Liberation through the Gunday lens
By Fahima Durrat for AlalODulal.org
Factual errors made in a fictitious storyline may seem like a trivial matter, but they can hide icebergs. The iceberg that showed its tip in the film Gunday seems to have reappeared again in the headlines of Indian newspapers. Bangladesh protests against “distortion” of history, they report. Those inverted commas reveal a deeper source of offence.
Sexuality as Liberation? The Work of Salvation Narratives in Neoliberal Times
By Dina Siddiqi for AlalODulal.org
“[T]he connection between mosques, Muslims and conservative parents is ‘common sense’ in Euro American imaginations.” Continue reading “Sexuality as Liberation? The Work of Salvation Narratives in Neoliberal Times”
By Muhammad Ahmedullah for AlalODulal.org
The English East India Company first visited Bengal in the early 1660s to purchase textiles. At that time Bengal was already a famed manufacturing centre of the finest cotton textiles in the world.
“more than three million women have been guaranteed jobs through the RMG sector, thus uplifting their status within the family, the society, and the state. If anyone has demolished the wall of repression, these are the millions of women workers of Bangladesh. If anybody has tasted freedom in whatever sense, it is these women. American Apparel, gain cheap popularity with your tantalizing ad all you want, but do not act as the grand savior…”
Continue reading “American Apparel, gain cheap popularity, but do not act as the grand savior”
How did a dyslexic child become one of the world’s most celebrated designers and applied his sheer brilliance to develop products that have stood the test of time?
Mahmudul Islam provides a perspective on the role of parenting on a particular kind of normative success for AlalODulal.org.
The Face of Dipjol
By Arafat Kazi for AlalODulal.org
“Tolowar chalabo ami! Tor Dadima buritar matha kete aaj ami football khelbo. Kothaye? Kothaye Jannat Begum?”
AlalODulal Editorial Board condemns in the strongest terms the violence that left at least 11 Urdu Speaking people (“Biharis”) dead. Anthropologist Dina Siddiqi’s research on the conditions of “stranded Pakistanis” (inaccurately called “Biharis,” but more accurately “Urdu speakers”) after 1971 is newly relevant. In the current discourse around the 1971 war, the fate of the Urdu speakers at war’s end is elided. It is one of the zones of silence because it does not fit with the Bangladeshi discourse around the war. Nor does it fit Pakistan’s convenient discourse, especially after a 2008 high court decision granted them Bangladeshi citizenship. We at AlalODulal feel it is crucial to highlight those left behind in multiple nation projects.
Continue reading “Left Behind By the Nation: ‘Stranded Pakistanis’ in Bangladesh”
Justice for Sabita and some related issues
By Tandra Chakma. Translated by Tibra Ali for AlalODulal.org
According to UN Women 25th of February is “Orange Day.” Every year this day is observed around the world as part of the campaign calling for end of violence against women. Continue reading “Tandra Chakma: Justice for Sabita and some related issues”
একুশের সংবাদ: আদিবাসী শিশু পড়বে নিজ ভাষাতেই
by Biplob Rahaman for AlalODulal.org
কিছুদিন আগে বিশিষ্ট আদিবাসী গবেষক, চাকমা রাজা দেবাশীষ রায়ের সঙ্গে আলাপ-চারিতা হচ্ছিল আদিবাসী শিশুর মাতৃভাষায় লেখাপড়ার বিষয়ে। Continue reading “আদিবাসী শিশু পড়বে নিজ ভাষাতেই”
মায়ানমারে চম্পকনগরের পথে
সুপ্রিয় তালুকদার for alaodulal.org
[ বংশানুক্রমে জানা যায় যে চাকমারা চম্পকনগর নামক স্থান থেকে পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রাম ও তৎসংলগ্ন অঞ্চলে এসেছে। কোন চম্পকনগর থেকে এসেছে তা নিয়ে মতভেদ থাকলেও নৃবিজ্ঞান, বিখ্যাত গবেষকদের মন্তব্য, প্রাপ্ত নির্ভরযোগ্য তথ্য এবং মায়ানমারের ইতিহাস বিশ্লেষণে আমি নিশ্চিত ছিলাম যে চাকমারা মায়ানমারের চম্পকনগর থেকে এসেছে। Continue reading “সুপ্রিয় তালুকদার: মায়ানমারে চম্পকনগরের পথে”
In his latest economic post for Alal O Dulal, Jyoti Rahman argues that compared to its neighbours Bangladesh has done considerably well across a number of indicators. Continue reading “Missing the mark about feeling good”
By Ikhtisad Ahmed for AlalODulal
History exists in the abstract. Vague theories are posited, established and refuted, but rarely felt. Over the years mankind has perfected this art-form into an exact science. Regrettably, Bangladesh never got the instruction manual. Continue reading “Ekusher Prothom Kobita”
If trolling through history reveals involvement of youth in political or socioeconomic upheavals, in case of Bangladesh their raison d’etre has been simple and straightforward: to bring about (political) change. Continue reading “Placing the Voices of Shahbag in Modern Narratives of Transnational Youth Protest – Part 2”
If trolling through history reveals involvement of youth in political or socioeconomic upheavals, in case of Bangladesh their raison d’etre has been simple and straightforward: to bring about (political) change. Continue reading “Placing the Voices of Shahbag in Modern Narratives of Transnational Youth Protest – Part 1”
‘Where is the Chakraborty house?’Which Chakraborty?’
‘Oh, I think Chakraborty is…’
‘Do you think there is only one Chakraborty here?” one of them asked me, seeing me hesitate.
Continue reading ““Do you think there is only one Chakraborty here?””
by Nasrin Khandoker, translated by Hana Shams Ahmed for Alal O Dulal
“We need to get a grasp of which edge of the crater in the global imperialist politico-economic map we are situated, how and in what name we exist there. Who is constructed and presented in what role in the world theatre of Islamophobia. Continue reading “Eternal Othering and Presentation of Communalism on the World Stage”
My Cartographer by Awrup Sanyal for Alalodulal
This city now wears a different look, walks a different gait, hides and reveals differently, calls out from nooks I never knew existed. Continue reading “My Cartographer”
টিনেজ যৌনকর্মীদের ছবি প্রকাশ, দারিদ্র্যতা শো করা ছাড়া অন্য কিছু না – মৃদুল শাওন
ফেসবুকে কয়েকজনরে দেখলাম একটা লিঙ্ক শেয়ার দিতাছে। ‘BuzzFeed’ নামের একটা আমেরিকান ওয়েবসাইটে বাংলাদেশের টিনেজ-যৌনকর্মীদের তিরিশটা ছবি। শিরোনাম- “30 Tragic, Beautiful Photos Of Teenage Prostitutes In Bangladesh”। Continue reading “Publishing the images of teen sex workers is nothing but a showcase of poverty”
by Zia Hassan, translated by AlalODulal.org
Those who want to float a party for the common people, who dream of rescuing Bangladesh from the two predators, must not only take away the name of Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party. They must also learn from their 20 year-old activism. Continue reading “Perils of Bollywood-Dhallywood copying Amadmi to Am Janata Party of Bangladesh”
Bengali Hindus in Muslim-majority Bangladesh
by Garga Chatterjee for Alalodulal
“Hey there mister can you tell me what happened to the seeds I’ve sown
Can you give me a reason sir as to why they’ve never grown? Continue reading “Bengali Hindus in Muslim-majority Bangladesh”
Gold Rush Bangladesh!
