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Look East policy revived
Foreign office wakes up to face reality
M. Shahidul Islam
The foreign office in Dhaka has wasted much time since January in rubbing wrong ointment oin wrong spots. The Indian north-east ought not to have deserved as much priority from Dhaka as Myanmar and its Arakan region. Yet, for obscure reason, there was a fixation of focus to India's north-east.
Myanmar is the only nation which has imposed intermittent exodus of refugees upon Bangladesh. Besides, Myanmar remains the only gateway to the East and forms a confluence of Islamic and Buddhist civilisations in East Asia's gateway.
Yet, delusion and diversion stalled the tide of history for decades along the 320 km Bangladesh-Myanmar borders and, there has been no road link between the two neighbours. Whatever trans-border trade occurred so far, two transit points were used to that end. It is time to get closer with Myanmar and Look East intently with focus, passion and perseverance.
Delving with dictatorship may not always be easy and Myanmar is being ruled by a military junta for years now. Yet, the visit to Yangon (April 25-29) by foreign affairs adviser, Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, and the signing of a major deal to construct a road link with the nation's land and maritime neighbour is the first major breakthrough in shaping the nation's foreign policy by the non-political interim regime.
Road to realism
The deal's signing shows realism the otherwise hermetic foreign office. The deal has shifted focus of external relations back to where it ought to be: Looking East, a priority that was set out by the previous government but could not be brought to fruition due to time constraints and the political instability surrounding the formation of a caretaker government in late 2006.
Signed in Yangon on April 28, the deal includes a commitment by Dhaka to pay for the construction of 25 km road to connect Bangladesh's south-eastern Gundhum area with Bolibazar of Myanmar. The road will be extended to connect Bangladesh with Thailand and China to increase trade and tourism with the fast growing Far East.
For this and other reasons, the deal is important; both symbolically and substantively. Dhaka-Yangon relations has been clouded by a number of irritants in the past, prominent among which was the intermittent exodus of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar's Arakan region into southern Bangladesh. The ice has begun to melt with the signing of the latest deal.
The road will increase connectivity, enhance cross border trade and crime prevention capabilities and reduce tension with respect to the volatile Arakan region over which Yangon has wobbly leverage. The deal was inked at a time when the Muslim refugee crisis has made Arakan a flash point of some sort in the eyes of the world. So far, Dhaka has fended off a series of pressures from Western governments seeking Bangladesh to take a tough stand with Myanmar. Dhaka's patience is paying off now.
National interest
We tempt to jog the memory because, since the assumption of power by the interim administration, the foreign office oscillated between high and low priorities in policy making to the point of indecisiveness. The deal with Myanmar shows that Chowdhury has chosen the right time to pick up from where former foreign minister Morshed Khan had left. It is a timely waking up to face an inescapable reality. The move will enhance our national interest.
This time, Chowdhury is learnt to have had extensive talks with his counterpart, Nyan Win, on April 27 and discussed several other bilateral issues. Later, he also had a meeting with Myanmar's acting Prime Minister, Lt. General Thein Sein, at the latter office in the nation's new capital, Naypyidaw.
Besides the road link deal, the two leaders covered a number of other issues, including repatriation of refugees, border trade, contract farming, maritime boundary demarcation, simplification of visa regulations and the establishment of a joint-commission.
The two nations must do much more sooner to remove all the existing irritants so that the deserved regional integration for mutual benefits can be fast-tracked, and, Dhaka-Yangon relations can attain a higher trajectory.
Geopolitics of a crisis
Historically, an unstable Arakan has always spelt trouble for Bangladesh, although Myanmar's Rakhine state, of which Arakan is an integral part, played a pivotal role throughout history in the exchange of cultures and religions between greater India and Southeast Asia.
The helpless Rohingyas cannot be faulted for those historical vicissitudes caused by ethnic and geopolitical manoeuvres of regional actors. For over a thousand years, the region constituted an independent state, with rich history, culture and literature. That is why some Rohingyas seek a homeland of their own amid Myanmar's stubbornness in not granting them citizenship. Yangon must change that stance now, for citizenship by birth and domicile constitutes an inherent aspect of fundamental human rights.
