গনর্ন্ত্র প্রগবর্ ^ংস্কৃব র্ৃজনীলা...

নাগরিক আষাঢ়শরাবনভাদর ১৪২৪

১

nagorikakbingshoyahoocom

1972 Constitution

Preamble - Pledging that the high ideals of

nationalism socialism democracy and secularism

which inspired our heroic people to dedicate

themselves to and our brave martyrs to sacrifice

their lives in the national liberation struggle shall

be the fundamental principles of the Constitution-

Article 8 Part II (1) The principles of nationalism

socialism democracy and secularism together with

the principles derived from those as set out in this

Part shall constitute the fundamental principles of

state policy

Article 12 of Part -II The principle of secularism

shall be realised by the elimination of -

Communalism in all forms the granting by the state

of political status in favour of any religion the

abuse of religion for political purposes any

discrimination against or persecution of persons

practicing a particular religion

বরতমান সংববধান [ববসzwnjবমললাবির-রহzwnjমাবনর রবিম (দয়াময় পরম দয়াল আললাহির নাহম) পরম করণাময় সবিকরতার নাহম] আমরা অঙগীকার কবরহরবি যে যে সকল মিান আদরত আমাহদর বীর জনগণহক জারীয় মবি সংগরাহম আতমবনহয়াগ ও বীর রিীদবদগহক পরাহণাৎসগত কবরহর উদবদধ কবরয়াবিল -জারীয়রাবাদ সমাজরনতর গণরনতর ও ধমতবনরহপকষরার যসই সকল আদরত এই সংববধাহনর মলনীবর িইহব রাষটরধমত ২ক৷ পরজারহনতরর রাষটরধমত ইসলাম রহব অনযানয ধমতও পরজারহনতর রাবিহর পালন করা োইহব৷ ৮৷ (১) সবতরবিমান আললাহির উপর পণত আসথা ও ববশবাস জারীয়রাবাদ গণরনতর এবং সমাজরনতর অরতাৎ অরতননবরক ও সামাবজক সববচার-এই নীবরসমি এবং রৎসি এই নীবরসমি িইহর উদভর এই ভাহগ ববণতর অনয সকল নীবর রাষটর পবরচালনার মলনীবর ববলয়া পবরগবণর িইহব৷ (১ক) সবতরবিমান আললাহির উপর পণত আসথা ও ববশবাসই িইহব োবরীয় কােতাবলীর বভবি৷ ১২ ধমত বনরহপকষরা নীবর বাসতবায়হনর জনয (ক) সবত পরকার সামপরদাবয়করা (খ) রাষটর করতক যকান ধমতহক রাজননবরক মেতাদা দান (গ) রাজননবরক উহেহরয ধমতীয় অপবযবিার (ঘ) যকান ববহরষ ধমত পালনকারী বযবির পরবর ববষময বা রািার উপর বনপীড়ন ববহলাপ করা িইহব httpbdlawsminlawgovbdbangla_all_sectionsphp

id=957

Secularism amp Bangladesh

CitizenSummer 2017

সংববধান পবরবরতহনর সংবকষপত বববরণ

বাংলাহদহরর পররম সংববধান অনহমাবদর িয় ১৯৭২ সহনর ৪ নহভমবর ১৯৭৫ সাহল সামবরক অভযতথাহন এক দল বসনয বঙগবনধ যরখ মবজব ও রাার পবরবাহরর অহনক যক জঘনয ভাহব িরযা করার পর যজহনরাল বজয়া কষমরা দখল কহর যস ১৯৭৭ সাহল পঞচম সংহরাধনীর মাধযহম ধমতবনরহপকষরা সমপবকতর ধারা বাবরল কহর ১৯৮১ সাহল সামবরক অভযতথাহন এররাদ কষমরা দখল কহর রার আহদহর সংববধাহনর শরহর যকারাহনর সরা সংহোজন করা িয় ১৯৮৮ সাহল ইসলামহক রাষটর ধমত করা িয় ২০১০ সাহল বাংলাহদহরর সহবতাচচ আদালর ধমতবনরহপকষরা সমপবকতর ধারা পনবতিাল কহর

নাগবরক বষতা-ররৎzwnj১৪২৪

গনরনতরপরগবর সংসকবরসজনরীলরা এই সংখযায় ndash বাাংলাদেশ ও ধরমনিরদেকষতা Is Bangladesh a secular state Facts not ldquoAlternate Factsrdquo Social Background of Secularismrsquos Retreat in Bangladesh in Recent Decades From Arab Spring to A rab Winter Future of Democracy in Muslim Countries Reflections on Governance and Development Better Understanding Gender Inequality Issues in Social and Economic Context lsquoববগরrsquo সমপানেকা িরজাহাি ববগর ndash আরার lsquoবড় ববািrsquo শওকত ওসরাি ndash আরার শওকত রারা রাদতর অনতনি New Books অনিনিতা কাজী িাসীর সলতাি ও অনিলা ব ৌধরীর আদবগেিম েনরদবশিা

বাংলাহদর ও ধমতবনরহপকষরা

ISSN 2475-0503


Is Bangladesh a secular state

Sultan Ahmad Secular means worldly not spiritual Its concerns are affairs of this world and not of the hereafter Its guiding principle is not religion which prescribes ways of achieving salvation after death Rather it is the set of principles that govern our lives in this world free of discrimination on the basis of religion A secular state does not favor a particular religion but treats all religions equally All laws passed by the legislature apply to all persons equally regardless of his or her religious belief A secular state does not mean you cannot have a religion but that you may practice your religion without support of the state or opposition from it USA is a secular state Muslims face hostile neighbors when they propose to build a mosque in their neighborhood Such hostility emanates from some legitimate concerns about zoning traffic parking or environment but if it is driven by some unfavorable opinion about Muslims then such hostility does not carry the day in a court of law President Donald Trump signed executive orders banning travel from six Muslim countries but his words during the campaign proposing a complete and total ban of Muslims from these countries are haunting him in courts Judges have ruled against the travel ban as unconstitutional as it is targeted to a specific religion The Trump administration proposes to take it to the Supreme Court for ultimate adjudication Is Bangladesh a secular state On paper yes But in practice it is not Bangladesh has a secular constitution but no freedom of expression If you express an opinion critical of those in power you risk incarceration If you express an opinion critical of a religion you risk bodily harm even death Why this intolerance The toxic brew of several factors ndash history Muslim majority system of education and government policies -- has created an atmosphere of intolerance which will take time and some efforts to dispel History Bangladesh was created from Pakistan which was itself created on the basis of religion India was partitioned because the Muslims and Hindus two main religious groups could not tolerate each other The solution was to carve out regions with Muslim majority to create Pakistan a homeland for Muslims But the formula yielded a bizarre solution East Pakistan was separated from West Pakistan by a

thousand miles of Indian Territory India and Pakistan were not on friendly terms they fought wars over Kashmir In less than twenty five years a rift developed between East and West Pakistan It was alleged East Pakistan was not getting a fair share of government jobs including the military government investment and foregn aid Projects were being funded in West Pakistan with trade surplus in East Pakistan Finally there was an election in which Awami League won majority of parliamentary seats but its leader who happened to be from East Pakistan was not allowed to form government An open rebellion ensued and West Pakistan in the guise of promises to hold talks sent troops instead This is how ldquoMukti Juddhordquo (war of liberation) started It ended when India intervened and Bangladesh was created Thus there wonrsquot be a Bangladesh if there was no East Pakistan and East Pakistan was created as a homeland for Muslims Muslim Majority Today 90 of Bangladeshrsquos population is Muslim For Muslims the ideal person to emulate is the Prophet Muhammad (sm) who was at once a religious leader commander in chief head of state and social reformer Muslims cannot separate State from Religion To Muslims the state is an entity that is based on Qurrsquoanic principles and sayings and practices of the Prophet (sm) (or Sunnah or ldquoahadisrdquo plural of ldquohadisrdquo) which together form the basis of a ldquopathrdquo to follow This is otherwise known as ldquoShariardquo Sharia dictates that no law can be passed if it contradicts Qurrsquoan and Sunnah The Caliphate ruled by ldquoKhalifasrdquo after the death of the Prophet (sm) has a nostalgic aura as throughout history factions of Muslims have sought to revive the Caliphate The idea is to install someone as the head of the Islamic world much the same way Catholics have the Pope Today the Islamic State or ISIS has proclaimed a Caliphate with territory annexed from Iraq and Syria It appointed a Khalifa and has set up a brutal regime It is battling for survival as Western powers have joined forces in the region to defeat it In India there was a time when some Muslims joined the ldquoKhilafatrdquo movement which petered out for lack of support In Pakistan and Bangladesh Muslims and Hindus are subject to different sets of laws in matters of marriage divorce and inheritance a practice carried over from British India Politicians cannot or will not touch these laws as they do not want to risk alienation of voters When the Prophet (sm) died the Khalifas concerned themselves with matters of State and left matters of religion to the Ulemas (scholars) Prominent among

২


them are Abu Hanifa (699-767) Malik Ibn Anas (715-795) Muhammad Ibn Idris As-Shafi (767-821) Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (780-855) and for the Shiites Jafar Al-Sadiq (699-765) Much of what is referred to as ldquoshariardquo is a collection of thoughts by these scholars also known as Imams or Jurists They have regional following As they differ in some details their followers in time grew into distinct ldquomazhabsrdquo There is another group of people who do not belong to any of these mazhabs and call themselves ldquoahle-hadithrdquo (followers of hadithrdquo)The majority of Bangladeshis are ldquoHanafirdquo In course of time the Khalifas whittled away the scope of sharia laws and confined them to family life -- marriage divorce and inheritance Sharia law is not compiled into a consensus document it is rather a set of guidance that forms social normsThese social norms which differ from ldquomazhabrdquo to ldquomazhabrdquo may or may not have the force of law are perpetuated by village ldquoPanchayetrdquo (informal court) The village elders who sit in the lsquoPanchayetrdquo and adjudicate disputes act on the basis of their understanding of these norms Their understanding is shaped by accepted traditions and may be far removed from these norms Fortunately the sway of Panchayets is shrinking as more and more people have access to formal courts of law System of Education A class of preachers has emerged They are the product of madrasah education a large part of which is ldquoQaumirdquo madrasahs Although madrasah education is being harmonized with general education with appropriate exposure to mathematics literature history and science the ldquoQaumirdquo madrasahs teach only Qurrsquoan ahadis and the books by the scholars named above only in Arabic They do not teach mathematics literature history or science They are not taught that the earth is inhabited by people who may have other religious beliefs These are the people who become preachers in local mosques and usually their sermons take a hardline attitude in favor of IslamThe Qurrsquoan ahadis or the law books do not preach intolerance But if you listen to some of the sermons you will be amazed how far removed they are from the core teachings of Islam ndash peace justice and tolerance of other faiths ldquoAnd the servants of (Allah) the most Gracious are those who walk on the earth in humility and when the ignorant address they say ldquoPeace ldquordquo (Qurrsquoan 2563) ldquoFor you is your religion and for me is my religionrdquo (Qurrsquoan 1096) ldquoAnd do not insult those they invoke other than Allah lest they should insult Allah in enmity

without knowledge helliprdquo (Qurrsquoan 6108) ldquohellip be maintainers of justice bearers of witness for Allahrsquos sake though it may be against your own selves (your) parents and near relativesrdquo (Qurrsquoan 4135) The government The current government came to power under a questionable election and since then has been engaged in eliminating opposition by arrests on trumped up charges prohibiting peaceful assembly executing prominent leaders and intimidating by threat of false arrests They also passed laws that prohibit criticism of the founder of the nation his family or of policies by the current government An uneasy calm prevails on the surface but underneath a radical opposition in brewing A combination of these factors and there may be others has created an atmosphere of intolerance Most Bangladeshis are moderate but it takes only a small group of people to stir trouble The government is charged with upholding the constitution which guarantees freedom of religion But if the constitution specifies Islam as the state religion then can you call the constitution secular The mere mention of Islam as the state religion does not make the constitution non-secular it depends on how the government treats itThe Queen of England by tradition has to be Anglican Christian But nobody blames UK to be non-secular All depends on government policies In an effort to show non-discrimination Hindus Christians and Buddhists have been offered government jobs far out of proportion of their share of population This is stark contrast to Muslims in India which discriminates against Muslims Besides the current governmentrsquos policy of deacutetente with India has been a one way street ndash whatever India wants they get it right away whatever Bangladesh wants they have to wait This has hardened sentiments against India and Hindus When Awami League won an election with the help of Jamaate Islami party no body raised a voice But when BNP did the same they were dubbed ldquonon-secularrdquo Jamaat is seen a political ally of BNP and Awami League crushed it by fair or foul means There is widespread belief that Awami Leagues is anti-Islam To stem that belief they are embracing Hefazat-e-Islam (protector of Islam) a group far more ultra-religious than Jamaat They have removed a statue from the premises of the Supreme Court because Hefazat demanded it The degrees issued by Qawmi madrasahs that do not follow government curriculum are now deemed to be equivalent to Masterrsquos degrees conferred by state-backed colleges and universities This has been a long standing

৩


demand of Hefazat as the graduates are now eligible for government jobs The government has quietly removed from text books poems that Hefazat called ldquoaethistrdquo This pandering to religious zealots never works because they demand more as they get more So what is the solution You cannot change history and you cannot change demography You have to accept that it is a Muslim majority country and the Muslims have a certain moral compass in which gay lesbians same sex marriage and abortion have no place The government could attempt to reform Qaumi madrasah education but I doubt it will try What it can do is to open up the political process to democracy Hold free and fair election so the government in power will have legitimacy Awami League is believed to be plotting to stay in power by whatever means it takes even it means rigging the election When they were in opposition they refused to participate in an election held by the then government and demanded elections to be held under an impartial Caretaker Government It worked They won the election The process was working well but when they came to power they changed the law abolishing provisions of a Caretaker Government Elections were held anyway The opposition BNP boycotted the elections Awami League claimed victory when many of the seats went unopposed When municipal elections were held Awami League lost big in all the elections but the results were negated as the elected Mayors were all removed from office by one pretext or another This is not democracy The government could also have a more evenhanded policy toward India You want a friend not a master Liberal thinkers will champion freedom of speech But if you say something bad about my mother you can expect a bloody nose This is said by no other than the Pope himself To some religious faith is as dear as the mother Thus there is limit to what you can say While nobody should condone violence you should be careful about what you say about Islam when the country is 90 percent Muslim As mentioned above it takes only a few people to hurt you Most Bangladeshis wish to be left alone about what and how they worship They care about their families and work hard to bring food on the table They care about the economy which is growing fine May be if they can freely choose their leaders Awami league with their track record of impressive economic performance will return to power with a mandate to ignore the howling protesters (Now retired Dr Ahmed was an economist with thevWorld Bank where

he managed International Comparison Program (ICP) which is a program of worldwide surveys of prices and expenditures for computing purchasing power parity PPP)

Facts not ldquoAlternate Factsrdquo

Kamal Siddiqui

Policy towards people of other faiths 1Tolerance for and peaceful co-existence with other religious faiths has been clearly enjoined on us Muslims by the Medina Constitution propounded by the Holy Prophet (PBUH) 1400 years ago 2 In the 1960s Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani used to tell us EPSU followers that there were only 2 classes in the world--the exploiters and the exploited and those who tried to bring in religious and linguistic differences were enemies of the people in the service of the exploiters 3 If we Muslims continue to oppressexploit religiousethnic minorities in our respective Muslim majority countries we morally forfeit the right to defend Muslims in difficulties in countries where the non-Muslims are in a majority 4 In our respective Muslim majority countries we must conduct peaceful and open inter-faith debates discussions and dialogues to ensure mutual understanding tolerance and amity 5 We Muslims must unite with non-Muslims in our midst against major injusticesdisasters in the world region and in our respective countries 6 We must together root out all forms of terrorism in the name of religion creed and race Treatment of women I would like to highlight the rights granted to women by Islam 1 Islam granted property rights to women when it was unknown in the so-called civilised world However in most Muslim countries it is not implemented on this or that pretext 2 Denmohor (bride price) to the Muslim bride is compulsory and has to be given within a reasonable time 3 Dowry imposed on brides family is completely prohibited

৪


4 Islam fully sanctions education and employment of girls and women 5 Laws in existence in most Muslim countries make it difficult to practice polygamy and flimsy divorces in the name of Tin Talaq 6 Transmission of nationality through the mother (and not simply the father) is possible (for example in Tunisia) 7 Islam completely prohibits forced marriages honour killings marriage with the Quran FGM Sawara etc 8 Decency modesty in dress and behaviour is compulsory not only for women but also for men 9 There is no difference between men and women spiritually 10 In the Quran Adam and Eve are equally blamed for eating the forbidden fruit To quote Professor Tariq Ramadan It is not Islam who has a problem with women but Muslim men have a problem with women (Dr Siddiqui writes from UK)

Social Background of Secularismrsquos Retreat

in Bangladesh in Recent Decades

Nazrul Islam 1 Introduction There is no doubt that the principle of ldquosecularismrdquo has witnessed a serious retreat in Bangladesh in recent decades Successive changes in the countryrsquos Constitution reflect this retreat clearly The 1972 Constitution framed soon after the victory in the Liberation War enshrined secularism as one of the four fundamental state principles of Bangladesh However Ziaur Rahman ndash first through the Martial Law proclamation in 1977 and then through the Fifth Amendment enacted in 1979 -- replaced it by ldquoUnlimited Faith and Confidence in Almighty Allahrdquo

In addition he placed ldquoBismillahir Rahmanir Rahimrdquo at the beginning of the Constitution Then in 1988 Ershad through the Eighth Amendment included in the Constitution Islam as the ldquostate religionrdquo of Bangladesh Moudud Ahmed the then Prime Minister played down the importance of this change by noting that it is only an addition to the Preamble and not a change in the relevant State Principle (আহমেদ েওদদ ১৯৮৮) He also drew a distinction between ldquostate religionrdquo (িাষটরধেম) and ldquoreligion-based staterdquo (ধেীয় িাষটর) and maintained that declaration of Islam as the state religion by no means implied discrimination against other religions To cap the argumentation he also claimed that Islam itself is a secular religion offering tolerance to all other religions Despite this cunning argumentation by Mr Moudud there is no doubt that the Eighth Amendment was a further retreat of secularism in Bangladesh The Fifteenth Amendment enacted by the Awami League government in 2011 restored ldquosecularismrdquo as the state principle but it retained Islam as the state religion and allowed ldquoBismillahir Rahmanir Rahimrdquo to stay at the beginning of the Constitution The fact that even a government headed by Awami League had to retain the latter changes shows that the retreat of secularism in Bangladesh is not an ephemeral change in the political superstructure Instead it has roots in the changes that have occurred in the social base of the country What are these changes How did they come about How did they interact with the political processes What are their implications for the future struggle to contain religious fundamentalism and to restore the secular character of the Bangladesh state These are the questions that are addressed in this paper In particular it reveals the vicious cycle that exists between changes in the social base on the one hand and the political changes that take place in response on the other reinforcing the changes in the social base Together these twin processes have led to the profound retreat of secularism in Bangladesh The analysis of the paper shows that in order to regain the secular character of the Bangladeshi state mere demanding changes in the political sphere will not be enough It will also be necessary to counteract and reverse the social changes that have occurred in recent decades in Bangladesh