The year was, I think, 2006. I was working for development of the furniture sector in Bangladesh, when I became friends with leading furniture manufacturers of the country. Continue reading “Rubaiyath Sarwar: Gold Rush – Bangladesh”
Nazrul’s Poetics: a polyphonic discourse of the multitude
Haider A. Khan for Alalodulal.org
Nazrul burst forth on Bengal’s literary scene at the end of the First World War, like a Nietszchean ‘dancing star’.[1] Continue reading “Haider A. Khan: Nazrul’s Poetics”
by Partha Sarker for Alalodulal
সাম্প্রদায়িকতা’র বিষয়গুলো নিয়ে আলোচনা একটু জটিল। দুটো কারণে:
এক: এই বিষয় নিয়ে একটা নির্মোহ আলোচনা করার জন্য যে দূরত্বের দরকার হয়, সেটা আমার মতো একজন মানুষের পক্ষে অর্জন করা সব-সময় খুব সহজ হয় না। Continue reading “Partha Sarker: Communalism – Perceptions, Experiences, and Lessons Learned”
Suchitra, please don’t go
by Ashif Entaz Rabi, translated by Nadine Murshid for AlalODulal.org
ভারত বাংলাদেশে কী চায়?
আনু মুহাম্মদ
এরকম ধারণা সমাজে এখন বেশ জোরদার যে, ভারত বাংলাদেশের বর্তমান সরকারকে ক্ষমতায় টিকিয়ে রাখতে সকল সমর্থন প্রদান করেছে, তারা তাদের গোয়েন্দা সংস্থাসহ সবধরনের প্রতিষ্ঠানকে এই কাজে আগের চাইতে অনেক বিস্তৃতভাবে নিয়োজিত করেছে। Continue reading “Anu Muhammad: What India wants in Bangladesh”
In 2013 Bangladesh experienced violence on a regular basis. We were forced to witness horrific deaths that perhaps normalized the atrocities that we witnessed. In the middle of the chaos that often follows violence and disasters, we also witnessed citizens unite for a cause, without any support from political parties; we witnessed volunteerism that emerged after the Rana Plaza collapse. Continue reading “Volunteerism after Rana Plaza”
Justice Habibur Rahman (1928-2014)
by Faruk Wasif, translated by Nadine Murshid for AlalODulal.org
Let people judge Justice Habibur Rahman. They have his writings to judge him by. I can only think of the last time I saw him. It was December 23, 2013 at his residence. When he saw me he cried ‘Ki hain’ (What’s up!), as he paced his roof. That’s how he was. Continue reading “Justice Habibur Rahman (1928-2014)”
গাহি সাম্যের গান/ I sing a song of Unity
Lyrics by Kazi Nazrul Islam
Photos by Shahnaz Parvin
“All the tragic tunes we sing for Nelson Mandela are fake. Our internalized racism and societal dehumanization is denied; so our tears for the black struggle through Nelson Mandela is a high level of hypocrisy.” Madiba’s death and our hypocrisy … Continue reading Our tragic tunes for Mandela are high level hypocrisy
“But given recent violent incidents – in Ramu, in Sathiya, in Thakurgaon, in Gaibundah, in Dinajpur, in Rangpur, in Bogra, in Lalmonirhat, in Rajshahi, in Jessore, in Chittagong and in the Chittagong Hill Tracts – the AL government and state law enforcement agencies cannot palm-off responsibilities to the opposition for failing to protect minority citizens (just as they cannot merely shift responsibilities, for the ongoing violence and loss of lives, to opposition activities alone, specially when that is exactly how they reacted during their term in opposition).”
Continue reading “Bleeding Badly”
“Did that girl and her darling little baby both jump into the cold and foggy Bhairab river that night? Her sister, her brother, her neighbors, all of them?”
Continue reading “If Hindus burn, Bangladesh burns”
“Taslima’s misery somehow leads us to the crossroad where an imminent change of path is indispensable. The consolidation of secular liberal voices in the subcontinent who would vociferate not against the chauvinism of religious majority of a nation but against all the extreme elements of any religion across the border and battle for the absolute separation of ‘church and state’ is the demand of the hour. Are we up for it?”
Continue reading “Taslima Nasreen, ‘Duhsahobas,’ and a TV cancellation”
The Statistical Future of Bangladeshi Hindus
by Dipen Bhattacharya for AlalODulal.org
In 2051, the Hindu population could fall to the level of 1974.
One thing that every Bangladeshi possibly knows is that the Hindu population as a percentage of the total is shrinking monotonically. This is the legacy of the partition of India in 1947 and then the failure of the state apparatus to safeguard the rights of the religious minorities. Continue reading “The Statistical Future of Bangladeshi Hindus”
by Zia Hassan. Translated by Tibra Ali for AlalODulal.org
There is a dishonesty in anti-communalism discussions in Bangladesh. And it is that we prefer to see acts of communal violence as political acts in order to score some political points Continue reading “The dishonesty of our anti communalism discussion”
What is to be thought? (after Lenin’s “What is to be done”)
by Irfanur Rahman, translated by Ilias Kamal Risat for alalodulal.org
There are some terrible misconceptions about the leftists of bangladesh, bred by some famous propaganda. Here are some examples: Continue reading “Left Politics of Bangladesh: What Is To Be Thought?”
December at the Pakistan Embassy
by Irfan Chowdhury for AlalODulal.org
December often sees an out-pouring of emotions in Bangladesh for the 1971 war. Continue reading “December at the Pakistan Embassy”
Juxtaposed Realities: Dhaka
A short story by Mehreen Ahmed
On a chilled grey dawn, I hear a call out. I get out of bed fumbling, and reach for my shawl. Continue reading “Mehreen Ahmed: Juxtaposed Realities: Dhaka”
Hindus and Muslims
by Kazi Nazrul Islam
Translated by Tibra Ali for AlalODulal.org
One day I was discussing the Hindu-Muslim problem with Gurudev Rabindranath. Gurudev said: Look, you can cut the tail that’s on the outside, but who can cut the tail that’s inside? Continue reading “Kazi Nazrul Islam: Hindus and Muslims”
1971: Neither the Beginning nor the End of the Liberation War
by Anu Muhammad
Translated by Emon Sarwar for AlalODulal.org
1971 was neither the beginning of the war of liberation for the people of Bangladesh nor was it the end of it. 1971, the War of Independence, is a very important episode in the struggle for the liberation of the people of Bangladesh, or for that matter, the people of this region. Continue reading “1971, Neither the Beginning nor the End”
Timothy Khyang: What about my right to celebrate Christmas?