Following Burma's gaining of independence on January 4, 1948, tension increased between the Arakanese Buddhists and the Muslim Rohingyas, resulting in the exodus of a large number of Rohingyas to Bangladesh. The Burmese government maintains that the Rohingyas were relatively recent migrants from the sub-continent. Until now, the Burmese constitution does not allow the Arakan Muslims to qualify for citizenship; that too must change.
In March 1978, due to widespread arrests and expulsions of Rohingyas by the Burmese government, a large number of them fled into Bangladesh. Another exodus of approximately 250,000 Rohingyas took place during 1991-1992 and then again in 1996-97. The intermittent exoduses were triggered by a complex combination of political, social and economic factors. Each time, human rights violations were blatant.
Intense negotiations have so far resulted in the repatriation of around 200,000 to Arakan, while another about 20,000 still remain in Bangladesh. Myanmar must take them sooner to dispel public discontent inside Bangladesh as well as to deflect international outcry against human rights abuses.
Geopolitically, the Bay of Bengal is a glittering feather in Bangladesh's semi-landlocked status and, Arakan played a vital role in shaping Bangladesh's destiny in the past. Stretching along the Bay of Bengal from the Naaf River (which separates Myanmar from Bangladesh) to Cape Negrais in southern Burma, the land and sea routes of Arakan connect it with Bengal to the west and Burma proper to the east, hence to the Far East and China. Bangladesh's Look East policy can not be fruitful so long Arakan remains unstable.
Looking back
These historical nuggets must serve as an essential diet for foreign policy makers in Dhaka. Lest we forget, military conflict and geopolitical brinkmanship have shaped the fate of the region since 1404 AD when the independent state of Arakan was invaded by Burmese forces, driving out king Min Saw Mun to seek refuge under the Sultanate of Gaur in Bengal.
The reminiscences are pretty disturbing. The Bengal Sultanate, independent of Delhi, was founded in the mid-14th century and the genesis of today's Bangladesh remains hidden in the blood-soaked history of the era. Ever since, a predominant Muslim Bengal began to emerge gradually under an Islamic culture that had been laying roots since the 13th century, leading eventually to the formation of East Pakistan in 1947 and then to Bangladesh.
In between came the Moguls, who too were Muslims as were West Pakistanis. Mugal emperor Humayan conquered the Sultanate of Gaur, sparking off a long period of civil war to provoke Arakan king Min Bin to take advantage of the instability and occupy East Bengal with a strong naval fleet and infantry.
Bengal remained a vassal of Arakan for the next one hundred and twenty years, till 1666. Its administration was left in the hands of twelve local rajas who all paid annual tribute to the Arakan king's Chittagong-based viceroy.
Almost similar power play characterised the region's colonization. From 1731-1784, instability gripped Arakan and thirteen kings vied for succession of the throne, the average rule of each not exceeding more than two years. The instability resulted in the annexation in 1784 of the entire region into the Kingdom of Burma, which in turn became part of the British dominion in 1826.
Ever since, Burma enjoyed sovereignty over the territory, but Bangladesh has had to suffer an unwanted burden with respect to sheltering Muslim refugees from the region. The geopolitical significance of the region was intensely felt by Japan that occupied Arakan from 1942 to 1945. The allies and axis powers battled each other in the same region during Second World War.
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May Day blasts pose new
challenges for law enforcers
Sadeq Khan
Is the emergency caretaker regime beginning to experience some pinpricks of covert subversion by vested interests sorely affected by its tough actions and task forces? The question has come up in course of analyzing the slimy manner by which a child was trapped by two saboteurs to trigger two crude time bombs hidden in a box.
After a relative calm following a spate of orgiastic serial bombing across Bangladesh by religious extremists, the country was again disturbed by a fresh round of blasts on May 1. To their utter shock and disgust, people watched on the TV screen the scary aftermath of the violence.
