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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

[ALOCHONA] Re: Must read - The late P.N. Haksar Principal Sec to PM Indira Gandhi in 1971 & played a seminal role in assisting Bangladesh’s liberation).

I am glad you opened with a smile!

:)



--- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, qar <qrahman@...> wrote:
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> So you think the government has an agenda of promoting good manners, etiquette and gratitude?
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> :-)
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> Nope. I simply said it was nice that, we have "Thanked" people who helped us when we needed it. As a country, this is something we should have done this.
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> Do you think this act of gratitude to foreignors compensates adequately for the foul mouthed and uncouth manners of AL and BNP?
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> Most of time I am horrified by the ways of our leaders but if they do something right, I wanted to recognize it as well.
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> Your answer to each of these is no. Do not give any quarter to our political establishment as it gives no quarter to anyone.
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> I am not involved in active politics. I try not to give any dime or quarter to anyone. But when I feel someone did the "Right thing", it is only proper to recognize it.
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> My two cents....
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> Shalom!
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ezajur <Ezajur@...>
> To: alochona <alochona@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Mon, May 21, 2012 8:40 pm
> Subject: [ALOCHONA] Re: Must read - The late P.N. Haksar Principal Sec to PM Indira Gandhi in 1971 & played a seminal role in assisting Bangladesh’s liberation).
>
>
>
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> So you think the government has an agenda of promoting good manners, etiquette and gratitude?
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> What has it done for promoting such things other than this act which also happens to play to the gallery and play to the base? Anyone who dissented publicly with AL would not have been shown gratitude.
>
> Do you think this act of gratitude to foreignors compensates adequately for the foul mouthed and uncouth manners of AL and BNP?
>
> Your answer to each of these is no. Do not give any quarter to our political establishment as it gives no quarter to anyone.
>
> --- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, qar <qrahman@> wrote:
> >
> >
> > I am glad that our government done this. Saying "Thank you" is very important and it should be promoted in our culture.
> >
> > Shalom!
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Robin Khundkar <rkhundkar@>
> > Sent: Tue, May 15, 2012 3:52 pm
> > Subject: [ALOCHONA] Must read - The late P.N. Haksar Principal Sec to PM Indira Gandhi in 1971 & played a seminal role in assisting Bangladesh’s liberation).
> >
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> > A very poignant and heartfelt thank you by Nandita Haksar (herself a very accomplished Human Rights Lawyer) for the much belated but wonderful recognition Bangladesh bestowed upon her father and other foreign friends of Bangladesh. The late PN Haksar who played a very crucial role in helping Bangaldesh early in the dark days of March and April 1971. Many Bengalis of my generation and after me dont know who Mr Haksar was and what an exceptional and special person he was. So for their convenience I have attached iadditional articles about him.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Mainstream, VOL L, No 17, April 14, 2012
> > The Importance of Remembering
> > Nandita Haksar
> > http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article3396.html
> >
> > The author is a human rights lawyer and writer. She is also the daughter of the late P.N. Haksar who was the Principal Secretary to PM Indira Gandhi in 1971 and played a seminal role in assisting Bangladesh’s liberation from Pakistani yoke.
> >
> > The Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi phoned to inform me that Bangladesh had decided to recognise my father, Parmeshwar Narain Haksar’s contribution to the Bangladesh liberation war in 1971. Would I accept their invitation to go to Dhaka and accept the Friends of Liberation War Honour as his daughter?
> >
> > I asked for two days’ time to think over. I had just returned from a gruelling 105-day trip of the North-East region of India where the problem of influx of illegal migrants from Bangladesh loomed in the background for the whole trip. Hundreds of communities with unique cultures and languages are threatened with cultural extinction because of this influx fuelling insurgency and armed resistance. Memories of 1971 had faded and I felt the effort of going to Dhaka was too much. I was about to politely refuse the invitation. But that night the memories of 1971 came flooding in, keeping me awake and wondering how I could have even thought of not accepting the invitation of the Bangladesh Government. I read the letter of invitation sent by e-mail. It was from Dr Dipu Moni, the Foreign Minister, writing in her capacity of Convenor of the National Committee to Honour Foreign Friends of Bangladesh Liberation War.
> >
> > The letter said: “We are cognisant of the fact that our decision to formally recognise your father’s contribution has come forty years since our achieving independence; but that omission today is set right forever for our posterity and for the world.”
> >
> > At the Dhaka airport we were greeted with beautiful bouquets of roses with “welcome to Bangladesh” embossed on the petals.
> >
> > Earlier in July the Bangladesh Government had conferred its highest award for foreign nationals, the Bangladesh Swadhinata Sammanona (Bangladesh Freedom Honour), on Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Sonia Gandhi had accepted the award on her behalf and praised Mrs Gandhi’s firm and principled stand.
> >
> > It was only when I arrived in Dhaka on March 24 that I discovered that the Bangladesh Committee had put in two years of research to make a list of foreign friends who had contributed their time, money, resources and talent to making the national liberation war a success. It was not an easy task to trace their addresses and search for the relatives of those who had died. The story of the search in India has been documented by the Bangladeshi film-maker, Shahriar Kabir, in his film, A Friend in Difficult Times, in which he introduces the Indian friends of Bangladesh.1 Bangladesh did not only search for the famous or well-known people such as the Army officers involved in training the Mukti Bahini or in the surrender of the Pakistan Army. They searched for ordinary soldiers who laid down their lives in the course of the liberation war. More than 17,000 Indian soldiers died in the course of the nine-month liberation struggle.
> >
> > The film documents the story of one soldier, Shaheed Lance Naik Albert Ekka, Param Vir Chakra, who was from a small Oraon village in Jharkhand. His wife related that she lost her husband only two years after their wedding. Albert Ekka was honoured along with late Lt-General Jagjit Singh Aurora and Lt Gen Jack Fredrick Ralph Jacob and late Field Marshal S.A.M. Manekshaw. All of them had fought bravely and with courage against the ruthless Pakistan Army.
> >
> > There was a message already waiting for me: an invitation for dinner from my father’s friends at the famous Gymkhana Club. They had also invited an American couple, David Weisbrod and his wife. Weisbrod is tall with spectacles and looks every inch a businessman. I was told he had been a hippie with long hair in 1971 and had successfully lobbied for Bangladesh in the United States. He was successful in getting a resolution in favour of the Bangladesh war in the US Senate at a time when the US was opposing the struggle of the people of Bangladesh and supporting the massacres of citizens in what can only be called genocide.
> >
> > On March 25 we were taken to the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi. This was the house where Sheikh Mujibur Rahman lived with his family. It was here at this house on August 15, 1975 that the Father of Bangladesh, along with his wife and children, including ten-year-old Russel, was assassinated. Martial law was promulgated and a law was passed giving impunity to the assassins.
> >
> > We walked around the house and I noticed the old-fashioned furniture, simple and comfortable. It must have been full of love, warmth and laughter. I did not want to think of the murders, the screams and the bloody scene… but the memory of the murder of Indira Gandhi forced itself and I suddenly felt dizzy and went out to breathe. It was in 1975 when martial law was declared in Bangladesh, the year that Indira Gandhi declared Emergency in India. Both leaders were accused of being authoritarian; Sheikh Mujib switched to the presidential system and Indira Gandhi declared an Emergency; both leaders had become authoritarian; both were assassinated…
> >
> > Even more disturbing has been the steady rise of relgious communalism and fundamentalism in India and Bangladesh. But in 1971 there was no communalism on the question of Bangladesh. The Indian people had responded ever so generously to the suffering of the ten million Bangladeshi refugees who came across our borders. I remember going around Delhi with Ruma Guha Thakurta and her Calcutta Youth Choir. My mother and I hopped down from the truck to collect money in our sari pullavs stretched out. People on the streets gave money without any persuasion or explanation.
> >
> > I could hear her Bolo Bolo Bolo Sabe and Ek Din Surjyer Bhor in the museum. I remembered a beggar taking out money from his bowl and putting it in my sari. Looking back it was remarkable that the wife of my father, a senior bureaucrat, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, should go around the streets collecting money and clothes for the refugees. My father had encouraged the entire family to join in the national effort.
> >
> > And Bangladesh was going to honour the people of India with the Friends of Liberation War Honour.
> >
> > •
> >
> > WE are taken for a drive through Dhaka. The Friends are in several buses, an ambulance and police cars. There are stickers on the windshields proclaiming us as Friends of the Liberation War but I notice very few people wave at us. Bengalis are demonstrative people and this lack of enthusiasm makes me sad. I see a small mosaic of Radha Krishna and later an image of Durga. A Hindu woman in sindoor waves at us with a weak smile.
> >
> > We reach Postagala through the cantonment for a river cruise. I am excited because I remember the photographs my father took of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in a boat cruise. Arundhuti Ghosh, the former First Secretary in the Indian High Commi-ssion, tells me that she was there also. But the boat was open. I see a small boat with armed Armymen next to our boat. I ask one of the Armymen whether there is a security threat and he says: “Our government does not want to take any chances.” The Jamat-e-Islami has always condemned the Bangladesh War of Liberation as a conspiracy of India to break Pakistan. In the years after the assassination of Sheikh Sahib the memory of the national liberation struggle was sought to be wiped out.
