NoteBoxx

InsideDesi: Best Articles of 2008

2008-12-29T16:23:00.003Z

In the 8 months that InsideDesi has inhabited this side of the Internet (launching in April this year!), we have seen our columnists produce articles of all nature, ranging from the thought provoking, to the funny, and not to miss out the ones highlighting stories of concern. Today we look back at some of my favourite articles of the duration, so read on to see what you may have missed...

InsideDesi interview with Tre Azam (Apprentice)
One of our earliest interviews, Tre brought with him his trademark brand of wit and humour (in reference to his application to the Apprentice he said "A friend said I'd be good at it. I watched one show, saw Syed and thought if he could do it, I can do it. I filled in the application form, where it said what annoys me the most in the world of business, I wrote stupid people, ugly people and fat people. I didn't even take the interview seriously.")

Aliya Razaaq's review of Brick Lane
A poignant review of the Monica Ali film adaptation; Aliya does an excellent job of relaying the core aspects of the film, finally giving it a score out of ten.

Cashing in on the Indian Premier League
At the time it was one of the most talked about topics in and out of South Asia. The IPL managed to commercialise and bring the world's attention to a game which till then had only been spoken about by the masses during its World Cup cycle.

The Superwoman Complex
Kia Abdullah's first article for InsideDesi; it talks about Asian women, and what she says is their seeming need to prove themselves to their male counterparts. A very thought provoking read if you haven't already.

Lady Jalebi goes Speed Dating
How can we have a "Best of" without having a Lady Jalebi article in the mix? With her pursuit high and wide for "The One", Miss.Jalebi plays her luck at a Speed Dating event. Funny, witty, and a great read!

Shades of Brown
Kia talks about the infighting within South Asians. The second one of her articles in the list. Racism within our own communities exist (it would be almost silly to claim otherwise). The divide between people originating from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka is ever present, even in 21^st century Britain.

Where are the darker skinned roles models?
Aliya Rashid asks a very relevant question aimed at the South Asian media industry. Is the singular use of fair models (some not even Asian) within the Asian media space ethical? Is the promotion of skin lighting creams by these publications morally correct? With the skin lightening industry worth £100m in India alone, should we be making a stand against this?

Here come the Indians
The Indians are here to stay! - Not only that, but they're slowly making their presence known in the Worlds rich lists (and buying huge chunks of British companies, even whole companies, in the process). While you're reading the article, check out the little war of words in the comments section between Shamik Das (the author) and Tre Azam (The Apprentice) - it adds a nice touch of humour to the whole thing.

Lost Freshies and Ignorant Desis
Naushad , one of the newest recruits to InsideDesi, writes a ground breaking piece on the friction between British Asian's and new South Asian Immigrants (aka "Freshies"). The discrimination they face, the segregation they put up with, the ignorant attitudes towards them, Naushad, from first hand experience, breaks down the illogical nature of it all.

What was your favourite InsideDesi article from 2008? Tell us about it in the comments section.

Originally Published on InsideDesi.com

Feeling Poetic...

2008-11-13T13:15:00.004Z

Actually I'm not. But I was when I wrote these:

Bidrohi part 2
dedicated to Kazi Nazrul Islam
July '07

I am the epitome of a soldier
fighting to the end

I am that peak
that you struggle to ascend

my name is propaganda
feeding lies to your son

I am a Palestinian
living life under the gun

I am the path of obscurity
that seeks to confuse

I am the addiction
that you cannot refuse

I am that person
who you seek for inspiration

I am that thought
that gives you motivation

no matter the cost
I will not cease

no matter the loss
they will hear me speak

I am a rebel
and a rebel is he

I am a poet
I am Kazi Nazrul Islam

---

The Assassin
July '07

I tread softly within your midst
Carrying the world with me
At times I decree my force
Tearing everything that may be

Predictions do not stand
Questioned by the renaissance
The thunder and the waves
As I levy into my stance

Save Us is the Mantra
They speak only in tongues
There is none other
I am the only one.

---

Jay Sean’s new video...

2008-11-09T18:39:00.006Z

I wonder what the budget was for it. Although the last few far from looked cheap, this one certainly has taken things up a notch.

One thing I did intriguing was the use of a black model (rather than an Asian or a mixed race one) and her very strong presence in the video. From an image and marketing perspective, it seems to be a very logical and thought out decision; Jay, to further himself in the mainstream arena, needs to less push his Asian identity in order to minimise being sidelined as an "Asian artist". In an obscure way, the black model (and I'm sure the presence of Wheezy and co. in future videos) adds a level of authenticity to the song (it being music of black origin and all).