'Jadid Al Qaeda Bangladesh' (JAQB) claimed responsibility for the blasts demanding stoppage of all activities of NGOs and the Quadiani Muslim community in Bangladesh by May 10. There was no report of any activities by an outfit called 'Jadid Al Qaeda Bangladesh' in the past.
The crude blasts in the morning hours of May 1 occurred at three divisional railway stations, including the capital's Kamalapur Railway Station. The other spots were Chittagong and Sylhet stations.
Although suspicion had initially centred on a splinter group of Islamist militants, the law enforcement authorities looked at all angles in their efforts to arrive at definite leads to the bombings. Besides the militants, they were also weighing the possibility of the involvement of other vested interests, such as quarters bent on destabilising the present 'calm' in the country.
A bomb exploded in front of a second class ticket counter at Kamalapur railway station in Dhaka at around 6.50am, while another exploded at a waiting room at Sylhet railway station at around 7.15am. No casualty was reported.
A bomb exploded at Chittagong railway station at around 7.40am when a rickshawpuller tried to open a bag supposed to contain sweets, and was critically injured.
According to the locals, two persons wearing trousers and shirts gave a box of sweets to a street boy and his mother at the Chittagong railway station at around 7 am. The two men told the street boy and his mother that they were in a hurry and were giving away the food packet. The two persons immediately left. The street boy, his mother and a rickshawpuller opened the box at around 7.40. Two bombs blasted with massive sound reverberating the Chittagong railway station premises.
Law Adviser Barrister Mainul Hosein told newsmen, "We have taken the matter seriously. The bombings have been carried out with a view to creating panic among the people and embarrassing the government."
Talking to newsmen at Police Headquarters, Inspector General of Police Nur Mohammad said, "The bombing incidents that took place at three railway stations simultaneously is a global phenomenon.
"We took the matter seriously although it was not a big incident in terms of range and have asked the law enforcing agencies including RAB to take all-out efforts to nab the people responsible for the bombings. We will punish the godfathers and financial patrons of the Islamic militants after nabbing them."
Director General of RAB Hasan Mahmud Khandoker told newsmen, "We are examining the possibility of involvement of any organised group in the bombings in a planned way with a view to aggravating the law and order in the country."
The US government also appears to have correlated the security situation in Bangladesh with possible latent opposition to the caretaker regime.
The US State Department in a Bangladesh consular sheet issued on May 1 mentioned that the country was currently under a state of emergency and elections had been postponed until late 2008. It added: "And it is unclear how long the current government intends to stay in office. The security situation in Bangladesh is fluid, and Americans are urged to check with the US Embassy for the latest information."
In its Country Reports-2006 on terrorism released by Office of the Coordinator for Counter-terrorism in Washington, the United States said Bangladesh witnessed the emergence of a dangerous terrorist group Jamaat ul Mujahedin Bangladesh which launched coordinated nationwide attacks on "un-Islamic" persons and facilities in pursuit of its goal of a fundamentalist Islamic society.
Bangladesh had limited success in countering JMB's escalating acts of terrorism, underscoring the government's serious institutional, resource, and political constraints.
The report also acknowledged that Bangladeshi security forces succeeded in capturing and punishing JMB kingpins. The report said former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia regularly condemned terrorism at domestic and international forums. The government renewed bans on Jamaat ul Mujahedin Bangladesh (JMB), Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), and Harkat ul-Jihad-i-Islami/Bangladesh (HUJI-B) as terrorist organizations.
There was good cooperation between law enforcement agencies on several cases relating to domestic terrorism. With U.S. technical assistance, Bangladesh drafted a comprehensive new anti-money laundering law. Bangladesh was also working with the United States to strengthen controls at land, sea, and air ports of entry, the report said.
Porous borders was identified along with corruption as major constraints in combating terrorism by the security estabishment in Bangladesh in the US report, and the matter came up in talks between the US under secretary of State Nicholas Burns and the Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon. In the interest of improved security climate in the region, both the geopolitical actors with stake in combating spread of terrorism in South Asia have agreed that the caretaker regime in Bangladesh deserves support in its ongoing programme of reforms and positive cooperation in removal of the external as well as internal constrains.