> >
> > I do not remember one instance when we in our family rejoiced about the break-up of Pakistan. Even when the Pakistan Army surrendered the overwhelming emotion was of relief that the murders and atrocities would stop. My father had even given me poems by Pakistani prisoners of war written in detention which reflected their dilemmas and sadness. He was criticised for insisting that the prisoners of war be sent back and not used for bargaining with Pakistan at the time of the Shimla Agreement signed in 1972. He did not believe in triumphalism or humiliating one’s opponent.
> >
> > As we enter the boat, uniformed Armymen hand us white Rajnigandha flowers. There are tables set for us and on the first floor there is a cultural programme. I remark to no one in particular that the water of the river is dark, polluted and depleted. Someone retorts: “It’s because of you.” He is not smiling and I keep walking. I know he is referring to the resentment Bangladesh has over river water sharing. This resentment goes back to the time when the Farakka Barrage on the Ganges river was commissioned by India in 1971-72. The flow of water into Bangladesh was totally dependent on India and this was done without any agreement with Bangladesh. Although an ad hoc agreement was signed with Sheikh Mujib and subsequently there have been attempts at a negotiated agreement, Bangladesh has complained that India has not kept its promise. There is also resentment about the Tipaimukh dam built on the border of Manipur and Mizoram on the Barak river. Bangladesh was not even informed although the lower riparian consequences were known.2
> >
> > In the evening we all go to the Shikha Chirontoni which is an eternal flame. General Jacob explains that this was the spot where on a small table and two chairs the Surrender Treaty was signed and Pakistani General Niazi surrendered to the Mukti Bahini and Indian Army. Now it is called the Suhrawardy Uddyan.
> >
> > For the Islamic fundamentalists this represented the humiliation of a Muslim state, to Hindu communalists it was a moment of triumph. There are more than a hundred Islamic militant groups in Bangladesh, many of them operating in North-East India; there are 23 Islamic groups in North-East India and both of them give the other succour and solidarity.
> >
> > But for people like my father, the Bangladesh liberation struggle was a national liberation war of Bengalis for their language and culture.
> >
> > Bengali nationalism is alive even in the names of our hotels where we are staying: Rupashi Bangla. Rupashi Bangla was a poem written by Jibanan-anda Das (1899-1954). The national anthem of Bangladesh was written by Tagore and the green flag signifies the lush green of their paddy fields. Everything seemed to bring back memories of times in which religion and nationalism were not antagonistic to each other.
> >
> > March 26 is of course the celebration of Independence Day when the President and Prime Minister of the country lay wreaths at the National Martyrs Memorial at Savar. The stories of these martyrs are still being written, the quiet heroism of a people pitted not only against the ruthless Pakistani Army but an Army supported by the most powerful state in the world, the United States of America.
> >
> > But there were those Americans like late Joseph Garst, a renowned orthopedic surgeon who helped in the rehabilitation of the freedom fighters and refugees. And there was Richard K. Taylor who tried to stop shipment of arms from the USA to Pakistan and was arrested. And there was Senator Wiliam B. Saxbe who raised the issue of the Bangladesh liberation war at Senate meetings and did succeed in stopping the USA from sending more arms to Pakistan. Bangladesh remembered all these people and was preparing to honour each of them.
> >
> > In the evening we were invited to the Independence Day reception at Bangabhaban or the President’s Residence. Both President Zillur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina met each of the awardees and talked to us individually. There were hundreds of other invitees lined up to welcome us. Several burkha-clad women shook hands with some of us and a few smiled. But on the whole it lacked warmth. I wondered whether the men in the wheel chairs were the freedom fighters who had lost their limbs during the liberation war.
> >
> > •
> >
> > THE award ceremony was on March 27 at the Bangabandhu International Conference Hall. The President and Prime Minister of Bangladesh handed the award and the citation to 83 men and women after the Cabinet Secretary had read out the citations. Eight heads of state were given the Bangladesh Liberation War Honour. These inclu-ded H.E., Dr Ram Baran Yadav, the President of Nepal, who in 1971 was a medical student studying in the Calcutta Medical College and had offered medical assistance to the refugees in the camps. The others included three leaders of the former USSR and the President of former Yugo-slavia, Joseph Tito. Vijay Dhar is there to represent his father D.P. Dhar. We exchange smiles, knowing that our fathers had much to do in persuading the Soviet Union to support Bangladesh. We know the whole story of the backstage negotiations would not be out but it is good that Bangladesh had not for-gotten to honour the Soviet Union and Yugo-slavia, even if they had been wiped out of the map. Bangladesh had not forgotten to mention the name of a young Soviet sailor who lost his life while trying to make the Chittagong port operational.
> >
> > The citations for the Friends of Liberation War Honour are a celebration of friendship and solidarity across the globe in an era when people believed they could change the world and the people of Bangladesh certainly did change their destiny.
> >
> > There were many who had campaigned for Bangladesh in their respective countries to change public opinions and some of them had been remarkably successful. Archer K. Blood, the US Consul in East Pakistan during 1971, was the first diplomat to communicate to the US policy-makers about the genocide in Bangladesh. His widow was there to receive the award. The audience showed its appreciation for the journalists who had risked their lives so that they could tell the world about the savagery of the Pakistani Army: Simon Dring, the British journalist, Lear Levin, the American film-maker, late Naoki Usui, the Japanese journalist who travelled to battlefields to collect information first hand.
> >
> > Bangladesh is a country full of singers and artists and that is perhaps why singers and artists were remembered so vividly: late Angshu-man Roy whose song Shuno Ekti Mujiborer Theke was broadcast on the Aakash Bani and late Debdulal Bandyopadhyay who kept alive the hope of millions of Bangladeshis with his daily news programmes. The All India Radio was also given the award. Biman Mullick, who decided to design and issue stamps on behalf of the Government of Mujibnagar, was not forgotten on this day of remembrance.
> >
> > Ustad Ravi Shankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and George Harrison were remembered for their Concert for Bangladesh and Bhupen Hazarika for his songs in support of the freedom fighters. Many of us remembered Joan Baez singing ‘Bangladesh’ and wished she was present to sing the song on this occasion. She may not have been in the Concert but it was her voice that reached many millions of people.
> >
> > The Bangladesh Government also honoured several Christian priests: Rev Eugine Homerich, who saved 90 Hindu women by giving them shelter in his church, Fr Richard Willian Timm, who sent secret reports of the human rights violations, and Fr William P. Evans, who provided shelter to both refugees and freedom fighters. He was killed by the Pakistani Army.
> >
> > As I sat on the dias I felt the real heroes were the peoples of North-East India and I was so happy to see the honours list included so many people from Tripura and Meghalaya.
> >
> > Bangladesh remembered the remarkable gesture of solidarity by Maharani Bibhu Kumari Devi of Tripura. She opened her palace grounds and donated land for the refugees who came to her State. Later I met the Maharani, so full of grace and elegance which comes with royalty. She had no anger or bitterness about the fact that the refugee population had changed the demographic profile of Tripura and made the tribal commu-nities a minority.
> >
> > There were many people from Tripura and Meghalaya: late Dasharath Dev Barma, an adivasi leader who helped the Mukti Bahini, Purno Agitok Sangma, who created volunteer groups to help the freedom fighters, and late Rawshanare Begum Sangma, who donated land for the refugees and supported the Mukti Bahini. I wondered whether the memories of 1971 could help the people of North-East India come to grips with the influx of illegal migrants from Bangladesh, victims of poverty and climate change.
> >
> > Perhaps there is no other country in the world which has honoured its friends in such a meaningful way. Even the most cynical were moved by the graciousness of the new leaders. The gesture had already resulted in winning a new generation of friends for Bangladesh from amongst all of us who were representing our parents, and in some cases our grandparents.
> >
> > The Committee is still searching for friends of Bangladesh and will continue to honour them as and when they trace the people who stood by them in those difficult days. The Ministry of Liberation War Affairs is also documenting the stories of the freedom fighters, their tales of sacrifice, suffering and heroism. More importantly, the process of remembering was also a way of affirming shared values which seemed even more relevant than they were in 1971, both in Bangladesh and in India. The sad part is that the media and Indians did not realise the importance of this remembering. It took several days before the Indian Government formally thanked the Bangladesh Government for preserving the memories of those times by felicitating Indians.
> >
> > FOOTNOTES
> >
> > 1. I was a little upset to see that the photograph of my father was of someone else.
> > 2. Krishnan Srinivasan, The Jamdani Revolution, Kolkata: 2008, Dhaka: 2009.
> >
> > In Commemoration of P.N. Haksar, a Friend of Bangladesh
> > Monaem Sarker
> > P. N. Haksar
> > I feel humble to commemorate a distinguished son of India, Parmeshwar Narayan Haksar, diplomat, statesman, architect of the Simla Agreement 1972, an Indian from Kashmir but truly a citizen of the world. Above all, he was great friend of Bangladesh. Ever since the death of Mr. P.N. Hakser on 27 November 1998, I have continued to suffer from a sense of personal loss. I have also felt that it has been a national loss to Bangladesh too. Mr. Haksar was a symbol of humanism. His humane approach brought him the admiration, respect and reverence of every Bangalee who came in contact with him during our liberation war and after.
> >
> > We have heard time and again from our first Prime Minister Mr. Tajuddin Ahmed and those who worked with him from April to December 1971. They spoke very high of Mr. P.N. Haksar’s special role as Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India in the inner councils of decision-making. He fashioned Mrs. Gandhi’s decision about the timing and level of support to be given by India to our liberation struggle. The manner the Bangladesh freedom fighters who had crossed over to India in the face of the West Pakistani military atrocities & wanton massacres unleashed on 25 March 1971 were treated as well as the warmth of India’s relations with the Government set up in Mujibnagar in April 1971 are recognized to reflect the India's finest hour. India's political leadership had succeeded in uniting the country to support Bangladesh Liberation struggle. The diplomacy conducted by India in a world still riven by the cold war had achieved extraordinary success. Mr. Haksar's contribution to that success in widely acknowledged. The wisdom of his counsel, which had urged that unified and co-ordinated efforts by all the pro-liberation forces was essential for victory. Under Indira Gandhi and P.N. Haksar's active guidance Mr. D.P. Dhar played a vital role during the formative stage of our cabinet consultative committee in exile.
