Flying schools
6
Afzal Hossain
18
FRIDAY
FEBRUARY 7
2014
vol 1 Issue 41
Pete Seeger
27
1
CONTENTS
EDITOR’S NOTE
A Wee kly Pro ducti o n o f
DhakaTribune
Vo lume 1, Issue 4 1
FEB RUA RY 7, 2 0 1 4
Editor
Zafar Sobhan
Assistant Magazine Editor
Sumaiya Shams
Rohini Alamgir
Weekend Tribune Team
Faisal Mahmud
Adil Sakhawat
Shah Nahian
Farhana Urmee
Natalie Siddique
Art Direction/Photography
Syed Latif Hossain
Cartoon
Syed Rashad Imam Tanmoy
Rio Shuvo
Contributors
Naheed Kamal
Tamoha Binte Siddiqui
Ehtesamul Haque
Haley Joy Fowlkes
Dina Sobhan
Jennifer Ashraf
Masum Billah
Chanchal Kamal
Design
Mohammad Mahbub Alam
Natalie Siddique
Colour Specialist
Shekhar Mondal
Kazi Syras Al Mahmood
Fly like paper, get high like planes
W
ith conspiracies abounding in the political arena, it really is difficult to
imagine that Bangladeshis are getting much sleep. Something else
that might be keeping them up at night might very well be the Ekushey Boi
Mela. Haven’t been there yet? Catch up on what’s hot and what’s not with
Farhana Urmee’s Boi Mela Beat, or in preparation for the book fair, revisit
some old favourites from her consolidated Top 10 list. Take a break and learn
something new: allow Faisal Mahmud to introduce you to Afzal Hossain,
one of the geniuses behind the Pentium processors, or Haley Joy Fowlkes to
guide you through the experience of teaching in China.
Since it is the weekend, sit back, relax, and let yourself go. The sky is
the limit. Or at least, it was for the kites at the Cox’s Bazar kite festival this
year. And speaking of flying, find out how you actually can (become a pilot,
that is) from Tamoha Binte Siddiqui’s Pick of the Week on flying schools in
Bangladesh.
Whatever you choose to do, we hope it culminates in an amazing,
educational weekend. Have a great one! n
2 This Week
3 Letters to the Editor
4 Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Conspiracy theory
5 Big Mouth Strikes Again
Money, money, it’s so funny
10 Post-Riposte
Smoking in public
11 Top 10
Books featured at Boi Mela
12 Photo Story
Kite Festival 2014
16 Crime File
Massacre in Gopibagh
17 Boi Mela Beat
Ekushey Boi Mela 2014
Production
Masum Billah
20 Game On
Advertising
Shahidan Khurshed
21 Stranger in a Strange Land
Circulation
Wahid Murad
Email: weekend@dhakatribune.com
Web: www.dhakatribune.com
Cover
Ekushey Boi Mela
by Syed Rashad Imam Tanmoy
6 Pick of the Week Flying schools
18 Feature Afzal Hossain
Australian Open
Teaching in China
22 Tough Love
23 WT | Leisure
24 Legal Eagle
25 The Way Dhaka Was
Dhaka Medical College
26 Travelogue
The Baths at Bath
27 Obituary
Pete Seeger
28 Last Word
W E E K E N D TR IBUN E FR I DAY, FE B R UARY 7, 20 1 4
2
THIS WEEK
january 31-february 6
Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara scored the first triple century (319) against
Bangladesh on Feb 5 at ZACS in Chittagong. The mammoth innings contained 8
sixes and 32 fours, as he pummelled the Bangladeshi bowlers into submission.
Dhaka Tribune
Pakistani investigators inspect the site of a grenade attack in a cinema in Peshawar on February
2. At least four people were killed and 31 wounded late on February 2, when unidentified attackers
hurled two grenades at a cinema in northwest Pakistan, police and medics said.
AFP/Hasham Ahmed
One of most prolific actors of celluloid and theatre Philip Seymour Hoffman
was found dead in his Manhattan apartment on February 2. Initial police report
suggests that the cause of death was drug overdose. He is survived by his three
children and partner Mimi O’donnell.
Reuters/Victoria Cavaliere and Chris Michaud
Whale sharks are protected species under the Chinese and international law.
However, a single carcass is worth $30,000 and makes them a target for fish
poachers. A report passed by a NGO, WildLifeRisk issued a report after three years
of investigation. It provides evidence proving that a factory in Southern China
slaughters around 600 whale sharks every year.
National Geographic/ Jane J. Lee; Photo: WildLifeRisk
The DB Junior commissioned by Aston Martin has a 110cc petrol engine combined
with a key operated electric start and a semi-automatic three-speed gear box. The catch being it is designed for kids of 10 years and above. Priced at £16,000 this
gift to your child will definitely make you their hero.
Source: Wired.co.uk/Olivia Solon
W E E K E N D TRIBUNE F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 7, 201 4
to the editor
3
LETTERS
Great issue
I enjoyed reading last week’s WT. I learned new things about our national
zoo from Faisal Mahmud’s writing. “Paranormal Activity” by Shah Nahian
was very thrilling, and Rohini Alamgir’s article on superstitions was
interesting as well. I especially loved the photo story on polo fishing by
Syed Zakir Hossain – it was lovely. The only thing I did not like was the cover
image. Otherwise, great work guys!
Mia Md Junayed
Tongi, Gazipur
Not for the weak-hearted
Reading Shah Nahian’s story of spending a night in a haunted house was
quite scary. Did those things really happen? Why would anyone go back to a
place like that? I, for one, wouldn’t. I’m really surprised the villagers haven’t
burned down the entire place yet.
Priyanka Islam
Gulshan, Dhaka
Points for effort
I’m glad to see that you guys are experimenting with the looks of the
WT. It used to look quite drab, to be honest. Not sure if your efforts came
to fruition completely, because the print of my magazine was quite bad.
Nevertheless, it’s good that you’re trying to make your issue look better.
The content was, as usual, great. Keep up the good work, WT.
Helena Gomez
Shahjahanpur, Dhaka
Hungry for more
This week’s Top 10 literally made me so hungry that I went chasing after
the nearest pitha that I could find! Don’t worry, I managed to come back
and finish this week’s reads. Really liked Naheed Kamal’s Big Mouth on
body hair and the feature on superstitions. Looking forward to next
weekend!
Rahima Khanm
Dhanmondi, Dhaka
A little more change?
Reading weekend has become a part of
my Friday routine. You guys come up with
some great content for most of your stories.
However, I really wish you guys would do
something about the quality of the paper and
the size of the magazine. The paper gives out
a cheap impression, which takes out much of
the appeal from the covers and the layout, and
the large and unwieldy size of the magazine
makes holding it seem like a tedious chore.
LETTER
of the week
Nadeem Shah
Uttara, Dhaka
Send us your feedback at: weekend@dhakatribune.com
W E E K E N D TR IBUN E FR I DAY, FE B R UARY 7, 20 1 4
4
WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY?
Conspiracy theory
The verdict is
farcical and politically motivated. It is part of
a grave conspiracy against the BNP to ruin its image.
Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, joint secretary-general of BNP,
on the verdict in the 10-truck firearms
haul case
I suppose everyone is busy
conspiring against each other these days.
Mr Mango
Rio Shuvo/Dhaka Tribune
The then DGFI [Directorate General of
Forces Intelligence] Director General Maj
Gen Sadik Hasan Rumi informed the then
premier Khaleda Zia about the arms haul,
but she kept mum. Without expressing
any reaction, she only said she would
investigate. These matters came in as
evidence.
Judge SM Mojibur Rahman
Chittagong metropolitan special tribunal
W E E K E N D TRIBUNE F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 7, 201 4
We are agitated and
disappointed with
this verdict. It’s a
high-profile political
case and the verdict is
a high profile political
one as well.
Those who have testified in
this case were high-officials
of the military and civil
administration during the
previous (BNP-Jamaat alliance)
government. This is not a case
of political harassment.
Quamrul Islam
Defence counsel
Kamal Uddin
Public prosecutor
Big Mouth strikes again
5
Naheed Kamal
Money, money,
it’s so funny
‘The bottom half of the world’s population owns
the same amount as the richest 85 people in the
world.’ – Oxfam
M
oney makes the world go
around, so I was going
to write an intense (and
humourous, naturally) column on the
unfairness of life, but found myself
unable to express my disgust at the
sheer scale of inequity in this world
without flipping out completely.
Life’s little ironies include this little
truth: just as I find myself becoming
despondent, and if ever I feel
overwhelmed, I can rely on the one and
only Miley Cyrus to shock me right back
to reality. She is fast becoming my goto celeb for cheap laughs. Oh, I know
we shouldn’t laugh at her expense,
but I have a feeling that girl is not as
clueless as she leads us to believe. Yet,
the misdemeanours of Cyrus, Bieber,
et al, pale when compared to Woody
Allen.
If you have had the
‘privilege’ of having
‘mingled’ among the
rich and powerful, you
know how they always
become increasingly
less sensitive to other
peoples’ needs, and to
such an extent that when
the experiments were
conducted outside ATM
machines, having readily
available (easy?) cash
put people in a frame of
mind that ‘prefers to be
free of dependency and
dependents’
Latest allegations of abuse by Allen
came in an open letter from Dylan
Farrow. I understand how or why it
took so long for the kids to speak out,
but why Mia never protested or spoke
out against Allen, at least, until the
Soon-Yi debacle, has always bothered
me. Oddball Woody Allen grew on
me. I still find his dithering on screen
excruciating, but when someone
else plays Woody Allen on screen –
its hilarious. So yes, we do laugh at
other people around here, because
occasionally we must all be reminded
that we are only human. Whether you
are Desdemona or Shylock or Iago or
Othello – rich or poor – if you cut us, we
bleed. If you think hell is other people,
then humour me while I play that silly
game, six degrees of separation.