A PTI story datelined Washington, May 1 quoted Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon as saying: "The present caretaker government in Bangladesh is doing things that needs to be done... so that people of Bangladesh have a chance to express their will, freely and fairly through elections. And we would encourage that." He was taking to reporters after talks with US Under-Secretary Nicholas Burns.
In Delhi on May 2, Shivshankar Menon set aside all ambiguity about India's stand on present Bangladesh government. New Delhi came out solidly behind the current initiative of the caretaker government's to usher in reforms in different fields of administration in that country.
India's Foreign Secretary told media persons that New Delhi backed reforms as being undertaken by the caretaker Bangladesh government as these were needed for the people of the country. These would pave the way for the people to express their will freely through elections.
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Govt. should ban it and punish importers
Piranha: A threat to Bangladesh's
fish resources
Abdus Salam
Some greedy businessmen have imported a dangerous species of fish called Piranha which can spell doom to the country's aquatic life. As the frightening fish is likely to affect the country's ecology so the Government should immediately take the concerned persons to task, punish them and ban its culture.
The piranha, a South American carnivorous freshwater fish, has recently been introduced to the fish farmers of Bangladesh. It may be profitable for the farmers for the time being, but it will soon destroy other fish species. The piranha could breed in large numbers in a very short period of time and destroy the ecological balance in the country's lakes or rivers. For its unruly tendency to bite everything that moves in the water, and attacking its prey in groups, it is called "the wolf of the water." Now it is available in the kitchen markets of Dhaka. Local fish sellers call them "piranha chanda".
The flesh-eating piranha for its unruly tendency to bite everything that moves in a river, should be banned and totally eliminated from the country, China's fishery department ordered in 2002. The piranha had been put on the banned list of imported aquatic species by Chinese customs department, and its illegal importation would incur fines of at least 50 thousand yuan (6.25 thousand US dollars), said the department.
A source from the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture said a campaign to eliminate piranhas had been carried out nationwide, and so far most of them have been wiped out from Chinese public and private aquatic markets.
In Venezuelan rivers they are called caribes. They belong to five genera of the subfamily of Serrasalminae (which also includes closely related herbivorous fish including pacus and silver dollars). They are normally about 15 to 25 cm long (6 to 10 inches), although reportedly individuals have been found up to 40 cm in length. They are known for their sharp teeth and an aggressive appetite for meat and flesh. Locals use their teeth in tools and weapons. They are normally found only in the Amazonian, Guianas, Paraguayan and Argentinian river systems.
When a school of piranha are in a feeding frenzy the water appears to boil and churn red with blood. They attack with such ferocity that they strip an animal of its flesh within a matter of minutes, even taking bites out of each other in the process.
Adult piranha will eat just about anything - other fish, sick and weakened cattle, even humans. Sickly cattle that have stooped their heads down to drink from the river have been grabbed by the mouth and nose and pulled into the water, completely devoured minutes later.
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Rice output declines, agri-credit flow drops
Rural economy faces recession
Asjadul Kibria
The economic activities in the rural area of the country have declined for the last couple of months mainly due to some flawed administrative measures. The reflection of recessionary trend can be deciphered through some proxy indicators like credit flow to rural economy.
Statistics available with the Bangladesh Bank revealed that inflow of agricultural credit has declined in the first eight months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last year. The banking system has injected some Tk 3,270 crore to the rural economy during July-February period of FY07, while the amount was Tk 260cr more, Tk 3, 530.8 crore in the same period of FY06. Thus agricultural credit disbursement has dropped by around 8 per cent.
The gradual decline in the farm credit disbursement has also made it clear that the annual target would not be achieved in the current year as up to February, only 51 per cent of the target has actually been disbursed. The government has set some Tk 6, 316 crore as annual target for disbursement of farm credit.
The slowdown in agricultural credit inflow is mainly due to lower demand from the agri-sector. The lower demand is again a reflection of disruption in the productive activities in the rural areas.
