Untold Facts

Let She Have the Peanut

That the current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s beds in the Gonobhaban are being furnished afresh with fourteen (?) different luxury Khats (cots) possibly with designs of varying aesthetics should be welcomed, and in no way made anybody’s eye sore even that would cost some waste of the public exchequer. Even so, the fund need be spent for these luxury beds would be nothing more than a peanut in terms of cost involved though from the Bangladeshi poor men’s pocket.

One may not forget so soon in matter of seven years and I have not forgotten that she had in 2001 the whole of the Gonobhaban campus worth of nearly 100 Crore Taka of public property legalized as its absolute owner private property having had the credential legacy that her father happened to be the creator and founder of Bangladesh as the big real estate or fiefdom. Her younger sister Rehana was also given another public property worth another about Taka 25 crore, the old Gonobhaban at the posh area of the Minto Road in Dhaka city. The subsequent government, unfortunately, however, cancelled the relevant previous order to restore the properties to the public ownership.

Now that Sheikh Hasina has come back to the position of Prime Minister in 2009 once again after a time in between of seven years, she is supposed to re-occupy the Gonobhaban, not yet as the absolute owner of property but as normal occupier of Prime Minister’s official residence.

The people of Bangladesh, I am sure, would not like to see her any wanting of comfort but all for her convenience in the residence for physical ease and mental peace so that she could offer the best service for the people. Let she have enough to do her work best. For her physical comfort 14 Khats though may be unnecessary, would not cost much as she did manage to catch hold fraudulently the ownership of the whole campus of the one hundred crore Taka in 2001, and also managed to get another for her younger sister, as well. Compared to the cost of the two government properties they grabbed last time during her first term in office of the Prime Minister, the 14 luxury Khats like the luxury cars being given to all ministers is just a peanut.

Physical possession and comfort, however, do not necessarily ensure mental peace or real happiness. Real mental peace and happiness in absolute term do not go with enough of material possession, much les luxury, but in sacrifice and spiritual persuasion embedded in wholesome outlook of life and clean conscience based on dictates of soul and spirit or in other words in a life of complete TAQWA or self-restrain in matters of food, drink, dress habits, interactions with others, etc.

– Prof. M.T. Husssain

Qudrat E Khuda Education Report was not a Bible

It was only expected that the Education Minister of 2009 Bangladesh Government has let us know that the Qudrat E Khuda Education Commission Report of 1974 would be implemented by them. We heard this once back in mid 1996, as well, for the simple reason that the post Bangladesh independence government did initiate the commission in late 1972. I am not certain how many of the fortunate men and women of the main body of the Commission are still alive in January 2009 except that one important member Professor Dr Muhammad Nurul Haq in his mid eighties. I had also the fortune to get in touch with the Commission not as a full member but as a pigmy in two study committees. However, we two still maintain a close rapport in matters of education and malaise in the system of the country.
Now that a new government is in power and so a new education minister, it is quite likely that the people would hear fresh rhetoric in educational innovation. In a Dhaka English daily today (29 Jan 09), one report says that the Khuda Commission Report would once again get a restart. The minister as well gave his idea that they would ‘launch one syllabus for all’. The idea is not a bad one but a good one. But how would they do it is not clear. May be, they would give the task to do to some group constituting persons as had been seen to be present as the photo showed with the minister yesterday.
Framing a lone or single syllabus for even the primary level is not that easy unless the three main systems- Bengali, English medium and the Madarasah system- are integrated into one. The Qudrat Commission wished to do that by keeping in reality the Madarasah aloof from the general education system. Unfortunately, the report once reached the hand of the then all powerful leader and the Prime Minister in mid 1974, but curiously enough it found its safe place in the Locker not to see light until after two years by the next army President of the country. Since then Bangladesh had as many as six commissions/committees, but education and the curricula remained as before back to square one. In other words, T.W. Macaulay of 1835 kept us haunting to pursue his set goals in learning since then.
In 1915, a system of curricula was framed in response to the common demand of the Muslims away from the Macaulay model since then gaining popularity among the Muslim guardians and learners for that combined Islamic learning and secular courses integrated together. Unfortunately the process was dropped altogether in mid 1950s, and went back to Macaulay again. The Khuda Commission did many exercises but only to end up in what Macaulay had intended for. Neither the subsequent commissions/ .committees, one after another, could come out of the syndrome of early nineteenth century model somewhat imposed to train ‘interpreters’ and not to have educated and learned wholesome balanced human personalities with both secular and spiritual faculties simultaneously nurtured as had been the tradition of the Muslims, in particular, since the seventh century days of the Medinite model, but for which the Muslims for centuries shied away from the Macaulay model. Not only that, Muslims aspired for their own model to continue that ended up in the Deobond model, Aligargh model, Rahimia model (now replaced by the post 1947 government of India into a secular one now called Jamia Millia), but still others kept on the Madarassa (two modes) for religious learning of the upcoming progeny all on the cost and management of the communities and guardians concerned. In Bangladesh, as well, these two systems not only survive but also thriving having no scope to brush them off to relapse into oblivion.
Launching a lone syllabus may be a possibility but not making the curricula so called secular but by integration of both secular and spiritual dimensions of learning together, albeit, not excluding any religion but including not only all formal Great Lone God believing religions but also having religious belief in the truth of human equality.

– Prof.M.T. Hussain

No Religion in Politics?

1. University Professor

In an interview on the 24th January with an oversea media a Dhaka University Professor has not only stood by the stance of the Awami League for total exclusion of religion in politics but also suggested that the two third majority in the parliament has given the party an opportunity to go back to secularism as had been provided in the 1972 Constitution. There was nothing wrong in the stance of the party in matters of their party issue and likely program the party may follow and to bring back the issue of secularism in the Constitution. But what appeared to me amazing and amusing that the Professor summarily commented that the result of the 29 December 2008 general election of Bangladesh proved that the people of Bangladesh ‘rejected religion in politics’. Is that so? Did the election result of the immediate past one of 2001 A.D. meant victory for the religion based politics and defeat of the religious free politics? Or if the result is reversed in 2013 next possible election, what then the Professor would make of that?