On the topic of Asian R'nB artists. I recently stumbled across Zee Kay (http://www.myspace.com/zeekaymusic). If anyone hasn't heard of him, I suggest they look him up; he seems to be a very promising Asian act. What defines him from the rest is that he is closely working with the founder of Big Brovaz (they had HUGE success a few years back), and also his music is very very approachable. Rather than going for an exclusively Asian sound/look in an attempt to build a base of desi fans before trying to tackle the mainstream, he seems to be heading straight in, head first. This not only makes it less likely for him to be categorised and pushed in the corner as just another Asian act, but also gives him a massive amount of credibility for the level of confidence. The added element of Mr Skills in the picture, with his proven track record, further perpetuates his likelihood of success.

I'm sure 2009 is going to prove to be an exciting year for Asian artists. Jay Sean, Zee Kay… and not forgetting Mumzy (wherever he seems to hiding!).

Bombs on UK train – But where is the media frenzy?

2008-11-07T14:12:00.003Z

"A man has been charged with carrying two bombs on a train ahead of a planned terror attack."

Indeedy, you guessed it; the man in question wasn't Muslim. This yet another example of a biased media system, willing to give all their screen time and newspaper real estate to the smallest incidents involving "Muslims" caught up in the wrong side of the law, no matter how non threatening their so called actions were (anyone remember the 23 year old "Lyrical Terrorist’ who wrote “extremist poems”?).

A full article on the train incident can be found here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3394044/A-man-found-with-two-homemade-bombs-charged-with-terror-offences.html

…and it wasn’t easy of me to find neither (did a search for it after catching the tail end of a news piece on the BBC Asian Network).

So when people like Robert Cottage (found with the largest stock pile of weapons uncovered on British Soil) and Neil Lewington (above) have definite means and plans (and even caught in the process) to commit acts of terror, a tumble weed rolls by, the crickets chirp, and everyone smiles as if nothing happened. But when a Muslim covert, Nicky Reilly, who is diagnosed medically as mentally ill, attempts to bomb an Exeter Restaurant, it's plastered on the front page of newspapers from here to Baghdad?!

-- p.s. I did hope to keep my new spangly blog away from politics and religion...but hey.

Drowning in Electronic Communication...

2008-09-22T21:41:00.004+01:00

If one was to rewind back as recently as 20 years, and assess the quality of living, they would see the stark difference of the lifestyle of the masses then and now. The difference can quite significantly be attributed to the growth and expansion of certain technologies – notably communication technologies.

Being always connected to the “grid” far from makes our lives more convenient and efficient. As a result of the internets (sic), mobile phones, pagers, email, social networking etc. our lives are moving at a faster pace than ever. The predictions made back in the 80’s on how technology would change our lives in the future centred around a common theme: more leisure time - where technology and computers would attend to all of our bidding, leaving us (in our shiny foil like overalls) to sip milkshake, and sit in our own version of swivelling Big Brother chairs.

The reality is so far from this however, one would actually question the basis of them. People are almost slaves to the technology around them (to extents that can be described as psychological addictions). People experience this in varying forms, from users of BlackBerrys (aka CrackBerrys), who are continually interrupted by amplitudes of emails; to mobile phone users who’s to and fro of text messages consume them. Instead of waiting days for a response, we are able to reply in real time, soliciting further communication (i.e. the response to the response), leaving us embroiled in electronic heck.

Furthermore work is no longer sitting at an office, with mobile technologies, it is now a state of mind one is asked to switch on and off as required. But the problem is that many people cannot switch off, being plagued by push systems (converse to pull systems such as traditional email) wherever they go and at whatever time.

We do get more done, but the stresses we put ourselves in are counter to what we are physically capable of as human beings. Certain health conditions and medical ailments are seeing record numbers, with doctors attributing the causes primarily to stress and overworking.

So what’s the solution? Is there a solution? Do we all give up our laptops and swanky mobile phones and retreat to the countryside?

I personally find switching off my mobile phone at certain time during the day very helpful. I also try and avoid replying instantly to certain non-urgent emails to slow down the pace of dialogue. That said - I’m sure everyone has their own tried and tested ways of dealing with the drowning communication problem - it would be great if you could share them below.

The end is nigh...

