tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88054439359771186692024-03-19T11:58:59.321-07:00Bangladesh Expatriates CouncilBangladesh Expatriate Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854834602492151190noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805443935977118669.post-46237016652704931672017-05-15T20:02:00.001-07:002017-05-15T20:02:55.233-07:00Misguided petition drive against the IGP is shameful <a href="http://drhabibsiddiqui.blogspot.com/2017/05/misguided-petition-drive-against-igp-is.html"><span style="color: #993300;">Misguided petition drive against the IGP is shameful</span></a> <br />
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Our attention was lately drawn to a <strong><u><a href="https://www.change.org/p/akm-shahidul-hoque-resign-as-the-igp-of-bangladesh-police" target="_blank"><span style="color: #993300;">petition drive</span></a></u></strong> in <strong>change.org</strong> to oust <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">the current IGP of Bangladesh - Mr. A.K.M. Shahidul Hoque. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Apparently, the initiators of the petition drive were upset about his briefing in August 2015 where he urged bigoted freethinkers in Bangladesh not to “cross the limit,” noting that “if anyone hurts [another person’s religious] […] feelings, he will be punished by the law.” According to the petition, Mr. Hoque also encouraged people to notify police and file a case if they come across any writings that hurt religious feelings.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">The BEC fully endorses the IGP's stand on this vital issue noting that many of the so-called free-thinkers are very disrespectful of Islam and its noble Prophet Muhammad (S). They have been spreading hatred and intolerance against Muslims. Such activities can never be condoned in a free society where religious harmony and respect are the founding blocks. In our opinion, the bigoted freethinkers are extremists and no better than their counterparts that use religion to create hatred and intolerance. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">As our chairman, Dr. Habib Siddiqui, has repeatedly mentioned in many of his Op/Ed columns extremists of any kind are dangers to the society, and must be stopped. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">The extremist freethinkers have been abusing their freedom of expression to hurt the feelings of billions of law-abiding, peaceful and peace-loving Muslims. In that process, they have forgotten the age-old wisdom that while a person has every right and freedom to stretch his/her arms that freedom, however, becomes an abuse when someone is hurt. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Respect for religion is a cornerstone of our policy. Therefore, we <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">urge Bangladeshi expats to ignore the petition drive against the IGP, and any such misguided initiatives that are aimed to create division and hatred.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sincerely,</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Board of Directors, BEC</span></span> </div>
Bangladesh Expatriate Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854834602492151190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805443935977118669.post-50552697803997470672014-03-04T19:58:00.001-08:002014-03-04T19:58:30.336-08:00Indian Expats in Bangladesh<div style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Indian Expats in
Bangladesh<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">By<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Dr. Habib Siddiqui<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">A couple of years ago,
during my visit to Bangladesh I got a glimpse of globalization inside
Bangladesh when I met some Indian Engineers who were working for a reputable
home building company. A friend of mine later introduced me to some Indian
engineers working for Bangladeshi ship-builders in Chittagong. Over the years I
have also come across many Indians who were working for the international
companies and NGOs. I did not know how many Indians were gainfully employed
inside Bangladesh though. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">If you have traveled
outside your home country you must have noticed that in much of our world the
workforce includes foreigners that are not part of the native community. And
that is true for almost all countries except God-forsaken countries like
Myanmar (former Burma that has epitomized the apartheid character) and North
Korea. In some parts of the world, e.g., the rich Arab Gulf states, the foreign
workers comprise the majority of the entire population. Such a global trend
should not surprise us any more knowing that our world is becoming more
connected and globalized than ever before in its entire history. And people are
doing what their ancestors had done since the days of Adam and Eve – they are
on the move for a plethora of reasons. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nearly one billion
people – that is, one out of every seven persons on the planet – have migrated
internally and across international borders in search of better opportunities
and living conditions, with profound implications for development,</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> growth and poverty
alleviation in both origin and destination countries. The more prosperous
western countries, especially the USA and Canada, have been able to gravitate
the best brains providing them opportunities in research and development that
are absent in many developing and underdeveloped countries. Much of the
innovations have come out of these immigrants energizing the economy in their
adopted countries. </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">According to the United
Nations, more than 230 million people are living outside their countries of
birth in 2013. It is no surprise either that the expatriates are funneling
billions of dollars into the countries that they came from. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">According to </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">World Bank's
Migration and Remittances Brief, o</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">fficially
recorded remittances to developing countries are estimated at $414 billion in
2013, an increase of 6.3% over the previous year. Global remittance flows,
including those to high-income countries, are expected to be $550 billion in
2013. The top recipients of officially recorded remittances are India ($71
billion), China ($60 billion), the Philippines ($26 billion), Mexico ($22
billion), </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Nigeria
($21 billion), and Egypt ($20 billion). Other large recipients include
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Ukraine.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
However, as a share of GDP, remittances were larger in smaller and lower income
countries; top recipients relative to GDP were Tajikistan (48%), Kyrgyz
Republic (31%), Nepal (25%), Lesotho (25%) and Moldova (24%).</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Despite the current
global economic weakness, remittance flows are expected to continue growing,
with global remittances expected to reach $594 billion by 2014, of which $449
billion will flow to developing countries</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The remittance to developing countries is
projected to rise to $540 billion by 2016. </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It also noted that </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">globally, migrants pay
an average cost of 9% to send money home. Reducing the average remittance price
to 5 percent, in line with G8 and G20 targets, could save migrants around $16
billion a year.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">In recent
years, India has been the largest recipient of remittances in the world.
According to the World Bank, India received $69 billion in 2012. What may
surprise most Bangladeshis is the little known fact that Bangladesh ranks fifth
(behind the UAE, the USA, Saudi Arabia and the UK) among the top 15 countries
from which India draws remittance from her expatriates (see the list below for
top 8 countries). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family: Georgia;">1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">UAE: There are millions
of Indians staying in UAE and majority of them lives in cities like Dubai, Abu
Dhabi and Sharjah. It is reported that most number of Indians are willing to go
to UAE because of the different opportunities that are offered in the field of
petroleum, construction and other industries. India received about $14.255 billion
as remittance from United Arab Emirates.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family: Georgia;">2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">USA: Indian expats who
are working or settled in USA remit a whopping $10.844 billion to India.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family: Georgia;">3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Saudi Arabia: More than
a million Indians work in the kingdom. Report shows that people who work in
Saudi Arabia send $7.621 billion to their home as a remittance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family: Georgia;">4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">UK: Indian expats who
stay in U.K send $3.904 billion to their home yearly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family: Georgia;">5.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Bangladesh: It is
reported that there are Indians who are staying in Bangladesh and there are
about 500,000 Indians presently residing. These Indians remit $3.716 billion to
their home country and the number is expected to increase in next few years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family: Georgia;">6.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Canada: Indian expats
who are staying in Canada send home as much as $3.145 billion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family: Georgia;">7.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Nepal: Indian expats who
stay in Nepal remit $ 2.934 billion to their home country, India.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family: Georgia;">8.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Oman: Report shows that
Indian expats who stay in Oman remit $2.373 billion to India.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The Silicon India News
reported that the Indians “who are migrating to Bangladesh illegally are from
West Bengal, Meghalaya, Assam, Tripura and Mizoram. According to the government
authorities of the country, most of them come in search of job opportunities
and mostly work in NGOs, garments and textile industries. These Indians remit <b>$3,716
million</b> to their home country and the number is expected to increase in
next few years." (<b>15 Nations Sending Highest Remittances to India</b>,
21 May, 2013) That is, approx. $4 billion is remitted by these <b>half a
million</b> illegal Indians working inside Bangladesh. Not a bad number: more
than 5% of total Indian remittance coming from ‘poor’ Bangladesh!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Since my childhood I
have also known of many Bangladeshi Hindus whose loyalty was to India, and they
have been money laundering their wealth and hard-earned income to the family
members in West Bengal, Tripura, Meghalaya and Assam. However, until the
publication of the World Bank brief on remittance I had no clue that billions
of dollars are being remitted to India from Bangladesh. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Oddly, for years, Indian
politicians have used the Bangladesh-card to paint a very slanted and damning portrait
about the country stating that the ‘poor Bangladeshis’ are illegally crossing
into India, taking up jobs, settling in India, etc., as if the poor
Bangladeshis can’t find any job inside Bangladesh. That mythical
characterization appeared too absurd to me knowing that pay-scale for most jobs
inside Bangladesh is higher than offered in nearby states of India, let alone
the fact that people simply don’t like to migrate to an unfriendly environment,
which does not even pay well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">But little did we know
about the humongous Indian influx into Bangladesh. The killing of innocent
Bangladeshis along the border by the trigger-happy Indian Border Security
Forces in the Bangladeshi soil and no-man’s-land is even presented by Indian
authorities as a necessary ‘evil’ to stop those Bangladeshis trying to ‘infiltrate’
into India. Now we know better! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">As I have noted several
times, secular India has a very unsecular and unsavory record on protecting
minority groups. Riots and mayhems are more like norms in this largest
democracy - most often initiated and/or promoted by Hindu fanatics of RSS,
Vishwa Hindu Parishad - that are parents of BJP - the party that ruled India
and will probably come to power again in 2014. Muzaffarnagar last year saw her
worst violence in which nearly four dozen Muslims were killed. Thousands of Muslims
are afraid to return to their village. More than 100 riots happened in the
Uttar Pradesh in just a year. A fact-finding mission found the hands of BJP
everywhere. Its leaders have been active in organizing the panchayats and the
mahapanchayats in the villages where hate speeches pushed the crowd to take
revenge against the Muslims. Slogans against Muslims for killing cows mixed
with slogans in support of Narendra Modi rent the air after the series of
meetings and mahapanchayats in the villages. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">In 2012 more than fifty
Muslims were killed in Assam, which borders Bangladesh. The election time is
usually a prime time to trigger such riots against Muslims who are used as vote
banks by politicians. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">If the Indian
politicians fail to educate their electorates about Indian influx into
Bangladesh and the remittance thereof the Bangladeshi politicians and the
government owe it to their people to share the news. Probably the truth on this
matter will lower the propensity of politically motivated anti-Muslim religious
riots inside India. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Bangladesh Expatriate Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854834602492151190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805443935977118669.post-33077537042284591082014-03-04T19:54:00.000-08:002014-03-04T20:00:54.338-08:00All those fuss about ‘Endangered Demography’<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Note: The article below from our chairman appeared in the New Age and some other newspapers and Internet site. It refutes Hindutvadi claims against Bangladesh. - BEC</span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">==========================================</span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">All those fuss about ‘Endangered
Demography’<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">BY <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Dr. Habib Siddiqui<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I recently came across an article by Tapan Kumar Ghosh, the
fanatic leader of Hindu Samhati, in the IBTL, entitled “</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Bengal's doomed Hindu community,” which requires response
to correct the confusion and falsity that he has deliberately tried to create
in the mind of his readers. He falsely claims that Islamists from Bangladesh
have been infiltrating India virtually turning those bordering districts of
India-Bangladesh border into Islamist strongholds. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">To support his thesis,
Ghosh quotes from Bimal Pramanik, the director of </span><span lang="EN" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Centre for Research in Indo-Bangla
Relations (CRIBR), a front that is long known for its anti-Bangladesh bias and
anti-Muslim agenda gravitating extremist Hindus for the Hindutvadi cause. </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Ghosh writes, “Take the situation in 24 Parganas border
district. According to Bimal Pramanik (Endangered Demography: Nature and Impact
of Demographic Changes in West Bengal, 1951-2001), ‘The 1981-1991 decade
witnessed a massive growth rate of Muslim population, viz. 41.47%. This
obviously is due to Muslim infiltration from Bangladesh. Consequently, the
share of Muslim population rose from 22.43% (1971) to 24.22% (2001) within
three decades, in spite of a massive Hindu immigration from Bangladesh during
the same period. It will be more revealing if we go through the Block-level
demographic changes. It needs a special mention that a large number of Muslims
who had migrated to East Pakistan after Partition came back to this district
not only during 1951-1971 but also after 1971, and this remains a persistent
trend till today. Another important feature that needs mention in this
connection is the continuous in-flow of Urdu speaking Muslims from Bangladesh
after 1971.’” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The
above statement by Bimal Pramanik (and Tapan Ghosh) tries to create false
impression about the entire cross border movement of people since 1947. It is
faulty, to say the least. When India was partitioned some Hindus who did not
like Jinnah's Two-Nation theory volunteered to leave Pakistan and settle in
India. Some Muslims, likewise, moved to Pakistan from India. Over the years
(and even decades), for a plethora of reasons, which are quite normal for the first
generation of refugees, many of the refugees decided to return to their
previous homes. And this phenomenon is not unique to any particular religious
group. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">In
a collaborative research work between Johns Hopkins, Harvard, MIT and Fordham
universities entitled “The Demographic Impact of Partition: Bengal in 1947,”
the authors (K. Hill et al.) note that “</span><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: TTA21E93F8t00;">Unlike the
experience in the Punjab, where the bulk of Partition related migration was
over by the end of 1947, migration of Bengali Hindus to India and of Bengali
Moslems to East Pakistan continued through 1951, and indeed continued
episodically over at least the next two decades</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: TTA21E93F8t00;">.” So far from the myth that Ghosh and Paramanik try to create
in the minds of their gullible readers, we notice that cross border migration
of both Hindus and Muslims had continued for quite some time when many Hindus
who had migrated to India returned to East Pakistan and similarly many Muslims
– both Urdu and Bengali speaking – later returned to India. After Bangladesh
became an independent state in 1971, many Hindus who had migrated to India and settled
there earlier during the Pakistan era returned to Bangladesh, and many later
decided to go back to India. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: TTA21E93F8t00;">As to the Urdu-speaking people inside
Bangladesh, commonly known as the Biharis who opposed the division of Pakistan,
many of them opted to be settled in Pakistan, which did not happen except for a
very small fraction. Most of them ended up living in the Red Cross Camps in
various cities and later accepted Bangladeshi citizenship. If these so-called
Biharis were to return to India, it is conceivable that they would settle in
Bihar and not in West Bengal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: TTA21E93F8t00;">When one emigrant group’s (i.e., Hindu) return
is welcome while another group’s (i.e., Muslim) return is frowned upon and
depicted as ‘Islamist infiltration’, it is not difficult to see clear signs of
bias of which Ghosh and Pramanik are guilty of. </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Contrary to the claims made by
the above Hindu leaders that t</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">he decade of
1981-1991 witnessed a ‘massive growth rate of Muslim population, viz. 41.47%’</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, in
the 24 Pargana district there is no data whatsoever to support this outlandish
assertion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To understand the share of Muslim population rising from
22.43% in 1971 to 24.22% in 2001 in 24 Pargana district (more correctly, North
24 Pargana; see Table 1 for the Indian census report 2001), which is falsely
attributed to massive Muslim immigration from Bangladesh, one simply has to
look at the annual growth rate amongst Hindus and Muslims in an unbiased way,
away from slogans and propaganda. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Table 1: Indian Census on West Bengal Population
(2001)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: 4.65pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 555px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 13.5pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">#<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: none; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="132"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">District<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: none; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 101.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="135"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">Total
Population<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: none; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="137"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">Muslim
Population<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: none; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 13.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 65.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="87"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">%
Muslim<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: .5pt; mso-border-color-alt: windowtext; mso-border-left-alt: 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: .5pt; mso-border-style-alt: solid; mso-border-top-alt: 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" width="132"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murshidabad_district" title="Murshidabad district"><span style="color: windowtext;">Murshidabad</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 101.0pt;" width="135"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">5,866,569<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.0pt;" width="137"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">3,735,380<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 65.0pt;" width="87"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">63.67%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" width="132"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malda_district" title="Malda district"><span style="color: windowtext;">Malda</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 101.0pt;" width="135"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">3,290,468<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.0pt;" width="137"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">1,636,171<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 65.0pt;" width="87"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">49.72%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" width="132"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Dinajpur_district" title="North Dinajpur district"><span style="color: windowtext;">North Dinajpur</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 101.0pt;" width="135"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">2,441,794<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.0pt;" width="137"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">1,156,503<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 65.0pt;" width="87"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">47.36%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" width="132"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birbhum_district" title="Birbhum district"><span style="color: windowtext;">Birbhum</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 101.0pt;" width="135"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">3,015,422<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.0pt;" width="137"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">1,057,861<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 65.0pt;" width="87"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">35.08%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">5<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" width="132"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_24_Parganas_district" title="South 24 Parganas district"><span style="color: windowtext;">South 24
Parganas</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 101.0pt;" width="135"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">6,906,689<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.0pt;" width="137"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">2,295,967<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 65.0pt;" width="87"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">33.24%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">6<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" width="132"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadia_district" title="Nadia district"><span style="color: windowtext;">Nadia</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 101.0pt;" width="135"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">4,604,827<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.0pt;" width="137"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">1,170,282<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 65.0pt;" width="87"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">25.41%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 7;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">7<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" width="132"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howrah_district" title="Howrah district"><span style="color: windowtext;">Howrah</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 101.0pt;" width="135"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">4,273,099<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.0pt;" width="137"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">1,044,383<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 65.0pt;" width="87"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">24.44%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 8;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">8<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" width="132"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooch_Behar_district" title="Cooch Behar district"><span style="color: windowtext;">Cooch Behar</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 101.0pt;" width="135"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">2,479,155<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.0pt;" width="137"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">600,911<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 65.0pt;" width="87"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">24.24%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 9;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">9<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" width="132"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_24_Parganas_district" title="North 24 Parganas district"><span style="color: windowtext;">North 24
Parganas</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 101.0pt;" width="135"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">8,934,286<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.0pt;" width="137"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">2,164,058<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 65.0pt;" width="87"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">24.22%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 10;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" width="132"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Dinajpur_district" title="South Dinajpur district"><span style="color: windowtext;">South Dinajpur</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 101.0pt;" width="135"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">1,503,178<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.0pt;" width="137"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">361,047<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 65.0pt;" width="87"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">24.02%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 11;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">11<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" width="132"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolkata_district" title="Kolkata district"><span style="color: windowtext;">Kolkata</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 101.0pt;" width="135"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">4,572,876<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.0pt;" width="137"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">926,761<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 65.0pt;" width="87"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">20.27%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 12;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">12<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" width="132"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardhaman_district" title="Bardhaman district"><span style="color: windowtext;">Bardhaman</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 101.0pt;" width="135"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">6,895,514<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.0pt;" width="137"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">1,364,133<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 65.0pt;" width="87"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">19.78%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 13;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">13<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" width="132"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooghly_district" title="Hooghly district"><span style="color: windowtext;">Hooghly</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 101.0pt;" width="135"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">5,041,976<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.0pt;" width="137"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">763,471<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 65.0pt;" width="87"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">15.14%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: .25in; mso-yfti-irow: 14;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: .25in; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">14<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .25in; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" width="132"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnapore_District" title="Midnapore District"><span style="color: windowtext;">Midnapore</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .25in; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 101.0pt;" width="135"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">9,610,788<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .25in; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.0pt;" width="137"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">1,088,619<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .25in; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 65.0pt;" width="87"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">11.33%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 15;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">15<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" width="132"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jalpaiguri_district" title="Jalpaiguri district"><span style="color: windowtext;">Jalpaiguri</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 101.0pt;" width="135"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">3,401,173<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.0pt;" width="137"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">369,195<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 65.0pt;" width="87"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">10.85%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 16;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">16<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" width="132"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bankura_district" title="Bankura district"><span style="color: windowtext;">Bankura</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 101.0pt;" width="135"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">3,192,695<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.0pt;" width="137"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">239,722<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 65.0pt;" width="87"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">7.51%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 17;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">17<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" width="132"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purulia_district" title="Purulia district"><span style="color: windowtext;">Purulia</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 101.0pt;" width="135"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">2,536,516<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.0pt;" width="137"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">180,694<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 65.0pt;" width="87"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">7.12%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 13.5pt; mso-yfti-irow: 18;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">18<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" width="132"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darjeeling_district" title="Darjeeling district"><span style="color: windowtext;">Darjeeling</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 101.0pt;" width="135"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">1,609,172<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.0pt;" width="137"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">85,378<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 13.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 65.0pt;" width="87"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">5.31%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 13.5pt; mso-yfti-irow: 19; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="132"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">Total:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 101.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="135"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">80,176,197<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="137"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">20,240,536<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 13.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 65.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="87"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">25%</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For this purpose, let’s take the 1931-41 Bengal census data
of the British era (years before large-scale migration along the borders took
place) as the basis of our analysis. The census data (Table 2) show that Hindu
annual growth rate was less than that of Muslim, e.g., by nearly 0.25%. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Table 2:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <b>1931-41 Population in
joint-Bengal (British Census – without the Tribals)<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: 4.9pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 430px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 13.5pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-right: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 13.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 153.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="205"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">Year<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 15.2pt;" valign="bottom" width="20"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">1931<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 13.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 58.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="77"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">1941<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 13.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 153.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="205"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">Total
population in '000<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 15.2pt;" valign="bottom" width="20"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">48811<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 58.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="77"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">58838<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 153.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="205"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">Hindu<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 15.2pt;" valign="bottom" width="20"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">20670<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">42.3%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 58.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="77"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">24244<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">41.2%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 153.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="205"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">Muslim<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 15.2pt;" valign="bottom" width="20"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">27245<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">55.8%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 58.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="77"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">32745<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">55.7%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-row-margin-right: 48.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td colspan="3" nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 216.7pt;" valign="bottom" width="289"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">Annual
Hindu growth rate<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 58.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="77"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">1.61%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border: none; mso-cell-special: placeholder; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-row-margin-right: 48.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 5; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td colspan="3" nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 216.7pt;" valign="bottom" width="289"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">Annual
Muslim growth rate<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 58.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="77"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">1.86%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border: none; mso-cell-special: placeholder; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It won't require an Einstein to do the math and find that
Muslim proportion in 24 Pargana and some other Indian district has now gone up
after decades (Table 1). Bottom line: for the Muslim population to grow to
24.22% after 30 years in North 24 Pargana it did not require any infiltration
from outside; it was all natural, organic growth!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Anti-Muslim fanatics and bigots like Ghosh and Paramanik
willfully twist and hide facts to prove their voodoo endangerment theory. They
won’t tell their mesmerized audience lots of things fundamental to
understanding migration statistics but are in the habit of making mountains out
of moles to prove their concocted theory, which only implants hatred and
intolerance in a world that is increasingly becoming global and connected where
the borders of yesterday are either being viewed as too artificial or losing
old meanings. It is no surprise, therefore, that half a million Indians are
working inside Bangladesh today remitting nearly four billion US dollars to
India. But such information won’t be shared by chauvinist guys that are in the
business of selling poison pills to foment division and animosity between
religious groups. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Ghosh
believes that the West Bengal government – CPI (M) and TMC alike – has been in
the habit of appeasing Muslims. Forgotten there is the mere fact that Muslim share
in government jobs is below 4% statewide in spite of Muslims comprising more
than a quarter of West Bengal state’s population. Is that appeasement or
discrimination? Hateful provocateurs like Ghosh usually have tunnel vision when
it comes to the ‘other’ people! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">In 2005, the Indian government appointed the Sachar
Commission to investigate whether Muslims were disadvantaged in social,
economic and educational terms. The commission concluded in 2006 that the
socio-economic condition of most Muslims was as bad as that of the Dalits, who
are at the bottom rung of the Hindu-caste hierarchy, also referred to as the
"untouchables." It </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">found that </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">the overall percentage of
Muslims in bureaucracy in India was just 2.5% whereas Muslims constituted above
14% of Indian population;</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">
Muslims who should have qualified for affirmative action were not getting it,
even though they were living in greater poverty than some groups that were
getting the benefit. </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Though
heavily urban, Muslims had a particularly low share of public (or any formal)
jobs, school and university places, and seats in politics. They earned less
than other groups, were more excluded from banks and other finance, spent fewer
years in school and had lower literacy rates. Very few were admitted in the
armed and police forces.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Nearly eight years have
passed since the report was released. Has the condition of neglected Muslims
improved in India? </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">A 2013 study
by an American think-tank, the US-India Policy Institute, assessing progress
since the Sachar report, bluntly concluded that Muslims have “not shown any
measurable improvement”. Even in education, Muslims’ gains were typically more
modest than other groups’. Too many official efforts to direct help, for
example by spending more on schools in Muslim districts, also failed; funds got
stolen or diverted to non-Muslim recipients. Muslims continue to face daily
discrimination. They have to hide their religious identity or pretend that they
are Hindus for even a menial job. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">As noted by </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">social activist Prof. Ram Puniyani, soon after 2002
communal violence in western Gujarat state several Hindu organizations launched
a propaganda campaign asking Hindus to boycott Muslims in all day-to-day
dealings, much like what Wirathu and his 969 Fascist Movement are doing today
in Myanmar. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Let Ghosh and his ilk compare the dismal job status of
minority Muslims in ‘secular’ India against minority Hindus employed in the
government sector of Bangladesh, which he calls an Islamic Republic. Hindus in
Bangladesh represent less than 10% of the population and yet their share in the
public sector is several fold their share in the population (interested readers
can view my blog <a href="http://drhabibsiddiqui.blogspot.com/">http://drhabibsiddiqui.blogspot.com/</a>
to see a short list of top ranked Hindu bureaucrats working within the
Bangladesh government).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is sheer falsehood that Bimal Pramanik and Tapan Kumar
Ghosh are trying to sell to create hatred and intolerance against Muslims. As
brain-children of Goebbels and followers Hindutvadi fascist theology they know too
well that if falsehood is oft repeated it achieves the veneer of truth and some
are sure to swallow it. They are counting on it, and it is for conscientious
people on all sides to challenge them and defeat their heinous design to divide
us into hateful camps. Surely, falsehood is ever weak and bound to be defeated. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Bangladesh Expatriate Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854834602492151190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805443935977118669.post-62245247501417726082013-11-02T04:09:00.003-07:002013-11-02T06:52:24.919-07:00Thoughts on Bangladesh – Election 2014 - by Dr. Habib SiddiquiThe article below has appeared in the Asian Tribune and may be of interest to our readers, esp. of Bangladeshi heritage.<br />
===================<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>My Two Cents on Bangladesh
– Election 2014<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>By<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Dr. Habib Siddiqui<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6.0pt;">
Last week, I had the misfortune (and
that is the only way I can describe it) of witnessing the effect of a country-wide
strike (Hartal) in Bangladesh that was called by the opposition 18-party
alliance, led by Madam Khaleda Zia’s BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party). The
protest was for 60 hours and it was extremely violent. The opposition wanted a
total closure of everything – all government offices, business centers,
educational institutes, and even all forms of road and rail communication networks
– totally paralyzing the country. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6.0pt;">
Protests of this kind are nothing
new in Bangladesh and are a common feature, esp. during the election time.