Gobsmacked as I was with Miley’s
latest spread on the cover of W
magazine – reeling from the new
“look” – I spotted that the interview
was by Ronan Farrow (Old Blue Eyes’
not Woody’s spawn, which brought
me to Scarlett), whose venture into
the music world with an album called
Anywhere I Lay My Head of Tom Waits
covers was surprisingly good. The
collaboration with Tom Yorn, Break
Up, is definitely one of my favourite
albums. Well, that Scarlett came of
age as an actor when she was directed
by Allen, the same Scarlett who has
now whipped up a soda-stream storm
and alas, abandoned Oxfam, and
that brings us to the global report on
income and wealth, published just on
time for the grand gathering in Davos,
the shocking figures however failed to
move the rich.
I must confess – at first I avoided
reading about such inequality. I didn’t
want know anymore – what else was
there to know? That number said
it all: approximately 85 people own
practically everything in this world.
But then a strange thing happened. A
week went by, but I noticed no one had
bothered to post or discuss this insane
fact on Facebook, which (who?) turned
10 last week, and was overflowing
with among other silliness. A report
confirmed Dhaka is officially hell – I
knew that already, thanks. We beat
the Syrian capital Damascus – and
that was gleefully posted more than
Oxfam’s wealth and income report!
Journalists came away from Davos
with an odd report – those who
gathered at Davos wined, dined and
drank champagne and packed up and
went home, and yes they conveniently
forgot – didn’t care at all about the
“great divide” and Oxfam’s report. Did
we miss something?
No one expects or wants charity,
nor do people want to work and watch
others benefit of their labour without
any satisfaction in return. Most people
would be happy to earn a decent
amount, not mega bucks, a living wage
in the true sense of the word. They
would be happy if employers didn’t
routinely take advantage of them,
and automatically assume it was his/
her privilege and right to exploit,
cheat, extort and treat employees
like modern day slaves. Whether you
are exploited just a little – or a lot –
it doesn’t make any difference to the
exploited.
If you are smirking and making
snarky comments, let’s not forget – the
world’s billions are not beggars at the
palace gate, hey own the palace. Before
you start spluttering indignantly,
here’s another fact: wealth makes
you selfish, insensitive, and you lack
empathy. These are the added benefits
of being rich.
Kathleen Vohs’ laboratory studies
found people who are rich, don’t give
a flying fig about those who are poor,
or not rich like them, and it’s not just in
Naheed Kamal is
an irreverent and
irreligious feminist.
An old soul of
indeterminate age,
with one too many
opinions and a very
loud voice (for a little
person), she laughs a
lot, mostly at herself.
She lives in Dhaka,
against her best
judgement. Mostly,
Ms Kamal rants, a lot!
the lab. Wealth makes you insensitive,
as the latest study conducted by
French researchers, Nicolas Guéguen
and Céline Jacob, found that “handling
money several seconds earlier was
associated with a decrease in helping
behaviour.”
I found that funny. You must admit
it is ironic to consider how the destiny
of billions of people on this planet lies
in the hands of so few. Is modern life
trying to teach us a lesson by dealing
us a huge, mammoth-sized dollop
of unfairness? Yes, but since we the
people are slow learners, and by nature
somewhat fatalistic, I am trying to
find a silver lining – I stretch it a bit,
granted.
Humour is my saving grace. And
laughter – at my own expense or
others’ – carries the day. Surely you
know laughter is the best medicine. n
They need to learn life lessons, starting
with how to spread love by sharing the
wealth, fairly and equitably
W E E K E N D TR IBUN E FR I DAY, FE B R UARY 7, 20 1 4
6
PICK OF THE WEEK
FlYING Schools
Sky is the lim it
Tamoha Binte Siddiqui tells us about the flying academies in Bangladesh and what it
takes to be a pilot
Tamoha Binte
Siddiqui is a
contributor for
Weekend Tribune,
because weekends
are the highlights of
her life. True story!
A
sk any 10-year-old what they
want to be when they grow
up and the answer you are
most likely to receive is: “I want
to be a pilot.” Given the glamour,
privilege and adventure associated
with the concept of aviation,
becoming a commercial pilot is a
dream job for many Bangladeshis.
Thanks to a handful of flying
academies established in the
country, hundreds of youngsters
are now able to spread their wings
and follow their dream.
The Big Three
Only
three
academies
are
recognised and approved by
the Civil Aviation Authority,
Bangladesh (CAAB). The oldest is
the veteran institution, Bangladesh
Flying Academy and General
Aviation Ltd (BFA). Established in
1948 as the East Pakistan Flying
Club, it is the first and only preliberation institution that trains
Bangali pilots and has historical
links to the birth of Bangladesh.
During the Liberation War, BFA
pilots bravely launched air attacks
on the Pakistani military. The
academy ultimately sacrificed
four captains during the war, and
produced four BirUttams and five
BirProtiks.
BFA has trained over 700 pilots
to date, and it was the sole flying
school in Bangladesh till 2008.
The academy has trained pilots for
the air force, commercial airlines
and government flights, as well
as for the Department of Planned
Protection, Ministry of Agriculture.
According to Captain Shahab U
Ahmed, BirUttam, President of BFA,
90% of pilots currently working for
Biman Bangladesh Airlines have
been trained at the BFA, while
other pilots from the academy
are currently flying with Emirates,
Etihad, Qatar and Singapore
W E E K E N D TRIBUNE F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 7, 201 4
Airlines. The academy has up to
six part-time instructors, who fly
with different airlines and also
train new pilots at the BFA airbase
situated inside Hazrat Shahjalal
International Airport, Dhaka, using
three aircrafts provided by the
CAAB.
The Galaxy Flying Academy
Ltd started off in 2008 and is
currently in the process of training
22 students for commercial pilot’s
licence (CPL) and private pilot’s
licence (PPL). It has 11 ground
class instructors and up to six
flight instructors from various
backgrounds on the books and it
also offers courses in instrument
rating, instructor rating and airline
transport pilot’s licence (ATPL).
Galaxy owns a hanger in Rajshahi
that houses five aircrafts used for
training its students. The academy
provides lodgings for students
enrolled both in the ground
classes in Dhaka and flying classes
in Rajshahi. According to an official
at Galaxy, the accommodation the
academy offers is “equivalent to a
three-star hotel” and high security
is maintained to ensure that the
students, especially the female
ones, feel safe.
Most recently, the Arirang
Flying School of Arirang Aviation
Ltd took to the skies as an offshoot
of the YoungOne Company.
Launched almost two years ago,
Arirang provides many aviationrelated services in addition to pilot
training, such as air ambulance
and corporate flying. So far, four
students from Arirang have
received their CPL and eight
received their PPL, while 46 trainee
pilots are currently enrolled at
the institution. The academy
boasts 12 full-time instructors for
7
The Big Three at a glance
1
BFA
•Ground course fee (PPL and CPL): Estimated Tk170,000 for each
•Flying cost: Estimated Tk260,000-280,000
•Course completion: three months for both PPL and CPL
2
Arirang Flying School
•Total course fee (including PPL and CPL): Tk2,060,000
•Course completion of both PPL and CPL within two years
•Sessions start in January and June
3
Galaxy Flying Academy Ltd
•Admission fee: Tk100,000
•PPL course fee: Tk950,000 (includes living cost)
•CPL course fee: Tk2,000,000 (includes living cost)
•Course completion of both PPL and CPL within two years
•Sessions start in February, June and October
ground classes and 10 full-time
flight instructors. Most of them
have air force background and
consequently have more flying
hours and experience compared to
instructors from other academies.
Arirang has its own hanger in
Chittagong, which houses three
of its own aircrafts, and it also
owns a hostel in the port city
where students can stay during
their flight schedules. They also
claim to be the only institution
that emphasises computer literacy
and spoken English during their
entrance exam. The academy is
also strict about class attendance
as instructed by the CAAB, and it
does not allow students to appear
for their licensing exams unless
they have the required percentage.
100 hours to make the total 150
hours, which then qualifies them
to earn a CPL.
So what does it take to become
a good pilot? Shahab believes
that speed of thought and selfconfidence are paramount: “One
has to be fast to cater to different
emergency situations, which may
arise at any time. A good pilot
needs to take prompt actions and
be very confident. CAAB consultant
Captain Akram Ahmed, BirUttam,
on the other hand, places more
emphasis on the students’
intelligence, while Nazrul Islam,
a student training for PPL, says
What does it take to
become a pilot?
Because BFA, Galaxy and Arirang
are the only flying schools approved
by the CAAB, all three must adhere
to the rules and regulations set
out by the government authority,
including the prerequisites for
students to attain a private or
commercial pilot’s licence. To get a
PPL, a student needs to be at least
16 years of age with an SSC or an
O Level certificate. To get a CPL,
which is an extended course of the
PPL and the basic licence required
by all commercial pilots, students
need to be at least 17 years old
with an HSC or A Level certificate.
Physics and maths are compulsory
prerequisite subjects in both cases.
Before their final enrolment
into the academies, eligible
students must pass a medical
fitness test conducted by the CAAB
and be issued with a student’s
pilot licence (SPL). The medical
tests required for the students to
have A-class physical fitness, but
20/20 vision is not mandatory as
corrective lenses or spectacles can
be worn during flights.
The students then have to
complete about 10 ground subjects
related to aviation. After clearing
three or four of these subjects, the
students start their practical flying
lessons and have to juggle their
ground courses with flying hours.
In order to receive a PPL, students
need to log about 50 hours of
flying. After receiving the PPL,
students need to log an additional
discipline, maintaining a routine
life and regular physical exercise
are also important qualities.
He adds: “Pilots need to be
physically fit to cope with changes
in temperature and atmospheric
pressure as well as hypoxia, i.e.
lack of oxygen, which may lead to
nausea.
The head honcho
The CAAB is the supreme authority
for issuing pilot’s licence in
Bangladesh, and they do so after
closely examining the students
in written exams, flying tests and
medical tests. After getting their
CPL from the aviation authority,
the students can join different
commercial airlines, which provide
Photos: Chanchal Kamal
W E E K E N D TR IBUN E FR I DAY, FE B R UARY 7, 20 1 4
8
Our academy houses the first
aircrafts that flew in the free skies
of Bangladesh on January 1, 1972.”