2. Charles Tannock

When I started to make a response to the comment of the Professor, an old man of my age in 70s, I came across another item with similar suggestion of Charles Tannock, an European member of one of the election observers team, very clearly trying to impress upon the charismatic leader of the present government that she must go for the 1972 Constitution of Bangladesh and so all for secularism along with the giant neighbor, India. I enjoyed reading through Charles Tannock’s dispatch of 13 January but took that with a pinch of salt not for its content but for presumption of many fallacies taken for truth there in the item.

3. Charisma

Let me first take the question of ‘charisma’. There is another charismatic lady Begum Khaleda Zia who leads the other alliance. When one would highlight the charisma of one and not of the other it might look unsound in judgment, despite the truth about both is that they rose to the top position as much more for hereditary legacy than their personal capabilities in addition to borrowed or imputed hereditary charisma of both, one’s father and others husband, the two killed while had been in state power in army coup in a matter of five years, the Sheikh in August 1975 and General Zia in May 1981. Although Khaleda’s BNP led alliance was defeated in 2009 in terms of the parliamentary seats yielding ‘landslides’ to the Awami League, the popular votes that turned up for the Awami League (if the results were credible that in fact was not ) was 47%. Or in other words, 53% of the voters representing the people did not vote for or supported the League in the election, even though the floods of ‘unrealistic’ ( Finance Minister Muhith’s word) promises had been made to the millions of half–fed and ill clothed voters and so also they voted for. What would have been the shape and size of the parliament members had there been proportional representation like many other European countries, and not the British mode?

4. Landslides

If we take the issue of the ‘landslides’, it is nothing new, much less unprecedented. The people of this land mass area had had left proofs and many records of landslides as were in 1946, 1954, 1970, 1973 and, albeit, in 2001 parliament elections. More puzzling was that each time the ‘landslides’ ended in fiascos so far as the peoples’ real hopes and aspirations were concerned. The first and the crucial one was expectation for better lot of the overwhelming majority poverty ridden people.

5. Crushing Poverty and Landslides

Fortunately, Charles Tannock had identified the issue of crushing poverty, and so also has the present government. Each time the teeming millions wished for the first of the basic needs, food or rice, for instance, at cheaper and affordable price for the poor men and women living in extreme poverty, NOON BHAT (boiled rice and salt) or at best DALBHAT (boiled rice and soup of pulses) as is well known in Bengali term for the majority of the voters living almost near destitution for centuries and not merely decades as historical and colonial legacies. I recall very clearly the pre-1970 election promise made by the same party’s charismatic leader, Sheikh Mujib, to provide those people and voters their staple food cereal rice at Taka ten per Maund or somewhat at 0.25 Taka per Kg. What followed the lofty promise was not palatable for almost all people in almost everything, the price of essential cereal rice rocketed to Taka ten per Kg and famine deaths of the same vulnerable group in thousands, if not lakhs, just before the tragic but welcome fall of the iconic charismatic figure in mid 1975.

6. Rhetoric for the Poor Voters

The people once again listened patiently the rhetoric against poverty and promised rice at Taka ten per Kg.in 2008 election propaganda, against what had been then at taka 35 or so for coarse rice in open market. The promise though was blasted by sensible people, but the overwhelming majority poor and their home managers, the poor ladies who this time surpassed the male figure of voters, came out to vote for the boat symbol of the Awami League as the charismatic lady promised them to have rice at ‘Taka Ten per Kg’. The poor subsistence farmers, as well, flocked to vote for the symbol in the hope that they would this time get fertilizers as inputs to agriculture production ‘free of any cost’! (Weekly Holiday, Dhaka, 16 January 09). What I wish to drive at that the landslides this time and in the past were all driven mainly by the promises and following hopes and expectations for a little better life and living or NOON BHAT/ DALBHAT for the teeming million poverty stricken voters.

7. Redressing Poverty and the ‘Giant Neighbor’

While Charles Tannock has rightly reminded the government of the second generation Sheikh the dangers of the poverty that lie ahead and need for its quick redress taking help from the giant neighbor India, it is not understood how he suggested that the Saudi ‘Wahhabi Dollar’ has to be shunned! He should know well that in Saudi Arabia alone nearly 2 million Bangladeshis work for living as they have no job opportunities at home. Should they all come back home or seek for jobs elsewhere in the shrinking labor market? He was so kind to suggest that Bangladesh must have every possible transactions with the giant neighbor India, but should not some one remind him and anyone like him putting up the benign suggestion for all out openness to India if in such venture Bangladesh economy would only be a supplementary and complementary one to India so much so that may ultimately be absorbed into the giant’s stomach? Others think very rightly that to save Bangladesh’s economy, it has to remain firm in competition with India in all possible running and potential sectors.

8. Potentials in Disarray

Bangladesh has no doubt potentialities for economic development and reduction of massive poverty with its huge population and their nascent potentialities. But how much Bangladesh’s manpower is equipped with higher rate of productivities is an open question in the backdrop of poor or ill-equipped infrastructure and quality of education and training. Despite the second largest public investment for education each ear recurring after the defense spending, the quality of learning in primary to the highest level with little exception is appalling. To my estimation being a life long teacher now over five decades, productivity per labor is among the lowest in the world, not only for training inadequacy but also for system inefficiency. The staggering unemployment of nearly 4 million working age population is another big hurdle to push the economy up. That is why rightly the government has promised to provide employment to at least one person in a family is not only appreciable though unrealistic but the promise given drew many votes for the boat symbol. One may guess easily what would be the fall out of these promises being unmet in months ahead.

9. Secularism Misused by the Awami League

Awami League since the formation six decades ago, time and again, continued to band wagon that the party stood for democracy, justice and particularly for ‘secularism’ or no to religion in politics. But the stance was more in rhetoric and theory than hardly in action program. Instead, the party notoriously used religion, particularly, the religion of Islam mainly to hoodwink the people during election campaign. Let us not regress on all of many previous misuse of Islam by them, but instead let, for instance, what they did in the 2008 election. The declaration they made in the party manifesto ‘not to enact law repugnant to Islam’ if elected to power of Bangladesh was clearly itself a religiously popular slogan to win votes of the religious minded Muslims, 90% of the total population and also of the voters. I recall clearly in late 1960s of Sheikh Mujib while propagating his six point formulae or manifesto before the 1970 election in his verbatim, ‘AMORA BAGHDAD O DAMESHKER ISLAM CHI NA, AMORA MEDINAR ISLAM CHAI’ that may be in English translation, ‘WE DONT WANT ISLAM OF BAGHDAD OR DAMASK BUT OF MEDINA’. What did the rhetoric mean? Nothing but Islam, he wished to have of the early Muslim Caliphate in the then united country.

