Posts

THE IDEA OF ISLAM AS A SYNCRETIC RELIGION IN BENGAL:OPPOSING PERSPECTIVES

Social Issues

I am posting an article I wrote for friends in the late 1980s which later formed part of a presentation I made at the Jagonari Centre in East London in 1994 entitled 'An Analysis of the Bengali Muslim Predicament' THE IDEA OF ISLAM AS A SYNCRETIC RELIGION IN BENGAL:  OPPOSING....    Full story...

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THE SHAHBAGH MOVEMENT WAS THE LAST FURY OF BENGALI NATIONALISM

Controversy

February 2015 is the second anniversary month of the start of the Shahbagh movement. The unprecedented movement started on 5th February 2013 and continued for several months before the Awami League government dismantled the ‘Gono Jagoron Moncho’ and other facilities set up to support....    Full story...

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Tribute to President Zia's Birthday: the events of 1975 and the emergence of Zia

History

1975 : A Defining Year for Bangladesh Today is the birthday of president Zia of Bangladesh. He was a great man who articulated the spirit and heart of Bangladesh and brought order, stability and hope to the then dispirited people of Bangladesh during the 1970s. That is why, regardless of....    Full story...

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WHY SHEIKH MUJIB CANNOT BE SUCCESSFULLY ESTABLISHED AS THE BANGABONDHU?

Controversy

WHY SHEIKH MUJIB CANNOT BE SUCCESSFULLY ESTABLISHED AS THE BANGABONDHU, JATIRPITA AND INSPIRATIONAL LEADER FOR BANGLADESH AND BANGLADESHIS It was on 10 January 1972 that Sheikh Mujib came back to his motherland, to a new country called Bangladesh, from nine months of imprisonment in a....    Full story...

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WHY WAS BANGLADESH CREATED AND WHAT KIND OF BANGLADESH WAS DREAMT?

Burning Issue

16 December, The Victory Day of Bangladesh has just passed. Over the last 43 years, since as an independent country, we have seen much political violence, army rules, assassinations of heads of state, polarisation between political parties and conflicts at various levels growing and getting....    Full story...

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Polarised Conflicts,Ideas of Bengali Culture and fallacy of Bengali Nationalism in Bangladesh

Religion & Culture

The causes of polarised politics Many people are baffled by the intense levels of hatred that exists between different factions in Bangladesh and fail to understand the possible underlying reasons behind the current conflict. Complex factors are no doubt at play, including attachments to....    Full story...

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I SUPPORT ERIC’S PICKLES INTERVENTION AND LUTHFUR’S FIGHT BACK

Politics

I think Eric's Pickle's intervention to launch this investigation was a good thing. There has been allegations after allegations for a long time and a process was needed to end rumours / allegations or do something about them. I support Lutfur, not because I know him personally or support....    Full story...

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WAS GULAM AZAM A WAR CRIMINAL?

BD War crime trial

We have a peculiar situation in Bangladesh and among the Bangladeshi Diaspora around the world where one group constantly call Gulam Azam the top Hitler like war criminal, and make links with and undertake comparisons with the horrors of the Second World War. They believe that by keep on....    Full story...

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GULAM AZAM, HITLER, FUNERAL AND POWER OF THE CROWD

Politics

Image: Golam Azam I have seen Gulam Azam and Jamaat e Islam in Bangladesh often described as Hitler and Nazi Party, who helped to unleash a German style and scale genocide in Bangladesh during the 1971 Liberation War. I would like people to reflect on this and ask critical and....    Full story...

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GULAM AZAM, 1971 LIBERATION WAR, BANGLADESH WAR CRIMES TRIAL AND HIS DEATH

Politics

I take photographs and I know a little bit about how to take snaps that give the impression that there were more people than actually present. Sometimes people seeing several thousand people packed in a small area think that hundreds of thousands of people are present, especially in....    Full story...

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IS IT A CRIME TO BE A RAZAKAR?

Politics

In this short article I will very briefly explore the pejorative term ‘razakar’ and how it is being used as a term of abuse in Bangladesh and within the Bangladeshi Diaspora around the world, and the consequences. For a long time now I have been hearing some people calling other....    Full story...

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WHEN AN EXPERIENCE OF UNFAIRNESS CATAPULTS SOMEONE TO ACHIEVE GREATNESS:personal reflection on Mayor Luthfur's achievements

Contemporary Debate

Greatness is a relative concept and therefore not all greatnesses are equivalent in reality. However, all greatnesses are something extraordinary based on the contexts, challenges and barriers faced by the individuals in question and how they overcame them. I feel Mayor Luthfur has achieved....    Full story...

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KADER MOLLAH:JUDIACIALLY MURDERED MARTYR

Law and Order

We are approaching five months since Kader Mollah was judicially murdered in Bangladesh by the government. Until the war crimes trial process, which started a few years ago, I did not even know who K Mollah was and only knew the names of a handful of Jamaatists, including Golam....    Full story...

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NINETEEN SEVENTY-FIVE(1975)A Defining Year for Bangladesh

History

BAKSAL Nineteen seventy-five (1975) was both a momentous and traumatic year for Bangladesh. On the one hand, the dream that inspired the Bengalis of East Pakistan to fight against the dominance of West Pakistan and the non-democratic rule of the military lay shattered with the ‘second....    Full story...

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5TH MAY 2013 SHAPLA ROUNDABOUT VIOLENCE: a Personal Reflection

Burning Issue

I rarely participate in public debates or discussion regarding politics except when dominant narratives, powers and groups try to use propaganda and unsubstantiated claims to promote immoral demands and commit injustice against those who are weak and may be innocent. Then, sometimes but not....    Full story...

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