– Captain Shahab U Ahmed, BirUttam,
president of BFA
W E E K E N D TRIBUNE F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 7, 201 4
further training specific to the type
of aircrafts used by the airlines.
The students can also choose to
become flight instructors after
completing their instrument
rating training. Indeed, due to
the different aviation schools
established in Bangladesh, many
students aspire to become a
flight instructor in the academy in
which they are currently enrolled.
It seems as if these institutions
are not only creating a new
generation of commercial pilots,
but also a generation of future
flight instructors.
International
competition
Despite the obvious attractions,
the flying academies often fail
to fill their intakes. The cost of
completing PPL and CPL courses
is high. Wing Commander (retd)
Anisuzzaman Khan, the chief
ground instructor at Arirang,
believes that a lack of publicity
and students going abroad for
their further education are factors,
too.
“Most of the students who can
afford to enrol in a flying academy
have English medium schooling,
and more often than not, these
students are sent abroad by their
parents to pursue higher studies,”
he says. Shahab adds: “Not
enough students are joining flying
schools, because they have a wide
access to different career options.”
Many students who do choose
professional piloting as a career
opt for flying academies abroad,
in countries like Malaysia or
Philippines, rather than training
in Bangladesh. Asef, a pilot who
completed his CPL training in HM
Aerospace flight training centre
in Malaysia, says the quality of
training provided abroad is better,
and courses can be completed
faster. “I finished my course
within 20 months. The scenario
in Bangladesh is different. The
progress is much slower,” he says.
Anisuzzaman,
however,
cautions against any assumption
that all overseas academies
maintain higher standards, and
says pilots returning from abroad
may encounter difficulties with
their registrations.
“Some academies in the
Philippines maintain very low
academic standards and hence
offer courses at a lower cost
compared to institutions in
Bangladesh,” he says. “However,
students who opt for these
academies are not able to pass the
CAAB exams once they come here
for their licensing, so students
should be careful when choosing
a flying academy abroad.”
9
Turbulent times
Even so, many students are not
able to complete their courses
within the estimated timeframe.
Though the BFA has recommended
a total of six months for
completion of PPL and CPL courses,
in reality students can take years
to finish the course. One reason
behind this delay is the dearth
of flight instructors. According
to a CAAB official, due to low
salaries at the semi-governmentsupported institution, most of the
instructors work as airline pilots
and hence are not fully committed
to the institution. As a result, the
students suffer as they cannot log
in enough flying hours.
Another reason for the slow
progress is the fact that most
of the students are enrolled
in universities and studying
for regular university degrees
beside PPL and CPL. In order to
tackle this problem, BFA is now
seeking government permission
to convert the flying school into
a full-fledged university that will
also issue university degrees to its
students.
Other problems faced by
flying schools include difficulty
in getting flight schedules due to
heavy air-traffic.
“Our airbase in Chittagong
faces a high amount of air traffic
consisting of both civil and military
aircrafts,” says Anisuzzaman, “So
we often do not get the priority
when it comes to flight schedules,
which results in our students
falling behind.”
BFA, situated inside
the
Dhaka airport, also faces similar
problems, but Galaxy benefits
from its airbase being located in
Rajshahi, where no domestic or
international flights operate.
Despite the various problems
faced by the flying schools, the
industry in Bangladesh is still
performing well, as an increasing
number of students are choosing
to become professional pilots.
According to CAAB officials, there
is plenty of scope for more flight
schools to make their mark on
the aviation scene. It seems that
the time is right for the aviation
industry here to finally take to
flight. n
The number of female students
enrolling in flying schools is
steadily increasing each year.
Many young girls from good
educational backgrounds choose
to be commercial pilots, despite
getting admittance to prestigious
universities such as BUET
*Facts and figures as of June 2013
Why choose to be a commercial pilot?
• 65% of the world’s airline captains will retire in the next 10 years, according to the International Air
Transport Association. Within the next few decades, approximately 200,000 airline pilots will be hired by
major airlines
• At least 15,000 new pilots will be needed every year in the next two decades, as predicted by the
International Civil Aviation Organization. Canada and the US will need at least 60,000 new pilots by 2020
W E E K E N D TR IBUN E FR I DAY, FE B R UARY 7, 20 1 4
10
POST-RIPOSTE
Smoking in public
Yay or nay?
Should we? Should we not? The WT team fights over it
Who named you the tobacco police?
Rohini Alamgir
T
he law states that smoking is prohibited in
“certain public places and workplaces such
as healthcare and educational facilities
and on certain forms of public transport.” Up
till here, it is easy to not only understand the
need for such a law, but also the validity of it. To
smoke in healthcare facilities is an obvious nono since it can hurt the patient’s chance of clean
recovery, and it also makes sense to not smoke
in front of children and in crowded vehicles
like public transport. What we fail to realise is
that the law does permit the establishment of
smoking areas in “many other public places and
workplaces, including restaurants and hotels.”
This seems a fair enough compromise.
So keeping in mind that Bangladesh earns
around $250m from taxes on tobacco products,
let’s stop for a second and think. At the present
state of our economy, we really can’t afford to
turn up our noses at extra income. So if we can
just compromise and set up these smoking
areas, then we’re looking at a definite win-win.
So should smoking be banned in public? No. It
can be regulated. We can keep our democratic
rights to freedom of, well, some choices, and
make some money in the process. n
Cartoons: Priyo
A big NO, says the law Faisal Mahmud
P
utting aside the moral debate of whether
the ban on smoking in public place is an
infringement to people’s right to democracy,
let’s keep in mind one thing: Bangladesh became
a party to the WHO Framework Convention on
Tobacco Control (FCTC) on June 14, 2004. And as a
signatory of the FCTC, the Parliament passed the
Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control)
Act, 2005, and later amended it to make the
Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control)
(Amendment) Act, 2013. That law says smoking is
prohibited in certain public places and workplaces,
such as healthcare and educational facilities and
on certain forms of public transport. The law
enforcement personnel can impose a fine of Tk300
if they find any person smoking in public places. So
can a person smoke in public places in Bangladesh?
The answer is a big resounding NO, because the
law said so. End of story. n
W E E K E N D TRIBUNE F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 7, 201 4
TOP 10
11
Books Featured at Boi Mela
Put your reading glasses on!
It’s the favourite time of the year for bookworms, because Ekushey Boi Mela is back! To
help pick out good reads, Farhana Urmee lists the best featured books in Boi Mela since its
inception, obviously based on your votes on social media. To take part in the next poll, visit
the Weekend Tribune Facebook page at www.facebook.com/WeekendTrib, or the Dhaka
Tribune page at www.facebook.com/DhakaTribune
1
Nantito
(1973)
2
Deyal (2013)
Another
Humayun
Ahmed
publication,
Deyal was the most talked
about novel last year and
needed the High Court’s
ruling to get published. The
story revolves around the
events of August 15, 1975 – the
assassination of Bangabandhu
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and
his family, and the aftermath.
3
Khoabnama
(1996)
Written
by
Akhteruzzaman
Elias,
Khoabnama is a milestone for
modern Bangla literature. The
story is about the struggle for
survival by rural people during
the colonial period, as well as
their struggle against nature.
Homerer
Odyssey (2010)
9
Ekatturer
Chithi (2009)
Serajul Islam Choudhury
translated
Homer’s
Odyssey in Bangla, which
did not remain within
the boundaries of mere
translation. It’s an epic
poem on Odyessus, a
Greek hero, and his journey
home after the fall of Troy.
Odyssey is the second
oldest existing work of
Western literature.
Narake
Humayun
Ahmed’s
first
endeavour in portraying the
life of a middle-class family,
Nandito Narake is a touching
story of a mentally challenged
girl who becomes pregnant
out of wedlock. The emotional
struggle that her family goes
through is something many
people can relate to.
8
Farhana Urmee
is a forgetful journalist
who is very serious
about taking her
notes, because
without those she is of
no work
4
Amar Bondhu
Rashed
A
creation
of
Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, this
is the story of a schoolboy
named Rashed. Narrated by his
friend, the story has a number
of flashbacks to the Liberation
War, giving glimpses of how
Rashed actively helps the
freedom fighters in resisting
the Pakistani Army. The novel
was adapted into a feature
film in 2011.
5
6
Maa (2003)
Written
by
Anisul
Haque, Maa is the story
of a freedom fighter’s mother
who denies her husband’s help
and is determined to raise her
child all alone. Her struggle
is further accentuated by her
pain of losing her son in the
Liberation War, without any
trace of the dead body. Her life
end in extreme poverty, but
with her head held high.
Naree (1992)
This Humyun Azad
novel was banned by
the government for five years.
Initially accused of being a
book of anti-establishment,
the book bravely depicts the
oppressed state of women in
patriarchal society. The ban
was lifted after the author
won the legal battle.
7
Talash (2004)
Another book set in
the Liberation War,
this Shaheen Akhter creation
depicts the agony of war
survivors. It is based on reallife stories of people who lived
through the turbulent times
and the war’s lingering effects
on their lives, even decades
later.
This is compilation of
letters during and around
the time of Liberation
War. An initiative by the
daily Prothom Alo, it is
the authentic, first-person
narratives of the war,
written by real people,
carrying real emotions.
10
Sylhete
Tanukaka
Sange Pari (2008)
Mustafa Mamun
The second book in the
Tanukaka series by Mustafa
Mamun sees Tanukaka
visiting Sylhet, who ends
getting tangled into a
number of unexpected and
mysterious situations. As
curious as ever, Tanukaka
digs deep to solve the
mystery behind every
scene, pulling the readers
into the story and giving
them a thrilling reading
experience.
W E E K E N D TR IBUN E FR I DAY, FE B R UARY 7, 20 1 4
12
PHOTO STORY Kite festival 2014
Feeling so fly
On January 31, the National Kite Festival
(organised by the National Kite Federation)
took the Laboni-Sugandha beach at Cox’s
Bazar by storm. This joyous two-day
celebration saw the skies overwhelmed by
a myriad of kites and paragliders. At night,
the dark blue skies were decorated with sky
lanterns of different shapes and sizes.
