& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

TO THE EDITOR
Hartal
While we strongly protest the brutal killing of Advocate Khorshed Alam Bachchu and demand that the criminals be brought to justice, we protest the hartal called by the Awami League. Considering the future of HSC examinees, they could call the hartal a day later, if it was at all necessary.
This is unfortunate, if the AL claims that they are doing politics of people, they should stay away from such anti-people activities.
This was just playing with the fate of more than half a million students.
Nurul Amin, Dhaka, Bangladesh
When will they realise?
The terrible death of Happy, who was a student of Dhaka University, haunts us. We are losing many meritorious students who are the assets of this country. The parents send their sons/daughters to the university to learn and serve the nation but many of them lose their lives in road accidents. The university authorities should take the necessary steps to stop such accidents after the tragic deaths of the students. In our RUET, we the students have demanded many times a speed-breaker in front of our university gate, but the authorities didn't show any interest. It seems that they expect a terrible death and then they will take the necessary steps.
The question now arises, how long we will have to wait before the university authorities realise the value of our lives.
Syed Ashek Ahmed
RUET
Indecent!
I work with an autonomous organisation which is under a certain ministry. My posting is in a busy junction between the capital Dhaka and a major port of the country. Many politicians and other VIP figures frequently use our rest house. Apart from our job, we also have to spend a good amount of labour and time for protocol. A few days ago we had to arrange room and other services for a well-reputed politician. During the courtesy meet I could hear him talking on his mobile phone and uttering some names of political leaders we see in the newspapers every day. Some local people, looking like henchmen, were meekly giving costly cigarette packets, prepaid mobile cards etc. One of them wore a T-shirt with the 'educative' one-liner "If u want safesex...". I hardly managed to stop the laughter and keep an officer like face. I always believe that an individual has the right to choose what he should wear (with whatever writing on it). But one should also keep an eye on the
place or people they will be meeting.
Sometimes I hear people talking optimistically about our politics. They are hopeful that better days will come soon. I am not a political analyst. But as long as our top leaders enjoy the company of people wearing such T-shirts, I really doubt it.
Saif
Dhaka Compulsion of globalisation
This is in response to the article captioned 'Closer trade links with Pakistan' by Mr. ABMS Zahur, dated 25th May'05. It is nobody's case that the Partition of India on the basis of Two-Nation theory professed by Savarkar and Jinnah provided an extension to feudalism and its attributes. The mushrooming of regional and cast-based parties in India and the formation of Bangladesh were expressions of revolt against subjugation, however, the resultant freedom and the fruit of development were again cornered
by a handful of people, leaving the vast majority in servility, thereby ensuring social unrest.
A similar act was done ages ago to the Indian masses when Christianity and Islam were dangled in front of a stratified Hindu society. The humiliated lower caste people grabbed the opportunity that promised them equality and later found to their dismay that they were Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims and the Syeds asserted their brahminical supremacy in the Muslim hierarchy.
In the present economy driven societies, the religious fundamentalism of different hues with similar texture of narrow-mindedness is bound to taper off and the expanse of land that defines wealth of individuals and nations appears to be losing its sheen in this climate of globalisation. This is not to say that we would not have to put up a strong resistance to the designs of fundamentalism and feudalism.
We can exhibit indifference to the
wind of change only at our own peril. The issue of Kashmir is being redefined by the growing aspiration of economic freedom of its inhabitants and the leadership of Pakistan and India pounced upon the opening to soften the LoC and the rest would follow in due course of time to their satisfaction. Nationalism leads to ultra-nationalism and sub- nationalism and these are no less a menace than fundamentalism and feudalism. It is thus pertinent that nationalism should make way for rationalism and the orientation of governance should primarily be the financial well-being of the masses.
It would be naive on our part not to explore areas of mutual benefits and progress. Though a European model of federation is a far-fetched idea in the given scenario, we can at least establish a reasonable mobility of man and material across South Asian nations and beyond for economic growth. It could be a juvenile act to exhibit anger by refusing food, but not of matured nations. Lastly,
but not the least, our economic pursuit should accept the dignity of labour. When we teach our children to wish their teachers, we should also teach them to wish gatekeepers and sweepers of their schools, so that the neo-casteism based on professions and earnings is not allowed to flourish and humiliate those who perform less important
jobs for honest living.
Humiliation of a section of people would also impede the confident Walk of a nation into a global village.
Md. Aslam Parvez,
Picnic Garden, 1st Lane, Kolkata - 700 039
Death of a driver
I am shocked at the death of the taxi driver who was burnt on the hartal day. I do not know who was responsible for this incident. As usual the prime minister and other ministers hinted that the opposition was responsible. On the other hand, the opposition is claiming that the ruling
alliance killed the taxi driver. The fact is that the taxi driver was the only earner in his family and only Allah knows what will happen to his family now. The incident happened near the office of the youth organisation of the ruling party. The person who filed the case belongs to the ruling party and his statement about the incident significantly differs from
what the deceased taxi driver said. I remember that in one of the previous hartals last year, a bus was set on fire and many passengers were burnt to death. Again that incident happened in a safe area because of the presence of many security personnel. There was rumour that a ward commissioner belonging to the ruling party was involved in that incident.
I think the opposition should seriously think about the people of this country. Whether opposition wants or not, the killings of taxi drivers or bus passengers may continue. I believe the opposition does not want this since they are fighting for the
betterment of the people.
For the sake of poor people, they should stop calling hartal.
Jewel Ahmed, Basabo, Dhaka
Relations with
India
Mr. Farooq Sobhan's thoughtful and perceptive article India-Bangladesh
Relations: The Way Forward (DS 5 June) suggests "concluding a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India," arguing that "There exists empirical data to show that the Indo-Lanka FTA has had a major impact in expanding Sri Lanka's exports to India, and has also resulted in a very sizeable increase in Indian investments in Sri Lanka." Could we please have these data? For example, how much expansion of trade and investments have taken place? In what sectors? What's Indo-Sri Lanka trade as a percentage of Sri Lanka's total trade? What are the prospects of continued further expansion in trade and investments(this of course has to be somewhat conjectural).
Availability of such statistics would enable the readers-- presumably also decision makers-- in Bangladesh to make an informed judgement on the merits of FTA. Mumtaz Iqbal Dhaka
Our own music
As I was born in Chittagong, I got a great chance to enjoy Chittagonian music. Most of the lyrics are on boatmen, rivers, the bay and love. But the folk songs are so enriched that they have a strong captivating power, and a melodious appeal to give pleasure to people in general. In the glorious age of Chittagonian music, Shefali Ghosh, Kallyani Ghosh, Shyamsundar Baishnab were the legendary singers. The most appealing song was 'chuto chuto daew tuly pare, Bankkalir maji o bhai, Ore Karnafulire'.
Still those are bearing Chittagonian style of life and culture. Now in the multidimensional cultural flows, glory of Chittagonian music is fading. It's really alarming for not only Chittagong people but also for others as we are gonna losing our diversity of folklore and especially folksongs.
Steps must be taken to protect these things in our greater interest. Sarwar Kamal
Dept. of philosophy CU