cat_id=1&menu_id=1&news_type_id=1&index=2


On Sat, Dec 24, 2011 at 2:15 PM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:
Weekly BUDHBAR report:

http://budhbar.com/?p=7139


On Sat, Dec 17, 2011 at 3:21 PM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:
Rights federation concerned over 'enforced disappearances'

The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) expressed concern over the recent rise of "enforced disappearances" in Bangladesh.
AFAD urged the government to take immediate initiatives to search for and recover those who disappeared, take action against the perpetrators and cooperate with human rights organisations in this regard.

It also urged Bangladesh to abide by the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
"The recent spate of enforced disappearances is alarming and only adds to the disrespect for human rights, the long practice of impunity and a weak criminal justice system prevalent in Bangladesh," says a press release from AFAD.

AFAD, a federation of human rights organisations working directly on the issue of involuntary disappearances in Asia, was founded on June 4, 1998 in Manila, Philippines.

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=214507


On Sat, Dec 17, 2011 at 11:25 AM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:
Goom, Khoon....



http://www.amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2011/12/17/122521
http://www.amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2011/12/17/122665
http://www.bd-pratidin.com/?view=details&archiev=yes&arch_date=17-12-2011&type=gold&data=Islamic&pub_no=588&cat_id=1&menu_id=1&news_type_id=1&index=0


http://www.samakal.com.bd/details.php?news=13&view=archiev&y=2011&m=12&d=16&action=main&option=single&news_id=217558&pub_no=902


http://www.samakal.com.bd/details.php?news=13&view=archiev&y=2011&m=12&d=16&action=main&option=single&news_id=217557&pub_no=902

Extrajudicial killings all around

THE spate of extrajudicial killing still continues. This time, 11 men in Bhola became victim of such killing on Wednesday afternoon. According to a report front-paged in New Age on Thursday, five people, suspected as pirates, along with a fisherman, got killed during a 'gunfight' involving the police. Moreover, five more suspected pirates, who escaped the 'gunfight', were later beaten to death by the mob. Suffice it to say, the killings in question necessarily point to, regardless of the oft-repeated claims of the incumbents otherwise, unabated slide in law and order on the one hand and growing public distrust of law enforcement agencies on the other.
The Awami League-Jatiya Party government assumed power in 2009 with the commitment, among others, that it would keep law and order under control and that it would stop all sorts of extrajudicial killing. Pertinently, it was highly critical of such kind of killing during the tenure of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led government in the past. Besides, it pledged on more occasions than one in the past three years or so before the leaders of different human rights organisations, national and international, that it will show zero tolerance towards such killing. Regrettably, however, it seems to have done little to make those words a reality. Worse still, it has consistently claimed that no extrajudicial killing has taken place during its tenure so far.
Meanwhile, apparently to evade criticism about extrajudicial killing, the law enforcers, especially the Rapid Action Battalion, have allegedly changed their tactics of execution in recent months. The new tactic involves enforced disappearances of alleged criminals. According to Odhikar, a rights organisation, a total of 359 people were killed in what the top brass of the law enforcers called 'crossfire', 'shootout, 'encounter', etc in the past three years or so, while the number of victims of mob beating stood at 148 and enforced disappearances, 22, in the past 11 months.
Either way, the incumbents need to realise that what suffers most due to all this is the rule of law, and that if it is allowed to continue, society may plunge into lawlessness, endangering even the hard-earned democracy of the country. It immediately needs to do something decisive about arresting the surge in crimes as well as putting an end to all kinds of extrajudicial killings.



http://www.prothom-alo.com/detail/date/2011-12-11/news/207867
http://amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2011/12/11/121708
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=213630
http://www.prothom-alo.com/detail/date/2011-12-11/news/207868
http://www.prothom-alo.com/detail/date/2011-12-11/news/207870
http://www.prothom-alo.com/detail/date/2011-12-11/news/207787
Isha Khan
Dec 14 (3 days ago)

to bcc: dhakamails, bcc: alochona, bcc: khabor, bcc: dahuk, bcc: notun_banglade., bcc: nfb, bcc: zoglul, bcc: farukbd5, bcc: kmamalik, bcc: minamul

http://amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2011/12/14/122194
http://jugantor.us/enews/issue/2011/12/13/news0739.htm
http://jugantor.us/enews/issue/2011/12/14/news0885.htm
http://www.prothom-alo.com/detail/date/2011-12-14/news/208699
http://www.bd-pratidin.com/?view=details&type=gold&data=Islam&pub_no=585&cat_id=1&menu_id=1&news_type_id=1&index=0
http://amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2011/12/14/122192









