Probe Magazine Vol 13 Issue 5 (16-31 Dec 2014) (Fortnight)

P
Probe
Special
M
Media
NNGOs
GOs struggle
struggle forr survival
survival
Exclusive
The Untold
Story of
Dr.
Dr
r. Abu Hena
December
D
eccember 16-31,
Indepth
Indept
th
Commun
Communist
nist chronicles
chronicles
From
Fr
om Communist
Communist
Party too Lal Potaka
Article
A letter in memory
y
of Selim
Maj G
Gen.
en. (R
(Retd)
etd)
S M Ibr
Ibrahim
rahim
ahim
Editorial
Editor in Chief
Irtiza Nasim Ali
Editor
Ayesha Kabir
Executive Editor
Ahmed Hasan
Special Correspondent
Anwar Parvez Halim
Senior Correspondent
Shafiq Rahman
Staff Correspondents
Md. Belayet Hossain
Aritra Ankan Mitra
Contributors
Badiul Alam, Kamrul Hasan
Altaf Parvez, Taib Ahmed
Harunur Rashid
Overseas Correspondents
Prof Moonish Ahmar (Pakistan)
Paritosh Paul (India)
Frances Bulathasinghala (Sri Lanka)
R Shresta (Nepal)
Sandra Kabir (UK)
Shehabuddin Kisslu (USA)
Sundarbans, we are sorry and ashamed

We have always been so proud of our natural beauty in Bangladesh -emerald fields, golden crops, silver fish, flora and fauna of such diversity!
What more could one want?
But we have been negligent of this bounty. Not only have we failed to
take care of Nature, but we have deliberately and steadily set out to
destroy it.
Let us turn to the Sundarbans. We are the custodians of the largest
mangrove forest in the world, but what have we done? As furnace oil
seeps into the soil of the forest, the roots of the trees, the rivers and canals,
killing fish, dolphins, terrapins, crabs, trees, micro-organisms,
threatening the livelihood of the local populace, we can only hand our
heads in shame. It is as if the blackness of the oil spill is smothering our
souls, our conscience.
Measures to contain the oil spill are slow and entangled in ignorance,
bureaucratic bungling and a despicable sense of nonchalance. Every day
counts as the oil spreads further into the forests, through the canals and
rivulets. Eventually measures will be taken, no doubt, but the damages
will be long term.
This accident should serve as a lesson. Maybe now the authorities will
rethink plans to set up the Rampal power plant near the Sundarbans. This
power plant will mean many more tankers loaded with oil and coals
plying through the forest. It will mean toxic fumes, more industries and
encroachment of the forest space. It spells disaster, in no uncertain terms,
for the global heritage site, the Sundarbans.
Let this recent oil spill be a lesson to us. What has happened cannot be
undone, but we can take it as a warning for future catastrophes if we fail
to take care. Let us save our animals, our plants, out biodiversity, our
environment, our Royal Bengal Tiger and our Sundarbans.
Chief Photographer
Bablu Chowdhury
Cover and Graphic Design
Adventure Communications
Manager
Debashish Sarkar
Address
House 10/B, Road 9
Dhanmondi R/A, Dhaka 1205
Bangladesh. Tel: 8119897
Email: probenewsmagazine@yahoo.com
www.probeweekly.com
Published by the Editor from
S.A Printers Limited
1/1 Sheikh Shaheb Bazar, Dhaka
Price: TK 50
Issue: 5 I December 16 - 31, 2014 I Vol: 13
I Page: 1
Contents
16
14
Complexities in
land-swap deal
19 TheDr. AbuUntoldHenaStory of
Exclusive :
08
Probe Special
Media NGOs
struggle for survival
REGULARS
03
05
07
23
25
27
29
31
32
36
38
Newsbeat
South Asia Desk
Report
Article
Out of the box
Guest Column
International
Region/ Pakistan
Region/ India
Feature
Life Style
Communist chronicles
From Communist Party
to Lal Potaka
33 Back to the basics

39 Macabre
Theatre
Macabre is the story

of every person's
inner quest for freedom.
34
Revelations and
Recollections
Flim
The flag of
red and green
Sulemani
Keeda
40
I Page: 02
Newsbeat
International
Cooperation Agreement
with CERN in Geneva
angladesh has moved a major

step closer towards the advanced
science
and
technology,
particularly in the field of research of
quantum and fundamental physics by
signing an International Cooperation
Agreement with CERN on, 12
December 2014 in Geneva, Switzerland.
Shameem Ahsan, Ambassador and
Permanent
Representative
of
Bangladesh in Geneva, Switzerland,
signed the instrument of cooperation
on behalf of the Bangladesh
government, with Dr. Rolf Heuer,
Director General of CERN (European
Organization for Nuclear Research).
The Director General of CERN
praised the Bangladesh government for
taking science and technology to the
people. He assured the support of
CERN and hoped that the teachers,
students and researchers of Bangladesh
would be benefited from this
cooperation.
CERN as the pioneering institute for
research of fundamental physics in the
world, has recently attracted the global
attention for its discovery of Higgs
Boson. CERN- the largest research
laboratory in the world and the center

of excellence for research in
fundamental and quantum physics, has
the long tradition of establishing
international co-operation in research
and training and promoting contacts
among scientists and professionals and
interchange with other laboratories and
institutes around the world. It also
offers advanced training for researchers
and professionals of different countries.
For the countries like Bangladesh,
CERN provides the unique opportunity
for the much needed technology
transfer, education and training for the
researchers, scholars, academics and
students. Most importantly, CERN
offers different programs for students
and researchers from developing
countries in the form of internship,
summer and other specialized schools
which are open to all. Cooperation
between Bangladesh and CERN will
facilitate opportunity of research in
experimental and theoretical particle
physics and related aspects of
technologies for particle accelerators,
particle detectors and information
technology. Inventions and discoveries
of CERN are playing a major role in the
fight against deadly diseases like
cancer.
Bangladesh will benefit from this
cooperation with CERN, especially the
universities, institutes, organizations,
Department Centre International (DCI) a local NGO organised a discution

on International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People in Dhaka
recently. Fakrul Ferdous, Executive Director of the organisation spoke on
the occassion. Md. Abdul Quddus, Exicutive Director of NGO ADP, Abdul
Baten from fair Health also delivered speech among others. Executive
Director of IVDCs Syed Ashek Mahmud, Syeda Shamima Sultana,
Executive Director of KRDS and Dulal Mahmud, Executive Director of RDS.
academics, professionals and the

students of Bangladesh. CERN will
conduct a high-level short school on
advanced particle and quantum
physics at Dhaka University from 15 to
18 December 2014. Eminent professors
from CERN, Belgium and India will be
conducting the lessons.
Girl Power Award 2014
Community Radio
Broadcasters in Rural
Women Empowerment
angladesh NGOs Network for

Radio
and
Communication
(BNNRC) is to honor five
community radio stations for their
outstanding contribution in championing
girl and young women empowerment
issues. The upcoming event will also
provide a certificates of appreciation to all
participants in community radio stations.
The Girl Power Award of BNNRC was
initiated to motivate community radio
broadcasters (CRB) in Bangladesh to
contribute
in
reducing
gender
discrimination in communities. The
awarding process started from 1 October,
2014. The event was organized by
Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio
and Communication (BNNRC) in

collaboration with Plan International
Bangladesh.
The objective of this event is to
encourage the community radio
broadcasters (CRB) and engage them in
contributing to various effective radio
programs on success and achievements
of girls and young women. Programme
producers and journalists from 14
community radio stations participated in
this contest. The theme of this event was:
Because I am a Girl! All the 14
community
Radios
sent
their
programmes and features based on this
theme.
Nibedita Ahmed Tuli, Deputy Director
(External Service), Bangladesh Betar,
I Page: 03
Newsbeat
t a press conference
held on 11
December in at the
media centre of UNFCCC
(United Nation Framework
Convention for Climate
Change) CoP (conference of
Parties) 20 in Lima, civil
societies from Bangladesh
as the representative of
MVC (Most Vulnerable
Countries) and LDCs (Least
Developed Countries) have
criticized the present
ongoing impasses of
climate negotiation process
of CoP and thereby called
for taking urgent decisions
and clear roadmap of
actions from Lima, CoP 20.
They also demand a legally
binding commitment for
both adaptation and
mitigation for Paris
Agreement (2015), in CoP21 that will be come into
force onwards 2020.
The press conference
held during the CoP, was
titled "Comments on Latest
On Going CoP 20 Lima
Climate Negotiations on
the Interest of MVC and
LDC People: Civil Society
Perspectives" and
organized by a
coordination body of
Bangladeshi climate
activists and climate
alliance namely AAB,
Bangladesh CSOs in Lima call for

roadmap of action
BAPA, BIPNet-CCBD,
CDP, CCDF, CPRD, CSRL,
BCJF, FEJB, EquityBD,
ICCAD and NCCB in CoP
20 at Lima.
The press conference was
moderated by Dr. Saleemul
Huq from ICCAD, and the
key note presented by
Farah Kabir of AAB and
Md. Golam Rabbani from
BCAS.
In their key note
presentation, the presenters
expressed their
disappointment and said
that that the global
leadership collectively
failed to live up to their
promises towards settling
with firm collective actions
as agreed earlier. They also
said that, a number of
parties have been
deliberately delaying firm
Qadir Kollol, Correspondent, BBC

Bangladesh, and Amin Al Rasheed,
Editor, Community Media, were jury
board members.
Community Radio Padma 99.2 - 1st for
magazine programme Adomyo. This
program was made based on various
success stories of women. The program
focused on the education of women. In
magazine format, the program of 15
minutes produced a folk song Gambhira
and a drama, and radio reporting on a
woman who won a battle for her life.
Community Radio Lokobetar 99.2 - 2nd
for magazine programme Shustho Maa,
Shustho Shishu'. This program was made
to sensitize the community about the
needs and benefits of taking proper care
of women during their pregnancy and the
role of the family members.
action on major issues to

address negative impacts of
climate change. There was
an absence of urgency in
Lima.
They made some
demands: i. Developed
country parties must
reduce their emissions by
at least 45% by 2020, and
95% below 1990 levels by
2050. The majority of this
action must be undertaken
domestically in order to
guarantee a low carbon
global future, ii. NAP
(National Adaptation Plan)
process must be facilitated
with adequate finance
where Local Adaptation
Programmes must be
supported, iii. The
Adaptation goal for 2015
must be an integral part of
Lima Outcome/Decisions,
Community Radio Radio Chilmari 99.2

- 3rd for magazine programme Shafolyo
Gatha. This program was made based on
a girl with disabilities, Najmin, who
achieved GPA 4.5 in the recent Primary
School Certificate exams despite both her
hands being paralyzed.
The winners of this contest under
category two (Features or Reports) are
1st, Mahfuz Faruque, Head of News,
Community Radio Barendra 99.8 - for a
feature
Naam Taar Nishat Ara
Chandona. This inspiring story is of a
woman, Nishat Ara, who struggled
throughout her life to achieve success.
2nd,
Sabiha
Islam,
Producer,
Community Radio Nalta 99.2 for a story
Ami Meye Bolei Shoite Paree This
success story is concentrated on widow
named Jamirun. A victim of a child
iv. The global process must

be establishing a registry
system on adaptation
financing, which will allow
MRV Measurable,
Reportable and Verifiable),
v. Developed countries will
declare a clear roadmap of
financing to climate action,
in particular, for adaptation
in developing countries for
pre and post 2020 and the
final is vi. Developed
country parties must
provide technology and
financial support as well as
institutions building at
local and national levels for
long term sustainable
growth and infrastructure
resilience without
following any Intellectual
Property Rights (IPR)
regime.
Dr. Saleemul Huq, in his
speech said that the global
demand is now to focus the
science base mitigation
measures for developed
countries and taking
appropriate measure that
limit really the temperature
rise within 2C. He also
demanded a
comprehensive, effective
and rightful global deal in
2015, guided by equity and
inter-generational equity
those are un-compromising
in 2015 Agreement and for
the global society. n
marriage she was then a widow. Another

disaster, cyclone Aila, took away
everything. But nothing could stop her.
The born-fighter Jamirun again started
her battle against poverty cycle and
finally came out successful.
3rd,
Abida
Sultana,
Fellow,
Community Radio Lokobetar 99.2
Daridro Bijoyee Rina Begumer Ghure
Daranor Golpo. This case story is based
on a girl who was a survivor of repeated
disasters, like cyclones Sidr, Aila,
Mohasen etc.
The winners of this event will be
awarded crests and certificates by
BNNRC. All participating CRSs will also
get Certificates of Appreciation. BNNRC
will announce the name of the winners
and date of the event Awarding the CR
Journalists, for Their Best Practice
shortly. n
I Page: 04
South Asia Desk
Hindutva group seeks

donations
for Aligarh'conversion
camp'
As Karachi shuts down,

Nawaz announces
reduction in power tariff
by Rs2.32
head of its plans to organise the

"biggest ever conversion camp"
in Aligarh on December 25,
Dharam Jagaran Samiti, a western U.P.based Hindutva group, sought
donations to organise the camp.
The undated letters and pamphlets,
addressed by Rajeshwar Singh who
claimed that conversion is a "costly"
affair, have found their way to people's
homes in Aligarh.
The letter seeks a donation of Rs. 5
lakh for converting a Muslim and Rs. 2
lakh for the ghar vapsi of a Christian.
"Ghar vapsi is a costly affair because
there are lots of expenses involved. The
money comes from society and people
indeed give money for the purpose. But
when it's done at a large scale, then
more and more volunteers will have to
be deployed to raise fund and organise
camps," Mr. Singh said in the letter.
" About Rs. 5 lakh is spent on the
Ghar vapsi of a Muslim and Rs. 2 lakh
for that of a Christian, when a volunteer
works for the purpose in a year. That is
why I request you to donate money and
bear expenses of at least one
programme," he requested in the letter.
In an effort to establish his
credentials, Mr. Singh also claimed that
about 40,000 people, including 2000
rime Minister Nawaz Sharif

announced a reduction in the
power tariff by Rs2.32 per unit
in a bid to provide relief to the
masses, Express News reported on
Friday.
While addressing a press
conference in Peshawar after visiting
Awami National Party leader Bashir
Bilour, PM Nawaz Sharif said there
will be a further reduction in
petroleum prices, adding that
economic indicators were showing
signs of improvement.
Our only mission is not to end
load shedding but also reduce the
tariff, he said, adding that his
governments priority is to make
electricity production cheaper.
He said coal-based power plants
have already been initiated with the
Muslims in 20 districts of western UP,
have been brought under the fold of
Hinduism through his 'ghar vapsi'
camps. The target is to convert one lakh
people, the letter claimed.
Meanwhile, a non bailable warrant
was issued by an Agra court against
Kishor Valmiki, the main accused in the
alleged conversion case in Agra.
Nepalese NGO teaches

computer literacy
to rural women, girls
njani Mandal's life changed

when she learned how to use a
computer. The 20-year-old
Nepalese woman hails from the
southeastern village of Mithileshwor
Nikas, where access to computers is
very limited. Until recently, she had to
venture an hour away by bus to the
district capital of Janakpur where
internet service and computers were
available.
But thanks to an initiative by local
NGO Women Development Advocacy
Centre (WDAC) to bring computer
help of Chinese companies. Despite

a lack of resources, the government is
striving to provide relief to the
people.
The premier argued that the
reduction in power would decrease
inflation in the country, while also
emphasising that the power crisis
would not end overnight.
I never gave a timeline, either
before or after elections to end the
power crisis, he said. But we are
determined to end the crisis in our
current tenure, he added.
When asked about the Karachi
shutdown by the Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf, Nawaz said he shouldnt be
asked about protests but rather the
ongoing development projects in the
country.n
literacy to women and girls , Mandal
can now use computers and get limited
internet service in her village.
After taking one of the computer
training courses, she got a job at Galaxy
Secondary Boarding School in
Janakpur, where she now teaches
students how to use computers.
"I took the computer training for
three months. I learned how to use
Windows and [Microsoft] Office. Now I
teach computers to school kids up to
class five," she said.
Mandal is one of 450 people who
received basic computer training
through WDAC. As many as 151
Nepalese girls aNd womeN take part iN a computer

literacy class iN mithileshwor Nikas village, dhaNusa
district
I Page: 05
South Asia Desk
Its not our shame, its their shame
opular MTV host and actor