10. Secularism had no Consensus

Despite the rhetoric of separating their party politics from religion and having had, no scientifically decided consensus about the general will of the people in the matter except that they incorporated ‘secularism’ as one of the basic state principles in the Constitution of 1972. The people had had, however, odd experience from the party apparatus running the country, party men, and government institutions in matters of religious issues. Scrapping off of the Muslim symbols, insignia, traditional icons, etc. had been the painful targets for their secularism amazingly in exclusion of all other religions and their icons. That was one of the main reasons that the 1975 August and November revolutionary changes had been rather obvious and the Constitution amended to fit in religious aspirations of the overwhelming majority people. The 1975 surgical changes were not made by any known Islamic parties or forces but by the freedom fighters of 1971 war of Bangladesh. Through accident of history Khaleda Zia holds the mantle of 1975 historic change from sham secularism and autocratic lone party BAKSAL to open multi-party plural democracy.

11. The 1975 Putsch by the Freedom Fighters of 1971

Well, the 1975 revolutionary changes were not liked by some. They have thus their due right to raise voice to bring in changes as they wished. They have to do so not only in open rhetoric but through the constitutional process. As the Awami League government this time has the brute majority of the kind they had in early 1970s, they may, albeit, go for abandoning religion off from the Constitution and from Bangladesh politics.

12. No modern country is one hundred percent secular

Freeing the constitution from Islam, however, would not right then free politics from religion. If we look at the western advanced countries, the people are overwhelmingly religious, if not for anything else but for private and personal craving in life for peace, solace and happiness. The very few atheists there as well follow Christian ethics and morality that developed over millenniums. Similarly Muslims have their own norms of ethics and morality developed over the period of one and a half millennium. Muslim society, in fact, developed as an integral unit of all aspects of human issues and interactions in society. The Muslims did not abandon their mode and norms of behavior even though they had been under foreign domination and in chains. Muslims since the very inception in the early seventh century took everything of life and living as essential parts of composite whole. Bangladeshi people, and the Muslims, in particular, despite being under alien rule did stick assiduously to the basics of Islam in personal, family and social lives. The independence movement provided them with additional impetus to go further for Islam in political life, as well. Such urge did not mean except at some negligible odd situation that the overwhelming majority people resorted to religious communalism. I saw my father of our rural locality in north Bengal protecting the neighbor Hindus from annihilation by some isolated few enraged Muslim youths in the wake of 1947 partition and immediately after. Such is the example of tolerance Muslims were taught for and followed except in exceptional situation that any human being of whatever religion could be prone to.

13. Misunderstood Secularism

Secularism as we knew from the West is misunderstood. In strict sense no Western democratic country is one hundred percent secular in politics. The feature of secularism varies from one country to another even in Europe. Britain’s monarch is both temporal and spiritual head of the country, but no written constitution. The country is run by conventions and usages firmly originated in Christian beliefs, ethics, morality and values. The first drafters of the US Constitution did avoid religion right then in 1770s but soon incorporated the issue of religious freedom in the First Amendment. How much the Europeans are secular in politics is well seen in the founding and persistent support for the Jewish State of Israel for six decades now that is manifestly religious in outlook not only at personal level but at state level policy, as well. The recent lamented erosion of family values in the West that led to many social evils owe a lot to secularism is an open fact and for spiritual vacuum in human mind and so mental peace and happiness in wanting in the vicious syndrome of rat race for mundane material gains in human life.

14. The Ugly Face of Indian Secularism

So far as secularism policy in politics of India and Bangladesh are concerned, India did have the word ‘secular’ not mentioned in the body of articles of the Constitution but at the preamble that is not enforceable by court but kept there mentioned as a pious wish of some of the framers back in 1950. The Indian pious wish, the world saw, had a very rough ride against not only the religious minorities but also even against the so called lower caste Dalits, Harijans, etc. bearing on the unbearable load of historical legacy and every misfortunes of human being all due to one’s birth that he or she had nothing to do. May be, that is why to bring justice in Indian society, the former President of India and the renowned nuclear scientist APJ Abdul Kalam in his recent book, IGNITED MINDS, fervently urged the present generation to look for ‘spiritualism’ as the basis of Indian secularism to be of worth (Page 114).

15. The Awami BAKSAL Misused Secularism for De-Muslimization

The experience in Bangladesh for the period 1972 to mid 1975 in regard to secularism had not been anything palatable. The first government of independent Bangladesh, whether willingly or unwillingly, attempted to make a sort of de-Islamisation if not a crusade against the beliefs and practices of overwhelmingly majority Muslim people. Their idea of secularism in reality made a mockery of ethics, morality and humane value system that made a flood of notoriously corrupt elements, grossly inefficient yet egoistic and sinfully careless to dignity and sovereignty of the country. It was the few patriotic and fearless ones who rose in time to avert the total wrought That is how the path to the 5th Amendment ushered hope through the constitutional process not only made a positive response to the religious aspirations of the people but also restored pluralism and multi-party open democracy for giving all people to be worthy of and inspired citizens of the country based on their own faiths.

16. Islam was not defeated in the 29 December polls in Bangladesh

There is as such no good reason to go back to the 1972 Constitution to make it once again secular one that would not be befitting with the aspirations of the people. Such attempt may only turn counter-productive not only for the country but also for the party now in power, as well. Whoever would presume that the Islam has been defeated for good through the 29 December election victory of the Awami League alliance, it is certain to turn into an error of judgment sooner than latter. The election result of the 22 January (09) Upazilla local bodies that had unusually ‘low turn out’ frankly admitted by the Chief Election Commissioner Mr. Huda and polled in places as low as only 38% as against stated for the national election poll at nearly 100% should be an eye opener to the stark fact and promise believed in to be as the prime motivation that the poor millions would get rice at Taka 10/ a Kg. was completely absent in the local polls.