Translated by Trimita Chakma for AlalODual.org
Three years ago from today in 2010, the 47th batch of MBA was sitting for the final exams at UITS’s (University of Information Technology and Sciences) campus in Chittagong. Out of the 45 students two of us were Christians, Alex Leo Kraolie and I. The exam schedule was published one week before the exams and I noticed that there was an exam on 25th December, on Christmas Day. Continue reading “Timothy Khyang: What about my right to celebrate Christmas?”
Embrace Love
by Shamsul Islam
They call it the love campaign.
We called it the last embrace.
They say we are the happiest people in the world.
Because we are denied our pain. Continue reading “Embrace Love”
by Abdullah Shibli for AlaloDulal.org
Bangladesh, the country and its economy, is full of contradictions. To list a couple, while it is one of the world’s fastest growing nations, it has pockets of extreme poverty and malnutrition in urban and rural areas. Another paradox: for the last two decades it has been ruled by two political parties, the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by two head-strong leaders, who never can seem to agree on anything, but ran the gauntlet and survived many potentially dangerous threats, including religious fundamentalism, military takeovers, and internal revolt, to its fledgling democracy. Continue reading “The state of the Bangladesh economy”
by Pratik Deb for AlaloDulal.org
My first political procession was in the wake of arrival of George W. Bush in India. It was the beginning of March, 2006 and thus Iraq war was on its third year. I cannot exactly recall the stated purpose of his visit, but like all over the world the students of Kolkata did not hesitate to demonstrate their dissent against ‘western imperialism’. Communist Party of India (Marxist) led left front was still in the helms of affair in West Bengal Continue reading “West Bengal : a post-Poriborton analysis”
by Ikhtisad for AlaloDulal.org
***
Nazrul died today, newspaper says,
Spelt his name wrong, common mistake:
Unimportant, not an op-ed or commentary,
What does it matter anyway?
Father is well and mother survives,
My abode keeps me warm –
Veritable ivory tower, for far away
It is from the damned land.
Continue reading “Thine Kingdom Is Mine”
Election promises, the role of research in economic growth, and the involvement of accomplished Bangladeshis in diaspora Md Saif Islam, Professor, UC Davis, for AlalODulal.org (1) Although the horrific uncertainty over the elections has seemingly overwhelmed the country’s political environment, … Continue reading Role of research, and the involvement of diaspora
“Historically, the so called ‘tribal’, non-Bengali ethnic groups – i.e. those who wish to be known as indigenous peoples (IPs) – of Bangladesh have been at the forefront of various struggles against feudal and colonial forms of subjugation, oppression and exploitation. However, the emergence of the post-colonial nation-states – first Pakistan, and then Bangladesh – did not necessarily lead to the emancipation of the IPs.” Continue reading “The Quest for Indigenous Identity in Bangladesh, 1993-2013”
“So our old freedom fighter wanders the streets. He will go to the wrong meeting, the wrong gathering, the endless newspaper offices. Suddenly he will fly into a rage at a tea shop and start screaming…The more you travel downwards in our classist society, the more this hate [for war criminals], this obstinate rage. And in the upper echelons, only honey and unity.” Continue reading “Our old freedom fighter wanders the streets”
Eight drawings for December 16th
a set of drawings by Faheem Haider for AlalODulal.org
Nanu’s Songs
by Navine Murshid for AlalODulal.org
“This was the only glimpse that I had to the frenzy that Partition and famine caused in the lives of my closed ones; in Nanu’s paranoia, I saw the fear of starvation, the fear of losing family members, and the fear of the unknown.”
By Devasish Roy-Wangza for AlalOdulal
About thirty-five of us – including six women and about ten local men porters – took a seven-day trek from Farua village within Farua Union (“For-ua” in Tanchangya), Bileisori sub-district of Rangamati hill district to Bethuni Para, Ruma sub-district, Bandarban hill district, all within the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in southeastern Bangladesh, from 22 to 28 December, 2011.The team included former Farua Union Parishad (UP) member, Jacob Tripura,
Continue reading “Reingkhyong Lake: The Forgotten Frontier of Bangladesh”
Our Political Misomusists
by Tibra Ali for AlalODulal.org
It is an elementary fact of linguistics that the same word can carry different meanings. In particular, the word ‘Indian’ can have multiple meanings. Continue reading “Our Political Misomusists”
Sadly, it is us, not them
by Srabanti Datta for AlalODulal.org
“If we take a thorough look, we’ll see that across every regime, we the citizens actually instigate, motivate, take part in, and take benefits of all the system malfunctions, regulation maneuvers, corruptions, power-abuses, non-performances, in numerous ways at every level.“
Continue reading “Sadly, it is us, not them”
Burning Sensation and the Case of ‘Classical Music Festival’
by Seuty Sabur for Alal O Dulal
I have never been a fan of ‘Prothom Alo’ but I do admire their power to master the wind and change their palates accordingly. Oh! How beautifully they manage to stir up the sentiments of both agony and ecstasy simultaneously. Continue reading “Burning Sensation and the Case of ‘Classical Music Festival’”
Birangonas: Our dearest sisters
by Shahanaz Jahan Pushon, translated for AlalODulal.org by Tibra Ali
“Husbands? Where will we find husbands. Some of our husbands died during the war, others have left us.”
Continue reading “Shahanaz Jahan Pushon: Birangonas, Our Dearest Sisters”
16 years ago
1997. Shantu Larma and Sheikh Hasina let go a peace dove into the sky to celebrate the 1997 CHT “Peace” Accord. Continue reading “The “Peace” Accord that led nowhere: 16 years ago, today”
PART 1: Ahmed Shamim “On the Hindu Question” (after Karl Marx)
Islam is encircled in peace. Its three core phonemes are: seen, laam, meem – which mean peace. Aslam means to surrender (oneself) to peace – Continue reading “Ahmed Shamim & Faruk Wasif: Debating “The Hindu Question” through Marx and Bauer”
Decoding The Bangladesh Paradox — A Research Agenda
by Jyoti Rahman for Alal O Dulal
Bangladesh is getting quite an attention from the world. But unlike the seventies and eighties, not for the catastrophes – natural or man-made – alone. Continue reading “Decoding the Bangladesh Paradox — A Research Agenda”
Bathing in the Buriganga
Faheem Haider for AlalODulal.org
“Another significant criticism of the project has been the possibility of illegal immigrants being issued aadhaar cards. This criticism is aimed primarily at immigrants from Bangladesh. who have been living and working in many parts of India.” Continue reading “Aadhar: Today India, tomorrow Bangladesh?”
“We would have seen reconstruction work to build these Hindu temples and houses, if ‘They’ exerted any pressure. But it did not happen. I dearly wish that that Sathiya would prove me wrong. It would stop the corrosion of our bones.”
