The Ekushey spirit died long, long ago. It is precisely because it is long gone that we celebrate it so much. Walk barefoot to a monument one day then the next day turn a blind eye to injustice and incompetence.
It's the Ekushey way.
--- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, qrahman@... wrote:
>
> Thank you for bringing it up. However average Bengalis are also victim
> of policy failure. We need open and honest discussion among both
> parties. There is no shame in admitting that we made mistakes with our
> fellow citizens from CHT. Both parties have to sacrifice to establish
> peace. All of us have to stand united against any foul play by foreign
> countries. That is the true Ekushe spirit.
> -Quazi
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ezajur <Ezajur@...>
> To: alochona@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Wed, 24 Feb 2010 12:17:23 -0000
> Subject: [ALOCHONA] Whose Ekushey?
>
> Â
> Brilliant...  Whose Ekushey?Courtesy Daily star 22/2/10Naeem Mohaiemen
> I was getting myself into the spirit of Amar Ekushey. Bangalis of the
> neo-consumerist age, our best stories are coming from colourful ads on
> TV. I whirled through all the channels, to catch the cream, the best
> ones on constant repeat.
> Oh look, a white girl in a sari, standing in front of Shahid Minar. The
> camera pans back and it's a pseudo-UN congregation on the steps. We are
> the World. I switch over and there's a gorgeous restaging of all the
> classics of Bangla literature: Satyajit, Rabindranath, and ...cut to
> Shahid Minar. Ekushey in the era of "Brand Bangladesh." Phenomenon of
> cultural marketing and ad agencies.
> I'm getting myself ready for Boi Mela, Probhat Feri, or at least the
> obligatory kurta pajama. But my SMS and email accounts are rudely
> interrupting with some reality doses. The news comes in drips, pushing
> through a rigid media blackout. Bengali settlers attacking Jumma
> (Pahari) homes in Sajek.
> The same Sajek that was the scene of anti-Pahari arson rampages in
> 2008. Now the damage was even more widespread. Two hundred homes burnt
> in one day. A Buddhist temple allegedly burnt as well.
> And then, sometime during the day, security forces fire on
> demonstrators. Later, the media tells us they fired on Paharis fighting
> with Bengalis. How odd then, that all the dead and wounded are Pahari.
> Why aren't there are any Bengali settlers who were hurt?
> The narrative keeps changing, as the media spin cycle begins. But none
> of the spin is on the side of the Paharis. ATN Bangla's first report
> says: "One killed in Pahari-Bangali feud. 15 injured including 4 army
> officers. Homes burnt." RTV says: "Pahari-Bangali clash. 1 killed." The
> language is clever, a feud and a clash is between two equal parties. If
> you read these reports only, and never visit CHT, you would never have
> any idea how much muscle is on the side of the Bengalis.
> Only later, the next day, do the newspapers begin to admit that the
> dead are all Pahari, and most of the wounded as well. I kept scanning
> the media, thinking that someone somewhere would say at least one word
> about the fact that, we Bengalis may have been the aggressors in this
> and other cases.
> Perhaps there was some extra caution on this day. It's Ekushey. There
> are four names to remember, and a red letter year. Salam, Barkat,
> Rafiq, Jabbar. 1952. How inconvenient to have to add Buddhabati, Laxmi,
> Liton, Bana Shanti, and Nutunjoy Chakma. 2010. Bengalis killing
> non-Bengalis. On Ekushey February. It won't match with that beautiful
> national narrative. There's sponsorship money at stake, get your
> priorities right.
> Watching some senior journalists has been very instructive. They seem
> to be bending over backwards to see things only from the Bengali
> settlers eyes: "Things were not clear," Pahari "miscreants" attacked
> us, state forces had been "forced" to fire, etc. Aggressors paint
> themselves as Victims.
> I was almost convinced that the Paharis must have been in the wrong. It
> didn't seem to matter after reading our media, that they were facing a
> historic thirty year process of land grabbing by Bengali settlers,
> backed by the muscle and money of the state. It didn't matter that the
> dead and wounded were overwhelmingly Pahari. According to our fearless
> and neutral media, the Paharis must have started it. There could be no
> other version of this story.
> I remember veteran journalists who had always been critics of the abuse
> of state power in the recent past. Why was it so difficult for them to
> believe, now, that the Paharis could be the victims of decades of
> marginalisation and racism? That Bengali racism has repeatedly created
> flash points and nightmares like Sajek. And in the absence of
> implementation of the 1997 Accord (still waiting after 13 years), the
> Paharis will continue to face onslaughts of Bengali muscle power.
> But hey, maybe all this myopia was temporary, just for Ekushey. Maybe
> tomorrow, we'll start looking in the mirror again.Naeem Mohaiemen has
> written about ethnic and religious minorities for the Ain o Salish
> Kendra annual human rights report.
>
------------------------------------
[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.comYahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/alochona/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/alochona/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
alochona-digest@yahoogroups.com
alochona-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
alochona-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/