৫


Figure 1 Total number of international

migrant workers from Bangladesh

1976-2013

The discussion of the paper is organized as follows Section 2 discusses the dual identity of the majority of the Bangladesh population and the reasons why the Muslim identity got the upper hand in the decades following the independence Section 3 discusses the spread of Madrasas and the rise of Hefazat-e-Islam

Section 4 discusses the reinforcing relationship between social changes and political changes and examines the implication of this vicious cycle for the future struggle for secularism Section 5 concludes This paper is based on Chapter-2 (Sections 210 amp 211) of the authorrsquos recently published book Governance for Development ndash Political and Administrative Reforms in Bangladesh (Palgrave 2016) 2 Dual identity of Bangladeshrsquos majority population and its influence on politics In his writings Amartya Sen has drawn attention to the fact that people may have multiple identities and it is important to recognize these different identities and understand their role in peoplersquos lives The fact of multiple identity is particularly relevant for the Bangladesh people the overwhelming majority of whom have a dual identity From the ethnic linguistic and cultural point of view they are Bangalees However from the viewpoint of religion they are Muslims During the Khelafat movement of the 1920s (following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the hand of the British and its allies in the First World War) and the Pakistan movement in the 1940s it was their Muslim identity that got the upper hand

As Muslims the people of Bangladesh suffered from greater exploitation discrimination and neglect during the colonial rule by the British who initially considered Muslims to be the main opponent to their rule because they conquered India defeating its Muslim rulers the Mughals For the same reason

Muslims remained disaffected and aloof from the newly established British rulers while many of the Hindu community could view the British with more equanimity because to many of them the British were just another set of alien rulers as the Muslim Mughals were before them Accordingly the British could also reach out to the Hindus for cooperation which many Hindus lent eagerly This explains why most of the Zamindars (landlords) created through the British Permanent Settlement (1773) process turned out to be Hindus Thus the exploitation by the British of the Bengal peasantry (the majority of whom were Muslims) was carried out through the intermediacy of the

Hindu Zamindars who added their own exactions to the British exploitation Because of the situation above the Hindu community advanced further under the British rule than the Muslim community did In fact it took about

one hundred years for the Muslim community to realize that disengagement from the British was not helping their cause By then the Hindus had established themselves firmly in the Indian socio-economic and state structure The numerical majority of the Hindu community in India as a whole and in the

Figure 2 International migrant workers

from Bangladesh by country of

destination 1976-2013 cumulative

৬


heart of India in particular of course helped them in establishing their dominance It is this relative disadvantaged position in a Hindu majority India that eventually led to the Pakistan movement and the partition of the sub-continent in 1947 into the states of India and Pakistan In the light of the above it is not difficult to understand why the Muslims of Bengal became strong supporters of the Pakistan movement In fact without the electoral victory of the Muslim League in Bengal it would have been difficult for Mohammad Ali Jinnah to press so strongly with the British for Pakistan Bangladeshrsquos Muslims were generally very happy at the creation of Pakistan and becoming part of it as East Pakistan During the Bangladesh movement however it was the Bangalee identity that gained the upper hand Within just a few years after the creation of Pakistan the illusions of the Bangladesh people regarding

Pakistan were shattered The West Pakistan-based rulers started to treat the people of East Pakistan as second class citizens and to subjugate them to a semi-colonial rule The process started with the issue of state language Jinnahrsquos emphatic refusal to recognize Bangla as a state language even though it was the mother tongue of people of East Pakistan who constituted the majority of the population of Pakistan triggered the process The struggle for the language was also the struggle for socio-economic rights because it was obvious that discrimination against Bangla would imply discrimination against socio-economic-political rights of the Bangla speaking population in Pakistan The movement to establish the right of the language gradually blossomed into the struggle for national self-determination Much of non-

Bangalee population of Bangladesh also joined this struggle because the entire population of East Pakistan was subjected to the semi-colonial rule of the West Pakistani rulers It is this joint struggle culminating in the Liberation Warthat forged the Bangladeshi identity However the movement on the basis of the Bangalee identity did not mean that the Muslim identity got obliterated First of all as noted earlier even in the 1970 election about twenty percent of the vote went for parties that were opposed to the 6-point demand of Awami League Furthermore participation by many in the Shanti (Peace) Committees and the Rajakar and Al-Badr forces created by the occupation Pakistani forces showed that for a part of the population the Muslim identity continued to be dominant despite the genocide and crimes against humanity committed by the Pakistani army during the Liberation War Second many of those for whom the Bangalee

identity got the upper hand during the independence movement and the Liberation War might have found this identity to be less important from the viewpoint of their material interests once independence was won There was therefore an objective ground for the Muslim identity to resurge and acquire more importance than before Various failures of the main nationalist force to lead the country in an expected manner might have strengthened this shift The third and more important factor behind the growing prominence of the Muslim identity is of international nature The increase in wealth of the

Middle Eastern oil producing countries following the formation of OPEC (Oil and Petroleum Exporting Countries) in 1974 led to their demand for labor from many Asian countries including Bangladesh The number of migrant workers from Bangladesh rose from negligible levels in 1972 to about 1 million by 2008 (More than eighty percent of them went to the Middle Eastern oil exporting countries with Saudi Arabia alone accounting for 382 percent followed by United Arab Emirates (236 percent) Kuwait (71 percent) Oman (54 percent) Bahrain (28 percent) Qatar (23 percent) and Libya (12 percent) The explosion in the number of migrant workers led to an explosion in the volume of remittances The total volume of remittance earning shot up from a miniscule amount in 1985 to about $12 billion in

Figure 3 Personal remittances

received (million US$) 1985-

2013

৭


2011 Not surprisingly much of these remittances were coming from the Middle Eastern countries with Saudi Arabia again leading the pack accounting alone for about 18 percent The UAE Kuwait Qatar Bahrain and other Middle Eastern countries were also important sources of remittance Along with remittances however came ideology Many Bangladeshi migrants while working in the Middle Eastern countries absorbed the Saudi Wahabi culture Confirming Gramscirsquos observation that the dominated parts of the society often absorb and imitate the culture of the dominating parts many Bangladeshi migrants regarded the Wahabi culture as the superior culture because it was the culture of those who ruled over them Their religious affinity with the ruling class of these countries contributed to the process This was in contrast with the Hindu and Christian workers from Kerala and other states of India working in Middle Eastern countries who could distance themselves from the Wahabi culture because their religions were different from that of the Middle Eastern ruling class By contrast Bangladeshi workers who were Muslims could think Wahabi culture as the appropriate culture for them too Accordingly many Bangladeshi workers returned not only with remittance money but also the Wahabi culture which they then wanted to follow and impose in particular on their women folk namely wives sisters and daughters Thus more women in Bangladesh started to find themselves under the veil and hijab The role of the returning migrant workers who are generally from humble social origins and did manual and menial jobs in the Middle Eastern countries in spreading Wahabi culture in Bangladesh however should not be overestimated Many of the educated and affluent ones who went to these countries to do professional jobs were also influenced in the same direction In fact it was easier for them to identify themselves with the ruling class of the Middle Eastern countries and their culture because they intermingled with them more as equals More importantly the spread of the Wahabi culture was not limited to those who actually went to the Middle Eastern countries to work and their relatives and friends with whom they interacted directly upon

returning The financial might of the Middle Eastern countries worked in many other ways to increase the influence of the Wahabi culture in Bangladesh One of these is to increase the financial strength in Bangladesh of those who are willing to subscribe to this culture Thus there has been a huge flow of capital to the countryrsquos financial health care education construction and other sectors with the ultimate aim of promoting Wahabi ideology In certain sections of the society material prosperity has

become linked with adoption of the Wahabi culture most strongly manifested in the adoption of hijab by the women of their families Thus hijab has become a status symbol for some in the society signifying that they have both money and a superior morality While these trends have spread among some parts of the upper echelons of the society Wahabi culture has spread among the lower strata of the society through another mechanism namely the Madrasas 3 Spread of Madrasa education and the Rise of Hefazat-e-Islam Madrasas in Bangladesh are generally of two types namely Alia Madrasas and Quami Madrasas The former are partly government financed and regulated through the government constituted ldquoAlia Madrasa Boardrdquo Accordingly these have government approved curricula and their degrees are recognized as equivalent to corresponding degrees from secular educational institutions The number of Alia Madrasas in 2004 was 25201 By contrast the Quami Madrasas are independent of the government Their academic and administrative independence is rooted in their financial

Figure 4 Remittances to

Bangladesh by country of origin

total between 2008-2013

৮


independence They do not receive or accept funds from the government and instead rely on private contributions in the form of zakat fitra and other obligatory and non-obligatory charities and donations Their curricula are not approved by the government and their degrees were not recognized to be equivalent to those obtained from either the secular educational institutions or the Alia Madrasas Accrodingly Quami Madrasas were not regulated through any government constituted board They did not have a unifying board of their own either Instead there existed several non-government boards and

some Quami Madrasas did not belong to any of them The largest of these non-government boards is the Befaqul Madarisil Arabia Bangladesh also known as ldquoBangladesh Quami Madrasa Education Boardrdquo It was founded in April 1978 as an extension of the process of setting up the Wafaq ul Madaris Al-Arabia Pakistan in 1957 It is estimated that the number of Quami Madrasas has increased from 4100 in 1986 to about 65000 in 2013 (Figure-5) Of these more than 20000 are affiliated with Befaqul Clearly Quami Madrasas now far exceed Alia Madrasas in terms of both number of institutions and number of students and teachers Quami Madrasas usually cater for the poorest sections of the rural population and often serve as orphanages offering hostel accommodation The poor often see sending their children to these Madrasas as a way of relieving themselves of the economic burden of raising them letting the children have a career in religious services in future and earning reward for themselves in the afterworld for doing so

An important reason for the explosion of the number of Quami Madrasas is increased finance from the Middle Eastern countries and elsewhere This finance comes in different forms One is the contribution of wealthy individuals of these countries who want to see the spread of Wahabi Islam in Bangladesh Second following the western model these countries have formed many non-government organizations (NGO) to serve as the conduit of money coming from individuals corporations and various agencies for promotion of Wahabism Third many expatriates returning from these countries donate a part of their

savings to Quami Madrasas In addition to external finance local private financing of Quami Madrasas has also increased In particular many neo-rich consider donation to Quami Madrasas as a way to secure their future in the afterworld now that they have secured it in this world It is also alleged that intelligence agencies of countries interested in spreading militant Islam also channel money to Quami Madrasas It is this generous funding from various sources that has made Quami Madrasas wealthy and powerful It also explains why Quami Madrasas are now so averse to any attempt by

the government to oversee and supervise them The Awami League-led government tried to pass the ldquoBangladesh Quami Madrasah Education Authority Act 2013rdquo as a step toward supervision of Quami Madrasas However Allama Shafi of Chittagong Hathazari Madrasah who is also the chairman of the non-government ldquoBangladesh Quami Madrasas Education Boardrdquo threatened that there would be a civil war if the government tried to pass this act The government shelved the bill in face of the threat This incident showed the strength and confidence that Quami Madrasas have acquired in Bangladesh The strength of Quami Madrasas gathered over time burst onto the national political scene when Hefazat-e-Islam came out in opposition to the Gonojagoron Moncho in May 2013 Originally Hefazat-e-Islam arose as an organization that Quami Madrasas set up to protect their interests and to project their views onto the society Though ostensibly non-political and different from (or in some respects even opposed to) Jamaat-e-Islam many observers note that Jamaat-e-Islam has effectively infiltrated Hefazat-e-Islam so

Figure 5 Growth of Quami

Madrasas in recent decades

৯


that many leaders of the latter are either members of or associated with the former In addition according to observers many militant Islamists some of whom are veterans of the

Mujahedeen war in Afghanistan and are interested in carrying out terrorist activities have ensconced themselves in Quami Madrasas which being out of the reach of the government provide a safe and convenient place for them to operate According to many the presence of these militants is another reason why many Quami Madrasas are so opposed to attempts by the government to oversee them The hostel setting of Quami Madrasas provide a 24-hour opportunity for indoctrination and training In many cases these militants are alleged to have converted the Quami Madrasa hostels and compounds into training grounds for bomb making and other types of armed operation This strategy is quite similar to that practiced in Afghanistan where the Taliban movement originated on the basis of Talibs meaning students of Madrasahs As Jamaat-e-Islam found itself cornered on the war criminal trial issue it allegedly prompted Hefazat-e-Islam to play a proxy role As noted earlier Jamaat itself carried out a disinformation campaign against Gonojagoron Moncho portraying its participants as ldquonon-believersrdquo out to destroy Islam in Bangladesh Responding in part to the push from Jamaat and other militants Hefazat-e-Islam swung into action putting forward a 13-point charter of demands and giving

ultimatums to the government to accept these demands Hefazat ultimately staged an occupation of the center of the Dhaka city (on August 5 2013) to press on its demands and according to many

observers BNP and Jamaat tried to make use of the Hefazat occupation to bring the government down (at least to its knees if not altogether from the seat of power) Apparently the government initially tried to woo Hefazat-e-Islam to keep it separate from Jamaat However in the end it had to take a position and resort to force to oust the Hefazat activists from the center of the city Despite its defeat in the Dhaka showdown Hefazat remained defiant pressing on adoption of its 13-point demand charter and opposing any intervention of the government in the independent world of the Quami Madrasas The 13-point charter already

shows the backward medieval mentality of Hefazat opposing in particular womenrsquos education employment and participation in outside societal activities Subsequent broadcast of a (supposed to be secret) speech (waaz) by the Hefazat leader Allama Shafi has made this mentality even more clear Despite the damaging exposure Hefazat continues to remain a potent force in the socio-political scene of the country The rise of Hefazat (and the explosion in Madrasah education on which it is based) is one of the prominent expressions of the Muslim identity getting the upper hand over the Bangalee identity among many in current day Bangladesh It also makes stark the bifurcation of the Bangladesh society into two opposing parts one of which sees more of its identity in the religion (the Muslim identity) while the other is becoming more westernized and immersed in the Hollywood and Bollywood culture Thus the Bangalee identity that underpinned the struggle for independent Bangladesh is under threat from both sides 3 Interaction between social and political changes The narration above reveals the interaction between the social and political changes that have accelerated Bangladeshrsquos retreat from secularism Clearly the assassination of Bangabandhu with most

Figure 6 Vicious

cycle of social and

political changes

১০


of his family members and the change of government in 1975 created the political space for the religious forces that were dormant at the social level to emerge and become active in the political sphere Zia relied on these forces for his political power and hence made the changes in the Constitution undermining its secular character in order to appease these forces In part these changes were also aimed at putting Bangladesh in the good book of the Middle Eastern countries of Wahabi culture that had acquired new wealth in oil following the Arab-Israeli war in 1973 Together these political changes opened the floodgate of Wahabi influence into Bangladesh society Defying Moududrsquos claim of neutrality of the state vis-agrave-vis religions the state patronage of Islam ndash Wahabi variant of Islam at that -- was evident everywhere Responding to the changing character of the social base Ershad felt it expedient for sustaining his political power to further enhance the Islamization of the Bangladesh state He therefore made Islam the state religion of Bangladesh He increased further the state patronage of Wahabi Islam Thus a vicious cycle unfolded in Bangladesh whereby social and political changes reinforced each other pushing Bangladesh further and further away from secularism (Figure 6) The process of Wahabi Islamization of Bangladesh society has now gone so far that even the Awami League government in the Fifteenth Amendment that it enacted -- in order to clean up the Bangladesh Constitution from the atrocities that were committed to it by the Martial Law regimes of Zia and Ershad -- did not dare to remove Islam as the state religion and ldquoBismillahir Rahmanir Rahimrdquo from the beginning of the Constitution Instead it appears now to offer various concessions to Hefazat-e-Islam and other religious forces in order to bolster its acceptability among a more Wahabi Islamized electorate Pro-secular forces have been criticizing Awami League for its compromises with religious forces While these criticisms are well taken it is also necessary at the same time to take into account the underlying changes that have occurred in the social base of the country Unless these changes are counteracted and reversed it will be difficult to regain the secular character of the Bangladesh state Critique of the politics has to be combined with devising and implementing effective strategies of thwarting and reversing the unwarranted social changes 4 Conclusions Secularism in Bangladesh certainly witnessed serious retreat in Bangladesh in the recent decades However this is not simply a matter of

wishes and viewpoints of the political actors The retreat has been the combined outcome of a vicious cycle in which political changes at the top and the social changes at the bottom have reinforced each other Regaining the secular character of the Bangladesh state will therefore not be an easy task Mere exhortations will not do Political actors respond to the changes in the underlying social base Of course political actors also bear the responsibility of influencing the changes in the social base The dialectical relationship between social and political changes needs to be kept in mind in order to be successful in restoring the secular Bangladeshi state (Dr Islam educated at the Moscow State University (MGU) and Harvard University is currently an economist working in New York NY For the article with all references please contact Dr Islam at srnislamgmailcom) [Data Source Fig 1 Fig 2 amp Fig 3 Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Bangladesh Fig 4 Central Bank of Bangladesh httpwwwbangladesh bankorgecondatawagermidtlphp Fig 5 Author based on data from httpwwwcrisisgrouporgenpublication-typespeeches2005testimony-of-samina-ahmed-to-us-senate-foreign-relations-committeeaspx Fig6 Author based on the text]

From Arab Spring to A rab Winter Future

of Democracy in Muslim Countries

Ziauddin Choudhury

Four years ago the democratic world particularly the West was enthralled by the wave of popular uprisings in the Middle East that swept away decades of strangleholds by autocratic regimes in that region From Tunisia where it started after self-immolation by a shop keeper the wave of democratic uprising swept all through Egypt Libya Syria and even closer to Saudi land Bahrain The series of protests and popular

১১


upheaval removed dictatorial regimes in three countries and brought another regime in Syria to its knees While the movement shook up the entire Middle East it also brought hopes of a change for the people in that region a change for a better government that represented peoplersquos wish The jury is still out to decide if the popular uprisings of 2011-12 and end of the dictators in three countries brought the change that was hoped or they made any visible changes in the lives of the people there In Egypt the military is back after a popularly elected government was dethroned for trumped up charges of corruption and the military is back in the reins albeit through an election In Libya the country is segmented in two halves-one in the hand of a so-called elected government while the other half is in the hands of Islamic militants Syria uprising morphed into a hydra-headed monster giving birth to a group of radical Islamists who by far have proved to be most lethal in its dealings with their opponents and far more committed to establish their vision of an Islamic state than any other radical religious groups Yemen where the uprising was mainly on a partisan basis between the ruling Sunni President and his Shia opponents there was a temporary truce with the incumbent President resigning But instead of ushering the country into any democratically meaningful change the country broke into sectarian wars which have now drawn the countryrsquos more powerful neighbor Saudi Arabia into the fray It is only Tunisia which literally started the fire has been able to weather these counter attacks and is still able to hold out with a democratically elected government albeit is tenuously holding on deflecting continuous attacks by militants on the population There are many reasons why the promise of 2011 for democracy and democratic governments in these countries did not pan out Although each country has its unique political condition and sectarian structure to account for the subsequent events a major reason for the failure is absence of political leadership and political institutions that nurture and uphold democracy in these countries Years of autocratic rule and dominance of politics by army in many countries ensured that no political institution that promotes peoplersquos rights and universal franchise exist In Egypt political leadership outside of the ruling elite was confined within the religious groups and other minor parties that mainly depended on the government for participation in the charade of Presidential elections that the country used to have for decades

