moodlogic

Vote for the best Bangladeshi blog

2004-12-17T14:28:00.000+06:00

Wow! My blog is nominated in best Bangladesh/Sri Lankan blog category. Other fine blogs nominated under this category are:

Extra Extra

Third World View

Insert Clever Title Here

The Color of Rain

Notes From Dystopia

Busy Minds in a Lazy Shell

I don't know why they have merged Bangladesh and Sri Lank. This is embarrassing.

Anyway, don't forget to vote.

Update 20 Dec, 2004, 8:42 PM: I have no idea how in matter of few hours my vote increased from 26 to 40. Is someone trying to screw me up?

What a relief!

2004-12-17T11:45:00.000+06:00

Uh! What a relief! Exams are over. Now comes the once in a lifetime opportunity for IUBians (students of IUB). The LFE (Live in Field Experience) starts from 4rth January and would last up to 17th. So there would be another break in blogging, which I really, really hate.

LFE is designed to teach us many things. Particularly fieldwork and group work. Each group is assigned to work in a particular village and collect all the information (regarding society, economy, agriculture, education, health, environment, and demographics) they can and then come up with a research paper that states and interprets those data. My area of concentration is Economy and Agriculture but I wanted to do Social Conditions and Change. I think that would be more interesting.

This is a huge task. We have seen reports of other groups who are done with LFE. Some reports are more than 300 pages. That's a lot of work for only 3 credits. Let's see what we can do. Whatever I do I can ensure you that I'll bring pictures from Comilla.

Anyway, my younger brother Waly is in Paris, France. He is blogging! Some may find spelling/grammatical mistakes in his write-up but he is quiet able to express himself. I bet you will find it interesting.

Back from the Sundarbans

2004-11-29T18:43:00.000+06:00

Well, I am back from the Sundarbans. It was a great journey. BDR's hospitality was great. We have gone to places where we wouldn't have gone without their help. The only problem I faced with BDR is too much restriction on everything. They didn't allow me to take pictures of some beautiful places we have gone. They also didn't allow us to go deep inside the forest.

A journey to the Sundarbans may not be as satisfying as one expects. Because, first of all, it is a vast area. Sundarban spreads over seven districts and some part of it is in West Bangle, India. You need to stay here and give sufficient amount of time to know, understand, and fall in love with this place.

Secondly, Sundarban is not a rain forest. Therefore, trees are not tall enough and places are not dark enough to make it feel like a "forest". It is actually a mangrove forest where accessibility is very, very limited. You'd be surprised to know that almost 60% of Sundarban is unexplored.

Thirdly, as I said, I had to go with BDR arrangements. Therefore, there was no chance to "cross the limits". I have to comeback here and arrange things locally with public services available.

Here are the pictures I was allowed to take.

This is the Sundarbans. Almost all of it is like this - muddy, slippery, and densely filled with trees. Almost impossible to explore.

Best way to travel Sundarban is to travel by boat along the river banks. BDR won't go any further than this.

Numerous channels crisscrossed the islands here.

The main trees of the Sundarbans are Sundari, Shishu, Golpata, and Keora. These are the longest trees we've seen.

My little sister Ateea (left) and niece Ramisha at the forefront the boat.

Waves created by our speedboat.

Besides the Royal Bangle Tigers and monkeys, Sundarban is also home for beautiful spotted deer.

We saw more deer in Sundarban Textile Mills, Satkhira.

Blogging from Satkhira

2004-11-25T23:27:00.000+06:00

My exam and assignment was great. I expect an A in NCH101 (National Culture and Heritage). Before the next row of exams begins, there is a break. And I thought it would be great to visit Satkhira and Khulna with mom and dad. Main attraction of this trip is the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world and the home of Royal Bengal Tiger. So, here I am in Satkhira on the way to Sundarban. Thanks to BTTB (and my dad's laptop) that it allows me to use the internet from 64 districts at the same rate.

We are staying in Satkhira Circuit House. They booked the VIP suite for us. Dad needs to visit some people and places here and attend some organisational meetings. We will start for Khulna on 27th.

Today we have visited a remote village, Agardari. People are really, really friendly and hospitable here. Our host arranged for so many food items that the luncheon became a food festival. Other people from the village joined us, too. Girls sang songs to my mother as it is a tradition here, but I was not allowed in women's zone.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the village.