W E E K E N D TRIBUNE F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 7, 201 4
a photo story by Dhaka Tribune
13
W E E K E N D TR IBUN E FR I DAY, FE B R UARY 7, 20 1 4
14
PHOTO STORY kite festival 2014
W E E K E N D TRIBUNE F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 7, 201 4
15
W E E K E N D TR IBUN E FR I DAY, FE B R UARY 7, 20 1 4
16
Crime File
Massacre in Gopibagh
A perfect murder?
Adil Sakhawat and Mohammad Jamil Khan look into the sensational killings in the capital
Adil Sakhawat wanted
to be in the army, but
failing that, fights
crime by reporting
on it. Send him
information at
weekend@
dhakatribune.com
A self-proclaimed “pir” (religious
preacher) named Lutfor Rahman
(55), along with his son and four
disciples, was slaughtered in his own
home in the capital’s Gopibagh area
on December 21. At least six women
and children, including Lutfor’s wife
and daughter-in-law, were found
alive in the same place. Lutfor had
rented the flat on the first floor of
Aina Villa, at Ramkrishna Mission
Road, only a month prior. Lutfor,
who claimed to be Imam Mahdi,
was allegedly killed after sunset.
The police have yet to find the
murderers. The other five deceased
are: Lutfor’s son Monir Hossain (32),
and disciples Manju Ahmed (30), Md
Shahin (30), Md Rubel Mia (32) and
Mujibar Rahman (32).
Photos: Rajib Dhar
First police on
site
“A group of seven or
eight people knocked on Lutfor’s door,
claiming they were being chased
by police and needed shelter. After
entering the flat, the gang held the
members of the house at gunpoint
and told them they were there to rob
and kill them. They first tied them up
and put tape over their mouths. The
women and children were confined
to a separate room, and threatened
into silence at the risk of being killed.
Lutfor and his son were killed in one
room, and his disciples in another.”
Mehedi Hasan, additional deputy
commissioner, Wari police station
First civilian on site
“I saw eight men of similar ages,
enter Lutfor’s house and an hour
later they came out in a hurry. They
did not talk with each other and I did
not pay attention to them as such
kinds of gatherings were common
at Lutfor’s house.”
Mohammad Mujibur, security guard
in the neighbourhood
Lead investigator
“Separate interrogations of
Lutfor’s wife, son and close
relatives have revealed that
the killers were familiar
with Lutfor and they had planned
W E E K E N D TRIBUNE F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 7, 201 4
the murders. The mobile phone
numbers they used to contact Lutfor
with had been out of reach since the
incident. Special investigative teams
of the Detective Branch of Police (DB)
have been analysing several more
numbers. We suspect the killers were
professional and had committed the
murders over a conflict on religious
sentiments. We are looking for the
culprits and hope to find out the real
story soon.”
Jahangir Hossain Matubbor, deputy
commissioner (west), DB
“A total of six persons took part
in the killings, while a few others
remained on the lookout in the
surrounding area. They were all
professionals and did not leave any
clues. We are investigating this case
keeping three issues in mind: Lutfor’s
religious practice or views, financial
dealings, and robbery. Members of
the intelligence wing are giving this
case the highest priority as it was
one of the most sensational crimes
last year.”
Monirul Islam, joint commissioner, DB
Prime
suspect
“After the incident, Lutfor’s younger
son Abdullah Al Faruk filed a case
with Wari police station, accusing 10
or 12 unidentified people. Since then,
the DB has been investigating the
case. We are suspecting the killers
were familiar to Lutfor’s family and
had visited their home before. We
have yet to trace them, but hope we
will soon be able to find them.”
Jahangir Hossain Matubbor, deputy
commissioner (west), DB
Witness
“Eight men aged in their 20s came
to my house just before the Maghrib
prayer and took shelter, saying they
were in danger. They later joined
my husband in prayer, and we then
gave them evening tea and snacks.
However, all of a sudden they locked
us in a room at gunpoint and said
they were in our house to rob and
kill. They tied my husband and son’s
hands with ropes and killed them.”
Salma Begum, Lutfor’s wife and
eyewitness
Crime
timeline
2013
December 21
5:30pm Eight people enter Lutfor’s house
5:45pm The ‘guests’ say prayers along with Lutfor
6pm Lutfor’s wife serves them with snacks and tea
6:30 pm Lutfor, his son and his four disciples are killed by the killers
7pm The miscreants flee
7:30pm Police arrive at the crime scene
December 22
1am Police send the bodies to DMCH for autopsy
12:30pm Lutfor’s younger son files a case with Wari police station
December 23
DB starts investigation
boi mela beat
17
Ekushey Boi Mela 2014
Booking it to the Boi Mela
Farhana Urmee is out and about, bringing back the latest from the book readers
A week into Ekushey Boi Mela, and it’s still the
hottest place to be right now. If you haven’t
already been, then you now have the perfect
plan for this weekend: browsing through old
books from favourite writers, discovering new
ones, tuning in to the scholarly discussion
arranged by Bangla Academy, or simply
relaxing at the cultural programs following the
discussion sessions.
This year, the book fair is hard to miss, split
between the Bangla Academy and with a large
portion being held at the Suhrawardy Udyan.
1 Deyal
Humayun Ahmed
2 Badshanamdar
Humayun Ahmed
3 Hashte Hashte Khun
•
Since 2009, the Bangla Academy has accommodated
the visually impaired with a stall at the book fair.
Sparsha Braille Prokashoni is the place where the visual
impaired can go and read their desired book. Although
the initiative is still limited, since they
only have children’s books in braille
at present, at least people can come
here and order a book in braille after
reading it.
•
Farhana Urmee
is a forgetful journalist
who is very serious
about taking her
notes, because
without those she is of
no work
Anisul Haque
ALMANAC
This year, Bangla Academy
has broadened the book fair, now
accommodating a total of 55 stalls
for less known magazines, which
is the highest number in history.
4 Shahabag 2013
Shaduzzaman
5 Mithya Bolar Odhikar O Onnanya
Muhammad Zafar Iqbal
After its inauguration on February 1, it took another day to get all the
books were released on the third
60were
59 released on February 4, which
indicates a very great start to the fair. On February 5, around 76 new
preparations complete. A total of
day of the book fair, and another
books made their way onto the bookstalls and avid readers’ bookshelves.
Muhammad Zafar Iqbal
Readers know Muhammad Zafar Iqbal for his science fictions for youngsters,
his novels or other stories. But who knew about his poetic side? Yes, it is the
revelation of this immense talent in poetry as well. Don’t worry folks; he is
not disappointing you with ambiguous and wordy poetry that more remains
in the book shelves unread or uncomprehended by popular readers. He has
come up with a book of poetry adorned with complementary illustrations, all
drawn by him.
Titled Bhoy Kimba Bhalobasha, the book starts with a beautiful poem
named Na (No) that will strike you and give you a flow to go on. The collection
of poems and illustration encompasses subject matters like climate change,
unprivileged children, theory of relativity, emergency service of hospitals,
social messages and many more.
The book is published by Anupam Prokashoni and is available in the
publisher’s stall at the book fair. Its price is Tk150.
Pias Majid
Pias Majid, comparatively new in the world of writing and
publishing, has got two of his books published in book fair this year.
One is a commentary on poetry titled Kabitajiboni and the other is
a collection of Syed Shamsul Haque’s poetry on different issues of
which he is the editor. It is titled Arpita Podaboli.
“I am very much into poetry and I have the urge to be a poet.
I think the poet should start writing the prose on their poetry,”
Majid says. He feels that only a poet can truly explore the depth
of the words in poems, so the poet should be the one to write the
criticisms and commentary on it.
When asked about the inspiration behind his writing, Majid says
that it all comes straight from the things he has read. Whenever he
reads anything, the beauty of written texts allure him. And writing
is the best method of enriching society, Majid believes. Young
people should not be scared to speak their minds, and putting faith
in this, he writes to explore life and raise his voice.
Courtesy
W E E K E N D TR IBUN E FR I DAY, FE B R UARY 7, 20 1 4
18
Faisal Mahmud
is good at memorising
seemingly unnecessary
information and
finds that journalism
actually appreciates, if
not nurtures, that sort
of futile flair
Feature
Afzal Hossain
An Intel guy
Faisal Mahmud meets one of the brains behind the Pentium processor
“T
he year was 1991 and
Gordon
Moore
was
then the chairman of
the Intel Corporation board. He
was not involved with any design
or administrative process. Every
morning, he came into the office
and asked his secretary whether he
was still a billionaire or not that day,”
said Afzal Hossain, a Bangladeshi
engineer who worked at Intel during
the 90s.
In the 90s, being a billionaire
was a big deal and Moore had his
share of Intel Corporation in the
stock market, the value of which
had fluctuated every day. So Moore,
after spending an illustrious and
laborious research career at Intel,
spent his morning asking that
seemingly trivial question.
“He was a fascinating gentleman.
I was lucky to have my office next to
his,” said Afzal, who shared adjoining
office space with Moore at Intel’s
Santa Clara office in California.
At Intel, they never talked rank
or salary. “Think about it. Gordon
Moore was the chairman of the
corporation, and I was just a design
engineer, yet I had an office next
to him. That says a lot about the
corporate culture in Intel,” Afzal said.
“In a creative and complex
environment, somebody works
more than somebody else. When
you have a rank system, you create
an order. Creative jobs can’t be done
while maintaining order. You have to
be a free-thinker to do something
creative,” he added.
“Also, if you know your colleagues’
salary, then you start measuring
people with money. That also isn’t
healthy for a creative environment.
In a good corporate culture, people
are asked not to discuss salary and
rank.”
Starting at Intel
After completing his Bachelors in
electrical and electronic engineering
from BUET, Afzal went to the US to
study computer architecture. “I had
specific interest in that subject and
even in 90s, the formative years
for computer processors, Syracuse
University had lots of advanced
courses in that discipline, so I chose
to go there,” he said.