In fact, after the incumbent Caretaker Government (CG) assumed the office in January, a series of demolition programme has been launched to remove illegal establishments in cities and villages. Decades-long traditional markets (haat-bazar) in rural and semi-urban areas have been destroyed under the programme that seriously hurt the livelihood of those earning a very limited income and poor people.
The gross output of agriculture has also set to be lower in the current fiscal year having a negative impact on overall economic activities. The latest edition of the Bangladesh Bank Quarterly last week categorically said that overall growth potential for FY07 is likely to drop mainly due to lower output in the agriculture sector. Quoting the central bank's earlier projection that GDP growth rate to remain within the 6.6 per cent and 7.1 per cent range, it said that the reduced rice yield suggested that agricultural growth would fall below its predicted range. "The overall output growth for FY07 is thus likely be close to the bottom of the range earlier predicted."
Against the slowdown in the credit disbursement, the banks have intensified the recovery drive and about Tk 3,093 crore has been recovered by the banks during the period under review which is 19 per cent higher than that of the corresponding period of FY06. If the trend continues, there would be a net outflow of fund from the rural economy through the institutional system.
Earlier, the central bank provided an incorrect data showing that the recovery of agricultural credit during July-November, 2006 stood substantially higher at Tk 4183.70 crore, while some Tk 1,754.22 crore has been disbursed in the period. So there was indication that a huge amount of fund has been actually extracted from the rural sector. Later, a revised estimate revealed that the situation is not as bad as it was believed.
Nevertheless, the combined output of Aus and Aman has declined to 12.41 million metric tonnes in the current year compared to 12.55 million metric tonne last year. The Boro output is also set to drop due to lack of timely supply of inputs like fertiliser as well as serious disruption of power.
Meanwhile, a latest move by the Indian central bank may be an examplary lesson. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last month has announced an exemption to the farmers for obtaining loans up to Rs 50,000 from banks.
According to the RBI notification, banks have been asked to provide small loans to farmers on the basis of a self-declaration in lieu of the submitting 'no due' certificate (NDC).
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Dhaka - Kolkata train service unlikely
to begin before early 2008
Shamsuddin Ahmed
Is the proposed Kolkata-Dhaka train service prelude to transit facility to Tripura and Agartala? That will fulfill the long-drawn plan of New Delhi to have an easy access to her seven sisters in the east, which are fighting for greater autonomy on independence.
The over-enthusiasm of the Indian government in opening the train service is understandable. About six weeks ago a senior official told an Indian TV channel that "Train service to Bangladesh will start shortly; we will start going to Joydevpur on the first of Baishak (14 April).
That was immediately dismissed by officials in Dhaka. The joint secretary of the communication ministry who was engaged in discussions with Indian counterparts on train service said no date was fixed. Now again Indian officials are speculating that the train service will be opened in mid-July. But officials in Dhaka say it is unlikely before early next year when Shialdah station in Kolkata will be connected with Dhaka railway station.
Railway link between Kolkata and Goalunda in Faridpur district existed until it was suspended during the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war. At the time Goalunda was well linked with Narayanganj with adequate steamer service. Those heydays are gone and Narayanganj has lost all its significance as the nerve centre of commercial connectivity because of the river communication system. Now the proposed train service from Kolkata is to enter through Darshana and reach Dhaka over the Jamuna Bridge.
How Bangladesh and India will benefit from resumption of train service with Kolkata after 42 years? Skeptics as well as customs and immigration officials at Darshana in Chuadanga district apprehend that the train services are likely to accelerate cross border smuggling and easy movement of terrorists from either sides.
The officials identify gold, brass metals, costly statues, imported fuel oil and fertilizer as the main items to be smuggled from Bangladesh. A report from Chuadanga last Tuesday said that a clearing and forwarding agent, also local BNP leader, was shot dead by unknown gunmen. Neighbours suspect that he was involved in the smuggling of 18kg gold to India in the recent past. Police are investigating into the alleged gold smuggling.