> >
> > D.P. Dhar, India's Ambassador in Moscow was summoned to Delhi in June 1971, and Haksar gave him the brief to reach an agreement on the treaty incorporating the amendments acceptable to the Soviet side but covering the security contingencies India might be facing. PNH followed it up all the way down till it was presented to get the approval of the political affairs committee, a committee of cabinet members, where PNH, P N Dhar and D P Dhar were present just to assist them if required!
> >
> > In 1971 on 9 August, the Indo-Soviet Treaty for Friendship and Cooperation was signed in New Delhi, which Kissinger subsequently termed as a 'bombshell' in his memoirs. Indeed, the treaty, by agreeing to have joint consultation in the event of a threat from a third party and to take appropriate action to restore peace and security, decisively changed the course of subsequent events. As the reconstruction of history goes on, some writers in recent years play down the threat of collusion perceived by us to the level that the US was using the Pakistani channel to open up to China for its own geopolitical interest. That might well be, but, in addition, there was a darker aspect of that opening too, as Richard Nixon made it clear in his memoirs: "The Chinese played a very cautious role in this period. They had troops poised on the Indian border, but they would not take the risk of coming to the aid of Pakistan by attacking India, because they understandably feared that the Soviet might use this action as an excuse for attacking China.
> > Mr. P.N. Hakser's knowledge was encyclopedic. Those who disagreed with him could not fail to admire his deep understanding of complex and complicated issues. During my four years of “exile:” in India from 1975 to 1979. I was very close to him. He advised me to form a Caucus of Friends of Bangladesh in Delhi. Friends of Bangladesh Includes- Sri Manmatha Nath Gupta (Chairman), Prof. Dilip Chakravarty, M.P., Sri Sachindralal Singh, M.P., Sri R. K. Mishra, M.P., Sri K. R. Ganesh, Sri P. N. Haksar, Sri Shashi Bhushan, Sri Ganesh Shukta, Sri Sadhan Mukerjee, Sri Abani Lahiri, Sri D. R. Goyal, Sri Subrata Banerjee (Convenor). First condolence meeting on Bangabandhu was organized by that committee in Gandhi Memorial Hall in New Delhi on 15th August 1976. Many people said to me personally, that the time spent with him had been so rewarding, that one could not get through books & journals. I would like to mention here two letters out of many letters written to me by P.N. Hakser which will depict his respect, love and concern about Bangladesh one in July 14, 1997 & another in 18th March 1998.
> >
> > Phone : 4673545, 6886149
> > P. N. HAKSAR
> > 4/9, Shanti Niketan New Delhi- 110 021
> > Date: July 14, 1997
> >
> > Dearest Bakul:
> > The memory of your two visits to my home still remains with me. I was hoping to see you in Dhaka last year, but it was not to be.
> >
> > I was very deeply, deeply touched when Abdus Samd Saheb insisted on visiting me in my home in Delhi when he first came here in his capacity as the Foreign Minister in the Government led by Sheikh Hasinaji as the Prime Minister. When she assumed the office after such a long and courageous struggle, I wrote to her a letter. Naturally, I did not expect her to reply, but I am anxious to know only whether she received it or not.
> >
> > All the heros of Bangladesh liberation have strutted about on the stage of history and now the curtain has fallen. We can now contemplate the true historical reality when a character called Monaem Sarker acted the part of Bakul.
> >
> > Are you planning to visit Delhi in the near future? Please do come. I am going to be 84 years old which is 25 years more than the average expectation of life in India.
> >
> > It breaks my heart when I hear the people of Bangladesh suffer during monsoons, typhoons and cyclones.
> >
> > Please do convey my warmest regards and best wishes to Sheikh Hasinaji when you meet her as well as to Abdus Samad Saheb.
> >
> > With my blessings and love.
> > Yours affectionately,
> > P.N. Haksar
> > Mr. Monaem Sarker
> > ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................
> >
> > Phone : 4673545, 6886149
> > P. N. HAKSAR
> > 4/9, Shanti Niketan
> >
> > New Delhi- 110 021
> >
> >
> > Dated: March 18, 1998
> > Dearest Monaem:
> > Today is the 18th of March, 1998. On this day, I should be air-borne and moving towards Dhaka and stepping on the sacred soil of Bangladesh. I was so full of excitement of visiting Dhaka after a I apse of more than ¼ of a century. You had made arrangements for my visit with great love and care. But alas!, I find myself grounded in 4/9 Shanti Niketan. I hope that our High Commissioner in Dhaka has explained to you my painful predicament.
> >
> > Friends of Bangladesh had organised a public meeting yesterday on the occasion of Bangabandhu’s 78th birthday. I could not even attend that. I hope that you will understand the depth of my anguish.
> > With my blessings and best wishes to you,
> > Yours affectionately,
> > P.N. Haksar
> > Mr. Monaem Sarker
> > Director General
> > Bangladesh Foundation for Development Research
> > 23 Chamelibagh, Dhaka â€" 1217, Bangladesh
> >
> > P.N. Haksar, born in 1913, has been called the most distinguished public servant of his generation. After a spell as a barrister at the Allahabad high court (1943-8), he was drawn into the Foreign Service by Nehru. Subsequently, he directed the course of government policies at home and abroad as High Commissioner, Secretary and Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India, Mrs Indira Gandhi (1967-73). Later, as Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission and Vice-Chairman of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, he was executive head of the country's planning and R & D structures (1974-7). He continues to be actively associated with institutions concerned with the advancement of knowledge, including the Indian Statistical Institute and several centres of research in the social sciences. P.N. Haksar recreates in India of the 20th century & deftly fashions its flavors and charm and its first stirring under Nehru & Indira Gandhi.
> >
> > The then Prime Minister I. K. Gujral writes in his articles on P.N. Hakser: Governance with social purpose:
> >
> > "Indira Gandhi had known P.N. Haksar her London days. She discussed his name with some of us in the 'Kitchen Cabinet' as it was called. We did not know Haksar personally since he had spent most of his time serving in the diplomatic missions abroad but we endorsed her choice, when she told us of his political affiliations with the Nehru family. Haksar, as you would know, made his presence felt very soon after entering the high office. He turned, the PM's Secretariat into a power centre and made it a fountainhead of ideas and policies. By then Indira Gandhi had shed off her shyness and uncertain demeanor, while Haksar radicalized her socio-economic policies and centralized authority around her. This was the beginning of a new style of governance that bore close resemblance to the Presidential system. Perhaps this was inevitable, since the political circumstances were radically different than in the Nehruvian era. Nehru, all through the 17 years of his rule did not set up a PM's Secretariat or even a PMO. He was assisted by one secretary, though he occasionally used the senior officials in the MEA for co-ordination. Panditji had several advantages that were unique. His Cabinet comprised of eminent persons who were his comrades in the freedom struggle. They had similar views regarding the socio-economic purpose of governance. Men like Sardar Patel did not require any guidelines from the PMO nor would Maulana Azad, Pant, Kidwai or Ambedkar seek policy directions from any secretary. They were men of colossal dimensions who were masters of their domains. The Cabinet meetings were friendly and harmonious; in a way, these were the replicas of the Congress Working Committee meetings of the past. The style and purpose of governance was to speedily reach the promised destination, since they were conscious of the brevity of the time available to them."
> >
> > The then President A.P.J. Abul Kalam writes in his article: Developed Nation: the vision:
> > "I am indeed delighted to give the First P N Haksar Memorial lecture. Despite his great stature in the national scene, I was fortunate to come in contact with him when he was a member of the space commission and visited the satellite launch vehicle integration lab at Thumba, with smoke coming out of his pipe, and with a smiling face, he asked an important question; In satellite launch vehicle programme where does India stand? I looked at Professor Satish Dhawan, the then Chairman, ISRO, and then quickly responded to him saying that when the Rohini Satellite injected SLV-III in earth orbit, we will be the fifth country! "Oh my Nation when you will be the first?". His words - "when my nation will be the first" reverberates in my mind even after nearly 20 years."
> >
> > Vol. 15: No. 26
> > Dec. 19, 1998 - Jan. 01, 1999
> > FRONTLINE
> > PRAFUL BIDWAI
> > http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl1526/15261180.htm
> >
> > The last of the Nehruvians
> >
> > P.N. Haksar embodied the best of the Nehruvian tradition coupled with the foresight of the institution-building bureaucrat.
> >
> >
> > PARAMESHWAR NARAIN HAKSAR, who died at age 85 on November 27, was perhaps the last survivor of the cadre of policy-planners, diplomatic strate- gists and administrators ass-ociated with Jawaharlal Nehru's early nation-building project. He died a disillusioned man, pained at the questioning of the main premises - democracy, secularism, socialism and non-alignment - of that project. Haksar was not just an individual, nor a powerful ex-bureaucrat. He was an institution. His life and career hold many lessons about India and the world, and about the strengths and weaknesses of the Nehruvian legacy.
> >
> > Haksar was among an elite crop of well-educated youth who were personally inspired and influenced by Nehru. He switched from a promising career as a barrister at the Allahabad High Court to the foreign service, at Nehru's instance. Those were the heady days of non-alignment. Haksar played no mean role in crafting some of the details of India's foreign policy. Non-alignment was not an easy posture to adopt for a country then subject to the intense pressure of bloc rivalry, in particular pressure from the West under whose domination India's entire administration had been shaped for over a century. Non-alignment became viable only because of Nehru's distrust of free-market capitalism, a certain commitment to equality, an admiration for state planning, and, globally, the existence of the Soviet Union as a countervailing force to the Western bloc.
> >