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[ALOCHONA] Peace in CHT: A perspective on the military's role



Peace in CHT: A perspective on the military's role

A. F. Jaglul Ahmed

It has been more than a decade that the Chittagong Hill Tract (CHT) peace accord was signed. And it appears from the media and a few other groups that peace by and large seems to be far despite the sincere efforts of the government. The government's efforts in terms of handing over of the remaining subjects to the Hill District Councils, forming various committees to expedite the peace process, bringing normalcy in the daily life of the people living in CHT, undertaking development activities, and, above all, the shift in the working procedures, indicate that peace is near rather than far.

The factors that militate against peace are; individual and communal clashes over multiple claims on land, parochial political activities revolving more around fomenting communal tension rather than politics, armed group activities in disguise often portraying the situation as highly volatile due to unbalanced media coverage, uncompromising attitude of both the tribal and non-tribal groups on conflicting issues bringing both face to face on insignificant matters drawing, at times, national and international focus.

One who lives/works in the CHT would see the situation as quite normal. However, one who visits the area for a short-while or is seldom in touch with CHT affairs might view the situation with suspicion. Nevertheless, the actual state can only be determined through the lens of different actors who matter for establishing peace in CHT and whose views also vary. It took a long time to realise before the peace accord was signed that the problem was not a military one. The political and economic development partners and others like the media were quite late in getting involved in the peace process. The military played the lead role for long and according to some critics, are still playing it. Undeniably for various reasons, the military is critical in maintaining a congenial environment for making of peace complete. Other actors are reactive, some proactive or too active, to play their role to contribute to making peace or making it more complicated.

The efforts to establish peace before and after the signing of the accord have not yet been seen from the time point of view. Of the total engagement of the military in last thirty-five years, only fourteen years, after the accord, have been spent to implement peace. Perception of the method of establishing peace varies between various members of the military because "fighting" for peace is more difficult than winning a war. When there was combat situation for which the military was trained, providing direction was easier.

The military has to depend more on the wisdom and experiences of contemporary insurgency situations around the globe than a clear cut textbook solution. Experiences gained by militaries across the globe or from recorded history are different than that of ours. Our military, like in all other nations, believes in the Clausewitzian concept of victory as being the ultimate end state of all kinds of conflicts. And like Clausewitz, it is difficult for the military to view peace as the end state of all conflicts. Therefore, the tendency of the military is to first clearly determine the enemy that has to be defeated. Not an exception, our military on its first entry into CHT looked for the enemy and found the derailed group merged with the innocent tribal community.

The entire tribal community appeared to be the enemy but had to be engaged in general to segregate them from the real enemy. As a result, the innocent who underwent some collateral damages due to the prevalent combat situation nurture a hostile feeling towards the military. The military on its part finds it difficult to convince these people of their role and thus falters in advancing peace. The military's post-accord method of "fighting" for peace proves inadequate largely due to the antagonistic attitude of many tribal people, which is shaped by their pre-accord experiences. The misgivings exist even today and it is difficult to identify those that are fused with the entire tribal community and acting against peace. Under such a mind frame, the method of fighting is more often than not decided equivocally.

The fighting method in the pre-accord era was easier to be passed on from one person to another as the method was textbook-oriented and the situation was fast moving, where a sense of urgency always prevailed because of many factors. But in the post-accord era, the textbook method of combat disappeared, the face of the enemy got blurred and the sense of urgency of the soldiers vanished due to reduction in the level of threat. For any newcomer in CHT, the starting point is difficult to decide, legacy from the last is perhaps out of question. Unfortunately, when the military turned its end state from victory to peace, it was not understood clearly by the ethnic people. Therefore, the military is still labeled by many as an oppressive force.

At the tactical level at times, the military has to cope with the experience of the pre-accord era to deal with the post-accord situation. Some of the military personnel, now in high ranks, have to shift their approach of work from the ground experience of the much lower ranks. Sometimes it is not easy to make a clear shift and make it clear to the people associated with it. Clashes occur at times between the strategic and tactical methods of "fighting" for peace. A benign approach is always assumed to deal with the situation at the strategic level, but aggression is the normative approach at the tactical level for any military operation. How to switch from a combative to a benign mindset is a dilemma.