Bangladesh is scheduled to have a parliamentary election early next year. Public
worries are around fairness of that election and the transfer of power.
Although Bangladesh government has an Election Commission (EC) to ensure a fair
election to take place the opposition alliance does not believe that it is
neutral or would remain so during the important parliament election. This doubt
is somewhat exasperating to the ruling party given the fact that in recently
held municipal elections, the EC demonstrated its neutrality in which
candidates affiliated with the ruling Awami League were defeated miserably. The
opposition says that those municipal elections were more like baits used by the
ruling party to draw the opposition alliance to accept the government proposal.
It wants a caretaker government instead to conduct the election, more like what
had been the norm in Bangladesh since 1991. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6.0pt;">
Interestingly, every time after the
election since 1991, the incumbent party has lost which had accused that the
election was unfair and hijacked by the caretaker government, which was biased
in making sure that it lost. So, why this fallacy about hosting an election
under a caretaker government when no matter how neutral it was and how fairly
it may have been conducted the election process, the losers are always going to
cry foul?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6.0pt;">
The ruling alliance of Sheikh Hasina
does not want the next election to be held under a caretaker government and
says that it wants to conduct it following the dictates of the constitution in
ways that have become the norms in all democratic countries around the globe.
That is, it wants to hold the election when it is in office, albeit under some
restrictions imposed a priori by the EC, and not under a caretaker government. It
has brought in constitutional amendments to justify its stand, which it says
will avoid a repeat of 1/11. The problem is: the opposition alliance does
neither trust in the sincerity of the ruling alliance nor the constitutional
amendment. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6.0pt;">
Since no major political leader
wants to compromise in this current political tug of war, street politics with
corpses, sadly, has become the fate of this unfortunate nation of 154 million
people, resulting in violent clashes, injuries and deaths, let alone suffering
of the people. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6.0pt;">
In the last week’s 60-hour protest,
nearly 20 individuals had died. A young girl lost her two eyes. The low-income
day laborers, rickshaw pullers, and vendors could not work and suffered
miserably. Some of them were beaten mercilessly by the members of the
opposition parties who did not want them to work or go out. Trains were
derailed, smashed and set on fire, injuring many and killing some. Buses, cars,
trucks and taxis were set on fire. Some drivers were pulled out from their
vehicles, beaten and killed. Even offices, shops and business centers were not
spared of this senseless violence. It was a total breakdown of law and order,
and police had difficulty controlling. Some of its own members had suffered
serious injuries. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6.0pt;">
I don’t know of any country which witnesses
this kind of criminal violence during an anti-government protest. I am told
that every day Bangladesh lost some 1.6 billion taka as a result of the
nation-wide closure. Students who were scheduled to take their A or O level
test could not appear, thus falling behind by a year. It is a big loss for
those students and their parents. But none of these losses, pains and
sufferings seems to matter to either the ruling alliance or its opposition.
Without a compromising formula, the people had to suffer. And this kind of
violent protest will go on until a compromise is reached, which seems highly
unlikely. As I write, the opposition alliance has called for another 3-day total shutdown strike beginning on Monday. That is sure to further worsen the prevailing delicate
situation. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6.0pt;">
I am sure a reasonable solution can
be found if the parties are willing to make some concessions. If they don’t get
to that desired solution, they will take the country to a situation in which a
repeat of the so-called 1/11 when military took control would become
inevitable. And this time, guessing the public mood, a minus-two formula (i.e.,
without both madams Hasina and Khaleda – the leaders of the two major parties
in the country) may become the reality, whether either the powerful business
leaders or the major political party leaders of the country like it or not.
That would be a sad event for an emerging democracy, which has failed to learn
the D of democracy in the last 42 years of its existence as an independent
nation!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6.0pt;">
As I see it, politics has become an
investment these days – a big one, which I must add, in which every investor
wants to win. This is true everywhere, even in the western democracies like the
USA. The cost of defeat at a party level is simply unacceptable under the
current setup for many politicians. But only in an illiberal democracy like
Bangladesh, the losing party loses all the government connections for business
dealings, tenders and contracts, flow of money to its region and the potential benefits
thereof that could be passed on to its cadre and the sycophants, let alone the
sponsors and lobbies. Even if they are elected to the parliament, as a member
of the opposition party, no money may flow into those areas from which they are
elected. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6.0pt;">
Unless, therefore, this culture of
cost of defeat is addressed, i.e., reduced to a minimum, I see little hope that
Bangladesh would move forward in which pre- and post-election era violence
would become an exception and not a norm. For this to happen, however, not only
does Bangladesh require an effective shadow government to monitor the
activities of the government, but it must also make sure that her politicians
understand that the Bangladeshi pie is a big one which can be shared between
all its members, and that democracy need not mean a majoritarian rule in which
the winner – the majority party - takes it all, and that legitimate grievances
and demands of the opposition members are heard and addressed properly. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6.0pt;">
I, thus, believe that simply moving
to a caretaker government will not in itself solve the post-election era
violence and the rejection of the election outcome on the part of the losing
party. These are all the alarming episodic symptoms of a chronic legal,
economic and political sickness and not the root causes. Unless the fundamental
issues around that cost of defeat are addressed, the politics of violence and
insanity will not ebb an iota in Bangladesh. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6.0pt;">
Bangladeshi politicians have
forgotten that we have only one tongue and only one mouth to talk, but two ears
and two eyes to listen and see. Instead, they are terrible listeners, and
behave like the deaf, dumb and blind (soom-moom, book-moon, oom-youn). Just a
recently released video of phone conversation between the leaders of the two
major parties is sufficient to prove my case here. This attitude must change so
that they can respect each other and do what the nation deserves from them. If
the political leaders can’t tolerate each other as fellow human beings,
politics is a wrong profession for them in a democracy. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6.0pt;">
Leadership is ultimately about
accountability – to God the Creator and to His creation. If one is oblivious of
that hard fact, only ruination awaits that person both in this world and in the
afterlife. It was this fear of accountability which led Amir-ul-Mu’meneen, the
Caliph, Umar ibn Khattab (R) to say 14 centuries ago, “<i>Should a lost goat die in the Shat al-‘Arab I tend to think that Allah,
the Most Exalted, will question me about it on the Day of Judgment</i>.” [<b>Wisdom of Mankind; Hilyat’ul Awliya wa
Tabaqatul Asfiya</b>] If that be the concern of a ruler for a mere goat, how
about saving human lives? Don’t they deserve better as the best of the
creation?</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6.0pt;">
Surely, the Bangladeshi nation
hates bloodshed, but craves for sustainable peace and prosperity. And its
politicians can deliver this if they have the will and sincerity of intention
and purpose. But do they?</div>
Bangladesh Expatriate Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854834602492151190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805443935977118669.post-20984824645861600422013-06-26T05:50:00.004-07:002013-06-26T05:50:59.321-07:00In the future Bangladeshi Expatriates Will be able to Vote in Elections from AbroadFor years, we, the Bangladeshi expatriates, have been demanding greater inclusion in matters relating to Bangladesh. One of the major demands has been the right to vote in elections from here without requiring us to travel to Bangladesh. Thanks to the relentless lobbying by directors and members of the BEC and NRB Council, USA, the Government of Bangladesh is moving in that direction. <br />
<br />
You can read the news <a href="http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2013/06/26/expats-can-vote-from-abroad">below</a> from BDNews24:<br />
<br />
<h5>
Expatriate Bangladeshis will be able to vote from abroad, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said on Wednesday.</h5>
Necessary amendment to the Representation of People Order, 1972, will be made for this to happen,” Hasina told the Parliament in reply to Awami League MP Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun.<br />
<br />
<br />
“Now expatriate Bangladeshis have to come to the country to vote in elections, but that will be no longer necessary” she said.<br />
<br />
“The Representation of People Order, 1972, will be amended so that they can apply for exercising their voting rights from their locations abroad during the upcoming parliamentary elections.”<br />
<br />
Humayun had asked if any steps were afoot to ensure expatriates could vote by ‘digitally’ from abroad.<br />
<br />
<br />
The Election Commission is not considering that at the moment, Hasina replied.<br />
<br />
The Wednesday budget session began after a day holiday chaired by Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Bangladesh Expatriate Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854834602492151190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805443935977118669.post-83460856190829430802013-06-09T08:49:00.004-07:002013-06-09T08:50:35.457-07:00Bangladesh – A Nation Divided? – Part 8 by Dr. Habib Siddiqui<br />
<br />
<br />
In recent months, hundreds have died in Bangladesh as a result of political violence. As more International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) sentences are announced, the violence is likely to continue between the security forces and angry supporters of the political parties whose members are tried and sentenced. So, why are these trials taking place now – 42 years after country’s independence? Can Bangladesh right the historical wrongs - and at what cost to its unity? How about the Bihari and Urdu-speaking victims of the liberation struggle? Will their families see justice for the violence suffered, too? <br />
<br />
Whatever may be the wisdom and true agenda behind the highly controversial ICT, the people in Bangladesh has every right to see that the trial process is fair and unbiased so that no innocent person is punished, and that the system is neither politically motivated nor abused. Otherwise, it would not only stain the memory of all those who died in the war but would permanently divide and polarize this country into hostile camps. That is not the future for which its valiant freedom fighters fought for or the martyrs died for. <br />
<br />
It would be irresponsible of the ruling party to ignore Bangladesh’s culture and history, which has invariably shown time and again that her people don’t like extremes – neither Talibanization nor secular fundamentalism that is devoid of God. Like most people living in South Asia, and vast majority of Americans living in the southern states of the USA, religion is important to most Bangladeshis. Their religious devotion, however, has not intoxicated them to be intolerant of others. As such, whereas religious and ethnic riots have been norms in neighboring countries of Myanmar and India, Bangladesh has been spared of such perils.<br />
<br />
As much as the Muslim majority of undivided Bengal had opted for East Bengal when it realized that it was severely discriminated and its due rights were overlooked by the ‘Bhadro lok’ Hindu minorities in Kolkata (Calcutta), and as much as it voted overwhelmingly for Pakistan when it feared its marginalization in a hostile Hindu-majority India, it did not take too long for the same Bengali-speaking Muslim majority to demand parity and autonomy from its more powerful and, yet, minority siblings living in and ruling from the western part of Pakistan. Thus, it would be foolish to envision that the decision of all those who had opted for Pakistan was a historical mistake. And, so goes for Bangladesh. <br />
<br />
Truly, there won’t be any Bangladesh today had it not been for the emergence of Pakistan. (Note: The people of Kashmir still have not achieved their independence.) A comparison of the status of Muslim minorities in nearby Indian states is enough to prove that the economic and social progress that the Muslim majority had made under Pakistan and Bangladesh would have been simply impossible in India. <br />
<br />
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman has been recognized as the greatest Bengali (Bangali) ever because he was able to personify that fusion of nationalism and religion better than most others and turn it into a force unifying the nation to rally behind him for its legitimate demand for regional autonomy. His nationalism did not divorce him from his religious root. By remaining firmly grounded on both he was a unifier and not a divider. <br />
<br />
Can the same be said about others who led Bangladesh later? When vengeance was sought, Bangabandhu characteristically ‘turned the other cheek’ and forgave. With all the support he enjoyed soon after liberation, he could have afforded to behave like Mao Tse-Tung, Fidel Castro and Josef Stalin. But he chose not to. Some political observers have argued that his clemency resulted in his own death and that he should have finished off the job around war crimes when in office. Those who came later have proven to be vindictive, perhaps trying to avoid the fate that awaited Bangabandhu. But not all have succeeded to dodge the bullet when destiny has allotted it. And none will be able to blot what has been allotted to him or her!<br />
<br />
Sheikh Mujib is not above criticism though. In the post-liberation period, notwithstanding his BAKSAL policy, his introduction of secularism in the Constitution of Bangladesh has been a highly controversial subject. Its preamble states, “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 liberation struggle, shall be the fundamental principles of the constitution.”<br />
<br />
As noted by T. N. Madan and many other sociologists the western concept of secularism does not find its recognition in culture and morality in entire South Asia – including in Gandhi, Azad and Nehru’s India. It is impossible as a credo of life because the great majority of people of South Asia are in their own eyes active adherents of some religious tradition. Professor Madan noted in his speech in Boston in 1987 that secularism has failed as a widely shared worldview in India [T.N. Madan, Secularism in Its Place, JSTOR: The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 46, No. 4 (1987), pp. 747-759]. To Gandhi, religion and politics are inseparable; without the former the latter would become debased. He famously said, “For me, every, the tiniest, activity is governed by what I consider to be my religion,” and “those who say that religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion means.”<br />
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So what could have justified the inclusion of secularism in the Constitution of Bangladesh? A closer look at the Article 12 of the Constitution makes it clear that the writers and signatories of the constitution were greatly influenced by their bitter experience in Pakistan where they witnessed firsthand how religion was exploited to deny the rights of the people of East Pakistan. Realizing that public may misinterpret the loaded term, borrowed from European experience, Sheikh Mujib was always quick to point out that Bangladeshi secularism had little in common with western concept of secularism where God is divorced from public life. To him, secularism was a policy of religious neutrality on the part of the state. No rule was, thus, enacted during the Mujib-era which was emphatically anti-Islamic. [True though that Jama’at and all pro-Islamic parties were banned. But this exclusion had everything to do with the politics of the liberation struggle when these parties and their student wings were on the wrong side of history – being Pakistani patriots they opposed dismemberment of the country and resisted the popular independent struggle.] There was no government sponsored programs or events in Bangladesh, unlike some so-called Islamic countries, where gambling was promoted. It can be argued that in spite of all the hypes around it, secularism in Bangladesh did not conflict with the notion of “full faith and trust in God (Allah).” <br />
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The scheming and unscrupulous politicians – religious and secular alike - have always exploited religion to win votes not just in more conservative South Asia but also in more secular Europe and the Americas. With the changing political development in Bangladesh, the new leaders – never mind that they were perhaps less religiously observant than their predecessors -- did not waste any time to rephrase the constitution to impress the majority. Bismillah was introduced. They also revived previously banned political organizations and formed alliances with those ‘defeated’ forces. ‘Islam’ as the ‘state religion’ was inserted in 1989 by the 10th Amendment. The constitutional experts are divided on such amendments. They question: since 90% of the population of Bangladesh professes Islam and the Constitution itself upholds that no law would be passed that opposes Islam, was such an amendment necessary?<br />
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The ruling alliance is now revising the amended constitution of the Bangladesh, trying to put the state back to 1973 before the BAKSAL days. <br />
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With the all-too-expected verdicts against some of the leaders and members of the Jama’at-e-Islami (JI), some secular fundamentalists and anti-Muslim bigots within Bangladesh are raucous with their demand to ban the JI. It would be, however, ill-advised of the government to pass laws that would ban the JI - the largest and most organized political movement inspired by Islam. History has repeatedly shown that when dissenting voices are forcibly silenced they trigger underground militancy. Such actions can also be interpreted as fascistic and utterly hostile to Islam. Already government’s heavy handed policies and actions have alienated many conservative Muslims. They perceive the government of being soft on blasphemers and hostile to Muslims, and hypocritical about Muslim interest. And perception is often the reality! Unless such negative perceptions are removed, the government will lose much public support. If the past elections are any barometer to judge how people vote, the current government should know that voters have punished the incumbents more for their failings than rewarded them for their accomplishments. <br />
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In the long run, it is thus better to see a ‘mildly Islam-centric’ party like the JI engaged in parliamentary politics than forced into becoming a clandestine militant group that is at war with the state. <br />
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Regardless of whether the Jama’at is formally banned, it has experienced severe restrictions on its ability to function as a political party under the current government. Such draconian measures have radicalized its student wing, and ignited passion amongst many apolitical, conservative Muslims against the government, although they may not agree with JI’s version of political Islam. The huge rallies recently hosted by the Hefazat-e-Islam are a sufficient testament to that development. <br />
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As I have pointed out before, many see the war crimes trial process unfair and a grave miscarriage of justice. Speaking to the Arab News, Toby M. Cadman, a legal expert on war crimes tribunals, said, “The present law in Bangladesh is outdated; there are no clear definitions for war crimes; prosecution had called only a small number of witnesses and few of whom are able to provide any direct evidence; the judicial procedures lack transparency in many respects; we cannot challenge the jurisdiction of tribunal, the legislation, the appointment of judges and the tribunal’s decisions; the same judges are conducting investigation, issuing decisions and reviewing their own decisions; and there is a very limited time for the defense to prepare.” <br />
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Barrister Cadman said that the Tribunal had arrested those leaders who might have opposed independence. “Opposing independence is not a crime,” he pointed out. In the newly independent Pakistan and India, both Jinnah and Nehru had called upon their fellow countrymen to bury their old hatred (“hatchet”) and become effective citizens. Similarly, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib said that Bangladeshis were a forgiving nation and that Bangladesh should look to the future not the past in the interest of peace and reconciliation. According to Cadman, this was principally the reason for the trials being abandoned in 1973 and resulted in a tripartite agreement between India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. He said that the Hasina government was showing its political vendetta by arresting the leading members of Jama’at and BNP: “It is actually punishing the Jama’at for siding with the last BNP government. If the government wants to end the culture of impunity, it should depoliticize the judicial process and appoint international judges and prosecutors, and there should be a foreign council for the defense and government members should stop making comments in breach of the presumption of innocence.”<br />
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Even if the tribunal process is corrected of its ‘defects,’ what about the other war criminals? After all, the main perpetrators are not in the dock, since they are either dead or living in Pakistan. What about the tribal followers of (late) Raja Tridiv Roy who killed many Bengalis and Freedom Fighters in 1971? How about the Bengali-speaking killers that killed innocent Biharis and Urdu-speaking citizens of Pakistan? How about those who killed surrendering Pakistani forces violating the Geneva Convention? Will the Hasina government have the same zeal to go after these latter categories of war criminals? <br />
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Life is sacred in Islam and cannot be taken unless there is absolute proof justifying it. Has the ICT proven its cases beyond any doubt against each of those ‘perpetrators’ of war crimes? Will justice be served by hanging some 80 or 90 year old ‘patriot’ Pakistani who had opposed the emergence of Bangladesh, and yet did not kill or molest anyone personally? History has repeatedly shown that blood sheds more blood, especially when there is the strong perception that it was shed wrongfully. So where and when will this blood-letting end? How about forgiveness and compassion shown, esp. to those sentenced to death by sparing their lives? Are not there enough examples in history of former tormentors transforming into saints later? What would Christianity be without Paul, or Islam without Umar, and so on and so forth?<br />
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Could Bangladesh instead opt for a Truth and Reconciliation dialogue, much in common with how South Africa has dealt with its own bloody past? <br />
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These are some serious questions that Bangladeshi intellectuals need to discuss openly and objectively, and ultimately mend their fences. They must also avoid any exaggeration about the casualty figures of the war of liberation. Those exaggerated figures do no good but only simmer hatred in a world that requires facts and not myths towards bridging the gaps and moving forward for mutual benefits of all. <br />
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It is high time to let sanity rule. Already hundreds have died in the ensuing violence since February, and probably more will die in the coming days when more verdicts are read that are considered unfair or unjust. The economic losses are estimated at billions of dollars. No one is winning in this divided house. The loss in trade and commerce in Bangladesh is resulting in gains for her equally impoverished neighbors. Is that development desirable for millions of highly skilled labors in Bangladesh whose life depends on seeing their factories remain open for business? Surely not! <br />
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Finally, in a globalized, well-connected world that we live in today, politics is increasingly becoming global. The post-9/11 Global War on Terror has come to be seen in the Muslim world, and for good reasons, as non-Muslims’ crusade against the community of Muslims. Naturally, some Muslims are fuming and getting radicalized. The Government of Bangladesh cannot afford to be oblivious of such outside pulls which are rewriting the internal politics. To succeed, it must learn to respect people’s emotional attachment to their faiths, and the changing environment that they live in. Putting the clock back to 1972 or 1975 may not be the right formula in 2013 or beyond. As such, it may not be a bad idea to leave sensitive issues like Bismillah and ‘trust in God’ intact in the amended Constitution. There are surely more important issues for the government to tackle than get involved in issues which only divide the nation. <br />
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---=--- <br />
Concluded.<br />
<br />Bangladesh Expatriate Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854834602492151190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805443935977118669.post-49791834737343543052013-05-26T16:24:00.002-07:002013-05-26T16:24:32.427-07:00Bangladesh – A Nation Divided? – Part 7 by Dr. Habib SiddiquiBangladesh – A Nation Divided? – Part 7<br />
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<br />
By<br />
<br />
Habib Siddiqui<br />
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In 2010 the Government of Bangladesh (GOB), led by the Awami League (AL), set up an International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) court to prosecute the people who allegedly committed war crimes during the liberation war. It was part of her 2008 election promise and touted as an effort to "provide justice for victims of atrocities in the 1971 war of independence." Many in the opposition parties have charged that the ICT trials are politically motivated and are part of the ruling party’s fascist agenda to liquidating its formidable opposition, esp. the Jama’at. Many have questioned the wisdom behind the ICT after nearly four decades when eyewitnesses are hard to find and memory of the war days fading. To many victims of the 1971 War, the trial, however, is seen as a closure of their past wounds. They see the trial and the verdict as justice delayed but not denied.<br />
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Several trials were concluded in early 2013: Abul Kalam Azad, a popular TV personality, was convicted of eight charges and sentenced to death in absentia in January 2013. Abdul Quader Mollah, a leader of the opposition Jama’at-e-Islami (JI), was convicted of five of the six charges and sentenced to life imprisonment on February 5, 2013. His sentence was greeted with much cynicism and anger. Given the history of Bangladesh’s back-door political deals, there was speculation of an AL-JI détente whereby the JI leaders’ lives were to be spared in return for JI breaking its alliance with the BNP. It’s against that backdrop that the so-called ‘Shahbag Awakening’ began. Tens of thousands of Bangladeshis took to the streets and gathered in Shahbag Square, Dhaka in protests to demand that Mollah be hanged. <br />
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Forgotten was the notion of innocent until proven guilty, or the concept of a fair trial, or the independence of the judiciary. <br />
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In addition to banning the JI, the Awakening called for social boycott and government actions against banks, businesses and social service providers linked with Jama’at. Within days, several Islamic financial and charitable institutions – perceived to have ties with the JI – were attacked by miscreants who were directly linked or indirectly influenced by the Shahbag movement - creating panic, especially, within the banking sector. As the protesters in Shahbag Square grew rowdy and the law and order situation deteriorated, bearded Muslims in the capital city felt insecure about going out, even to mosques, alone. Copies of some pro-JI and pro-BNP newspapers were symbolically burned by the protesters who demanded banning of all Muslim religiously motivated political parties, esp. the JI. The offices of newspaper, Naya Diganta, deemed pro-Jama’at, were subsequently attacked and burnt by miscreants within the movement. <br />
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With the revelation, thanks to the opposition daily – the Amar Desh, that some of the key organizers had previously blogged in the Internet mocking Islamic practices and using profanity against the Prophet of Islam, the movement soon came to be perceived as being hijacked by rabidly anti-Muslim, secular fundamentalists. At least two of the organizers had anti-Islam blogs. In an interview with the Christian Science Monitor, one of them said, “Us pushing for the death sentence is the tip of the iceberg; this is a way to begin to unravel religion from politics.” The movement, increasingly, came to be seen not only as anti-Muslim but also fascist. Subsequently, a blogger known for spewing his hatred of Islam in the Internet was murdered by some Muslim zealots. And worse yet, some of the key organizers of the movement were seen staying at the nearby government-run medical university, thus, creating the obvious impression that the government was patronizing anti-Islamic rogues. <br />
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The situation took a more violent turn after the ICT, on February 28, sentenced Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, a popular preacher and the Nayeb-e-Ameer of Jama’at. He was convicted of eight charges of war crimes and sentenced to death by hanging after finding him guilty of two war crimes. Following this verdict, supporters of the JI took to the streets in protest, leading to clashes between them, the Shahbag protesters (who arguably had influenced the verdict), and the security forces attempting to control the protests. More than a hundred people died between February 5 and March 7, most of them in police firing according to media and human rights groups. The video clips from Chittagong also showed that some Hindu police officers had abused power to kill JI protesters in what can only be described as execution-style murders.<br />
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Sayeedi’s defense lawyers at the ICT trials have argued that his was a case of mistaken identity saying that the notorious Delwar Hossain Shikdar alias "Deilla Razakar", responsible for war crimes, had been apprehended and executed by freedom fighters after the liberation. Reacting to Sayeedi’s verdict, the International Commission of Jurists said the perpetrators of atrocities “should be brought to justice, not subjected to vengeance.”<br />