Phensidyl, drug, cosmetics, cloth, and cattle are the main items come from the other side. Cattle, however, cannot be smuggled in trains.
Thousands of Bangladeshi nationals go to India every year but few Indians come to visit Bangladesh. The train service will provide them an easy, less costly mode of transportation and more Bangladeshi nationals are likely to avail the facility. According to an estimate about Tk 3,000 crore (about US$435 million) is being spent by the Bangladeshi nationals in medical treatment alone per year in India. The affluent guardians of Bangladeshi students send them to India to study in peaceful academic environment and also spend an equal amount each year for the purpose. The guardians believe too much politics involving the teachers and students in our educational institutions could spoil the future of their wards.
"You will find most Bangladeshi nationals to avail the Dhaka-Kolkata train service. Few Indians will come and go," said an official at Dhaka railway station. Then why Bangladesh is agreeing to resume the train service? Is it to boost smuggling, transborder movement of terrorists, more people going for medical treatment and students for studying in India?
A senior immigration official however expressed caution. "The ultimate goal of India is to extend the train service to Tripura and Agartala. India is a big country and can always mount pressure on us. Any weak government may give in," said the official requesting not to identify him.
However, analysts feel that one thing is certain: people of Bangladesh are conscious. They will never allow rise of Lendup Dorji, an accursed leader of Sikkim who led the accession of Sikkim to India in the early 70s.
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Ties with Iran will annoy US
Venezuela's Chavez severs
ties with WB, IMF
Fazle Rashid in New York
Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela, a fierce nationalist, recently announced the nationalisation of the oil industry saying "today is the end of that era when our national riches ended up in the hands of anyone but the Venezuelan people". Hugo made the announcement at a May Day rally.
Oil giants like Exxon Mobil, Chevron and BP have made investments worth billions of dollars. The companies have been offered 40 per cent shares and the rest 60 per cent will be held by Petroleos de Venezuela. Venezuela also severed its connections with the World Bank (WB) and the IMF. It has not said whether it will withdraw $4 billion it has contributed to IMF kitty. Venezuela is providing soft loans to many African and South American states.
Venezuela has untapped oil reserve worth $30 billion. Venezuela has the largest oil reserve outside Middle-East. China will become Venezuela's chief strategic energy partner, both as a source of investment and important buyer of its oil. China's thirst for oil is increasing with its economy growing at double digit. As of now, China is the second largest oil consumer after USA.
Venezuela will also develop close ties with Iran, much to the annoyance of Washington. Venezuela has already reached an agreement with China for exploring the untapped oil reserve. The agreement is worth $13 billion. Venezuela's oil output has fallen to 2.4 million barrels a day from 3.1 million barrels a day since Chavaz took office. China may also decide that relying entirely on the mercurial leader Chavas will be too risky.
Chvaz took power in 1999. Venezuela's ties with US have steadily declined since then. Chavaz has accused America of taking part in a coup to remove him. US denied the charges. Chavas alleges that the coup attempt to throw him out of office and invasion of Iraq have the same goal -- to capture the oil reserve of the two nations. Venezuela accounts for 10 per cent of American oil import ranking behind Canada, Mexico and Saudi Arabia,
In another significant development, the highest court in Turkey has blocked the candidacy of Abdullah Gul from becoming president objecting to his 'Islamic credentials. Turkey, it may be recalled, holds the office of the Secretary General of OIC and is vying for EC membership. Turkey is a close ally of US, a member of NATO and has good relations with Israel. More important for US is that Turkey has common borders with Iran, Iraq and Syria.
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First Democratic presidential
debate in South Carolina
Khwaja Moinul Hassan, US Correspondent
The front-runners for the Democratic nomination predominately played it safe during the first presidential debate at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, South Carolina on April 26. Thursday night was the first time the eight candidates had appeared together on stage. It needs to be noted that inside the debate the crowd was quiet and the mood was obviously festive with the U.S. Congress and Senate in Democrats' control. The war in Iraq and gun control dominated the evening.
