Taslima Nasreen: ...Morality and Wisdom.

Taslima Nasreen:

Intercepting lonely Star's Morality and Wisdom.

Mohammad Gani (USA).

"It was war criminal Golam Azam and Nezami gangs those mercilessly killed our founding father Mujib and his immediate family members" says one of the dedicated young comrade of "Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee"!! No wonder why our original rising star Doctor Taslima Nasreen targets "burgeoning Islamic fundamentalists" in Bangladesh as the only culprits behind our women's freedom, equal rights etc,. No, here I have no plan to declare any war against her rights of free speech or have any intention to denigrate her "honest" odyssey of rescuing our neglected women society from "the hell". She must have her absolute right to say whatever she wants to say, whenever she wants say and the way she wants say.

For last several years, this stalwart defender (?) of our women's rights has become the front runner and been carrying the "torch" of freedoms of the women's world wide, especially of Bangladesh with her extra-ordinary genius ideals and superior mission. Sadly no one, I mean no one of her own creed has so far been jumping into her wagon and singing with her except only diminutive numbers of adulating MEN associates. "Messages" of her corrupted wisdom and scurrilous behaviors go against her "asperities" for women's freedom those would also be outright dismissed even in our modern and civilized/secular world.

Taslima's profane and grandiloquent proclamation on "a woman having sex with 10 men and could still preserve and maintain her virginity" (Ref; her interview with Devil's Advocate" posted in Mukto-Mona, dated, 20 August 2008) is an audacious and lurid expression of a perverted and morally exhausted mind. There is nothing decent and honorable about this iconoclast's idolatrous hyperbole who is riding on immoral and cyanic sarcasms those shall engender more indignity, pandemonium and compunction to our women society. Those of us, who believe in "morality" that helps separating right from wrong is unscientific and not logical, thus should not even exist; must be either ascribing to the morality of the animal kingdom or deceiving their own mind. Her illusory messages toward women's equal rights are implacable and "unproven truth" in our culture/society including women society. Our women society could never be proselytized by these inconsequential ideals and vagaries under the tutelage of liquidated Taslima Nasrin.

Years ago, mother Theresa was talking about importance of virginity to the girls (students) at Wellesley College and at Harvard. "It has more to do with love, affection, family bindings and spirituality than any physical/biological implication that shall keep human civilization moving" she said. I have difficulty in disagreeing with mother Theresa than accepting Taslima's permeating renditions of parasites. Obviously, infidelity is not a legal offense, thus spouses could not legally file divorce or legal actions against their spouse for cheating them. So, what is exactly so bad about infidelity and what it has, if at all, to do with morality, commitment, ethical conviction, trusts and family value? Are all these "virtues' of any importance to human civilization by any means? If infidelity is not a moral offense at all, then why the most powerful nation with civilized democracy, secularism, equal rights and freedom of speech (USA) and its entire Congress were so furious on President Bill Clinton's clandestine amorous relation with Monica Lewinsky? Why did they fail to accept that it was his all personal and private matter?

Here, one could genuinely come up with a debate on the definition of "Morality, Right & Wrong". I do clearly see the line that divides right from wrong is not defined in its absolute terms either and it is very relative. For instance, let us briefly talk about homosexuality; one cannot find anything wrong even in relative terms. If homosexuality is an act between two mutually consenting adults, what is exactly so wrong about it but honestly, how do we accept it in our real family, cultural and social life and why? I bet it is mostly the introduction of religions that have changed the dynamics of the issue since some of them have clearly stated that the act of homosexuality is a sin. In our real world of human civilization, we can also say that we have rightfully placed the concept of religion and God at a higher plane in understanding the concept and existence of life. We have our natural instincts pretty much in line with the law of the land and also equally with the religions because of the very fact that these laws were developed based on the opinions of the many (majority), many years experiments and statistical findings.

On women's equal right issue, this infamous character is spurious and more disparaging in attacking the Islamic fundamentalist than coming up with real issues of concerns those have been keeping our women behind and taking away their equal rights. This decrepit woman is motivated, saturated and occupied with her personal vendetta against them and thus coming up with no ameliorating objectivity instead. Of course, there many disturbing pictures on the issues of women's equal rights and freedom in Bangladesh those I hardly could comprehend. Only few weeks ago, a beautiful young woman, Aparna Roy (27) took her own life to get herself "freed at last" from the torturous "demand of dowry" in US soil (Woodside, VA). She left her crocodile; I mean "loving" husband Sumon Roy and 2 beautiful children behind. Aparna and Sumon were married only in 2001. This poignant ending of a beautiful life made me sick and emotionally charged with angers! There are hundreds of those so-called "accidents" in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan (not mentioning other Muslim nations) those are not becoming news or getting much attention. This is how our children (girls) in Bangladesh (perhaps in India too) are taught to treat their husbands as (almost) God or Debota during their childhood/youth and are forced to download all sickening abuses throughout their entire life.