The military, at the tactical level, looks for immediate success, whereas what constitutes success is also not very clear in the post-accord situation. Even when the perception of the end state equally exists in all, the good efforts for a noble purpose fail to draw focus due to hostile propaganda by various quarters. Due largely to all these, operational or tactical focus sometimes fail to connect the strategic end state. With all these limitations, more often than not, the military is labeled as the impediment to peace, leaving it no scope to justify otherwise. Not too many books have been written by the old generation of the military to guide their new generation. The military still struggles to determine if the peace in CHT is far or near, and difficult or easier to achieve.

The author is currently commanding an infantry brigade in CHT.

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=212731

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Peace in CHT: A perspective on the role of the locals and media 

Regional political activities that fomented communal tension rather than good politics, and uncompromising attitude, have affected the people adversely since the historic CHT Peace Accord was signed on December 2, 1997. Therefore, we need to pay more attention to the people and politics centering CHT.

While one cannot question the sincerity in approach the traditional method of looking at the issue has created complexity. The traditional approach to peace making in CHT did not change with the change of government. The overall situation there has often been considered insignificant compared to other complicated issues at the national level. There was very little dynamism in decision making; nor were experienced people posted in CHT to deal with the situation more efficiently.

Because of the divisive political culture of the country, peace in CHT has also been addressed with the same divisive outlook, failing to build trust in the locals. As a result, neither could mainstream politics be established nor could local politics mature to add to political plurality for the better future of the area and the country. Many of the local leaders who sacrificed so much for peace in CHT have also merged into mainstream politics, which has caused frustration in the locals. Politically, maximum effort has only been put during a crisis, and the focus shifted elsewhere as soon as the situation was brought under control, mostly by the security forces. Penetration of vicious groups in the disguise of various development activities has been seldom identified, or efforts made to deal with them politically.

The same perception like the military exists in the civil administration of the pre and post-accord scenario. The civil administration, like in the pre-accord time, still feels that the onus of peace remains on the military even in the post-accord phase despite the fact that they are the most important stakeholders in fructifying peace. At the same time, their working procedure doesn't seem to vary from that of the plains. As in the plains, they still feel that the people should be dependent on them for service rather than them towards the people of CHT. They seldom realise the need for quick response to arrest a crisis. Conventionalism is the method of operation. Bureaucracy and "red tape" prevent them from taking the driving seat. As a result, they fail to understand the situational change, and take a primitive outlook in dealing with the peace process. The role of the political actors for peace in CHT is more of pessimism than hope for the people.

The tribals at the elitist level, who were instrumental in bringing peace in CHT, had taken a "u-turn" historically. Starting from the British colonial period, they had never placed confidence on any kind of government. Confusion always prevailed as to what was good for them, which made them lose sympathy of the government. The tendency was always to walk backwards instead of moving forward.

There was always a dearth of elites to lead their struggle and it remains so today, and adequate number of elites for the next generation has not been created to inherit the ideal of their cause. Thus, the new generation can hardly grasp the spirit of the movement that the old generation had borne. Besides, leadership had remained in limited hands for decades, and fairness in their approach was twisted for individual gains. Peace, therefore, suffers at their hands, or it could be also said that it is slowed down by them implicitly while they explicitly proclaim otherwise.

The comparatively educated handful of youths at the mid-level doesn't find space to operate to lead the peace process due to the stubborn attitude of the old elites. Some of these elites have again been merged into the mainstream political culture. They have failed to exploit their portfolio for the benefit of the general mass and for peace, which eventually tarnished their ideal image. The lot of the majority of the innocent and poor tribals has not changed at all.

Thus the marginalised hill people are not too far wrong when they say that as yet peace is too far, although the same is also said by the elites. The poor education standard in CHT and the inability of most of the tribals to compete with the plains most often force them to return to CHT to be either absorbed by different NGOs or by miscreant groups. The other large segment of the population, the non-tribals are gradually gaining power by their sheer numbers but not intellectually. The mismatch of intellectuality between the tribals and non-tribal elites is the main reason for the failure to reach a compromise during a crisis, causing the prospect of a permanent peace in CHT to recede further.