Shenaz Treasurywala, who is
currently playing a role of a
choosy girl in her upcoming film Main
or Mr. Right has written an open letter
to the most influential people in India,
reported The Deccan Chronicle. She
has addressed the letter to Prime
Minister Narendra Modi, Sachin
Tendulkar, Bollywood stars Amitabh
Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Salman
Khan, Aamir Khan and businessman
Anil Ambani, requesting them to take
strict actions against rapists and sexual
offenders in India.
Shenaz wrote, I am writing to you
specifically because you are the most
powerful and influential men in our
country. I am writing to you as a
woman who grew up in a middle-class
family in Mumbai. I am writing to you
for help.
During the actors young years, she
found herself threatened and
mistreated by the men in India and felt
it was about time women felt secure in
their own country. I want all women
to speak up. Lets make it our motto
its not our shame, its their shame.
Who are they? They are the men in
our country, Shenaz said.
Not only did Shenaz include sexoffenders and rapists in the category of
graduates have landed jobs where they
use their newfound computer skills.
Though the centre mainly serves
women, boys and men are also
welcome to take its computer classes.
TEAChinG PEOPlE vAluAblE
SKillS
The NGO was founded in January 2013
by Nanda Kishor Mandal (no relation
to Anjani Mandal), who recognised a
need to narrow the computer skills gap
as many Nepalese don't know how to
use a computer .
The idea to start a computer training
programme for rural Nepalese women ,
girls and people came to him during a
visit to the Indian Institute of
Technology Kharagpur, while he
studied for an MBA. At the West
Bengal campus, he saw students
offering computer literacy training to
sheNaz treasurywala
men in her letter but also pointed

fingers at other male influences that
have not made an effort to look into
daily assaults faced by women. Not
just the rapists and the sexual offenders
but also our fathers, uncles, brothers,
movie-stars, cricketers and politicians
for not saving us or protecting us by
insisting and protesting for the laws to
change and offenders to be punished
severely!
Shenaz went on to explain how her
first incident with a stranger in the
market place at the age of 13 has left
her scarred for life. She continued that
the first time wasnt the last she felt
shocked and speechless. Such
incidents of assault by random men
went on through her teenage years,
people from nearby underprivileged
communities.
"I asked them why they were doing
that. They informed me that people
from
those
underprivileged
communities were educated but they
did not have computer education, for
which they were left behind and not
getting employment opportunities,"
Mandal said. "I thought that was true in
our case as well."
After coming home, he visited
dozens of villages to see what kind of
skills-training was taking place through
government and NGO programmes.
Villagers he encountered were trained
in traditional skills like sewing, candlemaking and cattle rearing, but not in
how to use computers.
"I asked them if they would be
interested in computer trainings," he
said. "The majority of them said yes."
where not only she felt victimised but

her regardless of the city in which they
were. Why do we as women have to
feel so threatened? Why has there been
no severe action taken? This has gone
on for years now. Not just in Delhi but
all over our country and yes even in
Bombay and Mumbai. Nowhere is
safe!
Since 2001, the actor who has been
actively involved in acting, hosting and
travelling, says, I still feel that fear. I
am still am on guard. I still fantasize of
having that machine gun. I have been
living and working half in India and
half in New York and let me tell you I
have walked the streets of Harlem, the
Bronx and Brooklyn (perceived as the
most dangerous in NYC) at 3am after
parties in short skirts and felt safer than
I feel in Bandra at 10 pm on a quiet
road fully covered, Shenaz adds.
Addressing the politicians of India
Shenaz went on to say, What good are
all your speeches in the US or Japan or
Australia, if no woman can walk freely
in the streets even in broad daylight by
herself in the capital of our country?
Isnt this a shame? Shame on you sir.
Fumed by the careless approach of
the men in her country, the actor ended
her letter by saying, Scare them by
making an example out of them (sex
offenders) Save your mother, daughter,
sister please! Dont sleep till you save
your women.With all respect, Shenaz
Treasury.n
Mandal then established the Women
Development Advocacy Centre, which
began to offer computer-training
classes to people in Mithileshwor Nikas
village. Because of a high demand for
the classes, the NGO has since
expanded.
The centre charges NRs. 500 ($5) for a
three-month course and NRs. 150
($1.50) for an 18-day course.
"WinDOWS TO ThE WOrlD"
Village women and girls are the main
recipients of the training programme,
because most of the male members of
their families work aboard as migrant
labourers, particularly in the Persian
Gulf states.
"Women and young girls are more
interested to learn computers.
Computers are their windows to the
world," Nirmala Devi, an instructor at
the centre Mithileshwor Nikas, said.n
I Page: 06
Reports
Jatiya Party's
million man gathering
Ershad aims at collecting 10 million taka for the gathering, and
the party people are displeased
by MD. bElAyET hOSSAin
atiya Party celebrates its 29th

founding anniversary on 1 January
next year. The party is organising a
gathering at Suhrawardy Uddyan
on the occasion. Party Chairman
Ershad has called this gathering MMG
or million man gathering. He has taken
up a programme to collect around 10
million taka in the name of this
gathering. The party leaders are
annoyed about this. They say that this
is a sort of extortion. No way is so much
money needed for the gathering.
On 30 November Ershad sent letters
to the party presidium, advisors, vice
chairmen, joint secretaries general,
secretaries and joint secretaries,
demanding huge sums of money. In the
letter signed by Ershad, it was written,
"Everyone should make their respective
payments by 20 December." Copies of
the letter are in PROBE's possession.
Ershad has asked the party's
presidium members to pay 50 thousand
taka each. The party has 41 presidium
members at present, so the
total sum from them would
stand at 2.05 million taka.
Members of the Parliament
have to pay 100 thousand
taka. There are 40 members of
parliament of the party,
making their total payment 4
million taka.
jatiya partys chairmaN h m ershad
Each of the Chairman's advisors has

been asked to pay 30 thousand taka.
Ershad has 17 advisors at present. So
the sum from them would total 510
thousand taka.
The vice chairmen have been asked
to pay 20 thousand taka each. There are
41 vice chairmen at present, bringing
their total payment to 820 thousand
taka.
The payment from the joint
secretaries has been fixed at 15
thousand taka each. There
Most of the leaders and

activists of the party are
displeased with this fund
collection drive in the
name of the gathering.
They say that this is sheer
toll collection and a
gathering cannot cost so
much.
are 16 joint secretaries at present, so

their total will come to 240 thousand
taka.
Each organising secretary is to pay 10
thousand taka. There are 31 organising
secretaries presently and their payment
will total 310 thousand taka.
Members of the council of secretaries
have to pay 10 thousand taka each, The
23 present members will together have
to pay 230 thousand taka.
The amount to be paid by each joint
organising secretary is 5000 taka. The
31 joint organising secretaries will have
to pay a total of 155 thousand taka.
The joint secretaries have also been
asked for 5000 taka each. They total 23
at present, making their total payment
115 thousand taka.
The total collection to be taken from
the central leaders of all levels adds up
to 8,430,000 taka.
Then collections will also be made
from the party's ministers and wealthy
persons. Ershad has demanded one
million to two million taka from some
persons too.
Most of the leaders and activists of
the party are displeased with this fund
collection drive in the name of the
gathering. They say that this is sheer
toll collection and a gathering cannot
cost so much.
Ershad has divided up the
expenditure among various front
organisations of the party. Jubo
Sanghati, the party's main affiliated
body, has been placed in charge of
campaign and publicity. Jubo
Sanghati will put up posters all
over the country at its own
expense. Other organisations have
been given other responsibilities.
A presidium member, on
condition of anonymity, has said,
"Let those who take benefits
from the party spend money
from their own pockets. Why
should we pay? We are not
given any sort of facilities and
are not even informed of all the
programmes. And this is a sort
of extortion. It doesn't cost 10
million taka to hold such a
meeting."
PROBE tried to contact
Jatiya
Party
Secretary
General for his comments on
the issue, but he did not
answer his phone.n
I Page: 07
Indepth
COmmuNISt CHRONICLES
From Communist Party to LAL PoTAkA
by DiPOnGKEr GOuTAM
ne of the leaders twirls

his pistol around a
finger
and
says,
"What's the matter
with you journalists?
If a member of any revolutionary
party is arrested, you immediately
call them extremists. What's your
problem? Awami League and BNP
cadres have more arms than us.
They are the ones committing
crimes. They are the extremists.
When the Jamaat-backed militants
are caught, they are protected with
safety
helmets.
Yet
if
a
revolutionary is killed, he is called
an extremist. Why?" The leader is
agitated. One of his comrades
calms him down. This is the
predicament of the Communist
Party today.
The history of communist
political parties in Bangladesh is
rife with rifts. There is no accurate
record of how many times they
broke up. If one is to delve into the
history of communist parties, one
will have to go back to the British
rule, though the Communist Party
of India was founded in 1920 in
Taskhent. Those who were the
founders
of
this
so-called
Communist Party were, i. MN Roy;
ii. Evelyn Trent Roy (MN Roy's
wife); iii. A Mukherjee; iv. Rosa
Fittingof; v. Muhammed Ali; vi. M
Prativadi Bhayankar Acharya; and,
vii. Muhammed Shafiq Siddiqui.
Muhammed Shafiq Siddiqui was
elected Secretary. After three
months, the Communist Party of
India had 10 members. Of them,
two were militant revolutionaries,
one was an armed revolutionary,
two were mujaheeds, three were
mujahireen, and two were foreign
nationals.
Then the revolutionary Dharani
Goswami went to Russia to collect
arms to fight against the British. He
came back a communist. The
Communist Party thus began to
spread in India.
The East Pakistan Communist

Party was formed in East Bengal.
The Stalin-Mao conflict in the
international
communist
movement in the fifties and China's
attack of India in 1962 led to
theoretical differences which, in
turn, led to differences within the
party leadership. Most of the
important leaders went in favour of
China. The Communist Party of
India ML was formed. They
eventually formed the state
government of West Bengal and of
Tripura. They left their class
struggle and were elected by the
people.
A faction of the Communist
Party of India (Marxist) opposed
their leadership in 1967 and the
Communist
Party
of
India
(Marxist-Leninist)
formed
a
separate extremist left-wing group.
This revolutionary group was led
by Charu Majumdar, Jungle Santal
and Kanu Sanyal.
The rebellion sparked off on 25
May 1967. The local landowners
would use hired hoodlums to
oppress the peasants of the village
Naxalbari. Later these peasants
drove those landowners away.
Charu Majumdar was a follower of
Chinese leader Mao Zhedong. He
felt that, in the footsteps of Mao
Zhedong, the class enemies had to

be identified and an armed struggle
launched against them.
Inner rifts split this party in 1970.
Betrayed by party comrades, Charu
Majumdar was arrested and
tortured to death in jail. He was a
heart patient and also had asthma.
It is said that he was tortured
inhumanly, his pacemaker was
disconnected and then he died. The
party broke up after that.
Some of the Naxalite parties at
present have joined up in
mainstream politics to take part in
the elections in India, such as CPI
(ML) Liberation. Then there are the
others like CPI (M); CPI (ML)
Manpower;
CPML
(Charu
Majumdar);
CPML
(Asim
Chakrabarty); CPML (Azizul Huq);
People's War, etc, who are carrying
out their armed movement.
As in India, in Bangladesh too the
rifts and the armed movement
began in the sixties. They would
maintain that Chinese leader
Chairman Mao was there leader
too. But even the pro-Chinese
group broke up over trifling
matters. Then over a period of six
long decades, the rifts and splits
continued until it reached the
present state.
I Page: 08
Indepth
ThE rOArinG SixTiES AnD
ThE hiSTOriCAl
libErATiOn WAr
The East Pakistan Communist
Party initially entered Awami
Muslim League and then a faction
formed the Gonotantri Party. Later
on both factions joined Maulana
Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani's
National Awami Party (NAP).
The breaks in the Communist
Party of India were reflected in the
East Pakistan Communist Party. In
the sixties the party split and one of
the new organisations emerging
from this was the National Awami
Party (pro-Moscow) and the other
was pro-Peking. They strove
alongside Awami League for the
regional autonomy of East
Pakistan.
The question is, how did Awami
League's demand for regional
autonomy and the communists'
demand for autocracy become a
common programme in the frame
work of an independent sovereign
state, and why did the communists
demand autonomy for just one
region? Why did they leave out five
provinces and local indigenous
areas?
On the other hand, the so-called
East Pakistan Communist Party
(ML) also split in 1968 and a new
"party" called Purbo Bangla
Communist Party (M-L) was
formed. While the East Pakistan
Communist Party led by HuqToaha professed to call for a
revolution all over Pakistan, they
were more focussed on a people's
republic of east Bengal.
Under the leadership of DevenBashar-Alauddin-Matin,
Purbo
Bangla Communist Party only
focussed
their
revolutionary
programmes on East Bengal. They
decided to form a "people's"
democratic independent sovereign
Purbo Bangla (East Bengal). There
was an active group called
Coordination
Committee
of
Communist Revolutionaries, under
the leadership of Kazi Zafar Ahmed
and Rashed Khan Menon. They
would call for independence,
speaking
about
the
ethnic
discrimination in East Bengal.
In 1969 another small but strong
group emerged on the scene and
created a stir in the leftist arena.

The leader of this group was Siraj
Sikder. They had formed the
revolutionary group, Purbo Bangla
Sramik Andolan on 8 September
1968. According to them, the main
conflict was between the people of
East Bengal and the colonial rule of
Pakistan. In 1971, while in conflict
with the Pakistan army at Peara
Bagan in Barisal during the
independence struggle, Siraj Sikder
formed the workers' movement
Purbo Banglar Sarbahara Party.
East Pakistan Communist Party
(Marxist-Leninist) or EPCP-ML ran
the mouthpiece Gonoshakti and
adhered
to
this
till
the
independence movement.
Developments took place so fast
in 1969-1971, that a large portion of
even experienced leftist parties
began to fall behind. This failure
had tragic consequences. In a very
short span of time, the pro-Chinese
group broke up and failed to give
leadership
to
this
difficult
Under the leadership of

Deven-Bashar-AlauddinMatin, Purbo Bangla
Communist Party only
focussed their revolutionary
programmes on East Bengal.
They decided to form a
"people's" democratic
independent sovereign Purbo
Bangla (East Bengal). There
was an active group called
Coordination Committee of
Communist Revolutionaries,
under the leadership of kazi
Zafar Ahmed and Rashed
khan Menon. They would call
for independence, speaking
about the ethnic
discrimination in East Bengal.
movement. The pro-Chinese group

failed to realise the need for a
national coalition front in the
situation which was culminating
towards a national freedom
struggle, and it split into many
factions.
In 1971 China sided with
Pakistan. The Soviet Union sided
with India, which meant it
supported Bangladesh. The proChinese elements, particularly
Abdul Huq, reasoned that the
Pakistan army was funded by the
bourgeoisie of the country, just as
was the Indian army. It was a fight
between two dogs. They were
armed, but followed the mantra of
'don't disturb Pakistan'. However,
many
pro-Chinese
elements,
including the Menon group and
Siraj Sikder, joined in the liberation
war.
On the other hand, those who
followed the Charu Majumdar line,
withdrew themselves for the
people's organisation and took up
the fight against the class enemies.
The faction of leftists, the
Moscow-ites, followed Soviet
Union's directives and surrendered
themselves wholly to Awami
League's political power. So though
they played a bold role in the 1971
war
of
independence,
the
communists failed to give the
country a united leadership. They
failed to remain united themselves.
The leftists failed to take timely
measures to meet the demands of
the day. Not only that, they were
soon devoured by the suicidal class
struggle of Charu Majumdar,
imported from India. After
independence, it was difficult for
the
revolutionary
part
of
communist politics to reorganise
itself. This was not just an
organisational reorganisation. It
was ideologically significant too.
Till 1962 there was one
Communist Party in India and
Bangladesh. That year a border
conflict broke out between India
and China and the Communist
Party of India split into two -- one
pro-China and the other proMoscow.
This split had an impact on
Bangladesh's secret Communist
Party which also split in 1966.
I Page: 09
Indepth
Clearly there was no room for
revolutionary
unity
and
comradeship in this party. The
conflict between the Soviet Union
and China affected this party too.
The split indicated lack of
confidence in the party leadership
as well as lack of farsightedness.
With
similar
theoretical
differences,
the
pro-China
Communist Party also split into
many
factions.
When
the
Communist Party of India (ML) in
1969 took up the Charu Majumdar
line, they split again into many
groups.
During the 1971 freedom
struggle of Bangladesh they were
lost due to the lack of proper
leadership and directives. After
independence, their groupings
turned into enmity. The proChinese Communist Party in
Bangladesh was thus pitched into
darkness.
In the sixties during Pakistan
rule, there were two main parties,
one was Awami League under
Sheikh Mujib, and the other was
NAP under Bhasani. Needless to
say, NAP too was divided into proMoscow and pro-China factions.
After independence, the proMoscow Communist Party and
NAP acted as associates of the
Awami League government. The
pro-Chinese
NAP
was
the
opposition.
It was at this juncture that Jatiya
Samajtantrik Dal or JSD was
formed. In 1975 when Sheikh Mujib
formed the Bangladesh Krishak
Sramik Awami League (BKSAL) for
a one-party rule, almost all the
parties merged with it. But BKSAL
lasted for only a few months.
Prior to that, the Maoist leader
Siraj Sikder was betrayed by his
own party workers in Chittagong
and was killed. He was killed while
in custody. Sheikh Mujib gloated in
parliament, asking, "Where is Siraj
Sikder?" He said he had finished
him off. The Moscow-ite leaders
with Sheikh Mujib imagined
socialism would be established
through BKSAL.
After Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
was killed along with his family on
15 August 1975 by a counter
revolutionary group, martial law
was imposed in Bangladesh. The

previous political parties emerged
once again. Military rule Ziaur
Rahman formed Bangladesher
Jatiyatabadi Dal and the entire proChina NAP joined it.
In the meantime, a faction of
Awami League was under Mizanur
Rahman Chowdhury's leadership.
The Moscow-ites began to work
with the Communist Party of
Bangladesh, NAP (Muzaffar) and a
few other parties. The pro-Chinese
worked openly, and clandestinely,
with Sarbahara Party and United
People's Party under Menon and
Zafar.
Chairman; in charge of Banaripara

was Moazzem Hossain Ripon; in
of
Atghar-Kuriana,
charge
Swarupkathi, was Mrinal. They
were all armed with modern
weapons. They would collect toll,
nominate chairmen and members,
carry
out
arbitration,
and
everything. They were the living
terrors. Many of them indulged in
women and wealth. They killed
innumerable people in the southern
region. Rather than abolishing the
class enemies, they were busy
fighting against each other. They
would kill in exchange of
exorbitant amounts of money. In
SArbAhArA PArTy
Mistrust and theoretical conflict
began to increase within the proChina elements. The Siraj Sikder
group divided into three: 1. Zia
group; 2. Kamrul group; and 3.
Anwar Kabir group. In the south
and west region the Zia-Kamrul
group conflict became a front war.
Some were backed by Awami
League and others by BNP.
Makham Serniabat was in charge
of Agailjhara, Barisal. Ainal
Chowkidar was in charge of
Ujirpur sadar, along with Kana
Badal,
Mainuddin,
Subhash
Chairman and Abani Chairman.
In charge of Satala-Bagdha,
Ujirpur, were Zafar Mollah; in
charge of Jallar was Humayun
fact, 98% of their deaths were at

each other hands or at the hands of
the law enforcers. These leaders
were bereft of any ideology and
they transformed the southwest
region into a valley of death.
Some of these groups still exist
down till today, but are not visibly
active. That is even more
dangerous! Previously they could
be identified by their groups.
"Whoever carries a weapon is a
living terror," says a businessman
of Agarpur, Barisal.
A certain leftist leader is said to
support these armed terrors. He
was even shot at by one of the
groups and is now an influential
minister in the Awami League
government. He claims to be
I Page: 10
Indepth
around the same time from a
hideout in Mirpur, Dhaka, and he
was killed in so-called crossfire.
related to the prime minister.