Now, if we get back to the pre-Islamic history, we shall see that having "baby girls" was an indignity (in Arab world) and were buried alive. In medieval Hindu society, a widow was not looked upon favorably. She was at times considered a burden and there was fear for her purity, especially if she was young. They feared that she might partake in sexual activity. Men were, however, exempt from this if they were widowers. Some communities in our Indian subcontinent, wives still have no "divorce right". Women in Islam are not allowed to be Imam (conducting prayers in Mosque with man) though nothing is stated PRECISELY anywhere in the holy Quran to this motion or that only Men shall be the Imam. General meaning of Sura Al-Nisa (4-34, Women) in the Holy Quran is not conclusive on women conducting prayer (I mean only in the holy Quran). Women are not permitted to be Cardinals, Arch Bishop or Pope in Catholic beliefs. Dowry and acids burns have been taking tolls on women's lives and causing sufferings inhumanly. Sati Daha (Burning of widows) custom was a scary social custom practiced in portions of India in different times. It was the practice of cremating the widow live along with her husband. Its roots can be traced to ancient mythology; Sati, the wife of Dhakhsha, overwhelmed with grief at her husband's funeral jumped into the funeral fire and burned to death. This was an idealized representation of a wife's devotion to her husband and the custom bears the name of Dhaksha's wife, Sati. Through the works of some noble Hindus, especially Raja Ram Mohan Roy, this practice had been curbed. The Sati Daha custom had now diminished and in 1987 a law was passed making Sati Daha illegal, after a case of Sati Daha was reported.

Hundreds of years racial segregation known as "Apartheid" in South Africa orchestrated by Afrikaner (Dutch reform churches) and by early settlers in USA (before 1965) have been dismantled with the life long struggles of Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King. It is only 1927; women achieved their voting rights in USA. And there are so many to mention……BUT WHAT DO THE ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISTS EXACTLY HAVE TO DO WITH ALL THE ABOVE? Isn't it 9/11/2001 that made all these out of focus except only the Islamic fundamentalist as a bill board?

I am not here to rescue the Islamist fundamentalists or be any apologist for them but am only urging to broach the real culprits and issues of concerns against our women's freedom and equal rights in a colloquial manner. I did see the atrocities myself committed by "JAMAT" to our innocent men/women and against our freedom during 9 months liberation war against our so-called "Muslim brothers" of West Pakistan. Taslima's acrimony and concepts are grown from her personal animosity, transpires iniquitous and disgraceful. A Bangladesh "without religious fundamentalists" shall not "GUARANTEE equal rights and freedom for women there, will it? I wished it would have been that easy. Our motherland Bangladesh (former East Pakistan or India) is not ruled nor was ever ruled by fundamentalist like Taliban in Afghanistan or Khomeni in Iran rather has been a matriarchy for last 15 years. How many families/people of 150 million of Bangladesh are actually fundamentalist and how much control do these fundamentalists have over 150 million people/families and precisely how? My experience is most of the Bangladeshi people/families today are pro-Western in their heart and have great respects for western cultures.

So, we (Taslima included) need to look up for roots beyond making only religious fundamentalist a scapegoat against women's equal rights and freedom those have been embedded into our cultural bloods and social systems as norms and been reigning over for hundreds of years; many years before 9/11/2001! We also need to recognize that our cultural identity is based on our traits and values that are learned in the family, school, social gathering etc. as part of our ethnic origin, religion, gender, age, socioeconomic level, geographical region, place of residence but we do notice that all these are CONSTANTLY CHANGING, though not enough! Our mental modernization believes and trusts that science could lead us down to the road of progress real fast but question always remains whether only science could really get us there. The aphorism is "Haste makes waste".

We need cogitate before adjudicating on the risk factors of our women's prerogatives with uneven opinions or conclusions those could be misleading and distract us from actual core problems. We need to address and attack our poverty, education, standard of living, unemployment, healthcare........and all other basic needs along with the introductions and manifestations of public laws first to ensure a prosperous family of extant traditional culture, happiness and prosperity for all women. Yes, often religious fundamentalist (of any religion: say, recent Orissa event) could be obstacles and be on the way of our spirits and momentum of progress on women's equal rights and thus it must be addressed as culpable too; because it is an issue but not the only issue!

