Shaptahik Pechal – Weekly Roundup
Shaptahik Pechal, our weekly round up of the must-read/watch/hear stories concerning Bangladesh this past week. Plus something to listen to with your morning tea, this week at the start.
So, we do not have a W@nk@h of the Week this week. Mostly because we were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of bulls*** from government circles this past week regarding a certain bridge. A certain bridge we promised ourselves that we would not mention. But heck this was too good to pass up. Enjoy our track of the week, which we dedicate to the cleanest cabinet there ever was, who will not benefit at all personally if the bridge is ever built with our own funds. If you listen very, very carefully, you can even hear Garfunkel say at the end “Shorkar bhalo, World Bank dushto.”
King of the Natural Sciences
Do not ever forget that the Scientific Endeavour is too great to be held back by mere national boundaries. And that wonderful things might happen when an ex-Swiss patent clerk receives letters from a Reader at a Provincial University on the outskirts of a vast Empire (“In 1921, Bose accepted a position as a reader, or professor, at the University of Dacca, a newly established university in East Bengal.”).
Ladies and gentlemen, the man who gave you the boson. Higgs does indeed stand on the shoulder of giants.
Eistein & Bose
Our own institutions also disrespected talent. Ebadur comments under the photo of Einstein & Bose, “Satyendranath Bose was still working at Dhaka University then. Of course, DU never made his job permanent and he was very unhappy with his salary …”
Ershad
Rohingya Refugees
Stop sending them back! – Hana Shams Ahmed. AoD second that motion.
অর্থনীতি – Dismal Science
Awami League’s reliance on banks – MA Taslim
Economic integration with India (aka the Myth that Will Not Die!) – J Rahman plays Van Helsing (with graphs!). To me, it said more about India and how little Bangladeshis really know about the change that has swept through it since the early 90′s
Faruq Wasif takes a stab at interpreting the evergreen, ever-changing HME. Ershad’s facebook profile no doubt lists him as “President 1982-1990″.
Fallen Comrades
Remembering foreign comrades. A freedom fighter visits the home of an Indian soldier from Bihar who died in Bangladesh – an excerpt: “Balamdine touched my hand gently. It was the first time she had ever seen a Bangladeshi. She held on to my hand, and Vincent held the other, as if we were connected at that moment by a lifetime of bloodlines and memories. Finally, she broke the silence, curious to hear about Ekka’s last battle and about Gangasagar.” Read the rest, it’s well worth it.
Bidesh
Rwanda’s health care miracle – NYT.
Death of the Chairman – polonium poisoning suspected in Arafat’s death.
On – অর্থনীতি – Dismal Science
[“One doesn’t have to look very hard for the source of this belief. People like Farooq Sobhan of BEI or Mustafizur Rahman of CPD have claimed publicly in the past that economic integration with India would raise growth rate to 8% or more. Sobhan was actually quoted in the Economist thus.
..If economic integration means open borders, then I am all for it even if growth remains at 6-7% rather than 8%. But I am quite sceptic about economic integration with India raising the growth rate.” ]– Jyoti Rahman
http://jrahman.wordpress.com/2012/07/03/on-economic-integration-with-india/
It’s worth mentioning that this same Farooq Sobhan told that Bangladesh will earn over $2 billion by giving india transit. And his brother Rehman Sobhan ran relentless campaign for transit on sushil ran roundtable and seminars. In reality Bangladesh got ZERO dollars and will not see any in foreseeable future.
Jyoti pointed out that economic integration would not bring desire GDP growth and many of indian states are example of that. Perhaps, following would help some of these integration advocates to get in touch with reality india live in:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/georges-ugeux/india-is-no-longer-incred_b_1660864.html
At the same token Jyoti is willing to go along with economic integration with india on the count he is “card carrying (neo) liberal economist”.
While Awami league regime policy pushing economic growth down. There are educated and dedicated people banking on that downward trend busy making case for running Bangladesh economy under indian rule. Are these people acting alone? Once we know what Farooq Sobhan and his family has been doing and where they are from, you can judge yourself.
Bangladesh by itself (virtually without any market access to india) achieved 7% GDP growth rate already. Forget integration, Bangladesh can achieve 8% or more growth without indian market access – how that vivid example in front of us lost in any of the these indian integration advocates?
This begs even bigger question – what happens to our sovereignty and independence? Being able to pursue an independent economic policy and maintaining an independent currency are important pillars of independence. Financial independence was one of the aspirations of our independence struggle. Yet for speculated one more percent of GDP gain and for open border “few good” economist and some in sushil class ready to give up Bangladesh independence. Was all talk about 1971 aspiration, 30 million dead, war crime and all that has been just croc tears? Perhaps, for these people meaning of Bangladesh independence has been country specific. Those who has been in jail and going through trials for their alleged war crime must be laughing at rest of (minus integration advocates; economic and otherwise) us.
Yes, I also find Jyoti Rahman very sinister. Clearly he is no “Card Carrying Neo Liberal”. Rather he is some sort of Hinduistic agent hiding behind his Muslim spouse’s last name to lull us good decent Muslim Bangladeshis into a false sense of security. I know he creeps me out too.
I especially find his criticism of India very suspicious. He does it a LOT…. but never goes far enough! He never exposes the hell on earth India has clearly become (after 1947 of course). So thank you for that Huffington Post link telling us the truth. Ariana Huffington may be a Greek heathen, but hey at least she runs a credible website.
Listen, why don’t you do us all a favour and go find out what Jyoti Rahman’s REAL UDDESHYO is. If you come back and tell us, we will post it on the front page. Thanks and best of luck.
Your response is all hilarious – obviously you don’t have any answer to the questions I have raised and arguments I have made. If you had you would have stated those instead of and victim face emotional rant.
Now, why don’t you read years of Jyoti’s writing to catch on his “UDDESHYO”? I have done that already. My questions and concern are not only about Jyoti’s POV but also about sushils like Farooq & Rehman Sobhan. Thanks for your very investigative profile and revealing Ariana Huffington ancestry I am shocked and amazed at your mastery. Would you do the same and give us details on Farooq & Rehman Sobhan.
Victim? Emotional? RANT?
I was being totally serious. It is your mastery of the importance of family connections that amazes me.
I don’t know much about the Sobhan family ancestry. Are they secretly holding on to the traditions of their Hindu forbears as well? Or are they descended from women who are more likely to be the progeny of Isaac than Ismail *GASP*? Please tell us. (And we will publish on front page as previously explained).
@purboposhchim
You mean to say your mastery is one trick pony? totally disappointed. Instead of looking as far as Mediterranean, wouldn’t your wise crack get better luck if you concentrate to your purbo and to poshchim? Funny these are in your alias.
On the topic, waiting for answer on question and concern I have raised, come back when you have those.
Haha your mastery extends to humour as well. It really is funny. My name is purboposhchim and you asked me to concentrate on my purbo and poshchim. That’s comedy gold that is. I am LOLing even as I write.
I have noted your concern about jyoti rahman and written him off as an agent of the devious chanakya. But I am yet to hear more about your concerns re the rehmans.
You cannot take a hint, can you? Boy, you are really smart.You did not even read what Jyoti wrote about Farooq Rehman and what I had highlighted and raised concern about. Otherwise you wouldn’t have asked again about what was my concern about Rehmans. You have dodged the question I have raised and were too busy to pick a fight. You sure have knack for derail a discussion.
But… but… but your first comment convinced me never to take Jyoti seriously again. So clearly whatever he writes about the Rehmans is not credible to me.
I want to know what YOU think of the Rehmans. And then publish it on front page of this blog. With appropriate publicity as befits such grave insight into family connections are you clearly possess.