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In late 2012, near the end of Sayeedi's trial, Skype conversations (17 hours between August and October of 2012) and e-mails (230 exchanged up to September 2012) between the presiding judge of the ICT, Nizamul Huq, and Ahmed Ziauddin, a Brussels-based lawyer, were leaked out in the media (including the YouTube), which showed that the GOB had pressured and attempted to intervene in the ICT deliberations in order to speed up the proceedings. The neutrality and independence of the presiding judge was also called into question by the Economist, UK, which noted that “even before the court had finished hearing testimony from the defence witnesses, Mr Nizamul was already expecting a guilty verdict. These concerns are so serious that there is a risk not only of a miscarriage of justice affecting the individual defendants, but also that the wrongs which Bangladesh has already suffered will be aggravated by the flawed process of the tribunal. That would not heal the country’s wounds, but deepen them.” (December 15, 2012)<br />
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Although Mr. Huq promptly resigned, and a new presiding judge was appointed, according to the Economist (March 23, 2013), “The number of defence witnesses was curtailed. One was even kidnapped on the steps of the court. In one case, the presiding judge resigned and the death sentence was handed down by three men who had not heard all the witnesses. In another, the defendant was represented by a lawyer who did not have nearly enough time to prepare a case. That also ended in a death sentence. These are profound judicial failings...”<br />
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On May 16, 2013, the New Age - an English newspaper – trusted for objective journalism, published extracts from a statement of Sukhranjan Bali, a long missing Hindu witness in the ICT, which he had given whilst in jail in India. He said that he was abducted by the Bangladeshi police from the entrance to the ICT and after six weeks in detention, forced across the border into India where he was arrested by the BSF for trespassing. “The apparent abduction of a witness in a trial at the ICT is a cause for serious concern about the conduct of the prosecution, judges and government,” said Brad Adams, the Asia director of the Human Rights Watch (HRW). “Among many questions is who ordered the abduction, and how senior the officials involved were.” The press release pointed to the failure of both the government and the tribunal to set up an independent investigation of the alleged abduction at the time it took place.<br />
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Interestingly, on May 18, the Daily Star, quoting a BBC report, claimed that Bali had confessed to entering India illegally and that during police interrogation he had not mentioned of either being abducted or later pushed in. Given the conflicting nature of the reports, the ITC should initiate an enquiry, preferably by an independent commission, to determine the veracity of the allegations and, in case these are true, identify the people who had masterminded and perpetrators of the abduction so that they could be prosecuted and punished.<br />
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The Human Rights Watch, New York, has been critical of the conduct of the ICT since November 2011, accusing that it has not provided enough protection for the defense of the accused. It has said that "lawyers representing the accused before the ICT have reported being harassed by state officials and threatened with arrests. Several witnesses and an investigator working for the defense have also reported harassment by police and threats for cooperating with the defense." It has long called for the ICT to establish an effective victim and witness program which would ensure protection for both prosecution and defense witnesses. <br />
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Progressively, the protests for and against the verdicts sharpened along the religious/irreligious lines with extremists on either side – destabilizing the state. The former group, led by Hefazat-e-Islam, an almost obscure group unknown to the public until lately, has held some of the largest rallies and procession marches in various parts of Bangladesh in recent months alleging that ‘Islam is under attack’. Its million-man rally in Dhaka on April 6 is probably the largest rally ever in Bangladesh’s history. It enjoys grass root support from thousands of religious seminaries and has pressed for, amongst 13 demands, a blasphemy law to punish all those bloggers who had satirized and insulted Islam or had made statements supporting anti-Islamic and atheist principles, largely through blogs and other electronic media. The group also decried the omission of the dictum of “full faith and trust in Allah” from the book of the Constitution. <br />
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In response, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reaffirmed that Bangladesh is a secular state. Her government arrested four bloggers for hurting religious sentiments of the people. Two of them have since been released on bail. Police in Bangladesh also arrested the acting editor of Amar Desh on several charges, including sedition. The newspaper is accused of epitomizing yellow journalism to polarize the public. <br />
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On May 5, 2013 hundreds of thousands of Hefazat supporters, which included many teenagers and students drawn mostly from the madrassas, led a “siege of Dhaka” from the early hours of Sunday to press home their 13-point demand. The activists blockaded the entry points of the city and staged a grand rally at Shapla Chattar of Motijheel Commercial Area. Bloody clashes followed, and the political elements within the Hefazat leadership who maintained liaison with the 18-party opposition leaders, began echoing the opposition slogan of dislodging the government from power. With sticks, bamboos, bricks and rocks, they fought pitched battles with the police and ruling party vigilantes turning the Purana Paltan, Bijoy Nagar and Kakrail areas into virtual battlefields. They were seen attacking the office of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) at Purana Paltan and setting fire to it. They attacked the central office of the ruling Awami League at Bangabandhu Avenue in the afternoon. <br />
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On Sunday evening, Hefazat leader Shah Ahmed Shafi declared that their 'peaceful' Shapla Chattar sit-in would continue until their 13-point demand is met, defying a government warning to evacuate the area. Soon thereafter the electricity was cut off from the Motijheel area. Later, smokes of fire were seen coming from the small shops on the footpaths in the Baitul Mukarram area, which were blamed on the Hefazat activists. The government also shut down two TV channels (the Diganta and the Islamic TV), which had been covering the anti-government rally. <br />
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Hefazat and some anti-AL dailies, however, disputed those reports of arson and vandalism saying that the ruling party goons had carried out destruction of properties and torched small shops including bookstores which were selling the holy Qur’an. They also accused the security forces of indiscriminate shooting of the protesters. <br />
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Soon after the midnight, in the early AM hours of Monday, May 6 government security forces went on the offensive, arresting some and chasing out other leaders of the Hefazat, and gunning down several members. The Amar Desh reported that some 3,000 were killed in what it described as the ‘midnight massacre’. Most of the corpses were reportedly hidden and transported to some remoter places by trucks by the law enforcement agencies to escape public wrath and international condemnation. Hefazat leaders said their workers were victims of pre-planned massacre without any warning and the death tolls stood between two and three thousand. The opposition BNP has compared it to the dishonorable Jalianwalabagh massacre of the colonial British government. “It may only be compared with March 25 midnight massacre of unarmed people in the city by the Pakistani forces in 1971 in our time,” BNP leaders said. Never before in the last 42 years’ history of Bangladesh had such political killings occurred, they said, adding voice with rights groups at home and abroad including the Amnesty International for an international probe into the killing. <br />
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Independent news sources, however, put the figure at approximately 50 dead, with others succumbing to injuries later. The dead include several security personnel. <br />
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Human Rights Watch expressed concern that Hefazat recruited boys from madrassas to participate in the “siege.” Many of the boys were unaware of the risks of marching into Dhaka. “Putting children in harm’s way is extremely irresponsible,” Brad Adams of the Human Rights Watch said. “Hefazat can’t credibly claim that it didn’t understand the risks, particularly as many of its supporters engaged in attacks on police that were then met with an armed response.” <br />
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“The toxic swirl of rumour and rhetoric surrounding the protest of May 5-6 will only get worse unless the government acts quickly in a transparent manner,” Brad Adams said. “Given the lack of trust between various parties, it is imperative that these answers come from an independent and impartial body.” “The Bangladeshi government has a responsibility to victims, whether protesters, bystanders or police, to ensure that an effective investigation is carried out into each death.”<br />
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Recently Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has accused the BNP leadership of conspiring to topple her administration by forming an alliance with the Hefazat.<br />
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The crisis in Bangladesh is sure to widen as more war crimes verdicts are handed down at the ICT and as elections scheduled for late 2013 or early 2014 approach. On May 9, the ICT handed down death sentence to Mohammad Quamruzzaman, an assistant secretary general of Jama’at. He is the fourth accused who was convicted for the 1971 crimes siding with Pakistani troops. The prosecution lawyers earlier said he was the chief the Al Badr, an auxiliary force to the Pakistan army during the liberation war, who had led several operations in Mymensingh and Sherpur region.<br />
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The ICT verdicts handed out thus far gives the unmistakable impression that the government priorities are to totally annihilate the Jama’at one way or another. Not a single alleged war criminal from the Muslim League (now mostly belonging to the BNP) has yet been sentenced. In contrast, the entire top tier leaders of the JI are in jail for alleged war crimes, and the second tier are in jail for opposing the war crimes trial process. Much of the third and fourth tier has gone underground to avoid arrest. Its grass-root meetings have been frequently disrupted by local administration.<br />
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Many see in such draconian measures Awami League’s election strategy to neuter the BNP and its alliance of a vital support from the religious elements which it had otherwise enjoyed. Will this strategy work or will it backfire?<br />
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>>>>>>>>>>>> To be concluded in the next part.<br />
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Bangladesh Expatriate Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854834602492151190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805443935977118669.post-88356162958669932582013-05-18T16:42:00.002-07:002013-05-18T16:42:32.782-07:00Bangladesh – A Nation Divided? – Part 6 by Dr. Habib Siddiqui<br />
<br />
Bangladesh – A Nation Divided? – Part 6<br />
By<br />
<br />
Habib Siddiqui<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
On 24 January 1972 the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) promulgated the Collaborators Tribunal Order (1972) to try the collaborators of the Pakistan government - the so-called enemies within. In the Ordinance, a collaborator was defined as a person who was found (i) to have helped, cooperated with or supported the Pakistan army in maintaining their unlawful occupation in Bangladesh; (ii) to have offered substantial cooperation to the Pakistan army directly or indirectly or to have helped the occupation army through speeches or statements, agreements and activities; (iii) to have fought or have attempted to fight against Bangladesh; (iv) to have given any statement or have participated in any campaign in favor of the Pakistan army, and to have been a member of any delegation or a committee of that army, and to have participated in the by-elections held in 1971. <br />
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Accordingly, those people of East Pakistan who supported the Pakistan Army proactively and had worked to preserve the unity of Pakistan by opposing the liberation of Bangladesh, including the paramilitary forces of Razakar, al-Badr and al-Shams, and the members of the pro-Government Peace Committees – which included Farid Ahmad, Khwaja Khairuddin, Nuruzzaman, Maulana Abdul Mannan, Julmat Ali Khan, Ghulam Azam, Mahmud Ali, Yusuf Ali Chowdhury (Mohan Mian), Syed Azizul Haq (Nanna Mian), Pir Mohsen Uddin (Dudu Mian), Raja Tridiv Roy, and ASM Solaiman - were formally declared as collaborators in the Bangladesh Collaborators Special Tribunal Order.<br />
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The total number of people arrested under the Collaborator Act was 37,471. According to M.M. Islam, the author of the book - The Forgotten Thousands: Bengalis in Bangladesh Jails - they were the “lucky ones” who “had escaped the indiscriminate killing' of the early days.” They “were rounded up and placed under detention in jails crowded many times over their capacity limits.” [See also: Matiur Rahman and Naeem Hasan, Iron Bars of Freedom, News and Media for Research and Documentation, London, 1980: 15] As already noted earlier, many of the collaborators, Bengali- and Urdu-speaking, were captured by the Freedom Fighters soon after the liberation of Bangladesh, and many were summarily executed without the due process of law. Some of the collaborators also managed to leave Bangladesh and settle overseas. <br />
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Most of the collaborators, as noted earlier, in the then East Pakistan came from the political parties that were opposed to the breakup of Pakistan and the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent country. Those included the various factions within the Pakistan Muslim League, Democratic Party, Nezam-e-Islami and Jama’at-e-Islami – a fact which is also mentioned in Siddiq Salik’s book, 'Witness to Surrender'. [He said that the only people who came forward to form the Army of Razakars were men recruited from the Council Muslim League of Khwaja Khairuddin, the Convention Muslim League of Fazlul Quader Chowdhury, the Muslim League of Khan A. Sabur, the Jama'at-e-Islami of Professor Ghulam Azam, and the Nizam-i-Islam Party of Maulavi Farid Ahmed.]<br />
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Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) leaders Ghulam Azam, Abbas Ali Khan, Motiur Rahman Nizami, and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid (president of the Dhaka unit of East Pakistan Islami Chhatra Sangha) launched a countrywide campaign urging the youth to join the Razakar, Al-Badr, and Al-Shams to resist the liberation forces of Bangladesh. The military in East Pakistan also set up a network of Peace Committees to serve as its agent, informing on civil administration as well as on general populace. They also recruited Razakars. ('The Betrayal of East Pakistan' by A. A. K. Niazi)<br />
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It is perhaps proper to give here a brief account of the Jama’at-e-Islami. The party was founded in 1941 in British India as a religious-political movement to promote Islamic values by Mowlana Abul A’la Maududi – a theologian, Islamic thinker and author of many books. An ‘Islamic state’, according to Maududi, must be governed by the shariah – the Islamic Law. He opposed the Pakistan movement believing that the secular leaders seeking an independent Muslim state in the name of Pakistan were not competent enough to lead an Islamic state. On this, history has proven him right. However, he was highly criticized by all secular Muslim leaders of British India for his views that had joined the Pakistan movement. After the partition of India, he moved to Pakistan and led the party until his retirement from politics in 1972. He had a profound influence globally. His ideas on Islamic state were subsequently borrowed and expanded by many other scholars. <br />
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Maududi believed that the Indian Congress was a hypocritical organization. He was highly critical of its leader Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who, unlike M.K. Gandhi, was openly opposed to religion. He considered Nehru to be an enemy of any faith who wanted to use Muslims as a vote-bank only. [Note: Gandhi famously said, “I can say without the slightest hesitation, and yet in all humility, that those who say that religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion means.” (An Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments with Truth: M.K. Gandhi)]<br />
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In Pakistan, Jamaat remained active in many social fronts. It opposed the military rulers and supported Fatima Jinnah against President Ayub Khan in the presidential election of 1965. It played a major role in the Pakistan Democratic Movement that toppled President Ayub Khan in 1969. In its 1970 election manifesto, the party supported provincial autonomy. In that election, it won 4 national assembly seats (out of 300) and enjoyed only 6% (~ 2m out of 33m) popular support.<br />
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After the devastating defeat in the 1970 election, the Jama’at quickly regrouped to defend Pakistan against the polarization of the country between the Awami League and the People’s Party. As to the role of Jama’at in 1971, Dr. Seyed Vali Reza Nasr, the author of the book - The Vanguard of the Islamic Revolution: The Jama‘at-i Islami of Pakistan, writes, “The Jama’at leaders encouraged Yahya Khan not to discriminate against the Awami League and to allow Mujib to form a government. When Yahya Khan refused, the party broke with him, accusing him of unfair partiality toward the People’s Party, which the Jama’at was convinced would have disastrous consequences for Pakistan. Meanwhile, the Jama’at excoriated the People’s Party for lobbying with the generals to deny the Awami League the fruit of its victory.<br />
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“As the situation in East Pakistan deteriorated throughout 1971, the Jama’at members became convinced of a Communist-Hindu plot to dismember Pakistan. Driven by its dedication to Pakistan’s unity and unable to counter the challenge of the Awami League, the Jama’at abandoned its role as intermediary and formed an unholy alliance with the Pakistan army, which had been sent to Dhaka to crush the Bengali nationalists.<br />
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“After a meeting with General Tikka Khan, the head of the army in East Pakistan, in April 1971, Ghulam A‘zam, the Amir of East Pakistan, gave full support to the army’s actions against “enemies of Islam.” Meanwhile, a group of Jama’at members went to Europe to explain Pakistan’s cause and defend what the army was doing in East Pakistan; another group was sent to the Arab world, where the Jama’at drew upon its considerable influence to gain support. In September 1971 the alliance between the Jama’at and the army was made official when four members of the Jama’at-i Islami of East Pakistan joined the military government of the province. Both sides saw gains to be made from their alliance. The army would receive religious sanction for its increasingly brutal campaign, and the Jama’at would gain prominence. Its position was, in good measure, the result of decisions made by the Jama’at-i Islami of East Pakistan, then led by Ghulam A’zam and Khurram Jah Murad. This branch of the Jama’at, faced with annihilation, was thoroughly radicalized, and acted with increasing independence in doing the bidding of the military regime in Dhaka. The Lahore secretariat often merely approved the lead taken by the Jama‘at and the IJT (Islami Jami’at-i Tulabah) in Dhaka. Nowhere was this development more evident than in the IJT’s contribution to the ill-fated al-Badr and al-Shams counterinsurgency operations.<br />
<br />
“In the civil war, two thousand Jama’at and IJT members, workers, and sympathizers were killed and upward of twelve thousand held in prison camps.” [Seyed Vali Reza Nasr, The Vangaurd of the Islamic Revolution: The Jama‘at-i Islami of Pakistan, University of California Press, Berkeley (1994)] [Note: The IJT in East Pakistan was known as the Islamic Chatra Sangha, which is considered the student wing of the JI.]<br />
<br />
It is interesting to see how a party which for too long was considered “anti-Pakistan” [for Mowlana Maududi’s serious opposition in British India] was able to transform itself to a “patriotic” party whose members gave blood trying to save Pakistan in its dying days. <br />
<br />
In the liberated Bangladesh, all the pro-Pakistan political parties, including the Jama’at, were banned from politics.<br />
<br />
In spite of his public declaration about trying the collaborators as war-criminals, Prime Minister Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman did not carry out the order. Instead, he declared a general amnesty on November 30, 1973, which was carried out by 16 December 1973 on the occasion of celebration of the second anniversary of the Victory Day. Amongst those released included - former Governor East Pakistan Dr. M. A. Malek along with his cabinet ministers (who served in East Pakistan), academics like - Dr. Kazi Din Mohammad, Dr. Hasan Zaman, Dr. Sazzad Hossain, Dr. Mohor Ali, and Pakistan’s former minister - Khan A. Sabur. (Fazlul Quader Chowdhury of the Convention Muslim League had died of natural causes inside the prison on July 18, 1973.)<br />
<br />
The general amnesty, however, did not extend to those who had killed people, raped women, set fire or caused harm to damage people’s homestead with explosives or convicted for damaging water-transport. <br />
<br />
In the early hours of August 15, 1975 Sheikh Mujib was assassinated with all but two family members (i.e., daughters – Hasina and Rehana) in what is widely believed to be a CIA-inspired plot by a disgruntled group within the Bangladesh army. Most of the top Awami League (AL) leaders were imprisoned. The plotters included military men who had fought against Pakistan military during the liberation war of Bangladesh. But they were widely believed to be against the spirit of liberation. They put a co-conspirator, Khondaker Mushtaque Ahmed – long rumored as Washington’s man within the Awami League, as the president, who later issued the Indemnity Ordinance, which prohibited any investigation and prosecution of the killing of Sheikh Mujib. Mushtaque named Major General Ziaur Rahman as the new Army Chief of Staff.<br />
<br />
On November 3, 1975, nearly 11 weeks after Mujib’s assassination, Major General Khaled Mosharraf, a pro-Mujib army officer, staged a counter-coup ousting Mushtaque Ahmed and imprisoning Zia. In the midst of the ensuing chaos, Sheikh Mujib’s killers left the country in that very night after killing four top AL leaders - Tajuddin Ahmed, Syed Nazrul Islam, M. Mansur Ali and A. H. M. Quamruzzaman – who had led the provisional government of Bangladesh during the liberation war. They had been imprisoned in the Dhaka Central Jail since the August coup. Mosharraf’s coup, however, was short lived and on November 7, just within four days, he was overthrown and killed in an uprising of the regular soldiers and the non-commissioned officers (NCOs) of the army that was inspired by Col. Abu Taher (Retd.) of Jatiya Samajtantric Dal (JSD) – a leftist political party. <br />
<br />
The misguided soldiers killed many army officers and their wives. However, Zia was rescued from his captivity by Taher’s forces. He was promptly reinstated as the army chief by the Chief Justice Sayem. Mindful of restoring discipline within the army, Zia arrested Taher on November 24, 1975 on charges of sedition and murder. Many JSD leaders were also arrested. A military tribunal later found Taher guilty and he was hanged on 21 July 1976. Major General Zia would go on to become the Chief Martial Law Administrator (CMLA) on November 19, 1975 and later president, after resignation of Sayem, in April 21, 1977. <br />
<br />
On December 31, 1975, an ordinance – The Bangladesh Collaborators (Special Tribunals) (Repeal) Ordinance, 1975 – to repeal the Bangladesh Collaborators (Special Tribunals) Order, 1972 was promulgated. The political turnaround in Bangladesh allowed previously banned political parties to resurrect their activities. Shah Azizur Rahman, a Pakistani collaborator who was released by Sheikh Mujib, went on to become the prime minister of Bangladesh under President Ziaur Rahman. He also helped President Zia to organize the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which has remained a major political party even after Zia’s assassination. <br />
<br />
As president, Zia issued edicts to the constitution redefining the nature of the republic. He began expounding "Bangladeshi nationalism", as opposed to Bengali nationalism. He emphasized the national role of Islam (as practiced by the majority of Bangladeshis), a drift which was brought to the fore by the assassins of Sheikh Mujib. In the preamble of the constitution, he inserted the salutation "Bismillahir Rahmaanir-Rahim" (meaning: In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful). In Article 8(1) and 8(1A) the statement "absolute trust and faith in Almighty Allah"' was added, replacing the state’s commitment to secularism. Socialism was redefined as "economic and social justice". Zia further introduced provisions to allow Muslims to practice the social and legal injunctions of the Shari’ah and Sunnah. In Article 25(2), Zia introduced the principle that '"the state shall endeavour to consolidate, preserve and strengthen fraternal relations among Muslim countries based on Islamic solidarity." Islamic religious education was introduced as a compulsory subject in Bangladeshi schools, with provisions for non-Muslim students to learn of their own religions.<br />
<br />
President Zia gave assassins of Sheikh Mujib jobs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Some of those assassins were later to become ambassadors of Bangladesh.<br />
<br />
While President Ziaur Rahman befriended many and gave new lives to pro-Pakistan forces, he alienated many freedom fighters that had participated in the liberation war. While visiting Chittagong on May 30, 1981, he was assassinated by a group of pro-liberation army officers.<br />
<br />
Lt. General H.M. Ershad, the Army Chief of Staff, promptly suppressed that military coup. On March 24, 1982 he staged a military coup toppling the BNP President Justice Abdus Sattar and proclaimed himself as the CMLA. Some twenty months later, on December 11, 1983, he claimed himself as the president of Bangladesh. As president, Ershad included amendments into the Constitution of Bangladesh, which legalized the military coup led by himself. He also amended the constitution to declare Islam the state religion, abandoning state secularism. He declared Friday as the official weekly holiday. <br />
<br />
President Ershad was forced to resign after a massive uprising, which was jointly led by opposition political parties – BNP, AL and JI. On December 6, 1990, he handed over power to a caretaker government that was led by Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed. He has served jail terms a few times on charges of corruption. Notwithstanding those charges, he and his Jatiya Party remain quite popular in Rangpur. In the 2008 parliamentary election, Jatiya Party was part of the Mahajote (Grand Alliance) with the Awami League that ran and won against the BNP-led alliance, which included the Jama’at.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> To be continued ….<br />
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Bangladesh Expatriate Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854834602492151190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805443935977118669.post-11107609182015128242013-05-05T11:38:00.000-07:002013-05-05T11:38:00.302-07:00Bangladesh – A Nation Divided? – Part 5 by Dr. Habib Siddiqui<br />
<br />
Bangladesh – A Nation Divided? – Part 5<br />
<br />
<br />
By<br />
<br />
Dr. Habib Siddiqui<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Crime should never be condoned and criminals need to be punished for their crimes. So, in the context of Bangladesh/East Pakistan of 1971 who should be punished for all those crimes that took the lives of so many – probably anywhere from 50,000 to 3 million, depending on whose version one accepts?<br />
<br />
There were at least four groups to share the blame – (1) Pakistan Army who planned and executed their program to pacify Bangladeshis, (2) their collaborators within the non-Bengalis – e.g., Urdu-speaking Biharis, many of whom joined paramilitary forces like the Razakar, al-Badr and Al-Shams, (3) their supporters within the pro-Pakistan civilian Bengalis – mostly affiliated with political parties, who collaborated with the regime towards recruiting Razakar, al-Badr and al-Shams paramilitary forces, and (4) political leadership in West Pakistan that provided the justification for the massacre of Bengalis. <br />
<br />
Besides these groups, it is worth mentioning here that the vast majority of the people living in the Tribal regions of Chittagong Hill Tract (CHT) opposed the liberation movement. They had voted for Raja Tridiv Roy (only one of the two outside AL candidates to have won the 1970 election) who actively collaborated with the military Government of Pakistan. The armed miscreant groups within them killed many Bengali civilians and freedom fighters. One of my uncles, who worked as an engineer in the Kaptai Rayon Mill, was abducted by them and simply vanished, presumably killed. <br />
<br />
The genocide – if we can call it as such - also included killing of serving Bengali senior army officers of the rank of Lt. Colonel and above in East Pakistan within the first few days of Operation Searchlight. The deaths included Col. Badiul Alam, Lt. Col. MA Qadir, Lt. Col. S.A. Hai, Lt. Col. M.R. Choudhury, Lt. Col. (Dr.) Ziaur Rahman, Lt. Col. N. A. M. Jahangir and another dozens of senior majors who were executed by April 1971. Also, around a hundred junior officers and thousands of unfortunate captured Bengali soldiers, including members of the East Pakistan Rifles and Police, serving in East Pakistan were executed. <br />
<br />
These killings happened as part of the strategy of the Operation Searchlight and are unacceptable under any law – military or civil. The accountability lies with the top brass within the Pakistan military that approved this strategy towards pacifying Bengalis in East Pakistan. Lt. General Tikka Khan who executed this strategy cannot evade his responsibility on this crime.<br />
<br />
After the defeat of the Pakistan Army, there was a call to try 195 Pakistani POWs for war crimes, but no trials took place. Along with other POWs, all of them returned from India to Pakistan. <br />
<br />
It has often been speculated that the Operation Searchlight was formulated by Major General Khadim Hussain Raja, GOC (General Officer in Command) of the East Pakistan-based 14th Infantry Division, and Major General Rao Farman Ali, military advisor to the Governor of East Pakistan, as a follow-up of decisions taken at a meeting of the Pakistani army staff on 22 February. <br />
<br />