People use different kind of roof here. In our villages in Sherpur, people use steel or haystacks as roof.

Houses are built with clay and mud. This, also, is not common in my village.

Use of cow dung as fuel saves the trees. And it is environment friendly too.

Mustered field.

Cabbage field.

Farmers working in Jhaalbon, or chili field.

Irrigation system is also different from ours.

This village has too many ponds and all are filled up with fishes. I have counted 15 and I merely walked 30% of the village!

A road in the village.

These people are called Gacchial, means 'those who climb the trees' (long trees, e.g. date, coconut, supari (what's the English!), etc.). They are sharpening their tools as someone called for their help.

The river is the border. The yellow building is the Indian check post and that road belongs to India. This is called the zero point. As soon as I took the picture the guard on the bridge told me, "foto maat khicho", means, "don't take pictures."

Exams and assignments

2004-11-19T21:56:00.000+06:00

Exams and assignments will keep me busy for this week and probably the next as well. Life sucks, reality bites. No way out of it. I wonder who proposed to build institutions like schools, collages, and universities! And I hate this semester system. It demands too much. It counts everything from attendance, assignments, class tests, surprise tests, and even quizzes. This is horrible. Sometime it feels like I am in prison. Traditional system is much better and public university students enjoy life better than we in private universities do.

Go to hell. Who cares?

Eid Mubarak!

2004-11-14T09:09:00.000+06:00

A people's burial

2004-11-12T23:49:00.000+06:00

None of today's heroes, let alone Arafat's enemies, can dream of such a dignified farewell. It was overwhelming. This is enough proof of what Arafat was to his people. He may be everything imperialists and their slaves call him. He may be everything what every constructive criticism says he is. But today, Palestinian people spoke for themselves. Palestinians would have set a world record today, if they were allowed to go to Ramallah from Gaza Strip, Jerusalem, four neighbouring Arab countries where refugees live, and other parts of West Bank. It would have been a million man burial.

I am happy to see how Bangladesh responded to this event. Government declared 3 days of mourning, and our flag will be lowered at half for these 3 days. All the political parties, left or right, paid their tribute. All the media have been truthful to their souls. All the mosques carried out special prayers for Arafat after Jum'atul Bida. Some even carried out Gayibana Janaza (symbolic funeral). We have shown an unprecedented unity and it was Arafat and his cause that brought us together.

We were watching CNN and BBC (I must say CNN covered it better than BBC). It was great to see how Palestinian people received him. Authority's plans were foiled as they overwhelmingly lost control over the crowd. BBC's Martin Asser was right. It was really a people's burial. The world has not seen such emotions since Ayatollah Khomeni's death.

False sighs of hope

2004-11-12T15:39:00.000+06:00

With the death of Arafat, his enemies are touting this "opportunity" as a "hope" for the Palestinian people, a "turning point". Specially American and Israeli officials, Bush, Sharon, Lapid, Netanyahu, even Shimon Perez are talking on the same line – this is a new opportunity for the Palestinians for realisation of their dream of a free Palestinian state. Well, when did Palestinian people started to dream of a State? For almost half a century they are fighting an occupation, they are not fighting to establish a Palestinian state in West Bank and Gaza Strip. This is hilarious! And what can be said when the dream offer comes from the occupying forces! As if, they are the right people to justify the outcome of a Palestinian dream. Israeli/American version of Palestinian dream does not include Jerusalem and other occupied territories.

Its occupation, stupid. There will be no peace without justice. And without pulling out from all the occupied land, there is no hope. Whoever compromises with the dream of Palestinian people under Israeli/American pressure will fell short of legitimacy among Palestinian people. This was Arafat's great mistake. If traditional authority compromises, people will turn their support on more extremist groups like Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and others. Palestinian people now need a courageous and uncompromising leadership who never seeks legitimacy from occupying forces or "international community". He only needs to remain valid to his people.