– Prof. M.T. Hussain

From Marriott to Mumbai

The Nov 26 carnage at Mumbai was the most dramatic of a series of terrorist incidents in India in 2008. Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Guwahati, Jaipur and Malegaon had their share of bomb blasts that resulted in hundreds of fatalities.

In Pakistan the Sept 20 bombing of the Islamabad Marriott, barely a few hours after President Asif Ali Zardari delivered his first address to the joint session of Parliament, shocked the nation. Two weeks earlier, the day the president was elected, a suicide bomber killed more than 30 people in Peshawar. Sixty-eight terrorist attacks are said to have occurred in 2008, averaging more than one every week. The bloodletting continues with unabated ferocity.

Though Pakistan and India face a common enemy, they are yet to realise that a cooperative mechanism is urgently needed to deal with terrorist violence. Both spend copiously on maintaining large standing armies and the acquisition of advanced weaponry. But the gravest threat they both encounter is from an enemy that is not susceptible to military prowess. They have still not learnt the lesson of 9/11.

President Barack Obama has recognised the need for a settlement of the Kashmir issue so that the focus in Pakistan on combating terrorism is not diluted. British foreign secretary David Miliband has also acknowledged the importance of resolving the Kashmir dispute. A graphic illustration of this dilution of focus was the redeployment of troops from FATA where the army is battling terrorist outfits to the country’s eastern frontiers because of Indian sabre-rattling after the Mumbai massacre.

Though Pakistan and India pride themselves on possessing nuclear weapons, huge segments of their populations face chronic economic deprivation. While India may well have the world’s largest middle class, it is also home to the biggest concentration of poverty and is ranked below Sudan and Somalia on the international hunger index.

The plight of Pakistan, which faces stagflation, is no better. Poverty-induced suicides recur with alarming frequency while the empty promise of roti, kapra, makan has become a hackneyed political slogan reverberating through the streets and slums of hunger-generated despair,

The symbiotic relationship between violence and poverty is obvious. While moralists may preach that man does not live by bread alone, hunger drives him towards desperate acts of violence. It is from the soul-wrenching expanse of poverty that the foot soldiers of terrorist outfits are recruited, indoctrinated and trained to kill or be killed in the name of religion. There can scarcely be a greater blasphemy.

The nexus between poverty and extremist violence also seems to have been acknowledged by the United States. As the curtain rose on the Obama presidency, the Biden-Lugar proposal for a multi-billion dollar civilian, rather than military, assistance package to Pakistan to arrest the economic nosedive into chaos needs to be quickly approved. It is much more than a mere “democracy dividend” because economic and political stability are mutually reinforcing and indispensable for combating terrorism.

Unfortunately, some Indian intellectuals, albeit a miniscule minority, think differently. For instance, R Vaidyanathan, professor of finance and control, at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, expressed the absurd view in an article that “a stable Pakistan is not in the interest of world peace, leave alone India.” He proposed measures aimed at the economic strangulation and isolation of Pakistan. Shorn of sophistry, this amounts to economy terrorism.

Both Pakistan and India have more than their share of bigoted ideologues. In a recent article, Arundhati Roy quotes Hafiz Saeed of the Lashkar-e-Taiba ranting: “There cannot be any peace till India remains intact. Cut them, cut them so much that they kneel before you and ask for mercy.” She then compares this outburst to Babu Bajrangi’s infamous boast about the 2002 Gujarat massacre: “We didn’t spare a single Muslim shop, we set everything on fire…we hacked, burned, set on fire…we believe in setting them on fire…” After the UN sanctions of Dec 21 against the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, allegedly a smokescreen for the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hafiz Saeed was put under house arrest but Babu Bajrangi is out on bail and lives in comfort in the Indian state of Gujarat.

The visionary leadership needed to tone down inflamed public reaction triggered by reprehensible incidents such as the Mumbai attack is sadly lacking in both India and Pakistan. Instead of moulding popular opinion in support of sane policies, weak governments are led by public outrage towards irrational decisions, Far from dousing the flames of the post-Mumbai tragedy, war was not ruled out as an option by New Delhi and this was reiterated by the by the Indian army chief, General Deepak Kapoor, prompting a response by his Pakistani counterpart.

Earlier, despite denials, Indian troops were mobilised, Pakistan’s airspace was deliberately violated and the untenable demand was made that Pakistanis wanted by New Delhi be handed over for trial in India although no bilateral extradition agreement exists between the two countries and neither is it a requirement under the SAARC anti-terrorism convention. .

The intoxication of populist rhetoric can cause immeasurable harm. In the perilous South Asian security environment war is no longer an option. The only reasonable course for Pakistan and India is to jointly combat terrorism, of which they are both victims.

Author: S Iftikhar Murshedi (a former ambassador of Pakistan)
Source: http://thenews.jang.com.pk/print1.asp?id=158723

Auspicious 25th January but not without fear

That the 9th parliament convened to meet in its maiden session on the 25th January is undoubtedly an auspicious occasion for Bangladesh. The session has to transact many usual businesses in addition to the unusual and unconstitutional ones of the transition from the ‘Caretaker Government’ to the elected one.

People of Bangladesh though love democratic polity to continue unhindered in the country, sad experience and trauma of painful interruptions had been odd experience in the past and time and again. People would expect that the traumatic past experience of misfortune in the path of democracy would not fall on the nation any more.

The fear generates not without reason. The brute majority established, no matter for whatever reason, in the 9th parliament could be the first evil omen.

Brute majority is nothing new in Bangladesh. We had quite a few that clearly showed that our people represented by voters swung from one extreme end of the pendulum to the other extreme. Why, that’s a different matter for possibly the sociologists and psychologists to venture into in some depth. My hunch as a life long educator for over five decades and an interested onlooker in such socio-psychological matter is that ignorance, poverty, unemployment and immature democratic cultural outlook might have some bearing in such landslides giving in to brute majority.

If we take the sad experience of the brute majority secured in 1973 by the then ruling party in the first general election after independence, incidentally that the same party has secured brute majority in 2009, had had killed pluralism and multi-party democracy in less than two years time in the state power.