With a much more secured environment than before, there is complete freedom of movement for everybody, even in the remotest areas of CHT.

Easy access to the people and to technology in CHT has made the media a powerful actor to portray peace in CHT in an objective manner; but that is not always the case. Needless to say, there is a difference in orientation, in perspective, and in ideological leanings within the media, which has been exploited by the elite tribals of CHT to portray the current status of the peace process in their own ways, which are not always consistent with reality.

The media is also playing its role from divided camps. There is an unhealthy competition by the electronic and print media through the abuse of various stringer journalists. Most of the media personnel being locals believe in serving their bosses more than serving their cause. The voice of the ordinary people is seldom heard and the elite's views are focused on mainly portraying that as the real situation. As a result, the ordinary people are befooled and national and international opinion is shaped against the situation, which is otherwise peaceful.

Any small gunfight in an intra-party clash is blown up in the first page of the newspapers or shown as running scroll in the television channels. This shows that the situation is volatile in the public mind, and questions the credibility of the security forces as well as the government's intention to implement peace.

The good work or the prolonged calm in the CHT fails to attract the eyes of the readers as these do not make interesting news. Besides, the media, with their various views, depict contrasting pictures of peace in CHT from which it is hard to form an objective view of the actual situation on the part of the general readers. Therefore, peace in CHT appears to the general people to be what the media portrays, however unreal that may be.

(This is Part 2 of a three-part article on CHT. The first part appeared in the December 4 issue.)

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=213692

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Peace in CHT: A perspective on development

Since long a lot of development programmes had been undertaken in CHT by many of our development partners. However, more needs to be done to fulfill the needs of the tribal people. And there are significant realities that the state faces, and those are felt by the "loyal soldiers" too. Therefore, this paper will analyse the peace and development issues of CHT and look for newer approaches for a long-lasting peace as the people dream.

The development partners were chosen from the national and international nongovernmental organisations, and their entry was encouraged to ensure inflow of cash into CHT to complement the government's development initiatives. Millions of dollars were poured into different projects for five to ten years' development goal. But ironically, the only visible developments in CHT till now are the initiatives taken by the government. Millions of dollars may have been poured in CHT by various development partners but visible effect is yet to be seen or even recognised by the people of CHT.

The development partners have, on the other hand, engaged the elite tribals tactfully to ensure publicity of their development work despite the ambiguous outcomes. A generous outlook was shown to the development partners by the government with the idea that whatever is donated by them will enhance the government's development efforts. The generosity of the government and the crafty play by the elites in CHT have been able to project these development partners as the real saviours of the tribal people. These partners have been somewhat of an alternative to the government, at least to the elites in CHT. Therefore, the state of peace in CHT is what is perceived by these development partners and echoed by the people of CHT.

Significant progress has been made as regards the creation of local government promised by the Accord despite the fact that it lacks legitimacy under the unitary system of government of Bangladesh. One can question the effectiveness of this local governance due to incomplete authority given to them or lack of proper rules of business for establishing clear co-relation to the other institutions and the traditional feudal character of "local administration."

Transfer of a number of subjects to this local government has already been done. The constitutional caveats didn't allow the handover of all the subjects, specifically those related to revenue, which are still controlled by the central government. An accord was signed agreeing to the many demands without considering how those could be applied to two different categories of inhabitants of CHT; it is difficult to provide the constitutional rights to the tribals ignoring the other community. Even before the government could really provide them such rights, legal complications have arisen due to a writ petition submitted in the High Court. Despite the constitutional complications, numbers of constitutional bodies have been formed to facilitate the process of peace, although their effectiveness is under question for different reasons.

If the government claims substantial progress in the implementation of peace, it is theoretically difficult to challenge it. But the perception of the other stakeholders is quite different. The military continues to be in the driving seat to control the overall situation as law enforcing agencies and civil administration have not been developed substantially. The military therefore, doesn't feel the real progress in peace implementation at the tactical level. The other actors, like the people, media or development partners etc., have a different view of the state of peace in CHT. Because of the fact that these actors have turned more powerful than others, the state of peace portrayed by them appears more credible to the national or international observers.

Removal of Bengalis settled in the '80s from CHT, withdrawal of the military, conventional management of land by the tribals, and voting rights of Bengalis are the four cardinal issues of CHT. In number they may be only four, but for their complexity they stand unparalleled to a lot that has been already done. Thus, the claims of substantial progress of the government pale into insignificance when juxtaposed with these four issues. And when publicising the lack of progress the aforementioned actors conveniently overlook the complexities of the matter.