The only true opposition the Muslim Brotherhood was banned and even after the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak the party had to reconfigure itself in a different name In Libya politics was determined by Muammar Gaddafi who ruled the country through Revolutionary Council and Revolutionary Committees Individual political entities apart from Gaddafirsquos own committees did not exist In Syria up until 2012 the constitution created a one-party state the Baath party which was vested with powers to run the government The uprising of 2012 led President Assad to amend the constitution to allow multi-party system but the elections to the parliament were manipulated to return the Baath party to power again Of all the countries Egypt had the biggest promise of ushering reforms that would have impact on all neighboring countries Tahrir square became a symbol of resistance to all autocratic and anti-democratic forces and a beacon of hope for establishing human rights Fall of Hosni Mubarak had a domino effect on the neighboring countries But unlike Libya where Gaddafi faced a cruel end Hosni had a more decent exit he resigned although to be incarcerated later Unfortunately the hope of democracy and rule of people that the fall of Hosni Mubarak could not be sustained A popular election that put a coalition of Muslim Brotherhood and allies in charge would soon find itself facing another upheaval against it because the opponents of the alliance were unhappy This second uprising in less than two years would be used as an excuse by the all-powerful Army to step in and throw out the elected government and put its leader in Jail Egypt today is again run by an Army General as President albeit elected under a heavily controlled election Libya was also hypothetically liberated after the death of Gaddafi leading to a hope for a popular government that would be elected by people But that dream would disappear when the elections that led to formation of a government would be rejected by the opponent and the country would be launched into another civil war The country is practically is divided into two parts one occupied by a force claiming Islamic caliphate the other the remains of a so called democratically elected government Syria is a completely different story The early hopes of an end to dictatorial regime were dashed to the ground because of internecine war among the dissidents and later rise of the force that menaces the

১২


entire region with their draconian form of militant Islam Western democracy as it exists either in parliamentary or Presidential form is based on the fundamental principles of universal human rights to free speech free movement quality and rule of law Unfortunately few of the Muslim countries experienced democracy in its essence With wars ravaging the Middle East and most Muslim countries in a state of conflict of one kind or another it is inconceivable that democracy as people in the west understand will ever be established in any of them A customized democracy such as in Malaysia and Indonesia may be an answer for some countries but even this will require a bold leadership that puts rights of people above everything else including religion Otherwise the Muslim countries will continue to battle the demons among them who want to destroy every aspect of human values including democracy to establish their mistaken interpretation of religion and terrible ideology (The writer is a political analyst and commentator based in USA This is from his new book ldquoIn the Name of God Religionrdquo published by Xlibris Indiana)

Reflections on Governance and Development

Nurul Islam

Introduction The literature on economic development has evolved in phases emphasizing different determinants of sustained economic growth During the first phase ie in the early 1950s the dctcnnining factor was investment and capital accumu lation However in order to yield increasing rates of growth investment was required to be associated wi th tech nological innovations and progress In the next period the emphasis was on policies both macro and micro as well as sector- and economyshy wide to determine the extent of contribution of investment to growth The latest evolution in development thinking was the emphasis on governance and its role in determining growth and development Governance comprises in a broad sense the institutions ie rules and organizations-political economic and social that determine the relations and interactions between individuals in a society and between individuals on the one hand and the state on the other It emphasizes

that unless the system of governance is right incentives to save and invest or the ability and willingness to fonnu late and implement appropriate policies will be lacking thus growth would be thwarted A complete consensus of views on the concept and definition of governance has not evolved so far The concept includes a number of components depending on how narrow or wide the definition and includes any or all of the following components in various combinations a) Rules procedures formal and informal b) Organizational entities-formulating the rules of lhe game c) Macro micro economy-wide policies For example the World Bank Institutes definition is a broad one and includes both political and economic components It embraces the rules procedures and organizations relating to various components or indicators of governance that include a wide range of the issues such as (1) Voice and accountability comprising such elements as participation of citizens in the selection of governments representative institutions free and fair elections freedom of association political parties free media and freedom of expressionspeech (2) Political stability and absence of violence comprising such elements as perception of the likelihood that the government will be destabilized and overthrown by unconstitutional means including domestic violence and terrorism (3) Government effectiveness comprising quality of public services delivered by the government quality of civil services and administration degree of their independence from political pressuresinterference ability to formulate and implement policies and programs credibility of the governments and commitment to policies (4) Control of corruption broadly defined as the exercise of public power for private gain and comprising such elements as petty and grand forms of corruption nepotism favoritism embezzlement of state funds and capture of state power by interest groups (5) Rule of law comprising confidence of citizens in and their abiding by the rules of society independence of the judiciary quality of the courts quality and integrity of the law enforcing agencies such as police likelihood of crime and violence equality of all before law access of all to the legal procedures for settlement

১৩


of disputesredress of grievances protection of property rights and enforcement of contracts (6) Regulatory quality comprising the ability of the governments to formulate and implement policies and regulations that affect and encourage private investment market-friendly policies and competitive markets and prices It is widely felt that at a policymaking level consensus is needed on a narrow definition which would bring a sharper focus on the core issues of governance This should be easy to understand and compare over time and cou ntries A limited definition would enable the analysts and policymakers to focus on a few indicators of governance that arc transparent easy to measure and monitor Many of the indicators of governance are qualitative and subjective -- based on perceptions -- rather than objective measures Perception based subjective indicators have a few limitations First the indicators reflect the perception of specific groups of citizens or the public who are mostly urban based For example frequently they consist of business groups or entrepreneurs both foreign and domestic They do not report the perceptions of the poor or the niral population Second perception-based surveys are not otlen strictly comparable over time since the composition of respondents whose opinionsviews are recorded changes over lime also the size of the surveys or the number of respondents changes over time Third changes in perceptions may be affected either by changes in underlying objective circumstances or by greater awareness or greater availability of information about one or several aspects of governance For example a successful anti-cormption campaign may in fact worsen the com1ption indicator of a country by increasing awareness about the prevalence of cormption In fact in the extreme case the more successful is the drive the worse may be the cormption perception Moreover the relative ranking of countries in respect of governance indicators is not without drawbacks Substantial success in improving governance by one country may be associated with a fall in ranking if other countries do better One wonders whether this is a very useful way of looking at progress in governance ie by not recognizing the success of a countrys efforts in achieving an absolute improvement There is increasing realization that in addition to perception based indicators there is a strong case to be made for the use of a variety of objective and

experience-based indicators There are a growing number of such indicators relating to government rules and legulations which affect the cost of doing business and private investment climate (both urban and rural) Cunently a number of quantitative indicators about access to and quality of public serv ices provided by the government are in use Periodic reports on Doing Business prepared by the World Bank and the IFC investigate the regulations that enhance business activities and those that constrai n it They present quantitative indicators as business regulations and protection of property rights Regulations affecting areas of a business that are covered include starting a business dealing with construction permits registering property getting credit protecting investors paying taxes trading across borders enforcing contracts closing a busi ness getting electricity and employing workers The reports construct indicators for each of these regulations Closely related to and complementing the survey on Doing Business are the country-specific analysis and survey of investment climate that enables comparisons of changes in investment climate over time A good investment climate is intended to produce a regulatory and legal framework for enterprises that promotes competition overcomes bureaucratic inefficiencies and im proves access to key financial and infrastructureervices These surveys are based on the analysis of firmenterprise level data The reports assess the competativeness of firms in a particular country how they measure up against their neighbors and other comparator countries and identify policies to improve firm productivity and competitiveness For example anarchy over Investment Climate Assessment the following characteristics of the investment climate electrici ty as a barrier to business challenges in the financial sector especially long-term financing and finances for medium- and small-scale enterprises difficulties of land registration and management of serviced land low labor skills and training rules regarding employment of labor gender issues transport telecommunications andinformation technology investment in technology and research adm inistrati ve red tape taxation and delays in court action in contract enforcement Both sets of measurements ie perception-based surveys and experience-based or regulations-based quantita tive indicators can be used in combination to produce an in-depth understanding of the problems of governance In fact a combination of both approaches

১৪


is being increasingly used After all perceptions to some extent do affect action Also objective rules or regu lations may not always capture or represent all aspects of governance especially those that are often not implemented or weakly enforced and hence do not reflect reality or facts on the ground Governance indicators are multifaceted Thus it is often problematic to devise a single quantifiable measure or indicator of governance based on either perception or objective data This can be illustrated for the case of corruption as a component of governance There are multiple aspects of corruption defined in a broad sense as the abuse of public power for private gain They range from nepotism and favoritism to outright appropriation of public funds bribery in exchange of government permits or missllocation of public resources and last but not least capture of state bower by vested interests Therefore to search for a single measure for a phenomenon with a wide variety of components such as corruption may be misleading and not very usefull for policy purposes The several components of corruption are widely divergent with different implications regarding the misuse of public resources or their impact on growth or poverty reduction This suggests the need for a more disaggregated analysis of or appronch to the phenomenon of corruption To illustrate the impact of one form of corruption such as illegal payments or bribes by private businesses to public officials let us say for public procurement projects or contracts for development projects depends partly on how predictable the payments are Uncertainty regarding (a) the identity of the pu blic official to whom the bribe has to be given andor (b) the amou nt of the bribe to be given has significant disincentives for private investment This is a phenomenon that is likely to occur when m ultiple agents of the public agencies solicit bribes in various amounts so that the investor is unable to predict the cost and assess the profitability of the investment consequently (s)he is likely to be discouraged If the illegal payments are predictable and if they yield the results expected by the bribe giver they do not dampen or discourage investment incenti ve as much however they increase the cost of projects to the pu blic sector which is a diversion of public resources to private purposes to be shared between the bri be taker and the bribe giver In a democratic political system the system of com1ption is widely diffused as the political power is also decentralized or diffused It is more difficult to

establish a centralized system of bribery where bribe taking is predictably linked to the enforcement of the contract The competing agents ofien acting on behalf of the highest authority or principal have different degrees of influence on the principal source of power they are not always successful in delivering their part of the bargain The resulting uncerta inty d iscourages the bribe giving investor and is therefore prejudicial to the investment climate What is the Relationship between Governance and Development Most of the cross-country empirical studies of the impact of governance on development restrict themselves to the analysis of one or two characteristics or components of governance such as property rights variously defined or contract enforcement in respect of a few selected transactions or one or two aspects of the rule of law The availability of data for a large num ber of countries determines the choice of the governance variables in the cross-country regression analysis Analytically this is not a very satisfactory approach for the choice of the governance variables In addition to intershy country cross-section studies individual country case studies and focused inter-country comparisons have also been used to examine the lessons of historical experience on the governance amp development relationship The appropriate statistical techniques and methodology to study the relationship between governance and development either on the basis of cross-section or time series analysis or individual country studies continue to be refined A few conclusions regarding the relationship between governance and development which seem to be widely but not conclusively accepted so far are bull Not only does governance affect development but a reverse causation may also exist ie development affects governance The latter occurs because along with economic growth there is likely to be first a greater demand for better governance and second a country with a high income has at its disposal greater resources to implement mies and to set up organizations for better governance bull In most countries governance improvement and economic growth and development have been associated in a mutually reinforcing manner What is now widely recognized is that good governance ie rules of the game which affect socioeconomicpolitical transactions between individuals and states on the one hand and ensure the accountability and transparency in such transactions on the other take time to develop However some

১৫


clements of governance including rules and organizations can be developed with less time and effort than others bull More knowledge is needed about processes pC1thways or mechanisms through which individual components of governance affect development perfonnance Th is knowledge may heJp determine the order of priority in undertaking governance refonns Past experience in many countries especially the present-day developed countries seem to indicate that property rights and contract enforcement were the most important components of good governance and may therefore deserve priority or attention But then there may be different institutional or organizational forms both fonnal and informal which may ensure the observance of the basic principles underlying property rights They include collective communal or individual rights wh ich depend on the stage of development of a country and which may ensure incentives for both production and accumulation In general terms there seems to be an agreement among analysts that at low levels of income a few important elements of governance such as rule of law property rights and contract enforcement are often enforced by informal rules customs and traditions rather than by formal rules and regulations For example as long as economic transactions such as exchange trade borrowing or lending are confined to small geographical areas or among individuals in a community or in ethnic or lingu istic groups informal rules of behavior suffice similarly as long as the trnnsactions are straightforward and do not require complex legal documentation enforceable by law formal rules of contract enforcement and dispute settlement are not important since the latter is usually achieved by the intervention of the elders of society or by informal arbitration methods At the later stages of development when transactions become complex and extend beyond the fam il iar networks of social interaction or to a wider geographical area formal rules become important At this stage of development the absence of formal rules of contract enforcement andor dispute settlement may become binding constraints on the acceleration of growth It is to be noted that the organizational adm inistrative or legal structures to ensure property rights and contract enforcement that prevail today in the advanced countries took a long time to develop Broad Considerations Relating to the Priority of Governance Reforms It has been suggested that the extent the content and the stages of governance

reforms depend on the context ie the political and economic characteristics of societies for which governance reforms are contemplated The states can be differentiated in broad tenns by types of political systems with certain characteristics and capacities For example one can designated minimally institutionalized states as those with an unstable m ixture of personal and impersonal rules with varying degrees of legitimacy and with political parties based partly on personalities basic rules of the game which determine the institutional capacity of state are established in law and practice but they function intem1ittently or poorly In these states the degree of state legitimacy is low or modest ie no consensus exists about institutions for resolving conflicts disputes and there is conflict over the right to wield power the organizational capacity of the state to carry out its responsibilities on a sustained basis is modest or low There are some organizations to provide public and welfare services but they are often patchy and based on patronage The context of a state defined by the above characteristics is different from that of institutional ized competitive states Therefore the argument runs that the context of a state as outl ined above provides a guide to prioritizing governance refonns for example in m inimally institutionalized states priority may attach to (a) establishment of a basic conflict resolution system (b) achievement of consensus on the basic ru les of the game for pol itical succession (c) ability to carry out core administrative tasks and (d) ability to provide basic services to most of the population ln the institutionalized competitive states priori ty attaches to ensuring equity fairness in justice and access to services transparent government decision making and implementation process responsiveness of the government to inputs from organized groups and citizens participation and full accountability of the government for its decisions and implementation Even though a country faces governance constraints on development on many fronts in a realistic situation a country can only proceed in a sequential fashion The identification of binding constraints among the various components of governance at a given moment of time determines the order of sequencing reforms Several studies suggest a variety of conclusions (a) significant growth can be stimulated by a small num ber of institutional and policy changes and not necessarily over the whole range of governance components (b) while development may be promoted

১৬


initially by changes in selected but important elements of governance improvements in multiple directions or com ponents will be required to sustain it in the long run (c) a few specific aspects of governance such as secure property rights and contract enforcement stand out as the basic requirements for growth as seems to be indicated by the past experience of a few present-day developed countries such features of governance as voiceaccountability a wide range of political liberties or a professional civil service seem to emerge on ly gradually over time in conjunction with or as a consequence of economic growth Considerable disagreement persists among researchers about the historical and political economy factors which are most impo1tant in promoting good governance Determining the Priorities of Governance Reforms It remains an unnsolvcd question with considerable disagreement among researchers and policymakers as to whether the necessary governance deficits can be or need to be tackled all at once since institutions and capacity take time to build Even though countries face situations in which many constraints need to be addressed simultaneously they can deal with constraints only sequentially (a few at a time) It is preforable to examine the binding constraints by relying on common sense and economic analysis One way to undertake a sort of diugnostic exercise in identi fying problems of governance and seeking their solutions is through consultation and deliberations on different aspects of governance among the various stakeholders involved To illustrate in respect of governance reforms in in frastructure the relevant stakeholders are the public officials or entities involved in regulating or investing in infrastructure facilities private investors and operators and users of the services or outputs of the sector Extending the same logic to the national economy as a whole discussions and deliberations among the citizens business firms public officials various civil society groups think-tan ks and government agencies aided by surveys of opinion of multiple stakeholders should help identify the priority areas of governance in which reforms are needed It is essential that such consultation and deliberation in search of identifying binding constraints should be assisted by systematic and substantive analysis of economic development prospectspotentials overall or sectoral as well as possi ble impediments or obstacles The quality and wva of such exercise can be enhanced by an analysis of the experiences of

similarly situated developing countries in identifying their building constraints and in sequencing governance reforms A related question is whether the governance problems are better approached or resolved at the level of the sector rather than at the level of the economy as a whole Which of the economic sectors ie infrastructure agriculture or industry should be the entry point for reforms There is no universally applicable answer to such a question It is arguable that the sectoral governance problems cannot be isolated from the economypolity-wide governance problems and can not be solved without the macro governance issues impinging upon it and undoing whatever steps arc taken at the sector level Also even if improvements in a sector can be made in the short tun can they be sustained in the long run or do governance problems reemerge swamped as they are by the macro misgovernance Relationship between Policies and Governance Desirable policy reforms may be obstructed by bad governance as in the case of state capture by vested interests maneuvering laws and regulations to benefit themselves For example the policy of protectionism which has often in ibited economic growth and efficient allocation of resources has been marked by successful lobbying by the vested interests of domestic producers They are unable to compete with imports and are unwilling to improve their efficiency through competition hence they exercise political pressure to be able to rely on rents guaranteed by protective tariffs Transparent policymaking process by accou ntable governments is most likely to resu in effective or efficient policy outcomes On the other hand in ce1tain circumstances policy reforms can help improve governance Market liberalization policies by reducing the scope of discretionaiy power of officials in respect of controls and regulations can help reduce the scope for corruption In this context questions have been raised in the light of experiences of countries with low level of governance which nonetheless have achieved quite satisfactory economic growth as to whether there was not a slack of their governance potential so that it was not a binding constraint in the early stages of growth Improvements in macroeconomic pol icies such as trade and exchange rate fiscal and monetary policies andor reforms in sectoral policies such as deregulation of investment and liberalization of inputoutput markets led to noticeable increases in investment and income where shortcomings in the

১৭


state of governance were not serious enough to fully undo the favorable consequences of policy reforms How long and to what extent policy reforms with unchanged governance can improve economic performance depends upon the circumstances of each country Achievements in improved governance can be reversed Governance problems once resolved do not necessarily remain resolved forever there is a tendency to slide back especially if interest groups emerge to undo the initial improvement The Political Economy of Governance Reforms The analysis of the drivers or agents of reforms in governance as well as their timing constitutes a subject matter on which not much can be said with certainty the political economy of reforms is in its infancy This requires the identification of social political economic and institutional factors which are supportive or obstructive of change incentives of different actors in the society to support change and their role power and influence in the government vis-a-vis those who oppose change It is often said that leadership - political leadership-shy is of crucial importance in the initiation of and implementation of governance refonns But then very little is known how the leadership for reform develops or emerges At a certain point of time a leader with a band of like-minded collaborators with conviction and courage appears on the political scene and pushes for refonns Circumstances may throw up leaders or leaders may emerge to mold circumstances to implement their own vision with an agenda of political change or governance The process or occasion for governance reforms is often a matter of serendipity or an accidental combination of circumstances In certain countries civil society membersorganizations have emerged as agents of change and may include media or think tanks which may organizemobilize public opinion or create pressure for change Acceptabil ity and feasibility of reforms in any case depends on the development of national consensus Pressures from organized and conscious interest groups like the domestic private sector may also play their part In certain circumstances the extemal agencies ie international development agencies or donor agencies may act to promote changes they may promote and facilitate dialogue and consultation among national stakeholders as well as promote exchange of experience among similarly selected countries in respect of governance reforms