Ma'assalam Ya Abu Ammar

2004-11-11T16:45:00.000+06:00

Yasser Arafat, 1929-2004

Today, Yasser Arafat, Chairman of al-Fatah and the Palestine Liberation Organization and elected President of the Palestinian Authority, died in Paris from complications stemming from a blood disorder at the age of 75. Born Muhammad Abd al-Ra'uf al-Arafat al-Qudwa, Yasser Arafat was related to the Husayni family and had strong family ties to Gaza and Jerusalem. He first became active in Palestinian politics while an engineering student in Cairo in the early 1950s, where he headed the Union of Palestinian Students at Fu'ad I University (now Cairo University) from 1952-1957. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Arafat launched his own contracting firm in Kuwait and quickly prospered. He probably used his personal wealth to launch al-Fatah, the most prominent of a number of exile groups advancing armed struggle as a means of liberating Palestine.

For nearly five decades, Yasser Arafat was a larger-than-life figure for those who admired him as well as those who hated and feared him, or, to be more precise, for those who hated and feared the Palestinian view of history, justice, and politics. Since the late 1960s, Arafat was the icon of the Palestinian cause. Like Che Guevara, Arafat's image on a poster, a T-shirt, or a television screen could convey rich and complex meanings and sentiments across wide and diverse social landscapes. With his trademark black-and-white checkered kuffiyah draped carefully over his shoulder so as to assume the proportions and shape of the map of Palestine, appearances by Arafat were almost always electrifying political events.

An Obituary by The Electronic Intifada.

Update: My younger brother Waly is in France and he went to see Arafat. He met hundreds who went to pay their last respect. Mourners were barred at a point. They created something like monuments there with posters, flowers, and candlelight vigils.

Coincidentally, Averi/Nameh posted from the same obituary. I always turn to Electronic Intifada, instead of traditional media, for news, information, opinion, or criticism on the issue of Palestine.

Push in: Ethnic cleansing, Indian style

2004-11-09T11:50:00.000+06:00

Recently, we are experiencing a rise of "push in" incidents. Indian Border Security Forces are forcefully pushing Bengali speaking Indian Muslims through several points of country's northeast borders. Some news is available online.

BDR foils push-in bid by BSF
N borders tense over push-in bids
Fresh BSF bid to push in
Tension mounts as BSF keeps hunting immigrants

However, in a casual manner, Indian authority remains in a state of denial. A press release from Indian high-commission says, "The question of forcing Indian citizens into the territory of any other nation by any Indian authority does not arise. Therefore, there is no question of taking any measures to put an end to a phenomenon that does not exist."

They thought one press release would vaporise all the fuss. In fact it implies that Indian authority does not have any intension, whatsoever, to resolve this issue (or any other) with Bangladesh.

I wonder why India expects Bangladesh to cooperate with their claims of "terrorist training camps" inside Bangladesh. I think it is time for Morshed Khan to be outspoken again and demonstrate these issues to world forum and the press.

Blogging in Bangla

2004-11-09T02:00:00.000+06:00

I think, besides English, I should also blog in Bangla. That's why I have opened another blog BanglaPundit. Yes, you are right, the name is inspired from various "pundit" bloggers. Why shouldn't I have one?

Anyway, blogging in Bangla isn't easy. I wanted to use Alpona at first, because Alpona's Boishakhi font has the best typeface and hinting for web usage. But free version of Alpona is ASCI not Unicode and its full version is not 100% Unicode.

Support for Bangla Unicode is very limited. Older systems (older than XP SP1) won't be able to read Bangla. Only in XP SP2 M$ have included some Bangla Unicode fonts. And only Internet Explorer 6 (or higher) can render those fonts. Even Firefox can't display Bangla Unicode correctly. This is unacceptable. They should immediately come up with a solution.

I am very handy with Bijoy keyboard and Avro Keyboard helps me to generate Unicode text. This website also helps convert texts written in Bijoy to Unicode. Some tweaking is also required in blogger template. Substantial help is available in e-kobi's diary. I don't have a paid host to upload my files. That's why I wasn't able to embed portable fonts. That would be very user-friendly.

I don't know how long I would have my interest in Bangla blogging. But I want to give it a try.

Failures of democracy and lessons from US election

2004-11-06T23:58:00.000+06:00

I think there are many things we in Bangladesh in general and the rightwing in particular should learn from this historic US presidential election. If combined with local knowledge, these teachings can be of great help for any party. But remember that American and British style democracy can ONLY facilitate a polarised environment – either you are on this side or you are on that side. If you are on no side you do not exist, I mean your opinions and agenda's are simply discarded irrespective of how important, creative, innovative they are. That's the best democracy can do. In the spirit of democracy, a much needed reform would never take place simply because those who proposed the reform didn't get the majority vote. Now, if I call that absurd people will say that I don't believe in democracy, as if I have done a grave sin. Yes, if democracy elects people like Khaleda, Hasina, and Bush, one may not have any respect for that system.