There was an IBM facility in the
area where Syracuse University is
located. During his graduate studies,
Afzal suddenly got an offer from
Intel to work on the Pentium project.
“I had just started my PhD program
and I was confused. My department
chair then told me that it was a
once in a lifetime opportunity.
The university then conferred me
a Master’s degree and I started
working for Intel.”
Afzal joined Intel in March 1990
as a design engineer.
The Pentium project
The first project in Intel that
Afzal worked on was in the
internal software division. “We
were developing the software for
Pentium. It was a very small group.
The first year was spent in just
designing the software.”
After working in the software
division for over a year, Afzal was
moved to the chip assembly division.
“My skill was particularly suitable for
chip assembly. When Intel originally
started
designing
integrated
circuits (IC), there was a shortage of
devices. We usually drew the design
on paper. Then engineers sitting
around a table checked, analysed
and discussed the design. The design
concept of Pentium was done in this
way.”
After working in the assembly
division for some time, Afzal was
given the opportunity to work in
the chip integration division for
Pentium. “I had the opportunity
to work with a very fascinating
gentleman named Gadi Singer. He
is currently a vice president of Intel.”
Singer was a visionary man. He
was the mastermind behind naming
the processor with a distinctive
name, rather than with a series
of numbers. The original Pentium
branded CPUs were expected to be
named 586 or i586, to follow the
conventional naming process of
the previous generations: 286, i386,
i486.
However, as the company wanted
to prevent their competitors from
branding their processors with
similar names (as AMD had done
with previous processors), Intel
attempted to file a trademark on the
name in the US. So the company’s
first
P5-based
microprocessor
was released as the original Intel
Pentium on March 22, 1993.
The marketing firm, Lexicon
Branding, was hired to coin a name
for the new processor. The suffix
“ium” was chosen as it connotes
a fundamental ingredient of a
“There is a thought process for any complex thing. People create it. It’s all
about concept. Money does not guarantee you success.”
W E E K E N D TRIBUNE F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 7, 201 4
computer, like a chemical element,
and the prefix “pent” referred to the
fifth generation of x86 processors.
“I did the chip integration for
the first 20 Pentium processor.
Due to its success, the Pentium
brand continued through several
generations of high-end processors,”
Afzal said.
Then there was Itanium
Interestingly, very few people
actually know that the work of
designing the Itanium processor
had started right after the Pentium
project. “The only reason I know is
because I was hired for the project,”
Afzal said. Singer called a total of five
people to design the architecture
of the project. I was one of them. I
was given the duty to produce the
architectural definition of Itanium.”
Computer architecture is a
conceptual form of design. “It’s
written in a book form. For the
Itanium project, we submitted
different architectural designs every
three months.”
Explaining the Itanium project,
Afzal said the Itanium processor
was marketed by Intel as a highspeed processor for enterprise
servers
and
high-performance
computing systems. “We decided
to have a design that would apply
‘self cannibalism’ on all the existing
processors and out-speed everything
in the market.”
Around the time the Itanium
project kicked off, Intel used to earn
$24bn and its profit margin was
close to $2bn. “So we were tasked
with replacing a $24bn business.
19
“You
cannot
predict
a future
invention”
Neloy I Hossain
That was a huge task.”
The Itanium project
started at the beginning
of September in 1992. Till
1994, Afzal and the rest
of the team struggled to
create a design. “We wrote
about five design books
but they weren’t good
enough.”
HP-Intel joint venture
In the meantime, HewlettPackard (HP), who had a
dream team of designers
comprised of several
academicians and scholars
from different universities,
came up with a brilliant
design concept named
Very Long Instruction
Word (VLIW).
VLIW is a processor
architecture
designed
to
take
advantage
of
instruction
level
parallelism (ILP). While
conventional processors
mostly
only
allowed
programs that specify
instructions to be executed
one after another, a
VLIW processor allowed
programs to explicitly
specify instructions to be
executed at the same time
(i.e. in parallel).
This type of processor
architecture
was
intended to allow higher
performance
without
the inherent complexity of some
other approaches. “For a super
processor like Itanium, Intel wanted
that concept, but it didn’t have the
design. So Intel made a joint venture
with HP,” Afzal said.
“We were given the duty to
convert the HP architecture into Intel
architecture. I was also a member of
the HP-Intel joint venture.”
That architecture was so
brilliant that it would have given
better performance than any other
existing architecture of that time.
“But it was seriously complex and it
took us eight years for the first tapeout, and then another two years for
the stabilisation process.”
Ultimately, the Itanium project
failed to live up to the hype. When
first released in 2001, Itanium’s
performance, compared to the
better-established RISC and CISC
processors, was disappointing.
“Just think about the project.
HP and Intel, two of the largest
companies were involved. We had a
dream team. But still we couldn’t
come up with a viable architecture.
After the failure of the project, we
learned that it is not a matter of
money, there is also a luck factor.”
The Itanium project taught Afzal
a life-long lesson: “I learned that
it’s not money that can guarantee
you success, rather it’s the concept
mixed with a little luck. I left Intel
right before the millennium, but the
lessons I learned from working there
are invaluable and will remain with
me forever.” n
W E E K E N D TR IBUN E FR I DAY, FE B R UARY 7, 20 1 4
20
Ehtesamul Haque
is a student of
business who likes to
travel in his free time
Game On
Australian Open
A draining start
Ehtesamul Haque summarises the first Grand Slam of the year
A
ustralian Open is the first Grand Slam tennis championship of the
year – a tradition of more than 100 years. Started off as Australasian
Championships, the tournament had its ups and downs due to the
remoteness and uncertainty of venues throughout the years. As modern
transportation came into account and after the tournament was made open
in 1969, the mass attendance and popularity exterminated some of the initial
barriers. Currently played on Plexicushion surface, the Australian Open has
been the toughest outing for tennis pros. The heat waves of January forced
the organiser to come up with the Extreme Heat Policy (EHP) in 1998, which
enables the referee to suspend the game if the conditions are unfavourable.
However, this policy has been the centre point of many controversies, as the
physical nature of the game promotes the age-old saying “survival of the
fittest.”
Heat is the new enemy
The EHP was one of most discussed topics in this tournament. It was
massively criticised during the match between Frank Dancevic and Benoit
Paire, where the temperature was recorded at 41°C, but the humidity level
was not enough for the referee to enforce the suspension. Later, Dancevic,
who had collapsed in the middle of the match, described the conditions
as inhumane and said he had feared for his life. On the third day, the
temperature reportedly took its toll on 970 fans, who had to be treated for
heat exhaustion.
Stanislas Wawrinka won the men’s singles, beating Rafael Nadal
Frank Dancevic after collapsing during his match with Benoit Paire
Daily Mail UK
Who won?
The world is now rejoicing the
newest Grand Slam winner Stanislas
Wawrinka, who became only the
second Swiss man to achieve this
feat after Roger Federer, winner
of 17 Grand Slams. On January 26,
Wawrinka defeated the current No
1 Rafael Nadal by 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.
To many, it was a tame end to a
fantastic tournament, Nadal was
battling with injury throughout the
match. A humble Wawrinka later
expressed: “I never expected to win
a Grand Slam because, for me, I was
not good enough to beat those
guys.”
In the women’s department,
Chinese tennis player Li Na snubbed
her second Grand Slam by beating
Slovakian Dominika Chibulková in a
straight set of 7-6, 7-3, 6-0.
Wawrinka: Bundle of surprise
China’s Li Na holds the trophy after winning the women’s singles final
W E E K E N D TRIBUNE F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 7, 201 4
AFP/Saeed Khan
Wawrinka may not have all the
bragging rights, but he is the first
man to win the Grand Slam by
beating Nos 1 and 2 seeds since
AFP/Andrej Isakovic
Sergie Bruguera beat Pete Sampras
and Jim Courier in 1993 French Open.
He is also the first player outside
the Big Four (Rafael Nadal, Roger
Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy
Murray) to win a major since 2009.
Not too many knew about the ability
of Wawrinka before last year’s close
encounter with Djokovic. Much has
changed for him with the guidance
of coach Magnus Norman, who
instilled the confidence of beating
the top seeded players in him.
What’s next?
Much lies ahead for the tennis
enthusiasts, as the next Grand Slam,
Roland Garros, is set to start on
May 26. Nadal will be eager to get
back to his favourite clay surface,
whereas Djokovic and Murray will
need to prove their worth in Nadal’s
territory. Or can the new Australian
Open champion Wawrinka sustain
form and prove what he is made of
in the French Open? Tennis fans will
need to wait to find out. n
Stranger in a strange land
21
Teaching in China
But we always do it together
Haley Joy Fowlkes has
been infected with
wanderlust since birth,
though she currently
resides in Mississippi,
USA. She enjoys new
experiences and loves
dahi phuchka, and
can’t wait to visit
Bangladesh again
Haley Joy Fowlkes recounts her experience with Chinese youth as an English
teacher in China
Rio Shuvo/Dhaka Tribune
D
uring my first year after
graduation, I travelled to
Zhuhai, China to teach
English at Sun Yat-sen University.
Within moments of arriving on
campus, my coordinator informed
me that SYSU’s teaching building
was the longest in Asia. In the
disorienting darkness, it looked
strange, yet familiar. It reminded me
of the Olympic symbol, with its five
gigantic Olympic-coloured sculptural
eggs dividing the building. I didn’t
really know what to gleam from
the fact that the building was Asia’s
longest. Why was that a big deal?
Was it the architectural prowess?
The statistical achievement? Did they
lack something else to say?
At first, my student’s fun facts
were intriguing and endearing.
They could identify the richest
person in China, the American Idol
winner and their former English
teacher’s favourite films. I, too, had a
tendency of collecting information,
but the Chinese seemed to horde
it collectively. In my course I would
ask open-ended questions. My
students would respond with a
singular answer. When I encouraged
them to speak individually, no one
raised a hand, forcing me to call
on students. It was strange. If they
could answer collectively with the
same answer, why were they afraid
to say it on their own? Was it a fear
of responding incorrectly? Was it
that they were uncomfortable under
collective focus?