The military should not be considered as an occupational force. Regrettably, all benign activities of the military are still labeled as evil by the elites of CHT and the common people believe so unwittingly. The military is working selflessly without any effort to publicise its activities. The fact that the peace effort was initiated by the military and carried through by the politicians has been forgotten due to long lapse of time and also due to the fact that other actors have turned out to be more influential.

Fourteen years and changeover of four democratic governments couldn't yet deliver what was expected by the people. A complete set-up of local government in the running of the affairs could not be established due to the constitutional provisions. Handover of all the thirty-two subjects prescribed in the Accord is perhaps difficult because of the constitutional stipulation. The latest denial of the government to accept the locals as indigenous people has been seen as an effort to marginalise them. The peace process is blocked and the hearts of the tribal people are broken and the political approach needs a review. The reality is, even the handover of all the subjects will not ensure peace unless the four aforementioned cardinal issues are resolved, which is indeed critical for any government.

The economic approach has also failed to deliver as was projected. The entire gamut of development in CHT as seen is: fifteen hundred kilometers of roads, increase in the number of schools and hospitals, telecommunication and things like that. The youth have no opportunity for jobs, except for a small segment absorbed by the NGOs and IOs. The benefit of the economic approach is again taken by the elites and the ordinary people are left out of it.

A lot of money has been poured into CHT by the IOs and NGOs and people feel that the lion's share has been pocketed by the elites without any significant development in changing their lives. Major development projects are being undertaken by the government, but cannot be projected properly because a vicious circle has grown to deprive the ordinary people. It is felt, though not expressed by the local people, that the military approach is the better option for development to bring changes in the lives of ordinary people.

The direct military, political or economic approach seems to have failed to ensure peace as per the dream of the general people. Direct approach will perhaps not succeed due to the complexities of the current situation and loss of public trust in them. Leaving it to time to take care of the peace is not the right idea as that will sideline the tribal population and make the non-tribals benefit eventually.

The tribal elites, getting the maximum benefit from all the actors, will keep the problem alive as long as they enjoy the benefits. An alternative method of attaining peace must be looked for so as to sideline the elites and involve the ordinary class in the process. Economic benefits must be ensured for the ordinary people, as well as their participation in different activities. Education at the middle level must be developed and job opportunities should be created for them in CHT.

Employment opportunities will only occur if sufficient power or electricity is ensured to allow the private entrepreneurs to invest. Frequent arrangement of reality shows, sports, theater etc could restore trust of the tribals in the government. The military can be the main partner, having been involved in the situation the longest. They can be the most effective actors to contribute to the process which can restore trust of the people in the military.

Midlevel leadership must be allowed to grow and establish local contact to avoid the rigid and old-fashioned leadership, which impedes instead of facilitates peace. Regional politics must be allowed to grow to add plurality in national politics. Finally, a piloted programme of the land issues can be undertaken to show that success can also be achieved in critical issues that are apparently intractable.

The author is currently commanding an infantry brigade in CHT.
(This is the concluding part of the three-part series.)

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Re: [mukto-mona] Islam and Modern age