On the 25th January 1975, or in about twenty two months after the 1973 ‘landslide’ victory, the ruling party and the leader, in particular, turned himself almost abruptly from the facade of democratically elected leader into an absolute dictator

On the 25th January 1975 the charismatic leader of the time in a duly convened session of the parliament that followed the Constitution of 1972, first of its kind in independent Bangladesh, took the floor of the house all by himself. He continued his speech for only thirteen minutes wherein he announced some measures for the future politics of the country that took almost all members of the parliament of the brute majority by utter surprise. The other surprise was that none other than the leader was permitted to speak anything on the floor.

The leader of the House took not only everybody in surprise but more than that he also drove the last nail into the coffin remnant of democracy and pluralism. Well known for the earlier decades as the ‘champion’ of democracy, people rediscovered him afresh as the brutal killer of democracy by his declaring edict from the floor of the house in those few minutes speech banning of all lawful political parties and remaking his one from the Awami League to the BAKSAL or Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League. The edict further went on for him leaving the position of Prime Minister and then assumed instead the absolute position of the President of the party and of the country for life. The brute majority provided him the tool for being such a brutal killer of pluralism and democracy. None of the brute majority party raised any voice of dissent in the floor that was their sacred duty to do. Whether any one had the courage of conviction for democratic norms remained a matter of mystery of our past history. The two exceptions did not belong to the brute majority party who dared to stay out of the house and resigned but not without risk of being intimidated and hoodwinked.

Fortunately for the people, the draconian BAKSAL did not survive long. Some heroic sons of the soil in about seven months’ life of the absolute dictatorship took up arms and removed the killer of democracy and the absolute dictator that the people obviously rejoiced. That is how multi-party democracy had been restored for the people to enjoy all fruits of pluralism and dignity among civilized nations.

Although the people would wish to see pluralism and multi-party democracy to sustain in Bangladesh, many can not be out of fear that the brute majority would not once again do us the serious harm as before in days to come.

— Prof. M.T. Hussain

Ration Cards: Luxury Cars Import

On the 20th January, the Government of Bangladesh has taken two self-contradictory decisions. The decisions are, one, re-introduce ration cards for extremely poor people and two, import of costly luxury cars for three dozen ministers that may increase further.
It is appreciable that the government rightly took their first of few decisions for reduction of pains of poverty in the country, and so the ration card.
Bangladesh stands for decades not only as one of the poorest country in terms per capita income but also for the fact that the number of extremely poor people have been continuously increasing each day for the last few decades with the rising of total population from 75 million in 1972 to 150 million in 2008. Doubling the figure in about four decades has been the harsh reality despite the fact that there has been huge expenditure to control population growth. The other unfortunate reality is that gaps between the rich and the poor have been having rising trends from one year to the next. Thus hungry mouths having not enough to eat to keep healthy and lively, much less two square meals a day, in Bangladesh have risen by now to about the figure of nearly 75 million. Whether the government plans to provide proposed ration cads to all these 75 million or near about figure or not is not yet known.
Against the welcome step for re-introduction of ration cards one can not but be amazed to know if the import of luxury cars for ministers’ use would not be contradictory in essence and shape.
It is a fact of life here that Dhaka city is already extremely congested and overcrowded with fuel run private and government vehicles. We see the jams everyday at increasing rate. And also one must see Tokais or stray boys and girls of primary school age instead of going to schools, begging for alms at each traffic jams and in traffic light stops. Some of them and their parents as well voted for the M.P.s and ministers for they had been assured of rice at Taka ten per Kg., if voted to power. Now that they have become ministers and requisitioned for riding in luxury cars escorted by police, the Tokais would not dare to come near them to beg alms, much less to ask for rice at Taka ten a Kg.
Traffic jams in Dhaka must suggest that there is no scope for new cars to ply in the city streets. Instead, others would rightly think that public transport should be increased. Ministers, need not take public transport for security reasons, but could avail microbus from the Bailey Road/Mintoo Road areas that, each at least, could give transport to half a dozen ministers in one go. That would certainly reduce not only fuel bill but also ease parking problem, as well.
Though position and power is a trust of the people reposed on the elected members for use with conscience, ethics, morality and utmost care, temptations to misuse that trust is nothing uncommon for those who take this life and only mundane life everything for ‘Eat, Drink and be Merry’. That would have been nothing wrong in eating drinking and merry making provided all others around and the voters, in particular, would have the same scopes or accesses to provisions of lives and would not line up for ration cards, VGF cards, begging, prostitution, etc. due to unbearable and unending crushing poverty as are the common scenes in Bangladesh, and more so in the capital city of Dhaka, just as one foreigner in his first visit here termed it, ‘ETO GARHI ETO VIKHARI’. And unless and until, all around are somewhat better off as dignified ones, let the conscience of the ministers, do little bit not to seek for luxurious cars imported by spending foreign currency reserve the past government managed to keep not for such enjoyment but should well be used for reduction of sufferings of the half of the population of the country, if need be, through further subsidy in essential common goods and provisions of life.
We did not forget in the matter of years that the same party government in mid 2001 left the coffer almost dry and to the lowest at about 1000 million dollars through spent spree that are yet to be rightly accounted for but may be guessed from the figure of corruption of Tk.17, 000 Crore or Taka 170,000 million alone in 2001, according to the TI estimation. How much of the amount was pocketed and by whom have not been known to the common people. But the then Prime Minister’s bashing of the TI boss for 27 minutes uninterrupted in the parliament floor, if that had not been scrapped off, may well prove some culpability and onus of those then in power in running Bangladesh.
Even if one would not care for the past flaws of the leaders and would take those matters in a spirit of ‘forget and forgive’, there is scope for the extremely poverty-stricken voters of the country to first ask of doing for them the minimum good and then, later on, may go for luxury of riding in imported foreign costly cars.

–Dr. M.T. Hussain

Task Force for Containing Terrorists in South Asia or another Rakkhi Bahini?

The Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reiterated her intension with a print media for initiating a Task Force to contain ‘terrorism’ and combat terrorist in South Asia. She has been saying so for some time that tells us that she is serious about it.
Terrorism is undoubtedly a menace for democracy and freedom. There can be no difference of opinion about the intention. But one has to, first of all, be very careful and alert in labeling terrorism and the terrorists.
Terror means any action of extreme fear, and terrorist means one who creates extreme fear to get something done in his favor against lawful individuals or parties. Terrorism is the method, mode or technique for creating fear or for terrorizing the targeted victim.
Human society is not immune from fear of one kind or the other. However, for enduring peace in any society, in democratic society in particular, strict enforcement of rule of law can ensure peace and automatic containment of anything of fear so far as human relations and interactions are concerned. There are criminal codes for due process of law in such matters. If the codes are honestly followed with neutrality, they could well contain terrorism and combat terrorists quite satisfactorily. In case rule of law breaks down for one reason or another, terrorism and their perpetrators may surface with their ugly cruel faces.
The other important issue that prompts terrorism and rise of terrorists is the absence of social justice and conspicuous inequality among cross sections of people of the same society. If one or specifically the state apparatus would be callous about providing social justice equitably and in such cases some frustrated youths might tend to go for terror tactics for bare survival that though can not be condoned but need be seen with some sympathy or lenient view. The rent seeking business, say for example, we know of prevailing in Bangladesh from which even many stalwarts are scarcely immune, is no doubt one manifestation of terror tactics, yet condoned in many cases. Even well known ‘killers’ had been condoned in our recent political culture by topmost political leaders!
On top of all these, we know of some freedom fighters in many locations who have taken arms to free their own motherland having total conviction for the great cause of freedom but are being termed as ‘terrorists’ by those who would not agree with the intent and issue of freedom of such freedom fighters. Bangladesh had the same experience in 1971, the case of the Kashmiri freedom fighters are not different. In many advanced democratic countries as well like Britain, Spain, etc. to name a few we knew of freedom fighters like IRA, BASK, ETA etc. They are termed ‘terrorists’ by the establishment, but the fighters knew themselves well as ‘freedom fighters’.
On the Kashmir issue, the British Foreign Secretary Miliband, during his very recent visit in the region clearly stated that the issue of ‘terrorism’ in Kashmir should not be seen as a matter only of terrorism; the matter has to be seen differently and need be addressed towards political solution (Al-Jazeera TV quoted on the 15th January from The Guardian, London, Thursday, 15th January, 09). By the frank statement he made ( the foreign office stated as ‘open and honest’ on the 18th as PTI reported and NDTV24+7 immediately broadcasted) though was taken as unpalatable by Delhi (The New Age, Dhaka, 18 January, 09), the real truth lied in the fact that the British conscience ( as also in 1997 then Foreign Secretary Robin Cook as well wished to mediate the issue between India and Pakistan) can not escape the guilt of their making of the Kashmir issue pending between India and Pakistan for six decades now since the British left their regional empire here having had granting independence to India and Pakistan in mid August 1947. It was only due to Indian first Prime Minister Pandit Nehru’s unreasonable and intransigence till his death in 1964 that kept the issue pending at the UN for such an unusual long period, for its natural death. But unfortunately for the Indian Delhi rulers the Kashmir issue for freedom did not die but remained ever burning in the minds and psyche of the people that in some instances turned to terrorism, as well. It is thus only a matter of common sense that once the Kashmiri people are given their overdue freedom from Indian shackle, all forms of terrorism in the area would end right then. Milliband has realized the matter in its real perspective, apart from their need for freeing them as a nation from the guilty conscience he has talked openly for political solution of the Kashmir issue and not to see the problem around only as an issue of terrorists acts.
If we now come back to the Bangladesh’s P.M.’s proposal to form ‘Terrorist Task Force for South Asia’ and if India is included in the proposed subject forum, what position India would take in the matter of definition of the term ‘terrorists’, specifically in regard to the Kashmiri youths fighting for freedom of their birth place? If India is excluded in the proposed forum, could that be of anything worth? Or else, could Bangladesh toe the Indian line in Toto?
India has her own view of terrorism. According to Arundhati Roy (her speech made on the 20th August 2008 in Delhi and reported widely, her article on the issue published in The (London) Guardian etc.), the noted Indian writer and grade one intellectual have already openly asked Delhi to grant freedom to the people of Kashmir for they have the right to self determination that the UN long ago stated in clear terms. Thus some of them resorting to extremism at times due to extreme frustration generated over the decades and among the second generation should hardly be seen only as ‘terrorists’ acts. Would Bangladesh fully agree in the proposed forum or in the task force formation with India in the matter of Kashmir? Be that so, would that be not moral defeat of Bangladesh? What I mean to say is that before venturing to form the task force, Bangladesh has to be very clear and precise about the definition of the term ‘terrorist’ and ‘terrorism’. Arundhati Roy has already clearly condemned the Indian government for banning the Muslim students organization, SIMI, labeling them as ‘terrorists’, but they have spared as yet the extremist Hindu terrorists, like Bajrang Dal, R.S.S. etc. How would Dhaka tune in such tricky cases with Delhi?
It is not only a problem that Bangladesh may have any unanimous agreement with India in regard to fully agreed definitions of the terms ‘terrorists’ and ‘terrorism’ but also quite likely with the West or USA, in particular. Their targets are the Muslim countries as have been Iraq, Afghanistan, likely Iran, and so on. Thus if the proposal originated in the USA that many may suspect as she made it public soon after she returned from there after a long stay of about five months there and having had many sessions with many high ups there, there is reason to take the matter with a pinch of salt.
Peace loving citizens and patriots might ask one another if the proposed task force would be another version of the most notorious Para-military force RAKHI BAHINI raised under the Indian General Uban (See, M.B.I.Munshi, India Doctrine (Second Edition, 2008) and being continuously increasing in strength parallel to the national army, in fact sidelined, and the Rakkhis equipped with Indian arms soon after Bangladesh’s independence in 1971 that made a hell of torture and extra-judicial killings. The Para-military force had not only been extra-constitutional but had dress color exactly the same of the Indian BSF (Border Security Force) indistinguishable from one another that in this soil the danger for national security was raised by the dare devil Maolana Bhashani alone in early 1972. The Rakhis had special indoctrination and motivation only to ‘Save the King’ that they went on doing by killing 11,000 of the JSD activists alone in addition to other patriotic political opposition activists of smaller underground parties and left factions of over 30,000 during 1972 to mid 1975. The killing in special police custody of the brilliant Engineer Seraj Sikder of the PURBO BANGLA SABAHARA PARTY did not end only in his extra-judicial killing, but unfortunately and shamelessly the people had to hear the then top leader roaring in the floor of the parliament boasting to intimidate all opposition elements of similar fate in his verbatim, ‘KOTHAE AZ SERAJ SIKDER’ or in English, ‘Where is Seraj Sikder today’! ‘Big Brotherly’ partnership involvement of India through her central intelligence R&AW operatives under which full protection the Bangladesh’s present Prime Minister had been groomed for about six years (1975 to 1981) in Delhi can not be of no concern about the proposed Task Force for South Asia for the patriotic and peace loving people of Bangladesh.