Continue reading “Barrister Barua: Reading the truth (of communal violence)”
‘Even you, sir?’: On my open letter to Professor Anisuzzaman
by Prashanta Tripura for AlalODulal.org
I. Background: A Seminar
‘The Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University urges increased intercommunication’ would be an English translation of part of the headline of a Banglanews24.com report on a seminar held at the premises of DU on October 26, 2013. Continue reading “Prashanta Tripura: Open letter to Prof. Anisuzzaman (‘nrigoshthi’ debate)”
Where is the Antidote to Communalism?
by Faruk Wasif, translated by Prof Farida Khan for AlalODulal
As a Muslim nation, the state of Bangladesh can never grant freedom to Hindus. Neither can it give full citizenship rights to Muslims. The latter can marry four times in the country but they cannot receive what we could call autonomy of citizenship. In this nation, Hindus will be subject to Hindu Inheritance laws but they will be shunned from the benefits of Secular Law. This type of nation does not recognize a citizen of Bangladesh; it only recognizes Hindus and Muslims. Continue reading “Where is the Antidote to Communalism?”
Their money-choked eyes and brains refuse to see
by Anu Muhammad, Translated by Nusrat Chowdhury for AlalODulal.org
The Sundarbans are alive. It is home to a diverse wildlife. Some are seen; others exist out of our sight. It is like a grand life itself that includes the big and the small, the mobile and the sedentary. Those dedicated to saving this grand life are also, no doubt, very alive. Continue reading “Anu Muhammad: Their money-choked eyes refuse to see”
“With every hartal, every police action, I see sticks falling on Majed Ali’s back. Leaders, you have options. The Majed Alis of Bangladesh don’t. They will not stop, so please, you must!” Continue reading “I see sticks falling on Majed Ali’s back”
Bangladesh: Where Puja and Eid meet
by Tarek Chowdhury for AlalODulal.org
“Bipul did not get his due respect. His contribution to the music arena and also as a ‘shabda shainik’ in the Liberation War is immense. But the new generation hardly knows him. His songs were not been archived in an organised manner and did not get due coverage in the TV and radio media.” – Indramahon Rajbansh
Continue reading “Bipul Bhattacharya (1955-2013): Last Song Of Freedom”
Beyond the Politics of Climate Change
by Farhad Mahmud for AlalODulal.org
Now is probably a watershed moment for the climate change debate. A concise summary of a section of IPCC’s long awaited 5th Assessment Report came out end September of this year, asserting that scientists are 95% convinced humans are the ‘dominant cause’ of global warming since the 1950s. The Report makes that claim despite observing an inexplicable ‘pause’ in warming since 1998, which it conspicuously downplays. This has brought the pitched battle between the climate skeptics and the climate evangelists to a new crescendo. Continue reading “Beyond the Politics of Climate Change”
Introduction to Mahmud Hasan’s The Utopia of Student Movement
by Nazmul Sultan for AlalODulal.org
A poet by vocation, Mahmud Hasan lived in and through politics. That Mahmud Hasan did poetry under the condition of politics is not a historical anomaly. Sharing each other’s orbit, modern Bengali poetry and politics grounded themselves in an intersected domain. Continue reading “Introduction to Mahmud Hasan’s The Utopia of Student Movement”
By Ikhtisad Ahmed for AlalODulal.org
Joya was far from comfortable. The metallic desk-chair had gaping holes in its plastic upholstery. The sharp edges of these gaps protruded outwards and mischievously jabbed the unfortunate occupier. She had positioned herself on the brink, which had no tears, but the rusty metal frame pressed against her thigh coldly. The cup of tea that rattled against the matching saucer in her shaking hands had long gone cold. The drying bag of PG Tips poised delicately on the lip of the plate muffled the sound in parts.
The curious case of the Surjapuri people
Guest post by Adil Hossain for AlalODulal.org
For the first time I properly encountered the Surjapuri identity was at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) during its Students’ Union (SU) elections. Apart from the dominant regional student lobbies of Azamgarhi, Ghazipuri, Bihari, Kashmiri, Saharanpuri and many others, Surjapuri students were also reckoned as a distinct community who need to be cajoled for votes separately. Continue reading “The curious case of the Surjapuri people”
Memories of her father
Lisa had always envisioned Bengal as a land of unsurpassable warmth and beauty. Now that she was here, she thought of all those moments when her mind had done a scene-by-scene play of how she would feel when her flight touched down in Dhaka. Would her first aerial view be of trees lining the airport road, or water bodies caressing the city’s eastern borders? Would the aircraft make a rough landing during a pre-monsoon boishakhi thunderstorm or smooth sail on a crisp, sunny, winter day? Perhaps she would arrive during the monsoons, so that the rain could rejuvenate the tree-lined streets by her grandparents’ house, to their greenest, in anticipation of her arrival.
by irfan chowdhury for Alal O Dulal
In a land where many still live in rural areas, paths through the paddy fields delight our hearts. Children smile and play about on dirt roads oblivious of the hard future they face; low-earning teachers, vendors, traders, farmers, fishermen, labourers and women go quietly about their business to make ends meet – determined to have a better future, if not for themselves, for their children.
Is it only survival? Is it politics without science?
Re-conceptualizing the resistances against the Phulbari Coal Mine Project in Bangladesh with the mediation of archaeological practice
Swadhin Sen
Continue reading “Is it only survival? Is it politics without science?”
Do we really care about Felani?
By Afsan Chowdhury for AlalODulal.org
Do you have to be shot by the Indian security forces and lie hanging on the border fence before anyone notices you?
There are millions of such desperately poor girls who live out a terrible life and die but nobody pays any attention. But we notice Felani’s because it’s violent, involves our so-called sovereignty and also India, whom we dislike for many reasons. Continue reading “Afsan Chowdhury: Do we really care about Felani?”
By Awrup Sanyal for AlalODulal.org
Jaron and Ashanti walked towards the large wood and glass door at the top of the stairs. Squeezed in by the swell of the crowd from the hall they moved in step. All the while Jaron video-taped the crowd on his smartphone. The music was pumping, the chatter deafening, the party still waltzed on its drunken legs.
Kallol Mustafa: Dissenting voices within GoB on Rampal
Editor’s Note: This is a translation of a Facebook post published by Kallol Mustafa on the 23rd of June, 2013. The text of the original note, which is in Bengali, follows the translation.
A letter from the secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands was sent to the Department of Environment and Forests of Bangladesh on the 22nd of June 2011. In that letter the Ramsar secretariat wanted to know more about the following three matters from the Ministry of Environment and Forests: Continue reading “Kallol Mustafa: Dissenting voices within the Bangladesh Government on Rampal”
By Nadine S Murshid and Awrup Sanyal for AlalODulal.org
“Economic growth cannot sensibly be treated as an end in itself. Development has to be more concerned with enhancing lives we lead and the freedoms we enjoy,” posits Amartya Sen in his book Development as Freedom (1999). Yet, Bangladesh has grown – developed at a decent rate of 6.7% over the last year – without enhancing the lives of workers, without the freedoms that Sen would like workers to enjoy, as exemplified, perhaps, by the recurrent protests by garment factory workers in Dhaka, protests that have a history of turning violent.