However, Major General Rao Farman Ali was exonerated in the Hamoodur Rahman Commission (HRC) Report, and has denied any such involvement in planning that “genocidal” campaign. Nevertheless, in the HRC Report, he is recorded admitting that serious excesses and abuses were committed by the Pakistan military. He said, "Harrowing tales of rape, loot, arson, harassment, and of insulting and degrading behaviour were narrated in general terms.... I wrote out an instruction to act as a guide for decent behaviour and recommended action required to be taken to win over the hearts of the people. This instruction under General Tikka Khan's signature was sent to Eastern Command. I found that General Tikka's position was also deliberately undermined and his instructions ignored...excesses were explained away by false and concocted stories and figures."<br />
<br />
It is difficult to imagine such a breakdown in chain of command within Pakistan Army – undermining Gen. Tikka Khan’s directives - that early in 1971. <br />
<br />
In his memoirs, “A Stranger in My Own Country: East Pakistan 1969-1971,” Major General Khadim Hussain Raja mentioned the “sincere and frantic efforts” made by Lt. Gen. Yaqoob Khan, Vice Admiral Ahsan and Major General Rao Forman Ali till the last moment to avoid bloodshed. He claimed that he hated to be part of an unfavorable militaristic solution that was decided at the Headquarters of the CMLA Yahya Khan in West Pakistan with the connivance of Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the leader of the Pakistan People’s Party.<br />
<br />
As noted earlier, General Tikka Khan, who was calling the shots for a month in East Pakistan from mid-March of 1971, when much of the violence took place against the Bengalis, was also exonerated in the HRC Report. He became the Army C-in-C of Pakistan during Bhutto’s time. Neither he nor his boss was blamed for the crimes in East Pakistan. <br />
<br />
Instead, the blames were put on Lt. General Niazi, mostly for the loss of East Pakistan on December 16. The latter took control on April 11, 1971 after Lt. General Tikka Khan had already led the ‘genocidal’ campaign – the Operation Searchlight. As we have also noted, Niazi himself, in his interview, had pointed fingers at Bhutto, Tikka and Rao. “I volunteered to face court-martial proceedings. But my offer,” said Niazi, “was denied by the then army chief, Tikka Khan. He did not want the Pandora's Box to be reopened.” When asked about arson, loot, rape and killings in East Pakistan, he replied, “Immediately after taking command in East Pakistan, I heard numerous reports of troops indulging in loot and arson, killing people at random and without reason in areas cleared of anti-state elements. Realizing the gravity of the situation, I approached my bosses through a letter dated April 15, 1971, informing them of the mess being created. I clearly wrote in my letter that there have been reports of rapes and even the West Pakistanis are not being spared. I informed my seniors that even officers have been suspected of indulging in this shameful activity.”<br />
<br />
A closer look at those accusations and finger-pointing against each other within the top brass of Pakistan military suggests that Niazi might have been telling the truth. It is also reasonable to suspect the intent of the HRC, which rather than finding the Yahya-Bhutto-Hamid-Tikka clique responsible for the circumstances that finally led to the dismemberment of Pakistan made the scapegoats out of the Eastern Command and its senior commanders. <br />
<br />
General Niazi was the last Pakistani military administrator in East Pakistan when it surrendered. On 14 December 1971, two days before his surrender, over 200 of East Pakistan's intellectuals including professors, journalists, doctors, artists, engineers, and writers were seemingly picked up from their homes in Dhaka by the Al-Badr militias. They were taken blindfolded to torture cells in Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Nakhalpara, Rajarbagh and other locations in different sections of the city. Later they were executed en masse, most notably at Rayerbazar and Mirpur. It is widely speculated that the killings of 14 December was orchestrated by Major General Rao Farman Ali. After the liberation of Bangladesh a list of those Bengali intellectuals was discovered in a page of his diary left behind at the Governor's House. The existence of such a list was confirmed by Major General Ali himself although he denied the motive of genocide. <br />
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On the alleged killing of intellectuals, the HRC Report said:<br />
<br />
24. This again is a matter, which was specifically raised by Sk. Mujibur Rehman during his meeting with the Prime Minister [Bhutto] at Dacca. According to Maj. Gen. Farman Ali it was on the 9th and 10th of December 1971 that he was rung up in the evening by Maj. Gen. Jamshed, who was the Deputy Martial Law Administrator for Dacca Division and asked to come to his headquarters in Peelkhana. On reaching the headquarters he saw a large number of vehicles parked there. Maj. Gen. Jamshed was getting into a car and he asked Maj. Gen. Farman Ali to come along. They both drove to Headquarters of Eastern Command to meet Lt. Gen. Niazi and on the way Maj. Gen. Jamshed informed Maj. Gen. Farman that they were thinking of arresting certain people. Gen. Farman Ali advised against it. On reaching Lt. General Niazi's headquarters he repeated his advice, on which Lt. Gen. Niazi kept quiet and so did Maj. Gen. Jamshed. Maj. Gen. Farman Ali has stated that he cannot say anything as to what happened after he came away from the headquarters but he thinks that no further action was taken. <br />
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25. When questioned on this point, Lt. Gen. A. A. K. Niazi stated that the local Commanders had, on the 9th of December 1971, brought a list to him which included the names of miscreants, heads of Mukti Bahini etc., but not any intellectuals but he had stopped them from collecting and arresting these people. He denied the allegation that any intellectuals were in fact arrested and killed on the 9th December 1971 or thereafter. <br />
<br />
26. Maj. Gen. Jamshed has, however, a slightly different version to offer. He says that it was on the 9th and 10th of December 1971 that General Niazi expressed his apprehension of a general uprising in the Dacca city and ordered him to examine the possibility of arresting certain persons according to lists which were already with the various agencies, namely the Martial Law Authorities and the Intelligence Branch. A conference was held on the 9th and 10th of December 1971 in which these lists were produced by the agencies concerned and the total number of persons to be arrested came to about two or three thousand. According to him, arrangements for accommodation, security guards, missing and the safety of the arrested persons from bombing/strafing by the Indian Air Force presented insurmountable problems and therefore, he reported back to Lt. Gen. Niazi that the proposal be dropped. He states that thereafter no further action was taken in this matter. <br />
<br />
27. From the statements made by the three Generals who appear to be directly concerned in the matter, it seems that although there was some talks of arresting persons known to be leaders of the Awami League or Mukti Bahini so as to prevent chances of a general uprising in Dacca during the closing phases of the war with India, yet no practical action was taken in view of the circumstances then prevailing, namely the precarious position of the Pakistan Army and the impending surrender. We consider, therefore, that unless the Bangladesh authorities can produce some convincing evidence, it is not possible to record a finding that any intellectuals or professionals were indeed arrested and killed by the Pakistan Army during December 1971.” (Chapter 2)<br />
<br />
Sadly, no supporting evidence was subsequently either requested from or provided by the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) to its counterpart in Pakistan to follow up on this crucial issue of killing of Bengali intellectuals. With that we probably shut the door to connect the dots in this gruesome murder, let alone prosecuting the Pakistani war criminals. <br />
<br />
As per the HRC Report, Rao Farman Ali was not convicted with any charges and was the only Major General Rank officer, serving in East Pakistan, who was not charged. The HRC report noted, “He frankly admitted before the Commission that he was associated with the planning of the military action of the 25th of March 1971, and also with the subsequent political steps taken by the military regime to noramlise the situation, including the proposed by-elections necessitated by the disqualification of a large number of Awami league members of the National and Provincial Assemblies. Nevertheless, as a result of our detailed study of the written statement, submitted by the General and the lengthy cross-examination to which we subjected him during his appearance before us, as well as the evidences from other witnesses from East Pakistan, we have formed the view that Maj. Gen. Farman Ali merely functioned as an intelligent, well-intentioned and sincere staff officer in the various appointments held by him, and at no stage could he be regarded as being a member of the inner military junta surrounding and supporting General Yahya Khan. We have also found that at no stage did he advise, or himself indulge in, actions opposed to public morality, sound political sense or humanitarian considerations. In this context, we have already commented at some length, in a previous Chapter of this Report, on the allegation made by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at General Farman Ali was wanting to "paint the green of East Pakistan red," and have found that the entire incident has been deliberately distorted.” (Chapter 3)<br />
<br />
However, along with other senior officers stationed in East Pakistan immediately before and during the war of 1971 who were held collectively responsible for the failings and weaknesses, which led to the defeat of the Pakistan Army, Rao Farman Ali was reprimanded in the Report. <br />
<br />
The HRC Report is also shockingly reserved about the political leadership within West Pakistan, e.g., the role of Bhutto and his People’s Party, that provided the political justification for the heavy-handed policy of the military that led to the dismemberment of Pakistan. It is simply improbable that the ‘genocidal’ activities of the Operation Searchlight would have been carried out without any tacit approval of those politicians. Ultimately, however, the accountability for their crimes rests with the military government of Yahya Khan. <br />
<br />
After the humiliating defeat against India and the loss of Bangladesh, General Yahya Khan resigned on December 20, 1971 and handed over power to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Within weeks, Bhutto put him under house arrest until being released by General Ziaul Huq who came to power in a military coup on July 5, 1977. <br />
<br />
Yahya Khan died on August 10, 1980. Twenty-five years after his death, in December 2005 the Pakistan government released Yahya Khan’s affidavit that was placed with the Lahore High Court in 1978. In that 57-page long affidavit, Yahya Khan said, "It was Bhutto, not Mujib, who broke Pakistan. Bhutto's stance in 1971 and his stubbornness harmed Pakistan’s solidarity much more than Sheikh Mujib’s Six-Point demand. It was his high ambitions and rigid stance that led to rebellion in East Pakistan. He riled up the Bengalis and brought an end to Pakistan’s solidarity. East Pakistan broke away." <br />
<br />
Interestingly, Yahya Khan said that he did not launch the Operation Searchlight on March 25, 1971 at the behest of Bhutto or anyone else. He said he had issued those orders in his capacity as President and Army Chief in order to quell the uprising. According to him, it was Tikka Khan who issued the orders to capture Mujib dead or alive.<br />
<br />
One can only pity a wretched character like Yahya Khan who wants to leave behind a legacy of a responsible captain of a sinking ship taking accountability for his ill-conceived decision while is nonchalant about finger pointing his immediate junior for the outcome. One wonders what deterred him from stopping Tikka! We shall never know that answer!<br />
<br />
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was hanged at the Central jail, Rawalpindi, on 4 April 1979 - not for his Machiavellian role in the dismemberment of Pakistan but for the murder of a political opponent. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
To be continued….>>><br />
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Bangladesh Expatriate Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854834602492151190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805443935977118669.post-26327199966016943992013-04-20T19:16:00.002-07:002013-05-05T11:40:33.605-07:00Bangladesh - A Nation Divided? - Part 4 by Dr. Habib SiddiquiBangladesh: A Nation Divided? – Part 4<br />
<br />
<br />
By<br />
<br />
Dr. Habib Siddiqui<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
How many people died in the civil war of 1971 in East Pakistan that culminated in the emergence of Bangladesh? Is the casualty figure even important? <br />
<br />
No official record exists. Instead, what we have are conflicting claims on the two sides – the perpetrators and the victims - that are off by a factor of 100!<br />
<br />
As has been noted in the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/24/mujib-confusion-on-bangladeshi-deaths">Guardian</a>, UK (May 23, 2011) by Mr. Serajur Rahman, who was the deputy head of the BBC Bangla Program, when Sheikh Mujib arrived in London (after being released from Pakistan prison) on January 8, 1972 and was met at the Claridge Hotel by many Bangladeshis, he was informed there that based on information from various sources that up to "three lakh" (300,000) people might have died in the conflict. However, during his interview with journalist David Frost later, Sheikh Mujib was heard saying that "three millions of my people" were killed by the Pakistanis. That mention of the 3 million casualties would eventually become the official version in Bangladesh. As we have already noted the Hamoodur Rahman Commission (HCR) Report in Pakistan, in contrast, puts the figure at only 26,000. <br />
<br />
This gross anomaly with the casualty figures reminds me of the response I wrote to al-Ittihad (a Quarterly Journal of Islamic Studies, published from the USA) back in December 1980 challenging its editor - M. Tariq Quraishi’s views on the split of Pakistan. In the July-September, 1980 issue, Mr. Quraishi, commenting on Sheikh Mujib’s assassination, had stated, “Mujibur Rahman’s honeymoon with his people was of short duration. Once his treason was exposed, he was assassinated.” I was then a graduate student at the University of California, and found the remark absurd. In my letter, published under the title “Who was the traitor?” (al-Ittihad, vol. 18, no. 2, 1981, pp. 45-6), I wrote, “Muslims would like to know the real reasons that brought the emergence of Bangladesh, not lies. The second largest Muslim country [Bangladesh] came into being not for the so-called ‘treason’ of Sk. Mujib. It was solely owing to the mass extermination of Bangalis (3 million people were killed, 0.2 million women were raped, 90% of these victims were Muslims) by the heinous un-Islamic forces of Pakistan’s Army to preserve the Yahya-Bhutto brand of Islam. Bangladesh would have stayed with Pakistan had her rulers respected the majority wish (i.e., transfer of power to the Awami League, which captured 160 of the 300 seats in the National Assembly election of 1970)…. During the first 25 days of March, hundreds of innocent people were killed in several cities of the then East Pakistan by the Pakistani forces. The time was ripe for Sk. Mujib to declare independence during this period, had he really wished. But he did not. He fell victim to Yahya’s satanic ‘time-buying’ phony talks. The result was the genocide of an un-prepared people by a minority. The very night of March 25, when the blood-thirsty Pakistan Army, under the satanic guidance of Generals Hamid and Tikka Khan started killing its ‘24-year twin-brothers,’ the unity of Pakistan was dead; a new generation of nationalist Bangladeshis was born, which eventually led to the emergence of Bangladesh…” <br />
<br />
In his long response to my letter, Mr. Quraishi, quoted at length from Dr. Matiur Rahman’s book – Bangladesh Today – an indictment and a lament – trying to prove that the hegemonic tendency of India was at the root of the split and that one of the latter’s objectives was to “embitter relationship between east and west Pakistan so that any reconciliation between them would be rendered impossible. This last objective could be realized only by means of a civil war, in which each side would commit unforgivable atrocities, perpetrate crimes against humanity, which would continue to hurt them as memories long…” (al-Ittihad, op. cit., pp. 46-49) <br />
<br />
While Dr. Rahman may be absolutely right about the intentions of India to see Pakistan divided, it would be foolish to overlook the culpability of West Pakistani leaders whose attitude towards East Pakistan had been anything but brotherly. To put it bluntly, it was colonial, which had only widened the gap between the two wings ensuring that the majority wing had no participation in the governance of the country. Pakistan’s colonial policy was simply unsustainable for a geographically divided third world country. And the 1970 election result was a rude awakening call for mending the broken fences; it was Pakistan’s last best hope to remain united. By refusing to address the disparity issue that was at the heart of East Pakistani grievances, Pakistani leaders played into the hands of India, giving a reality to their strategic dream of a dismembered Pakistan, which they hate to confess. They also forgot to learn from history that whenever any government becomes destructive of its people's inalienable rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, it has ceased its right to govern, and that people has every right to alter or abolish it.<br />
<br />
Dr. Rahman’s claims that Sheikh Mujib refused to accept premiership of united Pakistan and that “Each concession extracted from Yahya Khan was used as a springboard for the next demand” seem too ludicrous to be taken seriously. As reviewed earlier, General Yahya Khan wanted to retain power while Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto wanted to attain it. The transfer of power to Sheikh Mujib was not part of that formula; the powerful civilian-military clique in Larkana and Islamabad had no wish to transfer power to Mujib. Had they done so, Pakistan would have survived and remained united. My view on this matter has not changed in the last four decades and has been echoed recently by B. Z. Khasru and many other researchers. In his book, Myths and Facts of Bangladesh Liberation War: How India, U.S., China and the USSR shaped the outcome, Khasru shows that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had a tacit preference to let East Pakistan secede (and leave West Pakistan to be governed by him) than be the subject to a weak federation ruled by Bengalis. Bhutto preferred power over unity of Pakistan. Yahya Khan’s allusion to Mujib as the future PM of Pakistan was more to scare the politicians in West Pakistan and the army to unite behind him than to hand-over power.<br />
<br />
As to the casualty figure, Mr. Quraishi commented, “Again the figure of three million Bengalis killed by the Pakistani troops, as alleged by you, is an echo of the infamies created India and her anti-Islamic troupe.” He went on to write, “No wonder even the subsequent government in Bangladesh, despite its venom, could not corroborate it. Mr. Matiur Rahman quotes William Drummond of the Guardian, London, June 6, 1972: ‘My judgment, based on numerous trips around Bangladesh and extensive discussions with many people at the village level as well as in the government, is that the three million deaths is an exaggeration so gross as to be absurd. Since the third week of March (1972), when the inspector general’s office in Bangladesh home ministry began its field investigations, there have been about 2,000 complaints from citizens about the deaths at the hands of the Pakistan Army.’” (Op. cit., p. 48; William Drummond, The Missing Millions, The Guardian, London, 6 June, 1972.)<br />
<br />
As to the matter of allegations relating to rape of Bangladeshi women, the HRC Report said, “The falsity of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's repeated allegation that Pakistani troops had raped 200,000 Bengali girls in 1971 was borne out when the abortion team he had commissioned from Britain in early 1972 found that its workload involved the termination of only a hundred or more pregnancies.”<br />
<br />
One can understand why raped victims would not come forward because of the social stigma that they might face in a conservative Muslim society like Bangladesh. One can also disagree with the HRC Report, accusing it to be highly biased to save the neck or skin of the war criminals of the Pakistan military apparatus, but what about the Guardian’s William Drummond? Can he be accused of twisting facts? I was somewhat dumbfounded by such citations of which I had no knowledge. I needed to do my homework and check the veracity of claims and counterclaims on either side from both available and reliable sources. <br />
<br />
It is true that within the days of his return to Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had asked the Awami League workers and elected members of the 1970 election to collect detailed reports on genocide, arson and looting committed by the Pakistani Army in Bangladesh and to submit those data to the Awami League Office within 15 days. (The Bangladesh Observer, January 16, 1972) He also formally instituted a 12-member Inquiry Committee on January 29, 1972. However, the Government of Bangladesh never said a word about officially receiving the report, which was, as per the original Gazette notification, due on or before 30 April 1972 or what happened to the Inquiry Committee's work. <br />
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In January 1972 Sheikh Mujib also announced a compensation scheme for the families of those who had been killed at the hands of the Pakistan Army and their collaborators. Under the scheme, every victim's family was promised TK 2,000 (taka) as compensation. A media campaign was started to encourage victim's families to apply for the compensation. However, as per Ministry of Finance, Government of Bangladesh, only 72,000 claims were received. The relatives of 50,000 victims were awarded the declared sum of money. [Behind the Myth of Three million by M. Abdul Mu'min Chowdhury, p. 29]<br />
<br />
In Chittagong, during the military occupation, one of our female Bengali tenants was abducted by Urdu-speaking Razakars. After the liberation, several women, once kept as sex slaves of the military, were reportedly rescued from various army camps. Some of the victims even included wives of fleeing Bengali officers and soldiers who had joined the liberation war. They were given the honorific title of Birangana (or heroine) to alleviate any social stigma that they might face in the society, and the government tried to provide incentives for their repatriation into the society. <br />
<br />
Regrettably, no further Bangladesh government initiative was launched to record the casualty figures about the dead or raped victims of the 1971 War of Liberation in Bangladesh.<br />
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In late June of 2005 the Office of the Historian of the United States Department of State held a two-day conference on U.S. policy in South Asia between 1961 and 1972. Bangladeshi speakers at the conference stated that the official Bangladeshi figure of civilian deaths was close to 300,000, which was wrongly translated from Bengali into English as three million. Ambassador Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury acknowledged that Bangladesh alone cannot correct this mistake and suggested that Pakistan and Bangladesh should form a joint commission to investigate the 1971 disaster and prepare a report. A 2008 study in the British Medical Journal concluded that 269,000 civilians were killed by all sides in the war. <br />
<br />
In her recently published book “Dead Reckoning: Memories of the 1971 Bangladesh War,” Dr. Sarmila Bose (who is a senior research associate at Oxford University) has also challenged the Bangladesh government’s official figures on death casualty and rape victims. She estimates that during the conflict of 1971 a total of somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 combatants and non-combatants perished on all sides. She also raises troubling questions about veracity – a massacre said to have killed 8,000 Hindus probably killed only 16 at most – as well as its effect.<br />
<br />
Dr. Bose says that both Pakistan and Bangladesh are still “imprisoned by wartime partisan myths". She has also recorded cases of Bengalis committing "appalling atrocities" against the Biharis and other pro-Pakistani elements during and soon after independence. "In the ethnic violence unleashed in the name of Bengali nationalism, non-Bengali men, women and children were slaughtered," Dr. Bose says, arguing such atrocities took place in the towns of Chittagong, Khulna, Santahar and Jessore during and after the 10-month war. "Non-Bengali victims of ethnic killings by Bengalis numbered hundreds or even thousands per incident... men, women and children were massacred on the basis of ethnicity and the killings were executed with shocking bestiality."<br />
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In his book - Death By Government, Professor Rudolph J. Rummel estimates that perhaps 150,000 Biharis were murdered by the vengeful victors in a “brutal bloodletting following the expulsion of the Pakistani army” after 16 December, 1971. (p. 334) Qutubuddin Aziz’s book "Blood and Tears" contains the harrowing tales of inhuman crimes committed on the Biharis, West Pakistanis and pro-Pakistani Bengalis living in East Pakistan during that period. Quoting various citations, he estimates that between 100,000 and 500,000 Urdu-speaking and pro-Pakistani Bengalis (e.g., Razakars) might have been killed by the Bengali militants. <br />
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Again all such claims on any side are only guess works, and nothing more. <br />
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As a teenager back then, I can only testify to the things that I witnessed or heard from reliable sources. In 1972 when my cadet college reconvened, I was sad to learn about the death of some of our cadets and instructors – Bengali and Urdu-speaking. Eight of our students and 10 staff members got killed, and 4 were missing (after the war). That is like 5% of the entire cadet college population! While such a small sample cannot be generalized to mimic the entire population in Bangladesh, it does underscore the enormity of xenophobic violence on all sides. <br />
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Cadet Shah Abdul Momin (Hitlu) was one of the first freedom fighters to die in Bogra on March 29, fighting against the military. Cadet Hannan Ashraf, a 12-year Urdu-speaking student, was killed along with his parents by local Bangalis in Thakurgaon in March. Being away from home his older brother cadet Hasnat miraculously survived. Many Urdu-speaking cadets never returned and some later settled in Pakistan. I don’t blame them for making that decision. We, as a nation, have failed to safeguard their lives and properties!<br />
<br />
There was wanton violence on both sides from March to December of 1971. With rapidly changing events, the former tormentors had become victims and vice-versa. And being caught in the middle, many innocent lives were unnecessarily lost.<br />
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My friend, cadet Tazeem Hasan’s older brother – Shameem bhai - a Chittagong Medical College student then, who was affiliated with the Students’ League (the student wing of Mujib’s Awami League), was saved by his mother in what she described as a tug-of-war between her and some Bihari Razakars trying to snatch him away. Later, however, Shameem bhai was picked up from the college campus by pro-Pakistan members of the Al-Badr paramilitary forces and taken to the Fayes Lake area to be shot at. Fortunately, after much torture, they decided not to kill him and instead handed him over to Salauddin Qader Chowdhury, son of F.Q. Chowdhury (ex- Speaker of the Pakistan National Assembly), in their Goods Hill house, possibly to extract information about the Mukti Bahini. There Shameem bhai was tortured inhumanly and then handed over to the military who took him to the Circuit House, which by then has become a torture house for torturing pro-liberation forces. For three days, he was hung upside down from the ceiling and beaten mercilessly, and then handed over to the prison authorities where he stayed until being released after Bangladesh got liberated. As I hinted earlier, there were many Bengali students like him that suffered serious injuries under detention, and many were killed, too.<br />
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The railway colonies in the Pahartali and Tiger Pass/Dewan Hat area of Chittagong city were notorious venues for xenophobic crimes. Many low-income Urdu speaking employees of the East Pakistan Railway had traditionally lived there. Before liberation, some Bangladeshi youths were killed and tortured there by the Urdu-speaking Razakars. After 16 December, I heard that the Urdu-speaking people living there were targeted by some members of the Mukti Bahini for their alleged Razakar activities. And this, in spite of the government directives not to take law into their hands!<br />
<br />
Oddly, soon after 16 December, there seemed to be a mushrooming of a new brand of armed Mukti Bahini (the so-called 16th Division) – who during the 9-month long liberation war did not shoot a single bullet against the Pakistan military! As opportunists, they were taking advantage of the new reality. They appeared more zealous than the real Mukti-Bahini in some of the post-liberation period vendetta against the pro-Pakistani elements still living inside Bangladesh. <br />
<br />
In certain parts of the newly liberated Bangladesh there were reported incidents of forcible and unlawful possession and occupation of properties, once owned by the Urdu-speaking people. In our neighborhood, a “16th division Mukti Bahini” hijacked the car of Mr. Baig, a very nice Urdu-speaking gentleman, who had done his utmost to save our entire community from any Pakistani inflicted harm. But after the war, we could not save his property! Those rifle or gun totting 16th Division guys were irresponsibly trigger-happy! <br />
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Taking advantage of the almost total breakdown of the law and order situation soon after 16 December, some of the Bengalis were hunting for the Urdu-speaking people, still stranded in Bangladesh, for sheer greed, if not for tit-for-tat revenge. Out of fear for their lives and those of the loved ones, many of the wealthy Urdu-speaking people fled Bangladesh, and many took shelter in the Red Cross camps. Many of them wanted to sell off their properties and possessions for a very small fraction of the market price. Most of their homes were later taken over by the Bangladesh government and put under Mukti Joddha (Freedom Fighter) Trust to cater for the needs of the family members of the freedom fighters – dead or alive. <br />
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My cousin Reena’s family who’s married to a bi-lingual Muslim from Calcutta did not feel safe in Bangladesh. Her husband, Abdul Mannan, was the Assistant Regional Director of Radio Pakistan, Chittagong. He was instrumental in transmitting Sheikh Mujib’s March 7 historic speech from Ramna Park when government directives were against any such transmission. And yet, he, his siblings and parents, living in Chittagong, felt insecure. They later settled in Rawalpindi. <br />
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In his book ‘Ami Bijoy Dekhechi’ (I Have Seen Victory), journalist M.R. Akhtar Mukul, who ran the Shwadhin Bangla Betar Kendra (Free Bangladesh Radio Center), stated: “For three days in Shantahar medieval fiendish killings have been carried out. Now the town cannot be entered into, because of the stench from the dead bodies.” He continued, “The non-Bengalis from Jaipurhat-Pachbibi area who have been fleeing towards Dhaka through Bogra were finished off here on the bank of the river. Women and children have been kept unharmed in a homestead.” <br />