Another patron was a BNP leader
from Banaripara who has presently
joined Awami League.
biPlObi COMMuniST
PArTy (huq)
Abdul Huq's Biplobi Communist
Party took up the fight against the
class enemies in the southwest
region. After Huq died, they split
up into groups under Chunnu's
leadership and are active in
Meherpur, Gangni, Magura and
Kaliganj.
SAMyAbADi DAl
Toaha, Bashir (Purnendu Dastidar)
and Shanti Sen formed Samyabadi
Dal. They broke up and the Rauf
group was formed, but after Rauf's
death they became inactive. Dilip
Barua was a leader of Samyabadi
Dal, but after he joined Sheikh
Hasina's last cabinet as a minister,
his party activists no longer
accepted him. Dilip Barua's faction
has become a one-man party.
uniTED COMMuniST lEAGuE
Amol Sen and Tipu Biswas formed
the United Communist League.
They shook Rajshahi to Rajbari in
the name of class struggle. They
later merged with Rashed Khan
Menon's Workers Party. But
Workers Party split too over power
sharing issues. Under Saiful Huq a
small faction formed Biplobi
Workers Party. Saiful Huq is still
active in the anti-government
movement. Another faction of
Workers Party joined CPB. Haider
Akbar Khan Rono among them.
Amol Sen, Tipu Biswas and Sylhet's
Mofakkar Chowdhury split from
Menon's group.
PurbO bAnGlAr
COMMuniST PArTy
Mofakkar Chowdhury formed the
Purbo Banglar Communist Party.
An NGO worker Abdur Rashid
Malitha (Tapan) alias Dada Tapan
was in charge of his party's armed
force. He was a living terror of the
southwest region. He would carry
out extortion in the name of politics
and was a professional killer. He
was arrested by police, but his
Toaha, Bashir
(Purnendu Dastidar)
and Shanti Sen formed
Samyabadi Dal. They
broke up and the Rauf
group was formed, but
after Rauf's death they
became inactive. Dilip
Barua was a leader of
Samyabadi Dal, but
after he joined Sheikh
Hasina's last cabinet as
a minister, his party
activists no longer
accepted him. Dilip
Barua's faction has
become a
one-man party.
activists snatched him from the
police cordon in the Khulna court
premises and escaped with him.
PurbO bAnGlAr
COMMuniST PArTy (JAnA
JuDDhA)
Rashid Malitha Tapan eventually
broke away from Mofakker
Chowdhury. He named his party
Purbo Banglar Communist Party
(Jana Juddha). He is alleged to have
killed several journalists and
politicians in Khulna. Tapan and
his Jana Juddha would spread their
rule of terror all over Khulna,
Narail, Jhenaidah, Magura and
Kushtia. Tapan was killed in a
shootout with the law enforcement
forces after the 1/11 caretaker
government took over. Jana Juddha
became inactive after that. RAB
arrested Mofakker Chowdhury
nEW biPlObi COMMuniST

PArTy
Mrinal was the terror of Dumuria,
Khulna. In 2000 he formed the New
Biplobi Communist Party. Mrinal
would
basically
remain
underground, but in the name of
the party would control the fish
farms in Khulna and Satkhira,
collect toll and carry out killings. It
was alleged that a local Jamaat
leader was his patron. During the
four-party alliance's Operation
Clean Heart, Mrinal fled to India.
He was killed by rivals while in
West Bengal. His party has been
inactive since.
PurbO bAnGlAr
COMMuniST PArTy
(lAl POTAKA)
Rakesh Kamal alias Dr. Tutul of
Rajshahi Medical College and
Zaman Master, a schoolteacher of
Pabna, formed the Purbo Banglar
Communist Party (Lal Potaka).
Their theoretical and armed force
has spread from Rajshahi all over
the country. Lal Potaka has strong
influence on the marginalised
people of Rajshahi, Pabna, Natore
and Naogaon's Chalan Bil.
Of
all
the
pro-China
underground parties which have
sprouted up in recent times, only
Lal Potaka has any international
recognition and credibility.
When Dr. Tutul and Zaman
Master were killed by law enforcers
after 1/11, Lal Potaka fizzled out
almost as quickly as it had sprouted
up. Bashir Master is in charge of the
party at present. They are active in
expanding their public base in the
Kushtia zone.
Bazlu is in charge of Lal Potaka in
Kushtia and Lal is in charge of
Chuadanga, but both of these are
pseudonyms.
A Lal Potaka leader tells PROBE,
"Activists of various parties in the
country have weapons. When these
arms are bereft of ideology, they
become mere metal tools. Lal
Potaka will no go that way."n
I Page: 11
Reports
Agriculture forecast
for crop pestilence
A PrObE rEPOrT
he Department of Agriculture will

now provide farmers with
forecasts of crop pestilence so that
they can take advance measures to
reduce damages as much as possible. It
will also control the use of pesticides
and arbitrary use of other harmful
insecticides to ensure safe food
production.
According to the Department of
Agriculture, about 16% of the crops in
the fields are destroyed simply due to
the lack of proper management of crop
diseases. This damage is even higher in
the case of vegetables, where often up
till 25% of the produce is lost.
According to agricultural experts,
while it is essential to control pests and
diseases to reduce damage to the crops,
pesticides are not the only tool. There

is need for awareness. There is need
for advance information regarding
the plant diseases and pestilence,
based on the weather, the region and
the crops.
The Department of Agriculture has
taken up a Programme for the
Strengthening of Surveys, Forecasts and
Advance Warnings of EnvironmentFriendly Food Production. Am upazilabased survey is being carried out on
various crops, pestilences and diseases,
the types of pests and the type of pest
attacks, etc.
Based on the results of this survey,
from 2015 the field level officials of the
Department of Agriculture will provide
area-wise and crop-wise pestilence and
disease forecasts.
Programme Director agriculturalist
Dr.
Mohammed
Iqbal
says,
Bangladesh's agriculture has been
modernised, production has increased.
The export of agricultural products has
increased too. But the agricultural
sector is still behind in technological
methods. Health risks and crop damage
are the two main problems in
agriculture. Health risks pose as a risk
to losing international markets at any
time. But if this survey and forecast
process is accurate, then it will be
possible to curtail agricultural costs,
crop damage and health risks.n
PROBE is available at the following newsstands

Md. Mainuddin
Newsstand
Bangladesh Secretariat
(South-West corner)
Topkhana Road, Dhaka.
Mobile 01829883233
Md. Mona
Newsstand
(In front of Shahbagh Market)
Shahbagh, Dhaka.
Mobile 01911785195
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Newsstand
(In front of Shahbagh Market)
Shahbagh, Dhaka.
Mobile 01714313538
Md bahar
Newsstand
Kalabagan Bus Stand (West side)
Dhaka. Mobile: 01841812996
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Newsstand
Sukrabad Bus stand (east side)
Md badshah
Newsstand
Banani Bazar Bus stand
Dhaka.
Mobile: 01830501339
Tofail
Kushol Centre
Rajlaxmi, Uttara, Dhaka.
Mobile: 0191537544
Md Abu bakr
Newsstand
Sukrabad Bus stand (east side)
Md rubel
Newsstand
DCC Market, Gulshan-1
Dhaka
Md Saiful
Gyankosh
Sobhanbagh Mosque Market
Md Kamrul
Newsstand
DCC Market, Gulshan-1
Dhaka
Manager
Pathok Samabesh Centre
Above Agrani Bank
(Opposite Aziz Super Market)
Shahbagh, Dhaka.
Mobile 01841234612
islam
Book Choice
Sobhanbagh Mosque Market
newsstand
(In front of City College)
Mirpur Road, Dhaka.
Md. Shahidullah
Newsstand
Asad Gate Bus stand, Dhaka
01682305114
Md hasan
News centre
Gulshan 2
9884789
Md iqbal
Newsstand
Asadgate bus stand,
Dhaka.
Mobile: 01682305114
I Page: 12
Reports
n the family, 94.4% of the older

people are treated unequally to
earning members and 26% are
treated as a burden. They face
discrimination within the family.
The discriminations is mostly related to
a lack of assets, earning inabilities and
poverty in family
These matters came to light in a
recent survey. The survey was funded
by the European Union and
implemented by HelpAge international
Bangladesh, with three partner
organizations Bohubrihy Dinajpur;
BSDO,
Naogoan;
and
Barcik;
The family mainly discriminates
against them in terms of decision
making and in other daily activities. At
community level, in 45% of the cases,
younger people were unwilling to
accept leadership of older people in
social activities. They also tended to
undermine older people. There is need
to raise awareness to make the overall
environment more congenial for older
people.
Accordingly to the surveyed
respondents,
family
members
misbehaved with 83.7% of the older
people on various occasions. Of this
47.5% involved serving food, 39.3% in
bearing health care costs, 7.7 % in
buying clothes and 2.7% during
recreation. In 59.3% of the cases,
daughters-in-law, 11% sons and 6%
wives, misbehaved with the older
persons.
Older persons' needs were identified
as food on time, health care, clothing,
social dignity and recreation facilities.
The general perception is older people
are neglected in the family and
community, so their dignity is
undermined. Dignity is important to
older people, but this is recurrently
denied by family members and society.
This can be addressed by increasing
awareness among the family members,
the community and stakeholders.
It was perceived by the respondents
that older people can give good advice
and share experiences with younger
people of both family and society. At
the household level, they take care of
children and help in household chores,
but these activities are neither
acknowledged nor recognized. There is
need for recognition of older peoples
work in the family and society.
Gaps in understanding and
knowledge on the rights of older
Discrimination
against the
elderly
94.4% older people are
treated unequally to earning
members
A Probe report
muNNujaN Bewa( 89), photo: khaled hasaN
people irrespective of stakeholders

persist. They claim to have knowledge
on the rights of older people but the
majority of them could inadequately
specify the rights of older people.
Union parishad chairmen and
members, journalists and civil society
representatives, also lacked awareness
concerning older peoples rights.
Older peoples access to support and
services from government and nongovernment organizations is limited.
Older people are reluctant to visit
service providing agencies because of
the negative experiences they face.
They often fail to get support from
these agencies and the behaviour of
services providers is not always
positive.
The media often gives coverage to
special issues like gender, violence
against
women,
marginalized
communities, etc. However, there is
need for wider coverage of older
peoples rights issues.
A majority of the journalists (90%)
were not aware of older peoples rights.
Specific training and other support
would be effective for them in covering
older peoples issues for policy change.
The baseline survey of the project
Promoting the Rights of Older People
and Influencing Policy through
Cultural Campaigning and Media
Work was conducted to establish a
benchmark
database
system
development, focusing its three specific
outputs. The focuses are; 1) improving
capacity of local cultural groups to
incorporate advocacy and social action
into their performances and cultural
work; 2) involving local and national
level media stakeholders to debates on
ageing and calling for improved social
protection for older people; and 3)
establishment of communication and
coordination among local level cultural
actions to national level policy dialogue
processes. The baseline survey covered
issues and concerns of older people in
line with the objectives and goal of the
programme. The survey mostly
followed quantitative survey for
cultural group, journalist and civil
society representative but qualitative
methods for local government
representative.
Though the government has
formulated a national policy for older
persons, it is yet to be implemented.
However, the sensitivity of the
community, local level institutions and
supportive policy is inevitable to
address the ageing issues. HelpAge
International helps older people claim
their rights, challenge discrimination
and overcome poverty, so that they can
lead dignified, secure, active and
healthy lives. It established its
Bangladesh country office in 2009.
Since then, it implemented the project
focusing on ageing issues in
Bangladesh. The current project
focused on strengthening civil society
institutions, media and cultural groups
for increased citizen actions to ensure
older peoples rights and entitlements.
The government has several social
safety-net programmes that address
mostly economic issues rather than
social security, mental anxiety, health
and right. Until and unless the
community and local institutions are
proactive in creating space for older
people, the real changes could not be
made. The civil society and media may
play a tremendous role to ensure the
entitlement of older people and access
to support and services available for
citizen of Bangladesh.
Policy influence in the context of
Bangladesh is a difficult task due to
bureaucratic process. It needs
concerted efforts of all actors at
different level. Cultural groups could
play a crucial role along with the other
actors.n
I Page: 13
Cover Story
COmPLExItIES IN LAND-SWAP DEAL
by SuTirThA GuPTA from Kolkata
fter nearly forty years, it

appears that India is going
to resolve the border
issues with Bangladesh, a
legacy of the partition of
India in 1947. The previous Congressled United Progressive Alliance
government tried repeatedly to pass the
Constitution (119th Amendment) Bill to
implement the India-Bangladesh Land
Boundary Agreement, 1974, and its
2011 Protocol Bill, which proposes to
amend the First Schedule of the Indian
Constitution to facilitate the exchange
of territories between the two countries.
It kept it alive by presenting it in the
Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the
Parliament on 18 December 2013. Then
the bill was sent to the Parliamentary
Standing Committee on External
Affairs for reconsideration.
After the changeover in India, as part
of the new National Democratic
Alliance
governments
neighbourhood outreach, Indian
External Affairs Minister Sushma
Swaraj promised the Bangladesh
government that the BJP would reverse
its stand. Prime Minister Narendra
Modi voiced his support to ratify the
bill. Recently the standing committee of
the parliament submitted its report to
the both houses of the parliament
which was unanimously passed by
members who included those of the BJP

and the Trinamool Congress, both of
which had earlier opposed swapping of
the enclaves. In its report, the standing
committee was of the strong opinion
that the bill is in the overall national
interest as it would pave the way for
broader bilateral ties with one of our
closest neighbours, Bangladesh. It
opined that delays in the passage of
the bill have needlessly contributed to
the perpetuation of a huge
humanitarian crisis. The committee
was also of the firm conviction that
difficulties of the people living in the
enclaves of both countries would come
to an end after the Act is passed by
Parliament. The committee would,
therefore, urge the government to take
urgent steps for presenting the bill to
Parliament without any further delay.
The government is trying to
eliminate the misgivings about the deal
and started discussions with the states
of West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya and
Tripura adjoining the border with
Bangladesh on the issue of
rehabilitation packages of the
transferred population. Though it may
not be possible for the Indian
Government to pass the bill in this
winter session of the Parliament which
will end on 22 December 2014, the
government communicated its honest
assurance to the Government of

Bangladesh about passing the bill as
soon as possible.
DiSPuTED bOrDErS
India and Bangladesh have a common
land boundary of approximately 4096.7
km, which was determined as per the
Radcliffe Award of 1947, then with East
Pakistan. But certain disputes arose out
of some provisions in the Radcliffe
Award, which were sought to be
resolved through the Bagge Award of
1950, and another effort was made to
settle these disputes by the NehruNoon Agreement of 1958. But disputes
regarding the chits or enclaves (a mass
of land in the other country near the
border), and other certain areas,
continued.
Shortly after Bangladeshs separation
from Pakistan and emergence as an
independent country, India and
Bangladesh first attempted to resolve
the border in 1974. The Prime Ministers
of Bangladesh and India signed an
agreement on 16 May 1974, popularly
known as the Indira-Mujib pact. The
two signatories of the pact were the
Indian PM Indira Gandhi and the
Bangladesh PM Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman. It aimed at a solution to the
complex nature of the border
demarcation involved. This agreement
required a constitutional amendment
as it involved transfer of territory.
Though the agreement was passed in
the Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad through
the 3rd constitutional amendment
ratifying the agreement, the Indian
government failed to do so till now.
rEDrAWinG Of bOunDAriES
After many years of dillydallying the
previous UPA government in India
placed high priority on strengthening
relations with Bangladesh, and worked
to revive the Land Boundary
Agreement among other initiatives.
During the then Prime Minister
Manmohan Singhs visit to Bangladesh
in 2011, the issues relating to
demarcation
of
un-demarcated
boundary; the territories in adverse
possession; and exchange of enclaves
I Page: 14
Cover Story
were identified and resolved by signing

a Protocol on 6th September, 2011,
which forms an integral part of the
Land Boundary Agreement between
India and Bangladesh, 1974. The
Protocol was prepared with support
and concurrence of the concerned State
Governments of Assam, Meghalaya,
Tripura and West Bengal. It was
decided that 111 Indian enclaves in
Bangladesh and 51 Bangladesh
enclaves in India as per the jointly
verified cadastral enclave maps, shall
be exchanged without claim to
compensation for the additional areas
going to Bangladesh.
Furthermore, the Protocol provides
for redrawing of boundaries to
maintain the status quo of adverse
possessions and has dealt with them on
an as is where is basis by converting
de facto control into de jure
recognition.
Unfortunately
the
necessary
legislation was not able to make it
through the Indian parliament in order
to ratify the agreement. Among the
objecting parties were the Bharatiya
Janata Party, the Trinamool Congress,
and the Asom Gana Parishad. After
coming to power the BJP-led National
Democratic Government decided to
move ahead with Bangladesh. Prime
Minister Narendra Modi decided to rise
above partisanship and advance
legislation that his own party rejected a
year ago. Knowing the BJP members'
reservation on the deal in Assam, the
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
declared to the same people in Assam
that the Centre will go ahead with a

land swapping deal with Bangladesh to
find a permanent solution to the longpending border dispute between the
two countries.
Apart from BJPs U-turn on the issue,
the Trinamool Congress also gave their
consent and West Bengal Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee herself
declared openly in a meeting in Cooch
Behar adjoining the border that a
solution is being worked out for border
enclaves.
COMPlExiTiES in ThE SWAP
Under the deal no government is
ceding any land that is under respective
government control at present. It is
simply the correction of a legal
anomaly by a paper-swap. The swap
will involve handing over 17,000 acres
of land to Bangladesh in return for
7,000 acres in 111 enclaves in West
Bengal,
Assam,
Tripura
and
Meghalaya, and was first decided
under the 1974 Land Boundary
Agreement between India and
Bangladesh. More clearly, in the case of
enclaves, the area to be transferred is
already in the possession of Bangladesh
and the handing over of this area to
Bangladesh is merely a procedural
acceptance of the de facto situation on
the ground. Similarly, areas in adverse
possession of India will now be
formally transferred to India. In respect
of adverse possession, India will
receive 2,777.038 acres of land and
Bangladesh will get 2,267.682 acres of
land. An adverse possession is a
portion of territory contiguous to

border and within Indian control, but
which is legally part of Bangladesh.
Residents of these adverse possessions
are Indian citizens. The same applies to
Bangladeshi adverse possessions. It is
decided to maintain the status quo of
adverse possessions for redrawing of
boundaries. But the complexities will
arise on the rehabilitation of the influx
of population.
A number of Indian nationals living
in Indian enclaves in Bangladesh
territory and Bangladesh nationals
living in Bangladesh enclaves are going
to be adversely affected as they would
lose their claim to their natural
citizenship. The number of people to be
involved in the whole swap is
approximately 52,000, of which about
15,000 are on the Indian side of the
border and 37,000 on the Bangladesh
side. After the Protocol comes into
force, a modest demographic change in
both India and Bangladesh was
expected to take place. Not only would
some Indian citizens return to the
mainland from the previously held
enclaves but a number of currently
Bangladeshi nationals would also be
given Indian citizenship after the area is
ceded to India. So the security
dimensions of this influx of population
should be considered seriously by the
respective governments.
On the issue of the adverse position,
the Coordination Committee on
International Border (CCIB), a
conglomerate of social organisations,
has been seeking answers from the
government about the fate of the acres
of land under dispute. The total land
under adverse possession (in
Meghalaya sector) is 559.7 acres. If
240.5 acres come to Meghalaya and 41.7
to Bangladesh, what about the
remaining 278 acres of land? This
question has been posed by CCIB. On
the other hand some BJP leaders in
West Bengal started raising voice on the
issue of Angrapota-Dahagram enclave,
two largest Bangladesh chitmahals in
India. Though these enclaves were
accepted to be integral parts of
Bangladesh and a strip of Indian land
was leased to Bangladesh as Tinbigha
Corridor to connect these two enclaves
with Bangladesh mainland, some
leaders on Indian side are reigniting the
issue.n
I Page: 15
Probe Special
media NGOs
struggle for survival
Fund crisis hits media NGos hard
by ShAfiq rAhMAn
he media NGOs of the

country are facing a serious
fund crisis. Some of these
organisations have had to
close
down
their
programmes, while others are running
projects like general NGOs, for the sake
of survival. They hold perfunctory
workshops ands training programmes
in a bid to hold on to the character of
media NGOs. The heads of these
organisations say that the donors no
longer are interested in developing the
media sector. However, experts say
that the main cause of the crisis in the
sector is lack of innovative concepts
and also the excessive dependence on
foreign funds.
When Mass-line Media Centre
(MMC), a media NGO, started work, it
was not restricted to workshops and
training programmes to improve
professional standards. It published
two newspapers in order to give the
field level journalists the opportunity to
develop their professional skills. The
organisation began in 1996, and the
same year began publishing a paper
from Patuakhali called Methobarta and
other from Noakhali called Lokbarta
with funding from DANIDA. After
being published regularly, in 2008 the
magazines shut down due to lack of
donor interest and funds. The

organisation's executive director
Kamrul Hassan Monju said that a
number of other media-related projects
had to be shut down. The organisation
presently works on increasing
awareness of holding tax payers,
transparency in government khas land
allocations, preparing for climate
change risks, protecting the rights of
indigenous people, the issue of local
government accountability and so on.
They also hold workshops for local
journalists on issue-based awarenessraising.
The organisation presently

works on increasing
awareness of holding tax
payers, transparency in
government khas land
allocations, preparing for
climate change risks,
protecting the rights of
indigenous people, the
issue of local government
accountability and so on.
Kamrul Hassan Monju says that

