Thu 19 Jul 2007
Please raise some topics here that you think we should discuss in the blog. As always, very many thanks from all of us for keeping this forum lively, exciting and informative. We truly appreciate your support. We recently have had complaints from both side of the aisle that admin has not been strict enough and similarly admin is being too harsh. We learn from the mistakes but we also try to keep the debate focused as it can often degenerate into name calling which would put off a lot of users. Comments are deleted rarely unless it violates our posting rules. We hope you understand. Please offer suggestion on how we can do better, what you like and what you don’t like here. It is an interactive forum and with your input we can do better.
July 19th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
I will be harshing untill you stop the annonyous comment.
July 20th, 2007 at 2:40 am
I have a feeling that most of us who post on DP live abroad. Given this, I am extremely curious to know how this Government’s actions are perceived by the population of urban Dhaka, and if there are any tangible differences being seen. Not the things we see in the newspaper, but it’s actually the small things I’m interested in, those are somehow so much more helpful. Have any news shopping centers opened in Dhaka since 1/11? Ditto any good restaurants, or icecream parlors, or bookshops? Is traffic as bad as ever? Given that there are currently just 11 VIPs prowling the streets of Dhaka (as compared to about seventy in 2001-06) with police motorcades, does that help? Do foreign ambassadors still get police escorts with the policemen braying out commands, that always made me hang my head in shame? All these and sundry messages will be welcome.
July 20th, 2007 at 3:03 am
We are living in th “ANIMANISTIC” world society.
My dear all fellow bloggers, please don’t try to find the word ‘Animanistic’in any dictionary of any language because the etymology of this word is ‘AINMAN’ which is my own made-up word and the meaing of it is Half Animal and Half man.
We in Bangladesh literally don’t have any UNTOUCHABLE OR DOLIT groups like in India. Yet, Bangladesh are not free of this hatred ignominiable class problem. This is very much prevalent and flggrantly prevalent in our society. When we get some education, jobs, money, good houses/cars, status we think ourseleves differently from our roots. Our politicians, our lettered, our elites think themselves and behave themselves differently from others who are poor, unlettered and unprevilidged. This particular elite group is the most corrupt in the society and the root cause of all evils. And they deserve to be hatred, punished and quaranted from the majority of the society.
Ironically, we who are the victims of those fat cats we worship them and make them our idols.
They[elites] hate majority honest poor hard-working common people and take themselves as the respectable, honorable and worshipable celebrity groups. Everywhere they have and need seperate comfortable delux arrangement.
That’s why we observe VIP or VVIP arragement for them everywhere Airport to Jail. How unfair system we developled and they are demanding more and more.
Now Hasina ended up to subjail and that special palacious building we common people can’t dream of in our honest normal lives.
Shamefully, our ex-president so humane leader Mr. Badruddoza Chowdhury exposed his ugly classophilia demanding not putting the honorable people in jail or harrassing them by arrest. Woops!
What a animanistic attitude they have! According Mr. Chowdhury, only few elites like them have the right to have honor and others don’t have honor and dignity. Others can be put to remand, interrogated and tortured whatever way possibles even for trivial crimes. But for them, be it billion dollar money laundering or killiing or conspiracies, there should be an alternative diginified approach.
What a unfair ugly world we have. Here the honest hard-earning people have no human honor and respect whereas the monstrous criminals enjoy all comforts even in incarcration and demands more aristocratic and elite justice sysmtem for them.
Our society is not yet the human society and I see it as animanistic society. All we have human physiques but by heart and mind we are all half animal and half man, THE ANIMAN.
Thanks.
July 20th, 2007 at 5:13 am
Military had a dinner briefing with all TV news chiefs Tuesday night.
Brigadier Bari, Chief of Central Intelligence Bureau within the Military Intelligence spoke.
Two main messages emerged:
1. Military is determined to stay and they need two years to clean up politics. They will return barracks after completing this mission.
2. Cases against politicians are genuine.
Journalists were not allowed to speak their minds. Some arguments took place when media’s patriotism was questioned. Media hit back saying they are as patriots as the military.