Consider a scenario where A gets 35% of the vote, B gets 30%, C gets 21% and D 14% - a total of 65% of the voters, almost double of what A has got, did not vote for A, did not support his agendas and policies. Hence, democracy says A is to lead the country. Sounds acceptable to you? Yes, in real world such stats may not exist and other parties may unite and form a coalition. Here comes another exploitation opportunity. From the assumed scenario, it is understandable that A and B are traditional sources of power, like BNP and Awami League (Republicans and Democrats, Labours and Conservatives, BJP and Congress). Let's assume that C and D are alternatives like Islamists and socialists. Now A comes to C, whose agendas and policies are completely different from A, with an offering of 2 ministries. C may be deluded with that offer and forget the very ideals they stand for and join A to form a government. Or they can go to B and demand more ministries and facilities. That's how democracy may exploit the inner core of a very ideological party without the civil society's being aware of the fact. And when ideology is defeated corruption emerges in the society like plague.

As democracy defeated the distinct ideologies of existing parties and emerged as an ideology itself with the help of capitalist powers, we do not find enough differences between parties, especially traditional ones. They are so much marginalised that we may only find differences in focuses and standpoints but not much in policy. People do not know what different and distinct agendas, features and policies BNP and AL have. We do not know how BNP's education policy is better than others or how AL plans to tackle widespread poverty. We only know that AL is pro-India and BNP is not. That cannot be the definition of political parties of an independent state and it is a shame that we define things in such a way. I said it is a shame but unfortunately there is no other way to distinguish them.

American people were faced with such a dilemma of distinction in November 2, 2004 presidential election. Kerry failed to setup his policies and agendas distinctive enough from Bush's agendas and policies. Kerry failed to clearly identify his and his party's image. Kerry failed to clarify his ideological standpoint and state how that stance integrates with his policies. Kerry only made people more confused about him. The only reason he got 49% of the vote is not because Kerry and his policies are great but because people wanted Bush to lose. Ultimately that didn't happen.

This is a signal for those who want to cash on issues like pro or anti India and pro or anti Islam/Muslim. That won't help survive any election. If you want to win an election clarify your ethical standards and act accordingly. Whether Islamist or socialist, clarify your ideological stance, clarify what you believe in and what you stand for. State in clear terms what goals and objects you are fighting for and how that is compatible with the values you cherish, how that is different from other party's goals and objectives. If you fail to do so, people won't recognise very indifferent identity of yours. You will end up in confusing people and have a miserable Kerry defeat.

Prayers for Arafat

2004-11-05T23:42:00.000+06:00

I am really disheartened to see Arafat's health conditions worsening. People are saying that his death is a matter of time, and thereby starts judging him - what bad things he did, what a terrorist he is, and how useless and what a burden he has become. Enough is enough. Don't you see that a man is dying? Can you stop your arguments, debates and mockery about him for the sake humanity?

It is a time to pray. We prayed for him after Juma prayer in colony's mosque here. And I saw many people cry. I didn't cry then. But my heart bled when I saw Haroon Moghul's (avari/nameh) "all the rain that will fall":

If Yasir 'Arafat, elected leader of Palestine, has died, then he has died in Ramadan. If he is dying, then he is dying in the Nights of Power. If he is suffering illness then whatever prayers he makes in suffering are as the prayers of a man who has suffered for a thousand months but prayed through each and all of them.

May God bless those who struggle for what is good, for what is right, for what is merciful and for what is just. May He give us the strength to stand against those who stand against faith, truth, justice and dignity. May He give us steadfastness in trying times that try us still more, and instill in us the wisdom to see that the unfolding of events large and small have behind them a deeper wisdom, the workings of a wonderful plan, which from our promontory we cannot quite compass.

Bush wins: that Laden video to blame?

2004-11-03T23:54:00.000+06:00

... or what?