– Dr.M.T. Hussain

Dr. Arefin Siddque Please

Siddique is an Arabic term that in English version is truthful. Muslim parents have a fond of this name, even if it may not be family name originating in Muslim first Caliph Abu Baker Siddique. It does not necessarily mean though that one having the name given by parents would rightly stick to the prime quality of truthfulness, particularly, of late when the Muslims, no matter for whatever reasons or lame excuses, have fallen into the lowest of moral erosion.

The newly appointed V.C. of Dhaka University Dr. Siddique, to me, has began his new assignment, not with truthfulness but at least, in an issue with utter falsehood as the report I read through as verbatim of Dr. Siddique in a Dhaka English daily of the 17th January (09). The issue is a figure of the THREE MILLION of 1971.

The figure though oft quoted by some ill-informed or gullible lot, it is far away from the truth meant only for specific political propaganda.

To my knowledge, documents like New York based Small and Singer (1982), Harvard based Sisson and Rose (1990), London based A.M. Chowdhury (1996), humble myself (1996), etc. have ample authentic proofs and evidences that have conclusively established that the ‘Three million’ figure is utterly false. Lately, in 2005, Sharmila Bose, as well, through her well researched work further reinforced the falsehood of the figure. All such evidences were not advanced to condone any killing of any innocent person but then again who killed who remained another matter in imbroglio and also whose figure exceeded whom in terms of ethnic or language divide in the then East Pakistan or Bangladesh. Sisson and Rose, in particular, put up the figure of about 55,000 of Bengalis killed as against more than 100,00 of the non-Bengalis killed in infighting between divides, all being lawful residents of the then East Pakistan.

It is true that in war truth remains the first casualty. But should that stay so after about four decades? Should not one ask if Dr Siddique being the V.C of the premier institution of higher education as the Dhaka University is, no matter whether of the one time Oxford of the East or of the Mecca University, must resort to falsehood of the kind in his maiden discourse in public. I may, however, wish to expect that he had been mistakenly reported about the figure as his verbatim by less careful reporter in the print media.

— Prof. M.T. Hussain ( Retd)

Gossip of ‘Mummies’ and the Vicious Memories of BAKSAL of the 25th January

That immediately after the left out old guards of the Awami League off the January 6 Ministry formation by the party Chief Sheikh Hasina, they have, as reported in a Dhaka weekly, let their wish known that their bodies would better be mummified and sent for preservation that way and for public exhibition at the Egypt Museum, there are other gossips, as well, in the air in regard to the scenario to surface, may be sooner than latter.
In terms of geographical area Bangladesh is one of the smallest country, population strength wise is not a small unit but a big one of 150 million people having eighth position in the world, riddled with problems of over-population thickly congested in the small area, one obvious issue being that the people are closely known. Gossips and rumors thus spread, at times, like wildfire.

The gossip in regard to ‘Mummies’ has gained momentum in air for quite a few main reasons. One is that the cabinet formed was not only of almost all new faces but also of the members’ one hundred guaranteed allegiance as has already been manifested through clear proofs of sycophancy to the absolutely powerful boss who by her mode of behavior of primary head teacher effectively using cane rather than any slight dissent. The other fact is that the inaugural session of the Parliament has been called to meet on the 25th January, 2009, the most notorious day for Bangladesh’s democratic history, not one day earlier or one day latter. In addition, one may keep in mind the brute majority of the 2009 parliament that is exactly similar to the January 25 session scenario of 1975 that older generation should recall back well of the brute majority in the then parliament following the shamelessly and notoriously rigged election of 1973.

Democracy loving people of Bangladesh are very allergic to the very date in January. This is simply because, on the same day, 34 years ago, the then leader well known previously as the great ‘lover of democracy’ engineered a constitutional civilian coup that scrapped off the otherwise democratic constitution of 1972 and established lone party dictatorial state, the top boss himself turning into a civilian dictator for life through abolishing the multi-party system as had been initially provided therein in the 1972 Constitution. The civilian coup thus engineered followed no formal debate in the floor of the House, much less any bill placed and passed but by a sort of unique dictate of the leader taking only 13 minutes to finish up everything of plural democracy. The only courageous exceptions had been only two members who walked out of the floor of the parliament and then resigned. The rest of the 325 members have not only nodded calmly to the civilian coup but also joined in line to pick up perks and privileges.

Unfortunately, however, the dictator though stayed in power for life, he met tragic fall not long after but within about eight months in mid August 1975. Fortunately the tragic fall of the top boss ushered new hope through abolition of the most oppressive BAKSAL and re-institution of the multi-party democracy in Bangladesh.

Having thus experienced the trend of happenings in the past two weeks as they have surfaced up until now, one may quite reasonably suspect evil omen in the country. Let God help us preserve our multi-party and plural democracy.

– Dr. M.T.Hussain

Restoring the 1972 Constitution of Bangladesh

Bangladesh had its first written Constitution in late 1972. Since then it had 14 other amendments. Of them four were brought in before mid 1975. The rest followed until the 14th made in early 1996. Of all these, the 5th Amendment enacted in April 1979 is a critical, crucial and possibly historic one for the fact that this amendment changed and replaced the basic principles of the 1972 Constitution and so also the basic assumptions of the State of Bangladesh.

The 1972 Constitution was framed no doubt by the peoples representatives but having a lacuna that the representatives who framed it had doubtful authority to do the job as they had been elected under the LFO (Legal Framework Order) of Pakistan to frame the 3rd Constitution of Pakistan and not for independent Bangladesh. Other issues of concern were the four principles -Bengali Nationalism, Democracy, Socialism and Secularism that the framers had presumed to be rightly adopted as bases having though no clear cut mandate of the people in these fundamental subjects. On top of all these matters, the Constitution was being flouted in almost every issue by the party government that made a real mockery of adherence to the constitutional principles. The crudest of the mockeries was the Fourth Amendment made in January 1975 through replacement of the multi-party democracy to one party dictatorship, again having no mandate sought much less obtained from the sovereign people.