2008-09-06T23:38:00.003+01:00

Have been thinking recently about how our reliance on oil puts us in line for a self deprecating doomsday style scenario.

Its given fact that the supply of world oil is not only limited, but on the verge of running out within our lifetime (some estimates say as early as 2020). The requirement of oil as a result of an increasing world population, emerging economies, and even highly established economies means that our rate of consumption is increasing exponentially, such that with already a finite amount left, we are closing in on the last drop at a faster rate than ever before.

Associating this thought with the basic economic laws of supply and demand… we saw quite recently due to various variables (war, Opec, governments etc.) the price of oil in the world markets increased quite dramatically. Now imagine what would happen as we move closer and closer to that end value. Prices of oil will continue to rise exponentially - causing higher inflation (food prices, commodities etc costing more due to the increased cost to businesses in the pre-shelf process - e.g. processing using machinery, transportation - being transferred onto the consumers) - to the point that oil will be a luxury of the few. This will have a follow on effect on other businesses/services, resulting in less food production, again reducing supply, and shooting prices further through the roof.

So if the outcome is so real and adverse then why isn't anything substantial being done about it? There are many theories to this doing the airwaves, ranging from oil companies (who make billions of pounds from oil every year) suppressing the growth of the renewable energy market as it would heavily impact their biggest/sole revenue stream; to governments blindly overlooking the facts due to their interests within the oil markets (oil companies “donate” heavily to US politicians and there are also a high number of politicians known to have sizable shares and assets within the companies).

At this rate, this seems to be a given result that very few of us can do anything about. Sure we can individually invest in more "green" solutions... but unless there is mass uptake (more notably by businesses) we are left open to a collision course to a very dire scenario.

An underhanded ploy? or a cunning tactic?

2008-08-22T23:30:00.001+01:00

Having only been active in the industry for a few months, it seems that one of our competitors is resorting to what some may call "playing dirty"; click the following links to see what I mean:

http://www.insidedesi.co.uk
http://www.insidedesi.net

It's not a huge area of concern for me, as it does more damage to the individuals/brand in question in the short and long term than it does to us. Furthermore, should this be pursued on a legal footing, it would most certainly work in our favour (trademark infringement under the common law of "passing off").

Call it naivety on our behalf for not registering all the different combinations – or call it immoral practice by the relevant individuals. I’ll leave you to judge for yourself.

For your regular dose of Desi Entertainment and Lifestyle news/commentary, you can visit InsideDesi on its REAL web address: http://www.insidedesi.com

New theme, new layout and new name...

2008-08-09T15:45:00.000+01:00

My original blog was started in early 2007; its theme was primarily centred around politics and current affairs… it was at the peak of my political activism days, attempting to push forward views which were (and still are) little seen in mainstream media.

That was then…

“The Miah Project” as the blog was dubbed, has now been renamed NoteBoxx. Although some political elements still may remain, it’s going to be more on me :) in attempt, it will be an arbitrary store of random thoughts, ideas, encounters, life inside and outside of business and everything else in-between. I’ve deleted a whole host of previous posts to redress the balance. I also updated the layout to go with the new theme.

The Mars-Rennet Commotion

2007-05-17T13:21:00.000+01:00

I'm sure many of you have heard the news about Mars planning to use rennet in a large number of it's chocolate products. Well, I've emailed Masterfoods a complaint but am still waiting to here back from them; but for some reason, I get the feeling that this was never planned to go ahead. Instead, the news item was released as a way of creating controversy and as a result heightening publicity. If one was to think about it, 1.6million Muslims - a large percentage of which are under 20... and also the huge vegetarian demography; it would be suicide in terms of sales and profits for such a company to lose such key customer bases.

The only plausible explanation I can muster up at this current point is that using rennet actually cuts production costs by huge amounts (not verified and I doubt it) and as a result Mars save a lot of money on overheads.

Video: Amir Sulaiman

2007-05-13T01:52:00.001+01:00

Poet, rapper and activist... Amir Sulaiman.

Audio: The War Behind the War by Mumia Abu-Jamal

2007-03-28T23:36:00.000+01:00

"If Mumia Abu-Jamal has nothing important to say, why are so many powerful people trying to shut him up?" — John Edgar Wideman

What Happened to Our Dreams of Freedom

2007-03-11T16:32:00.001Z

Hopefully this will prove to be as hard hitting and evidential as Adam Curtis's previous project "The Power of Nightmares".

