Of frustration, hope, and resolve

Fellow blogger Asif said this the other day:

In the last 8 days of fund relief via TV channels in the UK, I couldn’t find a single not faith based organization that were getting relief via TV. These people from various faith based organizations, were out there on the field collecting money, volunteering etc that wins hearts and minds of common people. While, we folks, the so called liberals, are analyzing things ad nauseum.

My observations accord with his.  I don’t know about him, but I feel frustrated.  A lot.  

October Revolution, Four Freedoms and all that

(This piece was written earlier this month, but was not posted so that Bangladesh’s current struggles could be highlighted).

Earlier this week was the 90^th anniversary of a revolution and the 75^th anniversary of an election.  These were two major events that determined the course of history in the 20th century, and profoundly shaped our understanding of liberty.  This post — ramblings masquerading as reflections — is about what the ideas associated with the revolution and the election have meant for Bangladesh.   

Sidr – what you can do

If you’re in Bangladesh, you may remit cash directly to the following account: 

Chief Adviser’s Relief and Welfare Fund, Current Account No. 33004093, Sonali Bank, Prime Minister’s Office Branch, Tejgaon, Dhaka, Bangladesh. SWIFT Code : BSONBDDH  

Ref: Chief Advisor’s Office Website (http://www.cao.gov.bd/rwfund07/rw_fund.html)

We shall overcome

A very powerful cyclone, named Sidr, hit Bangladesh Thursday night. 

I could write about how this compares in terms of death and destruction with previous storms that ravaged the country.  But I won’t.  The official death toll stands at 1,200 or so when I write this.  But almost certainly this will rise.  

The country’s utilities infrastructure has been severely disrupted.  I could collate the news of the damage as it comes through. But I’ll direct the reader to the excellent efforts of Rezwan and Zafa. 

I won’t even try to write about what I, and many others like me who are cut off from home, are feeling.  Instead, I’ll direct the reader to this Dhaka-bashi.

The cyclone is likely to have severely damaged the country’s autumn crop.  Beyond the immediate relief and rehabilitation, this means an aggravation of an already spiralling food price inflation.  But on that, perhaps some other time. 

And beyond that, perhaps this is a sign of the future.  Perhaps global warming means we have to brace for more of these happening at a greater frequency.  Perhaps. 

But I won’t despair.  I won’t despair because this is not the first time that this has happened to Bangladesh.  And, global warming or not, this won’t be the last.  We did overcome this, in 1991, and before that in 1970, and countless times before that.  And we shall overcome, this time, and the next one, and the one after that.

As the old leader said, ‘amader dabaye rakhte parba na’.

Gonotontro mukti paak

In March 1982, the army overthrew a democratically elected government in Bangladesh.  The military junta cited rampant corruption and a breakdown in governance as the reasons for the intervention.  The army chief went on to assume the presidency through farcical elections. 

The general’s rule, however, did not go unchallenged.  There were frequent strikes and agitations.  One such took place on 10 November 1987.  On that day, a political activist named Nur Hossain had the words ‘gonotontro mukti paak’ (roughly translated as ‘give back democracy’) on his back. 

Nur Hossain was killed by the security forces shortly after this photo was taken.  See here for details: http://www.banglapedia.org/HT/H_0164.HTM.

Democracy is once again suspended in Bangladesh. 

Shaheed Nur Hossain epitomises the sacrifice and struggle of Bangladesh’s fight for democracy.  And the fight for democracy is being waged by the brave people of Pakistan, and Burma, and in other benighted places. 

November 10 is the 20th anniversary of Nur Hossain’s sacrifice. 

To paraphrase a champion of freedom, Nur Hossain’s sacrifice shall not be in vein, we shall restore democracy, and the government by, of and for the people shall triumph in Bangladesh and Pakistan and everywhere else.

Revisiting 1975

Of all the days in Bangladesh’s tortured history, 7 November 1975 stands out.  Different political factions use very different stories to describe the events of that day.  Which story one accepts as the truth, and more generally how one views the man who rose to power through the events of the day, used to be good indicators of one’s political inclinations until recently.  I was looking forward to 7 November this year because I thought this would finally show the ideological moorings of the powers-that-be that are running Bangladesh.  I was disappointed.

On Jamaat’s changed rhetoric and related issues

Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, the country’s largest Islamist party and a major factor in the country’s electoral politics, used to maintain a low-key approach about its role in 1971 when it sided with the Pakistan army and carried out war crimes.  This changed last week.  In this post, I analyse the reasons that may be behind Jamaat’s changed rhetoric.  I also discuss how the progressive opinionmakers in Bangladesh should react to this changed rhetoric given the current political realities.