Playing down with the sovereign rights of the people that the government inflicted huge sufferings of the common people in life and living, they were toppled in a successful army coup in mid August 1975. As further follow up of counter-coups, and the army-people revolution on the 7th November, things settled down as the lone party mode of the 4th amendment was rescinded and multi-party system restored. The country once again restored to the path of multi-party democratic system. The election of the Parliament followed and democratic national assembly re-instituted.

The pre-1975 lacunas and many hotchpotches were duly addressed and settled in the Parliament in the due process of the parliamentary procedures. The Fifth Amendment was one of the outcomes.

The Fifth Amendment rightly sought to put logical and reasonable end to conflicts and contradictions that made the 1972 Constitution weak and vulnerable in regard to the basic principles and assumptions so far as it viewed in terms of common aspirations of the people.

Bengali Nationalism though had been a highly sentimental and so powerful slogan to fight against the non-Bengali men, administration and the law enforcing agencies, army in particular, it turned meaningless in post 1971 independent Bangladesh, because, they were nowhere and nothing as foes as they had been before. The sentiment lost it weight also for the fact that many Bengali speaking people stayed outside Bangladesh territory having allegiance to other nationalities. In addition, not all people of Bangladesh happened to be pure Bengali but belonged to many other ethnic, racial and linguistic origin and legacy. Thus the Fifth Amendment has very much logically, rightly and reasonably decided for the Bangladeshi Nationalism incorporating all people of various languages and races living as lawful citizens. Similarly, the term Socialism having had much appeal for decades until 1970s both at outside and in the country, the ruling party government had by mid 1975 inflicted so much huge injuries that it lost its appeal in about four years of the party rule. The Fifth Amendment specified instead attainment of social justice among all citizens. The people, as well, did not relish the secularism the party government practiced that alienated the people of various faiths, particularly, the Muslims forming overwhelming majority to the tune of about 85% of the 80 million people that the Fifth Amendment replaced with belief in the Almighty Creator.

Thus the changes made were nothing done arbitrarily but by the parliament. Even so, there are some who argue that secularism has to be incorporated in the Constitution for getting rid off ‘religious communalism’. Here they should not only specifically identify ‘communalism’ but also explain secularism in clear terms.

Secularism does not represent single meaning. It is a term confusing issues at practical levels in societies. European countries are said to be ‘secular’. But their Constitutions are hardly secular. The United States of America wished to make their Constitution adopted nearly 225 years ago a secular document. But the first amendment enacted a few years latter as the Bill of Rights that granted religious rights to the citizens. Britain has no written constitution. The country is run and governed by conventions and usages deeply embedded into Christianity. The Crown or the King/ Queen is the head of the country both of temporal and spiritual matters. Other European countries are also labeled secular, but their modes of practicing secularism differ, and yet the society and the country have common allegiance to Christianity, if not in everything but very much deep in the Christian value system.

Muslim countries like Turkey, for example, had been having secularism for the last eight decades that Kamal Pasha harshly attempted to impose upon the Muslim people, how far that was all on his own belief or on the prompting of the alien masters is still hard to conclusively say, but the struggle of the people against Pasha’s unrealistic dream is now so clear that others can see in Turkey at this point of time at the beginning of the 21st century.
Should the 9th parliament of Bangladesh seek to make changes in these basic principles, and as the party in power has the required two-third majority, they can certainly do these changes and replacement of the three issues taken in 1972 and abandoned in 1979. But should the parliament alone venture to finish the job, it may not sustain long should the next government of the opposite belief and program come to power with two-third majority; they may well turn such things down. Referendum may, however, be an alternative mode to decide for sustenance.

In Bangladesh, secularism is not only misunderstood by sections in society, but there is no unanimity among the overwhelming majority people that there is no place of secularism in Islam. Muslims can not be secular but tolerant and respectful to all other religions as the model State of Medina had shown the examples of tolerance to non-believers in Islam. The modern concept of secularism that the West developed recently for oppressive measures of the churches had no such place of intolerance in Islam. In India Muslims ruled for about one thousand years (711-1857), but there was no example of intolerance except in some jealous bad eyes.

Unfortunately some term the Muslims as communal who tend to practice Islamic modes of life. This is unfortunate for those who really may not be religious at heart but do so for show up only. Despite such presence of some in society, there is no alternative to spiritualism for each and every soul. Even as the former President of India, renowned nuclear scientist Abdul Kalam, has advised the youths of India to pursue the path of ‘spiritualism’ to make the notion of ‘Indian secularism’ a success (See, Ignited Minds, 2006, p.114). Let us recall that India, strictly speaking, is not constitutionally a secular State as there is no article in the Indian Constitution confirming the principle to strictly follow, but as a casual mention just in the Preamble only. That India is not a secular country is well manifested in everyday ill treatment of all the minorities, Christians, Muslims, Dalits, Harijans, OBCs, etc. The Bangladeshi ‘communals’ or even the Pakistanis hardly fare with the RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal. Neither these so-called communals have had ever demolished historic institutions of other religions like Hindu extremist did to the Muslims Babri Masjid of India. It is amazing to see that the Indian ‘secular’ government though banned the Muslim students’ organization SIMI there; they did not even touch those other Indian extremist organizations. The Indian reputed writer Arundhati Roy soon after the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack expressed her dismay at one-eyed policy of the Indian Government against the suspected Muslim terrorists and not touching the Hindu terrorists. Should not one ponder about that the judiciary of India gave a nod to erect Hindu Mandir at the demolished site of the Muslims’ Babri Masjid of four hundred years old!

Let not the Muslims follow examples of meanness of people of other religions. But how could they be driven away from spiritualism that almost all Muslim scholars maintain in being secular. Even so, should the government and the Parliament decide to re-incorporate the concept of secularism in the Constitution as a matter of mandatory issue, the matter must be referred to the competent Muftis and Ulamas to decide if that could be done at all?

– Dr. M.T. Hussain