It's a nicely written article. Everything author has said coincides with my belief. In fact, I have been preaching these messages for a while. By saying this, I am not trying to diminish author's intellectual prowess.  He is a superb secular religious scholar.  I am not. My religious ideology is based on my own observations and reasoning, not biased by any religious ideology. Unfortunately, author fell short in this regard. But, it's an mind-opening piece, nonetheless.
I believe - faith is the foundation of every step we take. Very first attempt of our every action begins with faith. So, no one can denounce his/her faith. In fact, the "Proton-Crusher" experiment at CERN to find the origin of the Universe is based on faith also. Trillions of dollars are invested on this faith. Faith is our integral part of our life. We can't denounce it even if we want to.
Now, blind-faith is a different story. It's the most dangerous practice of the most intelligent species on earth. We should be ashamed of it. It's the mother of all problems with religion. Where did it come from? It came from religious books, like Quran, Gita, Bible, Torah, etc. All religious books preach total surrender, without judgment or criticism. That's called "blind-faith." I know all preachers took advantage of it. Why not, if it works? Therefore, unlike the author, I blame religious books for this. These books are full of contradictions, and all criticisms of these books are forbidden by divine injunctions. If you believe in the absoluteness of these messages, we are not going anywhere. That's where I differ from the author.
Yes, religion has been reduced to an identifier of who we are. The truth is - we all fall into one of the religious cults, whether we actively follow or not.
However, Martin Luther's ideology is the best among the bunch, which advocates one to one relationship with God, without going through an agent. To achieve this goal, one does not need a religious identifier or a preacher. We are humans, and this is the only identifier we need.  You could say, how do we know – what to do to establish that relationship with God? I would answer that question with another question – how did scientists know what to do to achieve their objectives? They start with a hypothesis (faith), and then do experimentations with it. If it fails to bring intended result, they reject it, and try another one. That's the only way to find out the truth.
Good and bad Karmas are pretty well known and established through millions of years of experimentations with nature and reality. All we have to do now is to practice them. We don't need to read religious books to find them out. In fact, it is best not to read them at all, if you want to avoid confusion and misunderstanding. I know many will quote verses from here and there to disprove me. But, if you read the entire text you are bound to get confused at the end.
Jiten Roy
 
 

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Sent: Saturday, January 7, 2012 4:58 AM
Subject: [mukto-mona] Islam and Modern age

 
RELIGION AS FAITH AND RELIGION AS AN IDENTITY
 
Asghar Ali Engineer
 
(Islam and Modern Age, January 2012.)
 
What is religion? It is much misunderstood and complex. So many different factors are associated with it. Some people follow religions blindly, some reject it totally and some as a tool for their own interests and religion in history has often been used as most effective tool for grabbing power. Thus religion arouses very complex and contradictory sentiments. Theologians and religious leaders think it is most essential part of human life and condemn those who reject it.
 
Also, theologians and religious leaders maintain what they think and say is true religion and divine commands and all others must obey them unquestioningly and anyone who raises question or criticizes them must be ex-communicated in this life and will be condemned to hell in coming life wherein they will burn eternally. Thus wrath of theologians becomes divine wrath.
 
Religion as such creates complex forces and problems and if it becomes powerful establishment, it assumes even graver forms and then begins the politics to control the religious establishment. The priests, theologians and religious leaders behave as if they are politicians and legitimize their power by invoking God and persecute those who challenge their authority or understanding of religion.
 
It was struggle between Church and independent thinkers which caused much conflict and ultimately many independent thinkers rejected religious doctrines and also the concept of God. There were two types of revolts against religion and against religious establishment. Some independent thinkers who were studying universe, its origin and development found the church doctrines unscientific and unacceptable and hence rejected them. Many of them became atheists though not all.
 
Then persons like Martin Luther revolted against the established church and maintained that we don't need an agent between God and human being. Every human being can establish direct relationship with God. Every human being can understand Bible if it is in his/her language. Thus he translated the Bible into German so that all Germans can understand the Bible. The Church was not allowing the Bible to be translated from Latin into other languages.
 
Similarly at one time The Muslim theologians were not allowing Qur'an to be translated from Arabic into other languages and when Shah Waliyullah in 18th century translated it into Persian, his hand was dislocated so that he could not write. Similarly Brahmins did not allow Hindu scriptures like Vedas and Gita etc. to be translated from Sanskrit into people's languages. If religious scriptures were allowed to be translated they will lose their mystique and priests would lose their importance and prestige. Their importance could be maintained only if they were the interpreters of these scriptures.
 
However, today things are changing fast with spread of knowledge through latest means of communications. People are no more ignorant like in medieval ages. Today knowledge is within reach of all human beings and no more available only to the elite. The printing technology also has undergone revolution and books can be made available easily, even in electronic form.
 
The other groups i.e. one who was studying origin of universe had much more serious problems with religious leadership or theologians. These theologians hardly knew anything about the universe and its origin and interpreted what was stated in Bible or Qur'an on the basis of their ignorance rather than knowledge of external universe. The scientists, on the other hand, were observing the universe and constantly improved their instruments of observations and drew drastically different conclusions.
 
The priesthood, on the other hand, had based their opinions on Greek scientists and others and thought their opinions were divine in nature. It was because of such approach that they punished Galileo when he said that it is earth which goes round the Sun and not sun around the earth. Thus an artificial conflict developed between scientists and theologians and it is theologians who had to accept defeat.
 
