Bastobota without reality chara

Psychological reform is required prior to reform on Caretaker government. Mentality of the politicians is on the verge of pure self-centeredness. They simply cannot t think of the welfare of the people. This two political parties ( AL & BNP ) practice Democracy to just one point that they agree to disagree at every possible point raised. The Awami Leage wants a reform for the fact that the existing system allowed them to be humiliated in 2001 by allocating them with a small number of seats. BNP does not want a change in the system because they apparently got more seats than they are capable of dreaming.

Grey haired intellectuals along with shrewd (!!) politicians must change their mentality before negotiating on the issue. As of now, it seems impossible to find a person acceptable to all parties. Prime goal is to win the election so that they get a chance to exploit the country in every possible way, other things are bogus. The tag of war will harm the general people in every extend and nothing else. Fate will remain the same. The term ‘Free and fair election’ came several times by now on the caretaker issue, rightly so. Fact is if a political party wins the election, the election is termed as free and fair and vice versa. Have no confusion on this. This psychology must change before the politicians try any betterment of the people. Reform or no reform will go in trash, if boycotting the parliament remains a tradition, if giving deadlines such as April 30 occurs.

Professor Humayun Azad was a man who succeeded by swimming against the stream. He was a Bangladeshi Humanist, freethinker, intellectual, iconoclast and fierce critic of fundamentalists of Islam. The professor was one of a rare breed in Bangladesh where freethinking and rationalism have already taken a backseat. Professor Azad was an inspiration for the freethinkers of both hope and light in this dreadful time. Professor Azad’s relentless fight against bigotry, religious fanaticism, and communalism, continued al long as he lived. Sophistication of ideas gave his works an outstanding characteristic, which is absent from him contemporary writers. His description of uncommon and untouched ideas appears to the reader as an unvisited land of mystery that holds the readers mesmerized.

Dr Azad was a versatile and prolific writer in Bangladesh. He was simultaneously a poet, a novelist, a critic, a linguist, a political analyst, an essayist, and also an author of quite a few books for children. Two of his books have been translated and published in Japanese language. Besides Dhaka University, Dr. Azad has also taught at Chittagong University and Jahangirnagar University of Bangladesh, and became a special grade Professor in the Department of Bangla at DU until death.

His works motivated those, who  are capable of accepting the truth. Though he is gone, his massages will be transmitted. Professor Humayun Azad even though has departed us, his spirit will live forever amongst the true Bangladeshis.

August 14 2005

Differences
Humayun Azad

Once I entered into your shadow after running for long,
And so I was turned into a diverse person.

But, why is he getting like this day by day?
The man, who breathe in your shadow all day and night,
Rides on the same rikshaw,
And sleeps in the same bed with you.

I entered into your shadow,
Your emotional fingers suddenly stroked me,
And that was enough to form a gold mine
On the left land of my chest
Even greater and wider than those were in Johannesburg.

But, why the man is getting like this day by day?
The man, who makes love with you
Even when it does not rain.
His skin growing like a wild pumpkin
Right beneath his chin,
And the flesh of his throat becoming like
The rotten carpet,
And his belly getting big to unfit his dress.
Why the man is turning into a stupid day by day?

I only hugged you once in my dream,
And so my 7x10^21 number of arms and lips
Turned into real gold.

But the man, who sleeps with you everyday,
But the man, who gets you much closer everyday,
But the man, who makes you pregnant every single year--
Why is he becoming a real idiot day by day?

Probably, the one who sleeps with you
Becomes a real knucklehead, and
The one who dreams of you
Gets empowered.

Culture is the combination of beliefs, values, way of life and intellectual thoughts. Deposit of knowledge and acculturation play there respective part as well. For a nation it is quite a battle to deal with several sub-cultural groups at once if any one or more are vulnerable or even thought to be vulnerable. We the Bangladeshis inherit a strong culture enriched by ancient animist, Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim roots combining Dravidian, Indo-Aryan, Mongol/Mughul, Arab, Persian, Turkic, and West European cultures which surely levitates our confidence to bargain with other cultures if needed. No one should be basking on the notion that newspapers, novels, TV channels and artists from other cultures can simply walk in and leave everybody in Bangladesh pauper or must not consider our culture to be fragile and weak.