Bangladesh is at the most risk of
climate change effects, yet many do not
have a clear idea of how to deal with
the risks involved. Even the local
journalists lack in knowledge of the
issue.
He says that the local people,
including the journalists, did not have a
clear understanding of what rights the
citizens had under the local
government structure, what facilities
they were entitled to, how much they
were getting and so on. He says MMC
was working in raising such awareness
in their project areas.
Asked whether there was need for a
media NGO like MMC to work like
other NGOs on issues such as climate
change, local government and khas
land, Kamrul Hassan Monju says that
their two newspapers had been like
model publications. Now this would
change. The newspapers didn't exist
anymore, but the concept was there.
The other local newspapers had
changed their composition and makeup. There was still a lot of scope to
develop the media sector. The
circumstances had changed and the
donors were no longer willing to
provide grants directly to the media
sector.
It was MMC that was the pioneer of
the community radio movement. With
financial and policy assistance from
various donor agencies, it also
pioneered the movement for the right
to
information
act
and
its
implementation. It published 146 books
regarding mass media, journalism and
various aspects of livelihood. In 2011
the government introduced the
community radio policy and at the very
outset of 2012 MMC set up the
community radio 'Lokbetar' in Barguna
with funding from the donor agency
DANIDA. It presently broadcasts
programmes every day from the
afternoon for five hours.
There are 14 community radios in the
country at present and another 18 in the
pipeline. However, Kamrul Hassan
Monju feared that these may have to
close down eventually due to lack of
funds. He said, if community radio is to
be given a permanent place, then it
must
be
allowed
commercial
advertising. He says there were talks
about changing the prevailing
community radio policy to this end.
I Page: 16
Probe Special
kamrul hassaN moNju
muhammed jahaNgir
In the meantime, another mediabased organisation, News Network,

has added climate change to its list of
programmes. It is working in the
coastal areas, particularly in increasing
the awareness of journalists in the
Khulna region. This organisation
started in 1994. Its scope of work has
shrunk somewhat and it now focuses
mainly on raising awareness about the
Right to Information Act and providing
fellowships to women journalists. It
recently provided 15 women journalists
will fellowships, funded by Janata
Bank. Shahiduzzaman, Editor and
Chief Executive of the organisation,
said that the nine-month fellowship
would end next month.
Shahiduzzaman recalls an incident of
1993. The Country Director of the
World Bank was attending a press

conference. He began is speech with the
usual "Ladies and gentlemen..." Then
he looked around a bit and added,
"even though there aren't any ladies
here!"
"It was right then and there," says
Shahiduzzaman, "that I decided to
work with women journalists of the
country if I ever got a chance." The
donor agency Diakonia gave him that
chance in 1999. News Network began
the fellowship programme for women
journalists.
Shahiduzzaman says, "We often
would say that women can't take up
journalism. That is an ignorant idea."
He said that so far they had given
fellowships to 240 women.
It is time for
innovation
-Dr. Golam rahman, Professor,
Department of Mass
Communications and Journalism,
Dhaka University and Pro-VC,
Daffodil University
There must be innovative ideas in all
development processes. There must
be long-term vision. But the NGOs in
Bangladesh over the past three
decades or more have been working
with the same product. The country's
media-related NGOs are the same.
Their activities have become
restricted to slogans. This has created
the crisis in the NGO sector.
NGO means donor dependent
activities. The matter of the donor's
like and dislikes matter. But since the
work is to be done here in this
country, we are the ones who have to

raise the issues. But we are not doing
so efficiently. We are holding on to
certain customised ideas.
The scope of work is not finished.
Media is expanding. But nothing is
being done to reach global standards
in quality. It is time for innovation,
for a new philosophy to take NGOs
ahead.n
Nayeemul islam khaN
kamaluddiN Nilu
The organisation has published a

large number of books on a wide range
of issues such as women trafficking,
illegal arms, smuggling and so on.
Along with foreign donors,
Shahiduzzaman also blames the
government for the present crisis. He
says, there is no end for work to be
done in the media sector. But all of this
depends on funding. Foreign quarters
are not very interested in funding the
media. The government too shows a
lack of interest. If the government acted
properly, there would be no need for
foreign funds. The government is
investing in education, industry, trade
and other sectors, providing incentives,
so why will it not help in the
development of the media sector?
Shahiduzzaman says, "Investment is
made in education because education
enlightens. The media plays the same
role. Media is the master of people."
About how necessary such mediabased
organisations
are,
Shahiduzzaman says that if the
country's media houses had staff
development activities, then such
organisations wouldn't be needed.
The Centre for Development and
Communications (CDC), under the
supervision of media personality
Muhammed Jahangir, is going down
the same path. Its activities are limited
I Page: 17
Probe Special
receptioN of News Network fellows oN jourNalism
to local government and climate

change.
Shaheen Mohammed, Programme
Coordinator of CDC, says at the
moment they are running, with
German Embassy funds, an orientation
programme for local government and
journalists on climate change.
The Department of Environment is
making a documentary film on climate
change. The film is being made to raise
awareness of primary and secondary
level students about climate change
and its risks. CDC had also published
Dhaka for the Future, a book
comprising recommendation of various
professionals regarding Dhaka city.
The
Bangladesh
Centre
for
Development,
Journalism
and
Communications
(BCDJC)
was
launched in 1991 with the aim of
improving the professional standard of
media persons, enhancing their skills
and developing research. Many
persons representing the country's
media today have been trained at this
centre and have participated in its
activities. But BCDJC today has no

activities, says its President Nayeemul
Islam Khan.
The reason he gives for this
predicament is that BCDJC was never
an NGO in the general sense of the
term. It was a voluntary professional
organisation. It received funds from
various sources and that is why it was
duly registered. "But we never lobbied
for funds," says Nayeemul Islam Khan.
"BCDJC never acted as an NGO."
He says, "I stopped fund seeking for
BCDJC from the moment we started
publishing the daily Amader Shomoy.
It was a conflict of interests for an
editor of a national daily to seek funds."
Over a long period of time, BCJDC
implemented a large number of
projects involving development of
journalist professionalism, training,
participation of women in the
profession, access of the rural
population to the media and so on. It
published 47 books, though none of
them are available at present, say
BCDJC office personnel.
the commuNicator, aN experimeNtal productioN of ceNtre for asiaN theatre (cat)
Nayeemul Islam Khan says, "You

need to have full business initiative in
whatever you do. It will never succeed
as a secondary interest. We were
interested in publications, but that was
our secondary interest and so it was not
possible to maintain its continuity."
PrOfESSiOnAl ThEATrE AnD
CAT
The Centre for Asian Theatre (CAT)
suffers from the same crisis as the other
media NGOs. It was established in 1995
to give theatre development a
professional shape. It staged such
dramas as Kafka's Metamorphosis,
Heiner Mullers The Mission, Eugene
Ionescos The Lesson an adaptation of
Ibsen's Ghosts, an adaptation of Wild
Duck, Tagore's Raja, folk theatre Bhelua
Sundari and Sonai Bibir Pala.
CAT organised the Ibsen's Dolls
House festival in 2002. In 2005 it
commemorated Ibsen's 100th death
anniversary and published Ibsen's
biography.
The German Embassy, Norwegian
Embassy, Swedish Embassy, British
Council, Alliance Francaise and other
donor agencies funded these plays.
In 2004, with funds from Action Aid,
CAT made the documentary film 'Silent
Departure', about the trafficking of
women.
However, all grants have stopped
since 2011, says the organisation's
former Secretary General Mosharraf
Hossain Tutul. He said, we also want to
work as we please.
He said that CAT's present
production is Macabre. It was written
by Anika Mahin and directed by
Kamaluddin Nilu. Its opening show
was held on 7 December at Shilpakala
Academy.n
I Page: 18
Exclusive
the untold Story of

DR. ABu HENA
Dr. Abu Hena went to kolkata on 7 March 1971 at the orders
of Sheikh Mujib. He held a meeting with a representative of
RAW regarding preparations for the liberation war. What did
they discuss? How did he go to kolkata with kamaruzzaman,
Sheikh Moni and Tofail? once they were there, why did a
distance grow between him and Moni? In the independent
country, why did Bangabandhu expel him from the parliament
with no explanation? Dr. Abu Hena, for the first time ever,
talks about these unknown stories of history in an exclusive
interview with PRoBE.
Dr. Abu Hena was interviewed on 2 December in the PRoBE
office by aNwar parvez halim.
PHoTo: aritra aNkaN mitra
MEETinG MuJib
t was 1962 and Abu Hena was an
LMF student at Mymensingh Medical
College. They had launched a
movement against the discrimination
between the East and West Pakistan
medical profession and medical students.
One day Sheikh Mujib came to Tangail to
address a public rally. Abu Hena also
rushed to Tangail to voice their demands
and that was when he first met Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman. He then joined Chhatra
League politics.
JOininG ChhATrA lEAGuE
In 1962 Shah Moazzem was the president of
Chhatra League and Fazlul Huq Moni the
general secretary. At their directives, Abu
Hena was given the responsibility to form
the Chhatra League district committee. He
formed the committee and was the
president of the district committee.
Jamalpur, Sherpur and Kishoreganj were
sub-divisions at the time. Approval of the
district committee was required to form
sub-divisional committees. At Abu Hena's
recommendation and the centre's
directives, Abdul Hamid was made
president of Kishoreganj Chhatra League.
Abu Hena says, "Abdul Hamid is now the
President of Bangladesh. And I am far
removed from Awami League."
After Ayub Khan's martial law, Chhatra
League central committee was formed in
1964. Obaidur Rahman was president and
Serajul Alam Khan general secretary. Hena
became a member of this committee and
came to Dhaka. He would live in Old
Dhaka. He says, "When I came to Dhaka for
Chhatra League, I became even closer to
Mujib. I was also accused under the public
safety act and had to remain a fugitive for
almost two years."
MuJib WAnTED yOunG
lEADErShiP
Abu Hena says that at that time there was
no Awami League activity in his village
home of Chouhali, Sirajganj. There was no
committee either. He went around the area
and formed a committee. In the meantime,
the 1970 election was nearing. One day
Sheikh Mujib called him and said, "Hena,
we can't rely on the old ones. If we want an
independence struggle, we will need
young people like you. Nothing will
happen unless we build up a young
leadership. You must contest in the
election."
At just 29 years of age, Abu Hena was
elected MPA (Member of the Provincial
I Page: 19
Exclusive
Assembly) from the then Pabna-5 seat
(now Sirajganj-5). Hena says, "At the
advice of Mujib bhai, a group of us
young persons contested in the election
-- me, Razzak, Tofail and Rauf of
Rangpur. Mujib bhai wanted young
leadership to come forward. There
were reasons for that. Mujib bhai didn't
feel confident about relying of the old
leaders when it came to the
independence war. I saw evidence of
this during the war. I don't want to
name anyone, but believe it or not, I am
witness to many incidents. There were
many senior Awami League leaders
then who did not want independence.
All they wanted was to become
ministers. They even opposed
independence while they were in
Mujib continued, "You speak English,

Hindi and Urdu well. On top of that, I
trust you that is why I've selected you.
Do as Moni says." After that Moni bhai
gave me some instructions and told be
to meet Chittaranjan Sutar in Kolkata.
What were those instructions? Hena
says: I had to get the Indian authorities
to make a commitment to keep the
borders open when the war started and
to help us with radio transmitters and
arms. Moni bhai briefed me about this.
I started off on 7 March, the day of
the 7 March public rally at the race
course. I was told to go via Bogra and
cross through Hili. But instead of
taking that route, I crossed the border
at Roumari, Kurigram for safety's sake
and to avoid the police and the
Gonomukti made a declaration and

merged with Awami League. In 1973
too Sutar was elected an Awami
League member of parliament from a
seat in Barisal (Bakherganj-14).
However he would spend most of the
time in Kolkata. Sutar was a member of
BKSAL's central committee. After
Bangabandhu was killed on 15 August
1975, the Mushtaque government
confiscated his passport.
Chittaranjan Sutar was close to RAW.
Sheikh Mujib was well aware of that.
When the war broke out in 1971, the
young leaders would go to Kolkata and
through Sutar would stay at RAW's
guest house. Chittaranjan Sutar was
also the contact between the young
leaders and RAW.
When Sutar was released from jail, Mujib told him, "You are
chanting about Hindus and I am chanting about Bengalis.
You should go to kolkata. Go there and work for me." Sutar
crossed the Sonaimura border and went via Agartala to
kolkata. Mujib knew that Sutar was RAW's man.
Kolkata. They would sit there, that side

of the border, and angrily admonish us,
"It is because of you all that we are in
this is condition. There will never be
any independence."
MuJib SEnDS hEnA TO
KOlKATA
Abu Hena relates: Though Awami
League won the election with a huge
number of seats, the government began
prevaricating over the Assembly
session. The entire country rocked with
agitation and protest. In the last week
of February Moni bhai called me and
said, "Hena, we have to get down to
work. You must go to Kolkata on an
urgent task. You have met with a
representative
of
the
Indian
government." I said, "Look here, I can't
just go at your instructions. I contested
in the election at Mujib bhai's request. I
will go nowhere unless he tells me to."
Then on 1 or 2 March Mujib bhai
called me and said, "I am a busy man
and can't always talk to you all directly.
From now on if Moni tells you
anything, take it that it's from me."
intelligence. The problem was that

Moni bhai had given me the wrong
address. There was no one there by the
name of Chittaranjan Sutar. What had
actually
happened
was
that
Chittaranjan Sutar had come to Kolkata
and adopted the pseudonym Bhujanga
Bhushan Roy.
Anyway, after much searching I
finally found the house, Sunny Villa, at
21 Rajendra Road near Northern Park
in Bhawanipur. This was basically a
RAW office and guest house. Sutar
would live there with his wife and
child. Sheikh Mujib had sent him.
WhO WAS ChiTTArAnJAn
SuTAr?
Chittaranjan Sutar had been elected
member of parliament in 1964 from a
seat in Barisal. He had been involved in
the Scheduled Caste Federation before
joining Awami League. In 1957 when
Awami League split, he joined NAP. In
1964 he joined up with Dr. Kalidas
Baidya to form a political party called
Gonomukti. In 1968 Sutar went to
Kolkata. At a public rally in 1969
Abu Hena says, "I can say with

conviction that in the sixties India had
evil designs for East Pakistan. Their
complaint was that Hindus were being
oppressed here, were not being given
citizens' rights. They wanted to form a
separate state comprising the districts
that side of the river Padma. This was
called Bangabhumi. RAW was behind
this evil design. They even created a
party called Gonomukti. It main leader
was Kalidas Baidya of Faridpur.
Ayub Khan had placed Chittaranjan
Sutar in jail. Towards the end of 1968
when Sutar was released from jail,
Mujib told him, "You are chanting
about Hindus and I am chanting about
Bengalis. You should go to Kolkata. Go
there and work for me." Sutar crossed
the Sonaimura border and went via
Agartala to Kolkata. Mujib knew that
Sutar was RAW's man. That is why
Mujib sent him in advance to Kolkata
so that he could use him. I openly said,
Chittaranjan is a Raw agent. I learnt all
about this from Tajuddin bhai. He told
me about it all. Sutar, in the guise of a
jute trade, would stay in RAW's shelter.
I Page: 20
Exclusive
hEnA MEETS rAW
rEPrESEnTATivES
I started off on 7 March and reached
Kolkata on 10 or 11 March. Sutar had
arranged for me to stay at a RAW
house. My identity was fixed before I
left Dhaka. My code number was 99. I
didn't know that before I reached
Dhaka, the Indian Deputy High
Commission in Dhaka had taken my
code number there. After receiving
information from him, two men came
to the house at around two in the
afternoon. Both were elderly and both
could speak Bengali. I later learnt that
they had come from Delhi. They were
RAW men and Indira Gandhi's trusted
persons. I cannot recall their names
now. One of them was tall, fair and had
a white spot in one eye.
A closed door meeting took place.
Sutar wasn't allowed in the room
during the meeting. He only came once
when we were having tea. He did not
know what transpired between us.
The first thing I told them was that I
wanted arms. They said, what will you
do with arms? Send us your people, we
will train them. They didn't make any
promises about providing us with
arms. Perhaps that was their policy. But
they agreed about the radio station and
keeping the border open. They set up a
radio station later near Gorer Math.
Towards the end of our discussion
they said, "Tell Sheikh Mujib to send us
letter, simply stating, 'Didi [sister], help
us, Mujib,' that is all."
I said, "You all are delaying. We are
at a very crucial moment. If I have to go
back and then return here with a letter,
that will waste a lot of time." They said,
"It is needed, she [Indira] wants it."
They also said, "The radio station is
ready. The borders will remain open.
Arrangements will be made for shelter
if people come over the border."
Two days later I came back home via
Jessore. On 14 or 15 March I apprised
Mujib bhai of the matter. I told him
they wanted a letter. Mujib bhai
listened to me, but did not respond. I
also informed Moni bhai about the
Kolkata visit. Then the crackdown took
place on 25 March. Sheikh Mujib was
arrested.
I want to clear things here. Many
people say that Sheikh Mujib sent Hena
with a note to Kolkata. That is not true.
Before going to Kolkata, Mujib bhai
instructed me through Sheikh Fazlul
Huq Moni. He issued verbal instruction

and didn't give me any written note.
SECOnD viSiT TO KOlKATA
On 27 March when I was passing
through Rayer Bazar with Captain
Mansur
Ali
sahib,
we
met
Kamaruzzaman sahib. The three of us
crossed the river, arrived at Jinjira and
began to walk. On the way we got
Golam Rasul Moyna. Moyna was
Sheikh Moni's classmate. He took us to
his sister's house in Kolatia. This was
the house of Ratan Chairman. Ratan's
brother Borhanuddin Gogon was later
elected as member of parliament in
1973.
Over there we found Sheikh Fazlul
Huq Moni, Serajul Alam Khan, Abdur
Razzak, Tofail Ahmed, Shahjahan Siraj
and ASM Abdur Rab. They said they
had fled Dhaka in the afternoon of 25
March and came to Ratan Chairman's
house. Later that afternoon, Nure Alam
Siddiqui and Abdul Kuddus Makhan
also turned up there.
I wanted to go to the village, but
since I had been to Kolkata and knew
the place well, they all said I should
stay with them. I had to change my
plans. We had a meeting and it was
decided five of us -- Mansur Ali,
Kamaruzzaman, Sheikh Moni, Tofail
and I - would all go to Kolkata. Serajul
Alam Khan and Abdur Razzak would
come later after carrying out certain
tasks.
29 March, we went to Manikganj by
boat. We met Habu Miah (he had been
a state minister) there. His brother Lebu
Miah took us to the river Jamuna where
we took a small launch and reached
Sirajganj in two days. We then went via
Sariakandi in Bogra to Hili and from
there straight on to Kolkata. But
Mansur Ali sahib didn't go on to
Kolkata. He went back to Sirajganj from
Sariakandi. He said, "I will not leave
my children behind." We sent a retired
army commando, Sattar, with him.
Later Professor Abu Sayeed came to
Kolkata with Mansur Ali.
Kamruzzaman, Moni and Tofail
were all cowardly and among them,
Moni was the most cowardly. I had to
literally keep him in my lap while we
crossed the river Jamuna! He really
disturbed us the entire journey. At
Sariakandi we spent the night at
Taherul Islam MPS's house. It was a tinroofed house. Whenever a tiny jackfruit
profile
Dr. Abu Hena