Btw, the election monitoring group, set up to oversee stalled election, is now doing some perception studies about CTG’s various actions. To read all perception study reports (four so far), pls visit http://www.ewgbd and look into reports and publication section. In spite of some statistical errors, the reports are facinating.
July 20th, 2007 at 5:32 am
Sorry, the correct address is: http://www.ewgbd.org/
July 20th, 2007 at 5:44 am
Social strata in Bangladesh could be a subject of anthropological study. Our ancestors welcomed Islam because of its classless character and the social mobility and justice it provides and to a large extent it has worked, our Muslim Bengali society is more homogeneous than Hindu society but I am afraid it also created a class of leaders and elite who have alarming lack of altruism, honesty and a tendency to loot. Demanding special privileges would be fine, if they really deserved it. The more serious problem is lack of necessary leadership qualities and traits. I did not see a very easy solution for this in the near future and I am rather pleasantly surprised with CTG, even if they are not perfect. So I am hopeful of the new generation that is coming up.
Bitterboy in #2, what makes you think we are so much superior than animals, animals do not kill for fun and they have not trashed the planet like we have. Someone somewhere said, the more I see of men, the more I like my dog - I do not have a dog, but I can understand the feeling.
July 20th, 2007 at 8:19 am
Budget 2007 was never discussed as it was told,just a reminder.
We are done talking Politics lets talk about policies and structure and process and performance.
Hope I can make my dear fellow bloggers and my DP people understand what I mean.
Religion and Politics are endless topics with no end but structure and process is not endless.
Lets build the country lets fix the country lets all roll our sleeves and get to the field and get going. Enough of talking and blogging.Its time to go to the real field and feel the ground and water and the air.
thanks
Kawser Jamal
http://www.changeBangladesh.com
Just a thought not a suggestion or implications.You have the right to reject it or take it.
July 20th, 2007 at 8:56 am
Kawser,
The budget article was posted in the writers’ collective thread at
http://dpwriters.wordpress.com/2007/06/11/apolitical-budget-of-non-political-government-what-does-it-mean-for-inflation/
July 20th, 2007 at 10:19 am
I would like to know how CTG is claiming that they are bringing back the so called illegally transfered money from a foreign country.
How come the foreign country is not conducting any investigation on how the money came into their country in the first place. How come those countries are not filing any cases against the so-called money launderers.
As per the anti-money laundering acts in most countries all kinds of illegal transactions have to be investigated and cases must be filed against the culprits of any nationality.
July 20th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
This being an open thread, lets try to change the subject from the heavy hitting political situation in BD. DP is in deed a serious platform. Moyeen, Moinul, Motin, CEC, HR are important factors for Bangladesh. But lets lighten up a little! Lets talk about something other than politics for a while…
Most of us do not realize it but, keeping pace with our political jatra, life style, problems & social scene in BD, specially in Dhaka are also changing fast. The conservative, monotonous hide everything under the blanket of the 80’s have gone through its metamorphosis. Lifestyle of the educated working middle class in today’s Dhaka is world apart from what I was exposed to.
If you watch the Bollywood movie METRO, one can get a fair idea of the lifestyle and trend of the educated young professionals in todays Dhaka.
Cheers
July 20th, 2007 at 2:05 pm
A review says
”
The film’s promos describe the movie as a story of countless emotions. Love, sex, faith, lies, lust, passion, ambition are some of the emotions that were portrayed by the protagonists. It’s a story of a bunch of 9 people, each trying to adjust themselves with the fast paced life of a Metro.
”
Now I am intrigued..
..tell me more , tell me more, s baba! 
July 20th, 2007 at 3:18 pm
The latest issue of the Economist carries an article on Bangladesh’s curious democratic path:
A curious democratic roadmap
IN MOST countries, ambitious generals and unelected governments have a poor track record of delivering democracy. But this is still the promise to Bangladesh made by the generals who assumed emergency powers in January and the pliable administration they installed. This week the election commission published a roadmap to parliamentary elections to be held before the end of 2008. But the government was silent on when the state of emergency will be lifted.
