A Bangladeshi Bluestocking

http://www.opednews.com/articles/A-Bangladeshi-Bluestocking-by-Iftekhar-Sayeed-090223-9.html

(click above for article)

Nationalism in Bangladesh is shot through with contradictions, some ludicrous and some dangerous. A local columnist has championed local culture by sounding off against Arab culture – claiming that the hijab is an import from the latter. This would be risible but for the political consequences for that embattled Arab people, the Palestinians.

Of bigotry and logic

It was a bit of a shock for me to get a post script from an OEN (OpEdnews.com) editor (copied below with my reply): the OEN prides itself on its tolerance and breadth of understanding, when in fact, like most American publications, it shares a collective contempt for the Muslim world. How was George Bush guilty in trying to 'civilise' us? It seems the ideas of lunatic leaders find nourishment in secluded, dark and dank liberal crannies.


"Op Ed News Administrator


P.S. I am going to publish this piece but with a caveat. It has only been since the rise of Hamas that the Palestinian movement has been shackled by an Islamic twist. The Palestinian movement itself is a nationalist movement, so that sort of creates a little discordance with the premise of your piece.

And, as an American who is very glad that women in this country do not have an archaic patriarchal system shoved down their throats without a choice, the history of hostility toward women in Arab and other Islamic Cultures would seem to indicate that the hijab, the burkha, and any other contrivance used to pretend that women do not exist, are merely used as tools to allow the prevailing system of patriarchy and domination by religion to continue."

[NB: not one word about my observations regarding female foeticide in India, where Islam, unfortunately has had no impact; not one word about the Indian caste system: all the evil is in the Islamic world; neither did the editor even notice what I had to say about the elegance and diversity of the shalwar-kameez and the saree as opposed to the uniformity of denim pants and T-shirts. He/She has focused, laser-like, on only the hijab - very revealing, that!]


This was my reply to the editor:

"I read your caveat ('A Bangladeshi Bluestocking') with interest.

I assume it was solely meant for me. May I ask why? What purpose did you hope to serve with that little lecture? We are used to being lectured like that, of course, but not all of us accept it with grace.

As a social scientist, I am aware of cultural biases even among the most enlightened editors - I am not going to argue your points (you recently published as essay of mine called "The Body of William Jay"), but such frank expressions of disgust and superiority are quite rare in my personal experience.

I hope in future you will show more respect to me as a writer and desist from lecturing me again.

As for your views regarding Arab and Islamic societies, they are the blind, uninformed prejudices of a typical westerner - I expected better from the OEN. Your collective attempts to 'civilise' us have caused a great deal of misery. But then, I accept that as part of your civilisation, and publish such views openly, instead of taking individuals aside and giving them a private dressing-down, and by means of logic instead of bald assertions of superiority.

Logic is not a westerner's forte."

a diabolic editor - how newspapers back criminal governments in Bangladesh

"we praise the sagacity of the present leadership...."

http://thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=77589


I'm curious; but tell me, Mahfuz Anam, just how many dead bodies would it take for you to CEASE to praise the sagacity of the present political leadership? 200? 500? 1,000?

And how many would it take for you to begin to QUESTION the sagacity of the present political leadership? 10,000?

And how many would it take for you to IMPUGN the sagacity of the present political leadership? 100,000?



"It would have been a most satisfactory ending but for the fact that" - there were just too many dead bodies around, right?

What kind of an editor are you: can you distinguish between sagacity and stupidity? Honesty from mendacity? A mission accomplished from a bungled and botched operation?



"some unseen quarters with an ill motive..."

http://thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=77743

Well, they got all the help they needed from our government, didn't they?

They got away scot-free, with the lights turned off, after getting more than enough time to go on an orgy of killing, looting, burning, and more - from inside the city, under the gaze of the entire nation, with the military only a few blocks away!

With friends like these....


"Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina showed tremendous sagacity, farsightedness and patience in handling the crisis."

http://thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=77746

Does that include waiting 32 hours before deploying tanks, Mahfuz Anam?


"PRIME Minister Sheikh Hasina's stern call hs had the desired effect, and has led to the surrender of the rebel BDR troops. This brought to a peaceful end in Dhaka to what can be termed as the most serious...."

http://thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=77589


That giant sucking sound was that of the lips of the Daily Star editor coming off the backside of the prime minister.

It wasn't the prime minister's speech that ended the mutiny: it was the tanks.

It took 32 hours for tanks to be deployed: incredible!

The entire affair could have been ended in at most 10 minutes if the army had been allowed by the prime minister to act in its professional capacity. The army's arsenal was several thousand times that of the BDR personnel with their peashooters.

But for the amnesty and the shocking delay, the wives of the officers would have been spared the indignity they suffered. For once, Khaleda Zia has spoken the truth and put the blame where it belongs: why were the lights turned off, why were the soldiers withdrawn...?

This was not a civilian issue, but an issue for the military: yet civilians went in waving white flags and claiming to be 'like the mothers of the jawans'. There was absolutely no sense of urgency, as though a picnic had gone wrong

The tanks on Satmasjid Road

Today, Farhana and I went for a short stroll on Satmasjid Road in the afternoon.