> > Non-alignment had a dual aspect: at the doctrinal level, it advocated autonomy from both East and West; at another level, it connoted the independent foreign policy of a newly liberated state in the vanguard of the decolonisation process, which sought to reform an unequal global order. India's foreign policy complemented the Nehruvian attempt to pursue a relatively autonomous path of development: "socialism" or a "mixed economy", combining private property and regulated capitalism, with a measure of distributive justice. This coherence was unique.
> >
> > Haksar was schooled in policy-planning derived from this coherence within a milieu of institution-building based on the Nehruvian vision. In the first quarter-century following Indepen-dence, India gave birth to myriad institutions - in administration, science and technology, the arts, academics, trade, industry and agriculture. These institutions, some of the world's best, and most unmatched in the Third World, formed the powerhouse of nation-building. If India was to have state planning, it had to create not only its own Planning Commission, but also other institutions such as the Indian Statistical Institute (P.C. Mahalanobis' alma mater) and the Delhi School of Economics (V.K.R.V. Rao's creation, at one time truly outstanding), to service it. To achieve food self-sufficiency, India would build not only the Sindri fertilizer plant; it would also create the wherewithal to design, build and equip such factories.
> >
> > It was not enough to allocate funds to new public sector companies; it was necessary to create a cadre of managers too. Industry promotion had to be accompanied by term-lending credit institutions, for example, the Industrial Development Bank of India, the Industrial Credit and Investment Corpo-ration of India (now ICICI), and so on. The planning was meticulously detailed to the point of creating windows to handle foreign currency loans to industry which, it was recognised, would need to import capital goods. In this institutional flowering figured the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the Indian Council of Medical Research; the five Indian Institutes of Technology; the Indian Institutes of Management; the chain of Councils of Social Science, Historical and Philosophical Research; the Sahitya, Lalit Kala and Sangeet Natak Akademis; and companies in fields as diverse as electronics, earth-moving equipment, railway construction, silicon chips and machine tools. Associated with them were pioneers and institution-builders, from Visvesvaraya to Lovraj Kumar, from S.S. Bhatnagar to H.T. Parekh, from D.S. Kothari to K.D. Malaviya. These were people with foresight. For instance, without Malaviya - and his remarkable understanding of the importance of hydrocarbons - the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (now Corporation) could not have come into being, Bombay High would not have happened, and India would have been devastated by the oil shocks of the 1970s.
> >
> > FORESIGHT was crucial to Haksar's understanding of power, foreign policy and nation-building. He was acutely aware that a good section of the Indian establishment refused to acknowledge the need for holistic thinking and institutionalisation. Twenty years ago, he wrote: "There is... insufficient... coordination between the political elements of our foreign policy and the economic, commercial and security aspects... Our (Foreign) Ministry is particularly weak in institutionalising forward thinking... And, from time to time, one discerns display of egotism... which is not only fatal in diplomacy but is destructive of institutional arrangements. I have always felt that a group of earnest men working together are preferable to a genius... Lack of teamwork is our weakness. Our diplomacy, therefore, falls short of optimal results." ("India's Foreign Policy and its Problems", Patriot, 1989). Similar views are to be found in his Premonitions and his autobiographical One More Life.
> >
> > Haksar won laurels not so much in the Foreign Office as in strategising the abolition of privy purses, the nationalisation of banks, insurance and foreign oil companies, the liberation of Bangladesh, the 1971 Indo-Soviet Treaty, and the Shimla accord with Pakistan. In the period 1967-73, he was Indira Gandhi's most important adviser. He understood, better than perhaps any of her other advisers, that a Left-leaning pro-poor orientation would be critical to her success. He also actively promoted a foreign policy stance critical of Western hegemonism.
> >
> > Haksar never claimed credit for India's policy of supporting the Bangladesh liberation movement to the point of waging war with Pakistan. But he was its real architect. As he was of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) of the Cabinet Secretariat, the Shimla accord, and many administrative arrangements and procedures. It is easy to understand the rationale of the Haksar strategy vis-a-vis Bangladesh: the West Pakistan establishment was incapable of accommodating East Pakistan's legitimate demand for equality and autonomy; the country had to split. It is not so easy to appreciate the logic of Haksar's advocacy of the Shimla accord after India had decisively trounced Pakistan in 1971. Haksar himself explained the rationale pithily:
> >
> > "The most painful and difficult moment in our mutual relationship was reached in December 1971. Pakistan lay shattered. Several of its tehsils were under occupation of our army, resulting in displacement of nearly a million people; 93,000 prisoners of war were in our custody affecting several lakhs of families in Pakistan...'Negotiating from strength' has been made part of diplomatic coinage. But to negotiate with someone who is manifestly weak is even more difficult... The Simla negotiations were thus full of difficulties... If these... were successfully concluded it was due, in large measure, to the correctness of our approach to Pakistan as it emerged out of the trauma of its partition and to the overwhelming support which the country gave to that approach.
> >
> > "What were the essential elements of that approach? First, a recognition that Pakistan continued to have an unresolved crisis of its national identity... Only a resumption of the interplay of political processes could possibly resolve the crisis and lead to Pakistan's normal political, economic, social and cultural evolution. India must not do anything which would impede this process... Secondly, the common people of Pakistan must know of India's interest in maintaining the integrity of Pakistan.
> >
> > "Thirdly, India must not, under any circumstances, add to the stock of political capital of diverse elements in Pakistan's military, civilian establishments and among the motley combination of political adventurers who play upon Indophobia-mixed Islamic atavism... And finally, the moment of defeat must never be converted into a moment of humiliation."
> >
> > It is rare to see this kind of insight among our present policymakers. (Indeed, the BJP's ideologues malign the Shimla agreement as a "betrayal".) Haksar had a refined understanding of foreign relations. He repudiated the thesis that strength derives from military force - an idea that is bandied about today as obvious wisdom in defence of Pokhran-II. In a lucid passage, Haksar debunks this: "The very concept of force as the basis of state policy has become a kind of fetish.... The West cannot think of dialogue unless it is based on force. President Reagan, for one, says: 'The only way to negotiate for peace is from a position of strength'..." But "it should be clear to anybody that negotiations 'from a position of strength' cannot by their very nature be constructive, since they are intended to impose one's will... on one's partner. They rule out the possibility of achieving mutually acceptable, balanced results." Such mature understanding and refined thinking is rare today.
> >
> > Haksar was badly humiliated by Sanjay Gandhi during the Emergency and shunted off to the Planning Commission from his powerful position as Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister. Later he bowed out of office altogether. One may or may not approve of his reluctance to condemn Indira Gandhi: "I will not comment on (her)... She's no more. She's part of history. Historians will judge her by what she's done." But Haksar was extraordinarily dignified in the way he dealt with the dilemmas in whose creation he had himself played a part: for example, the over-centralisation of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), which led to its potential for authoritarian misuse, reliance on intelligence, which was proving less and less trustworthy, the failure of a number of institutions such as RAW to deliver.
> >
> > In his later years, Haksar often acknowledged the limitations of his approach, indeed that of his generation of institution-builders. The approach was a top-down one, to which administrative instruments are central. It never took popular participation as necessary or vital to official programmes. It was gender-blind, insensitive to environmental considerations, and often uncomprehending of micro-level realities. Thus, its grand visions often ended up in un-implementable programmes.
> >
> > Haksar bitterly complained 20 years ago: "Life demands constant renewal. And our country is crying for renewal - political, economic, cultural and spiritual. Without such a renewal, our diplomats... might be reduced to... seller(s) of anti-earthquake pills of Lisbon. This would be amusing but not edifying... in recent years, both the institution of the Foreign Office as well as the foreign service are being eroded. Wisdom would require halting and reversing the process." This never happened.
> >
> > In his later years, Haksar did try to rethink the top-down approach. For instance, he associated himself with the Delhi Science Forum and initiatives on human rights, secularism, opposition to mindless neo-liberal policies. He also produced an excellent report on the functioning of the three cultural Akademis. This had an incisive analysis of their failures, frailties, and patronage-driven character, and made many thoughtful recommendations for reform. (Needless to say, these are yet to be implemented.)
> >
> > Despite his limitations, Haksar remained a committed believer in democracy and the freedom of expression. It is well known that he criticised the suspension of fundamental rights during the Emergency. But few people know that he had to plead Satyajit Ray's case to Nehru. Ray's classic, Pather Panchali, was initially banned from being screened abroad. "My wife and I happened to see this film and we were both struck by its beauty. We felt it was the kind of film which should be entered at one of the international film festivals... I was informed that as the film showed India's poverty, it was not suitable for being entered in foreign film festivals. A great battle ensued to have the order banning the film removed." Haksar approached Nehru, who was furious: "What is wrong about showing India's poverty? Everyone knows that we are a poor country. The question is: are we Indians sensitive to our poverty or insensitive to it? Satyajit Ray has shown it with an extraordinary sense of beauty and sensitiveness."
> >
> > Haksar's world was far from cheerful in the evening of his life. Indeed, it got dark after he lost his eyesight more than 10 years ago. And it became even darker after Hindu communalism's recrudescence, and increasing loss of the integrity and sense of purpose of the Indian state. It is no poetic justice that Haksar should have passed away just as Hindutva's ascendancy is giving way to decline after the comprehensive setback the Bharatiya Janata Party received in the latest Assembly elections in three States.
> >
>