When they did speak up, they
spoke in whispers. So in order to
hear, I would emerge from behind
my podium to the empty front
row. I found myself aping my own
teachers’ words while teaching:
“Move forward, I’m not going to bite.”
Unfortunately, moving closer meant
I was presented with one too many
crotch shots. It confounded me that
my students were so willing to dress
strikingly, but unwilling to stand out
intellectually. Ultimately, I saw a lot
of girls’ underwear and scandalous
clothing that year. My fellow teachers
and I would discuss their outfits, and
I imagined my own teachers having
done the same. I could hear them in
my head: “Do her parents even see
her before she leaves the house in
the morning? Surely not.” My high
school principal once gathered all the
female students in the gymnasium
to tell us that if we saw what she saw
when walking up the stairs, we would
wear longer skirts. As a teacher, I
would lie in bed at night, trying to
figure out my own tactful way of
telling them to keep their legs closed.
I could only picture their blushing
cheeks and downcast eyes for weeks
to come. So instead, I diverted my
eyes and focused on trying to make
them speak.
Although the presence of
China’s communism is subdued
internationally, it is palpable in a
Chinese classroom. From clothing
to Q&A responses, it often seemed
my students were plugged into
the same brain. I’d ask about their
favourite basketball player, and
they’d answer Kobe Bryant. When I
mentioned his rape charges, they’d
switch to Linsanity. This wouldn’t just
happen in one classroom, but all six.
In my composition class, students
had to take practice tests to prepare
for their competency exam. One of
the topics was the importance of
outer versus inner appearance. They
collectively wrote essays on how
outer appearance demonstrates
respect for those with whom you are
interacting and triumphs over inner.
I wondered if my students
adjusted their answers depending
on whom they were speaking to, just
like they would with their clothing. It
seemed a natural conclusion. You’d
think if I asked why America wasn’t
the greatest country in the world, they
would give me a different response
than to a Chinese professor. In reality,
I received verbatim responses from
the opening scene of The Newsroom.
Were they mimicking like toddlers, or
unwilling to think for themselves?
A
mericans dress to demonstrate
individuality. We also make an
effort to stand out in the classroom,
with our hands skyrocketing in the
air to be called upon. In college, I
would roll my eyes at peers who
responded bizarrely just to be
different. To be fair, my Chinese
students were interacting with me
in their second language. They were
still in a formulaic point in their
language skills, even though their
English outmatched my proficiency
in the Spanish language (in which
I earned a degree). I supposed that
the Chinese professors had a more
authentic understanding of them.
The first few years of college
are significant in developing
individuality, as we’re no longer
interested in being herded like sheep.
I had a revelation during my last
months in Zhuhai. Before coming to
SYSU, my students wore uniforms
every day to school. In the primary
level, they were required to wear
yellow, and in secondary, baby-blue.
A fellow teacher liked to joke that
it was the cruellest burden for a
prepubescent boy. And for girls, no
one had told them to keep their legs
closed, because they were always
terrycloth covered. Unsurprisingly,
they now turned to four-inch heels
and tube dresses. SYSU was liberating
just like university is anywhere else
in the world. Without helicopter
parents dictating clothing, my
students were taking their first steps
towards self-guided style. Let’s face it:
we’ve all made mistakes developing
our first wardrobes. Let’s just hope
that as outer appearance garners my
students’ confidence, their inner will
follow accordingly. n
W E E K E N D TR IBUN E FR I DAY, FE B R UARY 7, 20 1 4
22
Dina Sobhan
is a freelance writer
and cautions readers
not to take her
“advice” here too
seriously!
Got a problem? Write
to Dina at weekend@
dhakatribune.com
TOUGH LOVE
1
I’ve been going out with
a girl for the past few
months. We’re both in
our early 30s and it’s been
going really well. In many ways,
the relationship is different:
she has many male friends and
is very independent. Recently,
a male friend of hers asked
her to accompany him to a
wedding, which she often did
when she was single. However,
I think things are different now
and I feel it would compromise
me in our relationship. Am I overreacting?
DINA SOBHAN
This is a tricky one, for the very simple
reason that you are asking your
girlfriend to change the very thing
that drew you to her in the first place. If
you wanted a typical deshi girl draped
in a garish kameez and false modesty,
you should have stopped the search
at North South University. Obviously,
you knew she was independent and
had male friends who she hung out
with when you first started seeing
her, so asking her to become the
subservient girlfriend who only goes
out with her boyfriend and/or only
when he permits it is now asking a
bit much, methinks. Rather, you can
certainly ask her but should expect a
hot beverage poured on your head as
a reply. Why? Because it’s silly to think
you’re “compromised” just because
she has a life outside your relationship
… with other members of the male
persuasion. I’m assuming she was
attracted to you because you struck
her as a confident and secure guy
who would not be threatened by her
friendships and lifestyle. Don’t be a
bangu boyfriend and start expecting
your undomesticated, free-thinking
and intelligent girlfriend to suddenly
start staying home in saris and
cooking kormas. It’s sad and outdated,
and still far too common. Yawn. n
Rio Shuvo/Dhaka Tribune
2
My husband and I have
been married for the past
six years. Over this time,
we’ve been slowly working
toward attaining shared goals,
like building our dream house. The
problem is, we have got ourselves
into a lot of debt doing so and
now have no money left. What’s
W E E K E N D TRIBUNE F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 7, 201 4
worse is that I just found out my
husband is now dealing drugs to
make ends meet. I don’t feel I can
stay here (and with him) anymore.
Should I go to the police? I know
how drugs wreck lives and
families.
Interesting conundrum we find
ourselves in, which begs the question:
were either one of you earning actual
money with which to fund your lavish
dreams? Or, more simply, do either of
you know basic math? How on earth
do you get so wrapped up in building
a house that you don’t realise that, uh
oh, you’re out of money? Moreover,
was getting a loan, borrowing money
or acquiring a second job – any one of
those avenues explored before drug
dealing became an option? Not to knock
it, mind you – as professions go, it’s
well-paid but does come with its share
of headaches. However, I think it would
be a tad hypocritical and shallow of
you to jump ship as soon as things got
a bit sticky. I don’t think you should call
the police or leave him, in which case it
would not be the drugs wrecking lives
and families, it would be you. Instead,
try to convince him that there are less
dangerous methods of availing yourself
of funds and work together to solve the
debt problem. If he has started getting
high on his own supply, then we have
a slightly more complex problem, the
solution to which is rehab. Either way,
marriage is a commitment, through hell
or high water. Wade through it. n
|
23
WT LEISURE
With the Ekushey Boi Mela taking place, there’s finally
another reason for you to organise the books you’ve
carefully acquired over the years. Instead of randomly
stacking your books on empty spaces, make use of your
door to revamp it into your very own shelf of reflection.
Materials required
An old door
Particle board
10 metal clamps
5 metal brackets
1 sandpaper
Literary Devices
Words can go horizontally, vertically and diagonally in all 8 directions. Words may overlap but do not
share letters.
CraftaholicsAnonymous.net
Directions
1) Using a pencil, mark a line down the centre of the door. Once you have the
line outlined, cut the door into two pieces.
2) Since this is a corner shelf meant to be placed at the meeting point between
two walls, you need to secure the cut pieces of door at 90 degree angles. Use
clamps and ask someone to assist you while you clamp it together.
3) Using metal brackets, screw in five 90 degree metal brackets behind the
door to help hold the angled pieces together.
4) To create the racks for your shelf, measure the space between both sections
of the door and cut out a piece of particle board using the same measurements.
The outer edge may be left square, or you can also round it out.
5) Secure the shelves using two 90 degree metal brackets under each cut out
particle board. If there are any rough edges, smoothen it out using sandpaper.
Change the door knob, if desired.
TIP: We recommend only putting one side of the door knob on so that the corner
shelf can sit flush with the wall. Otherwise, you would have to leave room
between the wall and shelf to allow for the knob.
allusion
antithesis
flashback
foreshadowing
hyperbole
Solution and clues for
last week’s crossword
irony
metaphors
oxymoron
paradox
personification
armoredpenguin.com
simile
symbolism
theme
tone
understatement
Across
5 Quaint resort, elegant primarily and old (7)
6 101 make fun of returning to Havana (5)
9 Take away two thirds of the sneakiness (7)
Down
1
2
3
4
7
8
1st of March and April parking plan (3)
Footballer refusing to work? (7)
Point two lads initially in dock the same way (7)
Iron will, not sick, not many! (3)
Demand to cover up topless (3)
Reserved the first of seasonÕs honey yoghurt (3)
W E E K E N D TR IBUN E FR I DAY, FE B R UARY 7, 20 1 4
24
LEGAL EAGLE
Jennifer Ashraf
is a barrister and
solicitor of England
and Wales. She is
currently Senior
Partner at Legacy
Legal Corporate.
When she is not
solving complicated
legal problems,
Jennifer is usually
found travelling
to exotic locations
sampling the
indigenous cuisine
Got a problem?
Write to Jennifer
at weekend@
dhakatribune.com
Jennifer Ashraf
Dear Reader,
1
My spouse’s family has a large piece of
property in a suburb of Dhaka. They’d
built a home on it, but since most of their family
members live abroad, that property had been
leased out. The lessor (my spouse’s family) is
made up of five siblings, a deceased father, and a
surviving widow who is a permanent resident of
the United States. One sibling lives in Bangladesh
and wants to terminate the lease agreement
when it expires. He intends to move into the
house, taking one entire floor, and to rent out
the other two floors. Some siblings, all of whom
live in the United States and are citizens, do not
want the Bangladeshi sibling to take this action;
at least one other does not. The question of the
property’s ownership is fuzzy. The siblings’
understanding is that the property is co-owned
equally by all siblings and the surviving widow.
Yet, the Bangladeshi sibling claims the right to
act unilaterally regarding the disposition of the
property. How do you think we can move forward
with this?