I think that new Laden video played its part superbly. Either it was Laden's stupidity or it was faked by the Whitehouse to spread fear among the American people and secure the re-election. Walter Cronkite, a former CBS News anchor, told Larry King:

... now the question is basically right now, how will this affect the election? And I have a feeling that it could tilt the election a bit. In fact, I'm a little inclined to think that Karl Rove, the political manager at the White House, who is a very clever man, he probably set up bin Laden to this thing.

Funny, isn't it? There is every possibility that the video can be faked. But at the same time I am hearing people say it was a defeat of Kerry's campaign strategy. Those who campaigned for Kerry were not well motivated, too much optimistic and thus reluctant to work hard and Kerry had to pay them to keep them running. Bush campaigners on the other hand were devoted to Bush's cause, feared that they'd be defeated, worked hard, and campaigned on their own. That's what I heard from BBC's analysis and interviews with the voters and the campaigners.

Everyone in my house is upset about Kerry's defeat. But I think it doesn't matter who wins. Kerry is no angel and America's foreign policy would not change dramatically if he is in the office. His statements and policies are ambiguous enough to defeat him. Rather I think it is better to have someone in the Whitehouse whom we can clearly identify as evil. American people have done a great job. There should be no place for ambiguity.

Views from deshi Bloggers:
PONDERING ON BUSH RE-ELECTION by Rezwan
Getting ready for the oppression again by Rifat

Bangladesh to destroy all landmines!

2004-11-02T23:23:00.000+06:00

By requirement of the Landmine Ban Treaty, Bangladesh is going to destroy all its 200,000 antipersonnel landmines! I have no idea (or I can't recall) exactly when Bangladesh signed such treaty that makes no sense. According to this website, Bangladesh signed the treaty back in 1998! Here is a list of signatory countries. And guess what! Our good neighbours India, Pakistan, and Myanmar aren't on the list, let alone Israel, United States, Russia, and China. This is outrageous! Who authorised this and for what purpose? Disarm diplomatically and then wage a war, knowing that, at least, there is no landmine. Yeah, Princess Diana did a great job!

The 4 month long destruction process starts today according to the Daily Inqilab. UNDP and Canada is funding the destruction. Well, who the hell is going to pay all the money we paid to buy these things? If we, so terribly, need to get rid of those mines why not sell them to India and Pakistan or even to Myanmar? Why is it that only the weaker countries need to pay the price for destructions done by the mighty ones? And wouldn't it be sensible to ban the production and put sanctions on those who produce and sell landmines?

Better oppressed than oppressor

2004-11-01T22:47:00.000+06:00

Abul Kashem Faruk, 43, the abducted Bangladeshi lorry driver in Iraq.

Those who kidnapped Abul Kashem Faruk should know that the people of Bangladesh, from all walks of life, wholeheartedly rejects America's war on Iraq and still opposes American presence in Iraq. They should know that Bangladesh is a country which's people burst in anger when America declared war on Iraq. They brought out procession on the streets and blockaded US and UK embassies in Dhaka. Is that how you treat your Muslim brothers? Is that how you wish to liberate Iraq? Where in Islam, as you say you belong to it, it is said that you are allowed to kill innocent people?

No, I am not actually surprised at Faruk's abduction. I won't even be surprised if you kill him. Because you have killed your own brothers who, in their utmost desperation like Faruk's, joined the Iraqi police forces. But know that it really hurts. Islam is a bridge between the people of Bangladesh and Iraq and that is why we are psychologically inclined towards Iraqi people. We love and admire Iraqi people, their culture and heritage. But you are not the Iraqi we in Bangladesh used to know. You are failing the cause of Islam and the plight of Iraqi people. You are only pushing the rest of the world to accept the unacceptable logics of the American imperialists. You have lost your ability to render thought, and do anything that involves logic. That way you have become oppressor of the innocent people.

M H Faruqi, editor of the finest International Muslim magazine Impact International, states it right - it is better to live under oppression rather than becoming an oppressor.

Related post:
IRAQ HOSTAGE SITUATION: TERRORISM HAS NO IDEAL by Rezwan

Quotes worth a smile

2004-10-30T14:48:00.000+06:00

There is no difference between September 11 terrorist attacks and August 21 grenade attack.
Sheikh Hasina in New York

Of all the dictators of Pakistan I have met, Musharraf is the brightest.
Kuldip Nayar in The Daily Star

Security is an important element of human life and, free people do not give up their security... We fought you because we are free, and we don't put up with transgressions. We want to reclaim our nation. As you spoil our security, we will do so to you.
Osama bin Laden in a new video message

Another AL ploy?