Nevertheless, the bottom line is; this picayune and evanescent star's temerity and laudatory ebulliences shall get lost real fast with full disgrace from the history of our time and beyond our notice.

Mohammad Gani Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Courtesy of VM

A Nationalist Agenda for Bangladesh

A Nationalist Agenda for Bangladesh

By MBI Munshi Bar-at-Law


The installation of the Caretaker Government after the proclamation of emergency on January 11, 2007 by military fiat provides an excellent opportunity for the conscientious citizen to thoroughly reappraise and also reassess our political ideals and national objectives prior to the return of democracy. While the political parties have been striving to reestablish their credibility and relevance to a disillusioned and apathetic public the issue of what ideological principles the nation should rest upon has been largely set aside although this is the most important question of all for the nation to tackle. This article is intended to provide an intellectual framework upon which nationalist debate may take place and covers the political arena occupied by the BNP, Jatiya Party and Jamaat-i-Islami and to some extent the now defunct Freedom Party and other smaller nationalist entities such as Gen. Fazlur Rahman's newly established nationalist formation.

What is common to all these parties (except that of Gen. Fazlur Rahman which has only begun operations in Bangladesh) is that they have all failed miserably to uphold the nationalist ideal. The obvious reason for this failure is that there is no single accepted document or formal expression of the terms of the nationalist agenda for the 21st century (although there exists many outdated opinions on the subject) and the majority of the general public has largely relied on intuition to determine a party's nationalist credentials in the modern era. There are several important books on the subject of Bangladeshi nationalism but they tend to over intellectualize the concepts and the basic principles put forward appear contradictory after closer examination. More often than not they involve matters that are subsidiary or ancillary to the main tenets of the ideology. This vagueness and ambiguity has allowed scope for the corrupt, opportunistic and mediocre to thwart and misuse the ideals of nationalism in favour of self-interest and greed. The main cause or reason behind this lack of ideological commitment is the absence of an objective standard or criterion for determining the legitimacy of decisions or actions approved by the party hierarchy when set against the requirements of nationalist ideology. A major consequence of this is that there exists an absolute minimum in ideological content and understanding within the party and an over reliance on charismatic leadership for guidance, however, misguided or irrational it might actually turn out to be for the country as a whole. It is due to this ideological failure that the Freedom Party and Jatiya party both fractured and then collapsed in quick succession during the early 1990's and is also the cause of the BNP's dramatic downfall after the 1/11 takeover by a military-civilian conglomerate.

The terms of the nationalist ideal according to this author may be explained through the use of the following four broad tenets or core elements of Bangladeshi nationalism–

1. Honouring the nation's independence and sovereignty achieved through immense struggle, blood and sacrifice in the 1971 Liberation War.

2. Non-interference in the Islamic values and beliefs of the people as enshrined in the constitution [Art. 8 (1A) – Absolute trust and faith in the Almighty Allah shall be the basis of all actions]. The emergence of Bangladesh is a direct consequence of the Two Nation Theory and the Lahore Resolution and the war of 1971 was not intended to negate either of these ideas. Bangladesh remains a majority Muslim nation and the nationalist creed requires the respecting of Islamic values with particular emphasis on the virtue of toleration which is a peculiar characteristic of the people of this region who generally abhor all forms of fanaticism It is for this reason that compared to the secularist approach the non-interference method can accommodate Muslims, non-Muslims and even people of no faith since none will be interfered with provided that all practice toleration towards each other and adopt the policy of mutual respect [i.e. Art. 2A – The state religion of the Republic is Islam, but other religions may be practiced in peace and harmony in the Republic] (see below).

3. Adherence to the inclusiveness of Bangladeshi nationalism which is based on territorial exclusivity rather than on ethnic exclusivity. In other words, a Bangladesh national should be appropriately described as Bangladeshi [i.e. Art. 6 (2) – The citizens of Bangladesh shall be known as Bangladeshi] rather than a Bengali which tends towards territorial inclusiveness with West Bengal which is a part of India and where the Bengali identity is subservient to the superior and universal Indian one. A Bangladeshi can never accept his identity to be subsumed into a larger Indian one which is an entirely separate nation as per the partition of the subcontinent in 1947 into three separate territorial parts and two political entities (India and Pakistan). This separate consciousness of Bengali Muslims began during the 1905-1911 partition of Bengal which was vehemently opposed by the upper-class Hindu landlords whose power and influence over their Muslim tenants dwindled during this period but Hindu dominance again reasserted itself once the partition was rescinded seven years later and the Muslims were returned to their former slavish existence.