To begin with, the property will
not be co-owned equally by all the
siblings. Under the Islamic law of
succession (and I’m assuming that
this is a Muslim family, hence the
applicability of Islamic law), the
property ownership would pass on to
the heirs in respective proportions, as
ordained. There are a few ways this can
be addressed – let us explore them.
Firstly, since the property has been
leased out originally, we will have to
consider who had authority to lease
it out. Originally, did all the co-owners
mutually decide to lease the property?
If so, was the Bangladeshi sibling given
exclusive power of attorney?
You mentioned that “some
siblings” and then mentioned “at
least one other” sibling is against the
prospective action of the Bangladeshi
sibling. How many siblings exactly?
Are the siblings male/female? This
information is necessary in order to
determine the potential ownership via
succession of the Bangladeshi sibling.
How to move forward with
this? Well, that’s a tricky question.
Unfortunately, owing to a lot of the
facts being unclear, I’m unable to
provide a straightforward answer.
What I do advise on is quick partition
of the property (through Deed of
Partition), owing to the disagreements
arising. Boundaries need to be set and
walls need to come up, figuratively
speaking. Unless you look forward to a
potential land legal battle for years to
come and your children battling it out
in courts, I also advise that this is done
as soon as possible, preferably before
the expiration of the current lease.
Prevention, as they say, is always better
than having to find a cure! n
Rio Shuvo/Dhaka Tribune
Dear Reader,
2
My father has been a tenant at the
house I was born and grew up in
for the last 50 years. When he died, which
was some 14 years back, I had started
paying the rent since my mother still lives
there. The thing is, the rent receipt is in
my father’s name. Recently, the landlord
has been having some disagreements
with my mother, and has often threatened
to end the lease. So I’m wondering, what
is my legal position? The rent is paid on
time every month and there are no
outstanding dues. The lease technically
does not run out for another two and a
half years. So are there really any grounds
on which he can evict her?
W E E K E N D TRIBUNE F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 7, 201 4
You mentioned that the “lease
technically does not run out for
another two and a half years.”
This, coupled with the fact that
you have been paying rent for the
last 14 years or so, classifies this
lease as a long-term lease, more
similar to the concept of purchasing
leasehold property – an instance
fairly common in countries like
the UK, but pretty uncommon in
the Bangladeshi context. In order
to analyse your legal position
accurately, I would have to have a
look at and refer to the terms of your
lease. Long-term lease agreements,
adequately drafted, usually contain
provisions for situations like the
leaseholder’s death or possible
disagreements
between
the
landlord and leaseholder.
You wanted to know about
possible grounds of eviction.
Rent control law in Bangladesh
states that an order for eviction
or “ejectment” will not usually be
made unless one of the following
grounds apply: the lessee (i.e. you or
your mother) damages or harms the
property, constructs a permanent
fixture without the landlord’s
consent, sublets the premises in
whole or in part, is guilty of any
conduct deemed a nuisance or
annoyance to occupiers of adjoining
or neighbouring premises, uses
the premises or part for economic
purposes, or is in breach of any of the
express conditions of the original
lease. You did not specify the nature
of the disagreements between your
mother and the landlord. If any of
the aforementioned conditions
apply, then yes, you may be liable for
eviction.
However, if none of the
conditions apply, then your landlord
will not have recourse to pursue
eviction. However, bear in mind that
he is after all the landlord, and I’m
sure the original lease agreement
had provisions relating to “notice
periods” in case either party wished
to terminate the lease earlier than
its expiry. He is perfectly entitled to
serve you with a notice, should he
choose to do so. My advice: if his
conduct is crossing the threshold
and becoming unbearable, perhaps
it is time to seek greener pastures.
Just a thought. n
THE WAY DHAKA WAS
25
dhaka medical college
Bangladesh Old Photo Archive
Dhaka Medical College, 1940s
The best thing about studying at Dhaka
Medical College (DMC) is the number of
patients that come in every day. I was able
to learn a lot. As a student at DMC, I was
always overwhelmed by the history of it –
the building was built over a hundred years
ago! Classes were always interesting, and our
professors always reminisced about their days
as students here. Now, working as a doctor
at DMC, I can relate to them as I do the same
with my students. Living in the dormitories was
amazing as well. In a nutshell, it has been a
wonderful journey, and more.
Dr Ankon Kumar Paul
Doctors’ Hall, DMCH
Chanchal Kamal
Today
W E E K E N D TR IBUN E FR I DAY, FE B R UARY 7, 20 1 4
26
Jennifer Ashraf
is a barrister and
solicitor of England
and Wales. She is
currently Senior
Partner at Legacy
Legal Corporate.
When she is not
solving complicated
legal problems,
Jennifer is usually
found travelling
to exotic locations
sampling the
indigenous cuisine
Travelogue
The Baths at Bath
Of Rome and Rangamati
Jennifer Ashraf discovers a new spiritual home for herself
“
The Roman Road runs straight and bare
”
As the pale parting – line in hair
Across the heath
I
-Thomas Hardy
t’s hard to describe the beauty
that greets you as soon as you
catch your first glimpse of the
city of Bath. An indescribable
feeling descends, and I can’t help
but wonder for a moment whether
I have accidentally travelled back in
time.
Should I start by describing the
excitement as I made my way to
the tourist information centre? Or
should I attempt to express the
beauty of the solo singer whose
musical notes rang clearly through
the square? Perhaps avid readers
would appreciate my endeavours to
track down Jane Austen’s residence
and delve into literary history. Or
maybe historians would enjoy my
impression of the Bath Cathedral?
No – as interesting as these may
be, nothing comes close to holding a
candle to the jewel in the crown: the
Roman Baths. While in the queue for
the tickets, I was made aware of the
local folklore that surrounded these
baths.
Supposedly, King Bladud (father of Shakespeare’s King
Lear) contracted leprosy and decided to leave and travel
the countryside, while disguised as a swineherd. The pigs
he managed eventually contracted the disease from him.
One day, while travelling the Avon countryside, Bladud
noticed the pig bathing in warm spring water, subsequent
to which they appeared to be cured. Deciding to take a
chance and follow their example, Bladud himself bathed
in the hot spring water and found himself free of leprosy.
Walking around the courtyard
surrounding the first bath, I looked
down and couldn’t help comparing
it to a large swimming pool, albeit
a green one. Nothing particularly
caught my eye and I couldn’t help
wondering what all the fuss was
about. A green swimming pool?
Surely they just painted the tiles.
However, walking down the stairs
and making my way down to the
bath, I was surprised to find no
evidence of this.
The uneven stones beneath my
feet transported me back in time.
Standing at the edge of the first
outdoor bath, I looked down at the
water and was instantly reminded
of the mysterious green waters of
W E E K E N D TRIBUNE F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 7, 201 4
Photos: Courtesy
Intrigued by history, I
ran my fingers along
the walls just trying to
absorb it all. Here, we
were given free rein
to explore, and no one
appreciated this more
than I did
Rangamati and Kaptai. Standing
there, surrounded by history, I felt
serene and calm, the same feelings
that I feel when I make my yearly
pilgrimage to Rangamati.
The water is just part of what
beckons me there. Rangamati has
hidden treasures and concealed
troves. It is irrelevant how many
times you take the boat ride trip to
explore Rangamati, there will always
be some little delight which you will
discover during your trip. The same
feelings of curiosity and anticipation
swept over me and I traced the
carvings in the stone pillars, and
for a moment I could swear I felt it
tremble. Speak to me dear stones,
tell me your tales. Take me back
in time so that I can explore your
secrets; unburden yourself to me, I
whispered to it. Alas, my pleas fell
on stony ears. The stones remained
silent, but my inquisitiveness drove
me forward.
There were exhibits and statues,
paintings and tiny stone figures on
display, but these didn’t interest
me. If I wanted to be a complacent
observer, I would have visited a
museum or watched a documentary.
No, I was here for the old times, the
history, the reconstruction of the
details and the surrounding mystery.
I was here for the essence of the
spirits haunting these walls. I was
here for the smell of the minerals
that gave these waters their unique
properties, for the sight and feel
of the steam rising naturally and
condensing on my cold skin. I was
here for the feel of the stone cold
floors beneath my unclad feet, as
I walked around barefoot, vaguely
aware that the other tourists were
giving me quizzical looks. I was here
for the sentiments and sensations.
There were other attractions
to explore too. I came across a
magnificent floor painting of what
appeared to be a dragon and it
reminded me of a scene in the “666
Park Avenue” TV series. Whether
it was an original restoration or
whether it was done recently was
not clarified and I chose not to ask;
some things are just more appealing
when the mystery remains intact. As
I ventured deeper into the various
passages, I came across old maps
and recent illustrations attempting
to depict how the Roman baths
were originally structured; the
smaller baths gave off a more cosy
feel and reminded me of hidden
alcoves and structures that a decent
Shakespeare’s novel brings to mind.
Leaning against a pillar in the
corner of the bath, I soaked in all
that I could. I tried to imagine King
Bladud and his pigs making use
of these waters to cure leprosy,
to imagine the discovery and
beginning of the city of Bath and
its surrounding civilisation. I tried
to pictures scores of people bathing
together within these baths. Did
they walk in sombrely and bathe in
silence? Or did they all jump in with
a splash like I had witnessed the kids
do into the waters of Rangamati?
There’s no doubt that my yearly
pilgrimages to Rangamati will not
be ending anytime soon but, right
then and right there, Bath was
where I belonged and wanted to
stay. n
OBITUARY
pete seeger
27
He did overcome
Faisal Mahmud pays homage to a musical icon
Faisal Mahmud
is good at memorising
seemingly unnecessary
information and
finds that journalism
actually appreciates, if
not nurtures, that sort
of futile flair
P
ete Seeger, the legendary
American folksinger, died this
week at the age of 94. As far
as introductions go, however, he can
be remembered not as a folksinger,
but rather “a professional singer of
amateur music,” as he frequently
referred to himself as. Clad in his
signature work shirt (with sleeves
rolled up to the elbow), he started
singing in the early 60s about equal
rights. In the late 60s, he sang for
peace instead of war. In the 70s and
beyond, he fought and sang for a
cleaner environment. Seeger always
had a message and wasn’t afraid to
ruffle feathers in order to achieve it,
but he never wanted to sing alone.