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A Urdu-speaking friend of mine, Dr. Jawaid Ahsan (who was a fellow cadet then) said that he had personally witnessed the killing of scores of Biharis by Bengali vigilantes in the early days of the civil war. However, he and his family members were unharmed in their neighborhood in Rangpur. Ian Jack has also noted in the Guardian that Bengali jute mill workers in Khulna slaughtered large numbers – probably thousands - of their fellow Urdu-speaking workers on 28 March 1971. (As I have noted earlier, soon after the Pakistan military had moved in Khulna, my cousin Munna was picked up and he vanished; possibly killed by the Biharis.) After liberation, “Bengali mill workers repeated their original atrocity of the previous year and sent thousands more non-Bengalis into the rivers,” notes Ian Jack. [Guardian, 20 May, 2011]<br />
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The matter of the killings of the Bihari Muslims and Razakars was brought up by Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci in her interview of Sheikh Mujib. She mentioned how on December 18, two days after Bangladesh had achieved independence, in Dhaka Stadium she had witnessed the Liberation War hero Kader Siddique (Bagha Siddique) lynching the presumed ‘Razakars’ with bayonets while their hands and legs remained fastened with ropes. “He had bullets loaded in his guns, he could have had shot them to death.” Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib did not believe her and abruptly stopped the interview. <br />
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The greatest casualty in war times is always the truth. And that is what seems to have happened with Bangladesh/East Pakistan liberation/civil war of 1971. It is conceivable that while Bangladesh authorities exaggerated the casualty figures of their Bangladeshi victims to draw sympathy to their cause, they discounted the casualty figures of those Urdu-speaking and pro-Pakistani residents. Similarly, the lower estimates provided by the HRC Report seem aimed at arresting anti-Pakistan feelings and possibly exonerating the war crimes of their planners.<br />
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History emerges only slowly from the passion-filled context of contemporary events. Forty-two years have passed by since Bangladesh earned her independence. I think we are now better placed to look at this dark chapter in history objectively and dispassionately. It is, therefore, high time to set up a joint Bangladesh-Pakistan commission to investigate and prepare a report on this highly controversial issue around the 1971 casualty figures. <br />
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Whatever the true figures are, there is no denying that Pakistan government’s actions in 1971 in the then East Pakistan were utterly criminal and inexcusable by any book, something that was also admitted in the HRC Report, recommending court martials for several top generals. Their actions should fall under war crimes and can’t be whitewashed. The soldiers that they brought in from West Pakistan were brainwashed to justify their violent actions against the Bengalis –who were different in identity – in language, diet, dress and customs. And if journalist Anthony Mascarenhas can be believed, he reported that senior military officers in East Pakistan had told him that they were seeking a "final solution", determined "to cleanse East Pakistan once and for all of the threat of secession, even if it means killing 2 million people and ruling the province as a colony for 30 years." [Genocide, Sunday Times, London, 18 June, 1971] In their heinous crimes it did not matter that 90% of their victims shared the same religion as they did.<br />
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Ultimately, of course, neither the numbers nor the labels would matter. What matters is the pragmatic wisdom that political problems should not and cannot be solved through the barrel of a gun. <br />
<br />
>>>> To be continued…<br />
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Bangladesh Expatriate Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854834602492151190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805443935977118669.post-84250209461281031282013-04-20T19:12:00.002-07:002013-04-20T19:12:28.739-07:00Bangladesh - A Nation Divided? - Part 3 by Dr. Habib SiddiquiAfter the promulgation of East Pakistan Razakar Ordinance of June 1, 1971, some Bengalis either volunteered or were recruited to work as a paramilitary force or collaborators for the Pakistan’s military regime. They were called the Razakars. Some of the political parties that did not like the division of Pakistan actively sought out recruits for the Razakar (and other militia groups like the al-Shams and al-Badr) to fight and weaken the Mukti Bahini (the freedom fighters for Bangladesh) so that the emergence of Bangladesh as a separate state could be halted. More zealous of those party leaders even allowed their homes to be used as torture chambers for anyone suspected of belonging to the Mukti Bahini. In Chittagong, I was told by Rafiq bhai’s friends how the Goods Hill residence of Mr. Fazlul Quader Chowdhury, ex-speaker of the Pakistan National Assembly, was used to torture many students who were suspected of being members of the Mukti Bahini. Some members of the Razakar came also from the Urdu-speaking Bihari community. One day, my first cousin brother Munna was picked up in Khulna City by a Razakar; he never returned. Apparently, he was killed. <br />
<br />
<br />
The pro-Pakistani paramilitary groups terrorized the rural areas of East Pakistan trying to find Mukti Bahini, suspecting anyone young in age who had not joined their forces. Since an overwhelming majority of the East Pakistanis supported the freedom struggle, they would often pass on tactical information on the Razakars to the Mukti Bahini, and hide information on the latter when pressed by the Razakars. Thus, the Mukti Bahini had comparatively much more success in ambushing and killing the members of the Razakar. Consequently, by the last quarter of 1971, the recruits to Razakar fell drastically, and they hardly dared to go out of their camps without superior firepower coverage provided by the Pakistan military. <br />
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By the last quarter of 1971, India had started not only providing material support to the Mukti Bahini but had also been training select groups of freedom fighters -- the Bangladesh Liberation Front (BLF), who would later come to be known as the Mujib Bahini. The Mukti Bahini guerrilla forces grew in size and numbered around 100,000. In his insightful book, Witness to Surrender, Brigadier General Siddique Salik estimated that Pakistan needed at least 250,000 to 300,000 troops, but even after organizing the Razakars (estimated strength 40,000), Pakistan could field only 150,000 (45,000 regular army, the rest paramilitary units) soldiers in East Pakistan.<br />
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With the added material support provided by the Indian government, the insurgency grew ever stronger. And with their guerilla-style hit-and-run tactics, the morale of the Pakistan military, deployed in East Pakistan, waned down. It was quite evident that tensions would reach a climax towards triggering a full blown war between India and Pakistan. That came on December 3, 1971. The eventual failure of combating the insurgency caused Pakistan to attack Indian air bases in Jammu and Punjab on that day with the objective to stop the Indian support for the Mukti Bahini. In response, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared war at midnight, December 3. Thirteen days later, Pakistani troops under Lieutenant General A. A. K. Niazi surrendered in Dhaka. Bangladesh emerged as an independent state on December 16, 1971.<br />
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The surrendering Pakistani forces – numbering more than 90,000 - were taken to India as Prisoners of War (POWs). They were later released in 1974 to Pakistan after a supplement to the Simla Agreement (July 2, 1972) was signed about repatriation between India and Pakistan. Those released included 195 POWs who were accused of committing war crimes or genocide in Bangladesh. <br />
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Amid overwhelming public anger in Pakistan over the loss of East Pakistan, the chief martial law administrator (CMLA) General Yahya Khan resigned on December 20, 1971 and transferred power to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who became president, commander-in-chief and the first civilian CMLA in Pakistan’s history. Bhutto immediately placed General Yahya Khan under house arrest, and ordered the release of Sheikh Mujib, who was held prisoner by the Pakistan Army. To implement this, Bhutto reversed the verdict of Sheikh Mujib's court-martial trial that had taken place earlier, in which the latter was sentenced to death. <br />
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Bhutto also created a judicial commission in December 1971 with Chief Justice Hamoodur Rahman, the then Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan as its Chairman, to investigate military and political causes of the country's defeat in the 1971 war, or more specifically, "the circumstances in which the Commander, Eastern command, surrendered” and also to investigate the accusations of atrocities committed by the military personnel in 1971 in what was once East Pakistan. The commission’s first report, prepared based on the interview of 213 people, was submitted to Bhutto in July 1972. After the return of the POWs, the inquiry was reopened. The final report, based on the interview of some 300 people altogether, also called supplementary report, was submitted on October 23, 1974, showed how political, administrative, military and moral failings were responsible for the surrender of Pakistani forces in East Pakistan. The commission challenged the claims by Bangladesh authorities that 3 million Bengalis had been killed by Pakistan army and 200,000 women were raped. The commission put the casualty figure as low as 26,000 civilian casualties.<br />
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The report accused the generals of what it called a premature surrender to India. The report said Pakistan's military ruler at the time, General Yahya Khan, 'permitted and even instigated' the surrender, and it recommended that he be publicly tried along with other senior military colleagues - General Abdul Hamid Khan (Chief of Staff, Army), Lieutenant General S.G.M.M. Pirzada, Lieutenant General Gul Hasan (Chief of General Staff), Major General Umar and Major General Mitha (commandant of Army SS Group) - for being party to a criminal conspiracy to illegally usurp power from President Mohammad Ayub Khan. Five other Lieutenant-Generals (which included Lt. General A.A.K. Niazi) and three Brigadier-Generals were recommended to be tried for willful neglect of duty during the 1971 War.<br />
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It is worth noting here that Lt. General Gul Hasan, who had become the Army C-in-C after the 1971 War, was ousted on March 3, 1972, and was dishonorably discharged from the army by Bhutto. His alleged involvement and controversial approvals of military operations in East Pakistan during 1971 created a public resentment towards him, as he was the Director-General for the Military Operations (DGMO). Bhutto later appointed General Tikka Khan as the new Chief of the Army Staff in March 1972, just about a year after the latter was responsible for directing the brutal military crackdown in Bangladesh.<br />
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Major General Mitha was particularly active in East Pakistan in the days preceding the military action of March 25, 1971. After General Yahya Khan had secretly departed on the evening of March 25, 1971, Major General Mitha is said to have remained behind. He allegedly planned the military action with Lt. General Tikka Khan, Major General Rao Farman Ali and Major General Khadim Hussain Raja. His retirement was announced by Bhutto in December 1971, months before the Commission report was submitted to him. After retirement he was stripped of his medals and pensions without due cause. He was however never court-martialed, as recommended by the Hamoodur Rahman Commission.<br />
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After his return to Pakistan, Lt. General Niazi was blamed for the defeat and was removed from the army in 1975. Though the Hamoodur Rahman Inquiry Commission had recommended his court-martial, Lt. General Niazi did not face a trial. The final report included his statement, which supports some allegations of war crimes against the Pakistani Army in the early days of Pakistani crackdown in East Pakistan: “Damage done during those early days of the military action could never be repaired, and earned for the military leaders names such as ‘Changez Khan’ and ‘Butcher of East Pakistan.’” The report said, “He [Niazi] went on to add: "on the assumption of command I was very much concerned with the discipline of troops, and on 15th of April, 1971, that is within four days of my command, I addressed a letter to all formations located in the area and insisted that loot, rape, arson, killing of people at random must stop and a high standard of discipline should be maintained. I had come to know that looted material had been sent to West Pakistan which included cars, refrigerators and air conditioners etc." When asked about the alleged killing of East Pakistani officers and men during the process of disarming, the General replied that he had heard something of the kind but all these things had happened in the initial stages of the military action before his time. He denied the allegation that he ever ordered his subordinates to exterminate the Hindu minority. He denied that any intellectuals were killed during December, 1971. He admitted that there were a few cases of rape, but asserted that the guilty persons were duly punished.” (Chapter 2)<br />
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The report quoted Brigadier Shah Abdul Qasim (witness No. 267) about the use of excessive force on the night between the 25th and 26th March 1971: “Army personnel acted under the influence of revenge and anger during the military operation." <br />
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The report also quoted Brigadier Iqbalur Rehman Shariff (Witness no. 269), who alleged that during his visit to formations in East Pakistan, General Gul Hassan used to ask the soldiers "how many Bengalis have you shot." The report quoted Lt. Col. Aziz Ahmed Khan (Witness no 276) who was Commanding Officer 8 Baluch and then CO 86 Mujahid Battalion: "Brigadier Arbbab also told me to destroy all houses in Joydepur. To a great extent I executed this order.”<br />
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The Report said, “There is also evidence that Lt. Gen Tikka Khan, Major Gen. Farman Ali and Maj. Gen Khadim Hussain were associated with the planning of the military action. There is, however, nothing to show that they contemplated the use of excessive force or the commission of atrocities and excesses on the people of East Pakistan.” <br />
<br />
Interestingly, thus, the Commission did not find any of the major players, including Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and General Tikka Khan, guilty of the crisis which led to the dismemberment of Pakistan. As noted by Lt. General Niazi in his interview with journalist Amir Mir (December 2001), Pakistan’s new Army chief General Tikka Khan and his boss President Bhutto did not want to open the Pandora’s Box. <br />
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According to Lt. General Niazi, “Yahya and Bhutto viewed Mujib's victory in the 1970 election with distaste, because it meant that Yahya had to vacate the presidency and Bhutto had to sit in the Opposition benches, which was contrary to his aspirations. So these two got together and hatched a plan in Larkana, Bhutto's hometown, which came to be known as the Larkana Conspiracy. The plan was to postpone the session of the National Assembly indefinitely, and to block the transfer of power to the Awami League by diplomacy, threats, intrigues and the use of military force. Connected to this conspiracy was the 'M. M. Ahmed plan', which aimed at allowing Yahya and Bhutto to continue as president and prime minister, besides leaving East Pakistan without a successor government. After the announcement of the date of the assembly session (to be held at Dhaka), there was pressure on the politicians to boycott it. The reason given was that East Pakistan had become a hub of international intrigue, therefore, it should be discarded. In the end, this clique achieved its aim.”<br />
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Commenting on the Hamoodur Rahman Commission of Inquiry Report, Lt. General Niazi said, “Similarly, Tikka has not been mentioned in the report, although his barbaric action of March 25 earned him the name of butcher. The commission overlooked his heinous crimes. As far as Rao Farman is concerned, he was in-charge of the Dhaka operations. According to authentic press reports, tanks, mortars and artillery were ruthlessly employed against the Dhaka University inmates, killing scores of them. Rao remained military adviser to five governors and had his finger in every pie.” <br />
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In its concluding remarks on allegations of war crimes, the Hamoodur Rahman Commission of Inquiry Report said, “From what we have said in the preceding Paragraphs it is clear that there is substance in the allegations that during and after the military action excesses were indeed committed on the people of East Pakistan, but the versions and estimates put forward by the Dacca authorities are highly coloured and exaggerated… Irrespective, therefore, of the magnitude of the atrocities, we are of the considered opinion that it's necessary for the Government of Pakistan to take effective action to punish those who were responsible for the commission of these alleged excesses and atrocities.” It further recommended a fruitful inquiry to be undertaken to investigate all the allegations by requesting the Dacca authorities to forward whatever evidences they might have. <br />
<br />
In December 2000, 29 years after the inquiry was completed, the full report of the Hamoodur Rahman Commission of Inquiry was finally declassified in Pakistan by President Musharraf's Military government. <br />
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Bangladesh Expatriate Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854834602492151190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805443935977118669.post-35446323919831967002013-04-20T19:11:00.001-07:002013-04-20T19:13:16.650-07:00Bangladesh: A Nation Divided? - Part 2 by Dr. Habib SiddiquiAccording to Lt. General A. A. K. Niazi, who was in charge of Pakistan's Eastern Command when it surrendered to the joint Bangladesh-India forces on December 16, 1971 in Dhaka, “The 1971 imbroglio was the outcome of an unabated struggle for power between Yahya, Mujib and Bhutto. Yahya wanted to retain power while Bhutto wanted to attain it. This was despite the fact that Sheikh Mujib’s Awami League had emerged victorious and he should have been handed over the government. Bhutto’s fiery speeches were not mere rhetoric, but the actions of a desperate man vying for power at any cost. Had power been transferred to Mujib, Pakistan would have remained united.” [Interview with Amir Mir, India Abroad, www.rediff.com in December, 2001.]<br />
<br />
<br />
Instead of transferring power to Sheikh Mujib, the military government of General Yahya Khan concocted a sinister plan - Operation Searchlight, which called for a brutal military solution to the constitutional crisis in East Pakistan. The plan called for neutralizing all East Pakistani (Bengali) troops by seizing weapons and ammunition, and disarming of the 15,000-strong EPR, armed police (numbering 23,606 out of a total of 33,995) and other para-military formations in East Pakistan on the zero-hour. Its objectives were to eliminate the Awami League (AL) apparatus and any civilians and personnel of the armed forces supporting the Awami League movement in defiance of the martial law. <br />
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At the zero hour, the operation was to be launched simultaneously all across East Pakistan with the objectives of arresting maximum number of political and student leaders, and those among cultural organizations and teaching staff; the operation was to achieve 100% success in Dhaka; Dhaka University – the center of Bangladeshi nationalism - would be occupied and searched; free and greater use of fire was authorized for securing cantonments; all internal and international communications were to be cut off, including telephone, television, radio and telegraph.<br />
<br />
As planned, in those early days of March 1971, the fly-in of troops into Dhaka from West Pakistan continued. PIA’s fleet of Boeings flew the troops in. Ammunition was also delivered by ship to the southern port city of Chittagong. The Army was mobilized to unload those arms carrying ships. And all these preparations continued while Yahya Khan continued his dialogue with Mujib in March 1971 until the zero-hour came.<br />
<br />
Before putting the plan into action, senior Pakistani officers in East Pakistan who were unwilling to support the military operation on civilians were relieved of their duties. Vice Admiral Syed Mohammad Ahsan, the Martial Law Administrator and Governor of East Pakistan, was absolutely against any military action, and he resigned weeks before the zero-hour. Lt. General Sahabzada Yaqub Ali Khan, Chief of General Staff, Commander Eastern Command, who briefly served as the Governor of East Pakistan after Vice Admiral Ahsan’s resignation, was also removed from East Pakistan. Lt. Gen. Tikka Khan (known as the ‘Butcher of Baluchistan’) was chosen to become the new Governor and GOC of East Pakistan. He had arrived quietly at Dhaka airport on March 7, 1971 at 4 p.m., accompanied by Major General Rao Farman. Chief Justice B.A. Siddiqui of East Pakistan High Court refused to swear him in, and only did so after the zero hour. <br />
<br />
Although the Plan did not specify the time needed to subdue East Pakistan, it was assumed that after the arrest of the political leadership, which included arresting Sheikh Mujib and 15 top AL leaders, and disarming of the Bengali military and paramilitary units, civilians could be terrorized into submitting to martial law within a week. Lt. General Tikka Khan estimated that no resistance would remain after April 10. <br />
<br />
The zero hour came in the night of March 25, 1971. Mujib and his legal advisor Dr. Kamal Hossain were arrested. However, the other top AL leaders managed to escape to India where they eventually formed the Bangladesh Government in exile. As already noted, many Bengali troops, EPR, Ansar and Police forces fought valiantly against Pakistan military and set up resistance groups from within the local civilian population, until being pushed out to India.<br />
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According to the New York Times, probably 35,000 people got killed in Dhaka during the Operation Searchlight. <br />
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The ordinary Pakistani soldiers brought from West Pakistan were ordered by Generals Tikka Khan and Rao Forman Ali to set an example by killing as many Bengalis as possible since they have proven to be unreliable and unpatriotic. It did not matter that 90% of their targeted victims were Muslims who read the same Qur’an and prayed in the same direction of the Ka’bah. <br />
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Most of the atrocities committed in East Pakistan by the Pakistani military happened in the first two months of the crackdown - March and April of 1971. By the dawn of 10 April, Pakistani forces had gained control of Dhaka, Rangpur, Saidpur, Comilla, Chittagong, and Khulna. All able-bodied young men were suspected of being actual or potential freedom fighters. Thousands were arrested, tortured, and killed. Sweeps were conducted of young men who were never seen again. Bodies of youths would be found in fields, floating down rivers, or near army camps. As noted by Professor Rounaq Jahan of Dhaka University, “Eventually cities and towns became bereft of young males who either took refuge in India or joined the liberation war.”<br />
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News of such atrocities led to the exodus of millions of East Pakistanis to India, who mostly lived as refugees in the Indian states bordering East Pakistan. Many of the young recruits to the Mukti Bahini (Freedom Fighters for Bangladesh) came from these refugees. A great majority of them were trained by the Bengali-speaking East Pakistani soldiers and officers, who had fled to India, and set up training camps along the borders. With the arms and ammunition brought in by them and/or captured from Pakistan military, they were able to train the Mukti Bahini and lead guerilla operations inside East Pakistan against an enemy enjoying superiority in number of trained men, firepower, and complete air superiority. In those early months of the war, the Indian government of Indira Gandhi refused to provide material support to the Mukti Bahini, which arguably could have liberated Bangladesh without any Indian intervention. <br />
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Lt. General A. A. K. Niazi, who took command of Pakistan forces in East Pakistan on April 11, 1971 from the outgoing GOC, Major Gen. Khadim Hussain Raja focused his strategy around defeating the Mukti Bahini, which included combing operations to wipe out the insurgent network. Against this strategy Bengali field commanders opted to go with holding as much area for as long as possible while the Bangladesh government-in-exile sought diplomatic recognition. <br />
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By late April, all the major cities in East Pakistan had fallen to Pakistan military. By mid-May all major towns had been captured by the Pakistan military and by mid-June the battered remnants of the Bengali fighters had been driven across the border into India. The Mukti Bahini, suffering from a lack of trained men, proper logistics and coordination, plus timely material support from India, had lost the conventional battle against the much superior Pakistani forces.<br />
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A few thousand people sought refuge during April and May, mostly the resistance fighters, in India. However, as Pakistani army operations spread throughout the province, refugees fleeing to India increased. Ultimately, approximately ten million people would leave East Pakistan, and about 6.7 million were housed in 825 refugee camps. An estimated 7.3 million would be in West Bengal, and 1.5 million in Tripura. The rest were mainly in Assam and Bihar states of India.<br />
<br />Bangladesh Expatriate Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854834602492151190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805443935977118669.post-27785495246613338152013-04-20T19:09:00.002-07:002013-04-20T19:13:04.061-07:00Bangladesh - A Nation Divided? - Part 1 By Dr. Habib SiddiquiMarch 26 is a very important day in the history of Bangladesh. It is celebrated as the Independence Day of Bangladesh although the true liberation of the country came some nine months later on 16 December, 1971. I was a high school student studying in a cadet college. Our school was closed sine die on March 8, 1971 - a day after Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had delivered historic speech in the Ramna Race Course of Dhaka (now the capital city of Bangladesh) where he called a nationwide strike and launched a non-violent non-cooperation movement against the Government of Pakistan. His party – the Awami League – had won 160 of the 300 National Assembly seats (all from East Pakistan) contested in the parliamentary election of 1970, and was supposed to form the government. But the military regime of General Yahya Khan with the backing from the People’s Party of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, which had won only 81 seats (all from West Pakistan) in the election, won’t hand over the power to Sheikh Mujib. <br />
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The 1970 national election result was a big surprise to the military regime. In its worst nightmares, it probably never imagined Sheikh Mujib’s East Pakistan-centric party (the Awami League) to win with a simple majority (all but two seats from East Pakistan). The military junta had falsely assumed that a coalition government would emerge, which would allow the military to maintain its sway over the political developments inside the country. The election outcome was, therefore, shocking and unacceptable to the ruling regime. In this, it perceived a divided country separated by a thousand miles of hostile India. It did not want to accept the mere fact that years of domination from West Pakistan had already alienated the people living in the eastern wing of Pakistan. As a matter of fact, since August 14, 1947 when Pakistan gained her independence from British India, the political elite (which also included military) from the western part of the country had been ruling the country for all but two years (1956-58). It is worth noting here that in those years, the Bengalis living in the East Pakistan comprised the majority (54%) of the population of Pakistan.<br />
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Years of negligence and discrimination from the central government, which had spent less than 29% of its budget in East Pakistan, had made Bengali nationalism the rallying ground for most Bengali speaking people to support the political agenda of the Awami League, led by its charismatic leader Sheikh Mujib, fondly known then as the Bangabandhu (the Friend of Bengal). The party participated in and won the 1970 election with a Six-point formula, promising regional autonomy to the federating units so that political, economic and social aspirations of its Bengali speaking people would be met under a federal system of government. <br />
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Instead of convening the National Assembly session on March 3, 1971 and handing over power to the majority Awami League, the Pakistani President General Yahya Khan indefinitely postponed it, thus, precipitating massive civil disobedience in East Pakistan. Within weeks hundreds of demonstrators and supporters of the Awami League were killed by the police, further worsening the situation. <br />
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In his speech at the Race Course on March 7, 1971, Bangabandhu declared a four-point demand to consider the national assembly meeting on March 25, 1971. These were: (a) the immediate withdrawal of the martial law; (b) immediate withdrawal of all military personnel to their barracks; (c) an inquiry into the loss of life; (d) immediate transfer of power to the elected representative of the people before the assembly meeting of March 25. In spite of much pressure from the hawkish elements within the student groups, he resisted the temptation to declare secession of East Pakistan (Bangladesh) from Pakistan. <br />
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Sheikh Mujib further strengthened his position by issuing 35 directives for the management of East Pakistan on March 15. On March 16-24, Mujib, Bhutto and Yahya held a series of meetings, which appeared to give the impression of attempting to forge a compromise. As the negotiations proceeded, the country was extremely tense. When an army ship – MV Swat - full of ammunition docked at the port city of Chittagong in East Pakistan on March 18, hundreds of thousands of Bengalis blockaded the port to prevent it from being unloaded. The deployment of West Pakistani soldiers and the shipment of arms and ammunitions meant that the central government was not serious in resolving the constitutional crisis peacefully and was using the so-called negotiations as a ploy to misdirect attention. Student leaders within the pro-Awami League Students’ League raised new flags for Bangladesh and demanded that Sheikh Mujib declare independence. But Mujib, warned by his wise policy advisers, did not want to give the military regime an excuse to try him and his party leaders for committing treason against the state. As such, he stuck to his demand and continued negotiations. <br />
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In my neighborhoods along Zakir Hossain Road in East Nasirabad and south Khulshi, Chittagong, I could see college students taking para-military type training without guns and rifles. Fearing military incursion, they put up barricades on the streets. They were ready to lay down their lives when and if Bangabandhu declared independence. <br />