4. Aggressive promotion and advancement of the national interest and an uncompromising attitude to national security.

While all the parties claiming to uphold the nationalist agenda have been more or less consistent in protecting Islamic values this has often been done opportunistically or exploitatively. All that this condition requires is non-interference as opposed to the 'excessive' or overt promotion of Islamic values which tends to have a negative effect (a major reason why Islamic parties do badly in elections) on public sentiment which is still very much influenced by the secularist/Indian propaganda about the 1971 war which illogically views Islam as responsible for the atrocities committed by the Pakistan army. Bangladeshis are by nature and temperament moderate in outlook and sentiment and are equally tolerant in matters personal and so a too rigid approach on religion normally gets a negative or unfavorable response. Non-interference in Islamic values is the least onerous of the conditions in the nationalist agenda since it is a negative requirement requiring virtually no action to implement. This is not the same as the secularist agenda favoured by the AL and other leftist parties since they have promoted interference in the Islamic values of the people with the objective of eroding religion from society and rendering the state totally neutral in matters of faith and have even gone so far as to undermining Islam through propaganda and ill-motivated government policies - this is the complete opposite of non-interference and is widely resented by the general public.

The third condition has usually been a problem for the anti-nationalists such as the Awami League party as the notion of Bengali nationhood became untenable when West Bengal showed no signs of seceding from India after 1971 and even more importantly - from a nationalist perspective - after the CHT insurgency when the tribal groups refused to adopt Bengali customs even after the vocal and uncompromising demand of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman that they do so. This issue was resolved when President Ziaur Rahman amended the constitution and designated all citizens of Bangladesh as Bangladeshis emphasizing the territorial rather than the ethnic aspect of our nationhood.

It is, however, in the area of national interest and security that sharply differentiates the nationalists from the other ideological inclinations. In the past, too much emphasis has been placed on the dichotomies raised by faith vs. secularism or Bengali vs. Bangladeshi but these are only indications of attitude and the real test is whether a party is prepared to assert the national interest and aggressively ensure the security of the nation and state. If the answer is in the positive in both cases then by necessity the party in power is advancing the majority faith and Bangladeshi nationalism as well. All the nationalist parties (BNP, Jatiya and Freedom) were established on the twin pillars of national interest and security. The events of 1975 (both 15th August and 7th November) were attempts to reassert the national interest against encroachments and interference from India (this statement is not intended as approval or disapproval of either of these events but simply of their occurrence as a factual and important part of our history. The question, however, needs to be posed whether the nationalist agenda could have reasserted itself so forcefully without these violent incidents having taken place. Similarly the ruthless suppression of communist revolutionary forces after Gen. Ziaur Rahman ascension to power could be described as a dire necessity since Indian infiltration into Bangladesh had been so extensive and pervasive that a lesser response may have been easily defeated) and Ershad is claimed to have wanted to establish another army division to thwart any possible invasion by Bangladesh's big neighbour. It is the AL and other leftist parties that have continually compromised on the national interest and security in order to serve their real masters in New Delhi.

The national interest and security involve by implication the most complex political, social, economic and military questions. It is for the country's political leadership to determine which economic or political system best serves the national interest or which social policies should be implemented to advance overall national well-being. There is no easy answer to these questions but what is needed is a set of practical policies that can produce a dynamic and fast growing economy that will sustain an educated and healthy workforce and in turn finance the internal and external security needs of the country. Sectional interests must not be allowed under any circumstances to become an obstacle or hindrance to national development and economic prosperity.

Gen. Ziaur Rahman, Gen. H.M. Ershad and Col. Syed Farook Rahman when they formed their political parties had these objectives in mind but gradually overtime the ideological elements of their party program became diluted and the pursuit of money became more important. While Gen. Ziaur Rahman and Col. Syed Farook Rahman were personally incorruptible their followers and the subsequent generations of leaders were far less inclined to follow this lead and became addicted to the pursuit of wealth and indirectly compromised on the fourth tenet of nationalism – national interest and security. It was with this new generation (especially in the case of the BNP) which saw the sidelining of committed nationalists and the promotion of the most disreputable and corrupted elements of the party and this is the surest sign of internal decay and clearly indicates the disintegration of the party as a united political force.