------------------------------------

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[ALOCHONA] Re: This is my Freedom !!!



Farida is a blind supporter of the AL of the hypocritical kind. It doesn't take an enlightened IQ fro me to recognize this. It doesn't take an enlightened IQ for Farida to be a hypocrite either. She thinks my comments on the subject Shahadat has chosen amount to a venture in literary criticism. I praised his subject matter. Faridahas a poor grasp of English. She is a snotty intellectual - perfect material for the ranks of hypocrites who blight our nation.

Here calls Shahadat semi literate, disdains the quality of his English, sneers at his Bangla and then, for some bizarre reason, references 4th graders in Sylhet and Noakhali. God willing all the 4th graders of Sylhet and Noakhali will not turn out to be elitist hypocrites like Farida. I daresay many of those fourth graders could beat Farida in an honest debate about the country.

Farida then quotes me and instead of taking me on she responds with a lengthy spiel about breaking down the walls of Shakespeare!

Shakespeare wrote about everything pertinent to his day and to his people. He took on myths and kings, he took on hypocrisy and liars, he took on politics and dynasties, he gave no quarter to the fairer sex and he spoke out for truth and justice. And you talk about Shakespeare?! If Nazrul and Tagore were alive in 2012 they would tear into our society and mock the political establishment with a heat that would burn the skin of chamchas like Farida.

Here she brags about getting published in the Huffington Post. What a show off! If the Huffington Post ever came to Bangladesh, no amount of praising Shakespeare would divert it from tearing into Farida's beloved government.

We need a Huffington Post in Bangladesh. Then we would see what is appropriate subject matter.

Farida has nothing except the bloodline of Sheikh Mujib.

So much for the 'enlightened fan of Shakespeare.'

Pathetic.

Ezajur Rahman

Kuwait

    

 

 

 


--- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, Farida Majid <farida_majid@...> wrote:
>
>
> The Kuwaiti closet-trapped claptrapper suffering from acute claustrophobia, whose enlightened IQ is limited to heckling imagined "blind supporters" of BD political parties, has ventured into expressing literary viewpoints. He is full of critical praise for this semi-literate Shahadat Hussaini (about whose English I refrain from commenting) whose Bangla spelling and grammar would make a 4th grader village girl of Noakhali or Sylhet LOL. Here is Kuwaiti closet-man advising Shah Dildar:
>
> << Why are you looking for poetic quality first in a
> poem by a retired Lt Colonel? Should he have written something lilting
> and tilting like all the poems and songs that flood our country - poems
> and songs of irrelevant wishy washy crap that have nothing to do with
> anything?>>
>
> Perhaps it is pertinent to share what I wrote recently when I was in the mood for celebrating Shakespeare's birthday with million of readers at Huffington Post:
>
> "How to enjoy reading Shakespeare" /how-to-enjoy-reading-shak_b_1445153_149944562.html
>
> Commented
> Apr 23, 2012 at 17:36:41
>
> in
> Culture
>
>
>
> “Happy Birthday Will
> (his friends wouldn't call him Bill -- check out Ben Jonson's smirky
> poem on him!)!
>
>
>
> Smigelski does a fair job of breaking down the 'wall of resistance' to
> Shakespeare's words. But then, by 'poetic' he presents another barrier
> to be surmounted by these resisters. What needs to be opened up are
> emotional meanings behind the context of the whole pieces of language and their cadence,
> and how cleverly and beautifully those meanings are served by the Bard's
> particular choice of words. This requires an awareness of rhetoric
> which is not hard to grasp once we realize that we use those
> speech-devices all the time, knowingly or unknowingly.
>
>
>
> "Never was seen so black a day as this," has an urgency, an expression of
> agony and loss that the same combination of words with the syntax
> straightened out would not. The utility of poetry, therefore, is its
> ability to cut a long story short, but extend the emotion and the drama.
>
>
>
>
> Of course Shakespeare is modern -- but far more than that. He is always one step
> ahead of us in prefiguring what we might blurt out when challenged
> emotionally under difficult circumstances.
>
>
>
> In his capacity to capture human emotion in its raw immediacy
> Shakespeare is an unparalleled language artist of all times and in any
> language. That he made English the vehicle of his language-art has
> enriched this language immeasurably and made other languages of the
> world envious. (Just ask the French!)”
>
>
> Farida Majid
> To: alochona@yahoogroups.com
> From: shahdeeldar@...
> Date: Tue, 22 May 2012 05:22:20 -0700
> Subject: Re: [ALOCHONA] Re: This is my Freedom !!!
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> I got no problem with the content. The problem is that he should not call himself a poet or a freelance poet. We know poets and he is not!Now, what word you do not understand?-SD
> "All great truths begin as blasphemies." GBS
> From: ezajur Ezajur@...
> To: alochona@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 11:11 AM
> Subject: [ALOCHONA] Re: This is my Freedom !!!
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Why are you looking for poetic quality first in a poem by a retired Lt Colonel? Should he have written something lilting and tilting like all the poems and songs that flood our country - poems and songs of irrelevant wishy washy crap that have nothing to do with anything?
> It is far more important what he is trying to say. And what he is trying to say is not easy to say. But one can follow what he is trying to say. You can too. Which is why you criticise his style and not his content.
> There are enough soppy poems and songs for you to enjoy all about bloody nil akaash, thumi kuthai, thumake kujthesi, thumake pachina - and similar bulls### themes that define the emasculated Bangladeshi male.
> Bravo to the Colonel's sentiments about freedom in Bangladesh.
> Dull bayonets used bluntly are needed in our language.
> We have enough lily livered, namby pamby, wussy, effeminate bulls&&& for your pleasure. Just watch the next cultural program.
> Ezajur Rahman
> Kuwait
>
> --- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, Shah Deeldar shahdeeldar@ wrote:
> >
> > Hardly, I see any poetic quality in this prose. Col Shaheb should try to sell something else than poetry. It is one of toughest domains of any literature!
> > It feels like a dull bayonet has been used to write the lines. Next poem Sir!
> > -SD
> >
> >
> >
> > Â
> > "All great truths begin as blasphemies." GBS
> >
> >
> > ________________________________
> > From: Shahadat Hussaini shahadathussaini@
> > To: bangladeshi googlesgroups bangladeshiamericans@googlegroups.com; khabor khabor@yahoogroups.com; alochona alochona@yahoogroups.com
> > Sent: Wednesday, May 9, 2012 5:29 PM
> > Subject: [ALOCHONA] This is my Freedom !!!
> >
> >
> > Â
> > Â
> >
> > Poem: This is my Freedom !!! - Lt Col (Retd) Md Shahadat Hossain, psc  Â
> >
> Â This is my freedom!!!
> >
> > Â
> >
> > I cannot talk in favor of Hartal (Strike), because people would color me as sympathizer of opposition party.
> > I cannot talk against the Hartal (Strike), because people might treat me as likeminded of government party.
> > This is my freedom!!!
> > Â
> > I cannot carry little money alone, because miscreants might abduct or kill me only for that little money.
> > I cannot walk or drive safely on any road, because any careless driver without license might hit or kill me on the spot.
> > I cannot let my daughter go for education singly, because she might be subject to eve teasing.
> > This is my freedom!!!
> > Â
> > I cannot buy minimum food staff with my limited salary due to continuous market price hike.
> > I cannot buy medicine for my sick relatives or children from my earning as I also got to pay bribe for the education of
> my child.
> > This is my freedom!!!
> > Â
> > I cannot talk about truth because my bosses and so called politicians would treat me threatened.
> > I cannot talk about honesty because of too many dishonest people around and the dishonest environment.
> > This is my freedom!!!
> > Â
> > I cannot open my books or news papers due to unclear history of the past and present happenings,
> > I cannot open my TV or Radio because of only â€Å"Talk Shows� even by not competent to speak on the topic.
> > This is my freedom!!!
> > Â
> > However, I have heroic bloods of sacrifice, though backdated of 1971, and a map named Bangladesh,
> > However, I have a flag, red and green, which I host on important dates, named as Bangladeshi flag,
> > However, I have a positive dream named â€Å"survival for the fittest and prosperous Bangladesh�, preserved within me.
> > And this
> is my only freedom of dream!!!
> > Â
> > (The poet Lieutenant Colonel, retired, Md Shahadat Hossain, psc is a freelance poet and writer related to the promotion of Bangladesh who can be reached at shahadatb@ )
> >
>



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[ALOCHONA] Re: Dr. Yunus - Not the Founder of Grameen Bank

Dear Alochoks

Does anyone know if this article was published in any newspaper?