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In our upscale neighborhood, many non-Bengali merchants and jute mill managers and owners lived. Fearing undue violence, which might ensue any time, my father and some of his elderly friends formed peace committees and ensured that everyone’s life and properties would not be threatened by any troublemaker. <br />
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Then came the fateful night of March 25, 1971 when perhaps thousands of Bengali-speaking East Pakistanis were killed in Dhaka and Chittagong by Pakistan Army. Rumors circulated late at night that General Yahya Khan had ordered the arrest of Bangabandhu and some of his aids before flying back to Islamabad. In Chittagong, thanks to border security forces of East Pakistan Rifles, reporting to Major Rafiq, the city with its seaport was still under control of local Bangladeshis and the military cantonment in Sholashahar, within walking distance from my home, was surrounded by them. It was said that more than a thousand new army recruits from East Pakistan were killed while they were asleep in their barracks by the West Pakistani non-Bengali forces. Included amongst the casualty was an East Pakistani colonel – M.R. Chowdhury. No one seemed to know the whereabouts of another high ranking East Pakistani Brigadier Majumdar.<br />
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On March 26, I saw a cyclostyle copy of the declaration of independence made by Bangabandhu, which was apparently received by Captain Moslem (a Bangladeshi) of the Signal Corpse of Pakistan Army – who was our neighbor. This documentation is exactly similar to the one which later came to be known as the Independence Declaration of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. <br />
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In the late afternoon of March 26, I walked towards Sholashahar and witnessed rifle-carrying para-military forces of Ansar surrounding the home of a Urdu-speaking manager or owner of a jute mill who reportedly had shot at the crowd on the street. To get him out of his house, some people threw fire-bombs at his well-protected concrete home. It was a disturbing scene for me to watch and I returned home. <br />
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In those days of late March, with the reports of killing of Bengalis, esp. in Dhaka, by the Pakistan Army circulated, there must have been a lot of violence directed against Urdu-speaking Biharis (Urdu-speaking Muslim refugees from the state of Bihar in India who had fled to East Pakistan after the partition of India), who were perceived to be pro-Pakistan and against Bangladesh. But I did not personally see any such violence in the violent months that followed. Our mixed neighborhood was free from any such violence. <br />
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My sleep on the night of March 26 was cut short by sounds of mortars, reportedly fired from the Patenga and Halishahar port areas by the Pakistan Navy and Army. I remember taking shelter in the bathroom with my sister. The next day, I discovered an unexploded mortar shell that had landed the night before in my neighbor’s yard. Rumors also circulated about the existence of a Free Bangladesh Radio Station, operating from Chittagong, and we were later able to listen to the declaration made on behalf of Bangabandhu by Major Zia, a Bengali officer who had joined the (rebel) liberation forces. <br />
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The rifles and guns of the Bengali-speaking police, Ansar and EPR were no match against the superior fire powers of the Pakistan military, and within days by end of March, the once barricaded Pakistani forces were able to come out of their barracks and retake the entire city. Fearing harm, we quickly brought down a huge boat – the symbol of Awami League – which was visible from the road and had been hanging for months from the roof our 3-story house ‘Prantik’. From the roof top we could witness the surrender of the lightly armed Ansar, police, and Rifle (liberation) forces to highly armed Pakistan Army and Navy, who came in tanks and armored cars hoisting Pakistani flags. We could also see jet fighters and bombers of Pakistan Air Force flying in the sky. In our home, we fed and clothed many fleeing members of the resistance force so that they could hide from and leave undetected by the Pakistan military. Some fighters, afraid of carrying their rifle any more, buried it in our backyard. In our home, we also treated some bullet-injured members of the Ansar and the EPR. <br />
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Rumors about and fears of massacre created such a panic that many city dwellers started fleeing from the city. Later we heard that many of them did not make their way to safe havens, but were killed on the Trunk Road going out of the city. In our neighborhood, a doctor was reportedly killed by the Pakistan Army. For days, I could smell of dead corpse for no one had dared to venture out to bury the corpse. <br />
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In early April, soon after the takeover of Chittagong, the military imposed curfew in the city with a short break of only an hour or two for people to buy their food and medicine, or attend to business. It was very dangerous going out of home. [In those days, quite a few of our family friends, which included the Chairman of Port Trust, had disappeared, and no one had heard from them ever since. They were probably summarily executed and their bodies dumped or buried in some unmarked grave.] My father, however, wishing to find out about the whereabouts of his friends, neighbors and relatives would go out ignoring my mother’s protests about the danger that waited outside. [Some of his friends, in their haste to leave the city, had left their home doors and cars unlocked. In those days cars were a luxury and vulnerable item for getting picked up by the military unless put inside the garage. Similarly, homes could be robbed of all the valuables.] <br />
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And my mother was right. In one such trip to my cousin’s home in Agrabad, my 9-year old sister and I accompanied him and one of his friends in our car. When we had just crossed the Dewan Hat area, not too far from the commercial center of Agrabad, a military jeep commandeered our car to its camp in Tiger Pass. Soon we were taken to a room and Captain Rizvi, a Urdu-speaking officer who lived in our neighborhood in the same building where Bengali-speaking Captain Moslem had lived, showed up. He started screaming, “You are Awami Leaguers,” “miscreants,” “traitors,” and “you must be killed.” Realizing probably our tender young age, he let me and my younger sister leave. He and his orderly corporal took my father and his friend outside the room near a tree with the intention to execute them. <br />
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As we two walked towards the gate, and my sister crying greatly, we noticed a jeep approaching the military camp from outside. A senior ranking air force officer stepped out of the jeep and inquired why we were crying. When I explained what had happened, he said, “Do you know how many Urdu-speaking people were killed by your Bengalis?” I told him that such information was news to me since in our area no such violence had happened, and that my father ought to be credited for the peaceful coexistence; and that if he wanted to verify about my father’s role, he could contact our next-door Urdu-speaking neighbor, or others. I told him that he could contact Wing Commander Sulayman Kayani, my cadet college principal, to learn more. He said that he could take me to parts of the city where many Biharis had lived and show scores of shoes of two- and three-year old girls that were murdered by Bengalis. I was simply shocked and told him that I was very sad to learn the nature of violence perpetrated by people of my own linguistic group against another group. He told us that he would talk to Capt. Rizvi and stop the execution. <br />
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Rizvi, probably having seen the high ranking officer talk to me, did not carry out the execution. My father later told me that the officer stopped the execution and inquired about why he was brought into the camp. He then called my father and apologized for Rizvi’s rudeness. Apparently, Rizvi was upset that Capt. Moslem, who shared the same house and lived upstairs, had deserted Pakistan Army and joined the liberation force. The Air Force officer told my father to collect the latest information about Moslem and report back the next day before noon. We were all relieved to dodge death. However, the curfew time imposed in the evening was approaching fast, and we were afraid that if we did not make it to our home by driving fast within the next five minutes, we might be violating the curfew and could be shot at on the street. We arrived home in the very nick of time. <br />
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My mother and other two siblings were very worried that we had left my cousin sister Reena’s place in Agrabad nearly an hour ago and had not returned. They were relieved to see us return alive. But when my father told everyone that he had been asked to report back the next day, it was a panicky moment. If he did not report, the military could come to our home, which was well known to them and kill everyone. If he reported, what’s the likelihood that he would return alive again? The Urdu-speaking good neighbor of ours suggested that my father report back, giving us the hope that “InshaAllah, nothing would go wrong.” <br />
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Later I learnt from my father that it was a very wearying night for him. He had not slept the entire night. He decided to report back the next morning. My younger brother accompanied him to the military camp. My mother prayed for their safe return. Fortunately, as my father’s car approached the gate of the camp, the good-natured Air Force officer was in a hurry and about to leave for the airport to receive a very high ranking general. When my father told him that he had no information on Capt. Moslem, the officer told him that if Moslem was inside the country they would find him. He then told my father to go home, and again apologized before stepping in his jeep. If my father had missed that Air Force officer, he would have found the trigger-happy Capt. Rizvi awaiting him. And God knows, what could have happened!<br />
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After returning home, within days my father decided that it was no longer safe for him to live inside the city, and he moved away to rural areas to finance and help the liberation movement.<br />
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When the time for the SSC and the HSC examinations came, all the cadets were summoned to appear at Mymensingh Cadet College in Mirzapur. I decided not to go. Instead, on the suggestion of a freedom fighter in our locality I decided to collect information on the war from various media sources, including the BBC. The information was used for boosting the morale of the freedom fighters, who by then were showing some success against the military and their local agents. <br />
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In our home, we gave shelter to two other families who were afraid to live in their own homes. One was the family of my childhood home instructor – Hari Sadhan Das, a college professor. He and his wife lived with us for the entire nine months of the liberation war. From August onward, after the first batch of India-trained freedom fighters had returned to Bangladesh and started ambushing Pakistani forces, our home provided shelter to three freedom fighters. The first of these, Rafiq bhai, a student at the Commerce College, died in a gun exchange with the Pakistan Army on November 1 in front of City College. One of his friends brought the sad news to us, and we cried. Although he was not a relative, he became more like a cousin brother to me and my siblings. <br />
<br />Bangladesh Expatriate Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854834602492151190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805443935977118669.post-44967561756548976832013-03-24T10:14:00.003-07:002013-03-24T10:35:47.709-07:00Message from Chairman of the Board of Directors, BECBangladesh Expatriates Council is very concerned about the deteriorating law and order situation inside Bangladesh. In the last few weeks, we have heard and seen several reports which are highly disturbing. There are serious accusations that Bangladesh Police are sometimes shooting peaceful demonstrators without being provoked. A video taped film <a href="http://www.amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2013/02/06/186546#.URFRRx238Z4">showed</a> how a Hindu OC in Chittagong, Pradip Kumar Das, had killed an unarmed young man in what can only be described as an execution style murder. The latter was protesting against the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaCBP0XlYnA&feature=youtu.be">verdict</a> of the International War Tribunal Court. If such reports are true, it is simply unacceptable and condemnable, and the government of Bangladesh must correct such abuse of power by rogue members of the Police by investigating and punishing the culprits.
Of particular concern to many expatriates is the <a href="http://www.parisvisionnews.com/2011-07-14-13-37-58.html">report</a> that some of the expatriates were picked up by the Police, assuming because of their beard or Islamic dress that they are affiliated with Muslim political organizations like the Jamat-e-Islami, and later handed over to the mob to beat them up and eventually put in the prison cells. If true, such reports portray a very negative image about the Police force in Bangladesh. Their activities are bound to polarize Bangladeshi people and divide the nation when unity is desirable. The government of Bangladesh needs to take such accusations very seriously and stop such serious abuses of its law enforcement agency.
As the summer approaches, we urge members of our expatriate community to be extra vigilant when they travel to Bangladesh and not to get victimized. If you do, please, don't forget to contact the embassy offices promptly.
On a cauionary note there is little doubt that truth is increasingly becoming victim to propaganda and is twisted by various groups to confuse our community. Please, verify such information before taking a stand on any.
BEC also maintains that the citizens in a democracy have every right to protest in a peaceful manner and that the Police, as law enforcing organ of the government, has the responsibility to preserve law and order inside the country and must avoid the temptation to shooting at anyone unless the lives of their own members or other members within the society are seriously threatened.
Salam, peace,
Habib SiddiquiBangladesh Expatriate Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854834602492151190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805443935977118669.post-23182314371007319172013-01-31T18:07:00.002-08:002013-01-31T18:07:15.462-08:00Land-grabbing Nightmares – Will these ever end for the expatriates?Here is an article of much interest and significance to expatriates, which first got published in the New Age.
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Land-grabbing Nightmares – Will these ever end?
By
Dr. Habib Siddiqui
Last month, I was in Bangladesh visiting Dhaka and Chittagong. Dhaka, the capital city with a population in excess of twelve million, is now one of the megacities of our time. Chittagong, with the major infrastructure projects being undertaken for the city, including a deep sea port, the second largest city is fast becoming a regional transit hub for regional neighbors like India, China, Bhutan and Nepal.
Like many parts of south-east Asia, there are visible signs of material progress everywhere. High rise buildings now dot most parts of these cities, and roads are jammed with foreign cars, mostly imported from Japan. Traffic jams on major arteries of these cities are regular features costing millions of lost hours every day. It took me more than three hours to reach Paribagh from the Dhaka airport, a trip which should not have taken more than an hour. Some flyovers and inter-district roadways are currently being constructed to alleviate the chronic problems faced by most commuters. In spite of the fact that prices of most commodities have steadily gone up no one seems to be starving these days, thus pointing to higher purchasing power of the people. For too long, Bangladesh, next to China, has been known for its garment industry. Nowadays, the country proudly sells its ocean-going vessels to European countries. These are positives.
On the negative side, however, Bangladesh is failing – like India and Pakistan – in matters of law & order, security and land-ownership. Only days before my arrival, some criminal students (now jailed) – rather professional killers - had killed an innocent man on a street of Dhaka. Such crimes were simply unheard of when I grew up in Bangladesh.
Of particular concern is the land-grabbing of both rural and urban land by domestic actors. With scarcity of land, and its price having skyrocketed in the past decade, many land-grabbing syndicates have emerged that prey upon private landowners, especially targeting those properties that are owned by expatriates. With support from some unscrupulous influential people these criminals have encroached on private and public lands with false documents and obtained court decrees to confirm their illicit ownership, often with help of immoral lawyers, corrupt members of the judiciary branch of the government and officials in the land-administration and management departments. They use local musclemen with guns and daggers, including criminal students, and corrupt officials within the local administrations. So corrupt has the government land-administration department become that a senior friend of mine, who was a principal of a medical college, told me that he was asked to pay a hefty bribe for a simple mutation job which required transferring ownership from his deceased parents to his siblings. Threatened by such chronic problems, most of the time, land owners feel obliged to sell their lands at a price well below the market value.
Since 2005 when my own family properties in Khulshi, Chittagong, were targeted for illegal land-grab by a criminal land grabbing syndicate that was led by a local fraud Jaker Hosain Chowdhury (known as Jaker master), who once worked as a bell-ringer for a school/madrasa and later imprisoned multiple times for forgery and fraudulent activities, and had the explicit support from a powerful MP, I came across many victims of such crimes. An analysis of their saga unveiled the modi operandi of many of these criminal land-grabbing syndicates, which follow a typical pattern, as shown below:
(1) Buy the so-called 'power of attorney', often through illegal money-laundering, from family members of a dead zamindar (who had moved to India after Partition of Pakistan) now living in India.
(2) In that so-called Deed of Power-of-Attorney, deliberately falsify information by showing the peasant or “raiyat” properties -- tenanted (projabili) lands of land-owners -- as part of the zamindari khas land so as to target such properties for potential land-grab. It is worth noting here that the zamindars under the British Raj were responsible for collection of revenues from the projabili lands (tenanted). With the passage of the East Bengal Estate Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950, which is the basic or fundamental law for land management in Bangladesh (previously East Pakistan), the entire Zamindari system was dissolved. The act established a 33-acre land ceiling on private landowners, with the excess transferred to the government upon payment of compensation, and all the raiyats were made owners and asked to pay their revenue directly to the Government. [The 1984 Land Reforms Ordinance placed a 20-acre ceiling on acquisition or holding of agricultural land and invalidated benami transactions, in which a person purchases land in the name of another so as to evade the land ceiling.]
(3) If the previous two methods could not be employed, falsify land deeds in collaboration with the corrupt officers in the government Land Deeds & Records Department. It is widely rumored that an “official” falsified record could be obtained from these vital offices with a payment of approx. 1% of the actual property value.
(4) File the so-called 'Partition Suits' on behalf of the dead zamindar’s family members (who had become Indian citizens) without the knowledge of the real owners and get a verdict in their favor so as to prepare the groundwork for future land-grab with support of government agencies. (Note: in these cases, the real owner is not made aware that his/her land is being contested by these crooked attorneys, and as such, are often ill prepared to put up an injunction order in time to stop such a court-decreed possession or land-grab by the criminal syndicate.)
(5) Grab the property of the legal owner of the (erstwhile) ‘raiyat’ property by evicting him/her and/or his/her tenants with tens/hundreds of criminal cadre behind. In this scheme of things: the local thana is already managed by the land-grabbing syndicate, and the corrupt politician is engaged for his/her support so that the entire criminal project will move smoothly with no actions expected to come from the law enforcing agencies; no court order is even served to the affected family who did not know that there was an old case, resurrected from the early Pakistan days, on its property and that the court, without an independent, unbiased inquiry, had already issued an execution case for possession of his/her legally owned and possessed land by the land-grabbing syndicate that had wielded its power of attorney;
(6) In the meantime, sell the property to tens of greedy buyers willing to buy land at prices significantly lower than actual market value, making them all a party to the criminal loot;
(7) Before the actual land-grab, sometimes the legal owner is threatened to pay an exorbitant extortion money (which may run into several crores of Taka), failing which he/she is threatened about the dire consequences of losing his/her entire land on which he/she had been living and paying taxes, revenues, bills, etc. for all these years;
(8) Upon illegal land-grab, quickly change the face of the property by demolishing old structures/buildings and repopulate the properties with new buyers;
(9) Use connection with powerful, corrupt and greedy politicians, government officers, police and magistrates, etc. to control police and administrative actions against them. (Note: many a time all such people colluding with and aiding the criminal syndicate are promised and delivered a piece of the looted land/apartment/properties.)
(10) If all previous tactics had failed, harass the family of the legal owners with false cases and threaten them with death threats so that they become broke - financially and psychologically.
None of these criminal schemes should come as a surprise to the member of the parliament and government ministers. According to the Land Minister’s statement of 4/2/2010 in the Parliament, a total of 1.3 million-acre public land has been grabbed by such syndicates. In the private sector the total grab may even be higher. With a very flawed and corrupt system it goes without saying that the land grabbing culture has been increasing. Without the necessary wherewithal - financial and otherwise -- the legitimate landowners are fighting a losing battle. They can’t fight the battle singlehanded without government intervention and sincerity to stop their sufferings. They need help to protect and secure their ownership rights against these criminal syndicates that have the necessary muscle to wield, and dirty money to spend and buy influences by corrupting various branches of the government to victimize others.
The Government of Bangladesh owes it to its law-abiding and tax-paying citizens to stop the crimes of these powerful land-grabbing syndicates. If Bangladesh is serious about digital revolution and transforming the country to a developed nation, it must create an environment where the property rights are secured which would help not only to retain its own talents in-house but also attract highly talented expatriates to return and contribute in nation-building. Many of the expatriates want nothing better than to return and help the country through their acquired wealth, skills and talents. They are, however, haunted by nightmares and frustrated by government’s utter negligence on this vital issue that is so fundamental.
Laws must be enacted that close the legal loopholes and protect genuine landowners from the Pakistan time (pre-liberation of 1971), without which most family properties, esp. those of the non-resident Bangladeshis and expatriates, would be grabbed by criminal land-grabbing syndicates. A concerted effort from the Ministry of Law and Ministry of Home Affairs is urgently necessary to go after these criminals of the land-grabbing syndicate so that they know that they will not be tolerated in Bangladesh. The sooner the better!
Bangladesh Expatriate Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854834602492151190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805443935977118669.post-85068005895274891312012-05-06T18:55:00.000-07:002012-05-06T18:56:18.050-07:00Two Recent Articles on BangladeshFollowing the resignation and reinstatement of Mr. Suranjit Sen Gupta, many of our expatriates are deeply concerned about the direction Bangladesh is heading. Obviously, we regret the decision that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed took and believe that she was ill-advised in reinstating the minister, accused of corruption.
Quite a few politicians belonging to the opposition have recently disappeared, presumed to be abducted. There are strong suspicions that the ruling party may be behind such disappearances. If true, it is surely a terrible thing and must stop. The opposition parties have threatened to shut down the capital unless their politicians are found and/or released. It appears we are witnessing again repeats of the pre-1/11 politics which is sure to hurt Bangladesh's economy.
Here are two articles on Bangladesh that we recommend for our valued readers. The first <a href="http://www.newagebd.com/detail.php?date=2012-04-26&nid=8356">one</a> is about the railgate scandal by our chairman, Dr. Habib Siddiqui, and the <a href="http://www.newsfrombangladesh.net/view.php?hidRecord=381159">second</a> one is by M. Adil Khan, a retired UN official, who wrote about optimistic signs he sees in recent elections in Bangladesh. The first article appeared in the New Age (and also in the NFB) and the second one in the Weekly Holiday (and also in the NFB).Bangladesh Expatriate Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854834602492151190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805443935977118669.post-83849785745495459452011-11-04T13:55:00.000-07:002011-11-04T15:46:02.443-07:00Our position on Ethnic Minorities or the Tribal PeopleLike many countries of our world, especially in South and South-east Asia, Bangladesh has her share of ethnic minorities. There are some 14 ethnic minorities that live in Bangladesh. They are known as Chakma, Marma (Mogh), Larma, Jummas, Tippra, Murong, Panko, Kyong, Mro, Tangchangya, Bomang, Lushai, Kuki, Khumi etc. <br /><br />In recent years some foreign NGOs and their local agents have been involved in anti-Bangladesh campaigns that are aimed at undermining the sovereignty of the country. Since 1975, the Indian government has been playing a very dubious role by aiding some of the secessionist movements inside Bangladesh, a process which never stopped even in good times with more friendlier governments. Regretably, their anti-Bangladesh campaigns are also aided by paid local agents inside Bangladesh. <br /><br />As reported in a prominent daily of Dhaka on March 20, 2010, Subir Bnowmick, BBC representative of Kolkata, India, wrote in his book titled ‘Troubled Periphery Crisis of Indian North East’ that India is interested to separate the CHT (Chittagong Hill Tracts) from Bangladesh. It is worthmentioning here that CHT borders both India and Burma and is home to many ethnic minorities. Captain Sachin Karmaker, International Secretary of Minority Congress Party, wrote a letter to the Director, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of America on July 27, 2007 to help them to establishing a separate homeland for ethnic minorities in the CHT, as reported on August 25, 2009. <br /><br />None of these is a good news for Bangladesh and its 150 million people who enjoy equal status irrespective of their ethnic, religious and tribal origins. There are even protected quotas for these ethnic minorities to ensure that even when they don't qualify on competive tests, jobs or positions, a segment of these ethnic minorities are represented. <br /><br />As Dr. Habib Siddiqui and other renowned researchers have long shown through their meticulous research works on minority issues of the region, the settlement of the tribal people of the CHT was rather a recent development, dating back only a couple of centuries ago. Marmas or Arakanese Moghs, e.g., came to the CHT in 1784 when Arakan was conquered by Burman king Bodaw Paya. At that time, two thirds of the Arakanese population (approx. 200,000), both Rohingya Muslims/Hindus and Rakhine Maghs (Buddhists) of Arakan fled to Chittagong and its hilly districts. While a section of these peoples (mostly Rakhines) would later return to Arakan after the British East India Company had conquered the territory in 1826 after the first Anglo-Burma War (1824-26), a vast majority continued to live inside Chittagong Division of British Bengal. Chakmas were a nomadic people that moved to and from between the porous borders. There is no record of their presence before the late 17th century when one of their chieftains (Shermonta Khan), being defeated by an Arakanese king, fled Arakan and took refuge in the CHT. Bomang tribe also settled in the CHT during the seventeenth century. Murong, Mro, Kyong, Panko and Kukhi came here about 200 to 300 years ago. <br /><br />Similar is the case of settlements of some tribal people such as Khasia and Monipuri who live in Sylhet, Garo living in Mymensingh, Santals, Orang and Mundas living in northern districts of Rajshahi, Dinajpur, Bogra and Rangpur. They are not aboriginals. They came here about 100 to 200 years ago during the British regime to work at tea gardens and cultivation. Santals came from Choto Nagpur of India for ‘indigo’ cultivation during the British era.<br /><br />Lest one be misunderstood, the aboriginals are the groups of human race “who have been residing in a place from time immemorial… they are the true sons of the soil…" (Morgan, An introduction to Anthropology, 1972). As recently reiterated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina the tribal people of the CHT are not indigenous people, nor are the other minority ethnic groups now living inside Bangladesh. They are not aborigines or Adibashis under any pretext. Unlike Burma, Bangladesh's consitituion guarantees equal rights to all its people - indigenous or not. As citizens of the country, a Chakma or a Marma has as much rights as any Bangali (Bengali). So, all the fuss about adibashi and adhibashi is disingenuous and is aimed at creating a rift between all those that call Bangladesh their home. <br /><br />As noted in a recent posting in the Weekly Holiday by A.M.K. Chowdhury, all the tribal people living in the CHT came from Tibbet, Arakan and Myanmar. They cannot be reconised as indigenous people. They are ethnic minorities by any definition. <br /><br />The Board of Directors of BEC fully endorses Bangladesh Government's position on the ethnic minorities of Bangladesh. They are ‘tribal,’ 'ethnic minorities' and not ‘indigenous’ people. <br /><br />The BEC strongly condemns the divisive policy of the Indian government and their paid agents, and foreign and local NGOs who are trying to undermine the sovereignty of Bangladesh. The BEC calls upon the expatriate, non-resident Bangladeshis to be vigilant about any conspiracy against Bangladesh by anti-Bangladeshi elements.Bangladesh Expatriate Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854834602492151190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805443935977118669.post-18197709739934846142011-09-03T07:06:00.000-07:002011-09-03T07:12:35.403-07:00Bangladesh’s Political Insanity? by Dr. Habib SiddiquiBangladesh’s Political Insanity?