Participation in regional cooperation arrangements or global economic institutions frequently requires important changes in the governance system The admission to WTO has required important changes in the economic and legal system in the member countries On the whole research on various aspects of governance analytical conceptual and quantitative -- including its historical evolution guidelines for reforms and their sequencing is a work-in-progress Much remains to be done requiring the engagement of development theorists and policymakers at the national and international levels The historical experience of other developing countries docs not always provide unambiguous answers How difficult is it to identify the relative importance ofthe various components of governance reforms is illustrated by the example of South Korea In that country reforms in several aspects of government took place more or Jess within the same period such as improved property rights greater government efficiency greater regulatory quality (fiscal rcfonns) political governance and stability Also during the period there were significant improvements in education The analysts of the Korean historical experience are at a loss to identify wh ich ones of these governance reforms or improvements were the most important (The writer is a former Deputy Chairman First Planning Commission (1972-75) and Research Fellow Emeritus International Food Policy Research Institute Washington DC For a copy of the paper with the references please contact the author at rnurulgmailcom)

Better Understanding Gender Inequality Issues in Social and Economic Context

Kaniz N Siddique

1 Introduction An individual has many identities in a society Some of these identities make peoplersquos position in the society strong or weak Some of these identities are being men or women old or young children or adult tribal or non-tribal Muslim Hindu Christian Buddhist or any other religion etc These groups face different realities obstacles and

১৮


opportunities and have different needs and priorities Therefore social policies development plans systems of governance institutions and media needs to take those differences into consideration in identifying strategies policies projects programs and activities to remove obstacles address needs and expand opportunities to achieve gender equality The main objectives of this article are to better understand what is gender sources of gender based inequality and draw some conclusion which have important policy implications 2 Gender Equality in Bangladesh It is well recognized by various stakeholders that over the last twothree decades 490 percent of the population who are female have gained visible and measurable improvement in terms of their positions in the society Bangladesh has made significant progress in the areas of gender equality and womenrsquos participations and opportunities in both public and private spheres of life These progresses took place in terms of womenrsquos increased visibility and mobility in public space education economic participation political and social empowerment etc There has also been improvement in social attitudes towards women and their economic participation too has become noticeable Bangladesh ranks 139 among 188 countries in Human Development Index (HDI) and 119 among 159 countries in Gender Inequality Index (UNDP Human Development Report 2016) A comparison with three neighboring countriesrsquo shows that in HDI India ranks 131 Nepal ranks 144 and Pakistan ranks 147 In GII India ranks 125 Nepal ranks 115 and Pakistan ranks 130 Compared to the other South Asian countries Bangladesh can claim relatively better positions both in terms of human development and gender inequality However it is still true that Bangladesh has a long way to go in achieving gender equality through womenrsquos empowerment and advancement 3 New Challenges Women in Bangladesh have many obstacles to overcome in reducing gender-based discriminations With various progresses of the past women are currently confronting resistance from various fronts As women started to get benefits through various affirmative actions in education health quota and higher age limit for women in government jobs assistance in starting business through micro credit etc counterpart men are strongly resenting such ldquoprivilegesrdquo for women In an economy with limited opportunities and resources the activities and policies taken by government and civil-society to improve womenrsquos conditions to a large extent are

translated as opportunities and resources being taken away from men This is creating a confrontational environment Womenrsquos increased voice and their success in various walks of life (although few in number however gets over importance) is making them a threat in terms of opportunities and resources are being taken away from men This battle is becoming more overt and often is manifested in terms of open hostility In the seventies and till late 80s womenrsquos issues were addressed in formulating development policies from a welfare perspective Taking an attitude of lsquohelping helpless womenrsquo was more easily accepted by society in general men in particuler Through womenrsquos movements and continues negotiation with the government a right based approach is emerging and lsquohelping helpless womenrsquo attitude of men is fast disappearing Men feel that they are not only competing with women in schools and workplaces but they also perceive that they are losing ground in home in terms of maintaining male dominance In a patriarchal value system men feel that they are being emasculated Adding religious dimension to it the confrontational atmosphere is getting bad to worse Islamic religious leaders of the community holds ldquowaazrdquo on a regular basis where they attempt to deepen religious knowledge and gives sermons on how to practice Islam in everyday life These sermons are often their own interpretations and give advises which are overtly anti-women and promote regressive ideas such as not to educate girls advocates early marriage tacitly supports violence against women discourages women to enter into job market After Friday prayers also in the mosques the Imam gives ldquokutbardquo (surmons) These Kutbas also often have the same contents promotes overtly anti-women and regressive ideas These are on the rise as a result of huge government spending on madrasa education over a long period of time Thus we observe on the one hand government and NGOs are taking some progressive actions for womenrsquos advancement and on the government is spending and supporting mardasa education who are working as a force against womenrsquos advancement Thus the confrontational situation between man and women is getting more tensed Women are increasingly participating in activities outside the boundaries of home More women are going to schools colleges and to work Women also go outside for shopping taking children to schools or for obtaining medical services Women are also going

১৯


out for entertainment and participating in national and social occasions In many cases women are outside the home without being accompanied by men This increases their real and perceived vulnerability to be subject to sexual harassment and abuse in the public spaces and also in the work places Men are often unable to deal with women in sharing public spaces transport system and work places Women outside the boundaries of home in the eye of the society are considered as public property Thus being assaulted or harassed is something women deserve when they steps out of home Deterring women of course is a part of controlling womenrsquos lives and bodies as it is the fundamental premise of a feudalistic patriarchal system This needs to be pointed out within the home also women are not safe as they are subject to physical and emotional violence Womenrsquos movement worldwide and also in Bangladesh paid attention in empowering women and establishing women rights Over the years addressing gender equality moved away from a women only approach to gender approach where the objective is to improve gender dynamics or men and women relations in all spheres of life Also as men were sidelined or felt sidelined inclusion of men in the process of changing gender dynamics is essential For effectively addressing gender issues in all development activities it is essential to unpack the concept of gender and basis for gender based inequality 4 Gender based Inequality Gender is about being a man or a woman in the context of a society However being men and women has two aspects first physiological aspects and secondly social aspects The physiological aspects of being a man or a woman are rather clear This addresses the fact that we are mainly either men or women in a biological sense But the social aspects of being men or women are more complex These social aspects (socially determined roles and responsibilities of men and women and also relationship between men and women) of being men and women are called gender The social aspects of being men or women are what interest the social scientists and the policymakers In the context of social economic political policy formulation and building institutions this statement needs some more explanation Gender is basically a

category of classification to distinguish how society and institutions treats men and women in terms of their roles and responsibilities norms of behaviours codes of conducts legal social political and economic rights etc Gender classification is based on distinct biological roles of men and women in human reproduction On the basis of these roles perceptions regarding their social and economic roles and the value attached to these roles have emerged Around these perceptions also a set of cultural social legal and economic institutions have developed in every society which determine what is being a man or a woman means in that society Therefore gender can be conceptualised as the social construction of men and women based on their biological roles Therefore gender should not be read as pertaining to women It should be understood as socially constituted relationship between men and women To understand social construction of male and female one needs to distinguish three different activities (a) human physical reproduction or human procreation (b) social reproduction and (c) economic production Human reproduction processes till birth refers to physical reproduction or human procreation In physical reproduction biological sex difference and

biological divisions of labour determine the roles and responsibilities of men and women These two factors basically refer to the physiological difference between men and women To be born as male and female and their roles in physical reproduction process are determined by nature (at this point in technological development) and canrsquot be changed by changing social policies

২০


Box 1

Examples of social construction of men and women

bull Because men participate more in production activities and women

participates more in reproductive activities makes menrsquos work more visible

then womenrsquos work This creates a social perception that men contribute

more to a society then women and therefore men are valued more relative

to women In this ldquobreadwinnerrdquo Vs ldquohomemakerrdquo division of labor

women is considered to be subordinate to that of men Such perception

leads to limited access of women wealth and to opportunities in developing

personal capacity through education and skill training for girls and women

bull Economic roles and responsibilities such as womens works are in

reproductive and mens works are in productive sector are often rigidly

defined leading to lower investment on education for girls creating labor

market rigidities both in terms of special and occupational movements

bull Social institutions such as child marriage especially for girls leads to no

or very little investment on girl childrenrsquos education which makes them

less able to participate in the economic activities

bull Legal practices such as no or relatively less ownership of property by

women makes it difficult or impossible for women to get access to credit

markets and undertake business venture

bull Cultural practices such as women not being allowed to go in the public

deter women to participate in market-oriented activities

The rearing and caring process after birth and other household activities can be called as social reproduction Beyond physical procreation human development after birth requires a long period of caring and also later for sustenance requires replenishment of food nutrition and stable environment to rest and replenish human strength and energy This rearing caring and replenishing process is called social reproduction They also require caring within the household in case of illness Finally human beings also need goods and services for improving the quality of life and to meet their material demands The

process by which these goods and services are obtained is basically known as production Biological sex difference and biological division of labour determine the roles and responsibilities of men and women in physical procreation process However a whole host of factors determine the nature of the social construction of gender These factors can be mainly divided into three categories (i) social division of labour (ii) economic division of labour and (iii) social legal political and economic institutions (see Flowchart 1)

In social division of labour women are responsible for social reproduction and men are responsible for activities in production In economic division of labour men are expected to work in formal and in market-oriented activities women are expected to work in informal and subsistence activities Around these social and economic divisions of labour other institutions in the form of social legal and economic structure practices and norms have emerged A value system has developed determining how men and women should dress behave think and even feel That is how society constructed gender perceptions and

relationships Gender Relationship Biological difference between men and women as a basis for gender relation and the creation of the division of labour and the development of social institutions around it in itself should not be a matter of great concern If men and women have any comparative advantage a division of labour along that line of comparative advantage is expected to create efficiency in the utilization of limited resources as expected in case of specialization However gender division of labour has moved far a way from its rationale of comparative advantage and specialization In reality gender division of labour has become a matter of serious concern because it creates rigidity in division of labour along gender lines These divisions of labour are socially enforced and interrupt smooth functioning of the market mechanisms This division of labour is also not voluntary and it stereotype men and women in specific activities Gender division of labour has become a tool of

discrimination against women This gender based division of labour and specialization can be compared with caste system which is also emerged from division of labour Another factor to note is that gender relations which emerged out of gender division of labour are hierarchical In this division not only the value associated to menrsquos work is more than womenrsquos work but also men are valued more than women Men are considered as primary social and economic agents Division of labour in the reproductive and productive

২১


sectors created a power relationship where womenrsquos position is subordinated to that of the men This also creates for women social and economic oppressions which have been institutionalised through social and cultural practices religious believes legal structure and practices economic and social policies and institutions etc A critical example of such subordination is that although manrsquos roles as breadwinner and womenrsquos roles as homemaker are equally important for the well-being of families and to each other yet the breadwinner therefore men are considered as the primary and also dominant agent within the household community and the society Gender across time and space The social construction of gender across time and space has many similarities and also dissimilarities Similarity exists because the basis for gender division is same for all societies Dissimilarity exists because it is socially constructed and different societies are at different stages of their social and economic development The nature of the social and economic division of labour institutional set-ups and the greater value system varies among countries and they have changed over time Thus at a point in time different society adheres to different gender value system and gender relationship at the same time in every society gender relationship is changing overtime Therefore the concept of gender varies both in space and time

Both in the developed and developing countries over

time womenrsquos social political economic and legal

statuses have changed and are still changing Some of

these changes took places as a part of natural process

of social and economic transformations But many

other changes took place out of deliberate efforts of

the social thinkers and activists policy makers etc At

the same time there is a great similarity in gender line

division Similarity exits because the basis for gender

division is same for all society On the other hand it

also varies because it is socially constructed The

factors that differentiate the dynamics in a society also

determine gender The concept of gender is being

continuously defining and redefining gender

construction of men and women As human societies

are evolving these factors are in a constant flux

Therefore the gender construction is also evolving

Some of these changes took places as a part of natural

process of social and economic changes But in many

cases such changes took place out of deliberate efforts

of the social thinkers and activists Please Note This

is the first Article in a series of articles to be

forthcoming In this series of articles mainly social

and economic issues around gender inequality will be

addressed Legal and formal institutional issues will

be discussed where necessary however deeper analysis

will remain outside the scope of this series of articles

The contents of this article are taken from various

publications of the author (Dr Siddique is an

economists who has worked for the World Bank

Ministry of Finance and taught at North-South

University in Dhaka Currently an independent

consultant her expertise are in addressing gender

issues in national budgets amp development programs)

নিয় োঠক ndash আগারী সাংখযায় িকাদশর জিয আেিার রতারত োঠাি lsquoিাগনরকrsquoএর োতায় িাগনরকতব মা

করি

lsquoযবগমrsquo সমপাবদকা নরজািান যবগম ndash

আমার lsquoবড় যবানrsquo

বসয়দ বজয়াউর রিমান (lsquoযবগমrsquo সমপাবদকা নরজািান যবগম যলাকািবরর িন ২০১৬ সাহলর

২৩যর যম এ বির পাবলর িহে রাার পররম মরয বাবষতকী এrsquoউপলহকষ এই শরদধানজলী - সমপাদক)

সাবিরয পবিকা মাবসক lsquoসওগারrsquo আর মবিলা সাপতাবিক lsquoযবগমrsquoএর সমপাদনার কাহজ আবম যোগ যদই ১৯৫৫ সাহলর এবপরল মাহস সমপাবদকা নরজািান যবগম যমাটামবট এই সময় যরহকই ঢাকার পরহনা সির এলাকার পাটয়াটবলহর lsquoযবগহমrsquoএর অবিহস বনয়বমর আসা-োওয়া শর কহরন রাার বাবা বাংলা সাবিরয পি-পবিকা পরকারনার অনযরম পবরকৎ যমািমমদ নাবসরউেীহনর সংহগ কাহজ যোগ যদয়ার অলপ বকিবদহনর মহধযই আবম অবভভর lsquoযবগমrsquo সমপাবদকার মমতবহবাধ ও আিবরকরায় এর মহধয একবদন আকবিক ভাহবই বরবন জানহর চাইহলন আমার জনম যকান সাহল আবম রখন ২৩ বিহরর ররণ বললাম ইংহরবজ ১৯৩২ সাহল বরবন বলহলন রাার জনম ১৯২৫ সাহল - অরতাৎ আমার সার বিহরর বড় বরবন আমার মহন পড়হলা আমার বনহজর বড় যবাহনর করা বরবনও বিহলন আমার বিক সার

২২


বিহরর বড় সবলপকাল আহগই বরবন যলাকািবরর িহয়হিন lsquoযবগমrsquo সমপাবদকা বলহলন বরবন বড় যবাহনর মর ndash এবং রাাহক lsquoআপাrsquo বহল সহমবাধন করহর িহব আমার দহচাখ রখন বাসপােনন আহবগ সমবরণ কহর বললাম ldquoরািহল এখন যরহক আমাহক আর lsquoআপবনrsquo বলহবন না এবং আমার নাহমর যরহষ lsquoসাহিবrsquo বহল সহমবাধন করহবন নাrdquo নরজািান আপা বলহলন ldquoরাহর অসববধা আহি কারণ আপবন আমার সহঙগ অবিহস বহস পবিকা সমপাদনার কাজ কহরন ndash এবং যস যকষহি আপনার আনষঠাবনক পদ-মেতাদা রকষা কহর চলাই ভাহলা রহব আপবন আমার যিাট ভাইrsquoই রকহবনrdquo lsquoসওগারrsquo-lsquoযবগমrsquoএ যোগ যদয়ার শরহরই নাবসরউেীন সাহিব আমাহক বহলবিহলন বরকষা-সংসকবর যকষহি যমহয়হদর অনপরাবণর করার জহনয বরবন মবিলা-সাপতাবিকী পরকার করহিন বকনত যমহয়হদর মহধয এর জনয উপেি কমতীর েহরি অভাব রহয়হি ndash এবং রার িহল যিহলহদর বদহয়ই যমহয়হদর পবিকা চালাহর িহে বরবন আরও বহলবিহলন অদর ভববষযহর যমহয়রা োহর পি-পবিকা পবরচালনার কাহজ উৎসাবির িয় lsquoযবগমrsquoএর পরহচিা িহব যসই লহকষ lsquoযবগমrsquo সমপাদনার কাহজ - ববহরষ কহর সাপতাবিক পি-পবিকার বিচার বনবনধ যলখার মহরা পরহয়াজনীয় সংখযক মবিলা কমতী রখন পেতি ঢাকায় বিলনা িহল পরায়ই সাংবাবদক বনধ-বানধবহদর মহধয দrsquoএকজনহক ধহর আনরাম যদর-ববহদহর নারী-জাগরহণর ইবরিাস বরলপ-সাবিরয-ববজঞাহনর যকষহি মবিলাহদর অবদান জারীয়-আিজতাবরক খযাবর সমপনন মবিলাহদর জীবন কাবিনী ইরযাবদ নানা ববষহয় সংবাদ বনবনধ যলখার জনয এর জনয আমাহক lsquoযবগমrsquo অবিহস রাকহর িহরা সকাল দরটা যরহক সনধযা পেতি রাহরর যবলা আবম কাজ কররাম ঢাকার একটা বদবনক পবিকায় zwnjzwnjনরজািান আপা আমার এই অবরবরি পবরশরম লাঘহবর জনয যচিা চালাহর লাগহলন সাপতাবিক lsquoযবগমrsquoএর রখন পেতি