The candidates displayed no real taste for battle among themselves in their first nationally televised encounter. At the same time, they also worked to assure the audience they would act strongly and decisively if this country is attacked again, as it was on September 11, 2001. A blend of domestic issues and international affairs heated the political landscape in Orangeburg's colorful spring.
The 90-minute exchange wrapped up a marathon of events, which brought in the axle of attention to the center of the American South.
Early on, the candidates staked out positions on Iraq, with much of it focusing on the 2002 vote to authorize the war. That already has been a contentious matter in this fast-starting presidential primary, especially amongst the anti-war flank and base in the Democratic Party.
Senator Hillary Clinton has repeatedly declined to apologise for her vote, as other Democrats who supported the authorisation have done, but she confessed she took responsibility for it and seemed to demonstrate some humility in replying, "I did as good a job I could at the time." On the other hand Senator John Edwards of North Carolina has apologised several times for his vote authorising the war.
The Iraq war as it seems now was built on tons of lies constructed by George W. and his team of liars and/or a team of intentionally misinformed. However, this is another side of the question. The U.S. is going through the angst of Vietnam, once again. The bottom line is, politically speaking, debating democrats pledged to get the nation out of Iraq. In other words, addressing the Republic the candidates reassured Americans tired of the Iraq war that they would get the United States out of the conflict and the nation's nightmare.
Simply put, the Democratic Debate was terrific, the most substantive and the most genuine. There was no jaw-dropping gaffe or awe-inspiring revelation. Indeed there was no need for spin nor any need to make the historical glass-smooth. Everyone was of the opinion that their candidate won. The Democrats are all poised to win back the White House in 2008 and get rid of all the white lies constructed by the present occupying resident. Incidentally as the day opened, before coming to the debate, Congressman Representative Dennis Kucinich from Ohio filed an impeachment case against Vice-President Dick Cheney for lying to the nation and causing the Iraq devastation.
America is a bleeding giant. There is no apparent exit strategy from the Gulf. This group of eight is trying desperately to steer America out of the woods and regain its previous prestige. America's promise of "No more Vietnams" was lost on the same generation twice. America today is unanimously loved and hated around the world. It is dragged into the Bush age ironically in the 21st Century. The Bush-Cheney neo-conservatives have given a bad name to centuries of a two-party system in the Western hemisphere.
Thus in all candour it can be said that House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, the third ranking person in the U.S. Congress who made it possible to bring the debate to South Carolina and his alma mater (South Carolina State) boasted "we are relevant enough now, ladies and gentlemen, people did not think we would come to S.C. We wanted to send out a statement to our State and America that diversity truly matters."
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Glimpses of the Great
Nehru's literary output in prison
K. Z. Islam
Since many of our famous leaders are currently behind bars they might gather some inspiration from an excerpt from Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's An Autobiography (page 351).
'It is a little absurd to discuss this question of freedom of mind in prison in India when, as it happens, the vast majority of the prisoners are not allowed any newspapers or writing materials. It is not a question of censorship but of total denial. Only A Class (or in Bengal, Division I) prisoners are allowed writing materials as a matter of course, and not even all these are allowed daily newspapers. The daily newspaper allowed is of the Government's choice. B and C Class prisoners, political and non-political, are not supposed to have writing materials. The former may sometimes get them as a very special privilege, which is frequently withdrawn. Probably the proportion of A Class prisoners to the others is one to a thousand, and they might well be excluded in considering the lot of prisoners in India. But it is well to remember that even these favoured A Class convicts have far less privileges in regard to books and newspapers than the ordinary prisoners in most civilized countries.'
The most startling part of Nehru's prolific writings in jail is that he had hardly any reference books. Most of the writings were from his personal knowledge and the few books that he was allowed inside jail. The interesting part of his writings during imprisonment is that his books do not have any bibliography.