2004-10-28T04:49:00.000+06:00

Recently, leader of the opposition Sheikh Hasina and other AL warlords demanded that caretaker government requires a reform to perform its tasks neutrally. This means they want changes in the 13th Amendment. This necessity, however, was not felt while they were in power from 1996 to 2001. After all the failed attempts to unseat the government the issue of caretaker government reform is the latest in AL's arsenal. It can even jeopardise the process of regular elections every five years! Editor of the Holiday, Enayetullah Khan, warns us of a new AL ploy:

Once all these feints came to naught because of the universal acclamation of the polls, the AL and its leader turned their guns on President Chief Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed, who continued in office under the 13th (Caretaker) Amendment, Caretaker Chief Adviser Chief Justice Latifur Rahman and Chief Election Commissioner M. A. Syed. Incidentally and ironically too, the President of the Republic was elected by the seventh Parliament as the nominee of the majority AL after the 1996 polls to the largely ceremonial office; the CEC was appointed by them with the additional insurance of the induction of a Janatar Mancha bureaucrat as a member; and the Chief Adviser fitted the bill as also the calculations of the AL government on the calendar, as required under the amendment.

Sheikh Hasina’s attack on the Caretaker Government, that she had thought would do her bidding, came in the wake of her defeat in 2001 polls. Earlier she was affronted by the circumstances of her vacation of the Ganobhaban property that she had endowed herself with by an Act of Parliament. The Act was later repealed. She was also enraged by the immediate dismantling of a carefully-set bureaucratic safety-valve comprising party loyalists in the higher and middle echelons of the administration as also some political appointees like her Press Secretary, particularly in the Chief Adviser’s office, ostensibly to work as the listening posts and as under-cover elements...

This part of the exercise is meant to be a background to the Caretaker Government issue and its enactment in order that public memory, that is proverbially short, is not taken for a yet-shorter ride. Can it be the wish of the opposition AL to create a situation of non-compliance with the polls under the existing 13th Amendment and thereby jeopardise the process of regular elections every five years? Will the other political parties, who call themselves pro-liberation in one of history’s biggest political caricatures, go along with the AL demand of the failed one-point demand of the government’s ouster, and now the Caretaker Reforms, which do not qualify as an agenda of dialogue between the government and the AL?

These are questions that need to be publicly answered by the proponents of the Caretaker Reforms, or of the one-point agenda for the ouster of the government by the magic wand of an ultimatum, that never was, or the chimera of extra-constitutional intervention. After all, any government that may be good, bad or indifferent in public estimation or as per the opposition claim, is not obliged to use its two-thirds majority number that the coalition has, to satisfy the opposition’s wiles.

The AL and company should endeavour to gain the required two-thirds majority to change the 13th Amendment as they wish, and not whine for changes again when elections don’t come their way...

Read the full article.

TI's report and thoughts on corruption

2004-10-25T01:08:00.000+06:00

The only way we can fight corruption is to remove our corrupt elite - the corrupt leaders, officials, businesses, and now the "intellectuals" - a.k.a. the educated class. This elite structure has its root in colonial era where proponents of colonialism patronised a class - educated, "sophisticated" and "cultured" to help run state affaires. They were mostly awarded with the jobs of clerks at the offices and manpower for the law enforcement agencies. This group of servants and their tradition did not die. They were however being reborn at the wake of nation state. Why? Because, after decolonisation our leaders surprisingly chose to run same mechanism for governance and education system. That's what independence from British rule was all about.

As for today, the problem remains with the educated class. Our government officials are corrupt, the whole range of professional groups i.e. doctors, engineers, lawyers, and teachers are corrupt. On the contrary people who have direct connection with production, the large uneducated mass, i.e. farmers, fishermen, and labourers aren't corrupt. In fact they are the victims of corruption.

There must be something terribly wrong with our education system that it creates so many corrupt people. We need to look at that first, not at TI's perception index.