আবরতক অবসথা খব একটা সেল িহয় ওহিবন রা সহেও বরবন নাবসরউেীন সাহিব যক রাজী করাহলন খনডকালীন কাহজ অবরবরি কহয়কজন কমতী বনহয়াহগ নরজািান আপা পররহমই যবগহমর পহরা দই পষঠার িায়ািবব ববভাহগর জনয বনহয় এহলন পরখযার অবভহনরা িহরি যলািানীর যবান রাার কহলজ জীবহনর সিপািী বনধ বববরি সংগীর বরলপী হসনা বান খানমহক রারপর যদর ববহদহরর মবিলা জগহরর খবরা খবর সবাসথয যসৌনদেত বরশ পবরচেতা বচবকৎসা সংকরাি টবক-টাবক খবর ndash এসব যলখায় সািাহেযর জনয বনহয় এহলন ঢাকা ববশবববদযালহয়র মবিলা যিাহেল যরহক আখরার জািান িবরদা বান নাহম এক ররণীহক বরবম ভাল বলখহরন এবং যবর বকিকাল কাজ কহরহিন lsquoযবগমrsquoএ এর পর োারাা এহলন রাহদর মহধয বিহলন িবরদা মীজতা মাসদা যচৌধরী রওরান আরা যবগম নরজািান আপার সিপািী বনধ আনজমান আরা যবগম বদল মহনায়ারা মন পরমখ পরবরতীকাহল আরও যে দrsquoএকজন বনেি বিহলন এই মিহরত আমার মহন পড়হিনা রাাহদর নাম zwnjzwnjঅনযবদহক মাহে-মহধয lsquoযবগমrsquoএর পরেদ পষঠার জনয এবং রিহর মবিলাহদর নানা কমত-রৎপররার িবব রহল বদহয়হিন যবর কহয়কজন রাহদর মধয একজন বিহলন আহলাক বচিী সাঈবয়দা খানম বরবন lsquoযবগমrsquoএ ভাল গলপও বলখহরন এrsquoিাড়াও নরজািান আপা lsquoযবগমrsquoএর জনয িবব বনহয়হিন আরও কহয়ক জন আহলাকবচিীর কাি যরহক রাহদর মহধয বিহলন ঢাকা ববশবববদযালহয়র উবদভদ ববদযা ববভাহগর িািী সবিয়া সািানারা বাদল মীজতা কামরল পরমখ এরা যকউই lsquoযবগমrsquoএর বনয়বমর কমতী বিহলন না সমপাদনা িাড়াও পরবর সপতাহি আমাহক বলখহর িহরা সমপাদকীয় নানা ববষহয় একবট মল পরবনধ ববজঞান ববষহয় বিচার বনবনধ সপতাহির সংবকষপত সংবাদ ইরযাবদ রহব পরবরবষঠর যলবখকাহদর গলপ পরবনধ কববরা সাধারণর এক নজর যদহখ সরাসবর যপরসrsquoএ পাবিহয় যদয়া যের যলখা-যলবখর জনয নরজািান আপা সািােয করহরন আমাহক ররয-উপকরণ েবগহয় নাবসরেীন সাহিব পঞচাহরর দরহকর শরহর যকালকারা যরহক মাবসক lsquoসওগারrsquo ও সাপতাবিক lsquoযবগমrsquo েখন ঢাকায় বনহয় আহসন রখন রার সমপাদনার দাবয়হতব বিহলন পররহম কবব আিসান িাববব রার বির দrsquoএক পহর কবব ও বরশ সাবিবরযক িাবববর রিমান রার পর আমাহদর বববরি বনধ িাসান িাবিজর রিমান সবলপকাহলর জনয আবদল গািিার যচৌধরী এবং রারপর আমার কহলজ জীবহনর সিপািী ও বনধ খনদকার িাবববর রিমান আর সব যরহষ আবম আবম বিলাম ১৯৫৫ সাল যরহক ১৯৭৬ সাহল ভহয়স অব আহমবরকায় যোগ যদয়ার জনয আহমবরকায় োওয়ার আহগ পেতি দীঘত ২১ বির zwnjzwnjএই সদীঘতকাল বনধতাবরর দাবয়তব পালহনর সহঙগ সহঙগ একটা ববষয় খব সপি উপবধদধ কহরবিলাম যে আবম নাবসরউেীন সাহিব ও নরজািান আপার যেহি বসি রখন আর আমার সওগার যবগমrsquoএর কাজহক চাকরী মহন যিাহরা না যপরস কলাহবর আডডায় বনধ-বানধবরা পরায়ই িাটটা কহর বলহরন যে যমহয়হদর কাগহজ যরহক আমর নাবক মবিলাহভর যকান সমভাবনা যনই

২৩


রাাহদর এই িাটটা আবম উবড়হয় বদহয়বি িাাবস মহখ যস সময় একটা বদবনক পবিকার সমপাদক আমাহক বহলবিহলন আবম ইো করহল lsquoসওগারrsquo-lsquoযবগমrsquo যিহড় আরও ভাল যবরহন যে যকান বদন রার কাগহজ যোগ বদহর পাবর রাাহকzwnjবহলবিহলম ধনযবাদ মাি করহবন মাবসক lsquoসওগারrsquoএর পরকারনার সমাবপত ঘহট ১৯৬০ এর দরহকর পররমাহধত রারপর করতপহকষর সাববতক মহনাহোগ lsquoযবগমrsquoএর ওপর বক ভাহব আরও জনবপরয় কহর যরালা োয় সাপতাবিক lsquoযবগমrsquoযক এর পরবর সপতাহির গলপ-কববরা-পরবনধ বিাইহয়র এবং অনযানয বনয়বমর বিচার উপসথাপহনর দাবয়তব বিল আমার ওপর নাবসরউেীন সাহিব ও নরজািান আপার করততব সাববতক বযবসথাপনার এই বযবসথাপনার দাবয়তব যরহক যবর বকি জবটল ও গররর পবরবসথবরর যমাকাহবলা কহরহিন নরজািান আপা বধেত ও সািবসকরার সংহগ এখাহন একবট পবরবসথবর lsquoযবগমrsquoএর ইবরিাহস lsquoযবগমrsquoএর জনবপরয়রা ও কাটবর েখন উধতমখী যস সময় একবদন নাবসরউেীন সাহিব পরসতাব করহলন কলকারার সাপতাবিক lsquoযদরrsquo পবিকার ldquoটরাহম-বাহসrdquo রীষতক কলাহমর মর lsquoযবগমrsquoও এ ধরহনর একটা কলাম উপসথাপন করা যেহর পাহর ndash োহর রাকহব সম-সাবময়ক যকান একটা বকির পরসঙগ উহললখ কহর রার ওপর বযাঙগ মিবয এই কলাহমর নাম যদয়া িল ldquoিাল-চালrdquo যসই অনোয়ী পররম সপতাহির কলাহম নাসরউেীন সাহিব বনহজই বলখহলন ldquoনরন বদনrdquo নাহম ঢাকার এক সাপতাবিক পবিকায় পরকাবরর একবট খবহরর উদধবর বদহয় রার ওপর মিবয বলখহলন ldquoজানা যগহি পরািন পরাহদবরক পরত মনতরী কবিলউেন যচৌধরীর সারবট ভবন বনবমতবর িহয়হি ঢাকা রিহর এবং রার জনয রাার পহকট যরহক সারবট পয়সাও খরচ িয়বনrdquo রারপর এই খবহরর ওপর মিবয করহলন ldquoআলাউেীহনর পরদীপ যপহয়বিহলন িয়হরাrdquo lsquoযবগমrsquoএর এই সংখযা পরকাহরর পর পহরই কবিল উেীন যচৌধরী পবিকার পরকারক নাসরউেীন ও সমপাদক নরজািানzwnjযবগহমর ববরহদধ সার লকষ টকার কষবরপরণ দাবী কহর মানিাবনর মামলা দাহয়র করহলন নাবসরবেন সাহিব এzwnjরকমটা ভাবহর পাহরন বন বরবন ববপেতয় অনমান কহর এ বনহয় দরর একজন আইনজীবীর সহঙগ পরামরত করহর যগহলন আইনজীবী সব যদহখ শহন বলহলন এই মামলায় lsquoযবগমrsquoএর পরাজয় অবরযমভাবী কারণ যকান অসরয খবর অনয যকান পবিকা যরহক উদধর করহলও রা আইন বসদধ িহব না নাবসরবেন সাহিব ববচবলর িহয় পড়হলন কারণ সার লকষ টাকা কষবরপরণ বদহর িহল রার সওগার যপরস বববকর করহর িহব এবং অবধাবরর ভাহব lsquoযবগমrsquoএর পরকারনা বনধ িহয় োহব বকনত নরজািান আপা ববচবলর িহলন না খব বধহেতর সংহগ বচিা ভাবনা কহর একটা পর যবর করহলন রার সবামী যরাকনজজমান খান বদবনক ইহিিাহকর ldquoকবচ কাচার আসরrdquo নহম বরশ ববভাহগর পবরচালক ldquoদাদাভাইrdquo বিসাহব সপবরবচর রাার কাহি বরবন শহনবিহলন রখনকার পবত পাবকসতাহনর রাজনীবরকহদর ওপর ইহিিাক সমপাদক যরািাজবল যিাহসন মাবনক বময়ার পরভাব বযাপক

মাবনক বময়া রখন আইয়ব খাহনর সামবরক আইহন যজলrsquoএ কারাবনদী নরজািান আপা ও নাবসরউেীন সাহিব যরাকনজজমান সাহিবহক বনহয় যগহলন ঢাকা যজহল মাবনক বময়ার কাহি এবং রাহক বলহলন এই ববপেতহয়র করা মাবনক বময়া বলহলন বরবন মামলা পররযািাহরর জনয কবিল উেীন যচাধরী সাহিবহক রাজী করাহনার যচিা করহবন রহব রাহর করটা সিল িহবন বলহর পাহরন না যরষ পেতি মাবনক বময়ার পীড়া-পীবড়হর সমমর িহলন কবিল উেীন যচাধরী সাহিব ndash রহব বরবন সরত আহরাপ করহলন ndash সার লকষ টাকা কষবরপরণ দাবীর জনয রাহক সার িাজার টাকা যকাটত িী বদহর িহয়হি এই টাকাটা রাহক বদহর িহব নাবসরউেীন সাহিব সংহগ সংহগ রাজী িহলন এবং কষমা পরারতনা করহলন ঐ খবর পরকাহরর জনয নরজািান আপার জনযই যসবদন সমভব িহয়হি lsquoযবগমrsquo এর এই ববপেতয় অবসান নরজািান আপা রাার বাবার সহঙগ অবপহস আসহরন দই যবলা ndash সকাল দরটা যরহক দপর একটা আর ববকাল পাাচটা যরহক রার দরটা আবম আসরাম সনধায় ১৯৬৩ সাহলর জানয়াবর মাহস আবম ঢাকায় ইউ এস আই এস এর ররয-গহবষনা ববভাহগ যোগ যদই ইউ এস আই এস এর সাপতাাবিক িবটরবদন বিল রবন ও রবববার এই দই বদনই আবম দপহর lsquoযবগমrsquo অবিহস আসরাম এমবন একবদন ঈদ সংখযা lsquoযবগমrsquoএর কাজ করহর এহসবিলাম সকাল দরটায় নরজািান আপা আর নাবসরউেীন সাহিব যসবদন েরারীবর বাড়ী চহল োন দপর একটায় রারপর

ঢাকায় lsquoযবগমrsquo সমপাবদকার বাড়ীহর বাম বদক যরহক ndash বরলপী কাইউম যচৌধরী যলখক বসয়দ বজয়াউর রিমান lsquoযবগমrsquo সমপাবদকা নরজািান যবগম যলখহকর সতরী যজবহননসা রিমান ও lsquoযবগমrsquo সমপাবদকার কনযা ইয়াসবমন খান বমর েখন সনধযায় আহসন রখনও আবম কাজ কহর োবে যটববহল মারা গাহজ নরজািান আপা এহসই বজহজঞস করহলন আবম বকি যখহয়বি বকনা বললাম সময় পাইবন নরজািান আপা ভয়ানক যরহগ যগহলন বলহলন বনহজর সবাহসথর বদহক যখয়াল রাখহবন রারপর িার-বযাগ যরহক টাকা যবর কহর যপরহসর এক কমতীহক

২৪


পািাহলন বাইহর করকষহণর মহধযই যটববহল এহস যগল গরম পহরাটা আর কাবাব নরজািান আপার বড়হবান সলভ এরকম যেহির সপরত যপহয়বি এই সদীঘত সমহয় আরও নানা ভাহব নাবসরউেীন সাহিব রাকহরন ঢাকা রিহরর নাবরনদা এলাকার ররৎ গপত যরাডrsquoএ আবম রখন সহব ভাড়া বনহয়বি ররৎ গপত যরাডrsquoএর কািাকাবি এক বাবড়ওয়ালীর যিাট একবট ঘর রখনও যকান আসবাব পি যকনা িয়বন রাহর শহয় পড়রাম যমহেহর ববিানা যপহর এমন সময় একবদন নরজািান আপার কাহজর যিহল রবিম কড়া যনহড় এহস ঢকল ঘহর বলহলা ldquoআপা পাবিহয়হিন আপবন যকারায় বক ভাহব রাহকন যদখহরrdquo রবিমহক বললাম ldquoআপাহক বলবব মিাতমা গানধী যে ভাহব রহকন আবম রবক যসভাহবrdquo বহলই রবিমহক ববদায় বদহয় দহরাজা বনধ কহর শহয় পড়লাম করকষণ পর আবার দরজায় কড়া নাড়ার রবদ রবিম এহসহি িাহর যগাটা দই কমবল ঘহর ঢহকই গড় গড় কহর বহল যগহলা ldquoআপা পাবিহয়হিন এই নরন দহটা কমবল বযবিার করা িয় বন আর এটা না রাখহল আপা খব রাগ করহবনrdquo রারপর আবম ওয়াবরংটহন চহল আবস ভহয়স অব আহমবরকায় যোগ যদয়ার জনয এখাহন আসার সার বির পর ১৯৮৩ সাহল পররম বগহয়বি ঢাকায় সতরী-পি বনহয় িবটহর নরজািান আপা আমাহদর আমনতরণ জাবনহয়হিন রাাহদর ররৎ গপত যরাডrsquoএর বাবড়হর দপহর খাবার যদখা িহরই আমাহক ডাকহলন নাহমর যরহষ lsquoসাহিবrsquo যোগ না কহর আর সহমবাধন করহলন lsquoরবমrsquo বহল আবম খবর িলাম বললাম lsquoএরবদহন আপনার সবরযকাহরর যিাট ভাই িহর পারলামrdquo নরজািান আপা যিহস বলহলন ldquoরবম যরা এখন আর lsquoযবগমrsquoএর সমপাদনায় যনইrdquo নরজািান আপা পরয়ার িহলন ২০১৬ সাহল ১৯৫৫ সাহলর পর আবারও আবম িারালাম আমার বড় যবান (বসয়দ বজয়াউর রিমান ভহয়স অব আহমবরকার সাহবক বসবনয়র এবডটর)

রওকরzwnjওসমানzwnjndash আমারzwnjরওকরzwnjমামা

ইকবালzwnjবািারzwnjযচৌধরী ২০১৭ সাহলর জানয়াবর মাহস বাংলাহদহরর পরবররেরা সাবিবরযক রওকর ওসমাহনর জনমররবাবষতকী পাবলর িহয়হি এই উপলহকষ যদরজহড় যগাটা বির নানা অনষঠাহনর আহয়াজন িহব বাবার মরযর পর রওকর ওসমান আর আমার মা আহনায়ারা বািার যচৌধরীর েগম সমপাদনায় ldquoিবীবললাি বািারrdquo এই বরহরানাহম একবট িারক গরনথ পরকাবরর িয় যসখাহন বরবন বলহখহিন ldquoবরনখানা কববরা বদহয় কবি নয় বসগাহরট যপহয় যগলাম গরামাঞচহল বয়ষক অনজ বদধ দাদার বদহক যপিন বিহর হাহকা টাহন শরদধা সমমান যদখাহনার সাহবক রীবর এই অগরহজর কাহি রার যে যো রইহলা না মহখামবখ বসহগরট টানা শর িল অগরহজর ধমহকই বয়হসর বযবধান দরর ঘহচ যগলldquo রওকর

ওসমান িবীবললাি বািার সমপহকত আহরা বলহখহিন ldquoউিরসরী ও সরীরতহদর সাকষাৎ ঘটহলা lsquoবলবলrsquo সমপাদহকর বাগাহন এক করায় জীবহনর পবরবধ যবহড় যগল সাংবাবদক আবল কালাম রামসবেন আয়নল িক খাা ও অনযানযহদর সহঙগ এখাহনই যচনা বরতমাহন সব সব যকষহি পরবরবষঠর কবব আবল যিাহসন আব ররদ যগালাম কেস (এখন পবিম বহঙগর অবধবাসী) িররখ আিহমদ আিসান িাববব ndash োরা আমার সরীরত নানা অহরত সকহলর সহঙগ সাকষাৎ lsquoবলবহলরrsquo ঘাহট বনহজর বয়স ও বচিাহক বরবনই অবরকরম করহর পাহরন জীবনীরবি োার অহঢল lsquoবলবলrsquo সমপাদহকর কাহি আমার বযবিগর ঋন রাই অহনক জীবহনর পবরবধ যবহড় যগল বলহল যকান অরযবি করা িয় না কারণ আতমার সিহর যেমন বহ সরাইখানা লাহগ যরমবন পরকি লাঘবকারী সঙগীর পরহয়াজন িয়rdquo িবীবললাি বািাহরর lsquoবলবলrsquo পবিকাহক বঘহর রওকর ওসমান ও রাার সমসামবয়ক ররণ যলখকহদর একটা যগাষঠী গহড় উহিবিল যসই ববটর আমহল বাবার করা বলখহর বগহয় রওকর ওসমান আহরা বলহখহিন ldquoমহনর নানা সবমধ ও উপকরণ আমার lsquoবলবহলরrdquo ঘাহট সংগিীর ঘাট মাবের ঋন কী যভালা োয়rdquo ১৯৩৮ সাহল আমার মা-বাবা পবরণয় সহি আবদধ িন মা যবগম যরাহকয়া পরবরবষঠর সাখাওয়ার যমহমাবরয়াল সকহলর িািী বিহলন রাার জীবেরায় সকল কহলহজর যলখাপড়া যরষ কহর ববহয়র বকিবদন পর মা কলকারার এই সকহল বরকষকরা শর কহরন এবং এই সকহলর পরধান বরবকষকার দাবয়তব পালন কহরন মাহয়র নাম আহনায়ারা আহনায়ারা বািার যচৌধরী রওকর ওসমাহনর যবাহনর নামও আহনায়ারা অলপ বয়হস বরবন মারা োন যসই দঃখ যসই যরাক বরবন ভলহর পাহরনবন যকানবদন যবান আহনায়ারাহক িারাহনার পর আমার মা আহনায়ারাহক যপহয় বরবন রাাহকই যবান ডাকহলন ভাই-যবাহনর এক নরন সমপকত গহড় উিহলা আমার বড়হবান মা বাবার পররম সিান যসবলনার জনম িহলা কলকারায় ১৯৩৯ সাহল যসই সময় জহনমর ৫ ঘণটা