The literary output of Nehru is prodigious. Had Nehru not been in politics he would certainly have been remembered as a literary figure. His lengthy incarcerations were a blessing in disguise. Most of his writings were compiled during his confinements. The writer has often wondered why Nehru did not write much after the assumption of Prime Ministership. The fact is he has probably written just as much, if not more, during his days in power. The writings were in the shape of his letters to Edwina Mountbatten. Nehru wrote to Edwina every night. It is indeed lamentable that till now the world has been deprived access to his writings, which must surely be of high literary quality. If these were ever to be published, as indeed was the wish of Edwina, then combined with his earlier writings might have even qualified him for the Nobel Prize for literature. The reader can form his own judgement by a glance at the list of his writings, which the writer has come across:
Glimpses of World History; An Autobiography; India and the World; Letters from a Father to a Daughter; Eighteen Months in India; China, Spain and the War; Towards Freedom; The Discovery of India; The Unity of India: Collected Writings; Independence and After; A Bunch of Old Letters; India: Today and Tomorrow; India's Foreign Policy; Selected Speeches, September 1946 to April 1961; Nehru's Letters to His Sister; Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru, (First Series); Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru, (Second Series); India's Independence and Social Revolution; and Letters to Chief Ministers, 1947-64.
Nehru's letters are in the custody of Mountbatten's Broadlands Trust and Edwina's letters are with the Nehru family. The only person who was ever granted permission by both the families to read the love letters was Janet Morgan, Lady Balfour of Burleigh. Janet Morgan was allowed to quote a few letters in her book Edwina Mountbatten A Life of Her Own. The quotations were severely scrutinized and edited by Rajiv Gandhi personally.
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Double-digit inflation likely?
Shamsuddin Ahmed
Ominous signs suggest that a double-digit inflation by the end of current fiscal year in June may not be totally unfounded. Rice price has increased by around 20 per cent since January. This correspondent has purchased Nazir Shail variety of rice from Sutrapur wholesale shop at Tk 21.97 per kg on January 30 and Tk 26.80 kg on April 23 showing an increase of 22 per cent. The price rise in coarse variety of rice is around Tk 4 per kg.
And the cost of rice constitutes about 40 per cent of the cost of living for the working and lower middle class. Five litres can of Soybean oil was sold at Tk 230 in April last year and jumped to Tk 280 in March this year. However, it now sells at Tk 355. Mosur Dal was sold at Tk 42 per kg at this time last year and now it sells at Tk 78. Chicken, beef and mutton prices also increased substantially. In fact, the rising trend is continuing unabated.
There was also 15 per cent increase in fuel oil price and 5 per cent in electricity rate in the recent past. Petroleum price has been increased although it declined to $ 50 per barrel in December from $85 in August last year in the international market. Obviously, this has given rise in transport cost and push cost of all consumer products. Let us not talk of vegetable and fish price, which varies from time to time according to the harvest seasons.
Indeed, high price of essentials is affecting the life of people, especially the fixed income group and working class. "It is talked about in every home, antagonizing the poorer section, evoking knee-jerk reaction from all sections of the society," said an economist.
"Inflation, in fact, indirectly transfers incomes from the poor to the rich whose profits go up faster than the rate at which prices rise. For example, fuel oil price was raised by 15 per cent recently increase in transport coat was higher by 17 to 20 per cent. Hence, the administration needs to take immediate steps to contain it," he added.
"Inflation is a tax on the poor against which no hedges are immediately available," observed another economist.
Bangladesh Bank, however, is anxiously monitoring the situation. The government officials expressed their worries at the rising trend of rice price despite harvest of boro paddy. The government has tightened its expenditure and bank credits. Import duty on rice has been waived and slashed in case of a host of other consumer items. Despite these measures the upward trend of commodity prices are persisting to the apparent discomfort of the government.
Some economists say black money is distorting the market. The size of black money in the market has been variously estimated to be about three times higher than the money in circulation from the central bank. However, many other estimates are also available.
But it is not Bangladesh alone that is suffering from high rate of inflation. In neighbouring India, inflation is currently estimated at more than 7 per cent, propelled by rise of pulse price by 25 per cent and wheat 15 per cent.
In this backdrop, the government is preparing the national budget for 2007-08. People will hope effective measures to relieve them from the curse of price inflation.
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