<br />By
<br />Dr. Habib Siddiqui
<br />[The article was posted in the <a href="http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/op-ed/30132.html">New Age</a>, Dhaka, Bangladesh on August 16, 2011)
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<br />In recent days, the Economist of the U.K. seems to have taken more than a casual interest about the sad state of politics inside Bangladesh, which has been a nasty partisan one with an illiberal democracy for the last two decades. While such an interest may be a boon to stir a healthy debate about the health of a failing democracy, I was not too happy with the partisan tone of the analyst who wrote on August 13 under the pseudonym Banyan. It is absurd to take such pieces seriously when we even don't know who has written the piece.
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<br />The politics in Bangladesh has been abused by those in power with a winner-takes-all attitude. This trend was neither started by the ruling Awami League when in 2008 it swept to power in a landslide, nor will it probably end with its fall. The ruling party never learns how to compromise and build consensus across the aisle on the parliament floor. It carries out partisan policies and takes draconian measures, all aimed at marginalizing its opposition, hoping that such would ensure its victory in the next election, only to find that they are rejected by its electorate. This is the most important lesson which the leaders of Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), often accused of entertaining dynastic ideas, have foolishly tried to be oblivious of. There is a name for such an attitude. I call it insanity!
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<br />True to Gopal Krishna Gokhale’s remark more than half a century ago that “What Bengal (comprising of today’s Bangladesh and the state of West Bengal in India) thinks today, India thinks tomorrow,” the Bangladeshi people are probably the most politically conscious of all the people living in South Asia. They have never made a mistake when they went to the polls to disrobe a political party while replacing it by another. They were not wrong when they voted for the Jukto Front in 1954 and the Awami League in 1970 as part of what was once East Pakistan. Minus the military period of 1975-91, nor were they wrong in any election held ever since December 16 of 1971, when Bangladesh emerged as an independent nation. They were not wrong when in 1946 they overwhelmingly voted for Pakistan in what was then British India. There were not wrong either in December of 2008 when they voted for the coalition led by Mrs Hasina Wazed of the Awami League.
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<br />Unfortunately, this piece of essential history, that has defined much of the Bangladeshi character, its sense of intellectual superiority and political correctness, is often forgotten by the new leaders that came to power since 1975.
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<br />If today’s leaders of major political parties had respected their electorate and learned that bitter lesson that Bangladeshi people don't like the aspiring Pharaohs, Nawabs and princes, the arrogant snobs and the extremist zealots, the thugs and robbers that spoil and steal their wealth, we would have been spared of this insanity and it could have been a big plus for the failing health of democracy in Bangladesh. If they had learned that ‘the politics of Bengal is in reality the economics of Bengal’, they probably would have cared more for improving the economy rather than coming up with chauvinistic political agendas and narratives that have brought nothing good but harmed the economy of the country through mindless strikes and counter-strikes.
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<br />And probably, there has never been a better time in the last two decades to changing this paradigm than after the election of December 2008, dubbed my most outside experts as the fairest poll in the country’s four-decade history. There was that wave of national optimism that the newly sworn Prime Minister would use her party’s popularity to strengthen democratic institutions and pursue national reconciliation, putting an end to a vicious cycle of nasty politics between the Awami League and its major rival, the BNP. But that hope seems to be scuttled by allegations that she had used the huge mandate for partisan advantage. Her opponents say that she has been more interested in sanctifying her late father’s (Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman -- who was the founder of the country) image and solidifying her party’s position than real changes that are necessary to either change Bangladesh from an illiberal democracy to a liberal democracy or improve her economy from its 7 percent GDP growth rate to a healthier double digit one.
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<br />There is no denying that power is abused in every illiberal democracy, let alone autocratic, anti-people regimes of our planet. It is this abuse at the top which leads to unfathomable corruption and crime spreading like a virus in every public sector. And, in this regard, Bangladesh has plenty of examples with filthy rich politicians, their beneficiaries and benefactors. She has her share of ‘untouchable’ ‘princes’, a few ‘disposable’ godfathers, and many sycophants. Thus, when the erstwhile military-controlled Caretaker Government came into power in 2007, putting some of these thugs behind the prison cells, people started celebrating and dreaming once again (much like the independence day celebration of 1971) that their days of sad past living under the thugs and criminals were over. It only took few months to have the rude awakening that ‘whoever goes to Lanka becomes a Ravana.’ The caretaker government was no saint!
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<br />Bangladesh’s history is, therefore, a sad tragicomedy played by political actors who come and go through the swing door of politics, never to learn from its bloody past that has witnessed so many assassinations. As my sagacious father would say it would require seven layers of soil to be exchanged before anything good to come out of this unfortunate land! A sad commentary, and yet, probably a correct one, for an unfortunate people!
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<br />Politics and, more correctly, the political leaders have betrayed the Bangladeshi people too long by choking their legitimate aspirations to live in a crimeless and corruption-less society. They forget about accountability for their misdeeds, which is a corner stone of democracy. Thus, when swept out of power, they cry foul with new government inquiries and ensuing legal actions, which may put them behind the prison walls. When in power, they seem to fancy that this day of hardship would never visit them. What a selective amnesia!
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<br />No one should ever think that they are above the law. I have no sympathy for criminals and corrupt guys. The government owes its people the simple task of ensuring checks and balances by prosecuting them in a free trial. The process ought to be fair and transparent and cannot be seen partisan-like where the ruling party’s thugs dodge the long arms of the law and justice while their counterparts in the opposition are prosecuted. The opposition leaders simply cannot cry foul when their kith and kin and buddies are charged for money-laundering and other crimes.
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<br />The Economist writer Banyan’s claims about the reasons behind the troubles with Dr. Yunus are too childish to be taken seriously. Dr. Yunus, in spite of all the great things he has been doing globally, is, however, not above criticism. He has been accused of making some mistakes as to how he ran the Grameen Bank. His poverty-alleviation micro-finance program has had many detractors, including economists like Professor Anu Muhammad, who had tried to paint him as a viper that has been “sucking blood from the poor borrowers.” In spite of his quite visible Mandela-like humility, he has been accused of having a big ego that has come to conflict with others vying for the same media spotlight. But to claim that the current troubles of Dr. Yunus owe solely to popularity contest with Sk. Hasina and her slain father is simply too ludicrous!
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<br />Sk. Mujib was a towering figure in the politics of Bangladesh, and as shown in the 2004 poll (when BNP was in power), conducted on the worldwide listeners of BBC's Bengali radio service, was voted the "Greatest Bengali of All Time" beating Rabindranath Tagore, another Nobel laureate, and others. It is doubtful that Dr Yunus or anyone in our time would be able to eclipse that image of the Bangabandhu.
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<br />Banyan is seemingly against the current War Tribunal in Bangladesh and finds witch-hunting in government's efforts to try the alleged criminals. He forgets that the ruling party had a mandate to close this sad chapter of Bangladesh by trying those accused of committing one of the worst crimes of our time, which has killed some 3 hundred thousand Bangladeshis. (Note: while no serious effort has been taken inside Bangladesh to count the number of those killed during the War of Liberation, some recent research findings do suggest that the actual figure was well below 3 million - the commonly accepted figure in Bangladesh.) During that sad chapter the roles of some politicians now belonging to the opposition was anything but humanly. They were monsters, torturing and killing their fellow Bangladeshis like rats and mosquitoes. One of the accused in the trial personally led a torture cell in his father's residence. I personally know of a few victims, who were students then that were tortured by him mercilessly. He himself killed an elderly Bangladeshi in an execution style murder in 1971.
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<br />One would have thought that there was no place for such killers in Bangladeshi politics, especially in a party that was formed by a freedom fighter. Sadly, his criminal prowess, instead of making him a pariah, a persona non grata, simply endeared him to the BNP leadership. He was made a ranking member of the party and bestowed a state ministerial rank. And, this, in spite of his vulgar and trashy talks, some lobbed against his own boss! On a personal note, he abused his power to grab our properties in Khulshi, Chittagong. Land-grabbing and murder of innocent human beings are no small matter. One cannot but wonder what message Mrs Zia was delivering to our people when she allowed such murderers to join her party and become ministers!
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<br />Accusations have been made in the Economist that the War Tribunal proceedings in Bangladesh are not fair. I am not aware of any war tribunal that has not been accused of being imperfect. Even the Nuremburg Trial has not been spared of such accusations and has been called 'politically motivated' since it was carried out by the opponents of the Nazis. As to the shoddy trial of Adolf Eichmann in 1962 in Israel, the least said the better. And yet, in spite of such accusations, no one would dispute that each of these trials was able to do justice.
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<br />I don't see why today Bangladesh Government would fail to carry out its national obligation by trying the alleged war criminals fairly. As I wrote last year, such trials should never be abused for witch-hunting the opposition, and I am assured that the Commission’s office is not abused. The defenders would have all means to defend themselves against the charges. As to the treatment of the accused, I am also told that they are treated humanly, and much better treated than what the USA and the UK governments had done with their shoddy trials of suspected terrorists in the aftermath of 9/11. Let's face it, compared to how those suspects like KSM and others in Guantanamo Bay and Afghanistan are treated, the suspected war criminals in Bangladesh are getting a five-star celebrity treatment!
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<br />What Banyan forgets is that our world needs more, and not less, of war tribunals so that no one, not even Bush and Blair, Rumsfeld and Cheney, can dodge their accountability for crimes against humanity. [It is good to hear the recent courageous verdict by Judge Hamilton of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit who refused to grant former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and others immunity from lawsuits which “would amount to an extraordinary abdication of our (U.S.) government’s checks and balances that preserve Americans’ liberty.” The case is important because it makes clear — for the first time — that government officials can be held accountable for the intentional mistreatment of American citizens, even if that conduct happens in a war zone. (Sadly, there remains no accountability for the abuse, and torture, of foreigners by American jailers and interrogators, which Mr. Rumsfeld and President George W. Bush personally sanctioned.)]
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<br />Banyan tries to make fun of the use of 'sir' for the current Prime Minister. Is Banyan aware of the fact that many successful female CEO's don't like the term 'madam' for them, and insist that they be addressed as 'sir'? Banyon may like to check out with Pepsi Co.'s CEO - Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi.
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<br />Banyan's article has distorted some facts. No one has been prosecuted for criticizing the amended constitution. Opposition leaders have simply been warned as they threatened to throw away the constitution and thus implicitly encourage unconstitutional means to take over power. Violence is not the way to solve anything, and surely not a constitutional problem. There is a place for such a debate. It is the Parliament. That is where the BNP and other opposition party members ought to debate.
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<br />As noted above, the article in the Economist does little good to steer a healthy debate about politics in Bangladesh and for curbing its nasty partisan politics.
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<br />Democracy is worthless without a viable opposition. The majority rule need not be a winner-takes-all process which marginalizes opposition. The leaders in Bangladeshi politics ought to show more maturity and compromise. The two decades that they have ruled Bangladesh alternately as prime ministers should have been sufficient to move forward and grow up. A healthy, respectable dialogue between the political leaders with a firm commitment towards good governance, checks and balances, accountability and respect for the rule of law can be the starting point, if they truly care about building a viable, thriving, healthy democracy in Bangladesh. They can either embrace the lessons of history or choose to end in its dustbin. The choice is surely theirs to get out of political insanity.
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<br />[Dr. Siddiqui’s latest book – Devotional Stories – is now available from A.S. Noordeen, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.]
<br />Bangladesh Expatriate Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854834602492151190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805443935977118669.post-38442331595225127012011-04-27T06:20:00.001-07:002011-04-27T06:35:02.591-07:00The Matter of War Crimes Tribunal and SQCThis Tuesday we came across an Op/Ed <a href="http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/op-ed/16716.html">column</a> in the much circulated English newspaper New Age, which discussed SQC's trial in the War Crimes Tribunal that is currently taking place in Dhaka. A letter summarizing our position was promptly sent to the paper. Here below you can read this. - BEC Board of Directors (April 27, 2011)<br /><br />================<br /><br />The editor,<br />New Age,<br />Dhaka, Bangladesh<br /><br />Dear Editor,<br /> Ref: What to do about SQC?<br /><br />In his Op/Ed column “What to do about SQC?”, David Bergman raises issues about the treatment of Salauddin Qader Chowdhury (SQC) in the prison and how he was brought into the International Crimes Tribunal on April 19. SQC faces serious charges of war crimes for his all too well-documented roles during the War of Liberation in March-December of 1971. He was personally responsible for murder and torture of many Bangladeshis. His Goods Hill residence was a torture house in which he himself inflicted unbearable pains to many freedom-loving college students. If it had not been for the post-Mujib military backed regimes that came to power, he would have been tried and found guilty for his heinous crimes decades ago. <br /><br />There are many former criminals and torturers who later modify their evil ways by renouncing violence and setting a better record as truly repentant humans; but to expect such a change of heart with SQC was like asking for miracles. Thanks to the nasty hate-filled partisan politics in Bangladesh, he even became the Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliament Affairs during the BNP rule, which bestowed him a state ministerial rank. And this, in spite of widely held beliefs that he had murdered a student leader who had belonged to a rival wing of the same party! Only in Bangladesh can one expect to see such political circus. Over the years, as he renewed his old ties, further solidifying his political comeback, he was able to behave like a Mafia Don with a ready supply of criminal cadre that would do his dirty jobs, which stopped at nothing – from land-grabbing to money-laundering to harassment and killings. <br /><br />In April of 2005, using a notorious fraud and Rajakar by the name of Jaker Hosain Chowdhury as his front-man, while he was Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s adviser, SQC abused his official power to grab the real estate properties of Mr. and Mrs. Nazrul Islam Siddiqui in Khulshi, Chittagong. His son Fayyaz called Mr. Salman Ispahani of the Ispahani Holdings, a neighbor to the Siddiqui family for the past fifty years, to trespass into the latter’s properties, located in front of the Women’s College. When denied such an illegal access, Fayyaz and hundreds of his armed goons, with tacit support from a bribed O.C., broke into the properties of the Siddiqui family. Within hours his goons evicted 16 tenant families – many college professors – that had lived for decades in some of the one-story bungalows within the Siddiqui estate. Over the next six weeks, Fayyaz and the criminal cadre that he controlled terrorized the Siddiqui family and their remaining tenants, living in the six-story house “Aranika Bhavan.’ In early May, Fayyaz’s goons, demolished ten homes and cut down hundreds of costly trees, once planted by Mr. Siddiqui. <br /> <br />The criminal land-grabbing activities of SQC and his front-man Jaker were widely covered in all major newspapers in Dhaka and Chittagong in April – June, 2005. While in late June of that year the properties were restored to its rightful owners – the Siddiqui family – the latter continue to be threatened by SQC’s criminal land-grabbing syndicate. As the price of real estate in land-starved metropolis skyrockets, free on bail, SQC’s front-man and some members of the syndicate have not given up on their haram desire to possess the lot by any means possible. By the way, that was not the only incident when SQC and his son were involved in such land-grabbing projects, targeting vulnerable section of the population. The crime syndicate has also eyed huge real estate holdings of the nearby Ispahani Properties. <br /><br />As we see it, SQC is a criminal psychopath with no bite of conscience, which he never had and will probably not have in the future. So, now after all these years, it seems destiny has eventually caught up with him. And something that should have happened some 39 years ago, trying people accused of war crimes is taking place now in Dhaka. It is a welcome event to most Bangladeshis who are tired of being victimized and abused by the powerful criminal Dons who behave as if there is no akhirah (the Day of Judgment) or accountability for their crimes. <br /><br />We, the members of the Bangladesh Expatriates Council and NRB community of the USA, are therefore hopeful that justice would be served, and the matter of shame to the memory of Bangladesh’s valiant freedom fighters and martyrs would eventually be erased.<br /> <br />Knowing that SQC is a habitual liar and a sociopath who is a master of deceit, we are not all that surprised with his theatrics in front of the media to draw sympathy for his imprisonment. He will try everything possible to save his skin. We take pity at SQC’s condition. And we are hopeful that Bangladesh is mindful of upholding the due standard of an International Crimes Tribunal, which is trying SQC on charges of war crimes. As a matter of fact, based on the internal evidences we have been able to collect we believe that SQC is treated much fairly compared to most accused people around the globe, including those held by presidents Bush and Obama, on similar charges.<br /><br />The New Age would do a much needed nobler job in publishing the sad saga of the victims of SQC than trying to draw sympathy for one of the most horrendous criminals of Bangladesh. To show pity to a venomous snake is to harm the peasant. <br /><br />April 26, 2011Bangladesh Expatriate Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854834602492151190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805443935977118669.post-20075371004161506612011-02-25T20:39:00.002-08:002011-02-25T20:53:27.502-08:00Letter to the Guardian, UK on alleged torture of a Bangladeshi MPIn recent days, the Guardian newspaper of UK and some internet sites have been carrying out stories of alleged torture of Mr. Salauddin Quader Chowdhury at the hands of the RAB. While I am against any form of abuse and torture against anyone, I feel that some hard facts need to be disclosed about Mr. Chowdhury's crimes. Here below is a letter sent by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bangladesh Expatriates Council to the Guardian.<br />=============================================<br /><br /><br />February 25, 2011<br /><br />To: <br />The Editor,<br />The Guardian<br />London, UK<br /> <br /> Subject: Letter to Editor: Alleged torture of a Bangladeshi MP<br /><br />Dear Editor,<br /><br />Your coverage on Bangladeshi MP 'tortured' by British-trained paramilitary unit - has drawn our attention. While torture in any form is unacceptable and should never be tried by any government it is a sad reality of our time that all governments - illiberal and liberal democracies alike, including the British government, are guilty of this crime. In the aftermath of 9/11, tens of British Muslims were tortured by the police interrogators during their detention in the UK prisons, mostly young Muslims on mere suspicion of being 'terrorists'. Suffice it to say that during George W. Bush's era, esp. in the days following 9/11 hundreds of Muslim residents of the USA were rounded up and tortured during their police detention. Many were even sent to countries like Egypt and Jordan for ‘extraordinary rendition.’ And who is not aware of the war crimes of the Anglo-American occupation forces after the fall of Saddam Hussein in Iraq! Even the journalists covering the war there were shot at and killed.<br /><br />Sadly, Bangladesh is not immune from such charges of torture against some political prisoners. Of particular curiosity is the case involving Salauddin Quader Chowdhury (MP-BNP from Chittagong). From the internal evidences we have been able to collect from the Human Rights Commission in Bangladesh and other agencies, there seems to be much doubt as to the veracity of the claim of torture against Mr. Chowdhury. Mr. Chowdhury is a sociopath and has a history of lying, bragging and deception, let alone with a criminal past which saw his own hands used for torture and murder of Bangladeshi people during and after 1971 Liberation War. We are told that in its arrest of Mr. Chowdhury, the government of Bangladesh is simply fulfilling an electoral pledge made to its citizens to try people suspected of committing war crimes during the Liberation War. As noted above, Mr. Chowdhury is one such character. <br /><br />It is disgrace to the memory of lakhs of martyrs in Bangladesh to see a war criminal-suspect like Mr. Chowdhury ever elected as an MP. But politics is always full of surprises and his political rehabilitation, although unfortunate, should not surprise us all. Like many of his victims, my family would have loved to see him reformed and repentant, but it seems expecting such from a sociopath and a crime boss is like asking for miracles. His political rehabilitation has only emboldened his criminal mindset giving him the aura of being untouchable by law and justice.<br /><br />Of particular and personal tragedy is the crime he and his son Fayyaz committed against my family during April-June of 2005. As Prime Minister’s adviser on parliamentary affairs, Mr. Chowdhury abused his political standing to victimize my family in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Armed with hundred of goons, his son Fayyaz Chowdhury, a British citizen of dual nationality, broke into my parental properties in Khulshi, Chittagong on April 8, 2005. They illegally evicted 16 tenant families from our compound. The matter of his crime was widely reported in all Bengali newspapers in Dhaka and Chittagong. All our pleas to him met deaf ears. Even my face-to-face meeting with him in the last week of April in the Prime Minister's Office did not stop him from lying and further harming us. Within days, his goons demolished 9 houses built nearly 50 years ago by my father. Months later, only after direct involvement of the Metropolitan Police, which hitherto had avoided confronting Mr. Chowdhury, his son and goons – afraid of losing jobs, were we able to retake possession of our properties. But the damage was already done. Even to this day, his criminal syndicate is active and continues to harass my family members in Khulshi, Bangladesh. It is worth noting that we were not the only ones that fell prey to his land-grabbing crimes; there are too many of those victims in Rangoonia, Chittagong. Afraid of being further victimized by his crime syndicate, they are still afraid to talk. <br /><br />Had Mr. Chowdhury been remorseful and made a sincere effort to right the wrongs committed by him, his son and his crime syndicate, his victims could have felt some sadness for his alleged plight at the hands of the RAB today. But who would feel compassion for a murderer, land-grabber, Mafia boss whose crimes have erased their sense of security and happiness? As such, no one really takes his allegations against RAB seriously. As a matter of fact, his imprisonment, no matter how late, can only bring some relief and solace to so many of his victims, and there are plenty, who see the Hands of Provision in his imprisonment. While the door of repentance and reparation is never closed, the sooner the better! It is high time for his family to right the wrongs perpetrated by him and his son. <br /><br />The Guardian could better serve the interest of its readers by interviewing the victims of Mr. Salauddin Q. Chowdhury's crimes than shedding tears for a remorseless criminal.Bangladesh Expatriate Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854834602492151190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805443935977118669.post-61436572408023845562010-11-06T11:53:00.002-07:002010-11-06T11:55:45.615-07:00Congratulations to Congressman Hansen Hashem ClarkeWe, the members of the BEC, are delighted to report that Mr. Clarke has been elected a Congressman from the state of Michigan. <br /><br />For the first time in the history of the United States of America, Hansen<br />Hashem Clarke, a Bangladeshi descent democratic member of the Michigan<br />Senate, has won a congressional seat to the United States House of<br />Representatives.<br /><br />After winning the congressional seat, held by Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick for<br />more than 20 years, Clarke said he would try to fulfil the dreams of the<br />people of United States.<br /><br />Clarke was born in Detroit, Michigan to a Bangladeshi American father,<br />Mozaffar Ali Hashem from Sylhet, and an African American mother, Thelma<br />Clarke.<br /><br />Clarke visited his village home a few years ago.<br /><br />His father died when he was a child. Clarke attended Cass Technical High<br />School, and then got admitted to a prestigious east-coast prep school to<br />complete his high school.<br /><br />Clarke studied at Cornell University, graduating with a degree in fine arts.<br />While at the university, he became interested in politics.<br /><br />He was elected to the student seat on the Cornell University Board of<br />Trustees and was a member of the Quill and Dagger society. He then earned a<br />law degree from Georgetown Law School in 1987.<br /><br />Clarke worked as chief of staff to US Representative John Conyers, as well<br />as in Wayne County during the administration of Edward H McNamara.Bangladesh Expatriate Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854834602492151190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805443935977118669.post-73501371833810002832010-08-29T15:57:00.000-07:002010-08-29T17:37:50.752-07:00BEC condemns hate crimes against Bangladeshi Americans and other religious minoritiesBangladesh Expatriates Council and its sister organization NRB Council, USA are very concerned about the recent hate crimes in the USA. Last week, a Bangladeshi American taxi cab driver was brutally attacked with a knife from behind by a white American cab rider. We condemn such hate crimes and are glad to learn that the attacker who has been denied bail, will be tried on several counts. <br /><br />We urge the immigrant community to be extra vigilant and not to engage in any hot debate concerning the proposed mosque in NY that could only bring the worst in many bigots and xenophobes. <br /><br />We pray for the safety of all our people. Ramadan Mubarak.<br />Regards,<br />The Board of Directors, BEC<br />=========================<br />Here below is the report from a newspaper: <br /><br />Hate Crime in New York - cabbie stabbed<br />As I feared, Islamophobia has its latest victim in a hate crime that saw a Muslim cab driver in New York city severely stabbed several times by a White American. The Republican leaders and right wing conservative talk show hosts cannot escape from being held responsible for spreading hate crime against Muslims. Such propaganda and hatemongering is sure to bring the worst from bigots and chauvinists.<br /><br />Here is the report from the USA Today:<br />NEW YORK — A Manhattan cabbie who was stabbed Tuesday night by a Putnam County man questioned Wednesday whether the attack stemmed from the contentious debate over creating a mosque near ground zero.<br /><br />Ahmed H. Sharif, 43, of Queens, was stabbed several times by Michael Enright, 21, of Southeast, N.Y., after Enright had asked Sharif if he was Muslim and the cabbie responded that he was, a police spokesman said.<br /><br />When officers responded to the scene around 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, Sharif was outside the vehicle, suffering from stab wounds, after attempting to lock Enright inside the cab, a police spokesman said. Enright escaped but was captured nearby by police.<br /><br />The charges against Enright include attempted murder as a hate crime.<br /><br />In a statement Wednesday the from New York Taxi Workers Alliance, Sharif warned his fellow cabbies.<br /><br />"Right now the public sentiment is very serious" because of the ground zero mosque debate, he said. "All drivers should be more careful."<br /><br />Sharif, who was treated at Bellevue Hospital for stab wounds to his arms, throat and face, said the incident made him sad.