Regards

Ezahjur Rahman
Kuwait


--- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, "ezajur" <Ezajur@...> wrote:
>
> Modasser
>
> We can tell a lot about you from this article that you have chosen to
> forward.
>
> No doubt you thought it was a pretty smart article. Maybe you know
> Rahaat and assumed it must be a good article.
>
> Most probably, anything against Dr Yunus is worthwhile because it will
> please your Nethri.
>
> What Rahaat has written is absolute rubbish. It is appallingly crafted, politically motivated and prejudiced in every way.
>
> I shall kick it to pieces like the shabby rag that it is as soon as I
> can be bothered.
>
> The fight is on.
>
> Ezajur Rahman
>
> Kuwait
>
>
> --- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, "Dr. Mahmud Hasan" <mail2mahmud@>
> wrote:
> >
> > What a wonderful writing!! To say the last paragraph .. title is "Dr.
> Yunus - Not the Founder of Grameen Bank".
> >
> > I respect all and also respect Prof. Yunus. So true "This is really a
> misfortune for the whole nation"
> > Have a nice day,
> > MahmudÂ
> >
> >
> > ________________________________
> > From: Modasser Hossain bolonhome@
> > To:
> > Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2012 9:11 AM
> > Subject: [ALOCHONA] Dr. Yunus - Not the Founder of Grameen Bank
> >
> >
> > Â
> >
> > Â
> >
> > Dr. Yunus - Not the Founder of Grameen Bank
> >
> > Â
> > -Rahaat Khan
> > Â
> > Â
> > Dr. Yunus’s case related to Grameen Bank is now pending with
> the Supreme Court. The hearing is adjourned for two weeks from 15th
> March, 2011. Naturally, any opinion on this sub-judiced matter is
> prohibited in the eye of law. Hence, I will only put forward some of my
> personal observation on Dr. Muhammad Yunus and his activities.
> > Â
> > A man of high esteem, Dr. Yunus has definitely glorified our nation
> for his Nobel Peace award. And we, being Bangladeshis feel proud of him.
> But there is a slight misnomer with his reputation. Dr. Yunus is
> frequently recognized as the founder of Grameen Bank. But the fact does
> not entirely go with this. The Government of Bangladesh has constituted
> this specialized bank in 1990 in purview with the existing rules of the
> land and under the provisions and supervision of Bangladesh Bank. As
> such, Dr. Yunus may, by large, be considered as the founder managing
> director of the said bank, not the founder. Any way, he is all in all in
> the Grameen Bank and his hilarious effort in marketing this bank is
> enormous. Like many other, it also strikes me that why Dr. Yunus was not
> interested to have a successor although there was a heresy that for
> sometime, Khaled Shams, a renowned banker was deemed to the next role
> leader. But in one fine morning Mr. Shams was removed
> > from this bank and also it was not clear whether he was engaged in any
> of Grameen’s projects. Anyway, the next name we came across was
> some Dipal Borua but that too been a faded name for a long while. No
> doubt, Dr. Yunus’s contribution to the Grameen Bank is
> fathomless. But it is also an undeniable fact that an institution
> requires a generation of successive leadership for its sustenance. But
> we did not spot Mr. Yunus being attentive to this at all. Why? This may
> be better known to him but my understanding along with many others
> slates this not as a failure on Dr. Yunus’s part to realize it
> rather the very wish of life long governance over the institution of
> even the intention of doing whatever he feels like with this specialized
> bank.
> > Â
> > This is a common place that everyone retires after a certain period of
> service. But the very effort of Dr. Yunus testifies that he wants a life
> time managing directorship for Grameen Bank. Seemingly, his departure
> from this grand comradeship will husk a griddling fate to 80 lakh poor
> people. Mr. Yunus is now 71. Does every death spare any Nobel laureate?
> If so be the fact, and also the fact remains Dr. Yunus’s absence
> from Grameen Bank, shatters the fate of 80 lack poor people, naturally
> people should witness his immortality for the sake of Grameen Bank and
> the poor. But is that possible?
> > Â
> > Defying all these Dr. Yunus requires to be on top of the Grameen Bank.
> It isn’t only because of the dignity of this Nobel laureate, but
> to the best of my knowledge, rather because of many inter and intra
> continental trade conglomeration. Okay, there is no harm in such
> strategic partnership. But many indicates on the unfair pledge
> especially where any specialized financial institution like Grameen Bank
> enjoys the provision of non-compliance collateral or equity principles
> and tax rebate. As such it earned an unequival competitive advantage to
> override other similar businesses in the market for which it was not
> meant, rather, the special arrangements on part of the regulators came
> out of the belief that micro financing and micro credit would be an
> epitome to relieve poverty. But what our experience narrates is nothing
> but the tale of an ugly game. When it is expected that Dr. Yunus being a
> Nobel laureate would do justice to his own dignity more
> > specifically when the awards goes for peace making. But it
> didn’t go along that line. Mr Yunus didn’t off shoulder
> his responsibility until he was officially removed by the Bangladesh
> Bank. Some Western allies including the Friends of Grameen started
> lobbying and seemed to be very much resolutative for holding his
> position as MD of the Grameen Bank. Disaster without Yunus!
> > Â
> > Now, the question is, whose disaster the allies think it to be?
> Anyway, I restrain myself from commenting on that. Just to raise a
> little point on the validity of the policy statements of an institution
> which claims to have a pivotal role in poverty alleviation where the
> interest rate is 35 to 40 per cent and more interestingly these loan
> arrangements are triggered towards to the people living below the
> poverty line. Doesn’t it sound like an impractical imagination?
> As if a fool dwelling in a paradise! Against this backdrop of Grameen
> Bank, there are many NGOs in Bangladesh (e.g. BRAC, PROSHIKA, Nijera
> Kori, KARITAS etc.) which have a long legacy of success story on issues
> like poverty alleviation, reducing child mortality and pregnant women,
> population control, women empowerment, development of sanitation in
> rural and slum areas etc. Does the Grameen Bank record any visible
> contribution to the above-mentioned programmes or areas with its
> high-rated
> > interest provision? Then, it is not an exaggeration or over-statement
> that the Grameen Bank effort was more focused on financial transaction
> based on a mercenary-like attitude and style than effective poverty
> alleviation.
> > Â
> > Despite all these, Dr. Yunus was awarded Nobel peace price for his
> `contribution’ to poverty alleviation and helping reducing the
> threat of anarchy due to extreme poverty in society thus bringing smiles
> to millions of faces in rural Bangladesh. This Nobel price in fact
> struck many conscious minds. A man who has never uttered a single word
> protesting against the 1971 genocide by Pakistan, rather stayed in USA
> to remain in safe zone; who has always kept aloof during natural and
> political calamities in Bangladesh (only except the post one-eleven
> incident). Rather, it is him, the man who has little visible
> contribution to poverty alleviation rather but for conceptualizing micro
> credit to the poor with an enormous interest rate and thus became a
> mercenary Dr. Yunus who has been awarded the Nobel Peace price for
> peace? What else could this be called than just doing a mimic to peace
> by the Nobel granting committee? I have always praised Mr. Yunus as a
> > successful entrepreneur; however, I still have some reservations and
> queries regarding him:
> > Â
> > A Bangladeshi by birth, why Dr. Yunus never has visited our national
> mausoleum in Savar, or shrine of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu
> Sheikh Mujibur Rahman? Nor have we ever seen him saying anything
> regarding Bangabandhu. His snobbish attitude and disregard to
> Bangabandhu and all glorious achievements of Bangalee nation hurt me the
> most. Should such a personality deserve respect? Moreover, the man who
> intended to brand all politicians as corrupt during the post one-eleven
> scenario; and who consented to take responsibility of ruling the country
> but with an assurance for 10-year stay in power has been much downgraded
> from his dignity and esteem. Time will say what will be the legal fate
> of Dr. Yunus. But Mr. Yunus, you have lost much of the glare of a Nobel
> laureate by now. This is really a misfortune for the whole nation.
> > Â Â
> > Â
> > Â Â Â
> >
>




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[ALOCHONA] Re: Let her sacrifice..

Its really fun to see blind supporters of AL to come out of the closet
now and then.

Which civilised society is Farida referring to?

Is she referrring to the society where she brags about her fighting for
the safety of journalists but then keeps quiet when journalists are
killed when AL is in power?

Or is she referrring to a civilised society in which she complains about
stupid threats against the PM but she can keep quiet when the thugs of
the same PM actually steal people's land and kill people?

Bloody hypocrites. They are the curse upon our nation.


--- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, Farida Majid <farida_majid@...> wrote:
>
>
> Every time mohiuddin@... posts something there is this threat:
>
> Hasina knows her days are nunbered therfore recently said that, she
> wants to 'sacrifice; her life like her father. She got the message.
>
> This guy keeps repeating this threat again and again. He thinks this
is just FUN! Or is it? What kind of person in a civilized society makes
this kind of statement about the head of a State? Should the law
enforcement agents begin to get the MESSAGE too?
>
> From: mohiuddin@...
> Date: Mon, 21 May 2012 15:41:23 +0000
> To: manik195709@...; ovimot@yahoogroups.com; syed.aslam3@...;
kamalctgu@...; jnrsr53@...; subimal@...; chottala@yahoogroups.com;
dahuk@yahoogroups.com; sonarbangladesh@yahoogroups.com
> CC: abid.bahar@...; faruquealamgir@...; obaidul.quader@...;
dr.dipumoni@...; drmohsinali@...; abdul_momen@...; nurunnabi@...;
alapon@yahoogroups.com; captchowdhury@...
> Subject: Let her sacrifice..
>
> Mr. Manik, Sheikh Hasina will try her best to stay in power for
another term by conductiong next election to 'manipulate' the
Parliamentery election.The million dollar question is whether she will
be able to do that? Even if she does that with state power will it be
acceptable to the peopleof Bangladesh as well as democratic World. She
now understands that in a free and fair election her party can't win
other term and if thathappens her skin won't be saved by BNP the largest
opposition party in Bangladesh for her torturous misrule. How the next
election will be conductedthat has not been finalized yet, at least most
opposition pasrties oppose election under a sitting government.Khaleda
Zia wanted to do such election butthat could not survive. Hasina didn't
learn that lesson yet.
> Sooner she understand the 'aspiration of the people; better for her
political surrvival.Now that she is calling caretaker government as
Danob, without such Danob's help she copuld not be in power in
Bangladesh now. She should be gratefulto such 'Danob' government.In
Bangladesh's history no sitting government was defeated in Parliamentery
Election.Hasina knows her days are nunbered therfore recently said that,
she wants to 'sacrifice; her life like her father. She got the
message.If her 'sacrifice' helps the people of Bangladesh., let it
happen. M.A.
>
>
>
>
> ____________________________________________________________
> Woman is 57 But Looks 24
> Mom releases simple facelift secret that angered doctors...
> ConsumerLifestyles.org
>





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[ALOCHONA] Re: Border killing goes unabated as Delhi's 'no-fire order' falls on deaf ears



If I meant to call you an avid supporter of Hasina I would not have hesitated to say so.

You are absolutely right in saying we should not blame other countries for own faults.

I blame India and Hasina for the border killings. And I blame India because it is the same as blaming Hasina.

Her supporters cannot bear cristicsm of India.

When do you plan on holding our elected government accountable for the border killings?   