রওকর ওসমান এবং ইকবাল বািার যচৌধরী ভাহে নাবভদ ও ভাবে অিরা ndash রাবিনগরর বাবড়হর

২৫


পর বাবা েখন পররম যদখহলন সিানহক রাার পাহর বিহলন রওকর ওসমান বাবা বড়ভাই আর মা আপন যবাহনর মরই বিহলন রওকর ওসমাহনর কাহি যসই সবাহদ আমাহদর কাহি বরবন িহলন রওকর মামা রওকর মামা আবার আমাহক সব সময় আদর কহর lsquoমামাrsquo বহল ডাকহরন রওকর মামা পাবকসতান িবার পর কলকারা যরহক চটটগরাহম োন এবং যসখাহন সরকারী কহলহজ অধযাপনা কহরন কহয়ক বির চটটগরাহম রাকহলও বাবা আর মাহয়র সাহর বনয়বমর যোগাহোগ বিল রাার ১৯৫০ এর দরহকর মাোমাবে রওকর ওসমান ঢাকা চহল আহসন বদবল িহয় সপবরবাহর রাজারবাগ পবলর লাইহনর সামহন বসবাস শর কহরন আমরা রখন রাবিনগহর রাবক ১০১৫ বমবনহটর িাাটা পর পরায় পরবরবদন ববহকহল সপবরবাহর রওকর মামা আমাহদর বাবড় আসহরন রাবিনগহরর বাবড়র িাহদ গলপগজব আডডা িহরা আমার যিাটহবান রািীন নাসবরন আর রাবজন গান গাইহরা মামী বলবন ওসমান ndash রওকর মামার বড়হিহল অনয যিহলরা আর সবার যিাট লাইলী সকহল বমহল আননদ উপহভাগ কররাম আমার মা ওহদর ভালবাসহরন খব আদর করহরন আমার মা ১৯৪৮ সাল যরহক বাবড়হর বসবনধ গর পালহরন যিহলহমহয়রা োহর ভাল দধ যখহর পায় যবর কহয়কটা গর বিল রাবিনগহরর বাবড়হর লাইলী একবদন আমার মাহক বলহলা ldquoিপ আমাহদর একটা গর দাও নাrdquo মা বলহলন ldquoবক করহবrdquo ldquoযরামার গর বনহয় েতন কহর পালহবা ভাল দধ িহব সবাই খাবrdquo মা বলহলন ldquoযবর রাই িহবrdquo এর বকিবদন আহগ গরর যে বাচচাটা িহয়বিল পহরর বদন মা যসটা বদহয় বদহলন রওকর মামার যিহলরা যসই গরহক খবই েহতন যরহখবিল এবং যসই গরর দধ যখহয়বিল খরী কহর রওকর মামার বড়হিহল বলবন ওসমান আমার সমসামবয়ক ঢাকা ববশবববদযালহয় সমাজববজঞাহন যলখাপড়া কহরহি পরবরতী সময় অধযাপনা আর যলখাহলবখ বনহয় বিল বযসত এখনও আমার সহঙগ যোগাহোগ িয় ঢাকায় যগহল ১৯৬০ এর দরহকর যগাড়ার বদহক ঢাকা ববশবববদযালয় িাি-বরকষক যকনদর রখহনা িয়বন রহব পবরকলপনা শর িহয় যগহি যসই সময় কাজতন িহল ঢাকা ববশবববদযালয় িাি-বরকষক নাটযহগাষঠীর পরহোজনায় রওকর ওসমাহনর lsquoকরীরদাহসর িাবসrsquo মঞচসথ কহরবিলাম এই উপনযাহসর নাটযরপ বদহয়বিহলন রাহমনদ মজমদার বাদরা িারন আর ররীহদর ভবমকায় আবম অবভনয় কহরবিলাম আবদললাি আল মামন রাহমনদ যিরহদৌসী মজমদার যরজা যচৌধরী এনামল িক ও অনযানযরা এই নাটহক অবভনয় কহরবিহলন যসই সময়কার জগননার িহলর িাি সরবির যসনগপত (সদযপরয়ার পরািন মনতরী) একটা যিাটট চবরহি অবভনয় কহরবিহলন নাটকবটর সারতক মঞচায়ন সকলহক আননদ বদহয়বিল দরতকহদর মহধয পররম সাবরহর বিহলন রওকর ওসমান খব খরী িহয়বিহলন বরবন আমাহদর অবভননদন জাবনহয়বিহলন রাার lsquoকরীরদাহসর িাবসrdquo মঞচসথ করায় এর অহনক কাল পহর সমভবরঃ ১৯৮০ দরহকর যকান এক সময় ওয়াবরংটন বডবস যরহক িবটহর ঢাকা যগবি রওকর মামা

আমাহদর বাবড় এহলন খবর যপহয় গলপ িহলা চা খাওয়া আর আডডা সব িহলা বকনত োবার আহগ বরবন আমাহক বলহলন ldquoমামা রবম যে ওয়াবরংটহন যগহল যরামার নাটহক অবভনয় করাটা বনধ িহয় যগল রার বক িহবrdquo এ পরহের জবাব আবম বদহর পাবরবন সবরযই যরা আবম োাহদর সাহর মহঞচ এক সময় নাটক কহরবি রাারা এখন নাটয জগহরর বদকপাল বববরি বযবিতব অবভনয় জগর যরহক আজ আবম বববেনন আমার পবরচয় সাংবাবদক বিহসহব যবরার-যটবলবভরন সাংবাবদকরার সাহর এমনভাহব েি িহয়বি আর বাংলার মাবট যরহক এরদহর চহল এহসবি যে বাংলা নাটহক অবভনয় করার সহোগ যরহক আবম িহয়বি ববঞচর রওকর মামার এই পরে আমার মহন আজও রহয় যগহি এই দঃখ যভালবার নয় (ইকবাল বািার যচৌধরী সাংবাবদক আববিকারzwnj ভহয়সzwnj অবzwnjআহমবরকারzwnj বাংলাzwnjববভাহগরzwnjসাহবকzwnjপরধানzwnj)

A Documentary Film - Bangladesh Liberation War Hero General Osmany

Producer Iqbal Bahar Chowhury httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=rfMQEN0a8AM httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=VTZRxKPBR-4 httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=ROHoguNXWxo httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=okxfxpzruEQ

রাহরর অবরবর আশিাফ আহমেদ

রাহররzwnjযবলায়zwnjযকzwnjআহস যকzwnjআবার ভরzwnjবাzwnjযচারzwnjিহবzwnjযকউzwnj zwnjzwnjরখনzwnj কলারzwnj এইটzwnj বাzwnj নাইহনzwnj পড়রামzwnj ঘমzwnj আসবিলzwnj নাzwnjদrsquoবিরzwnjপহরইzwnjমযাবটরকzwnjপরীকষাzwnjবকনতzwnjরখনইzwnjগলপ-উপনযাসzwnjপড়ারzwnjযনরাzwnj যপহয়হিzwnj যরমবনzwnj একবটরzwnj বকিটাzwnj পহড়বিzwnj বইবটzwnj খাহজzwnjপাবেলামzwnj নাzwnj ভরহরzwnj বযপারzwnj যরাzwnj ঘবমহয়zwnj পহড়বিলামzwnj নাবক যচারzwnjএহসবিল যবরzwnjভয়zwnj ঢকহলাzwnjমহনzwnjবইবটzwnj বিলইzwnj যচারহদরzwnjবনহয়zwnjlsquoবনবর-কটমবrsquozwnjযলখকzwnjমহনাজzwnjবস খলনারzwnjযলাকzwnjবইহয়রzwnjকরাগহলাzwnjসরযzwnjিহলzwnjআবমzwnjযজহগzwnjরাকহলওzwnjবইবটzwnjচবরzwnjিহয়zwnjযেহরzwnjপাহর zwnjzwnjভদরঘহররzwnjযমহয়zwnjভাহগযরzwnjযিহরzwnjগবণকাzwnjিহয়zwnj বগহয়বিলzwnjকাদায়zwnjপবররযািzwnj নবজারকzwnj একzwnj বরশহকzwnj মারহেহিzwnj লালনzwnj কহরzwnjধবধহবzwnjিসতাzwnjরহেরzwnjজনযzwnjনামzwnjযদয়zwnjসাহিবzwnjযসইzwnjমাহয়রzwnjঅননকিzwnjযমটাহরzwnj বরশzwnj বয়হসইzwnj সাহিবzwnj যদাকাহনরzwnj সামহনzwnj পহড়zwnj রাকাzwnjচাউলzwnjকড়ায়zwnjএকবটzwnjএকবটzwnjকহরzwnjএভাহবzwnj চবরববদযায়zwnjিাহরখবড়zwnjিয়zwnj এরপরzwnj এহকzwnj এহকzwnj বপররলযzwnj নিরহকেzwnj একzwnj সমহয়রzwnjজাাদহরলzwnjদাহরাগাzwnjযরহকzwnjযচাহররzwnjমিাজনzwnjবহনzwnjোওয়াzwnjবলাবধকারী এবংzwnjসবহরহষzwnjযচারzwnjসামরাহজযরzwnjববিয়zwnjপচাzwnjবাইটারzwnjকাহিzwnjবরকষাzwnj

২৬


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জানারzwnjযলাভzwnjযদবখহয়zwnjযলখকzwnjবকzwnjবনপণরায়zwnjআমাহকzwnjবদহয়zwnjববরালzwnjবইবটzwnjপবড়হয়zwnjযিহড়বিহলনzwnj zwnjzwnjরাহরzwnj আহরাzwnj বিলzwnj পচাzwnj বাইটা-রzwnj সনদরীzwnj পিবধzwnj সভদরাzwnjlsquoকাাহখরzwnjকলবসরzwnjমরzwnj যদহিরzwnjকাণায়zwnjকাণায়zwnjভরাzwnj যেৌবনrsquozwnj বনহয়zwnjসবামীzwnj যসািাগzwnj ববঞচরাzwnj যসইzwnj রমণীzwnj যজযাৎোzwnj রাহরzwnj একাকীzwnjসাহিহবরzwnjিারzwnjধহরzwnjটানাটাবনzwnjকহরzwnjলবকহয়zwnjআবমওzwnjিাাবটzwnjওহদরzwnjবপিzwnj বপিzwnjশধzwnj সনদরীইzwnjনয় সভদরাzwnjকাগজ নকবরzwnjকাারাzwnjএবংzwnjযদহিরzwnjঅংহগওzwnj নকসাzwnjআাবকহয়zwnj একzwnjজার-পটয়াzwnj বরলপীzwnj বনহজরzwnjবহকরzwnj মােখাহনzwnj সবামীরzwnj িাহরzwnj আাকাzwnj ভালবাসারzwnj উবিবটওzwnjসাহিবহকzwnj যদখাহনারzwnj যলাভzwnj িয়zwnj কারণzwnj একমািzwnj যস-ইzwnj বরহলপরzwnjমেতাদাzwnj বেহবzwnjআোzwnj বরহলপরzwnjমেতাদাzwnjআবমওzwnj যরাzwnj বেহরzwnj চাইzwnjআমারওzwnj যদখাzwnj দরকারzwnj এভাহবzwnj রারহরহষzwnj গহলপরzwnj কলাইহমহকসরzwnjঅহপকষাzwnj কহরzwnj কহরzwnj শনহরzwnj যপলামzwnj যসzwnj একzwnj lsquoসাধzwnj সবামীরzwnjসরীসাধবীzwnjবউrsquozwnjরখনzwnjআমারzwnjরপতহদিzwnjএকzwnjউষণ-যকামলzwnjশরদধারzwnjআাধাহরzwnj বনবাবররzwnj িয়zwnj বকনতzwnj রখহনাzwnj রারভরzwnj যসzwnj যিহসzwnj যিহসzwnjবনহজরzwnjদঃহখরzwnjকরাzwnjশবনহয়zwnjোয়zwnjযসzwnjসবzwnjশহনzwnjসাহিহবরzwnjযচাহখzwnjজলzwnjএহসzwnjোয়zwnjজলzwnjআহসzwnjআমার পািহকরzwnjযচাহখওzwnjআিা বকzwnjভীষণzwnjমমরাzwnjবকzwnjদরদzwnjযসইzwnjবণতনায় zwnjzwnjরাহররzwnj যবলায়zwnj যকzwnjআহস যকzwnjআবার পরহনাzwnj বদহনরzwnj িবরzwnjিহবzwnjবকিzwnj zwnjzwnjএখনzwnj বদধzwnj নাzwnj িহলওzwnj আমারzwnj বয়সzwnj িহয়হিzwnj যচাহররzwnj গররাzwnjসাবধানzwnj কহরzwnj বদহয়হিনzwnj বহদধরzwnj ঘরzwnj যেনzwnj এবড়হয়zwnj চলাzwnj িয়zwnjদয়াপরবহরzwnj নয় বদধহদরzwnj ঘমzwnj খবzwnj পারলাzwnj িয়zwnj রাইzwnj এখনzwnjপরহনাzwnjবদহনরzwnjকরাইzwnjযববরzwnjমহনzwnjপহড় শহয়zwnjশহয়zwnjবইzwnjপবড়zwnjিয়zwnjবিরzwnjআহগzwnjভাররীয়zwnjএকzwnjবনধরzwnjিারzwnjবদহয়zwnjযসইzwnjবনবরকটমবzwnjবইবটzwnjবকবনহয়zwnjএহনবিলামzwnjকলকারাzwnj যরহকzwnj বকzwnjকাববযকzwnjএকবটzwnj নামzwnjরাহররzwnj অবরবরওzwnj িহরzwnj পারহরা বকনতzwnj রহরাzwnj জরসইzwnj িহরাzwnj নাzwnjবকিহরইzwnjকটমবzwnjরবদবটরzwnjএকzwnjবনজসবzwnjিনদzwnjআহিzwnjপররমzwnjপরকারzwnj১৯৬৩zwnjদইzwnjখহের ৭zwnjবাzwnj৮zwnjিনটzwnjসাইহজরzwnj৪৮০zwnjপষঠারzwnjবইবটরzwnjপরকারকzwnjযবঙগলzwnjপাববলরাসতzwnjআজকালzwnjআমরাzwnj১২zwnjবাzwnj১৪zwnjিহনটরzwnjঅকষহরzwnj যেসবzwnj বইzwnj বলবখzwnj যসরকমzwnj িহলzwnj পষঠাসংখযাzwnj ৮০০রzwnjকািাকাবিzwnjিহয়zwnjযেহরা zwnjzwnjzwnjপরাচীনzwnj রাসতরমহরzwnj মিাহদব-পিzwnj সকনদzwnj বাzwnj কাবরতহকয়zwnj যচৌেতzwnjপদধবররzwnj পরবরতকzwnj বিহলনzwnj যচারহদরzwnj রাহয়সতাzwnj করহরzwnj দাহরাগাzwnjরাকাzwnjঅবসথায়ইzwnjবলাবধকারীzwnjমরাইzwnjlsquoযচৌেতচেতাrsquo lsquoষমমখকলপrsquozwnjইরযাবদzwnjপরাচীনzwnj যচৌেতরাসতরzwnj অধযয়নzwnj কহরবিহলনzwnj এখনzwnj যচাহররzwnj মিাজনzwnjিহয়zwnjযসসবzwnjববদযাzwnjকাহজzwnjলাগহিzwnjবরবনzwnjসাহিবহকzwnjযসকাহলরzwnjচবরzwnjওzwnj যচারহদরzwnj নীবরবাকযzwnj যরানানzwnj lsquoযচারzwnj চকরবরতীrsquoরzwnj পাবরপািzwnjকহরzwnjকহরzwnj কীবরতমানzwnj যচারzwnj সাববতলকzwnj বিহলনzwnj lsquoচলহনzwnj ববড়াল ধাবহনzwnjমগ বিবনহয়zwnjযনয়ারzwnjবযপাহরzwnjবাজপাবখrsquozwnjদইzwnjিাজারzwnjবিরzwnjআহগইzwnjপরচবলরzwnjিহয়বিলzwnjlsquoপদমবযাহকাষzwnj(পদমিল) ভাষকরzwnj(সেত)zwnjzwnjবালচনদরzwnj(কাহসতরzwnj আকাহররzwnj চাাদ) বাপীzwnj (পকর) ববসতীণত সববসতক এবংzwnjপণতকমভrsquozwnjআকবররzwnj বসাহধরzwnj যচারহদরzwnj মিাগরzwnj পচাzwnj িাহরকলহমzwnjচবররzwnj অসামানযzwnj যকৌরলzwnj ওzwnj বরকষাzwnj বনহয়zwnj বাইটাzwnj উপাবধzwnjযপহয়বিহলনzwnj যসইzwnjপরবরকষণzwnjওzwnjউপাবধzwnjআধবনকzwnj ববএzwnjএমএzwnjবাzwnjবপএইচবডzwnj যরহকzwnjযকানzwnjঅংহরzwnj যববরzwnjবইzwnjকমzwnjনয়zwnjসাহিবzwnjরাারzwnjযচহয়ওzwnjএকzwnjকাবিzwnjওপহর