Dr. Abu Hena was born on 15
January 1942 in the village Chouhali
of Sirajganj. His father Mazhar Ali
Sarker was a police inspector.
Abu Hena obtained the LMF
degree from Mymensingh Medical
School in 1963-64. He later obtained
his MBBS degree after independence
from Salimullah Medical College.
In 1962 he became Mymensingh
district Chhatra League founder
president. In 1964 he became a
central committee member. In the
1970 election he was elected MPA
from the Pabna-5 seat (now
Sirajganj-5).
At Mujib's instructions he went to
Kolkata on 7 March 1971 and
discussed preparations for the
liberation war with Indian
representatives. He was in charge of
recruitment and training of freedom
fighters during the war. He was
expelled as member of parliament
after independence. After 1975 he
joined Khandkar Mushtaque's
Democratic League. In 1981 he got
job in Saudi Arabia and lived there.
His wife Latifa Begum and
daughter Taslima Bashar are both
teachers. His son Abdullah Bashar
Mithu has passed his A-levels.
Dr. Abu Hena is presently retired
and lives with his family in Mirpur,
Dhaka. n
fell from the tree onto the roof, Moni
would jump up, saying, "Gunshots,
gunshots!" He almost sunk the
speedboat on the way to Sariakandi. I
realised that Mansur Ali sahib has
actually left the group because of Moni.
It was because of Moni bhai that out
journey to Kolkata took so long.
I Page: 21
Exclusive
A small incident at the Kolkata RAW
hideout led to a misunderstanding
between Sheikh Moni and Abu Hena.
That is why Hena moved away from
the youth leaders. Abu Hena says, "I
guided him to Kolkata, but once we got
there his attitude changed. At the
instructions of Seraj bhai I let Baliadi's
Ahram
Siddiqui
stay
in
Kamruzzaman's bed. Moni bhai
misbehaved with me over this. It was
raining heavily that night and Moni
forced Ahram Siddiqui our, in the
pouring rain. Yet Ahram Siddiqui
hadn't eaten for three days. He had
come empty handed all the way to
Kolkata, weak and sick. We had gone to
fight a way, yet Moni's behaviour over
such a minor incident was inhuman. I
left the place that every night."
Abu Hena says, "Believe me, at the
beginning there was no one to do
anything. Tofail wouldn't leave the
house. He was too scared. He was
scared of the pro-China Naxalites. They
had posted slogans over all the walls,
stating, 'Destroy the black plans of
Sheikh Mujib, crush his black hand.'
Tofail was a popular leader, the VP of
DUCSU. His pictures had been in the
papers during the 1969 uprising.
Naturally he was scared. The Naxalites
would kill him if they recognised him.
We didn't let him venture out. I was the
one who would go out under the alias
of Nitai Chandra Das Gupta. Razzak's
name was Raju, Tofail was Tapan
(Topu), Sheikh Moni was Moni Babu,
and Seraj was Saroj da. It was from this
Saroj da that he was later called 'dada'.
About 20 to 25 days after we reached
Kolkata, Razzak arrived. I went to the
border to bring him."
That night when he left the RAW
hideout, Hena went to stay at Niranjan
Bose's house at 26 Palm Avenue.
Niranjan was from Khulna. Later
Serajul Alam Khan asked Hena to join
Mujib Bahini, but Hena refused. Abu
Hena says, "I didn't believe in the
concept of Mujib Bahini. After all, I felt,
the entire war was carried out with
Mujib's inspiration in the front.
Maulana Bhasani was almost like a
father to Mujib, but became his follower
regarding the liberation war. From
Muzaffar Ahmed to Moni Singh,
everyone became Mujib's follower and
joined the liberation struggle. Having a
separate force in the name of Mujib
would be divisive. That would lead to
little armies under various person's

names."
During the war, the MNAs Members
of National Assembly and MPAs had
certain responsibilities. Other than
these duties, Abu Hena would also visit
the various FF camps and organise the
freedom fighters and help in their
training.
Abu Hena says, "Most of the MNAs
were old and cowards. The youth
wouldn't like them. The boys who had
come to fight would prefer us. I was
given the responsibility to recruit boys
from Sirajganj and Bogra. I would
collect them from the border and bring
them to the camps. I also covered
Tangail."
Abu Hena also took part directly in
the war for one day at Bhurungamari
under Captain Delwar. Lt. Samad was
martyred in that war. Hena said,
"Delwar and I could have died that day
too. It was a serious battle." He goes on
to say, "We would spread mats on the
ground in the camp and sleep with the
rest of the boys while many of the
youth leaders would live in luxury in
Kolkata. They would do nothing."
ExPEllED AS MPA AnD frOM
ThE PArTy AfTEr
inDEPEnDEnCE
Abu Hena returned to the country on
19 December. He went back to the
village and concentrated in rebuilding
the party. Bangabandhu returned on 10
January. The parliament started. Hena
only had the opportunity of attending
parliament for a day. Then he received
va phone call from Ittefaq telling him
that he had been expelled. Abu Hena
says, "Till date, I have no idea on what
From Muzaffar Ahmed to

Moni Singh, everyone
became Mujib's follower
and joined the liberation
struggle. Having a
separate force in the
name of Mujib would be
divisive. That would lead
to little armies under
various person's names."
grounds Bangabandhu expelled me. I

wasn't even given any notice. I asked
Mujib bhai about this, but he couldn't
given me a clear explanation. All he
said was, 'I made a mistake.' I said, 'If
you made a mistake, then correct it.'
But I understood why I was expelled."
"It was Sheikh Moni who was behind
my expulsion. He was taking revenge
for the Kolkata incident. Also, at a
public meeting in Sirajganj, I said that
democracy and socialism can't go hand
it hand. I had said, some speak of
socialism, some speak of Mujib-ism.
Stop all this nonsense. That was why
Moni was infuriated with me."
Abu Hena says about Sheikh Moni,
"Moni began preparing himself as
Sheikh Mujib's second man. It was his
intention to replace Sheikh Mujib.
Slogans were called out at Dhaka
airport, 'Sheikh Mujib or Sheikh Moni Sheikh Moni, Sheikh Moni!' Similar
slogans were heard at Rajbari and some
places of Faridpur. What arrogance for
such slogans to be called in anyone's
name while Sheikh Mujib was still
alive. Moni would remove anyone
whom he felt to be an obstacle in his
way."
There was no governance in the
country then; it was running on the
proclamation of presidential order.
And if Sheikh Mujib said anything,
would anyone stop that? I went to court
to consult with the judges and they
said, "We can file an injunction, and
you will be spared because of your
political clout. But we will be sacked.
Where will we go then?"
After BKSAL was formed, Abdur
Razzak, Mansur Ali's son Romeo (now
deceased) and Kapasia's Dr. Matiur
Rahman Chowdhury took me to Mujib
bhai. They wanted me to join BKSAL.
Sheikh Mujib asked, "Everyone wants
something. What do you want?" "I
replied, "Why will I want anything?
Who am I to you?"
He said, "You are overdoing it. You
held a press conference and insulted
me." I replied, "Mujib bhai, you are the
one who insulted me. I do not know
why you expelled me. You have
punished me for nothing. Yet we
liberated the country for the sake of
justice. I was the victim of injustice and
you were the one who did this injustice
to me."
He said, "Won't you join us?"
I replied, "No."n
I Page: 22
Article
maj geN s m
iBrahim
ear readers, today is 16 December.

As you, my beloved readers, turn
the pages of this beautiful
magazine, let me wish you
happiness and prosperity. Let me
share with you the excitement of being one of
those who survived the nine months of war in
the battlefield and who has survived the
following four decades plus in life, in not so
pleasant times. The battlefield was spread all
along the border of Bangladesh. The battlefields
were dispersed all along the countryside of
Bangladesh. The battle field extended into the
waters of the river Karnaphuli in Chittagong
and similar other rivers and rivulets in the
Sundarbans, in the South-West of Bangladesh.
The war of liberation of Bangladesh is but the
finishing phase of the long drawn political war
to setup an independent country. The war
began, before I was born. I was born remote
village named Burishchar, on the western bank
of river Halda, in the present-day upazila named
Hathazari in the district of Chittagong.
Chittagong has been famous for more than one
reason. In the year 1931 a group of young
patriots under the leadership of Surjo Sen
(dearly called Masterda Surjoshen) had attacked
A letter
in memory of Selim
the armory of the Chittagong police and took
away all the weapons. They hoisted the flag of
independence on the roof top of the police lines
and the court building. Those were the days of
the British Raj; the sun had not yet tilted for
setting. Masterda Surjo Sens village is hardly
four kilometers away from my village. The saga
of the adventurous and indomitable team under
the leadership of Masterda Surjo Sen was bright
in the minds of the adolescents and the youth in
the neighborhood. My father Hafiz Ahmed was
born in 1926 and their generation vibrated with
the spirit of patriotism which Surjo Sen
emanated. My father and the young men of his
generation use to tell their children all about
Masterda Surjo Sen. I was born in 1949. As I
grew up from a child to an adolescent, in my
village school or in the very famous Faujdarhat
Cadet College, I never forgot Surjo Sen.
In the city of Chittagong, there is a place called
Sholoshohor. In 1970 the government of
Pakistan had approved the raising of a new
battalion, the 8th battalion of the East Bengal
Regiment. In the battalions of the East Bengal
Regiment, officers would come from any

segment of the people of the country, who were
commissioned from the Pakistan Military
Academy Kakul. But the soldiers would be from
only Bengalis, less three to four percent who had
to be technically qualified and experienced and
therefore for the sake of necessity could also be
non-Bengalis. As the tradition was, soldiers from
existing battalions were transferred to the 8th
battalion. Officers from other battalions not only
of the East Bengal Regiment but also other
infantry regiments were transferred to the 8th
battalion. The cantonment or Garrison was
located in a place called Natun Para, few
kilometers away from the main city hidden in
the valleys of Jalalabad Hills which in itself were
a part of the foothills of the Himalayas spreading
right up to the shores of the Bay of Bengal. Space
or accommodation inside the Garrison was
scarce for the new battalion. Therefore, the
newly raised battalion was housed in few large
and small sheds in the area Sholoshohor.
Lieutenant Colonel Abdur Rashid Janjua was
made the commanding officer while Major Ziaur
Rahman was made the second in command of
the 8th battalion. Ziaur Rahman had been in the
immediate past, the second in command of
second battalion of the East Bengal Regiment
located at a place called Joydevpur, which is
now over-shadowed by new name called
Gazipur, 25 kilometers north from Dhaka.
Generally all Bengali officers and men in the
battalions of the East Bengal Regiment located in
the-then East Pakistan were following the
political events of the country, then, carefully.
Chittagong was a port city. Soldiers as well as
arms and ammunition had been arriving from
the port city of Karachi in West Pakistan. The
military build-up could not be neglected. Major
Ziaur Rahman and other Bengali officers
carefully prepared themselves for any
eventuality. The officers and men were
desperate to fight for a new independent
country. But the direction needed to come from
the Bengali political leadership in Dhaka. The
Awami League of the nineteen sixties under the
leadership of (Bangabandhu) Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman prepared the country, in terms of
political awareness.
The month of March 1971 was very
treacherous. The Pakistani military junta
ordered a military crackdown on the entire
population of erstwhile East Pakistan.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was
interned. Officers and men of the East Bengal
Regiment were instrumental in rising to the
occasion. Major Ziaur Rahman took the
leadership, took the initiative and revolted. Few
minutes past the midnight; the date in the
calendar was 26th of March 1971. Ziaur Rahman
told his men assembled in the courtyard of the
I Page: 23
Article
sheds: We revolt. We will fight for independent Bangladesh.
We will urge our countrymen to join us. On the 27th of
March, Ziaur Rahman was in the radio station located at
Kalurghat little away from the city center, in Chittagong. He
declared independence of Bangladesh over the radio; people
near and away heard. He also said, we do so in the name of
our great and supreme leader Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman.
The second battalion of the East Bengal Regiment was
spread in three different locations. I was in the headquarters
at Joydevpur. Our journey started in the evening at 5 pm. The
nine months were busy as well as rewarding. I fought. We
fought. The countrymen supported us, helped us and prayed
for us. We had a very friendly neighbor in the large country
called India. They gave us all that was needed to sustain the
war, to advance our cause. We expanded. India helped us
train new men to fight for our country. India provided us
food, clothing and shelter. India gave us weapons. And of
course, India stood as a friend of the people of Bangladesh in
the international arena. Towards the end of November 1971,
India warmed up for major offensive. On 3rd December 1971,
India and Pakistan were in a declared war against each other.
India and Pakistan had not been friendly neighbor since the
birth of both of them in 1947. India wanted to cut Pakistan to
size. 1971 provided a golden opportunity. The excuse was
Bangladesh. It was a historic coincidence that the interest of
Bangladesh in 1971 and the interest of
India in 1971 were similar to a large part.
Millions of Bangladesh laid down their
lives for an independent country.
Thousands of Indian military officers
and soldiers also laid down their lives for
an independent Bangladesh; albeit for a
Bangladesh friendly to India.
The memories of the war of liberation
are fresh in the minds of the freedom
fighters. The government of Bangladesh,
father of the NatioN
while Bangabandhu was the supreme,
bestowed the honor of 'Bir Protik' on me
along with 300 or so other valiant fighters. Many freedom
fighters of 1971 are no more living. Many have passed away
in natural process. I recall those who laid down their lives in
the battlefield. I recall those who laid down their lives after
the war. I remember my battalion, the Second East Bengal
Regiment. I recall my first commanding officer Lieutenant
Colonel Masoudul Hossain Khan who was nearly a father
figure to Ibrahim at 21 years; he is now late. The battalion
revolted under the leadership of the-then Major KM
Shafiullah who became Commanding Officer of the battalion,
then became sector commander of Sector 3 and lastly became
commander of S Force. Between April 1972 and August 1975
he was the professional head of Bangladesh Army; my
regards to the General who is luckily still hale and hearty.
General Safiullah is a Bir Uttom I recall Major Moinul
Hossain Chowdhury, later a Bir Bikrom and a Major
General, Major Nurul Islam later a Major General and a
Minister, Captain Abu Saleh Mohammad Nasim later a Bir
Birkrom and as a Lieutenant General the Chief of Bangladesh
Army. Major General Azizur Rahman Bir Uttom was a young
Captain; and my regards for him also. My last salute is for
Second Lieutenant Kamrul Hasan Selim.
Selim was one of those courageous young students who

left their studies to join the war of liberation as a fighter. I saw
him in mid April 1971 for the first time. The remaining four
months he was more often out at nights as a guerrilla fighter
to hunt enemy. He was selected with 60 or so other young
gentlemen to undergo a short training course between July
and October 1971. Their training school was in a place called
Murti in Eastern India. The batch was commissioned into the
war-time Bangladesh Army or 9th of October 1971. Selim
joined the Second Battalion of the East Bengal Regiment and
saw through the war till the end.
After the war was over, and the battalion was preparing to
settle down, the battalion went through a different ordeal.
The city of Dhaka in 1971 or early 1972 was vastly different
from what it is today. Mirpur was a different township. It had
overwhelmingly large non-Bengali or Bihari population.
During 1971, they had supported the Pakistani military in
Dhaka. While the Pakistani military surrendered on 16
December 1971, the Biharis kept themselves aloof, and
protected. The Indian army who had taken over the charge of
Dhaka soon after the surrender of Pakistanis, did not do
enough to bring to township of Mirpur under control. It was
the 29 January 1972. The Second East Bengal Regiment was
tasked to take over Mirpur and ensure the surrender of few
thousand armed anti-Bangladeshi Biharis. Only 24 hours
notice was given. Not to question why but to do or die has
always been the un-spelled dictum of
the military anywhere in the world. So
was it with the Second East Bengal
also. On the 30 January 1972, soldiers
of Second East Bengal fought terrible
battle with the Biharis in Mirpur.
Lieutenant Selim and 39 others laid
down their lives, before they could
obtain the surrender of the Biharis.
Lieutenant Selim and his 39
colleagues were the last of martyrs of
the Bangladesh War of Liberation. I
dedicate this column to the memory of
Selim and the 39. In April 1971, Selim was not alone in joining
the war. His immediate younger brother Anisul Hasan also
joined the war. Both of them were commissioned on 9
October 1971. After the war Anis became a doctor. For the last
two decades, Anis has been leading a campaign of factfinding in respect of war crimes committed in Bangladesh in
1971. Selim and Anis have been very dear to me. Selim and
the 39 others of my parent battalion the Second East Bengal
Regiment were also very dear to me. We fought the war
together. I shall not forget them; may you the countrymen
also remember them and please keep them in your prayers.
Sincerely yours: Major General (Retd) Syed Muhammad
Ibrahim Bir Protik, now 65+, grandfather of three, still
striving for a better Bangladesh. On the eve of the Victory
Day 2014. n
Major General Syed Muhammad Ibrahim Bir Protik retired in
June 1996. While in service, he was a graduate of The Royal Staff College
Camberley England as well as the US Army War College. He is a popular
columnist in Bengali and English. He is also a popular participant in
television talk-shows. He leads a political party by the name of
Bangladesh Kallyan Party
I Page: 24
Out of the Box
multiculturalism,
tolerance and Islam
Pluralism is the key to harmony in a multicultural world
by WAJiD Ali KhAn PAnni
he concept and practice of multiculturalism is