Because of such conflict many great thinkers, writers and scientists like Einstein, Bertrand Russell, Stephen Hawking and so on, became skeptical about validity of theological conclusion. It is not business of theologians to talk about science unless they have thorough knowledge about it. Still there is great controversy about what is called creationism and evolution and theologians reject the concept of evolution as Bible or Qur'an refer to God's injunction "Be and it Became" and maintain one cannot challenge this Divine injunction.
 
But the real question is how to understand these divine words and whether as Sir Syed put it there cannot be contradiction between word of God and work of God; while Bible, Qur'an etc. are words of God, universe and its laws are work of God. One has to reconcile the two and while we study work of God through observations, we should understand word of God through appropriate interpretation.
 
Until yesterday theologians maintained that the Universe was few thousand years old but today scientists have concluded that our universe is 20 billion years old. Now science has so well developed that no theologian in his senses will challenge these conclusions of expert physicists etc. If they do it would be sheer theological and human arrogance and nothing else. Only way is to suitably interpret word of God.
 
II
 
RELIGION AND FAITH
 
In view of all these complex questions the key question is what is faith? Is faith, as rationalists and atheists maintain, always blind? Can it be rational and whether wherever there faith, there is religion or religion is necessarily based on blind faith? These are important question and must be dispassionately answered rising above ideological considerations. Both believers in religion as well as believers in rationalism often take extreme position with the result that objectivity suffers on both sides.
 
What is needed is a balanced point of view.  Both religion and science or religion and reason are essential part of human life. Faith in human life is as essential as reason. But due to human weakness while faith tends to become blind reason begins to be worshipped by rationalists. Both do not understand the limitation of faith and reason. Neither faith nor reason can ever be absolute.
 
Blind faith is blind first and faith later and something which is blind cannot see, much less understand anything. Qur'an calls knowledge as light and ignorance as darkness and urges upon us to acquire knowledge and liberate ourselves from darkness. Thus blind faith is always based on ignorance and amounts to grope in darkness. It is curse for humanity and since whole of medieval ages we based our beliefs on blind faith we remained ignorant about what is there out there. We could not understand the creation of one whom we worshipped and pretended to admire. We can admire the Creator only when we understand the wonderful creation that our universe is.
 
Thus blind faith leads us nowhere except in the blind fold of blind theologians and religious leaders who exploit us. However that does not mean faith is always blind as our rationalist friends maintain. Faith plays profound role in human life. Faith and love are two important pillars of our life and both provide us with positive creative passions and these passions provide us with energy that drives us forward. If I do not have faith life will be full of doubts and negative passions which will be destructive.
 
Doubt or scepticism is important in intellectual world as by doubting earlier propositions we go further and evolve new propositions. But doubt is spiritual world can be very negative and destructive. And would rob us of inner peace. While it is scepticism which is creative in the intellectual world, it is faith which is highly necessary for inner peace and stability in the spiritual world. Thus it is creative collaboration between faith and reason which makes us highly productive and dynamic.
 
Human life consists of both external and internal world and one without the other is incomplete. Reason is very necessary to know what is out there and faith is very necessary to know what is in here. In west today whole emphasis is on what is out there, on science, reason and material world. It makes human beings, as Herbert Marcuse calls it 'one dimensional human being. We all the time engage ourselves with the world out there leaving our inner world totally barren. It leads to many psychological crises.
 
Some people, on the other hand, lay all the emphasis on the inner world leaving us totally ignorant about the world out there. Without knowledge of external world out there we cannot improve our material life which is also essential part of our life. We have to deal with life as a whole, not with one part alone. We need both external dynamism and inner stability, we need external improvement and inner richness, thus we need both faith as well as reason, doubt as well as belief.
 
A productive personality in psychological terms, is product of inner profundity and stability. Only doubting intellect will make human being more destructive than productive. That is why in Qur'an there is so much emphasis on what is called iman which is roughly translated as faith. Faith gives inner satisfaction but blind faith on one hand, and faith without freedom to inquire is a barren faith, a serious obstacle for change and progress. Faith with right to freedom of inquiry is real and productive faith.
 
Once we acquire faith after critical inquiry, it becomes a dynamo for action. One cannot act without faith. Even Marxists act out of faith in Marxism. No action is possible without faith and any ideology without action is mere theory on paper. Marx also insisted that what is important is to change the world and world can be changed only if you act. Thus those who reject faith is throwing baby along with bath water. Doubting minds can never change the world.
 