 

 


--- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, Shah Deeldar <shahdeeldar@...> wrote:
>
> "You are on record as a reluctant supporter of Hasina. You are not a free man."
> Reluctant supporter? You probably meant to say "an avid supporter", I suppose? No, Sir, I am neither! I would equally forceful against Hasina government.
>
> You make some good points. However, blaming other countries for not accepting our people is not right. We have failed these people, not Indians or other pygmies are at fault. We need to give these real education and make them ready to contribute to our society than encouraging them to venture around beyond our boundary. There, they will be treated as misskins and commodities. What good that would do to us?
> -SD
>
>  
> "All great truths begin as blasphemies." GBS
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: ezajur Ezajur@...
> To: alochona@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2012 2:39 AM
> Subject: [ALOCHONA] Re: Border killing goes unabated as Delhi's 'no-fire order' falls on deaf ears
>
>
>  
> Bangladesh's sovereignty has always been at risk since 1971 - economically and culturally and socially, under every dictator and under every elected government. It is vulnerable to many organisations and countries â€" not just India. You know it well. So don't get hypersensitive just because Hasina is in power and someone exaggerates about Sikkim. You will find I have never talked about India annexing Bangladesh. It does not need to annexe a problematic nation that is always led by behayas. You know it.
>  
> Do you think American border guards should shoot to kill when they see women and children crossing over from Mexico? If they did that as a matter of policy you would be the first to condemn the US. There are many more examples like this. You know it.
>  
> Who asked for garlands? Can we not ask for temporary arrest? Can we not ask for the humane treatment of children and people who are not hardened criminals?
>  
> In the last month a five year old Indian child was released from jail. He was caught on the Bangladesh side of our border with West Bengal. He was kept in a Bangladeshi jail for one year. We are monsters. But who cares!
>  
> I do mind our citizens illegally crossing the border. And millions of our people flee our country â€" to all parts of the globe, not just to India. Many things are definitely not right with our politicians. And I do not suggest that our politicians should take a hike… I insist that they must take a hike.
>  
> You can find flaw in my arguments â€" you are most welcome to try. There is no reason why I cannot be wrong about many things. But you have no evidence that I apply one standard to AL and another to BNP, or one standard to India and another to Bangladesh.
>  
> Because applying values equally and avoiding hypocrisy are the two mountains upon which I rest my little pen. Our country needs many men, far better than me, to climb and rest upon these mountains.
>  
> You are on record as a reluctant supporter of Hasina. You are not a free man.
>  
> Free yourself of Hasina. Then you can help to free your country. You will not be alone.
>  
> Students at Jahangirnagar University went on hunger strike to protest violence on campus committed by Chatra League, the cadres of our elected governmnet. Hasina did nothing until students visited her. And she told them she would mention it to the Zillur Rahman, Chancellor of the University.
>  
> And our AL buddijibis keep quiet! Because they are 'pragmatic' avbout violence and murder? Because somehow Mujib's murder is relevant to everything?
>  
> Hey President! Prime Minister! Blind AL supporters :
> F&&& YOU TOO!!
>  
>  
>  
>
> --- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, Shah Deeldar shahdeeldar@ wrote:
> >
> > When people like you talking about Bangladeshi sovereignty being at risk and India would be annexing us very soon like Sikkim,  you do not mind our citizens crossing over the border and raise our flag across the border? How that becomes so palatable for you? Good for goose but not for gander? 
> > If an Indian soldier violates our border and shoot our citizens inside our border, that is a different matter. Why do you think Indians would welcome you with a garland? Would you tolerate Indians crossing the border and settling inside our country? I think not. Have one standard brother! If we are incapable of managing our own country and our people do not want to stay with us, then something not right with our politicians and their blame games. They should take responsibility of our citizens or take a hike! I do not want to hear all these empty BS from people like you.
> > -SD
> >  
> >  
> > "All great truths begin as blasphemies." GBS
> >
> >
> > ________________________________
> > From: ezajur Ezajur@
> > To: alochona@yahoogroups.com
> > Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 6:08 AM
> > Subject: [ALOCHONA] Re: Border killing goes unabated as Delhi's 'no-fire order' falls on deaf ears
> >
> >
> >  
> > The very definiition of a bind AL supporter is someone who is not outraged when armed soldiers of another country shoot dead an unarmed citizen of Bangladesh.
> > And it doesn't matter if the victim is a 16 year old child or a 60 year old cattle trader or shot at point black or shot in the back or left to die or left hanging on barbed wire.
> > And it doesn't matter if the AL government fails to protect its citizens at the border or to be taken seriously in Delhi.
> > It only matters when AL leaders are killed. India doesn't have to give a damn because she has a lot of behayas speaking up for her in Dhaka.
> > Ignorant, shameless, lying hypocrites. 
> >  
> >  
> >
> > --- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, Shah Deeldar shahdeeldar@ wrote:
> > >
> > > Is India a visa free country? Should not it have the right to protect its border from intruders and smugglers? Or. we should think India as our motherland and we should be able to trespass its border whenever we wish. Can we do that to Burma or other foreign countries? Time to wake up brother. This is not pre 1947. We wanted to separate and have our own PAK paradise. But we failed! Isn't it?
> > >
> > > How many people did we kill ourselves since 1947 to make our country purer than pure? Now, our own people would like venture around than staying home?
> > > -SD
> > >
> > >  
> > > "All great truths begin as blasphemies." GBS
> > >
> > >
> > > ________________________________
> > > From: Isha Khan bdmailer@
> > > To:
> > > Sent: Sunday, May 6, 2012 4:29 AM
> > > Subject: [ALOCHONA] Border killing goes unabated as Delhi's 'no-fire order' falls on deaf ears
> > >
> > >
> > >  
> > > BSF ears wide shut
> > >
> > > Border killing goes unabated as Delhi's 'no-fire order' falls on deaf ears
> > >
> > >
> > > http://sonarbangladesh.com/blog/post/108151
> > >
> > > Indian Border Security Force has killed two Bangladeshis and injured 10 others on average per month this year despite repeated pledges by their home minister not to open fire along the border.â€Å"Under no circumstances would the Indian border security force fire upon anyone trying to cross into India from Bangladesh,� Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram said on July 30 last year during his visit to Dhaka.
> > >
> > > "The message has gone down to the last jawan," he added.But after 25 days of his directive, BSF opened fire in Kolaroa upazila of Satkhira on August 25 injuring a Bangladeshi.
> > >
> > >
> > > http://amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2012/05/06/143740
> > >
> > > The brutal killings along the border had declined only for a few months after Chidambaram's visit to Dhaka as the BSF shot dead seven Bangladeshis between August and December last year, according to data of Odhikar, a rights body.
> > >
> > > The BSF has killed 10 Bangladeshis and injured 43 others in the last four months.
> > >
> > > The BSF chief, though, in an interview with BBC on January 7 said it is not possible for them to stop firing along the border. His statement showed the BSF's lack of willingness in lowering the number of border killings to zero.
> > >
> > > Home Minister Shahara Khatun had toured India in February. During her trip, her counterpart P Chidambaram renewed his pledge. "We have reiterated that we don't intend to continue firing and killing along the border.�
> > > â€Å"We have identified 23 vulnerable border outposts. The two countries will strengthen the presence of the border guards at those points and undertake joint consultations," he added.
> > >
> > > The BSF is using lethal weapons instead of rubber bullets at many of the 23 vulnerable points, said sources at Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).â€Å"The BSF is using rubber bullets only at some points and we cannot disclose those due to strategic reasons,� Maj Gen Anwar Hossain, director general of BGB, told The Daily Star.If the Indian border guards introduce rubber bullets at all the vulnerable areas, the killing of Bangladeshis will decline to a great extent, he said.
> > >
> > > Bangladeshi cattle traders and agricultural workers are the major victims to the BSF shooting as they work at night in the fields near the border, he pointed out.â€Å"We have initiated programmes to sensitise the vulnerable groups on the issue with the help of local elderly people, public representatives and Imams of mosques,� said Anwar.â€Å"We have advised the local cattle traders not to cross into India for fetching cattle risking their lives. Rather they should ask the Indian traders to send those to Bangladesh,� he maintained.
> > >
> > > The agricultural workers have been advised to inform the BGB personnel before going to work in bordering fields at night. The BGB members will inform the BSF about this in advance to ensure they do not open fire on the workers taking them for smugglers.These intensive awareness programmes have been very effective in reducing border killings by the BSF, said the BGB chief.
> > >
> > > The BSF in March proposed imposing curfews along the border at night, but the BGB disagreed. â€Å"Imposing curfews is only a temporary solution. It will not solve the problem at all, rather will undermine people's constitutional right to movement," he added.
> > >
> > > Contacted, State Minister for Home Shamsul Hoque Tuku said, â€Å"Killing along the border is an old issue and I don't claim that such homicides have stopped.â€�â€Å"If we look at the statistics of border killings since our independence, we will notice a declining trend,� he added.He expressed satisfaction saying that the country for the first time has been able to convince India that killing on the border is inhuman.
> > >
> > > According to statistics of Odhikar, the border killings have declined over the last few years.The BSF has killed 31 Bangladeshis last year, 74 in 2010 and 96 in 2009.
> > >
> > > http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=232928
> > >
> >
>



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