always a debatable subject. There are several
burning issues erupting in our world which create
controversial questions of cultural clashes while
the origins of dissonance are not always religious
or cultural; but political and economic. Unfortunately, as a
result, one culture tries to dominate over other to wipe out so
called hostile identities with cultural bullying or money
power and in most cases political power is used as a tool to
subordinate or demonise the other.
Preservation of ethnic purity is often criticised as an antithesis of multiculturalism and harmony, even though the real
meaning of multiculturalism encompasses tolerance and
respect to other civilisations and culture. This process has
indeed created a sense of insecurity among people world
over, especially those who live in other countries as
immigrants.
When we look at the problems related to cultural conflicts
dispassionately, the emergent reality is that more than any
identity or adjustment issue with other religion, it is the
changing nature of economics and struggle for economic
power that leads to community conflicts or religious conflicts
or even war among nations. At a closer look, all religions
essentially teach the lessons of tolerance and resilience rather
than hostility and subordination.
Religion has become the most contentious issue since the
end of cold war. Among the religions under attack for
cultural and political reasons, Islam stands first. There is a
deliberate attempt to project Islam as a monolithic religion,
which disregards diversity and pluralism. There is a
misconception even among scholars that the anti-Islam
sentiments were by-products of 9/11 and Talibanization. But
in reality it is not true. The speed and pace of economic
growth in some Islamic countries and their huge natural
resources base have played a vital role in defining and
redefining global attitude towards Islam - both political and
cultural dimensions.
Western media has successfully projected the image of
Islam in accordance with their immediate political and
economic concerns. There was hardly any attempt on their
part to study and explore the spirit and content of Islam as a
religion practised by millions of people across the world.
Instead there is a tendency to equate militancy and
extremism with the very fabric of Islam. Even the British

Commission on Muslims views that a deep dislike of Islam is
not a new phenomenon in our society. What is new is the way
it is articulated by those sections of society who claim the
mantle of secularism, liberalism and tolerance. They are at the
forefront of the fight against racism and against Islam and
Muslims at the same time. They preach equality for all, yet
turn a blind eye to the fact that Western society sometimes
offers unequal opportunities for Muslim.
There is also another common misconception that
terrorism originated in west Asia and its global religious
affiliation is Islam. But it is absolutely wrong. Terrorism has
roots in Europe. The history of genocide, brutal victimisation,
etcetera dates back to pre-cold war Europe. Even though
there is no denying fact that there are militant organisations
functioning under the banner of Islam like Al-Qaeda,
majority of the Muslims negates extremism in any form and
content.
When we analyse the growth and development of AlQaeda or any such terrorist movement, USAs imperialistic
involvement is evident. Once upon a time Osama was
Washingtons ally. There are several other cases as well.
There is no doubt that Talibanization or any type of
fundamentalism needs to be checked. However, it is not
politically correct to brand or demonise all the countries or
movements which attack hegemony of Western culture and
declaring the political weapon of war on terror on them
As a religion and culture, Islam provides sufficient space
for reform though there are certain basic features which
cannot be altered as it essentially constitute the Islamic
identity. However, in social realms, this identity does not
negate or disrespect any other religion or culture. To each to
his own (Lakum deen na kum waliudeen).
Islamic way of life neither comes in conflict with other
cultures nor does it close the social spaces for discourse and
interaction with other culture. Hence it is painful to view
Islam being contextualized and positioned as an entity
opposite to and intolerant of the so-called democratic and
liberal ideals and values for which the west stands for. This is
often articulated through an onslaught on Muslims as a
hegemonic community, where the religion of Islam is
employed as a battering ram: a religion that is conceived and
determined to be either uniquely evil or uniquely backward.
I Page: 25
Out of the Box

Islam is often equated with
perceptible
signs
from
Taliban and headscarf is being
clothing and speech accents to
seen as an embodiment of
come to dubious conclusions.
subordination of women.
Such hubs are known for their
Even in the 90s, Netherlands
harassment of international
and some other European
travellers who become soft
countries discussed the issue
targets for the first contact
of headscarf to project it as a
point in a foreign country.
conflict between Islam and
Nevertheless there are several
modern liberal ideas of
Muslims peacefully living in
citizenship and public sphere.
USA and Europe without
The terrorist attacks in the
causing any disruption in
United States and Britain
society or culture even though
made such false claims more
majority of them continue
popular. In 2005, during the
practising Islam as their way
debate
on
terrorism
of life. Irrespective of the
prevention, some right wing members
nature of the current debates and
In 2005, during the debate on
strongly argued that burkhas are women
arguments
surrounding
terrorism prevention, some right
unfriendly and creates security threat in
multiculturalism, neither Islam nor
public places. Instead of recognising and wing members strongly argued that Muslims are incompatible with either
burkhas are women unfriendly and
subsequently creating moral and cultural
liberalism or multiculturalism.
space for other religious beliefs, attempts
The events of 9/11, 7/7 and 21/7 were
creates security threat in public
were made to reject the religious
not
therefore
evidence
that
places. Instead of recognising and
sentiments and identity consciousness of
multiculturalism
is
no
more,
nor
even
subsequently creating moral and
Muslim women and to homogenise the
that certain communities and religions
cultural space for other religious
entire community into the dominant
needed to be vilified. The reality is indeed
beliefs, attempts were made to
culture and identity.
quite the opposite.
When the Taliban came into power in
The
key
factor
to
protect
reject the religious sentiments and
Afghanistan and wrong interpretation of
multiculturalism in the contemporary
identity consciousness of Muslim
Islam was given especially on the role of
world is to realize and accept the
women and to homogenise the
women, there was wide spread criticism
essential uniqueness of each religion and
across the world. But there was no such entire community into the dominant culture whether it is backward or modern
culture and identity.
cry when negation of identity was
as per the stereotype criteria. As far as
initiated in Western Europe. Both are
Islam is concerned, movement for reform
different sides of same coin - one projects itself as - if there is a felt need - should emerge within that culture and
fundamental Islam and the other put the veil of democracy religion. It should not be a prescription sheet given by
and liberalism to cover the face of hegemony and others who condemn the culture or those who believe that
homogenisation. Both are equally disastrous as far as religion contemporary Islam - as a religion, practice and politics - is
as a redeeming force is concerned. Wearing headscarf or essentially a threat to multiculturalism. The definition,
turban in public places - to express ones identity explicitly - is content and discourse on Islam should not be something
more honest than preaching the sentiments of liberal determined by either Al-Qaeda or USA.
democratic values on one hand and practising the politics of
There are number of terrorist outfits which are not Islamic
imperialism and cultural hegemony on the other.
at all. There are several wars, which the USA and other
More and more, one hears about homogenisation taking countries fought in which Islamic countries were not a party.
place ostensibly to deal with the threats faced by Hence, any effort to brand Islam as a threat and creator of
globalisation. What is happening is actually cultural bullying clash of civilisations will only lead to wrong assumptions
to wipe out identities to enable a sinister kind of mass public and further polarisations in society. Mutual respect and
who will react similarly and predictably in an acceptable resilience should be the bottom line when the geographical
response level - acceptable to the powers that be.
barriers dividing countries are getting blurred and redrawn.
The reasons why people feel threatened is that their own
The key to harmony in a multicultural world is to
indigenous base within the diversities of the world are understand that every culture is inherently plural and
getting threatened by large scale out - migration of their own porous. Culture and religion evolves over centuries and the
kind and large scale in - migration of distinct foreigners who content will be refined in tune with the time. What we can do
are making the land home to the extent of even changing the
is to celebrate diversity as a positive corollary of peaceful coheritage landscape. International travellers often face insult
existence.
The branding and exclusion of a particular religion
and humiliation in airports whether it is Sharukh Khan or
will
not
support
the future of multiculturalism. Rather,
APJ Abdul Kalam. This is more acute in the case of people
liberal
democracy
and
multiculturalism should be practised
who wear dresses expressing his or her religious identity.
Stereotyping and demonising of Muslims as extremists puts through recognition and respect towards other religious
people into predetermined moulds. This is actually the result beliefs with a strong conviction that their specific cultural
of poor knowledge about the other religion and culture.
identity will not hamper the scope for the collective
There is also the element of small-time prejudice getting consciousness of the mainstream society.n
the upper hand in such situations where travel staff goes by
The writer is former Deputy Foreign Minister and High Commissioner of Bangladesh
I Page: 26
Guest Column
RE-CONNECtING
ikram sehgal
AFGHANIStAN
he lack of economic opportunities for

the populace in Afghanistan is a major
impediment to peace and stability.
Without an adequate industrial base
and/or agriculture infra-structure,
guns for hire in abundance as a means to finding
income is neither conducive neither for foreign
direct investment (FDI) nor domestic
entrepreneurial initiatives. That a small elite
cabal with fixed mindsets returned after the fall
of the Taliban to occupy seats of power in Kabul
does not help.
Economic resurgence for land-locked
countries requires facilitating trade to and
through their territory. EastWest Institute
(EWI), a NY-based leading US think tank headed
by Ross Perot Jr, initiated the Abu Dhabi
Process, a cross-border trade dialogue cofunded by Abu Dhabi and Germany, between
Afghanistan and the countries on its periphery.
Hosted by EWI, the recent Istanbul conference
encouraged businesses in South and Central
Asia to themselves take necessary initiatives to
unlock trade and kickstart the war-ravaged
Afghan economy.
For the short term the recommended ways
forward included (a) Regional Business Council
comprising influential business leaders from
Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Iran, CARs, Turkey

and Iran (b) one window custom clearance
systems by Afghanistan and improved border
sources at Torghundi, Hairatan, Torkham,
Chaman, Wagah and Sher Khan Bandar and
other border points to reduce time and cost of
crossing (c) generous visa regime to enable
businesses to move around easily (under
SAARC for the short term and Economic
Cooperation Organisation (ECO) for the long
term) (d) regional entrepreneurship exchange
programs to promote trade and investment
opportunities.
The mid-term recommendations included (a) a
unified transaction mechanism system and
regional banking framework (b) standardizing
Afghan tax structure to entice business
investment and (c) a Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of
Pakistan. The long term recommendations were
(a) a regional infrastructure trust fund (Donors:
India, Turkey, China, Russia, Pakistan and
Afghanistan) to invest on designing, developing
& expanding transport means such as railways
and (b) the implementation of CASA 1000,
TAPI Projects and regional energy projects
(without mention by name of Iran-PakistanIndia (IPI) gas pipeline). The threat of US
Hosted by EWI,
the recent Istanbul
conference
encouraged
businesses in
South and Central
Asia to themselves
take necessary
initiatives to unlock
trade and kickstart
the war-ravaged
Afghan economy.
afghaN farmers work oN a wheat field iN NaNgarhar proviNce
I Page: 27
Guest Column
Realpolitik is the product of cold
calculated pragmatism based on
economics. Afghanistan will make
billions of US dollars from systemcollected royalties from the Central
Asian Corridor passing through their
geographical location. Without a
continuous flow of gas and power,
economic resurgence in Pakistan
will remain moribund.
afghaN womeN at a textile factory iN kaBul
sanctions remain, and while Pakistan has no

intention of bucking that, the Iranian portion is in
place at the border at two places, 70 kms from
Gwadar and 250 kms to connect into the extensive
Pakistani gas pipeline infra-structure, with
planned connections into FATA and Swat.
Recent significant and symbolic events confirm
that Ashraf Ghani is a game-changer in the
context of Pakistan-Afghanistan relationship. To
quote The Making of History dated Nov 20,
2014, Throwing aside diplomatic norms, the
Afghanistans
President
visited
GHQ
immediately after landing at Islamabad. A foreign
Head of State heading straight towards a military
HQ on arrival carries a lot more than ceremonial
importance, the Afghan President means business
because he well understands where the real
power concerning national security rests. Ashraf
Ghani described his discussions later with the
Pakistani PM as a shared vision to serve as the
heart of Asia, ensuring economic integration by
enhancing connectivity between South and
Central Asia through energy, gas and oil
pipelines becoming a reality and not remaining a
dream. The narrative for the future must include
the most neglected of our people to become
stakeholders in a prosperous economy in stable
and peaceful countries, our faiths are linked
because terror knows no boundaries. We have
overcome obstacles of 13 years in three days, we
will not permit the past to destroy the future.
workers at the kaBul milli factory haNdcraft

comBat Boots
How will the Afghan President overcome the hate

Pakistani mindset of a few Kabuli diehards, some
of these ingrates even born and educated in
Pakistan, who must even now be conspiring to
cut him down to size?
That the future would not be held hostage by
the past was symbolised by the US repatriating
(with Afghan consent) Latif Mehsud alongwith
two other militant commanders from Bagram into
Pakistani custody. My article, Malalas Theme,
of a year ago Oct 31, 2013, said, The capture of
the senior leader of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan
(TTP), Hakeemullah Mehsuds No 2, by US
Special Forces represents the smoking gun
about the Afghan regimes sustained involvement
in terrorism in Pakistan. In the company of
Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS)
agents taking their prized asset to Kabul to meet
senior govt officials, Latif Mehsud was
simultaneously on the American most wanted
list. Indias Research & Analysis Wing (RAW), is
using the NDS as a proxy to sustain and support
TTPs brutal campaign within Pakistan. To their
credit, despite Karzais fury at the US for his
capture (Daily Telegraph Oct 13, 2013) cut no ice
with them, the US signalled that as their enemy
Latif Mehsud would remain in their custody.
The act of handing over this terrorist is a
confidence-building measure that will reduce the
trust deficit and build on the excellent fast
developing working relationship.
Realpolitik is the product of cold calculated
pragmatism based on economics. Afghanistan
will make billions of US dollars from systemcollected royalties from the Central Asian
Corridor passing through their geographical
location. Without a continuous flow of gas and
power, economic resurgence in Pakistan will
remain moribund. The EWIs Abu Dhabi Process
emphasizes that the entire region stands to gain
exponentially from constructive trade and
commerce engagement.
Afghanistan has finally found its man of
destiny in Ashraf Ghani. How long before some
leader in Pakistan rises above self, selfishness and
greed for the sake of the country?n
I Page: 28
International
Blowback of the
foreign jihadists?
by JOnAThAn POWErz
ver 15,000 foreign jihadists

from 80 countries are
believed to be fighting
alongside militants in
Syria, the CIA says. The
Syrian war is estimated to have
mobilized more European Islamists
than all the foreign wars of the last 20
years combined.
What to do when the jihadists try to
return home? Many of them might be
trained to wage jihad against their
home countries. The danger is, as
Daniel Byman and Jeremy Shapiro
write in the current issue of Foreign
Affairs, the returned fighter seasoned
by battle acquires a new authority
among his old friends and followers on
social media- a street cred that allows
him to recruit and radicalize others and
send them into the fray. On the other
hand because of the use of social media
where the returnee sometimes brags
about his exploits and adventures it
becomes easy for the intelligence
services both to track him down and
know who he is trying to reach.
The threat posed by returning
jihadists is too often hyped by both
Western politicians and the media. The
number that go to fight from Western
countries is only about 2,500. Of course
even if only 25% at some point return
that could be enough to cause mayhem,
if that is what they are intent on doing.
The impression that one used to get is
that until a few months ago the jihadists
didnt think that much about their
home countries. They were driven not

by the wrongs at home but by the
clarion call of the ultra militants of their
Muslim sect, the Sunni, who want to
cut down the Shiites and establish their
own caliphate. But now Western
airstrikes on the Sunni fighters of the
Islamic State by Western and Arab Gulf
nations are well established- they
began in August- there is talk among
the foreign fighters about bringing
home the war in revenge.
Even so the situation must be kept in
proportion. It used to be said there
would be blowback from the war in
Iraq. It didnt happen. Second, many of
these volunteers will never return as
they will die in combat- the ferocity of
the present fighting exceeds that of
other recent conflicts- or join new
military campaigns elsewhere or return
home disillusioned and peacefully
inclined. Third, thanks to pervasive
intelligence they are often arrested on
their return. This year alone the UK
police say they have arrested 218
returnees and 40 British citizens are
awaiting trial on terrorism charges. In
Europe five terrorist plots have been
foiled but there has been no serious
successful terrorism on European or
American soil for a number of years.
Fourth, the number of returnees who
are still militants is not particularly
large. One study found that only one in
nine Western fighters who went abroad
between 1990 and 2010 came back
determined to attack home targets.
Iraq offers other lessons. During the

war against Iraq, initiated by President
George W. Bush and British Prime
Minister Tony Blair, dozens of Muslims
from the US and Europe went to fight.
Many became even more radicalized
during the fighting and joined Al
Qaeda after it established a local
affiliate in 2004. In 2005 the director of
the CIA, Porter Goss, warned the
Senate Select Committee, Islamist
extremists are exploiting the Iraqi
conflict to recruit new anti-US
jihadists. In fact terrorists failed to
perpetuate attacks in the West, apart
from a bungled one at Glasgow airport
in 2007. (This was carried out not by
returning jihadists but by a tiny group
of
home-grown
Al-Qaeda
sympathizers.) The experience of Iraq
also points towards another problem
for jihadism- the infighting among
militants. The IS jihadists have to look
three ways- towards the governments
of Syria and Iraq, towards the danger
from the sky and the threat from the
less extreme militants in Syria who
although fighting the regime of
President Bashar al-Assad want to see
IS eradicated.
But what to do about those who do
try and return home to wage war? The
UK government already has a policy in
place that allows it to seize the
passports of those it suspects of
terrorism.
That is one way to go. Another as
practiced in Saudi Arabia and Denmark
is to develop policies that would
reintegrate them back into normal
society.
In Aarhus in Denmark returning
jihadists are met with counselling and
careers advice rather than jail.
The thinking behind the Aarhus
model is straightforward. Many of
those who left were young men, some
with few prospects, who didnt feel
welcome
in
Danish
society.
Interrogating and arresting them on
their arrival could further radicalise
them, but engaging them in dialogue
might not.
In Saudi Arabia there are special
(comfortable) detention facilities where
returnees can learn true Islamic
teaching, get counseling from
psychologists, and get job training.
It doesnt always bear fruit but often
enough it does. There is no real
workable alternative.n
I Page: 29
Region I Pakistan
brief though recalcitrant