So he got any audience, from school
kids to sophisticates, to sing along
with his muscular tenor leading the
crowd, and giving birth to a new
generation of rebels.
Early life
“As a child I was allowed to bang or
tootle on any musical instrument
that caught my fancy,” Seeger
recalled in his 1972 autobiography,
The Incomplete Folk Singer. This
musical inclination was supported
by his mother, Constance Edson
Seeger, a violinist and teacher at
the famous Juilliard School, and
his father, the Harvard-educated
Charles Seeger, Jr, who was a pacifist,
composer, conductor and founder of
the first musicology course in the
US.
Born in New York, Seeger later
went to his father’s college, hoping
to build on the song-collecting
scholarship of Carl Sandburg and
Alan Lomax – archival fieldwork
that would spawn many of the
“pop” hits of later generations.
By his sophomore year, his focus
on the Young Communist League
had lowered his grades, and so he
determined to live the hard life he
sang about, playing for pennies at
Photos: Wikimedia
union halls and riding the rails.
Musical career
Singing for quarters and food in
churches and union halls, he joined
with Hays and Millard Lampell in
1940 to form the Almanac Singers, a
name inspired by Hays’ observation
that every American farmhouse had
two books, the Bible and Almanac.
“One helped us to the next world,
the other helped us make it through
this one,” he mentioned in his
autobiography.
They sang folksongs, union
songs and, as admirers of all things
Soviet, anti-war songs, while the
Hitler-Stalin Pact was still in effect.
In 1942, Woody Guthrie joined the
Almanac Singers. The quartet’s radio
gigs dried up after a newspaper
columnist dubbed them the “Red
Minstrels,” so they resorted to
playing anywhere they could, for $510 a gig.
Drafted into the Army in 1942,
Seeger sang for the troops and
learned more songs. While on
furlough in 1943, he married ToshiAline Ohta. She remained his bride
and partner for 70 years, until her
death in 2013. When the Almanac
Singers disbanded, he started
working for nightclubs.
In 1950, the Almanacs were
reformed as the Weavers, named
after title of an 1892 play by Gerhart
Hauptmann about a workers’ strike
(which carried the slogan, “We’ll
stand it no more, come what may.”).
In the atmosphere of the 1950s
red scare, the Weavers’ repertoire
had to be less overtly topical than
that of the Almanacs had been,
and its progressive message was
couched in indirect language –
arguably rendering it even more
powerful.
All for peace
In the late 60s, Seeger signed with
Columbia Records. He had grown
tired of the Vietnam War and
furiously responded by writing a
song about a group of soldiers who
had been pushed toward their death
by an overly enthusiastic officer.
The song, Waist Deep in the
Big Muddy, was set in the Second
World War, but it was clearly about
Vietnam. The song allegorically
described Vietnam as a quagmire,
depicting President Lyndon B
Johnson as “the big fool” who “says
to push on.” His performance of it
aired months later after a storm of
protest against the company.
Pete Seeger continued singing,
for peace, nuclear disarmament and,
most notably, the environment. He
founded the not-for-profit Hudson
River Sloop Clearwater. He and
others built a sailing vessel, the
Clearwater, and used it to educate
and champion the clean-up of
the Hudson River, which his home
overlooked.
His legacy
Seeger was not just another folk
singer. He was a people’s singer and
an activist who fought for people’s
rights. That’s why, when revisiting
his music, you feel more admiration
than pleasure.
His music, which kept folk
traditions alive, delivered messages
about the limits and pitfalls of
contemporary society, and spanned
the decades without quite taking
into account the new developments
all around it, seemed like something
that should not be trifled with. The
aura of his songs made his music
a little foreboding, even when he
performed old railroad songs, or
revived Irish reels, or even when he
made charming records for children.
Seeger’s
affability
couldn’t
conceal that he really was all about
serious business. n
Eager to know Seeger?
Advocated for Bob Dylan when Dylan performed as a
folk singer, but then the two got into a feud
n
After fellow band members of The Weavers sung for a
cigarette commercial, he resigned from the band
n
n
n
n
Encouraged people to use alternative-fuel vehicles
He popularised the hymn “We Shall Overcome”
His wife passed away only a few months before him
In 1996, the folk singer was inducted into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame
n
Legendary singer Bruce Springsteen has already
commemorated the life of Seeger
n
n
“Old Folkie” by Harry Chapin is a tribute to Seeger
W E E K E N D TR IBUN E FR I DAY, FE B R UARY 7, 20 1 4
28
Masum Billah is the
program manager
of BRAC Education
Program and
vice president of
Bangladesh English
Language Teachers
Association (BELTA)
Masum Billah
A parliament without real
opposition
The sham of an election did not fool anyone
B
angladesh
witnessed
an
unprecedented election last
month. The end result was
a parliament and cabinet already
formed, claiming the whole event
“successful.” But whose success was
it, really?
It certainly was not the people.
People did not respond to the call of
the opposition leader to take to the
streets and unseat the government.
The ruling party does not have
any reason to believe that people
rejected the oppostion’s appeal
either. The common people of the
country are like fish out of water –
helpless and dejected. People lost
interest in this election, because
they would not reap any benefits
from its outcome. Bangladeshis have
seen what politics and politicians
have done for them. People are
peace-loving. They don’t want to
entangle themselves in the nasty
games of politics. Unfortunately,
our politicians have never been
clever enough to understand how
Bangladeshis perceive them and
their doings, and have been staging
drama to suit their purposes.
The 49-member cabinet of
ministers, headed by Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina, was sworn in on
January 12. The cabinet includes
“reformist” Awami League leaders,
and has excluded a few controversial
faces. As many as 35 influential
figures of the previous government
could not make it to the new cabinet,
including the party chief of Workers
Party, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal and
Jatiya Party’s
suggestion of
having double
role in both the
government and
the opposition
was peculiar,
not to mention
unprecedented
W E E K E N D TRIBUNE F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 7, 201 4
Jatiya Party (Manju) as well as
three members of parliament (MP)
from Ershad’s Jatiya Party. Tarikat
Federation and BNF, the two other
parties of the ruling coalition, do
not have any representatives in the
cabinet as well. They will have their
seats in the opposition benches,
but in name only. What is even
more interesting is that Ershad has
now become a special envoy to the
prime minister. He recovered from
his mysterious “illness” overnight,
making it a day of double fun for
him. It is an irony that he will enjoy
ministerial status, when 180 MP
aspirants from his party withdrew
their names from the polls race
following his directive.
.
It was reported that Rawshan
Ershad was going to be lead the
opposition in the Parliament.
Rumour has it that a few Jatiya
Party leaders even agreed to play
the double role, having places in
both the cabinet and the opposition
side. How funny it sounds! Suranjit
Sengupta, presidium member of the
Awami Leage, was right when he
said not to make it a hodgepodge in
the name of playing the double role.
He claimed the new government
was formed on the basis of national
consensus. Well, has the whole
nation given its consent? Who
constitutes the nation?
The concept of double role
by Jatiya Party members was
one of a kind indeed. There are
no such instances in any other
parliamentary
democracies
in
the world. Countries like the UK –
birthplace of the Westminster style
of parliamentary democracy – New
Zealand, Australia and Canada go
to the general elections through
dissolving their governments. India
is the only exception. The Indian
parliament consists of two Houses:
Lok Sabha (lower house) and Rajya
Sabha (upper house). The MPs of
Lok Sabha are directly elected by the
Indian people. On eight occasions,
Lok Sabha existed during the
general elections, and sometimes
the parliament was dissolved after
the election process had begun.
However, even in such situations,
the government was not formed by
keeping the existing one in force. In
the rest of the cases, the parliament
was dissolved much earlier than
its tenure ended due to political
instability, and the elections were
held after the dissolution. India’s
first Lok Sabha was constituted on
April 17, 1952 following a general
election. It existed when the second
general election was held in 1957.
However, the first parliament was
dissolved on April 4, 1956, paving
the way for new MPs to take oath
to constitute the second parliament
the next day.
M
any policy makers in the Awami
League-led government had
earlier cited the example of India
while defending the 10th general
elections of Bangladesh taking place
without dissolving the existing
parliament. But the abnormal record
they made by having the new MPselect take oath does not conform to
the tradition set by our neighbour.
So, their claim of having done
everything by the book (meaning
the Constitution) does not hold
water. They have failed to explain to
the nation why the Awami League
went ahead with the swearing
in of the MPs while the previous
parliament still existed. That
amounted to having two MPs from
each constituency at the same time.
Clearly, this violated Article 123(3)(b)
of the Constitution. Again, Article
148(3) says after oath-taking, the
new MPs would automatically take
charge. So, technically, we now have
638 elected MPs in our parliament.
In a real democracy, the
government and the opposition
are two distinct sides. One is
complimentary to the other. In
no way can it be look like what is
happening in our country now. The
role of these two different entities
gives a strong basis to the democracy
that helps a democratic government
not to behave like an autocrat. It is
human to make mistakes. Leaders
How can this
government be the
people’s government,
when people at large
could not participate
in electing their
representatives?
of our nation they may be, but even
our politicians are highly susceptible
to flattery, nepotism and corruption.
Therefore, there must be a strong
opposition who will give feedback
on the government’s decisions,
and, if necessary, criticise them.
Sadly, the hapless Bangladeshis
have yet to see it happen in
this country. We seemingly do
everything for the people, but they
unfortunately remain absent from
everywhere. Iftekharuzzaman, the
executive directive of Transparency
International
Bangladesh,
commented: “Forming government
without taking mandate from
the people will ultimately lead to
just power sharing government.”
When people’s real representatives
are absent from the government,
how are they supposed to remain
accountable to the people? n
LAST WORD