The program synopsis is as follows:

If most factual TV is bangers and mash, this is thick-cut, rare steak. Adam Curtis's previous, visionary series The Power of Nightmares analysed radical Islam and the fear of terrorism. Here, he takes on an even bigger idea: freedom. The gist of his argument is that we have escaped historic limits on our liberty, only to submit to a bleak new idea of freedom - one that rules us by numbers and has no place for altruism. As important as the content of the programme is its woozy style. Curtis's cocktail of archive clips, sound effects and music achieves a kind of visual poetry, unsettling and nightmarish. The Trap is not for the faint-hearted: at times, it feels like you're sitting in an intellectual wind tunnel being battered by huge theories. But it's an energising blast, and quite brilliant TV.

BBC2: The Trap - What Happened to Our Dreams of Freedom
9:00pm - 10:00pm

21st February: Commemorating Ekushey February/World Mother Language day

2007-02-21T13:29:00.000Z

Ekush is Bangla for 21, and Ekushey means 21st. In Bangladesh, 'Ekushey' is synonymous with 'Ekushey February', the day when Bangladesh celebrates its Bangla Language Movement and honors those who sacrificed their lives in its name on 21st February, 1952, simultaneously sewing the seeds of the independence movement which was to free Bangladesh from its Pakistani rulers.

In 1947, the impetus for independence that had been building for many years culminated in the end the British Rule over Indian Sub-Continent, ending over two centuries of European rule. In the process, the land was divided along religious lines, forming Hindu India, and Muslim Pakistan. Pakistan, in turn, had two territories: West Pakistan, and separated by a thousand miles of Indian territory, East Pakistan.

From the beginning, there were significant problems. Although the majority of Pakistan's inhabitants lived in the eastern province, representation and funding was not fairly distributed. Culturally too, there were rifts. Apart from a common religion, Islam, those in the west and east had nothing in common Their languages and cultural heritage were distinct - the majority in East Pakistan spoke Bangla (embraced by roughly 55% of Pakistanis at the time), and had strong cultural ties with the West Bengalis of India. West Pakistanis, on the other hand, spoke a number of regional dialects; the official language Urdu, a relatively new dialect formed from a fusion of Hindi and Parsi, was native to only 6% of Pakistanis; and West Pakistanis identified closely with the Arab cultures of the Middle East.

In 1948, after the government of the new Pakistan was formed under Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Urdu was made the soul state language. Efforts were made to have it universally spoken, an order that was insensitive to the East Pakistanis who had tenaciously maintained their right to speak and write in Bangla in spite of hundreds of years of foreign invasion. The students of Dhaka University spontaneously opposed, and the Language Movement was born. Students, politicians and the intelligentsia banded together in a move to implement Bangla as a second official language, alongside Urdu, and the state language of East Pakistan. Jinnah, and his successor Najimuddin were vehemently opposed to allowing this. As a result, the movement continued to gain momentum over the years, until its climax in 1952.

Early in February 1952, student leaders decided that 21st February would be celebrated as State Language Day. Peaceful strikes and processions were scheduled across the state. Upon hearing of the plans, the ruling government cited Section 144 prohibiting large public gatherings. The students violated the code, and a peaceful procession was launched on the morning of the 21. As soon as the procession left the premises of the Dhaka University campus and spilled into main streets, police opened fire, and consequently, unarmed students died and many were injured.

The already-disenchanted Bengalis were alarmed and angered by this action, and became increasingly agitated. Seeing this, the government made the gesture of instating Bangla as the state language of East Pakistan and a second state language with Urdu, in April of that year. The gesture came far too late, for the agitation for recognition was sweeping the vast state. It slowly morphed into a desire for self governance, recognition, respect that, after nineteen years of strife and tension, eventually evolved into a movement for independence, culminating in the nine month long War of Independence that gave birth to Bangladesh in 1971.

In the world's history, no other nation has had to struggle so much, shed so much blood, to be able to hang onto their right to speak their Mother Tongue.
In 1999, in recognition of the Bangla Language movement, UNESCO adopted a resolution declaring 21st February as the World Mother Language day. The day has been celebrated with due respect to the martyrs of the movement at all UN nations since year 2000.

Source: ekushey.org

Who needs the BNP when you have FOX News?

2007-02-19T20:13:00.001Z

Audio: Sukno Patar Nupur Paye

2007-02-15T13:52:00.000Z

Following on from the clip of State of Bengal's drum and bass rendition, I present to you the original track in it's full glory.