২৭


zwnjzwnjচবররzwnj অবভনবzwnj যকৌরলzwnj ওহকzwnj বকংবদিীরzwnj খযাবরzwnj এহনzwnj যদয়zwnjবাংলারzwnjভাবটzwnjঅঞচহল গিহসথরzwnjঘহরzwnjঘহরzwnj বকনতzwnj বদহনরzwnj যবলায়zwnjওহকzwnj সবাইzwnj ববশবাসzwnj কহর ভালবাহসzwnj ওরzwnj দবারাzwnj যকানzwnj খারাপzwnjকাজzwnjিহরzwnjপাহরzwnjনাzwnjবদধা-েবরী-বকহরারী-বরশরzwnjযেি-ভালবাসা-ভবিzwnjপায়zwnjঅোবচরzwnjভাহবzwnjসাহিবzwnj যচাহররzwnjগলপzwnjশবনহয়zwnj মাহয়রাzwnjবরশহদরzwnjঘমzwnjপাড়ায় zwnjzwnjবকনতzwnj সাহিবzwnj যচারzwnj আরzwnj ভালzwnj িহরzwnj চায়zwnj নাzwnj বদধzwnj িহয়হিzwnjদহবলারzwnjআিারzwnjযজাগাড়zwnjএবংzwnjপরায়বিহিরzwnjযচিায়zwnjযজল-এওzwnjিাইzwnjিয়zwnj নাzwnj আবারzwnj পরারতনাzwnj কহরzwnj lsquoযিzwnj মা-কালীzwnj আমায়zwnj মনদzwnj কহরzwnjদাওrsquozwnj zwnjzwnjযরষzwnj পেতিzwnj উপনযাহসরzwnj পররমzwnj বদককারzwnj চবরিগহলাzwnj আবারzwnjবিহরzwnj আহসzwnj যেzwnj আরালরারzwnj যদিzwnj যরহকzwnj একবটzwnj একবটzwnj কহরzwnjগিনাzwnjখহলzwnjবনহয়বিল রারzwnjমারিীনzwnjকনযারzwnjযদখাzwnjপায়zwnjবনসপাপzwnjযসইzwnjবকহরারীরzwnjনীবরবানzwnjঅবভভাবকzwnjঅভাহবরzwnjরাড়নায়zwnjচবরzwnjকহরzwnjবহসzwnjএবংzwnj ধরাওzwnj পহড়zwnjএইzwnj সহজাগহকzwnjসাহিবzwnjআরzwnjঅবহিলাzwnjকহরzwnj নাzwnj বনহজzwnj যচারzwnj যসহজzwnj আসলzwnj যচাহররzwnj সামাবজকzwnj মেতাদাzwnjরকষাzwnj কহর আরালরারzwnj কনযারzwnj পরবরzwnj অসীমzwnj যেি-ভালবাসায়zwnjযচারzwnj যজহনওzwnjবাবড়রzwnjমবিলাzwnjওহকzwnjঅভিzwnjঅবসথায়zwnj যজহলzwnj যেহরzwnjযদয়zwnjনাzwnjনরনzwnjদাহরাগাহকzwnjঅননয়zwnjকহরzwnjএকটzwnjঅহপকষাzwnjকরহরzwnj আরzwnjবিকzwnjরকষবনzwnjসাহিবzwnjউপলবিzwnjকহরzwnjlsquoঅমহররzwnjযবটা-যববটzwnjসবzwnjভালzwnjনাzwnjিহয়zwnjউপায়zwnjআহি মানষzwnjেরকালzwnjআহিzwnjজাহররzwnjসবধমতzwnjবহয়zwnj যবড়াহরzwnj িহবrsquozwnjএইzwnjভালবাসারzwnj উপলবিzwnj বদহয়ইzwnj যমাড়াহনাzwnjবইবটরzwnj অসংখযzwnj চবরিzwnj ওরাzwnj এবংzwnj ঘটনাগহলাzwnj lsquoধবরবিরzwnj বররাzwnjউপবররারzwnj মরzwnj গাে-খালrsquozwnj িহয়zwnj এহকzwnj অপহররzwnj সাহরzwnj জবড়হয়zwnjআহিzwnj খলনাzwnj ভাবটzwnj অঞচহলরzwnj সামাবজকzwnj কলকারাzwnj কালীঘাহটরzwnjlsquoঅসামাবজকrsquo এবংzwnjনোলবজকzwnj যভৌগবলকzwnj বচিzwnjপািহকরzwnj যচাহখzwnjিাবজরzwnjিহয়হিzwnjএকzwnjসবেzwnjআবরণzwnj যভদzwnjকহরzwnjসারতকzwnj যলখহকরzwnjকলহমরzwnj ডগায়zwnj জঞানীzwnj বলাবধকারীzwnj মিারহয়রzwnj ভাষায়zwnj lsquoএকটাzwnjযচাহররzwnj করাzwnj যকউzwnj েবদzwnj ভালzwnj কহরzwnj যলহখzwnj সমাহজরzwnj সকলzwnjমানহষরzwnjজীবনীzwnj যলখাzwnjিহয়zwnjোয়rsquozwnj lsquoযসকাহলzwnjোzwnjপাপzwnj বিলzwnjআজzwnjরাzwnj পণযrsquo lsquoসাধzwnjমাহনইzwnjভেrsquozwnjদাহরাগারাzwnj lsquoযচাহররzwnjঅনটনzwnjপড়হলzwnjভালzwnj গিসথহকzwnj যচারzwnj বাবনহয়zwnj যদয়rsquozwnj বলহখহিনzwnj পরায়ইzwnj সকষণzwnjববদরপাতমক কখহনাzwnjরমযzwnjরচনারzwnjএকzwnjযমািনীয়zwnjধাাহচ zwnjzwnjযভারzwnj রাহরzwnj যচাহখzwnj ঘমzwnj আসারzwnj আহগzwnj আমারzwnj পবতzwnj বসদধািzwnjসংহরাধনzwnjকরলামzwnjমহনাজzwnjবসzwnj বনহজzwnj যচারzwnj বিহলনzwnjনাzwnj ববসতরzwnjপড়াহরানাzwnj কহরবিহলনzwnj ওzwnj যভহববিহলনzwnj যচারহদরzwnj বনহয়zwnj িয়হরাzwnjযরমনzwnj যকানzwnj যচাহররzwnj লমবাzwnj সাকষাৎকারওzwnj বনহয়বিহলনzwnj িহলzwnjঅসামানযzwnj এইzwnj উপনযাসবটzwnj বলখহরzwnj যপহরবিহলনzwnj রাইzwnj পরকাবররzwnjিবারzwnj বরনzwnj বিহররzwnj মাহেইzwnj lsquoসাবিরযzwnj একাহডবমrsquoরzwnj পরসকারzwnjযপহয়বিহলন োzwnjবিহরzwnjশধzwnjএকবটzwnjউপনযাসহকইzwnjযদয়াzwnjিয়zwnjরাারzwnjযলখাzwnjlsquoএকররzwnjবিহররzwnjযসরাzwnjযিাটগলপrsquozwnjবইহরzwnjঅিভতিzwnjিহয়হি ৮ই এনিল ২০১৭zwnj (যপরায় ববজঞাবনক গহবষক আররাি আিহমদ উির আহমবরকায় বসবাসকারী বাঙগাবল োরা সাবিরয চচতা কহরন রাহদর পররম সাবরর যলখক যদহরর পািকহদর মহধযও রার জনবপরয়রা বাড়হি রাার যলখায় সমাজ ও সংসকবরর একজন রীকষণ পেতহবকষহকর পবরচয় যমহল)

যলখকহদরzwnjজনয ldquoনাগবরকrdquozwnjlsquoঅবগর-মরrsquozwnjবযিzwnjকরারzwnjবািনzwnjzwnj আমাহদরzwnj অবভপরায়zwnj গণরনতর পরগবর সংসকরzwnj ওzwnj সজনরীলরাzwnjঅনরীলনzwnjওzwnjপরসাহরzwnjসিায়রাzwnjকরা ববহরষzwnjকহরzwnjসিনরীলরারzwnjচচতাzwnjকরাzwnj যলখায়zwnj বযবিাবররzwnj ররযzwnj ওzwnj রতবzwnj এবংzwnj মরামহররzwnj জনযzwnj যলখক সমপণতভাহবzwnj দায়ী lsquoনাগবরকrsquozwnj পরকাহররzwnj সহঙগzwnj োরাzwnj জবড়রzwnjরারাzwnjএসবzwnj ববষহয়zwnj দায়ীzwnj নয় আহলাচনার ববষয়-বসতর ওপর যকান বববধবনহষধ যনই রহব যলখা ৫ পারায় সীবমর রাকা পরহয়াজন যলখা বাংলা (lsquoঅভরrsquo বযবিার করন) অরবা ইংহরবজহর (Microsoft Word বযবিার করন) িহর িহব অরালীন ভাষার বযবিার এবং ববষয় বনহয় যলখা িাপান িহব না ldquoনাগবরকrdquo বযবিগর ববষয় ঘণা-ববহদবষ ও বিংসররা পরচাহরর বািন িহব না পরবরতী সংখযা নহভমবর ২০১৭ যবর িহব পরকাহরর জনয যলখা অহটাবর ১৫ ২০১৭ আহগ আমাহদর কাহি যপৌিহর িহব ব াগাদ াগ nagorikakbingshoyahoocom

টহরাহনটাহর ldquoধীহরনদরনার দি বাংলা ভাষার আহনদালহনর একজন

পবরকৎrdquo রীষতক আহলাচনা অনষঠান

গর ৮ এবপরল ldquoরিীদ ধীহরনদরনার দি িরণ পষতদrdquo টহরাহনটা কানাডা আহয়াবজর ldquoধীহরনদরনার দি বাংলা ভাষার আহনদালহনর একজন পবরকৎ rdquo রীষতক আহলাচনা অনিান িহয় যগহলা ৩০০০ যডনহিারর এর বমজান বমলনায়রহন ববপল সংখক দরতক উপবসতবরহর অহনক যলখক কলাবমে সাংবাবদককরাও উপবসথর বিহলন অনষঠাহনর শর িয় এনাহয়র কবরম বাবল সমপাবদর বাংলা ভাষা আহনদালহনর ইবরিাস ও ১৯৪৮ এর সংসদ এর বধহরনদরনার দি ও বলয়াকর আলী খাহনর বিবয এবং ১৯৭১ সাহলর িরযা কাের বনমতম ঘটনা বনহয় একবট পরামাণয বচি পরদরতনী বদহয় পরামাণয বচি যরষিয় ঢাকা যরহক বধহরনদর নার দহির নারনী এরমা দহির যটবলহিান এ ২৯ মাহচতর বনমতম ঘটনার মমতসপরতী বণতনা বদহয় অনিাহন ধীহরনদরনার দি বনহয় যলখা ও গহবষণা পরবনধ পাি কহরন যরজা অবনরদধ সঞচালনায় বিহলন আিহমদ যিাহসন

২৮


পরবহনধ বাংলা ভাষার ইবরিাস ও রিীদ ধীহরনদর নার দি এর ভবমকা এবং রার রাজননবরক জীবন এর খাবটনাবট রহল ধহরন বাংলা একাহডমীর সাহবক মিাপবরচালক বসয়দ যমািামমাদ রাহিদ এর সভাপবরহতব আহলাচনায় অংরগরিণ কহরন এনাহয়র কবরম বাবল মবনষ রবিক বটট খনদকার বজয়া িক ওয়াবিদ আজগর বকবরট বসংি রায় পরমখ কববরা পাি কহরন যমবর রাবরবদন যমিরাব রিমান পরমখ রার যলখা বচবি পাি কহরন আসমা িক সঙগীর পাি কহরন পারত সারবর বরকদার ধীহরনদরনার দহির বকি ঘবনি পাবরবাবরক বনধ রার কমতময় জীবন বনহয় করা বহলন বিারা বববভনন বদক রহল ধহরন এবং বহলন rdquo েরবদন বাংলা ভাষা ও বাঙগালী রাকহব ররবদন নাম ইবরিাহস অমর িহয় রাকহব rdquo সামপরদাবয়ক ববহরাধী মাবটর মানষ ধীহরনদরনার দি যক ২৯ যর মাচত ১৯৭১ সাহল পাবকসতান সসামবরক বাবিনী রহল বনহয় ৮ এবপরল নরংস ভাহব িরযা কহর এমন একবট ববরল অনিান এর জনয আহয়াজকহদর অহনক অহনক ধনযবাদ জানান এবং যসই সাহর দাবব জানান বরতমান পরধানমনতরীহক সবাধীনরার পহকষর সরকারহক ের রাড়ারাবড় সমভব ধীহরনদরনার দি সবিক মলযায়ন করা এবং অবভলহমব রার বপবিক বভটা উদধার করার উহললখয যে রিীদ ধীহরনদরনার দি যিবরয়াবরহর সবত পররম রৎকালীন পালতাহমহনট ইংহরবজ এবং উদত র পারাপাবর বাংলা ভাষাহক ও পাবকসতাহনর রাষটর ভাষা করার দাবব জানান পাবকসতাহনর যমাট জনসংখযার দই ররীয়াংর বাংলায় করা বহল এই েবির পহকষ ধীহরনদরনার দি ববলবট উতথাপন কহরন বকনত রখনকার পরধানমনতরী বলয়াকর আলী খান রার ববপহকষ েবি বদহয় বহলন যমজবরবট মসলমান উেযবষর বাংলায় মসলমানহদর ভাষা িহব শদ উধত রৎকালীন মসবলম লীহগর সদসযরা ও বাংলা ভাষার ববরহদধ যভাট যদন

Partition Center Journal 2017 Call for Papers

Dear Scholar

Sub Partition Center Journal 2017 Call for Papers

The Indian Subcontinent Partition Documentation

Project (ISPaD) invites you to send articles essays

poems short stories photographs or documents for the

2017 issue of the Journal We plan to publish well

before the October 2017 Partition Center Conference

Our past journals contained articles from the US

India Bangladesh Pakistan Palestine-Israel Poland

and Korea of diverse topics from wide geographical

areas Papers could cover such areas as India and

Pakistan partitions Its consequences Effects of

partition on current socio-politics Partitions of

Bengal Punjab Kashmir and Assam Partition

studies India Pakistan and Bangladesh independence

partition andor division of population from Ireland to

Cyprus from the Balkans to Europe to Palestine

Mideast the former Soviet Union Korea and Africa

Reconciliation and forgiveness Unity Identity

History Colonial borders Narratives of refugees

survivors and protectors First person account

Divisionrsquos long-term effects Minority issues in

divided lands Effects of displaced peoples on host

population Indigenous peoples their language

culture and religion Refugee politics Longing for

home Nationalism Extremism Role of Religion

Tolerance and intolerance Music literature and art

influencing politics (We prefer unpublished materials

however if you have something already published and

wants us to consider republication of that please send

us a copy indicating where and when it was

published)

All papers and essays must be written double spaced

with endnotes and a bibliography following a standard

format It should not exceed 1800 words and sent to

us by June 1 2017

Papers and documents should be sent to

ispad1947gmailcom as attachment Please note that

ISPaD will not be able to return documents sent to us

and publication decision of the Editorial Committee is

final If you need to talk to us please call Mr Shuvo

G Dastidar Project Coordinator at 917-524-0035

during working hours or email us

Kindly share this note with others Sincerely Sachi

G Dastidar PhD Chair ISPaD and Partition

Journal Committee Distinguished Westbury NY)

DastidarSoldwestburyedu

Editorial Committee Dr Ali Reza Ebrahimi Dr

Edislav Manetovic Dr Saradindu Mukherji Dr

Caroline Sawyer Dr Mohsin Siddique

A Tablet in Brhami Source of all Indegenous

Languages of South Asia

২৯


New Books

In the Name of God Religion (Xlibris Indiana) by

Ziauddin Chaudhury

This book is a collection of articles covering the

senseless acts of terrorism and other acts of violence

that were carried out (and are still being carried out) in

the name of religion over past few years Terrorists

and acts of terrorism are not new phenomena in the

world but their recurrence in last

few years mostly in the name of

one religion has created great

political and social turmoil not

only in the countries where these

occur but the world at large

The articles are a narrative of the

damages caused by religious

militancy as they happened over

the last few years Most articles are based on events at

the time when some of the narratives happened but

the reactions the events caused in the affected

countries and worldwide still reverberate in peoples

mind Many political backlashes that resulted from

these events are still evolving and will have more

consequences in politics and societies all over the

world

A Political History of Bangladesh since

Independence (IBTauris) by

Ali Riaz

Bangladesh is a country of paradoxes The eighth most

populous country of the world it has

attracted considerable attention from

the international media and western

policy-makers in recent years often

for the wrong reasons corruption

natural disasters caused by its

precarious geographical location and

volatile political situations with

several military coups following its

independence from Pakistan in 1971 Institutional

corruption growing religious intolerance and Islamist

militancy have reflected the weakness of the state and

undermined its capacity Yet the country has

demonstrated significant economic potential and has

achieved successes in areas such as female education

population control and reductions in child mortality

Ali Riaz here examines the political processes which

engendered these paradoxical tendencies taking into

account the problems of democratization and the

effects this has had and will continue to have in the

wider South Asian region This comprehensive and

unique overview of political and historical

developments in Bangladesh since 1971 will provide

essential reading for observers of Bangladesh and

South Asia (Prof Riaz is University Professor and

Cahir Department of Politics and Government

Illinois State University Normal IL 61790-4600

USA)

বঙগবনধরzwnjসবপনzwnjওzwnjবাংলাহদহররzwnjগরামzwnj

(Eastern Academic)

নজরলzwnjইসলাম

১৯৭৫zwnjসাহলzwnjবঙগবনধzwnj যরখzwnj মবজবরzwnjরিমানzwnjপরবরzwnjগরাহমzwnjসমবায়zwnjপরবরষঠারzwnj কমতসবচzwnj যঘাষণাzwnj কহরবিহলনzwnj ঘারকহদরzwnj িাহরzwnj রাারzwnjমরযzwnj এবংzwnj কষমরারzwnj পবরবরতহনরzwnj িহলzwnj যসzwnj কমতসবচzwnj বাসতবাবয়রzwnjিহরzwnjপাহরzwnj বনzwnj যেৌরচাহষরzwnjপরসতাবনাzwnj বাদzwnj বদহলওzwnj বঙগবনধরzwnj যসzwnjকমতসবচzwnjআজওzwnjপরাসবঙগকzwnjযদহররzwnjউননয়নহকzwnjগণমখীzwnjকরারzwnjজনযzwnjএইzwnj কমতসবচবটzwnj পনরায়zwnj ববহবচনায়zwnj যনয়াzwnj পরহয়াজনzwnj zwnj জলবায়zwnjপবরবরতনzwnjএইzwnjপরহয়াজনহকzwnjআরওzwnjজরবরzwnjকহরহি zwnjzwnjআবিমানকালzwnj ধহরzwnj বাংলাহদহররzwnjসমাহজরzwnj বভবিzwnj বিলzwnj গরামzwnj নগরায়হনzwnjসামপরবরকzwnj অগরগবরzwnj সহেওzwnj গরাহমরzwnj এইzwnjগরতবzwnjঅবযািরzwnjআহিzwnj zwnj ঐবরিাবসকভাহবzwnjভাররবহষতzwnj এবংzwnj বাংলাহদহরzwnj গরাহমরzwnjসবরাসহনরzwnj ঐবরিযzwnj বিলzwnj zwnj পবররাহপরzwnjববষয়zwnj যে গরামzwnj পেতাহয়zwnj পরাবরষঠাবনকzwnjকািাহমারzwnj যকষহিzwnj বাংলাহদহরzwnj আজzwnj একzwnjরনযরাzwnj ববরাজzwnj করহিzwnj এইzwnj রনযরাzwnjপরহণরzwnj মাধযহমzwnj গরাহমরzwnj সমবায়ীzwnj রপািরzwnj সংকরািzwnj বঙগবনধরzwnjসবপনবটzwnj কীভাহবzwnj বাসতবায়নzwnj করাzwnj যেহরzwnj পাহর এইzwnj বইহয়zwnj রারzwnjববসতাবররzwnj আহলাচনাzwnj করাzwnj িহয়হিzwnj যস-সহিzwnj গরামzwnj পেতাহয়zwnjপরাবরষঠাবনকzwnj কািাহমাzwnj ববষয়কzwnj অরীরzwnj ইবরিাস পরাসবঙগকzwnjআিজতাবরকzwnjঅবভজঞরা এবংzwnjএ ববষহয়zwnjঐকযমরzwnjপরবরষঠারzwnjলহকষযzwnjসামপরবরকzwnjকাহলzwnj বববভননzwnjরাজননবরকzwnjদহলরzwnjপরাসবঙগকzwnjউহদযাহগরzwnjএকবটzwnjরলনামলকzwnjআহলাচনাওzwnjএইzwnjবইহয়zwnjপবরহববররzwnjিহয়হি zwnjzwnjগহবষক নীবর-বনধতারক এবংzwnj রাজননবরকzwnj যনরাzwnj ওzwnjকমতীহদরzwnjজনযzwnjঅবরযপািয বই

৩০


About this Issue ndash With this issue we initiate civil discourse on religious neutrality (secularism) in Bangladesh The facts are clear the original constitution (1972) was drafted and adopted under the leadership of the Father of the Nation reflected his vision for his country He did not have an idealized view of the relations between the members of various faiths he was present when the separation of the subcontinent fueled by bloody killing of innocent people engulfed the subcontinent He had seen that riots can be organized and let lose to serve politics of the moment But he understood the need for democracy to take hold a secular society is essential Unfortunately opportunist and vindictive politicians find it easier to foment lies and spread demeaning untruth about the minorities who no longer have any demographic significance for election purposes And as proud as Bengalis are of their intellectual prowess in reality there are plenty of gulibls who are able to disrupt the desperately needed formation of a democratic secular population to be able to catch up with the 20th yes I mean 20th century The presence of those who knowingly and forcibly advocate imposition of a state religion whose handy-work in the efforts to futher subjugate the minorities is deeply disturbing on many levels For one it is such a slap in the face of all those who have been fighting for secular democracy since 1952 (in Bangladesh but longer considering the subcontinent) It is also a tool the religious-fascist forces have utilized to desecrate the Constitution enticing ISIS Caliphate to include Bangladesh as one of its provinces The primitivism that is going to strangulate this country has been displayed in frequent demand to become a Sharia-state in demand to remove sculptures expulsion from the country prominent voices of secularism and increased attacks on minorities What is a depressing is that the party in power the party of the Father of the Nation does not seem to have slightest support for his ideals or any recoignition of his long years of hard work and sacrifice for what he wanted for his country that was encoded in the Constitution he had left as his legacy The Prime Minster his daughter has the absolute majority in the legislative body to reinstall the original Constitution Instead she has become a staunch defender of this adulterated Constitution and seems to be forming political alliance with the advocates of ISIS in the country Go figure