Continue reading “Where have all the negotiating tables gone?”
The Sundarbans and our guiltless sleep
by Tibra Ali for AlalODulal.org
In the south-west of Bangladesh stand the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world. The Sundarbans are home to countless unique species and varieties of animal and plant life, the most famous of which is the Royal Bengal Tiger that graces all the official emblems of Bangladesh. The Sundarbans are criss-crossed by rivers and tributaries, and because of their proximity to the Bay of Bengal, this is where the saline water of the Bay mingles with the fresh-water coming down from the Ganges. Continue reading “The Sundarbans and our guiltless sleep”
Death and Justice: What Might Have Been
By Shafiqur Rahman for AlaloDulal
There was an eerie predictability about the verdict and also about the aftermath. Even the domestic and international reactions could also be foreseen given all that have transpired in the last year. At home fires burned, people died and the two nations screamed past each other. At abroad, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other rights groups criticized the process. News and opinion centers like the Economist, New York Times duly noted the controversies about the trial and the reactions in Bangladesh and pontificated few lines. Continue reading “Death and Justice: What Might Have Been”
A.K.M Wahiduzzaman
ভূমিকা
বাংলাদেশকে বলা হয় নদীমাতৃক দেশ। আক্ষরিক অর্থেই এই দেশটির জন্মদাত্রী মা হচ্ছে নদী। গঙ্গা, ব্রহ্মপুত্র, মেঘনাসহ প্রায় ৭০০টি নদী-উপনদীর বয়ে আনা পলি লক্ষাধিক বছর ধরে জমে জমে এই দেশটির জন্ম হয়েছে। মাত্র ১,৪৭,৫৭০ বর্গ কিলোমিটার আয়তনের এই দেশে নদীর দৈর্ঘ্য প্রায় ২৪,১৪০ কিলোমিটার। Continue reading “The Indian Inter-river Linking Project and Bangladesh’s Looming Water Crisis”
The hurricane that had started from Singur and Nandigram made landfall on May 2011, when the 34-year-old rule of the CPI(M)-led Left Front came to a sordid end. The storm in village, victory in city- indeed, the surrounding of cities with the villages thing has been the stuff of dreams for quasi-romantic set-piece revolutions that some minds used to conjure at some point. A macabre version of that vision has come to haunt Paschimbanga (West Bengal), particularly the megalopolis of Goddess Kali, with a certain vengeance. Continue reading “Mamata and the state of “democracy””
By Adil Mahmood for AlaloDulal
An important point often missed in heated discussions on Border Killings is our national culture – that we share with our giant democratic neighbour – of holding life of the subaltern citizens as less valuable.
Continue reading “Border Killings and Our Indifference to Murder”
The Drug Triangle: The Poor as Collateral Damage
by Shaher Zaidi for AlalODulal.org, reprinted in Dhaka Tribune, Sep 10, 2013
Afsan Chowdhury recently posed this question: At the Bdnews roundtable on the Oishee incident and the role of media and police, some people said that addiction was much more in the English medium schools… How much of this is perceptional and how much real ? Continue reading “The Drug Triangle: The Poor as Collateral Damage”
Simulacra… of the fumes
by Seema Amin for AlalOdulal.org
On September 2nd the Prime Minister visited Ashulia to lay the foundation for the ‘first’ women’s dormitory in the RMG hub. In her speech to the garments workers, she spoke, among other things, about being vigilant of those who conspire against the industry.
‘The odd numbers indicate illegal streets.’
(or, avenues of illegality).
Lacking such discernment…
Singapore, somehow, I ended up on Street 19. A discreet odd numbered street address. Continue reading “Simulacra…of the fumes”
India sneezes, will we catch the cold?
By Jyoti Rahman for AlaloDulal.org
Just a year or so ago, the Indian economy was expected to be growing at a 8-9% pace, and people were talking about double digit growth into the 2020s. Within a year, growth has slowed to 4.4%, without there being any major shock —no financial crisis, no balance of payments crisis, no major natural disaster, nor any particular political tension. India just slowed, sharply. It’s now expected to grow only at around 4-5% a year, at least in the near term. Reflecting the slowdown, and the changed perception of India, the Indian rupee has taken a beating in recent weeks.
Making Dhaka Livable
by Humayun Kabir for AlalODulal.org
Dhaka has been once again deemed by the Economist as the second least livable city in the world. Damascus came in last only because of the civil war that is tearing the city apart. If the civil war were to stop today, Damascus would become imminently more livable than Dhaka tomorrow. Regardless of our opinion of the Economist or its survey, I don’t think any of us would disagree that living conditions of Dhaka are horrid and are in dire need of improvement. In this article I will try to suggest a few ways to improve Dhaka’s livability. However, before doing so let me say a few words in defense of Dhaka and about the dangers of drawing up schemes for improvement. Continue reading “Making Dhaka Livable”
Let’s talk about Rape (in Bangladesh)
By Nadine S. Murshid for AlalODulal.org
There is something fundamentally wrong with men (and women) who rape. It is a maladaptation of sex, a manifestation of psychopathology, a sign of being a sociopath or a psychopath, a tool to garner control, and an outward expression of deep internal anger and resentment. In the context of Bangladesh (as elsewhere), it is also a response to sexual repression, lack of education about sex and appropriate sexual behaviors, and patriarchal values that give men (or those with power) the right to dominate and control women and their bodies (or, whichever party is deemed to be powerless).
The Step-children of Bangladesh
by Hana Shams Ahmed for AlalODulal.org
Taindong union in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh has recently come under attack by ruthless land-grabbers, the Government-cum-military sponsored settlers in this hilly region of the country. With this attack it has become clear for the nth time that the ‘Peace’ Accord in 1997 signed between the government and the Shanti Bahini (peace force) rebels has failed to bring peace for the Jumma people of the three hill districts. Continue reading “The Step-children of Bangladesh”
The Matbar and the Bus
by Prashanta Tripura for AlalODulal.org
রাঙামাটি থেকে ঢাকা ফিরছিলাম গত রাতে, বিআরটিসির বাসে। যাত্রা শুরুর পর এক পর্যায়ে আমার আশেপাশের সহযাত্রীদের মধ্যে দেশোদ্ধারমূলক একটা উন্মুক্ত আলোচনা চলল কিছুক্ষণ, যাতে আমিও অংশ নিয়েছিলাম কিছুটা। Continue reading “Prashanta Tripura: The Matbar and the Bus”
If there is one figure from Indian Sub-continental history who is uniformly hated by Hindu nationalists, Hindu fundamentalists, Muslim nationalists and Muslim fundamentalists alike, that would be Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay, famous British historian and politician of 19th century. Macaulay embodies in person all the insecurities the various Indian cultures and traditions harbors vis-à-vis the western civilization. Continue reading “In Praise of Lord Macaulay – 1”
Acceptance of Lesbian Love: Too Much to Expect?