<br /><br />"I have been here more than 25 years. I have been driving a taxi more than 15 years. All my four kids were born here. I never feel this hopeless and insecure before," he said.<br /><br />It was Sharif's first fare of his shift.<br /><br />Enright, a 2007 graduate of Brewster High School and an aspiring filmmaker, recently returned from Afghanistan, where he filmed Marines as part of a project for the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, where he is a student. In Afghanistan, he was embedded with a Marines Corps crew that included his fellow Brewster High graduate, Cpl. Alex Eckner.<br /><br />Enright was highly intoxicated when he hailed the cab, the police spokesman said. Once inside the cab, Enright asked Sharif whether Sharif was Muslim. When Sharif responded yes, Enright stabbed him several times with some type of utility knife.<br /><br />According to the statement from the Taxi Workers Alliance, Enright's conversation with Sharif started out friendly, with Enright asking the cabbie where he was from, how long he had been in America, if he was Muslim and if he was observing Ramadan.<br /><br />Enright then went silent before suddenly cursing and screaming, the statement said.<br /><br />He then shouted "'Assalamu Alaikum,' common among Muslims as a wish for peace, before pulling out the knife and slashing Sharif across the neck and stabbing several more times as Sharif tried to knock it out of Enright's hands, the alliance said.<br /><br />Enright was charged with attempted second-degree murder as a hate crime, first-degree assault, felonies, aggravated harassment and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, misdemeanors. He is awaiting arraignment.<br /><br />Enright also worked with Intersections International, a Manhattan-based, multifaith and multicultural effort that seeks to promote justice and peace. Messages left with the School of Visual Arts and Intersections International were not immediately returned.Bangladesh Expatriate Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854834602492151190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805443935977118669.post-71054370524243702902010-08-23T16:20:00.000-07:002010-08-23T16:25:37.335-07:00Bangladesh Expats to Become VotersFor last few years, Bangladesh Expatriates Council and its sister organization NRB Council, USA have worked hard lobbying lawmakers in Bangladesh to allow the expatriate community that live in the USA to register as voters in Bangladesh. We are glad to report that the Bangladesh Cabinet has approved a draft okaying our long standing demand. You can read the information <a href="http://www.newagebd.com/2010/aug/24/front.html">below</a> from the New Age.<br /><br />Expats to become voters<br />Cabinet okays draft law<br />Staff Correspondent<br /><br />The cabinet on Monday approved a draft of the Electoral Rolls (Amendment) Bill, 2010 to allow non-resident Bangladeshis to register as voters, fulfilling the expatriates’ long-standing demand.<br /> The expatriate Bangladeshis, as per the draft, would be able to exercise their right to vote in all elections in the country after its enactment.<br /> The law, justice and parliamentary affairs ministry proposed the amendment at the weekly cabinet meeting presided over by the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.<br /> ‘The cabinet has approved the amendment to the electoral rolls law to allow the expatriates to register as voters at the places of their origin without considering whether or not they have movable or immovable assets there,’ the prime minister’s press secretary Abul Kalam Azad told reporters after the meeting.<br /> The present electoral rolls ordinance has no provision for enrolling non-resident Bangladeshis as voters as the ordinance says people to be registered as voters should be residents in an electoral area during registration.<br /> The Election Commission in July sent the final draft of amendments to the law ministry proposing that the Bangladeshis having dual citizenship could be registered as voters.<br /> ‘Bangladeshis who hold dual citizenship in line with the Bangladesh Citizenship (Temporary Provisions) Order 1972 will be registered as voters after the amendment is incorporated into the electoral rolls ordinance,’ election commissioner Muhammed Sohul Hussain told reporters early July after a meeting on the proposed draft.<br /> The draft said people having wealth or dwelling in more than one constituency could register as voters for any of the constituencies as they would wish.<br /> People who have become citizens of other countries after renouncing their Bangladeshi citizenship would not be included in the electoral roll, according to the draft.<br /> The proposed amendment says Bangladeshis living abroad temporarily would be considered as voters of the constituency they come from.<br /> Bangladesh missions abroad would collect voter application forms for dual citizenship holders and send them to the Election Commission after preparing a district-wise primary list, said EC officials. They said that the commission would send the application forms to the district registration officers for scrutiny.Bangladesh Expatriate Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854834602492151190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805443935977118669.post-88870096477143367612010-07-29T18:47:00.000-07:002010-07-29T18:57:15.835-07:00The Challenge with Bangladesh Democracy by Prof. Mahfuz R. ChowdhuryThe Challenge with Bangladesh Democracy<br /><br />By<br />Professor Mahfuz R. Chowdhury<br /><br /><br />(The author taught Economics at CW Post Campus of Long Island University and State College at Farmingdale, New York. He has published numerous articles on issues concerning Bangladesh and developing economies, which are posted on various web sites)<br /><br /><br />The history of democracy in Bangladesh has been very tumultuous to say the least. This is primarily because the country’s politicians and military leaders only talk of supporting democracy or the democratic process when they see a chance to grab state power through elections. But after ascending to power they seem to bury democracy. The key objective of Bangladesh’s politicians and some of its military leaders has been to seize state power essentially to promote their self-interest. And once in power, either democratically or through military might, they ignore the promises they had made, embrace autocracy, practice all kinds of intimidation to suppress the opposition, and engage in systematic looting of the state’s treasure. When knocked out of power, the opposition party routinely resorts to hartals (or general strikes) and violence. It’s actually quite ironic how the leaders of Bangladesh’s two dominant parties either champion democracy or bury it depending on whether they are out of power or in power! The democratic process is seen not as a way for the people of Bangladesh to pick the policies they prefer but as a way of deciding which party would be in power.<br /><br />The above would sum up the history of Bangladesh democracy, except for one important fact. The actual power within a party rests almost entirely with the party leader, whether the party is in power or in opposition. And the leader tends to stay in that position until death, at which time the leadership mantle usually passes on to the biological heir of the leader. Political power and position has become a hereditary matter for Bangladesh. At least this is what has happened in the case of the two largest political parties that are presently controlling politics, and this trend can be expected to continue unless there is of course a drastic change. <br /><br />The two political parties that dominate Bangladesh’s politics today are the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Here’s how these two parties have come to assume their current positions. <br /> <br />Awami League came into existence in the early days of Pakistan when Bangladesh was a part of Pakistan. Later under the leadership of its dominant leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman the country went to war and won its liberation from Pakistan. Following liberation, the whole country submitted to Sheikh Mujib for his leadership on governance and future direction. People were even prepared to take his words to be the law of the land. But the way he misused such a strong mandate of the people just about sealed his fate and the fates of many other members of his family. <br /><br />After assuming state power, Sheikh Mujib having initially flip-flopped on what title to take – President or Prime Minister – began to consolidate his power over the government and the country. His commitment to democracy soon withered as he abandoned democracy in favor of autocracy. He created his own personal armed force and used it to brutally suppress the opposition, he banned newspapers that criticized his rule, and more significantly he declared Bangladesh a one-party state. Thus, by virtue of his authority, he killed the very democracy that brought him to power. Well, the freedom fighters who had fought in the liberation war and the people in general couldn’t stomach such actions by Sheikh Mujib even though he was the paramount leader of the country. So, after about three and half years of his dictatorial rule, he was brutally assassinated by army personnel in his own house along with all family members who were present. He was survived by his two daughters, who were outside the country at the time. It was by all means a great tragedy.<br /><br />Immediately after his assassination, the country briefly experienced serious political turmoil. In the mayhem that followed, civilian and military leaders emerged who were either deposed or murdered. In the end, General Ziaur Rahman, a prominent freedom fighter backed by the army, emerged to assume state power. His rule, however, was supposed to be a temporary one and he was expected to arrange a national election and hand over power to the newly elected government. But the election that followed was not for others, it was a “yes or no” vote on him. <br /><br />Having tasted supreme power, General Zia quickly proceeded to institutionalize his rule. By successfully luring many of the disgruntled political leaders of the country to his camp he formed the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. He even gave amnesty to people who had opposed the creation of Bangladesh (including the assassinators of Sheikh Mujib) and installed them in key positions in the party and government. He felt so confident of himself that he once boasted that he would make politics difficult for the politicians. He was true to his promise! He made a real mockery of every democratic value by systematically dismantling the vital democratic institutions in the country. By openly rigging the people’s vote he created his own parliament, which he used to rubber stamp his policies. He ruled autocratically, and murdered many army mutineers including some of those who helped him to gain power. Legend has it that a person who lives by the sword dies by the sword. So General Zia too eventually had to sacrifice his life for his autocratic actions; he was assassinated by the army after about six years in power.<br /> <br />Following him it was General H M Ershad’s turn to grab state power. By using the experiences of his immediate predecessor and applying his personal wit, he succeeded in perpetrating his autocratic rule. He too proceeded to establish his own political party and ran sham elections. He proved to be a skillful master and was able to keep his opponents at bay for many years. He was also rumored to fake his own fatherhood to gain acceptance by the people. During his time, the democratic institutions in the country were further dismantled. In the end, after the country’s democratic forces finally regrouped and the two dominant parties joined hands and went on to mobilize a national movement, Ershad’s regime was forced to hand over power after a long nine years of dictatorial rule. <br /><br />Finally, after a national election, democracy was supposedly restored in the country in 1990. In this election Bangladesh Nationalist Party captured power. But since then power has been alternating between Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Awami League, though the former has been in power longer. The many other political parties that operate in the country were relegated to a supporting position. Nevertheless, the fundamentalist Jamaat e Islami party has emerged to be the king maker. It has in the past tilted elections for both major parties by throwing its support behind them. <br /><br />Prior to the 1990 election, both Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the two emerging dominant parties, underwent serious transformations. The assassinations of their dominant leaders had put them in a clear shambles. The party elders distrusted each other and couldn’t agree on who would succeed the assassinated leaders. When there is no intra-party democracy, no leader can emerge from within the party as the popular choice of rank-and-file party members. And in that vacuum, a relative unknown such as a family member of the assassinated leader becomes the only viable alternative. So as a compromise, Awami League inducted Sheik Hasina to take her father’s position and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party followed suit by inducting Khaleda Zia to fill her husband’s position, even though both ladies were considered to be politically inept. But what followed after their induction to the leadership positions has dramatically changed the political landscape in Bangladesh. <br /><br />As expected, the unscrupulous politicians in each party raced to line up behind the two ladies in order to achieve personal gains. This inevitably gave the ladies a chance to gradually consolidate their power within their respective parties. By utilizing their newly found authority, they then started to put loyalists in key party positions. Obviously, it didn’t take too long for them to assume dictatorial power within their parties, whether in power or in opposition. At the same time, their tolerance for the democratic process also waned. Few party members dared to question their authority. Those who did faced the sack almost immediately. <br /><br />Here’s how the two ladies have come to exercise their authority. Prior to an election they would allocate parliament seats usually to those who had money and muscle, and when victorious in the election they would distribute ministerial posts to their loyalists. Before an election they might routinely promise to decentralize government administration or make the judiciary independent, which are indeed vital for proper functioning of a democracy. But once in power they would ignore those promises. In fact, both ladies appear to be grooming their young sons to replace them when the time comes. <br /><br />When Khaleda Zia came to power, she spearheaded legislation to officially recognize her late husband as the architect of the liberation of Bangladesh (which literally infuriated her opponents), wrote the country’s history in a biased form, intimidated the opposition in parliament and harassed them outside parliament in every possible way. She effectively put her young son in charge of key governmental decisions, especially the lucrative ones. The opposition led by Sheikh Hasina, on the other hand, responded by promoting strikes, disruption and violence in the country with the ultimate aim of bringing down the government. <br /><br />When Sheikh Hasina regained state power, her first order of business was to eliminate General Zia’s name from every important place in Bangladesh, such as the national airport, university and park. She quickly rewrote the history books in her way, proceeded to intimidate the opposition in the parliament and harass them outside, and even closed a newspaper that was critical of her administration. She initiated legislation to return to the 1972 constitution, to repossess the house that Khaleda Zia resides in and was bestowed on her by a rival government, and to persecute the people who had opposed Bangladesh’s liberation movement but had been pardoned. The latter may turn out to be a difficult move since Saudi Arabia, which provides employment and financial support to Bangladesh also backs those who opposed the movement. In any case, the opposition party of Khaleda Zia has duly reciprocated by calling a national strike, promoting agitation and promising massive violence with the same idea of bringing down the government. While these kinds of tit for tat fights between the two parties go on, the country and the people suffer. <br /><br />The moral fibers of both parties are fundamentally same, but for personal and selfish reasons they continue to treat each other as arch enemies. They do not see eye to eye, and cannot agree on anything, not even on how to run an election. Earlier they had both agreed to an unprecedented procedure of appointing a care taker government to run elections, but later they got locked in a deadly fight over the formation and functioning of the proposed caretaker government. <br /><br />Thus, the evolution of democracy or the democratic process has remained an elusive matter for Bangladesh even after 38 years of independence. At the center of all these controversies are currently the two ladies who are running the two dominant parties. They are bent on destroying each other at any cost with the sole purpose of grabbing state power. As could be imagined, the economic and human cost of their infighting has been tremendous. For example, while other developing countries like Malaysia leap forward with huge economic success, Bangladesh with its abundant resources still remains a poverty stricken country while corruption and crime continue to rise. However, neither leader cares to understand the repercussions of their actions. It seems they just don’t care. <br /><br />Arguably, Bengalis as a nation are considered to be intelligent enough to produce several Nobel laureates, but when it comes to governing themselves, they have failed, and failed miserably. This was as true when the land first came under foreign domination many years ago as it is true today. It’s indeed very unfortunate. To paraphrase the great poet, philosopher and Nobel laureate of the land – Bengalis (Bangalees) don’t learn! <br /><br />The quality of democracy of a country depends on the checks and balances among its executive, legislative and judicial branches. And the press plays a very unique role in keeping these branches on their toes. Bangladesh’s democracy has failed to properly develop because of the lack of independence of the legislative and judicial branches and the press. But even under such constraints there may be some hope that democracy in Bangladesh would slowly improve. One good sign is that the military seems to be unwilling or unprepared to grab power. Although the present system promotes autocracy, it’s no longer absolute. The two dominant parties are putting some kind of checks and balances on each other, and the people are becoming more conscious of their rights and obligations because of the rise of the satellite TV and the Internet. <br /><br />The international community has a great obligation to help Bangladesh to strengthen its democracy. If Bangladesh, the seventh largest country in population, turns into a failed state as a result of a collapse of its democracy, it would only bolster fundamentalism. The rise of fundamentalism in Bangladesh would create a bigger mess than the world would care to handle. Also, expatriate Bangladeshis could play an important role. The expatriates by unequivocally rising above Bangladesh’s party politics and by taking a firm and united stand to promote democracy in their homeland could expedite the process.Bangladesh Expatriate Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854834602492151190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805443935977118669.post-72133579993622629712010-04-13T07:13:00.000-07:002010-04-13T07:14:33.638-07:00Energy crisis: Prime Minister Hasina’s role by Kh. A. SalequeEnergy crisis: Prime Minister Hasina’s role<br /><br />April 13, 2010<br />By Kh.A.Saleque.<br />When we NRBs think and talk about our dear motherland Bangladesh, now in desperate crisis, we must realise that when the chief resources are constrained, the cities are overpopulated, the government is ingrained in corruption and terrorism is a major threat, tackling energy crisis is a great challenge. We have too many smart persons who always talk big and but do very little. Everyone wants their own end served at the expense of the miseries of others. Despite these, many of us have great heart for Bangladesh and we try to grab any opportunity to make any contribution to our national development efforts.<br /><br />Bangladesh is in serious energy crisis. Gas power and water supply crisis are playing hell there. We need to have almost a war-time-unity to combat and resolve it.<br /><br />Bangabandhu daughter Sheikh Hasina in her second term as PM is putting her best efforts to confront the pressing issues with the best intent. We know that she is handicapped with several problems. She has to deal with external challenges and internally hindering activities of party cadres. War criminals and terrorist activists are after her blood. The last government, BNP-led, left her with a diabolical energy sector with chronic problems of mismanagement and corruption.<br /><br />Nation and the world have witnessed how boldly and calmly she confronted the inevitable civil war situation triggered from Peelkhna carnage. She is relentlessly struggling to lead the country which is on the verge of collapse and taking it to a position of some sort of balance.<br /><br />She is confronting energy crisis boldly like a true national leader. This writer was on a short trip to Bangladesh during the first week of April. Over this period, I had opportunity to meet Directors of Petrobangla, Secretary EMRD, Senior executives of TGTDCL and GTCL, also talked to Ex-Petrobangla Chairmen and ex State ministers of Energy Mr A. K. M Musharraf Hussian and Prof Rafqul Islam. Energy advisors, State Minister of Energy and Chairman PB were on tour abroad. Opportunity was there to participate in one TV talk show.<br /><br />Energy situation in Bangladesh is in real mess. During my short stay in Bangladesh, it appeared that the actual deficit of both power and gas must be higher than what is officially admitted. There must be substantial unaccountable power and gases which are major reasons for failures of various contingency measures government have so far tried to mitigate crisis. A panic-stricken situation was observed in the top management of the gas sector. Persons appeared to lack confidence. It was a bit shocking to feel the lack of self-belief among long-time gas-sector colleagues. We confronted similar crisis on some occasions in the past with commitment and courage. But this time I observed the lack of courage. A feeling of insecurity and mistrust shocked the writer. Top management of energy sector must create situation to create comfort among the energy sector professionals.<br /><br />Irrigation season is at its peak. Bangladesh is also experiencing prolonged draught and the highest level of sustained hot spell and humidity of the decade. PM Hasina like a bold State leader admitted her limitations to confront the crisis and appealed to citizens to observe austerity. She also underlined the requirements to undertake contingency actions for confronting crisis.<br /><br />The country is on the verge of energy famine yet persons responsible to address the matters are staying abroad .Wonder why Energy Advisor, State Minister Energy and Petrobangla Chairman had to stay away from Bangladesh at the same time when Bangladesh is burning in the fire of hell. What useful purpose the visit to Poland will serve to uproot the cause of energy security? Why Energy advisor or state minister energy can not own the responsibility or share it at this hour of crisis? Why every issue must be thrown into the court of PM?<br /><br />PM has already dealt with two important matters for which some irresponsible persons must have been taken to task. PM like her illustrious father must not rule the country with heart. She must deal some matters with head as well. PM had to cancel the reintroduction of day light savings which was introduced without home-work last year. She also cancelled purchase efforts of electric poles which some quarter believed was designed to serve the interest of a brother of a well positioned person of ruling party.<br /><br />PM met Power ministry officials on 8th April and made some very important announcements. Same evening this writer had the opportunity to participate in a TV talk show directed to evaluate the aspects of her announcements.<br /><br />The major areas which PM stressed upon were :<br /><br />• Market owners and shopkeepers are not to use electricity from the national power grid after 7:00pm.<br />• Power distribution agencies to shorten the period of outage to one hour from two, and shed load every alternate hour.<br />• Prime minister has called upon the market owners and shopkeepers not to use electricity from the national power grid after 7:00pm. If any one wants to keep their shops and businesses open after that time, they have been asked to depend on their own generators.<br />• PM encouraged energy sector officials to innovate practical ideas to save power at this time of serious national crisis.<br />• PM advised PB to find ways to encourage LPG use in domestic cooking.<br />• PM also advised power ministry to devise means to shorten tendering process and expedite implementation of major power plant installation projects.<br />• PM directed the power officials to motivate the consumers not to waste electricity.<br /><br />We all must admit that energy crisis is a national crisis and nation must stand together and confront it unitedly. Never in the past had any Head of the State shown the honesty to admit the failures limitations of his or her governments. Never in the past had the leader of the government made such fervent appeal to the nation to observe austerity in power and energy use. PM Hasina deserves special thanks for that. Proud Bangladeshi nation has encountered similar and greater national challenges in the past and if responsible politicians can forge unity of the people to combat the crisis, this crisis can also be mitigated and overcome.<br /><br />Now let us try and analyse a little deeper the reasons for such huge demand supply imbalance in power and gas grid which has triggered the present crisis. There exists a tendency among our management to hide real demand and deficit. Any energy sector independent analyst will agree that power demand at this stage without even including the suppressed demand is beyond 6000MW per day and gas demand must be about 2500MMCFD. Unless we have correct figures of demand no contingency measures can work. When our Power ministry say the power demand is 5500MW and generation is about 4000MW people have reasons to disbelieve as this can not make tax payers suffer for more than 12 hours load shedding in tremendous heat and humidity. When we say our gas demand is about 2300MMCFD and our production is about 2300MMCFD the situation must be handled by playing intelligently with line pack [inventory of gas in about 2500Km high pressure national Gas grid]. The situation must have witnessed major improvement after shutting down 5 out of 7 fertilizer plants. Hence power and energy sector management are now caught in their own trap. The injudicious efforts of hiding real deficit are causing the embarrassment.<br /><br />Shopping culture must have been changed by now in realisation of energy supply limitation. People in almost all modern cities shop within office hours on week days. Usually on week ends shops remain open till mid nights. There are some 24/7 shops foe essential drugs and medicines. We must try and replicate this particular western culture in our society.<br /><br />Simultaneous to restricting shopping hours, government must restrict use of grid electricity to night clubs, bars and reastaurents. While citizens suffer, some fun lovers must not be allowed to make merry with ill-earned money. Please ban use of grid power in all posh clubs bars and restaurants after 7PM. PM and ministers must also demonstrate leadership sharing the agonies. There must be restrictions in power use in their offices and residences.<br /><br />CNG price must be immediately increased to 75% of liquid fuel price to discourage use of inefficient CNG conversion equipment and mushroom growth of CNG refuelling stations. CNG introduction is a noble effort. But our shameteurism has spoiled these efforts. Gas supply to CNG stations must be restricted to off-peak hours only.<br /><br />We always considered pipeline supply of gas to domestic consumers was a waste of efforts. In past, ministers exploited their positions to burden gas companies to extend gas supply to far-flung villages like Dagonbhuiya, Basurhat, Muradnagar, Debidwar, and other places draining huge money from government exchequers. The Dhaka city distribution network was not even designed to absorb load of so many multi-storeyed buildings and mushroom-growth of industries RMG factories in city suburbs. Gas supply to all posh multi-storied apartments must be disconnected within a ceratin dateline. The owners of posh apartments can afford to have LPG use. Bangladesh must expedite efforts to extract more LPG from natural gas stream.<br /><br />It is a shame that PM advisor, despite his challenge to set up NGL fractionation plant in Sylhet in 1998, failed to do it even in 2010. He was so committed to do it that we had his vision of relocating it from Ashuganj as originally planned. Condensate rich Beanibazar gas field is on the verge of depletion. The lone PNGL plant and LPG bottling unit at Golapganj Sylhet very often suffers from indifferent operation strategies. Bashundhara, Klenheat, Summit Group are in LPG business. More incentives in the shape of tax relief in LPG Cylinder import, LPG import must be given. LPG is also an important automotive fuel.<br /><br />Natural Gas Grid is now suffering from management crisis. With great difficulties we set up SCADA facilities for unified control of national gas grid. We were shocked to notice that this has become inoperative. We could control gas grid from Ashuganj or Demra Grid centre. This time during Dhaka visit it came to our attention that that SCADA is no longer in operation. This makes the logic of a separate GTCL questionable. Wonder why GTCL is hibernating? Our gas grid simulation evidences that at least 10% area of gas grid must have accumulated deposition of gas liquid and condensates which are impacting adversely on gas system pressure. Major transmission pipelines are designed to be pigged at required intervals. But pipelines like North –South, Rashid poor –Ashuganj, Ashuganj –Bakhrabad, Brahmaputra Basin were never pigged after commissioning. We have serious doubts whether present GTCL management can do it. The present operation of gas system indicates that some liquid may have entered distribution network as well. Will it require PM Hasina to instruct refurbishment of SCADA in national Gas Grid or order on-stream pigging?<br /><br />Top management is out to rearrange gas sector top management with its own favoured persons. Already two very committed and experienced officials have been made scape-goats. PM Hasina must look into it before situation goes out of control.<br /><br />Energy crisis is the single most important challenge to this government. Power scarcity has triggered water crisis. In this severe hot and humid condition, people are having serious predicaments. To have first-hand experience of the depth and range of the crisis this writer ventured to visit Bangladesh from Melbourne where we never experience such energy calamity. We NRBs earnestly hope that PM Hasina will overcome the crisis by her dynamic leadership. But she must cut her smart assistants to sizes and make them perform.Bangladesh Expatriate Councilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05854834602492151190noreply@blogger.com0