Satmasjid Road is a straight, long stretch running north to south. At the southern end sits Pilkhana, where the soldiers of the paramilitary outfit, the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), have been holding army officers and their families hostage.
Right outside the gate of our apartment building, a crowd was gathered, inspecting a piece of artillery and exchanging pleasantries with the artillery man. The soldiers were polite, taciturn yet friendly. They had somehow become part of the local society.

We asked some of them if we should leave our homes, but they just said to lie on the floor in case there was any shooting. That was a relief.
Earlier, rumours of approaching tanks had started a panic in our apartment building.

My friend, Munna, who lives above me, came to my flat and tried to talk about our next move. Unfortunately, the panic prevented him from talking: he was constantly called upstairs by a frantic household, terrified of the reported tanks.
I tried to assure them that tanks would have a deterrent effect: they were most welcome. My sanguine view did not prevail!

Farhana and I went out to look at the tanks.

The street was full: people were milling about, some were clearly leaving the area, others were chatting energetically into their cells. It felt like a festival, as though at the other end of the drag unspeakable atrocities had not been enacted by the BDR.

From time to time, the crowd would rush en masse backwards as they grew too inquisitive and the military charged them into retreat.

We decided to stay on the pavement.

Not a car or even a trishaw was to be seen: all told, I think I caught glimpse of one white sedan and one trishaw carrying passengers.

Almost every side street seemed to have a contingent of soldiers in camouflage fatigues and similarly camouflaged vehicles.

It was a cool February evening, and a benign sun descended behind the tall buildings.

Then the tanks came into view: there were eight of them, but we could see only five. We didn't get too close lest the mob scurry back and I broke my glasses!

They say the tanks did it: scared the BDR personnel into a hasty surrender. I wouldn't be surprised: tanks are an imposing spectacle.

The mutiny had spread throughout the country: it seemed as though it was the BDR versus their military officers. As a BBC reporter commented, could all this mayhem be due to grievances over pay and facilities? The government began to air suspicions of a conspiracy, and it certainly seemed plausible.

Shootout in Dhaka, Bangladesh

It's been quite a day – and it isn't over yet.

From 9:00 in the morning till now, the paramilitary forces known as the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) have been shooting indiscriminately in and around their sprawling headquarters in Dhaka at Pilkhana.

According to their spokesmen, the army, which contributes to their officer ranks (the BDR itself has no officers) have been discriminating against them. During the two-year military rule, they alleged, the army had made a lot of money by siphoning off funds from a meal program for the poor. Additionally, they are overworked and underpaid by the army.

However, the rebellion seems to be contained exclusively within the BDR headquarters in Dhaka. The BDR are stationed throughout Bangladesh – their major duty is to guard the border – and there have been no reports of anything similar happening outside Dhaka. My sources report, for instance, that the BDR soldiers at Teknaf in the south-east have deposited all their weapons, and the keys to the armoury are firmly in the commanding officer's hands.

The government has granted them amnesty, and now, it seems, the soldiers are ready to put down arms. Their earlier demand had been the removal of the army encircling Pilkhana.

From morning, the army has been gathering its forces and materiel around the BDR headquarters. The pictures were taken by my wife, Farhana, from our verandah! We are less than half a kilometre away from Pilkhana. The streets around – indeed the whole city – have been deserted.

All day long, we've heard shots being fired at a distance.


So far, it is reported that five people have been killed, including civilians. Several army officers, including their families, are being held hostage. No one knows what it is like inside Pilkahana.

It is past 1:00 at night, and Farhana and I went to the verandah to see two truck full of soldiers patiently stationed below in the narrow street.

Their presence is warmly reassuring.

How many million make millions?

"Millions with flowers in their hands while (sic) toddlers holding their mothers' hands or riding their fathers' shoulders joined (sic) the Shaheed Minars that turned the monuments into the human sea.

Barefeet (sic), wearing black ribbons and clutching bouquets of flowers, thousands of people from all walks of life approached the Central Shaheed Minar in the capital to pay homage to the martyrs of the language movement, observing International Mother Language Day.

The entire Dhaka University campus and its surrounding areas turned into a human sea as youths, freedom fighters, politicians, foreigners and others walked towards the memorial with due reverence in queues, many of them singing in chorus 'Amar Bhaiyer Rokte Rangano Ekushey February Ami Ki Bhulite Pari.'" http://thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=76967 )

This is a description of the yearly ritual held on 21st February in Bangladesh. It is a nationalist ritual.

How many people attended?

In the first paragraph, we read about "millions with flowers": if millions moved across Bangladesh, how is it that we haven't seen any signs of this?
And what the "millions of flowers" – where's the stench? Surely, such a large number of flowers must leave an awful pong behind, and, indeed, where did so many flowers come from?

And what kinds of flowers were they: roses, tulips, China roses....or water hyacinths? Only if the latter, could there have been "millions with flowers".

Then the number shrinks when we reach Dhaka: " thousands of people".

That's much better: but I personally don't know anyone who went.