The next day the government reminded people of one reason why their constitutional rights remain suspended. It stepped up its purge of corrupt politicians, officials and businessmen, more than 150 of whom have been arrested since the beginning of the year.
The police arrested and jailed Sheikh Hasina Wajed, prime minister between 1996 and 2001. She is accused of both extortion and complicity in murder. The police also summoned her nemesis, Khaleda Zia, prime minister until last October, but now in effect under house arrest, to appear in court next month. Both leaders will have to submit “wealth statements” to a powerful Anti-Corruption Commission. Unlike Mrs Zia, who has been more or less dropped by her party, Sheikh Hasina is still popular. So security forces were on the alert after her arrest. But protests were patchy rather than nationwide.
The government had earlier tried—and failed—to exile the two “begums”. In April it barred Sheikh Hasina from returning to the country from Britain, but relented under domestic and international pressure. Then it banned her from leaving. If the prosecutions of the two begums fail, it could spell the end of the interim government. The abortive bid to exile the women, who both led kleptocratic regimes, has already badly dented its credibility.
The anti-corruption drive has made the unelected regime relatively popular. But critics are now accusing it of abusing its wide-ranging emergency powers for political purposes. With almost the entire political class behind bars, the fear is that elections staged at the end of the clean-up will produce a puppet regime.
Last week the army chief, General Moeen U Ahmed, said that there was a need to “correct the constitution”, after a new parliament is in place. Though largely unreported, General Ahmed’s promotion in May to a four-star rank means that he will stay on as army chief beyond his original retirement date of June 2008 into 2009, beyond the deadline for elections. There is already talk in Dhaka that the army is thinking of changing the constitution along Turkish lines, giving itself a bigger role. This raises a grim prospect of a technocratic, top-down constitutional review, and an outcome few Bangladeshis would accept as legitimate.
July 20th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
Europeans specially the Briitish had long designs on Ottoman Empire (Osman Imperium). This European influence was key in the formation of Pan-Turkic ethno nationalism around 1850’s and Arab Nationalism which formed as a reaction to the earlier movement, when Turk rulers tried to turkify Arabs in Middle East and Maghreb. The result was Arab revolt with the help of British and French and break up of Ottoman Empire in WW I. From Iraq to Tunisia and all large and small Muslim nation states you see are pieces of this empire, so are the Balkan countries in East Europe. People of Turkey consider Kemal as their father of nation (Ata means father in all turkic language), because he was a brilliant general and repelled European invasion and was able to keep todays landmass of Turkey as the last bastion of Ottoman population. Ottoman Imperial system was a multi-ethnic Islamic entity and the population was a mixture of Seljuk/Osmanli Central Asian Turks (originated mostly from current Turkmen’s in Turkmenistan, who in turn were a mixture of Kyrghyz and Iranians), Arabs, Syrians, Jannisery slavs, Greeks and Armenians. The real turkic people are only found in Yakutya and Tuba (in Russian Siberia), Kyrghyzstan, Kazakhstan, Xinjiang etc. and they are a western kin of Mongolian people. Why the Ottomans would start a Pan-turkic movement, just because their language was descended from early turkic rulers and why they would call their country Turkey still baffles me, because they definitely have little to do with Turkic people, but more to do with local Europeans in the immediate neighborhood and some small percantage 20-30% Turkic rulers/invaders blood. I think they liked the nomadic mounted warriors and their valor and the associated history which made them very proud and something to rally around this glorious past history of turko-mongol warriors. In reality the only common thread the Ottomans had between them was Islam, it was obviously an attempt to crush Islam as the unifying factor. The result was Armenian massacre (Armenians was a favored Ottoman minority who did business in all parts of the Muslim world including Armanitola in Dhaka) and today’s Kurdish problem, who had no problem in an Ottoman system, but had no place in a pseudo ethno-linguistic Turkish nation.