State of Bengal: Sukno Patar preview

2007-02-13T20:29:00.000Z

You are going to have overlook the dodgy dancing... but the drum n bass edge to the classic Nazrul Islam poem certainly gives the song an extra edge.

Ex-BNP activist 'wanted to shoot Tony Blair'

2007-02-13T20:06:00.001Z

If this man was Muslim, I have a good feeling the news story would be far from buried in the back pages of the tabloids.

This discriminatory press once again showing it true colours.

Matthew Taylor and agencies
Tuesday February 13, 2007
Guardian Unlimited

A former candidate for the British National party stockpiled bomb-making chemicals and talked about wanting to gun down the prime minister, a court heard today.

Robert Cottage, 49, also discussed his desire to shoot the Liberal Democrat peer, Lord Greaves, the jury at Manchester crown court was told.

Louise Blackwell QC told the court that police had found several "recipes" for explosive devices at Mr Cottage's home in Colne, Lancashire.

The alarm was raised by his wife, Kerena, who became concerned at her husband's activities, the prosecution lawyer said.

Article continues
Mrs Cottage "said that he had just received a considerable amount of boxes through the post that she believed contained chemicals," Ms Blackwell said.

"She had concerns about his behaviour; he wanted to shoot certain members of parliament and held strong views and opinions on immigration."

In a written statement read out to the court, Mrs Cottage said her husband had talked about certain specific targets. "Robert Cottage held views about prime minister Tony Blair and Lord Greaves and has said he would like to shoot them," it said.

Mrs Cottage, who suffered mental health problems, had told a social worker her husband possessed several crossbows and had chemicals stored at his home, Ms Blackwell said. This sparked a police raid which uncovered 21 types of chemicals which, when mixed together, could form explosives. Officers also found a 300-page computer document, the Anarchy Cookbook, detailing how to make different types of bombs, the jury was told.

During the raid on September 28 last year, police discovered four air pistols and a number of crossbows with ammunition and ball bearings, which the prosecution claim could be used as shrapnel for bombs.

At the start of today's hearing, Mr Cottage pleaded guilty to one count of possession of explosives.

He denies one count of conspiracy to cause an explosion. A second man, David Jackson, 62, denies one count of possession of explosives and one of conspiracy to cause an explosion.

Miss Blackwell said that following interviews with Mr Cottage, police raided Mr Jackson's home on October 1 and found a bow and arrow and two nuclear protection suits.

"The prosecution say these two men together agreed to order these chemicals... and they intended to make a bomb with them," Miss Blackwell said.

"That much the Crown say is clear due to the information found on the computer.

"The bomb they intended to make would have had the ability to cause damage or cause serious injuries."

The trial continues.

Dr Muhammad Yunus: My Personal Letter to You

2007-02-12T15:25:00.000Z

Noble Prize winner Dr.Yunus writes an open letter to the Bangladeshi people about his wishes to step in to the turbulent world of Bangladeshi politics:

Dear citizen,

I am writing this letter to you with the hope of receiving a personal reply from you. You might have noticed in what situation many people requested me to join politics and why I had to consider it with utmost importance. I, like you, witnessed where our political culture has brought the country and how it attempted to destroy the country's future possibilities. The way the present caretaker government is trying to create an acceptable atmosphere by carrying out necessary reforms has made me optimistic along with all citizens of the country. In this situation, I feel it with my heart that I should, showing due respect to the people's expectation of me, participate in the mission of taking the nation to the height it deserves. It is now clear to all that it is not possible to reach the goal maintaining the existing political culture; it is only possible by bringing a comprehensive change to the culture. Through my work and experience, I feel with all my heart that the people with their innate sense of endeavour and creativity can achieve the impossible if political goodwill, competent leadership and good governance can be established. If I have to form a political party in response to the people's desire, it will be dedicated to this very objective.

I have received pure love and respect from people of all ages ranging from the poorest to the most powerful, I do not know when again a Bangladeshi individual will have this good fortune. By the grace of Allah, I am a very fortunate man. There is nothing left for me to desire. I know that joining politics is to become controversial. I am ready to take the risk if you think me joining politics will help in ushering of a new political climate.