handshake
between
Pakistani Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif and his
Indian
counterpart
Narendra Modi seems to have salvaged
the eighteenth Saarc summit in
Kathmandu. Throughout the first-day
proceedings, the two leaders sitting on
the same dais were seen childishly
sharing frosty vibes, not even looking
at each other. The next day, at the postsummit informal retreat at Dhulikhel, a
suburban resort outside Kathmandu, it
was at the urging of the host, Nepals
Prime Minister, Sushil Koirala, that
they were wheedled into each other for
the much-awaited handshake.
If anything, this episode made one
thing clear. The future of Saarc as a
regional cooperation organisation
remains hostage to the troubled IndiaPakistan relationship. Both share the
responsibility for providing the needed
enabling environment of peace and
stability free of mistrust and hostility
without which no regional cooperative
endeavour anywhere in the world has
worked. With India-Pakistan peace as
elusive as ever, there is no prospect of
an early breakthrough towards any
meaningful regional cooperation, much
less the ambitious plans for economic
integration in this vast region.
It is nearly three decades since Saarc
SO CLOSE yEt SO FAR

by ShAMShAD AhMAD
came into being as an expression of
South Asias collective resolve to
develop a regional cooperative
framework for the socio-economic wellbeing of the peoples of its memberstates.
This
promise
remains
unfulfilled. Saarc has neither improved
the quality of life in the region, nor
accelerated economic growth, social
progress and cultural development of
its member-states. In fact, economic
growth indices, with rare exceptions,
are static, if not going downwards. No
wonder, South Asia remains one of
poorest regions in the world with the
vast majority of its people still living in
grinding poverty and sub-human
conditions.
Five of the eight Saarc member states
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan,
the Maldives and Nepal belong to
the UNs category of Least Developed
Countries or LDCs. With its unbroken
legacy of poverty, hunger, disease,
illiteracy and conflict, Saarc, as a
regional cooperation organisation, has
not
gone
beyond
declaratory
pronouncements with no tangible
achievement to its credit. We just had

yet another high-sounding but lowyield 36-point declaration adopted at
the Kathmandu summit, which was no
more than a rehash of the same old
familiar summitry reaffirmations and
reiterations that never had any practical
value for the peoples of this region.
There is something fundamentally
wrong that keeps this region from
developing a genuine regional impulse.
We have been hearing the same
rhetoric at every Saarc summit from
our leaders reaffirming their
commitment to the principles and
objectives outlined in the Saarc Charter.
These pronouncements are a reflection
of the only consensus that we seem to
have developed at the regional level,
acknowledging the grim reality that
Saarc, during the last three decades of
its existence has just not lived up to its
promise and potential. Prime Minister
Modi, in his debut speech at the
Kathmandu summit, could not have
been more candid in depicting the
regions dilemma.
When we speak of Saarc, we usually
I Page: 30
Region I Pakistan
hear two reactions cynicism and
scepticism. This, sadly, is in a region
throbbing with the optimism of our
youth. Let us work to change cynicism
into optimism, he said, adding as
Saarc, we have failed to move with the
speed that our people expect and want.
Nowhere in the world are collective
efforts more urgent than in South Asi
a; and, nowhere else is it so modest.
What he rightly meant was that South
Asia is out-of-step with other regions of
the world, which have been able to
transcend their differences and
disputes, moving on a steady course to
economic growth and regional
integration.
Speaking from a prepared text in
English, Prime Minister Modi suddenly
broke into Hindi:Hum paas paas hain
par saath saath nahin. Saath saath
honey se taqat kai guna barh jaati hai
(We are neighbours but we are not
together. By staying together, our
strength can increase manifold). He
admitted: India, too, has its share of
responsibility because of its size and
location. I know India has to lead, and
we will do our part. I hope each of you
will, too. He then reiterated what his
predecessor Manmohan Singh, too, had
suggested the need for improved
connectivity in the region. Surely,
connectivity physical, economic
and of the mind will enable the region
to come together and fully tap its
potential.
If Prime Minister Modi is a man of
vision, he would know what really is
wrong with Saarc. It is not just poverty
and backwardness in the region. It is
South Asias geopolitical peculiarity in
which all Saarc countries share a border

with the largest state of the region,
India, but not with one another. This
unique geographic feature limits the
scope of cooperation to a great degree.
It makes transit trade difficult, since
there remains no room for bypassing
Indian borders, granting India a virtual
control over all proposals for intraregional cooperation.
India, because of its sheer size and
centrality, stands more or less alone as
an exclusive power without having to
be identified in tandem with the rest of
the countries in the region, some of
which, like Bangladesh and Pakistan in
terms of population, are not that small
in the global rankings. Indias
geographical centrality also gives rise
to a host of border conflicts and water
disputes in the region all of which
Nawaz sharif with sushil koirala
involve India. In essence, it is these

bilateral disputes that have kept Saarc
from delivering on its promise and
potential.
While other regional organisations
around the world, including the
European Union and Asean, have
moved ahead in political harmony,
Saarc remains fraught with centrifugal
tendencies and mutual mistrust from
the very beginning. Absence of an
intra-regional dispute settlement
mechanism has severely limited its
capacity to contribute to regional peace,
security and development without
which there can be no meaningful
progress in socio-economic and
cultural cooperation in the region.
For an enabling environment, South
Asia must free itself of tensions,
conflicts and escalating military
budgets for which the onus rests solely
with India. Durable peace is sine qua
non for South Asias stalemated process
of regional cooperation. Also, the
connectivity that India now seeks
through Pakistan into Central Asia and
Europe depends on its ability to settle
its disputes with Pakistan, including
the Kashmir issue.
It is time South Asia, so rich in
history, culture, and material and
human resources, rediscovered its lost
strength and indivisible identity to
build dividends of peace and
prosperity rooted in common interests
to be able to play a balancing role on
regional and global levels. But are we
sure about India?n
[The writer is a former foreign secretary of Pakistan.]
I Page: 31
Region I India
Cut, thrust And Boom!

The BJP sees its main chance
to embarrass Mamata
by DOlA MiTrA
est
Bengal
chief
minister
Mamata
Banerjee says the
October 2 bomb blast
in Burdwan was
engineered by the Research & Analysis
Wing, the Centres spy agency. Her
political rivals, especially those of the
saffron hue, say she has allowed
terrorism to thrive in her state by
allowing the influx of people from
Bangladesh, illegals who are then
forced to vote for her Trinamool
Congress. Who is speaking the truth?
Inherent in Mamatas loaded public
declaration is the idea that the ruling
BJP is using central agencies to try to
destabilise her government.
Of course, it is not difficult to see
where the push is ultimately coming
from: the CBI is after key Trinamool
leaders involved in chit-fund scams; the
NIA seems intent on discovering terror
networks in her state that extend to
Islamist groups across the border in
Bangladesh. The TMC is also feeling the
threat at the ground level and at the
grassroots: the BJPs voteshare has shot

up from six per cent in the 2009 general
elections to 17 per cent in 2014. It is now
the TMCs main rival in the state; the
Left and the Congress are way behind,
reduced to their core vote. So the only
way ahead for the BJP is to make
inroads into the TMCs 34 per cent
voteshare. Creating new crises and
fanning the fires of existing crises
would swing public opinion against the
TMC government and aggregate
support for the BJP. So are central
agencies working towards that end?
Supposedly neutral agencies like NIA,
CBI and RAW are known to bend to
politicians will. Why else would the
CBI suddenly crack down upon chitfunds now and not when TMC was an
ally in UPA-II?
I recently visited the madrassa in
Shimulia, a remote village in Burdwan
district, where two women arrested in
connection with the blast had
reportedly received training in bombmaking, I was struck by its sheer
tininess. In the midst of expanses of
mamata marched iN protest agaiNst the ceNtre iN a calcutta rally
green paddy, the yellow mud hut

hardly looked like a den of jehadist
activity. The girls who studied here
were just like us, 27-year-old Taslima
Khatoon, who lives in one of the nearby
hamlets, said. But the presence of top
officers of NIA tells a different tale.
And it has been enough for Bengals
political opposition to declare that the
chief minister is abetting terrorists. The
media, for now, is giving the benefit of
doubt to the opposition.
Weakening her case is the fact that
Mamatas accusations are full of
contradictions. And Bengal police have
come with not a shred of evidence to
back them; moreover, it was Bengal
police that arrested Sajjid, the alleged
mastermind, and even claimed the Rs
10 lakh announced by the NIA for his
arrest. It was state police that had taken
charge of the blast site immediately
after it took place. It was state
investigators who took possession of
the bombs found in the house and had
them safely detonated in controlled
conditions. In fact, this lends credence
to the agencies findings of a terror
network in Bengal. The NIA arrived
much later and is in fact working with
the Bengal cops.
It must be noted that NIA has not
uttered a word against the Bengal
administration so far. When I asked an
NIA official if there was full
cooperation by the state, he replied,
There are no issues. The NIA is
doing its job probing the blast. And if
the BJP is using the NIA for its own end
in any way, it is only doing so by
highlighting the agencys presence in
the state, thereby raising disturbing
questions in the minds of voters. So no,
RAW almost certainly did not plant the
bomb or organise and execute the blast.
But since a bomb did go off in Bengal,
the BJP, to be sure, is cranking out some
mileage.
What about Mamata? Is she abetting
terrorists then? The presence of
terrorism in Bengal, if at all, is an
intelligence failure at the national level.
If an accidental blast in her state reveals
a breach of security, it does not make
the chief minister of that state a
terrorist. Even the Indian Parliament
was attacked. So to answer our first
question. Neither is speaking the truth.
Each is manipulating public opinion
with an eye to the elections.n
I Page: 32
Architecture
Back to the basics

Abdun Nime's houses of mud
by ShAfiq rAhMAn
he wall is awash with colours

of the earth, ochre, brown,
orange, with equally earthy
textures. Here there are no
bricks, sands, rods and
cement of the conventional structures.
Abdun Nime works blithely, applying
layers of soil in various hues.
Abdun Nine doesn't have a
conventional degree in architecture.
However, the method of construction
he has created adds a new dimension to
the country's mainstream architecture.
The main component of his work is
earth, plain and simple mud. He has
created a unique composition of
powdered soil, brick chips and water.
He places this in a wooden frame and
rams it down compactly and thus
makes a wall. This new building
technology results in beautiful walls
with colours of the soil in aesthetic
designs.
Buildings houses with mud, of
course, is nothing new. This is the
original and traditional form of
construction in the region. Through
technology transfer, Abdun Nime is
giving a new look to an old culture. The
mud house which was once the humble
abode of the rural poor, in Nime's
hands has become a part of urban
architectural elegance. His mud walls

have been used for cottages,
bungalows, cafes, in five-star hotel
interiors and so on.
Nime says, mud has long been used
in our villages for building houses, but
due to lack of technological know-how,
the traditional method of such
construction has its shortfalls. Rats,
termites and other animals gnaw away
at the walls and eventually destroy
them. But this new technology is both
environment-friendly and resistant to
rodents and termites.
Nime was born and brought up in a
village of Shailakupa of Jhenaidah. He
picked up building construction
technology from the Housing and
Research Institute in the capital city.
In 2007 this government organisation
held a workshop on low-cost,
indigenous-product and environmentfriendly home construction methods.
Abdun Nine joined this workshop
alongside young and established
architects of the country. The workshop
was run by Prof. Martin Roche of
Austria's Linz University. He is known
as the 'mud guru' in Europe because of
his durable and aesthetically pleasing
mud houses.
Under supervision of this mud guru,

soil was rammed and a small building
was constructed on the compound of
the Housing and Research Institute.
Martin Roche was quite taken in by
Abdun Nimes's enthusiasm and skill in
this method of construction. Nime was
given an offer to go to Austria which he
accepted.
In 2008 Nime got the opportunity to
study earth structure at Linz University
in Austria. He returned home in 2011
after a two-year course and worked
with leading architects of the country.
He has completed 17 projects so far.
This includes structures in Six Seasons
restaurant in Dhaka, Radisson Blu in
Chittagong and a bungalow of former
caretaker government advisor Tapan
Chowdhury, in Sylhet.
Nime said, "I was asked to stay back
in Austria, but I returned. Those who
work on earth structure there, have
only six varieties of soil, but I felt in
Bangladesh there are much more
varieties of earth. So far I have found 16
different varieties here."
Nime loves cycling. After passing his
SSC exam in 1990, he and his friends
toured the entire country by cycle in
three months, 26 days. He was amazed
by the environment, nature and
biodiversity of the various areas. It was
this that drew him to landscaping in his
professional career. He now works with
trees, shrubs, creepers, flowers and
butterflies on one hand, and earth of
various hues on the other.
Nime says, "I am working with trees,
creepers, flowers and the earth of this
country. This is my joy."n
I Page: 33
Revelations and Recollections
hen the workers and

the people announced
that they would accord
reception
for
a
Bangabandhu at the
Paltan Maidan on 7 June, on the
occasion of the Six-Point Day, we also
decided to felicitate him on behalf of
the Zahur Bahini (named in memory of
Shaheed Sergeant Zahurul Huq). A
meeting of Chhatra League's top proindependent leaders and selected
activists was held on 6 June evening at
the students union room of the
Engineering University's Ahsanullah
Hall, in order to discuss the matter in
detail.
At this meeting it was decided to
greet Bangabandhu in a military-like
manner and, on behalf of the Zahur
Bahini, present him with a symbolic
flag. When everyone reached a
consensus on this, suggestions began
coming in about how this flag should
be designed. Shahjahan Siraj first
suggested a red sun and when this was
agreed upon, the next question was
about the background of the flag. A
white background would make it like
the Japanese flag and so green was
chosen. It was appropriate for
Bangladesh, but then Pakistan's flag
was green too and so this was dropped.
Artist Shiv Narayan Das was with us at
the time and he suggested a dark green
background. His interpretation was,
"Since we believe that independence is
only possible through bloodshed and
sacrifice, dark green is appropriate
because if you mix green with red, it
becomes dark green." His explanation
was accepted by all and the dark green
colour of the flag was finalised. Next
the proposal came that since we, the
members of Zahur Bahini, believed in
the independence of Bangladesh, we
decided to clear any possible confusion
and have the map of Bangladesh, a
symbol of Golden Bengal, in the centre
of the red sun. This too was agreed
upon by all.
Discussions had continued late on
into the night and suddenly we realised
we would have to arrange for the cloth
fabric to make the flag. Chhatra
League's General Secretary ASM
Abdur Rab, who was present there, was
given this responsibility. Kamrul Aman
Khasru was sent to New Market where
he got a shop opened up and collected
lengths of dark green and red cloth and
the flag of
red and green

In
the
regular
column
'Revelations and Recollections',
we present excerpts of books
which reflect the events and
essence of the nation's
contemporary history. These
records of the past help us in
comprehending the present. This week's excerpt is from Mujib
Bahini member sheikh mohammed zahid hossain's
Muktijuddhey Chhatra League O Bangladesh Liberation Force
[Chhatra League in the Liberation War and Bangladesh
Liberation Force]. The book was published by Ankur
Prokashoni on 21 March 2002.
a can of gold paint. Then Nazrul Islam
of Jagannath College (martyred in the
independence struggle) and Chhatra
League central committee Assistant
Secretary Ekramul Huq went to Balaka
building's second floor, to a tailor shop
called Pak Fashion, next to the Chhatra
League office there. They woke the
tailor and got the flag sewed.
Late at night the flag was brought to
Shiv Narayan Das to paint in the
golden map, but he didn't have the
correct brush. He only had thick

brushes to write posters with, so he
resorted to his own creativity and sat
up all night in Room 118 of Iqbal Hall,
dipping matchsticks in the can of paint
and painting the golden map of
Bangladesh in the centre of the flag.
In the morning when he finished
painting the flag, Shiv Narayan hung it
up to dry on the window of Room 118.
The sun was just rising outside and the
room was aglow with the golden map
of the flag.
On 7 June, 1970, we gathered at the
Shaheed Minar in the morning and
along with the hand-picked members
of Zahur Bahini, we marched to the
beat of the band to Paltan Maidan,
along with the new flag. Preparations
were on there for Bangabandhu's
reception. As we had planned, on our
behalf ASM Abdur Rab saluted
Bangabandhu military style, knelt
before him and presented him with the
flag. Bangabandhu greeted him and
accepted the flag. Bangabandhu was
well aware of Chhatra League's views
and character at the time. So when he
took the flag in hand, he understood
what it was all about. He smiled at
ASM Abdur Rab and handed the flag to
Sheikh Kamal who was standing by his
side. At the end of the meeting, Sheikh
I Page: 34
Revelations and Recollections
glorious momeNt of the liBeratioN war
Kamal handed me the flag, saying, "It

won't be safe to keep this flag at home.
You keep it." I brought the flag home. I
folded it and kept it on shelf in my
room. So much was happening all
around, I forgot about the flag. On 21
February 1971, school, colleges and
regional units brought out so many
brochures and I kept them on my shelf,
all piled up upon the flag.
On 1 March 1971 Pakistan's President
Yahya Khan announced through an
unscheduled speech over the radio that
the national assembly session was
suspended. Immediately the various
units of Chhatra League in Dhaka,
including the Jagannath College unit,
brought out demonstrations and on 2
March Chhatra declared a hartal
(general strike), calling for students to
gather at the Bot-tola of Dhaka
University in the morning and a public
meeting at Paltan Maidan in the
afternoon.
On the morning of 2 March the boys
in my neighbourhood began gathering
at my house to march in a procession to
Bot-tola. I told the boys to sit in my
room while I went to prepare for the
day. The boys were browsing the 21
February brochures on my shelf, when
the flag slipped out. None of them were
a part of Zahur Bahini and knew
nothing about the flag, but seeing the
map of Bangladesh in the centre, they
caught on straight away. They began
handing the flag to each other, inspired,
enthusiastic and eager. My house was
at Gulbagh then, next to the railway
tracks. A train had left Kamalapur
station for Mymensingh and the boys
rushed there. They pulled up a bamboo
and tied the flag to it, then stood on the