From a broader perspective, Bangladeshis put their believe in Islam regarding religion, values family life in particular, practices persist hospitality, walk in the path of habitual income generated activities and lay to the traditional line for regular entertainment. With the flow of technological advancement, spreading the urban attitude and beliefs throughout the country is much easy then before. Our culture was never been a regimented society, and all indications shows that natives of Bengal were always open, appreciative and accommodative to other cultures. But it is indeed dangerous to be effected by more than one element and to try coping with all at once. Though Bangladeshis believe and have faith in Islam, very few actually follow the Islamic lifestyle; rather lifestyle became a series of combination including Indian taste. With the urgency to be united with the rich communities is a treacherous step though it is essential to be informative about the surroundings at the same time. Though acculturation does not make our culture fragile, the mentality does! If the mentality of the mass turns in to the notion that our cultural activities may not be fulfilled without some elements of the exposure oriented activities which has to be hired from India, then we as a nation are under major threat. The flavor of ‘ethnocentrism’ has been observed by the Indian media and their think tanks for decades. If our media and intellectuals move with the flow then we are heading towards a disaster. Culture’s biggest threat lays here; illiterate national and cultural leaders heighten up the situation with their usual idiosyncratic decisions. We have been bored by the gray haired nincompoops for a long time with long lectures on what threat means but not on our opportunities which we have suicidally lost.

In the era of market oriented economy, it is tough to bargain with such a powerful neighbor when priorities are not even straightened up. Geographical disadvantage worsen the situation. Bangladesh is viewed by India no more than smelly drain. Emergence of TATA which made the headlines sometimes back is just one petite element of the whole picture. Garments industry, hotel industry, sports, marketing, electronic media and medical sector are also invaded by the Indians. Fumbling and sycophancy only help this malevolence neighbor to form its Imperialism step by step. Process started in 1971 if not earlier. We must put of the colored glass where lucrative elements are blinking and must face the dirty reality. True that technological know-how, expert opinion and the vast market India can offer is on the affirmative side of the coin but how much must Bangladeshis pay just to act like obedient, dependent little brother for these lousy incentives?

The last and only thing which has a tremendous force within to race with the evil is our cultural belongings. We must not seat back and enjoy some Indian idols, TV channels or newspapers enter minds of the mass, dressed in the form of acculturation to fulfill its wickedness. Time has played its part; we have been rather slow in realizing.

The key to attain high rates of economic growth and at the same time ensuring that the fruits of economic growth are equitably shared by the whole population of a country lies in development and utilization of her human resources, the only resource Bangladesh has in profusion. Confucius once mentioned “If your plan is for one year, plant rice. If your plan is for one hundred years, educate children." Education is rightly recognized by the government of Bangladesh as a priority sector. Receiving career education and training provides the labor force of any country with an added boost for entering the working world.

For a developing country where there is a large labor force, vocational education is compulsory. Vocational education is like career education, meaning that it is specific to a profession. Vocational education can also be a type of continuing education, which is essentially further than that of the basic educational system. In Most cases, the vocational training is not offered at standard colleges and universities, meaning that one’s degree in English literature will be of little help when embarking on a career as a chef or copywriter. This is where vocational schools come in: these schools offer career-specific training, meaning that one can get a degree in Restaurant management, which will be of much more use when one graduate. It is the aim of the vocational education and training programmes to ensure the labour market an intake of qualified skilled staff and at the same time give primarily young people (and secondarily adults) an education and training opportunity so that they can be skilled in their work and the country as a whole may prosper due to the efficient work force. Vocational education in Bangladesh is trained in more then 55 Vocational Training Institutes (VTI) operated by the Ministry of Education, and 11 Technical Training Centers (TTC) run by the Ministry of Labor and Employment. In addition to the above government institutions, several NGOs and private institutions are also engaged in producing skilled workers. But given the total needs of skilled manpower in the country however the capacity of the above institutions seems much too inadequate. Private investors are coming up but in a slow rate. Insufficient steps of the government and Bureaucracy are playing there due part with the fact that rate of return might not be lucrative. Foreign investment is another option which can help to flourish this sector.

Time is passing by. Skill stays the same.

Prime Minister Khaleda Zia urged people to elect their representatives who have worked and will work for them in future, discarding those who don't go to the parliament. "What is the benefit of electing someone who does not go to the parliament," she questioned while addressing a public meeting at Kapasia Pilot High School ground in the afternoon of August 3, 2005. hmmmm………… maybe she forgot the days from 1996 to 2001. It is obvious that Hasina will state the same sentence as soon as she gets the chair in future. Lucky them, unlucky us.

The June 24 blow-out at the Tengratila field in Sunamganj has burnt 2-2.5 billion cubic feet of gas worth Tk 26-33 crore, according to a committee the government has formed to determine the damage to the reservoir. Let us assume this committee won’t exaggerate the amount. So basically it’s more then what they said. Blaming ministers, Niko and related officials is best what we can do, not to mention we are also capable of watching our natural resource burn.