It is high time to form the proper political structure conducive to the huge task of building a Bangladesh we all dream of, by freeing ourselves from all past frustrations. I need the active participation and assistance of you and all others like you if I have to go forward with this mission. I need your advice on how I should go forward. I also want to know how you want to participate and assist in this task. The efforts of you and me to realise everybody's desire for a new politics in order to build a new Bangladesh will get strength if these can be learnt from you in the form of a letter.

You can give your advice in your own style on any topic regarding the formation of a new political party. I can point out some topics as examples: a) how the party can stay involved with the people of all villages and neighbourhoods and work to realise their expectations; b) how the party can be helpful to the common people in their daily struggle and in solving their problems; c) how the organisations of the party can be built on the basis of spontaneous devotion of men and women of all ages and professions; d) what can be done to encourage the eager, enthusiastic, honest and competent people of all levels to align with the party and to become active in it; e) how the honest and competent among them, having public support, can be nominated for different local and national elections; f) how can we ensure transparency and honesty of all the people involved with the party, and of the party itself; g) how democracy can be established within the party; h) how can the flow of opinions directly from the grassroots level be ensured; and i) how the officials and employees serving in state institutions can be prevented from turning into activists of political parties -- your thoughts and advice on many such questions are vital.

At the same time, it is important to know what role you (and your friends) can play in the party, how you can actively contribute or support, is also very important to know. For example, you can play the role: a) of a member of a village or neighbourhood-level organisation; b) of a pioneer of the party's welfare initiatives; c) of a local organiser; d) of an organiser of a community organisation; e) of an activist taking party calls widely among the people; f) of an adviserresearchertheoretician for the party; g) you can contribute to the party by using your special skills or expert knowledge in its service; h) by taking a leadership role in popularising the party as an enthusiastic supporter; i) by demonstrating your organising power; and so on.

I want to know your opinion and get your advice whether you are a political leader, activist, leader or worker of an association or organisation, industrialist, businessman, professor, teacher, shopkeeper, farmer, labourer, artist-writer-thinker, professional, journalist, service holder, housewife, teenager, youth or an expatriate Bangladeshi.

Please write a short or detail personal reply to my letter. Your friends, all members of your family, neighbours, classmates and colleagues can also put in their thoughts in the same letter. You can reply through email and distribute copies of it among all your acquaintances. You can also send a short reply through SMS and encourage all your acquaintances to do the same. You can send copies of my letter to your relatives and friends abroad and encourage them to reply. It will not be possible to come out clean from old politics if a strong momentum for a new politics is not created. We will not be able to reach our goal with feeble support.

I hope my letter and your reply to it will only be the beginning of our sincere communication. The communication established will be able to go forward actively towards a common goal from now on.

You can use my following address to send your reply or may arrange to send it to me in any other way.

Contact Address:
Dr Muhammad Yunus
HAL Mars
6/D, 66 Outer Circular Road
Moghbazar, Dhaka 1217
Fax: 9334656
Email: prof.yunus@gmail.com, dryunus2006@yahoo.com
You can call the following numbers for inquiries about the letter: 01713082277, 01717760870
Waiting for your reply.
With thanks and greetings,
Muhammad Yunus
February 11, 2007

(Translated from Bangla by The Daily Star)

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/02/12/d7021201085.htm

Guardian "Islamaphonic" Podcast

2007-02-10T03:22:00.000Z

This is certainly a first for any major media outlet. Not to sure about it's black humour style approach, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/podcasts/islamophonic/

CloseUp1 2006: Nishita

2007-02-10T03:07:00.000Z

One of my favourite songs from last years CloseUp1 (Bangladesh's equivalent to Pop Idol) competition. Although Nishita didn't win, I very much hope that she releases an album.

Contact

2007-01-01T22:35:00.019Z

I’m contactable through all the usual electronic means:

Email: shuhel[at]insidedesi.com
Skype: s_miah
Facebook: 542582820
MSN: miahs101[at]hotmail.com
Twitter: shuhel

About

2007-01-01T21:41:00.010Z

I am co-founder and Managing Director of a new and exciting Online Lifestyle magazine, InsideDesi. Our primary area of focus is south Asian lifestyle and entertainment, with a helping of current affairs, TV and sports.

My background is rather diverse, including, but not limited to: activism, civil liberties, community work, media, enterprise and IT.

I graduated with a bachelor's honours in Computer Science from the University of Manchester in 2006, and currently work as an IT Consultant for a leading UK-based global IT and management consultancy.

My previous roles include being on the executive board of a number of non-profit organisations, notably Network Bangla and the Bangladesh Human Rights Coalition.