And since I don't have a TV set, I couldn't analyze the pictures to see what the class composition of the "thousands" was: how many rickshaw pullers were there, garment-factory girls, street vendors, farmers....?

We are only told: " thousands of people from all walks of life ", and that's all. But the writer gives himself away in the next paragraph: " youths, freedom fighters, politicians, foreigners and others". Where were the sans-culottes? The "others'? These sound like a residue, a substratum, a scum, an afterthought...surely not the people? More like the 'cetera' after 'et'!

And this furtive nocturnal gathering is supposed to be a national festival: who is the nation, then? A couple of thousand insomniacs?

It has been estimated that 7% of the French participated in the French Revolution, and 11% Iranians in the Iranian one.

Suppose even 1% of our people came out at midnight on 21st February: that would be an impressive army – no, a veritable horde – of 1,500,000 (the size of roughly China's army). But the Daily Star article clearly said "millions with flowers". How many make "millions"? 5 million? 10 million? That would mean an astounding 3 to 6% of the population! Half a French revolution 56 years after the event! Surely every satellite would have picked out such a migration? Surely every newspaper and TV channel would have broadcast the mass of humanity? Not to mention all those flowers.

So it seems even the middle classes didn't come out – they were snoring.

Not only that, I haven't heard of any other country or people who celebrated a so-called International Day – it seems that neither the national, nor the international, turned up for the International Mother Language Day.

The chap who penned that piece should take up fiction – clearly his forte. Not reportage.

In a novel perhaps he can answer the question: who is the nation (and in a sequel, he can delineate the 'International")?

cowards and fools - student politics in Bengal and Bangladesh (1908 - 2008)

Student politics is when the cowardly hide behind the ignorant.

"Mr. Sarkozy is even more worried about high school unions. They are more unpredictable, and more easily influenced by hard-left or anarchist groups, or by teachers, who lose pay for days on strike and so prefer the students to come out instead." (The Economist, January 24th 2009, p 46).

In Bangladesh, we have seen how teachers urge students on to violence, instead of getting out and getting their hands dirty and bloody.

In Bengal, this is a time-honoured institution.

When the Japanese defeated Russia in 1905, the Bengali intellectual was wild with joy. Fair enough – unlike what proceeded. The Muslims of Bengal were poor and backward, and they refused to quit British goods – which were expensive. This turned the Muslims into enemies of the Brahmins – and Muslims were quick to emphasize their allegiance to the British.

The mistake the British made was in pouring resources into tertiary, instead of primary, education: such education inevitably produced the educated and unemployed Babu. We see the same thing going on in Bangladesh today: resources are devoted to the public universities, while primary education is starved.
The partition of Bengal was a sincere desire by the British to improve the lot of the Muslims – but the Hindus would have none of it. The terrorist acts that students unleashed forced the government to backtrack. Some of these anti-Muslim elements are today heroes in Bangladesh.

Here are a few contemporary observations from a book on India published in 1908 (The Project Gutenberg EBook of India, Its Life and Thought, by John P. Jones):


"This spirit found its incarnation and warmest expression in the opposition to the government scheme, two years ago, under Lord Curzon, for the partition of Bengal. The Bengalees keenly resented the division of their Province; for it robbed the clever Babu of many of the plums of office. He petitioned, and fomented agitation and opposition to the scheme. Then, in his spite against the government, he organized a boycott against all forms of foreign industry and commerce. This has been conducted with mad disregard to the people's own economic interest, and has, moreover, developed into bitter racial animosity. The Bengalee has striven hard to carry into other Provinces also his spirit of antagonism to the State. Though he has not succeeded in convincing many others of the wisdom of his method, he has spread the spirit of discontent and of dissatisfaction far beyond his own boundary. Even sections of the land which denounce the boycott as folly, if not suicide, have taken up the political slogan of the Babu (_Bande Mataram_--Hail, Mother!) and are demanding, mostly in inarticulate speech, such rights and privileges as they imagine themselves to be deprived of.


"The movement is, in some respects, a reactionary one; and race hatred is one of its most manifest results. It is not merely a rising of the East against the West; it is also a conflict between Mohammedans and Hindus. In Eastern Bengal, where the Mussulmans are in a large majority, and where the Hindus have become the most embittered, the former have stood aloof from the latter and have opposed the boycott. This has led to increasing hatred between the members of these two faiths,--a feeling which has spread all over the country, and which has carried them into opposing camps. This is, in one way, fortunate for the government, since it has given rise to definite and warm expressions of loyalty by the whole Mohammedan community.


"Disgruntled graduates of the University and school-boys take the most prominent place in this movement. The Universities annually send forth an army of men supplied with degrees--last year it was 1570 B.A.'s; and it is the conviction of nine-tenths of them that it is the duty of the government to give them employment as soon as they graduate. As this is impossible, many of them nurse their disappointment into discontent and opposition to the powers that be. Many of them become dangerous demagogues and fomenters of sedition. Not a few such are found in every Province of the country. And they find in the High School and College students the best material to work upon. These boys have been the most numerous and excited advocates of this movement."