By Syeda Samara Mortada for AlalODulal.org
Seema is a twenty something year old girl who is not sexually attracted to the opposite sex. When she finally understood this “problem” patent in her, she decided to keep it to herself. Since then, Seema has found many like-minded people around her, but whatever happens between them remains behind shut doors. ‘Living in Bangladesh as a lesbian is like living in hell’, says Seema.
Continue reading “Acceptance of Lesbian Love: Too Much to Expect?”
When Freedom Emerges through Individuals~
by Rupam Dhrubo
The Self
I was born alone, and thus will I die. Am I a Muslim, or a Bengali, or a member of proletariat? These are what others shape me into. But the identity that exists before all these constructs is my own self. The individual me.
Continue reading “Rupam Dhrubo: When Freedom Emerges through Individuals”
Is it Eid today in Matiranga?
By Tibra Ali for AlalODulal.org
Is it Eid today? Is it the end of Ramadan?
I remember when I was a child what excitement it was to spot the sliver of new moon at the end of Ramadan that would spell Eid the next day! For a Bangladeshi Muslim child there couldn’t be a more fun day than Eid. Continue reading “Is it Eid today in Matiranga?”
“I feel fortunate to be a member of the Chakma community, a minority group of Bangladesh, but when such attacks occur, I sometimes feel unfortunate to be a Bangladeshi.”
Continue reading “Bangladesh is not ours”
“Jahanara Imam Is Her Name”
by Humayun Ahmed, translated for AlalODulal.org by Nusrat Chowdhury
It was around 9 pm. I was writing. Suddenly my younger daughter came running, “Baba, a very famous person has telephoned you!” Continue reading “Humayun Ahmed: “Jahanara Imam Is Her Name””
The Road to Court 21
by Seema Amin for AlalODulal.org
“O bleating without wool! O Wound!” Lorca
Prologue: the incidental messenger
‘Now you say the income of the Adamjis, Dauds and Isphanis have increased by 40 % and the income of the s have decreased by 5 %, then you make an average and you get Per Capita Income and you say Honey and Money and Milk is Flowing in the Economy. What happens to Coliuddin, Soliuddin and Rohiuddin?‘ Continue reading “The Road to Court 21”
My father would have been 87
by Tanvir Haider Chaudhury
It was my father’s birthday yesterday. Professor Mufazzal Haider Chaudhury would have been 87. He never got to approach that age because he was tortured and murdered at 45, the same age as I am now, by the Al-Badr militia. In 1971. Continue reading “My father would have been 87”
Humayun Ahmed: Personal Reflections on the Anniversary
Shafiqur Rahman
In the week following the tragic death of Princess Diana of Britain in 1997, the reputedly “stiff upper-lip” British showed emotional outpouring on a mass scale such as the world has never seen before. The aftermath of Diana’s death is now recognized as a watershed moment in modernity. Continue reading “Humayun Ahmed: Personal Reflections on the Anniversary”
On the first anniversary of Humayun Ahmed’s death, ALAL O DULAL is publishing a translation of one of his earliest interviews– published in 1974 Bichitra, independence day issue. Continue reading “Humayun Ahmed: The 1974 Interview”
– ‘Oh Bhai, kichhu paichhen?’ [Have you found anything, brother?]
– Hya, paichhi to. Iter dewal, ghar, matir khola, pathor ar pathorer bhanga tukra’ [Yes, we have. Brick-built walls, rooms, pottery, stone and stone pieces.]
Continue reading “Encountering the past on the suspicious terrain of the present”
by Sayeed Jubary, translated by Khujeci Tomai for AlalODulal.org
1.
In the Bengal of Do-As-You-Please
In Mohammed’s Bengal
No space for Rajakars
In Karl Marx’s Bengal
No space for Rajakars
In Mao Tse Tung’s Bengal
No space for Rajakars
In Gandhi’s Bengal
No space for Rajakars Continue reading “Sayeed Jubary: Post-Revolution Poems, Part 2”
Photography’s elusive credit line, and should we pirate Photoshop?
by Naeem Mohaiemen for AlalODulal
Photography’s attribution has entered increasingly contested waters as the internet has made photo sharing ever easier. Continue reading “Photography’s elusive credit line; and, should we pirate Photoshop?”
Coming to a shimana near you
by Udayan Chattopadhyay for AlalODulal.org
Every night, India and Pakistan engage in a ridiculous border ceremony at Wagah, on the outskirts of Amritsar, where respective national armies engage in a choreographed display of synchronized aggression, cheered on by their compatriots. Continue reading “Coming to a shimana near you”
Added anxiety to export
by Irfan Chowdhury for AlalODulal.org
Very few governments, businesses or politicians have accepted their failures without making excuses or even lame excuses. But no Bangladeshi government has ever accepted its failing; Continue reading “Added anxiety to export”
Study of History: The Popular-Academic Divide
by Shafiq for AlaloDulal.org
This article is a continuation of a discussion initiated in an AoD post by Naeem Mohaiemen on March 4th 2013, “History is hard work, but are we willing?” Continue reading “Study of History: The Popular-Academic Divide”
India, water control and neighbor rule
by Manosh Chowdhury, translated for AlalODulal.org by Irfan Choudhury
1. India’s relationships with its neighbors on land and in water are equally tense and dangerous. Continue reading “Manosh Chowdhury: India, water control and neighbor rule”
The Darbar of melting pots: when country overwhelms city
by Seema Nusrat Amin
‘There are earrings in the fountain
And cows in the sky.’
Continue reading “Seema Nusrat Amin: The Darbar of melting pots”
“[The beauty] industry affects us all… It affects us in the workplace. It affects us as students, workers, mothers, and daughters. And that is why we expect a certain degree of responsibility from that industry, because they are well positioned to make a positive difference with the influence they wield; as they have the ‘power of capital’ to create “false needs”; as Marcuse said, “totalitarianism can be imposed without terror.”
Continue reading “Nadine Murshid: Beauty, Contest and Context”
“Cutting hills, building brick kilns or shrimp hatcheries by destroying agricultural land, and high rises by filling in water bodies, setting up business by filling up rivers, making furniture at the cost of forests and hills as well as the commodification of education and medical services, and the price hike of electricity and gas can all point to an increase in the growth of the GDP.” – Anu Muhammad
Continue reading “Anu Muhammad: Who’s prospering on whose labor?”
Is there ‘good’ and ‘bad’ corruption ?
by Farhad Mahmud for AlalODulal.org
Corruption is an important issue and throws up some interesting problems and dilemmas.
Continue reading “Farhad Mahmud: Is there ‘good’ and ‘bad’ corruption?”