The drum beat of Pan-turkism continues today with Grey Wolf party and they tried to recruit the Central Asians in this propaganda with little success. In the recent years, they have also added Turkish Islam in this mix with Fetullah Gulen thrown in as a leader of a strange Turkish Islamic Nurcu movement, as most Turkic muslims did not care much for secular Pan-Turkism.
Our situation in Bangladesh has many analogies. Like Turkey, we are surrounded by a hostile Hindu India and have significant Hindu population as a minority. Our ethno-linguistic Bengali nationalism was much supported by India and India always trys to deemphasize and control the Islamic factor in Bangladesh for the Islam phobia of its own population due to the 800 years of past history. This is why I am not surprised that Turkish model issue would come up.
The fact is that 80 years of Kemals secularism had brought limited success in secularization of Turkish population, today they are slowly drifting back to Islam (AKP party etc.), its only a matter of time that Army itself will have enough Islamic minded people to stop its intervention in democracy which favors Islamic minded parties in elections. Europe tried and they failed in Turkey. So will India, US/EU etc. in Bangladesh. Lets hope that people will leave other people alone to decide what is best for themselves to preserve their own culture, religion, tradition etc. and control their fate with their own will and not by impostion from outside, as it is the democratic right of all people, no matter if they are Muslims of Bengal or Buddhist Chakma in Hill Tracts.
Having said that, having some control over the unruly and often corrupt politicians by a national guardian force like army is not a bad idea - but this intervention power should be used sparingly only to prevent chaos and corruption, not to uphold secular ideals as is done in Turkey.
July 20th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
So far, we’ve seen people arguing about the CTG’s motives and methods. I think if we can clarify the actual actions of the CTG, we’ll be able to discuss this matter much more rationally.
Thus, I suggest:
If you believe this CTG is our way to weed out the corruption of the last fifteen years, please list all the things that they have done to achieve this. And include a newspaper link to verify your claim.
OR
If you suggest this CTG is just paving the way for a military dictatorship ala Pakistan, please list all the steps they have taken to achieve this. For the sake of compare and contrast, you could iterate the steps that the CTG has promised to implement, and what they’ve actually done, something like the (farcical) example below:
The CTG had promised to kill all the red chickens in BD.But so far actually, they’ve killed most of the brown chickens and only five red chickens.
I apologize if this post reads too much like a final examination question. But I really think that the DP blog is a platform with immense potential, and we can achieve a lot here if we can just set out our objections to/reasons we support the current CTG.
July 20th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
Hasina has earned her ill-fate. Her political mischiefs, extreme greed for money and power led to the emergence of this uncontitutional government and eventually her arrest.
Her boot-licking university teachers chalked out protest program. And we also see some sporadic agitations in the streets of differenet cities and towns. As there is not politics and the leaders are baffled, scared of arrests, divided and bemused with reforms there is real vaccuam in the political field. There is good guidance at this stage. We have to use our brain and consciousness and restrain our emotions.
The general mass of the country at this critical juncture should act responsibly. If these sporadic protests and violence spreads and turns into bigger violence and anarchy in the streets then that type actiivties will pave the way for no-return for the army backers of CTG. The current trend of movement agaist the goverment is the harbinger of full miliary take-over along the demise of the promise of elected government by 2008.
Every citizen should ponder and behave responsibly. Reckless behavior like the teahcers’ association protest program may lead the country to unpredicted unfolding and darker destiny.
Thanks.
July 21st, 2007 at 12:03 am
what about sports? can we talk about sports sometime? bd cricket? under 19? womes team? regular male team?
July 21st, 2007 at 2:42 am
Dhaka has grown in an amzing fashion and in terms of upper end living standard Dhaka can match most cities in the world (sans the traffic jam).
However everytime I go to Dhaka I miss a good, less secretive and a bit more sofsticated ( meaning less teen age rowdyness etc.) music and dance place for the night out. In that regard I would prefer a Bangla music/dance place where they will only play the 70s and 80s band songs ( Azam Khan/ Forest hill of souls/ Chyme/Obscure etc.). How many public dance music places in Dhaka now a days?