What we have to reject is not faith per se but various accretions which keep on occurring from superstitious belies, cultural practices and external traditions and restore genuine faith after critical inquiry and only such a faith will become impetus for action. In fact one should be firmly rooted in ones faith. Iman, Qur'an says, is a great source of inner conviction and certitude. While doubt is alright for critical inquiry but certitude is must for action.
 
            
                                                                    III
FAITH AS AN IDENTITY
 
Faith becomes a problem when it is reduced to an identity rather than inner certitude. Faith becomes religion and religion creates a community with which believers identify. Religious community is invariably led by some leaders through an establishment and establishment has its own identity and power politics for control. The leaders are more interested in controlling establishment rather than keeping the faith alive and agent of change. Faith thus becomes mere formality.
 
The believer also find his/her own benefits in religion as an instrument of identification. 'I am a Muslim' or 'I am a Hindu' no more remains a statement of faith and action or a powerful factor for change in keeping with its principles and values but as an instrument of material benefits or control over establishment. I as a Muslim must get so much share in power or I as a Sunni or Shi'ah must control this or that establishment.
 
Faith is thus no more dynamo for action according to inner certitude but an instrument of controlling establishments. Thus a truly religious person or a faithful has to be subversive, subversive of establishment. All the Prophets challenged establishments of their time. Hazrat Ibrahim challenged Nimrud and Hazrat Musa Pharoah. Except two Prophets i.e. Dawood and Suleiman, of all the Prophets mentioned in the Qur'an, were from weaker sections of society and fought for the rights of weaker sections.
 
A person of faith creates new world which is just and compassionate and does not accept the world he/she inherits which is unjust and cruel and exploits weaker sections of society. Faith and hope become powerful instruments or one who seeks to change this world. And one who seeks to change the world also needs knowledge which helps in bringing about change.
 
Thus one has to decide whether one acquires faith as a powerful instrument for change or equally powerful instrument for controlling a establishment. Religious leaders generally oppose change as stagnant faith is helpful in retaining their leadership. The Qur'anic prayer "Lord increase me in knowledge" is very meaningful. It is ever increasing knowledge which keeps our faith alive and dynamic and enables believers to understand new mechanisms of exploitation by those who control establishment.
 
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was a great subverter of his time and successfully challenged the powerful establishment of powerful Meccan traders who were busy accumulating wealth neglecting truth, justice, compassion for the suffering of others and voiceless of Mecca had become more voiceless. The Prophet (PBUH) gave them a powerful voice with knowledge and made them aware of their rights and dignity.
 
Equipped with this knowledge and awareness of human dignity and equality and values of new faith Muslims brought a great revolution and the two most powerful but feudal empires i.e. the Roman and Sassanid Empires were swept away. But unfortunately soon Islam itself became a powerful empire first controlled by Umayyads and then by Abbasids and subsequently other smaller and regional empires and totally lost its vigour and dynamism.
 
The Islamic Shari'ah also became stagnant over period of time and lost its thrust for justice and powerful instrument of change. Instead, whatever earlier jurists had formulated became 'divine law' and began to be defended as 'divine' and 'immutable and cannot be changed until the Day of Judgment. With such stagnant attitude Islam became mere identity and its sects and sub-sects powerful establishments to be controlled by its respective leaders.
 
No wonder than Muslims who had once led the world in knowledge and advancement of several branches of science from medicine to astronomy to physics to mathematics were left far behind and its religious leaders began to denounce new inventions of science like the Catholic Church had done earlier. For them faith became now a mere identity and each sect of Islam began to defend its own identity in order to benefit from these sectarian establishments.
 
The Qur'an was also reduced to sectarian polemics and proving the other sect wrong instead of guidance for change and inspiration for creating a new world on the basis of values enshrined in the Qur'an. Otherwise Islam would be nothing more than conglomeration of various sects, each sect being a powerful establishment and leaders of these sects proving others wrong and deserve only hell.
 
I do not think with such attitude Muslims are ever going to contribute anything to the contemporary world and its progress. Earlier we change our view of Islam and its universal values, our faith will remain only an identity.
------------------------------------------------                        
 Institute of Islamic Studies,
Mumbai.
 




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