This 2009 article revisits the figure of the ‘third world sweatshop worker’, long iconic of the excesses of the global expansion of flexible accumulation in late twentieth-century capitalism. I am interested in how feminist activists concerned with the uneven impact of neo-liberal policies can engage in progressive political interventions without participating in the ‘culture of global moralism’ that continues to surround conventional representations of third world workers. Continue reading “Dina Siddiqi: Do Bangladeshi factory workers need saving? Sisterhood in the post-sweatshop era”
ALAL O DULAL analyses RMG 10 point manifesto
by Irfan Chowdhury, Farhad Mahmud and Zia Hassan for AlalODulal.org
Continue reading “ALAL O DULAL analyses RMG 10 point manifesto”
Mind your language: “Too Much Bengali Spoken in Tower Hamlets (Council)”
by Udayan Chattopadhyay, for AlalODulal.org
Tower Hamlets is one of the most densely populated Bengali areas outside of the subcontinent. Continue reading “Udayan Chattopadhyay: Mind your language”
“’Second Home’: The Sahibs of Begam Para and the Turtles that Sell the Country”
by Faruk Wasif for Prothom Alo, translated for AlalODulal.org by Nusrat Chowdhury [please do not reproduce w/o permission]
If one asked which animal carries its own home on its back, the answers would be, 1. a turtle; 2. a Chinese farmer; and, 3. a few thousand wealthy Bangladeshis. Continue reading “The Sahibs of Begum Para and the turtles that sell the country”
Rituparno Ghosh (1963-2013): “Mathura Nagar Pati Kahe Tum Gokul Jao”
by Seuty Sabur, for AlalODulal.org
I am not able to concentrate for the past two days. It has been pouring since Thursday. The rain nor sun affects my mood that much, wind does… and there were gusts of wind coming in circles…potted plants at my office windowpane committed suicide twice; they were too fragile to withstand the wind. Continue reading “Rituparno Ghosh (1963-2013): “Mathura Nagar Pati Kahe Tum Gokul Jao””
Rabindranath Tagore’s Assassination of Female Characters in ‘Chaturanga’
by Andaleeb Shahjahan Purba, for AlalODulal.org
ঋতুরাজ, ঋতু নির্বিশেষে (The King of all seasons, despite seasons)
by Gargi Bhattacharya for AlalODulal.org
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come. Continue reading “Rituparno Ghosh (1963-2013): The king of all seasons, despite seasons”
My loss did not have any vocabulary
Guest Post by Erinyes
For years, my loss did not have any vocabulary. There was no word that I could use in my mind. There was no word for it. Only “that”. Only “that” which I could not turn around or change. Continue reading “Erinyes: My loss did not have any vocabulary”
Did “NGOization” deradicalize the women’s movement?
by Seuty Sabur for AlalODulal.org [please do not reprint without permission]
I thought of writing this essay on 11thMay itself, after attending the Women’s Grand Rally. But we had to finish cataloging the missing persons’ photos from the Rana Plaza collapse, and tabulate their data for the archives. We, meaning the Chobbishe April (April 24) collective – activist anthropologists, sociologist, journalists and photographers – had to continue to count the bodies. Continue reading “Seuty Sabur: Did “NGOization” deradicalize the women’s movement?”
1.
Prayer
What chases me is not death, but fear of death
Hiding inside its own nature
My assassin floats about
I avoid suicide and make one last prayer
Let me not die as a bystander… Continue reading “Sayeed Jubary: Post Revolution Poems, Part 1”
Savar Tragedy: We Need a Fundamental Shift in Mind-set
by Pavel Hoq for AlalODulal.org
The Savar building collapse last month was a catastrophic event, but it was not the first of such tragedies for us and probably won’t be the last either. Before the nation could recover from the Tazreen Fashion fire incident a few months ago in November 2012, the Rana Plaza collapse shook the country again. And by the time this piece was written, there were already more such news in the media including a Sea-Truck sinking with 100 on board on May 5th, leaving 8 dead and a garments factory fire in Mirpur, Dhaka on May 8th that killed 8 more people. Continue reading “Pavel Hoq: We Need a Fundamental Shift in Mind-set”
“This week, Fisher proposed to his readers what he titled “A fascinating map of the world’s most and least racially tolerant countries.” The deepest-red, or most racially intolerant, countries were India, Bangladesh and Jordan. Russia and China fell in the middle; much of Africa was left out for lack of data, but South Africa came out light blue (highly tolerant), and Nigeria light red (highly intolerant). Other highly tolerant countries included Pakistan and Belarus.” Continue reading “Siddhartha Mitter: The Cartography of Bullshit”
Bangladeshi garments should not play poverty to outsiders
by Farhad Mahmud
A colleague said: “If we force the issue (double the minimum wage) and it is firmly imposed, there is a danger that costs will increase too rapidly and business will be lost. The strategy is to shame the foreign buyers to reduce their profits (by paying a higher price for the products to support higher wages). Will it work?”
My short answer to your question will be it won’t. This is from my experience as a businessman who had been involved in a similar trade for many years. Continue reading “Farhad Mahmud: Bangladeshi garments should not play poverty to outsiders”
The Number: Ten Cents
by Michael Guerriero for The New Yorker
Canada’s Tristan Style has now withdrawn the anti-Bangladesh ad and posted an apology on their public Facebook page. Below is the apology they posted and the comments on the public Facebook page. Please add your comments as well.
[W]hen you consider that these reforms happened in a country with a shaky government, recovering from tremendous civil strife, and building a garment industry from scratch, their success suggests that change is possible. As Locke succinctly put it, “If Cambodia can do it, why can’t Bangladesh?” Continue reading “James Surowiecki: After Rana Plaza”
Her husband, Shomlal Das quietly preparing for her cremation. They forgot to bring sindhoor. She is a married dead. She must wear sindhoor, someone from the small crowd whispered. They opened the bodybag. Part of her face was smashed, there was barely any hairline. Shomlal sprinkled sindhoor on her face... He pauses and sighs, “the government officer just treat every dead as muslim.”
Continue reading “Pramila Das: Even when they mourn, they mourn from the margin”
Nearly every rich country has gone through a “T-shirt phase” — an economic period in which there are a significant number of poor farmers who, rather than toil on unproductive land, accept harsh work conditions and low wages in textile and apparel factories. Continue reading “Adam Davidson: Economic Recovery, Made in Bangladesh?”
The art of dehumanization
by Seema Amin
‘A door marked enemy and no one home.’ Tom Engelhardt.
‘If you repeat a lie enough times, it becomes the truth.’ Electra, my love (1974 Hungarian film).