July 21st, 2007 at 9:06 am
Rumi bhai/Sufibaba,
The thing is, the 1980s-style conservative mentality is not gone, it has evolved into a much harder brand of religious conservatism. Each time I go to Dhaka, I’m amazed to see how two parallel societies are developing. In the same extended family you’ll find religious conservatives coexisting with the very moderns. Yes, I’m using these terms very loosely, so perhaps examples will help. You’ll find that the social tabboo against alcohol has withdrawn immensely. But in the same family where one couple enjoys a party involving alcohol, their brother/sister-in-law might maintain a very strict religious dress code.
On a related matter, it’s great to see the revival of Bangladeshi music and media. In the late 1990s, Shah Rukh Khan songs in Indian TV channels were all the rage. In any Dhaka household, prime time viewing was of Indian networks. This has changed in recent years. Bangla/Habib/Ornob and folk/fusion/new-style Tagore songs, but also Bangla mega serials and TV shows abound. Falguni/Boishakhi/Bijoy/NTV/RTV/Ekushey/channel i, whatever you might say about their owners’ politics, this Bangladeshi rennaissance would have been impossible without these TV channels.
Sufi man, all that said tell us about Dhaka’s metro scenes.:)
July 21st, 2007 at 10:36 am
sufibaba and tacit, feel free to send a short post on the topics you mentioned and we will be happy to post it as a new thread.
July 21st, 2007 at 2:06 pm
the last two time i went to dhaka (dec 06-jan 07 and mar 07) the traffic has been more of a concrete jungle than a city. the traffic situation has been worse. not surprising to me, as dhaka is probably the most congested city in the world. dhaka is probably a nightmere for a urban/transportation planner. we need decentralization badly. ASAP.
there is almsot no audio cassette there. (call me old fashioned, i like cassette) dvd/cd/vcd has taken place of cassettes.
believe it or not, i likd zia airport than many of the airports in the world (btw, if someone wants a flavor of hell in this world, go to kuwait airport). zia airport is not gorgeous or big. but definitely clean and user friendly.
July 21st, 2007 at 5:51 pm
can i ask a silly question(two)?
dont things like (lack) social discipline and efficiency across all sectors bother you?
are we (bangladeshis) anti-institutional?
(dont read any racialism or anti national sentiment here)
July 22nd, 2007 at 12:25 am
can anyone tell me why some of the khalishpur workers did not get their salary? last time i checked getting the salary is right not privilege? it is a crime for the employers not to give the employees salary at right time. should not our govt do something about it?
read this article by dr. zafar iqbal-
http://www.prothom-alo.com/mcat.news.details.php?nid=NTA4NTk=&mid=NA==
July 22nd, 2007 at 7:25 am
#2, I can share some experience of living in Dhaka for the last two months having lived abroad for last 15 years.
There seems to be a lack of interaction between different segments of society. Everyone living in their own world without understanding how others living. Even though I live and work in the bubble I venture out a lot to experience and live the real Bangladesh. Here are some observations.
• Traffic problems have improved a lot.
• But availability of electricity and water are major concern.
• New restaurants are opening up. (Nandos are opening a branch!)
• Mental, social and economical differences between different classes of people have increased significantly.
• People are not much bothered about the present political crisis but the political interest groups are gathering pace to destabilise the present government.
• If the CTG could prevent the spiraling price of the commodities then they would continue to be popular. Even though problem of rising prices have started during the rule of previous governments and people are feeling the pain now.
• General public are not interested in being involved with the politics directly hence the familiar faces floating around with he reforms etc and no new credible leaders are emerging.
• VIP’s are still prowling the streets of Dhaka, with their security clearing up the road increasing the misery of the commuter but at least it is 11 not 60!
• Foreign ambassadors are still enjoying their so called privileges.
• Petty crimes have reduced drastically.
July 22nd, 2007 at 11:16 am
What I prefer to see or how this blog can be improved?