Blogging from Sherpur

2004-10-23T01:32:00.000+06:00

Sherpur is my home district. It is really colourful around here during Durga Puja. We have a 20,000 strong Hindu community here in town alone (15%-17%). Though I came here to celebrate Putul's (our neighbour here) wedding I decided to visit nearest Puja Mandaps and take some snaps. Here they are:

Prelude.

Majestic Durga with all the players of Hindu mythology.

Pilgrims' queue.

Purohit distributing Proshad.

The prayer.

Here are some personal ones:

Majestic house of our Hindu neighbour Lakshmi Di and Babu Da. Our grand-parents and now their children are living with them side by side for the last 40 years. Now they are planning to leave for India for the rest of their lives. Don't know why but they are not under any oppression - as many "intellectuals" and newspapers want to put it. If they are under any oppression we would be the first to know. And we would be the first to protect. I figured out that it is just an unconditional attachments towards India. Anyway, they planned to sell all their properties. I told mom and dad that whatever it costs we should buy this house. It is really wonderful.

My cousins surround Putul at her wedding.

Ateea, my little sister, playing with Munni's kittens.

My hero is your terrorist

2004-10-21T08:37:00.000+06:00

Lt. Col. Farook walks out of the court as it "awards" him life imprisonment. (The verdict of Jail Killing case.)

He is one of those men who brought Baksal regime to an end. I met him once in Narayanganj. I was only thirteen then - thus, probably was an easy victim of his great personality. I knew he was a killer but I also knew (as someone told me then) that he only killed bad people. Now I know that good and bad are very much subjective. He was also a man of principle and courage, a great nationalist and orator - a combination of which we do not see in our leadership today.

It is difficult to judge as I don't know much about his involvement in jail killings or about the innocence of the 4 victims. Whatever it is, this is not the Bangladesh that Sheikh Mujib and his paramilitary wanted. Today's Bangladesh is different from Mujib and his paramilitary's vision of Bangladesh. It is liberated from that dream - by them. You can kill/punish them but you have no right to judge them. Kill them as they killed your heroes. And people will remember them with respect and honour. Why a showdown of "justice" after 29 years?

How nasty BNP can get!

2004-10-20T01:07:00.000+06:00

Badruddoza Chowdhury and Dr. Kamal Hossain were beaten up in Rangpur by members of Chhattra Dal and Jubo Dal - student wings of master coalition partner BNP. Photo: The Daily Star

This is outrageous! BNP is feeling so insecure that it can't even tolerate B Chowdhury and Dr. Kamal! Where does this frustration come from? They (Chowdhury and Kamal) don't even pose an ounce of threat. Is there anyone who can give BNP any good advice? I wonder what Jamaat leaders are doing. Who said that you can't criticise BNP for their dirty work? Is that what Islam teaches us? I have said it earlier and I am saying it again BNP is squandering any hope for the coalition to succeed in the next general election. Partners should warn and be warned. BNP is becoming hopeless day by day.

Installed Haloscan

2004-10-15T16:14:00.000+06:00

At last I made the switch! I waited for them to go away. But God gave them so much patience that they kept coming back every now and then. I told Blogger that their comment system should be intelligent – like many of the services they offer.

Dear viewers and commentators of this blog, I am really sorry that you had to go through such a dehumanising experience. I hope that now I will be able to keep the imposters away from commenting on this blog.

Bring them to justice

2004-10-11T13:54:00.000+06:00

Like Awami League lawmaker Muhibul Rahman Manik (sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for March 1999 Chhatak bomb blast), all terrorists and bomb makers should be brought to justice, irrespective of their social position (a former lawmaker!) and party allegiance.

Brainwash and eyewash

2004-10-08T23:39:00.000+06:00

6 October 2004: American Center here in Dhaka provided scholarship to some 40 Madrasa students (women) to learn English.

It will only serve two evil purposes:

1. Brainwash the best students of Madrasa who may have the capability to meet the challenges posed by the West.

2. An eyewash event to baffle the whole world – America is trying to win the hearts and minds of the Muslims in countries like Bangladesh (while killing Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan and helping to kill Muslims in Palestine and elsewhere, plotting coups, assassinations, and other destabilising mechanisms).

Each person has a unique way to look at an event. There are many who would think that America has done something good for us with a good intention. I think not, because I don't trust America. I don't believe that it can do any good to any Muslim nation – unless it is for eyewash, brainwash, or other evil purposes.