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To the Editor...
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Welcome the new politics
The electrocution of the general elections in India is sending some signals to the political leaders in the Saarc region (and abroad). This phenomenon might denote the beginning of the return to stability of the political culture in the post-Raj era after half a century of roaming in the new wilderness of freedom of self-governance. The curtain might fall on the euphoria chapter of playing with the new toy left by the Empire builders in 1947.
Sonia Gandhi's ascension is a new symbol of awareness in the electorate. The time had come, as the catalyst worked this time. The people in Bangladesh are waiting for a similar type of catalytic action to purge our politics of the traditional garbage and head-load (of parading fossilized leadership).
The rate of change in political events (local or global) is now outside the control of any one group (even the mighty US cannot befool time and again). What was the invisible new element in the Indian elections? Foreign interest, detached, seemingly remote, and indirect. Saarc is too rich potentially, not to attract interest, specially when its assets could not be harnessed by the regional leaders, for several generations. The phase of the "end of history" is gone; and new history is in the making, although the molds and the models are still experimental. There is active politics in the Third World, while the western civilization has entered the sunset years.
The third platform is already emerging in Dhaka . The message is clear enough to political observers: get the local politics in order, and set the sight for regional coop-
eration and signboards. The cracks and weaknesses in the whole system of regional politics have to be cemented. It was not a pleasant and easy task for Europe to go in for the EU concept the force of circumstances work beyond calculated risks (the same situation in Iraq under US occupation).
Local politics at the national level has to look beyond the nose. The supposed intruders are rich and vicious, with long-range logistic network control. Losing power and control are nasty experiences, better plugged at the earliest. Vajpayee's noble retreat and acceptance of peoples' verdict is a gesture pregnant with possibilities, which time would unfold phase by phase (yield during a storm, stand up later to survey the debris).
Poverty and financial constraints do not erode much the
intuition or hunch of the ruled (but access to the mass media is lacking). The voter awareness and sensitivity have been rising each successive decade, and today it cannot be ignored as was done in the past. The mass have 'mass' (weight), and it can be very much weighed .
The politicians have to talk to or communicate with the people, without pointing with the finger. "Are you nagging or complaining?" Leaders who sulk cannot carry bulk. Who will solve the leaders' dilemmas? Themselves. Watch the patience of Sonia. It comes from 'egolessness' no obsessions.
Dhaka is not insulated from political magnetic storms. Who are more prepared, the leaders, the politicians, or the masses? Politics is a public service; anything beyond it is untenable.
Abu Abd
Dhaka
Monsoon
This year also the faithful (and unscientific!) monsoon arrived in sonar Bangla in due timethe second week of June, as I have been noticing throughout my lifetime for a number of decades. I am wondering about the dubious Western publicity of the so-called (hypothesis, not theory), Greenhouse Effect (GE), which is hampering the rapid development in the Third World (like the World Bank prescriptions). What is this scientific-ism?
I have started believing in the subtle background presence of scientific gool-baazi (fraud, hoax, magnified false propaganda). Is our monsoon so powerful that the GE cannot affect it? As a layman, I would like to hear from both western and our scientists, for clarifi-
cations, and awareness of the public.
A Husnain
Dhaka
Air-conditioned clothes!
When we travel abroad, the credibility rating of us individuals is on the low side, as we come from underdeveloped countries. Hence sometimes I get naughty and pull the leg of my foreign acquaintances (can't be friends) with (scientific) hoaxes.
Once, when I went to Japan (decades ago), I was aware of the Japanese custom of offering small gifts during social intercourses. What could a light-pocketed gentleman take from Dhaka? I took a few pieces of cheap handmade caps made from grass leaves (as worn by Bhashani?). I presented a piece to the wife of a Japanese executive
who was gracious enough to invite me home for dinner (a rare honor). I stressed two points: hand-made in the village, and environmentally-friendly, made of natural fibre. I even suggested she could use it as a flower basket by affixing a light handle. They were delighted and impressed with a handmade product of Bengalee culture. When I was returning home, he presented me with a very expensive gift worth tens of dollars.
On another occasion, I impishly told a foreigner abroad that at home we used air-conditioned' clothes in the hot, humid and tropical climate, without any extra machinery or cost. He was puzzled, and asked for details. I advised him to think about it; and told him at the next meeting that we use handmade, handloom cotton loongie and ghamcha for the lower and upper portions of the body during the hot days at home (as I am
doing so while typing this letter on the computer).
The lower garment has only one straight stitch; and gamcha needed no tailoring. Cotton is best for hot and humid climate, absorbs sweat and evaporates it quickly. The ghamcha is better than a sleeveless vest as it could be shaken up (stitchless) and can be used as a wiper or towel.
A root, basic question arises; transfer of local technological culture should be more two-way, than one-way as at present. We are labelled as Third World entitieswhere is the Second World of level communication? Look at the Western mess in Iraq. We should export loongie and ghamcha to the industrialized world, along with prawn and RMG! Pack the former set in a jute bag.
AZ
Dhaka