It will not be too overcast to say the 21st century (Anno Domini, whose 12 years and some hundred days have passed) has thus far been the century of the “enemy-industrial complex”. Continue reading “Seema Amin: The art of dehumanization”
Omar Faruk Babu Remembered (d. May 2013)
1. Tibra Ali for AlalODulal.org
The awful daring of a moment’s surrender
Which an age of prudence can never retract
By this, and this only, we have existed
Which is not to be found in our obituaries
— T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land
Louis Ferdinand Celine one said that the good ones should have some kind of marking to set them apart from the rest of humanity. One of those good ones was Babu. Continue reading “Omar Faruk Babu Remembered”
Running barefoot through the city of Barbie liberty and sexy grenades
by Faruk Wasif, translated from Bengali by Nayma Qayum for AlalODulal.org
In the morning I saw four teenagers on the pavement across the street from Mohammadpur Central College. They wore the usual jobba-tupi, but no footwear. Those, they had lost in Motijheel, and could not buy another pair. Continue reading “Running barefoot through the city of Barbie liberty and sexy grenades”
Humanity, Charity, and Reality TV: a case of the Rana Plaza Collapse
by Seuty Sabur for AlalODulal.org
Nitra, Pritha, Rahnuma, Saydia, Shifa, Lima, Ayon and I spent the whole of yesterday sorting and filing 1300 photos with information of those who went missing in the Rana Plaza collapse. Continue reading “Humanity, Charity, and Reality TV”
After burning our own house for ten years, we will arrange the mortuary
by Faruk Wasif, Translated by AlalODulal.org
Durmukhs say, Hefazat and Shahbag are government’s right hand left hand. Right hand always hits left hand. But why does the body get pleasure from breaking both hands? Why is the government laughing? Continue reading “After burning our own house for ten years, we will arrange the mortuary.”
It is the state who needs the holy trinity of nation-nationality-nationalism and a common enemy
by Seuty Sabur
It has been nine years since I have stopped watching TV daily. I always find it unsettling, especially the talk shows. For me it seems more logical to follow the news online, check people’s reaction on social media. I can’t handle the TV for more than 10 minutes, even in the time of national/international ‘crises’. Continue reading “Seuty Sabur: It is the state who needs the holy trinity of nation-nationality-nationalism and a common enemy”
Of the Hefazat men killed yesterday, one was from the a factory in Dhaka. While not speaking with numbers, I think this highlights an important issue that many have been saying for some time. While we, with our elitist or middle class sensitivities, continue to look upon the Hefazatis as outlawed, faceless “fanatics” on the fringes (read: in the madrasas) in our society, they also live and work amongst us– our factory workers, our drivers and nightguards. Continue reading “Samia Huq: Who have we “defeated” and with what?”
Anu Muhammad: Even though they are rapidly escaping our attention, but the counting of crushed dead people is not over.
Continue reading “Anu Muhammad: Don’t let them vanish the dead”
‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend’: On Farida Akhter’s Hefazat article
by Seuty Sabur for AlalODulal.org
Captalism Exposed, Savar Tragedy Part 1 (Politics-Administration-Media evil nexus)
by Zia Hassan, Translated from Bengali by Adnan R Amin for AlalODulal.Org
The reason capitalism succeeds worldwide is because it promotes human greed. It sees greed as an essential force and accepts it as internal and core. Continue reading “Capitalism Exposed, Part 1: Politics-Administration-Media evil nexus”
I spent the last 2 days in Savar. A concerted effort of architects, civil engineers, disaster trained workers from Red Cross & other agencies, trained community groups, fire fighters, armed forces, all have collectively formed a task force, and are slowly using heavy equipment to surely though slowly cut the top (maps have been made of the structure etc.) and lift people, dead and alive, as well as other equipment to remove debris. The process is slow, but the time for the public action, which was amazing,THEY ARE OUR S/HEROES, the only ones who went inside, is now no more feasible. Continue reading “Khushi Kabir: They Are Our S/Heroes”
Shaking pillars causes governments to fall, not buildings
Anisul Hoque, Prothom Alo, abbreviated & translated for AlalODulal.org by Unnasic
“Pro-Hartal activists were shaking the pillars, which may be why Rana Plaza has collapsed!”, a minister said.
Continue reading “Anisul Hoque: Shaking pillars causes governments to fall, not buildings”
“Journalist brother. You are a Hindu, I am a Hindu. Please don’t do any more harm to me. You know, how Hindus have to live in this country. Rana Plaza collapsed on top of my house and office. Four of my staff and three of my house help died. After the accident, goods were looted from my house. I can’t even go into my own house.” Continue reading “Rana Plaza built on land grabbed from Rabindranath Sarkar”
They aren’t human! (ওরা তো মানুষ না!!!)
by Jonaid Naim
Continue reading “Jonaid Naim: Shoot me to death. My Oxygen is finished.”
An existentialist photograph and the reality of non-existence
by Shameema Binte Rahman, Translated from Bengali for AlalODulal.org by Tibra Ali
A photograph. The whole body is buried under debris. Only one part is sticking out: an ID card with its lace wrapped around the wrist and the fingers. Continue reading “Shameema Binte Rahman: An existentialist photograph and the reality of non-existence”
To BGMEA: How To Maintain Bangladesh’s Shining Image Abroad in Five Easy Steps
Guest Post by Shabnam Nadiya
1. Stop thinking that ‘compliance’ is a word to keep international buyers happy and begin to understand that it has to do with the safety of people. People like you and me. People whose labor creates that shining Bangladesh in the first place. People whose actual labor builds your fortunes. Continue reading “Shabnam Nadiya: To BGMEA, How To Maintain Bangladesh’s Shining Image Abroad in Five Easy Steps”
Who Will Bell the Cat?
Guest Post by Fariha Sarawat
Much has been said about who’s to blame for the story state of garments workers’ rights, safety and working conditions in Bangladesh.
Some people, including some local manufacturers, would like us to buy in to the narrative of exploitative buyers whose predatory negotiations force our manufacturers to cut costs (because they are afraid they would lose the order otherwise to China or others) in order to stay competitive and that leaves the latter with little (once costs of inputs, overheads etc have been deducted) to pay to the workers. Continue reading “Fariha Sarawat: Buyers are also culpable”
There Will be Blood
Shafiqur Rahman
Every country in the world, rich or poor, dreams of striking big reserves of oil. Why shouldn’t they? Striking oil is equivalent to winning the lottery prize. Continue reading “There Will Be Blood”
Guest Post by Saif, in response to Zia Hassan
Ready made garments industry is one of the most important sector for Bangladesh (after agriculture and foreign remittance). True this sector has many problems, but none should get more priority than the issue of workers safety and ensuring their basic rights. Continue reading “Are garment owners really to blame?”
Made in Bangladesh: The Terror of Capitalism
by VIJAY PRASHAD
“In the Atlantic world, meanwhile, self-absorption over the wars on terror and on the downturn in the economy prevent any genuine introspection over the mode of life that relies upon debt-fueled consumerism at the expense of workers in Dhaka. Those who died in the Rana building are victims not only of the malfeasance of the sub-contractors, but also of twenty-first century globalisation.”
Picture one of those nice sleek ads that we saw last month for Independence day. Or two weeks ago for Pahela Boishakh. Then keep the audio the same, but replace the visuals with the images from Savar. Why change the visuals but keep the audio, you may ask? Easy answer, I am a big coward. I can look at a dead body and maybe imagine it is still alive, if not for the veneer of white dust accumulated on the face and limbs. But the cries for help? Those whom we have doomed to die? I can’t handle that. So, just the video please.