Human rights is a wonderful issue and its implication is diverse, so its appeal. I never liked Ronald Reagan since he mined and bombed Granada, I can not explain why, when I do not know where Granada is.
What should be fundamental right of any human is to live and to live should earn a living. Food, shelter, health care, education and a free franchise and human sovereignty all he deserves as natural or god ordained.
In a society we all should compliment, in a natural but competitive manners, to each other, for our survival and development. This may be near ideal thinking or situation but still we can and should try from our positions.
I have noticed some issues specially political and religious matters brings quick and diverse attention, while I myself enjoy the diversity of discussions and opinions created thereof but many important issues seldom finds a place or get attention.
Chapai, Nachole, where a kilo of Nitrogen become life and death and engaged in decisive actions, in khalishpur laborers for month going hungry due mainly unpaid salaries, what issue could be greater than this in terms of human right and enlighten the society with its impact.
It took almost a week before Mrs.Velory found a space in this blog (in the name of further verifications) while the many other issues spreads like electric shock.
While I like the diversity of the topics discussed here, admin should provide a time length, so that enough strength of opinion is created on a particular thread. This will help, I believe, to build a better understanding and awareness on the subject. There is no denying that some opinion are extremely educative and qualified.
It should be entertaining too and it is, to sustain its divers participants there should not be a limit to issues but main focus should be, what can move lives.
Our media often provides a monologue and create divisions, they do it for their survival and vested interests. But Drishtipat’s dialogue can provide better understanding to heal and often to remove the animosities or hostilities in the society.
How about discussing on our education system in general or specifically Dhaka University , health care system, Public Service Commission, multilateral financing of our development projects and its actual impact, low morality in the society etc. any of these issues, some of the bloggers can provide a very interesting inputs.
July 22nd, 2007 at 2:14 pm
“Sheikh” as Brand name.
After Sheikh Hasina’s arrest, number of her close relatives(mostly women) went to see her in the sub-jail. If you carefully see their name…..all are sheikh….OK, her chahato/Fupato Bhai bon are may be from Sheikh dynesty. What about her Khalato/mamato bon? They are all Sheikh..
Example: Seikh Mili,Sheikh Farida,
July 22nd, 2007 at 6:20 pm
observer, thanks a lot for the #23 post. Always interesting to know the small details.
July 22nd, 2007 at 6:56 pm
Asif, I earnestly believe in a situation like this we badly need someone like Dr Yunus to guide us through this mess. Can we launch any initiative to persuade him to join politics, assuring him that we will be by his side. Our country is going through a crisis, and I think we cannot afford to lose someone of his intellect just to wither away. Please think about it. A timid step can be the opening up of a thread where DP can urge its visitors to discuss the possibility of Dr Yunus’s joining of politics.
If you agree to open a thread, i will like to place a request. The Admin should make sure that nothing other than this topic must not be discussed. I have noticed with some degree of sadness that we do not talk about the relavent topic instead we indulge ourselves in trivialities, or childish arrogance like whose Madam is more honest (read less corrupt) than the other’s netri.
Please give it a serious thought. We need Yunus. At least that is what I think.
July 24th, 2007 at 2:30 am
TF, I fully agree with you. We badly need him. If DMY loves the country and the people he can’t remain disconcerned at our near-dooming destiny. If I could reach him I would have requested him grabbing his two legs to revert his dicision and would not have let him off until he does it.
Thanks.
July 30th, 2007 at 10:29 am
Well I was intrigued by Sufibaba’s comment and Asif’s quote about Metro (the Indian movie), so I watched it recently.
Now, if life at the upper end Dhaka involves ‘love, sex, faith, lies, lust, passion, ambition’ in the way described in the movie, then is that something really new?
Before it became a BNP mouthpiece, and even before it was leading anti-Ershad voice, Jai Jai Din was a novel set in Zia-ur-Rahman’s Bangladesh. Characters of that novel led a life that is not all that different from what you see in this movie.
The difference, I suspect, is that many more people have access to this lifestyle today than a generation ago.