tracks to block the train. The train
halted and the passengers got down
and gathered there, curious about the
new flag.
By then I was ready and emerged
from the house to see the students and
the people thronging around the flag.
They handed the flag to me and we
marched in a procession towards Bottola. We went through Siddheswari
and marched past the President's
House at Ramna (presently the state
guest house Sugandha) in front of the
curious eyes of the military guards.
Then we went through Ramna Park
and Ramna race course (presently
Suhrawardy Uddyan) and finally
reached Bot-tola at Dhaka University.
The meeting had begun before we
reached the university.... When we
marched up with the flag held high,
there was a resounding response. Those
who had been listening to the speeches,
I walked through the

meeting to the stairs and
handed over the flag to
ASM Abdur Rab who was
standing above the stairs.
ASM Abdur Rab held the
flag high and waves it.
The entire university
campus resounded with
deafening slogans.
stood up and greeted us, clapping

loudly. Slogans rang out in the air and
the people made way for me to go to
the stairs. I walked through the meeting
to the stairs and handed over the flag to
ASM Abdur Rab who was standing
above the stairs. ASM Abdur Rab held
the flag high and waves it. The entire
university campus resounded with
deafening slogans. It was not possible
for anyone to make speeches any
further or to carry on with the meeting.
The meeting was ended with a call for
all to join the public meeting at Paltan
Maidan in the afternoon. Processions
left the meeting with slogans filling the
air, preparing for the afternoon's
meeting.
It was an unprecedented scene on 2
March at Paltan Maidan gathering of
students and the public that afternoon.
The students, who had seen the flag at
the morning students' meeting, now
had made innumerable replicas of the
flag, in all sizes, and brought these to
the meeting. We had made this flag
with a dream in our hearts, and
through an accidental incident, it had
become a treasured possession of the
people.
After that incident of 2 March 1971,
General Secretary Shahjahan Siraj read
out the independence manifesto at the
Paltan Maidan meeting in the presence
of Bangabandhu. Later, at the extended
meeting
of
Chhatra
League's
committee, the central committee's Vice
President Swapan Kumar Chowdhury
(martyred in the independence war)
read out the "independence proposal".
This extended meeting went on for five
days and, in keeping with Swapan
Kumar Chowdhury's proposal, the
"independence
manifesto"
was
approved, with the flag and national
anthem. It was decided to officially
hoist Bangladesh's flag and read out the
independence manifesto on behalf of
Chhatra League at Paltan Maidan on 23
March, Pakistan Day. On 23 March
Hasanul Huq Inu raised the
Bangladesh flag at Paltan Maidan and
Kamrul Aman Khasru presented a gun
salute by firing blank shots from a .22
rifle. Our national anthem "Amar Sonar
Bangla..." was played over the
microphone.... After the country was
independent, the map in the middle
was removed for the official national
flag of the country.n
I Page: 35
Feature
Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia:
In differences, we grow
by faiza rahmaN
miNiature model of the iBN tuluN mosQue iN cairo, egypt.
outheast Asias biggest and

one of the worlds most
representative collections of
Islamic arts stands atop a
hillock on Jalan Lembah
Perdana in Kuala Lumpur. Founded in
1998, this museum, known simply as
the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, is
one of the anchors of Malaysias
Muslim identity.
Apart from the priceless relics
therein, the site itself is a prized work of
art. The domes of the museum show up
prominently amongst the mesh of
flyovers and skyscrapers of Kuala
Lumpur. They are done in cobalt blue,
white and turquoise to represent the
characteristic bright hues of the art
found in Islamic lands towards the end
of the medieval ages. The rest of the
faade is designed in a clean and
modern scale, with squared edges,
glass walls and ample windows
cleverly positioned to allow for a steady
flow of sunlight even to the halls
located deeper inside. The roofs of the
galleries are adorned with huge domes
coloured in peach, light blue and cream
with gold and silver embellishment.
The display or artifacts and relics
make it obvious that the Islamic Arts
Museum Malaysia is committed to
Southeast Asias Islamic heritage,

which often remains excluded from the
discussion of Islamic history. When
you say Islam, you think Saudi Arabia,
you think Iran and Iraq. Rarely would
scaled miNiature models of a NumBer of

islamic shriNes aNd mosQues are
displayed iN the architecture gallery
you think of the Malay peninsula or

Indonesia, says Christoph Hills, a
German researcher and visitor to the
museum.
The building is divided into 12
galleries, dedicated to India, China, the
Malay world, ceramics, architecture,
Holy Quran and manuscripts, coins
and seals, metal work, woodwork,
textiles, jewellery and arms and
armour. The gallery on the Malay
world features pottery, manuscripts
and woodwork bearing the name of the
Holy Prophet (pbuh) and praises of the
panjatan the Holy Prophet (pbuh)
and his family. There are engravings on
wood of select passages from the Holy
Quran. Most important to the collection
are the many scrolls with scriptural
verses done in calligraphy an art
form that thrives in Malaysia but has
often remained overlooked. Though
calligraphy originated in Arabia in the
form of the Kufic script, it underwent
many modifications as Islam spread
across different cultures.
Southeast Asia, the most easternly
end of Islam, has its own distinct style
of ornate writing which is said to have
originated in the 1300s and is heavily
derivative of the calligraphic trend of
both India and China. Moreover,
I Page: 36
Feature
The collection from India
consisted largely of woodwork
- lavishly carved thrones and
mimbars (a pulpit in the
mosque where the imam
stands to deliver sermons)
from the Delhi Sultanate and
the Mughal-era. The
engravings were often praises
of the ruler in Urdu or Persian
script or ornate patterns of
leaves and flowers.
the museum displays a compreheNsive collectioN of scale models to emphasise the importaNce of
architecture iN islamic
painted textiles, tiles and pots hailing

from the Malacca Muslim sultanate in
Malaysia (1400-1511) seem distinct
owing to the softer artistic themes of
fruits, plants, rains, clouds and other
elements of nature. Ceramics coming
out of Persian lands in the same era
featured more aggressive imagery,
such as hunters or even dragons. The
Islamic trends of Malay Archipelago
are, curiously, more influenced by
missionaries hailing from the Indian

coastline than by the Muslim
institutions of China, despite the
territorial proximity of the latter.
While giving the Southeast Asian
Muslim identity its due representation,
the Islamic Arts Museum allows ample
space to relics from other key Muslim
geographies as well. While allowing for
aesthetic pleasure, a pluralistic display
of the sort also has some political utility
since it gives a fair representation of the

cultural dissimilarities within the
Islamic category. From the displays of
scrolls inked with praises of the Holy
Companions and God in other-worldly
terms, the museum visitor is able to
move almost immediately towards
historical tomes on botany, medicine
and physics hailing from the Abbasid,
Fatimid, Seljuk and Ottoman empires.
The contiguous positioning of these
texts in the gallery allows one to
experience the cosmic and the
pragmatic elements of Islamic heritage
simultaneously.
The collection from India consisted
largely of woodwork lavishly carved
thrones and mimbars (a pulpit in the
mosque where the imam stands to
deliver sermons) from the Delhi
Sultanate and the Mughal-era. The
engravings were often praises of the
ruler in Urdu or Persian script or ornate
patterns of leaves and flowers. A key
relic of this collection is a sword and a
powder flask from the personal
armoury of Tipu Sultan (1750-1799), the
Muslim king of Mysore.
The most captivating aspect of the
museum is the architecture gallery.
Here, scaled miniature models of a
number of Islamic shrines and mosques
are displayed. The accuracy of these
models is startling to the beholder.
Everything from the famously complex
positioning of the tiles of the NasiralMulk Mosque in Shiraz, Iran to the
spiral minaret of the Ibn-e-Tulun
mosque, Cairo has been modeled,
somewhat accurately, into cardboard
and wood. Mosques from various other
Islamic lands have also been modeled,
allowing for a valuable study of the
similarities and differences of Islamic
art to visitors. n
photos courtesy: Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia
I Page: 37
Life Style
ou know winter is here

when you wake up one fine
morning with dry chapped
lips and parched skin. And
no matter how much water
you drink, it never seems enough to
fully quench your thirst. While those
with naturally oily skin may welcome
the season, winter can be quite a pain
for people with combination or dry
skin. Because of lack of natural
moisture, dry skin wrinkles faster than
oily skin and in winter, if left untreated,
it can become rough, itchy and in
extreme circumstances, it can appear to
corrode.
Fear not dry-skin kin, there are a few
things you can do to ensure that your
skin remains soft, supple and
moisturised both from the outside and
from within, during this rather
unforgiving season. Your skin is the
largest and fastest-growing organ in
your body, so it would be wise to focus
on keeping it well. It is a living,
breathing organism so what you put on
it and inside your body, both affects its
health.
Use 100 per cent natural coconut oil
as a moisturiser and ditch over-thecounter
commercially
sold
moisturising creams. Coconut oil is
incredibly nutritious for your skin and
is used as a base for most beauty
products and creams. It contains
saturated fats that eliminate moisture
that is lost through the pores of your
skin. It also behaves as a disinfectant
and prevent sores or wounds from
falling prey to external bacteria.
Coconut oil also contains Vitamin E
which is essential for healthy skin
growth, repair of wear and tear on the
skin, keeps it smooth and protects
Skin
care in
winter
by MADEEhA SyED
against cracking. It also contains antiageing properties and proteins that

keep the skin healthy, rejuvenated and
help in cellular repair of the skin.
You can use coconut oil as a base for
your make-up, both as a day and night
cream and as a moisturiser for your
feet. One tip for the winter season
would be to moisturise your entire skin

with coconut oil before going to bed.
You wont wake up with skin that feels
parched and dry.
You can also keep your skin
moisturised by using natural honey as a
face or body wash as it will nourish
your skin and clean it without leaving it
dry. Using milk cream as a face pack
also helps to nourish and moisturise
your skin.
For those who have an aloe vera
plant at home can cut off a small patch
and squeeze the gel out from it to use
on their skin. Aloe vera has antiseptic,
antifungal and soothing properties that
help when applied on dry and irritated
skin and can prevent flaking. It will also
form a protective layer on your skin.
Winter is also the season in which
dandruff thrives. The skin on your
scalp sheds faster than anywhere else
on your body and this process becomes
faster in winter. It would be wise to
invest in a strong anti-dandruff
shampoo and use it several times a
week. The correct way of using it
would be to apply coconut or any other
natural hair oil to your hair a couple of
hours before washing. That will serve
to nourish and moisturise dry hair. The
second step is to use a regular, mild
shampoo to wash off impurities that
may have built up on your scalp, on top
of the dandruff itself. And then finally,
for the second wash you apply the
dandruff shampoo and keep it in for at
least 10-15 minutes before washing it
off. Because you are washing your hair
twice in this process, it would be wise
to moisturise hair beforehand. You can
use a conditioner after the second wash
but be careful that it doesnt reach your
scalp that can aggravate dandruff.
It goes without saying that you must
drink as much water as you can at
least, anywhere between eight to 12
glasses a day to keep yourself
hydrated. Having said that, hydration
doesnt work the other way around
showers and long baths serve to
dehydrate you further and rob your
skin of its natural oil. That doesnt
mean one is suggesting you go without
showering or bathing at all, cleanliness
is essential for good health, but try not
to overdo it stick to shorter showers
and baths with lukewarm water at most
as hot water dehydrates faster.
Also, moisturise while skin is still
damp. Pat your skin dry with a towel
instead of rubbing it and then apply
your chosen moisturising agent. n
I Page: 38
Theatre
"Y
ou like death, not of your

own, of others." A prisoner
makes this barb against
global rulers for their power lust,
domination and expansionism. This is a
prisoner without any country or
geographical boundary. There is no end
to his imprisonment either. He
represents every moment of every
person locked behind the invisible bars
of this world, down the ages. He is the
main charcter of Anika Mahin's play
Macabre.
The Centre for Asian Theatre (CAT),
the country's first and only professional
theatre group, stated this play on 7
December at the Jatiya Natyashala of
Shilpakala Academy. CAT's head and
renowned drama director Kamaluddin
Nilu directed the play.
Macabre is the story of every person's
inner quest for freedom. It is a picture
of the prevailing violence in global
politics and man's helplessness.
Playwright Anika Mahin has set the
play in a prison, of no specific country,
somewhat like the travels of a prisoner.
He has seen the killings of 1971, 1975,
1976, 1981, 1990 and 2004. He has seen
air raids in Palestine and other places of
the Middle East, he has heard the ear-
shattering blasts and seen spiralling

clouds of smoke. He hears US President
Obama saying, "Sometimes war can be
inevitable too," after which Obama
characteristically adds, "War is the
expression of human power."
Playwright Anika Mahin has
projected the play through the eyes of
the prisoner, centred on a particular
night, but giving the whole spectre of
oppressive political forces that lead to
eventual annihilation on man. The
Macabre
prisoner on stage projects the rest of
imprisoned mankind.
Macabre doesn't progress on the
normal storyline of a play, and has no
colorful narrative. The playwright says,
"It stands against grand narrative and
dwells in what we call metanarrative.
The play is an expression, an
expression of the yearning for freedom
of an individual body. It is the journey
of a body, a journey into nothingness."
Macabre delves into the invisible
forces that dominate over the physical
and mental self. This self sees all and

conceives all, but does not revel. It is in
a debate with itself. The rebellion is not
in the script, the prisoner is accepting
subservience. The playwright is
pointing out how we are accepting
subservience, while death dances about
us, the dance of the macabre.
Macabre goes against all norms and
traditions of standard theatre. All sort
of technology has been used in staging
the play, videography, multi-screen
projection and animation.
Director Kamaluddin Nilu says the
basic message of the play is that all
people are same, no matter their ethnic
identity or social circumstances. It has a
universal theme. It is relevant to our
contemporary life too. The spectators
will have a cross-cultural experience of
contemporary theatre.
Ahsan Reza Khan was in charge of
the sound, video and projection design
of the play, while Nasirul Huq was in
charge of light design and Seekleaf in
charge of animation.
On stage were Shetu Azad, Mehmud
Siddique, Mesbaul Karim, Bappy
Ameen, Shipra Das, Anika Mahin,
Chandra Barman, Muna Morjina.
Hossain Ismail was the flying bar
master.n
I Page: 39
Film
Sulemani
Keeda
An in-group Versova film that needed more to

say hello to the world? Yet another variation of
Luck By Chance, albeit from
the margins?
by S. rOy
Story: Dulal and Moinak are struggling script-writers. As
they get their first break, Dulal falls for Ruma. Who breaks up
with whom?
o, Sulemani Keeda is a buddy comedy that evokes the

original Chashme Buddoor, dudes sharing dreams,
desires and the rent. Here, Dulal (Naveen) and Moinak
(Mayank) write Bollywood scripts, knocking at filmmakers'
doors (in a hilarious encounter, Mahesh Bhatt offers them
vaporous views but no break) while managing love, libidos
and their landlord's son. The duo meets Gonzo Kapoor
(Karan), ageing star-son who wants a script full of orgies and
arty references. But as they start writing, Dulal falls for
Ruma. With tensions brewing, whom does this keeda finally
bite?
NAVEEN kASTURIA AND ADITI VASUDEV
Sulemani Keeda means a niggling pain in the posterior

which won't let writers sit still. The story is fresh and certain
sequences - fuzzy-haired Moinak trying to pick up girls in a
bookshop by sweetly smiling, "Like Wodehouse?" or Dulal
learning a recipe from his mom on the phone, interrupted by
an orgasm played full-volume from the next room - are
hilarious. Some performances, particularly Mayank as foulmouthed Moinak and brutal, brittle Gonzo, stand out. The
dialogues - 'Delhi se aaya hai - but rape-wape nahin karta' are fun, capturing the ironies of a city full of dudes, pseuds
and some genuine talent, struggling to breathe.
Sulemani keeda means a

niggling pain in the posterior which
won't let writers sit still. The story
is fresh and certain
sequences - fuzzy-haired Moinak
trying to pick up girls in a bookshop
by sweetly smiling, "Like Wodehouse?
But there are pointed downsides too. The biggest is the
cinematography, trying different takes and so-cool shots candy floss glistening in the wind, bhuttas, black-and-white
cuts, animation involving a cat - wasting valuable time. The
film rises in straight scenes focusing on pretentious Gonzo
and the pitiable writers. It wobbles elsewhere, with crudities
that don't amuse, with stopovers at Gonzo's farmhouse,
inhabited by the censor board chief and his towel-clad date.
This meandering is a pity for at times, the story captures that
real-life air hanging between young people, talking of sunsigns and sex, failures and success.n
I Page: 40

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P

Sundarbans, we are sorry and ashamed

Issue: 5 I December 16 - 31, 2014 I Vol: 13

33 Back to the basics

Macabre is the story

Issue: 5 I December 16 - 31, 2014 I Vol: 13

angladesh has moved a major

laboratory in the world and the center

Department Centre International (DCI) a local NGO organised a discution

Issue: 5 I December 16 - 31, 2014 I Vol: 13

academics, professionals and the

Girl Power Award 2014

angladesh NGOs Network for

and Communication (BNNRC) in

Bangladesh CSOs in Lima call for

Qadir Kollol, Correspondent, BBC

action on major issues to

Community Radio Radio Chilmari 99.2

Issue: 5 I December 16 - 31, 2014 I Vol: 13

iv. The global process must

marriage she was then a widow. Another

South Asia Desk

Hindutva group seeks

As Karachi shuts down,

head of its plans to organise the

rime Minister Nawaz Sharif

Nepalese NGO teaches

njani Mandal's life changed

Issue: 5 I December 16 - 31, 2014 I Vol: 13

help of Chinese companies. Despite

Nepalese girls aNd womeN take part iN a computer

South Asia Desk

Its not our shame, its their shame

opular MTV host and actor

men in her letter but also pointed

Issue: 5 I December 16 - 31, 2014 I Vol: 13

where not only she felt victimised but

by MD. bElAyET hOSSAin

atiya Party celebrates its 29th

jatiya partys chairmaN h m ershad

Each of the Chairman's advisors has

Most of the leaders and

Issue: 5 I December 16 - 31, 2014 I Vol: 13

are 16 joint secretaries at present, so

ne of the leaders twirls

The East Pakistan Communist

Issue: 5 I December 16 - 31, 2014 I Vol: 13

Zhedong, the class enemies had to

created a stir in the leftist arena.

Under the leadership of

Issue: 5 I December 16 - 31, 2014 I Vol: 13

movement. The pro-Chinese group

was imposed in Bangladesh. The

Chairman; in charge of Banaripara

fact, 98% of their deaths were at

Issue: 5 I December 16 - 31, 2014 I Vol: 13

related to the prime minister.

Issue: 5 I December 16 - 31, 2014 I Vol: 13

nEW biPlObi COMMuniST

he Department of Agriculture will

pesticides are not the only tool. There

PROBE is available at the following newsstands

Issue: 5 I December 16 - 31, 2014 I Vol: 13