With this issue of Nagorik we wish to open discussion on the role of religion in shaping politics in Bangladesh We invited a number of people to contribute to the debate One of the invitee who responded is Mr Moudud Ahmed Prime Minister during the reign of Ershad he sent us his speech to the Parliament introducing the 8th amendment to the Constitution To print it in Nagoric it is necessary to retype the speech into a Word file but that has not been possible If you are interested in reading it ndash and it is indeed a crafty presentation of the lsquocasersquo ndash please contact us We hope the discussion continues and that we hope you will join in

রবীনদর অিভদব িজরল - এক সমরণীয় সনধযা

অনিনিতা কাজী িাসীর সলতাি ও অনিলা ব ৌধরীর আদবগেিম েনরদবশিা

ওয়াদহে বহাদসিী

গত ৯ই জি শকরবার নঠক ইফতাদরর ের বিদক বেড় ঘণটারও ববশী সরয় ধদর নতি নশলপী ব অনবরার বিমিা ও গাদির লহর েনরদবশি কদরি তাদত সটানলমাং ভানজমনিয়ার করণা ও নহরণ ব ৌধরীর বাড়ীদত ব াটট অিষঠাদি উেনিত েশমক বরাতারা বরানহত অিষঠাদির রধযরনণ বকালকাতা বিদক আসা আনিনিতা কাজী শধ সঙগীত েনরদবশিই কদরিনি নতনি কখদিা নলনখত োতা বিদক েদড় কখদিাবা সমনত ারণ কদর েই িনতভা-রহাসাগর রবীনদরিাি ও িজরল এদকর অদিযর িনত শরদধা ভাদলাবাসা সবীকনত তদল ধদরি তদল ধদরি বজযষঠ ও কনিদষঠর নরলি অনিনিতা বদলি অদিদকই কনব িজরদলর সদঙগ আরার সনঠক সমপকম সমপদকম তালদগাল োনকদয় বফদলি অনিনিতা বনিদয় বদলি ব িজরদলর নতি সনতাদির একজি নশশকাদল েরদলাক গরি কদরি অিয েজদির একজি হদলি কাজী সবযসা ী আর একজি হদলি অনিরদধ কাজী অনিনিতা হদলি অনিরদধ কাজীর নতি সনতাদির একজি অিষঠাদির শরদত অিষঠাি

All issues of Nagorik are available here

httpsekbingshonagorikwordpresscom

৩১


বঘাষীকা তাদহরা নকবনরয়া বদলি অনিনিতা এখি কাজী িজরল ইসলাদরর ওের গদবষণা করদ ি অনিনিতা সহজ ভাষায় সাবলীল কদে এই েই িনতভার রহাসাগরদরর এদকর অদিযর িনত শরদধা ভনি বেহ ভাদলাবাসা এরিভাদব বিমিা কদরি ব রদি হয় ব ি গভীর জঞািী আধযােদকর ভাষণ বিই তাদত বকাি আনধদকযর অলাংকার নকাংবা নবতদকমর অবকাশ িজরল আর রবীনদরিাি তাদের িির বেখার আদগ েজদি েজিদক বেখার জিয ন দলি আকল িজরল ও রবীনদরিাি সমপদকম অনিনিতা কখদিা নলনখত বিমিায় কখদিা গলপচছদল সমনত বিদক অদিক ঐনতহানসক ঘটিা তদল ধদরি ১৯৩৬ সদি রবীনদরিাদির lsquoবগারাrsquo অবলমবদি একটা নসদিরা ততনর হয় তাদত সঙগীত েনর ালিা কদরি িজরল নতনি ঐ নসদিরায় নতিনট রবীনদর সগীত জদড় বেি িজরল জািদতি িা ব শাননত নিদকতদির অিরনত াড়া রবীনদর সঙগীত বযবহার করা নিনষদধ খি নতনি বটর বেদলি তখি নসদিরা রনির সরয় ন ল রাতর নতি নেি অিনরত বযনতদরদক নসদিরা রনি বেদত োদর িা রািায় বাজ েড়দলা িজরল নিদজ দট বগদলি শাননত নিদকতদি গরদেদবর কাদ গরদেব িজরলদক শাননত নিদকতদি নগদয় িাকার জিয বহবার অিদরাধ কদরি িজরদলর াওয়া হয়নি িজরলদক বেদখ গরদেব ভাবদলি িজরল বনি িাকদত এদসদ গরদেব রহা খশী তখি িজরল ধীদর ধীদর শাননতনিদকতদি তাার আসার আসল উদেশযটা ববলদলি গরদেব বলদলি ও তাই োও বকািায় সই করদত হদব োও রবীনদরিাি খব সীনরত সাংখযক বযনিদক তাার বই উৎসগম কদরদ ি িজরল তাদের রদধয একজি িজরল খি রাজবিী বহাদয় বজদল রবীনদরিাি তাার একটা বই িজরলদক উৎসগম কদর বজদল িজরদলর কাদ োনঠয়া বেি রবীনদরিািদক বক িা জাদি ইউদরানেয়াি বজল অয়াদডমি অবাক হদয় বলদলি রবীনদরিাি ওদক lsquoনগফটrsquo োনঠদয়দ ি বইনটর বাহক গমভীর সবদর বলদলি িা নগফট িয় এনট িজরলদক lsquoবডনডদকশিrsquo করা ওয়াদডমদির বতা কষ ড়কগা আররা ারা বকাি কাজ করদত িা োরদল বয়দসর অজহাত নে অনিনিতা তাদের একটা বড় উেকার কদর বগদলি বলদত োরদবা বয়স হদয়দ বদল রবীনদরিাি ও হাত গনটদয় নিদয়ন দলি তদব আররা বকাি ার ঘটিাটা বহাল এই রবীনদরিাি রাতর একবার াড়া কখদিা িজরদলর বকাি অিদরাধ বঠদল বেি নি িজরল একবার বকাি এক বনধর াো ানেদত তার িতি েনতরকার অিদরােি করার জিয গরদেবদক অিদরাধ কদরি গরদেদবর বয়স তখি ৭৫ বয়স বহাদয় বগদ শনি কদর এদসদ এই অজহাত নেদয় নতনি িজরদলর অিদরাধ বঠদল বেি নকনত িতযাকষাি েতরনট নতনি এরিভদব বলদখি ব বসনট বহাদয় োানড়দয়দ বাাংলা সানহদতযর এক অরলয সমপে অনিনিতা বদলি িজরল ও রবীনদরিাদির রদধয lsquoআেি জদিরrsquo ব সমপকম তাদত কখদিা কখদিা অনভরাি এদস েজদির রদধয েরদতবরও সনি কদর তদব নতনি তার বকাি উোহরণ বেিনি

নতনি নহি িা রসলরাি রািদষর এই অনভদ াদগ সারা জীবি এই টািা বোড়দি ন দলি িজরল একনট ঘটিার কিা আনিনিতা বদলি এভাদব িজরল তাার এক নহি বনধর নববাদহ বর াতরী বহাদয় বগদ ি নবদয় বাড়ীদত িিদর একট একট কািাদঘাষা তার ের বসাচচার জািা বগল কদি েদকষর অনভদ াগ এক রসলরাদির সদঙগ বদস বখদত হদব নক কাণড এটা আেরাি সরতলয অেরানিত বহাদয় িজরল নিদজই উদঠ বগদলি নবদয় বাড়ী বিদক নরনিট েদশক েদর আবার নফদর এদলি িজরল হাদত একটা কাগজ তাদত বলখা একটা কনবতা - lsquoজাদতর িাদর বজজানতrsquo কদি েকষ আর ায় বকািায় সবাই এক সদঙগ তহ হদলাড় কদর শধ বভাজিই করদলা িা বাাংলা সানহতয বেল এক অরলয সমপে কনবতানট আবনি কদর আনিনিতা সবার রি বকদড় বিি রবীনদরিাি ব নেি নতদরাধাি কদরি ঐনেিই আকাশবাণী বকালকাতা বিদক ি ানরত তাার কনবতায় িজরল বদলি (রবীনদরিাদির রতযদত বাাংলায় ব হাহাকার উদঠদ ব অভাব ঘদটদ তা) ldquoএক বাঙগালী াড়া আর বকহ বনিদব িাrdquo অনিনিতা এই েই রহা িনতভার আর এক সরানতরাল বটদি তাার বিবয বশষ কদরি েই কনবরই জনম ইাংদরনজ ব দরর বর রাদস এক আগসট রাদস একজি কদরি নতদরাধাি আর এক আগসট রাদস অিযজি হদয় াি সতবধ ধারা বিমিা ও গদলপর সদঙগ সদঙগ বিমিার সদঙগ সঙগত বরদখ গাি েনরদবশি কদরি অনিনিতা কাজী নিদজ ও েজি িািীয় নশলপী - িানসর সলতাি ও অনিলা ব ৌধরী হারদরানিয়ার সঙগত কদরি নশলপীতরয় নিদজরাই বাাশীদত ন দলি বরাহামমে রনজে তবলায় ন দলি েল বগাদরজ এবাং নকদবাদডম ন দলি নহরণ ব ৌধরী অিষঠাি বঘাষণায় ন দলি তাদহরা নকবনরয়া শবদ নিয়নতরণ কদরি জানরল খাি ধরেে তার সিনতনষঠত সিাদরর সদঙগ ব াগ করদলা আর একনট সির োলক lsquoরবীনদর অিভদব িজরলrsquo অিষঠাদি অনিনিতার নবটা বতাদলি রারফ রাহরাি (ওয়াদহে বহাদসিী বহির ওয়ানশাংটদি েীঘম নেদির বানসিা নতনি অনিয়নরত ভাদব নবনভনন গি রাধযদর বলখা িকাশ কদরি)

৩২


Is Bangladesh a secular state

Sultan Ahmad Secular means worldly not spiritual Its concerns are affairs of this world and not of the hereafter Its guiding principle is not religion which prescribes ways of achieving salvation after death Rather it is the set of principles that govern our lives in this world free of discrimination on the basis of religion A secular state does not favor a particular religion but treats all religions equally All laws passed by the legislature apply to all persons equally regardless of his or her religious belief A secular state does not mean you cannot have a religion but that you may practice your religion without support of the state or opposition from it USA is a secular state Muslims face hostile neighbors when they propose to build a mosque in their neighborhood Such hostility emanates from some legitimate concerns about zoning traffic parking or environment but if it is driven by some unfavorable opinion about Muslims then such hostility does not carry the day in a court of law President Donald Trump signed executive orders banning travel from six Muslim countries but his words during the campaign proposing a complete and total ban of Muslims from these countries are haunting him in courts Judges have ruled against the travel ban as unconstitutional as it is targeted to a specific religion The Trump administration proposes to take it to the Supreme Court for ultimate adjudication Is Bangladesh a secular state On paper yes But in practice it is not Bangladesh has a secular constitution but no freedom of expression If you express an opinion critical of those in power you risk incarceration If you express an opinion critical of a religion you risk bodily harm even death Why this intolerance The toxic brew of several factors ndash history Muslim majority system of education and government policies -- has created an atmosphere of intolerance which will take time and some efforts to dispel History Bangladesh was created from Pakistan which was itself created on the basis of religion India was partitioned because the Muslims and Hindus two main religious groups could not tolerate each other The solution was to carve out regions with Muslim majority to create Pakistan a homeland for Muslims But the formula yielded a bizarre solution East Pakistan was separated from West Pakistan by a

thousand miles of Indian Territory India and Pakistan were not on friendly terms they fought wars over Kashmir In less than twenty five years a rift developed between East and West Pakistan It was alleged East Pakistan was not getting a fair share of government jobs including the military government investment and foregn aid Projects were being funded in West Pakistan with trade surplus in East Pakistan Finally there was an election in which Awami League won majority of parliamentary seats but its leader who happened to be from East Pakistan was not allowed to form government An open rebellion ensued and West Pakistan in the guise of promises to hold talks sent troops instead This is how ldquoMukti Juddhordquo (war of liberation) started It ended when India intervened and Bangladesh was created Thus there wonrsquot be a Bangladesh if there was no East Pakistan and East Pakistan was created as a homeland for Muslims Muslim Majority Today 90 of Bangladeshrsquos population is Muslim For Muslims the ideal person to emulate is the Prophet Muhammad (sm) who was at once a religious leader commander in chief head of state and social reformer Muslims cannot separate State from Religion To Muslims the state is an entity that is based on Qurrsquoanic principles and sayings and practices of the Prophet (sm) (or Sunnah or ldquoahadisrdquo plural of ldquohadisrdquo) which together form the basis of a ldquopathrdquo to follow This is otherwise known as ldquoShariardquo Sharia dictates that no law can be passed if it contradicts Qurrsquoan and Sunnah The Caliphate ruled by ldquoKhalifasrdquo after the death of the Prophet (sm) has a nostalgic aura as throughout history factions of Muslims have sought to revive the Caliphate The idea is to install someone as the head of the Islamic world much the same way Catholics have the Pope Today the Islamic State or ISIS has proclaimed a Caliphate with territory annexed from Iraq and Syria It appointed a Khalifa and has set up a brutal regime It is battling for survival as Western powers have joined forces in the region to defeat it In India there was a time when some Muslims joined the ldquoKhilafatrdquo movement which petered out for lack of support In Pakistan and Bangladesh Muslims and Hindus are subject to different sets of laws in matters of marriage divorce and inheritance a practice carried over from British India Politicians cannot or will not touch these laws as they do not want to risk alienation of voters When the Prophet (sm) died the Khalifas concerned themselves with matters of State and left matters of religion to the Ulemas (scholars) Prominent among

২




৩





Kamal Siddiqui


৪







৫




1976-2013










৬









2013

৭








৮









৯







Figure 6 Vicious

cycle of social and

political changes

১০






Ziauddin Choudhury


১১




১২




Nurul Islam



১৩




১৪




১৫




১৬




১৭





Kaniz N Siddique


১৮




১৯





২০


Box 1



























২১






































করি






২২




২৩





২৪







২৫








২৬




২৭







২৮




Dear Scholar































published)




us by June 1 2017

















২৯


New Books


Ziauddin Chaudhury






















world



Ali Riaz





























USA)


(Eastern Academic)



৩০










৩১




৩২




৩





Kamal Siddiqui


৪







৫




1976-2013










৬









2013

৭








৮









৯







Figure 6 Vicious

cycle of social and

political changes

১০






Ziauddin Choudhury


১১




১২




Nurul Islam



১৩




১৪




১৫




১৬




১৭





Kaniz N Siddique


১৮




১৯





২০


Box 1



























২১






































করি






২২




২৩





২৪







২৫








২৬




২৭







২৮




Dear Scholar































published)




us by June 1 2017

















২৯


New Books


Ziauddin Chaudhury






















world



Ali Riaz





























USA)


(Eastern Academic)



৩০










৩১




৩২





Kamal Siddiqui


৪







৫




1976-2013










৬









2013

৭








৮









৯







Figure 6 Vicious

cycle of social and

political changes

১০






Ziauddin Choudhury


১১




১২




Nurul Islam



১৩




১৪




১৫




১৬




১৭





Kaniz N Siddique


১৮




১৯





২০


Box 1



























২১






































করি






২২




২৩





২৪







২৫








২৬




২৭







২৮




Dear Scholar































published)




us by June 1 2017

















২৯


New Books


Ziauddin Chaudhury






















world



Ali Riaz





























USA)


(Eastern Academic)



৩০










৩১




৩২







৫




1976-2013










৬









2013

৭








৮









৯







Figure 6 Vicious

cycle of social and

political changes

১০






Ziauddin Choudhury


১১




১২




Nurul Islam



১৩




১৪




১৫




১৬




১৭





Kaniz N Siddique


১৮




১৯





২০


Box 1



























২১






































করি






২২




২৩





২৪







২৫








২৬




২৭







২৮




Dear Scholar































published)




us by June 1 2017

















২৯


New Books


Ziauddin Chaudhury






















world



Ali Riaz





























USA)


(Eastern Academic)



৩০










৩১




৩২




1976-2013










৬









2013

৭








৮









৯







Figure 6 Vicious

cycle of social and

political changes

১০






Ziauddin Choudhury


১১




১২




Nurul Islam



১৩




১৪




১৫




১৬




১৭





Kaniz N Siddique


১৮




১৯





২০


Box 1



























২১






































করি






২২




২৩





২৪







২৫








২৬




২৭







২৮




Dear Scholar































published)




us by June 1 2017

















২৯


New Books


Ziauddin Chaudhury






















world



Ali Riaz





























USA)


(Eastern Academic)



৩০










৩১




৩২









2013

৭








৮









৯







Figure 6 Vicious

cycle of social and

political changes

১০






Ziauddin Choudhury


১১




১২




Nurul Islam



১৩




১৪




১৫




১৬




১৭





Kaniz N Siddique


১৮




১৯





২০


Box 1



























২১






































করি






২২




২৩





২৪







২৫








২৬




২৭







২৮




Dear Scholar































published)




us by June 1 2017

















২৯


New Books


Ziauddin Chaudhury






















world



Ali Riaz





























USA)


(Eastern Academic)



৩০










৩১




৩২








৮









৯







Figure 6 Vicious

cycle of social and

political changes

১০






Ziauddin Choudhury


১১




১২




Nurul Islam



১৩




১৪




১৫




১৬




১৭





Kaniz N Siddique


১৮




১৯





২০


Box 1



























২১






































করি






২২




২৩





২৪







২৫








২৬




২৭







২৮




Dear Scholar































published)




us by June 1 2017

















২৯


New Books


Ziauddin Chaudhury






















world



Ali Riaz





























USA)


(Eastern Academic)



৩০










৩১




৩২









৯







Figure 6 Vicious

cycle of social and

political changes

১০






Ziauddin Choudhury


১১




১২




Nurul Islam



১৩




১৪




১৫




১৬




১৭





Kaniz N Siddique


১৮




১৯





২০


Box 1



























২১






































করি






২২




২৩





২৪







২৫








২৬




২৭







২৮




Dear Scholar































published)




us by June 1 2017

















২৯


New Books


Ziauddin Chaudhury






















world



Ali Riaz





























USA)


(Eastern Academic)



৩০










৩১




৩২







Figure 6 Vicious

cycle of social and

political changes

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Ziauddin Choudhury


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Nurul Islam



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Kaniz N Siddique


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