Has the Foreign Minister got nothing more productive to do than cosmetically redefine Bangladesh? By Shabbir A. Basha It seems the current Foreign Minister of Bangladesh has gone out of her way to redefine Bangladesh as a Secular Country with a Muslim majority in what seems like a protest to the more western term moderate Muslim country. It is hard to understand what the inspiration behind this cosmetic redefinition is and how it will benefit Bangladesh. I am reminded of the mindless marketing efforts of sheepish consultancy firms in the US who were paid hefty sums of money to promote images of corporations and government organizations in the previous decade. We all know what happened to those consultants and their clients: most of them have been exposed as bogus make-up artists who spent a great deal of effort in re-branding rather than addressing core strengths and weaknesses. While things appeared peachy on the surface, the interior carried on with a business as usual attitude – much of which led to the excesses that is responsiblee for the global economic debacle. Many of these so called consultants were no more than fresh graduates from college tasked with changing the “image†while earning an extravagant salary. Cosmetic changes ultimately make little or no difference in life – if anythingg it prolongs the slow death as people develop a false sense of security while the ground under their feet rots as they are not facing the real issues. Who is the Foreign Minister trying to impress with this statement about Bangladesh? In today's world, when millions of Bangladeshis are scattered around the globe, the general public pay little or no attention to such official announcements – choosing instead to rely on their personal contact with Baangladeshis or their first hand experience with Bangladesh, its products and its people. Walk into any major clothes store in the United States, and one is bound to find garments which say Made in Bangladesh on them. It does not say Made in Bangladesh, a secular country with a Muslim majority nor does it say Made in Bangladesh a moderately Muslim country. My point is, who cares about how the Foreign Minister chooses to define Bangladesh? Most Bangladeshis certainly don't care. They care about their own livelihoods – theeir jobs, their children’s education, the health care system and their future. Shouldn't the Foreign Minister be focusing on how to earn foreign business – whether thatt is exporting manpower or garments or fisheries; shouldn't the Foreign Minister be focusing on building bridges with our trade partners on how earn us the best deals – whethher that be negotiating export quotas, tariffs or ensuring our fair share of international river waters? Shouldn't she be coordinating with her cabinet colleagues so they are taking steps to connect Bangladesh to the Asian Highway and Railway systems in order for Bangladesh to be well prepared to step into multi-national road and railway communication networks? Shouldn't she be making sure that our mineral and fishery resources in the Bay of Bengal are not poached upon by belligerent neighbors and pirates? I am quite surprised that a fellow graduate of the University of London has lost her sense of direction and seems to have succumbed to petty cosmetic politics practiced mostly by the public figures who were not fortunate enough to attend such a highly regarded educational institution. We were taught to think for ourselves and fear no one if there was ever a conflict between our conscience and our directive. Surely, she must not allow her moral and public responsibility to be bulldozed by cheap politics by getting drawn into mindless and infantile “bratty consultant-like a cosmetic tasks. A graduate of one of the top twenty universities in the world should have the confidence to simply ignore those who try to paint Bangladesh as a religious militant country. She should not feel the need to pander to these petty parasites. Bangladesh is a Muslim majority country that is religiously neutral. Despite certain bigots efforts to call us communal, we remain one of the most peaceful nations when it comes to religious tolerance. Yes, we have our fair share of militant extremists but the polls have shown that the vast majority of the population really does not care about them. Unlike, say Israel, where the militant and xenophobic Zionists hold the balance of power in parliament, Bangladesh has never had to deal with such unfortunate and embarrassing situations. Bangladesh supplies the largest number of peace-keepers to the United Nations and earns tremendous amount of international respect for its contributions to the global community of nations. So again, why the fuss about re-defining Bangladesh? Pray tell Foreign Minister. ------------ Shabbir A. Bashar, PhD Atlanta, USA E Mail : shabbir_bashar@yahoo.com http://newsfrombangladesh.net/view.php?hidRecord=257899 |
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