In conclusion one should evaluate where Bangladeshi nationalism stands today and especially in the light of the 1/11 change over. It is grievously unfortunate that even without the anti-nationalist parties (i.e. AL, JSD, Workers Party etc) at the helm of power Bangladesh has drifted very far away from all the four core principles of Bangladeshi nationalism. The most obvious failure of the caretaker administration in securing our national objectives appears to be the appeasement of India and the adoption of their foreign policy as our own. This assimilationist agenda has adversely affected our national interest and security and must be reversed if Bangladesh is to remain an independent nation. It is in the area of national security that Bangladesh must concentrate and policy-makers should not be fearful of offending India (which will naturally be the target of any security policy) since India has no qualms about offending Bangladesh which it often describes as a sponsor of terrorism and a threat to its security. The countering of Indian propaganda will also necessarily take a high priority in Bangladesh's security policy but New Delhi's canards against its neighbour has unfortunately been embraced by anti-nationalist parties such as the AL, JSD and Workers Party who have described the country as a hotbed of Islamic fundamentalism and an exporter of terrorism.

Bangladesh has yet to devise a security strategy even after almost 37 years of independence which is quite astonishing and at the same time completely unacceptable. One of the principal tasks of a government is to ensure the security of the nation from external threats and this can be best achieved if those responsible for the defense of the nation have a detailed security policy to guide them. National security in this broader sense refers to the requirement to maintain the survival of the nation-state through the use of economic, military and political power and the exercise of diplomacy. This may be accomplished on several different levels and should include the following –
using diplomacy to rally allies and isolate threats
maintaining effective armed forces
implementing civil defense and emergency preparedness measures
ensuring the resilience and redundancy of critical infrastructure
using intelligence services to detect and defeat or avoid threats and espionage, and to protect classified information
using counterintelligence services or secret police to protect the nation from internal threats
To implement these features effectively in Bangladesh would require a National Security Strategy to be devised. The first step would be to set up a National Security Council which will bring together in one place all the relevant agencies, bodies and experts on this vital issue. This would include the President, Chief Executive, Chiefs of the army, navy and air force, intelligence heads, other security officials belonging to law enforcement, diplomats and experts from various fields who will be called in as the need arises or be allotted to an advisory board attached to the NSC. The NSC would be assigned the responsibility for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising the chief executive on matters related to national security. At regular yearly intervals the NSC would prepare a National Security Strategy document that will guide all elements of our defence, security and intelligence apparatus and also influence the manner and conduct of our foreign policy. The advantages to such an approach would be consistency and comprehensiveness in our national security outlook. While I have tended to concentrate on the defence aspects of security the NSS would give equal priority to strengthening economic security, expansion of trade and investment, and promoting economic development. The NSS would provide guidelines and proposals on economic security, energy security, transport security and terrorism finance. This would involve the business community as stakeholders in the nation's security with direct input in policy formulation.

Probably the only reason that a National Security Strategy and NSC have yet to be established in Bangladesh is the apprehension of the adverse reaction it might generate in New Delhi. A truly nationalist party would disregard such considerations and put the nation's interest and security first. India has never compromised on its national security requirements which usually targets Bangladesh so there should not be any hesitation on this side of the border in doing the same in regard to our own defense needs. Critics may argue that this would undermine democracy and put too much power in the hands of the military. This ignores the fact that political parties have continuously undermined the national interest requiring occasional interventions by the army. To prevent such occurrences this paper argues for the institutionalization of the nationalist agenda so that each arm of the state apparatus and machinery works to fulfill that objective. It would, however, only work effectively under a democratic system as the people will be the final arbiters in determining if any particular government is actually living up to the nationalist ideal. An extended military role in state affairs should not be considered since the present army is not the same as the army of Gen. Ziaur Rahman, Col. Syed Farook Rahman and even Gen. H.M. Ershad which actually fought a war and understood the meaning of the words national interest and security (this statement will probably seem unpalatable to many because of certain actions taken by these individuals but those unfortunate but necessary incidents of our history constitute the basis of Bangladeshi nationalism and also its defence. There is some dispute whether the Jail Killing incident of November 3, 1975 falls into this category since many suspect that this was orchestrated by RAW to prevent a strong leadership emerging around Tajuddin Ahmed. The acquittal of 12 accused in the case by the High Court lends credence to this view). The present army although describing itself as modern and democratic is actually more a peacekeeping force having the mentality of compromisers. The army's approach to the national crisis since 1/11 has been superficial and wholly unprofessional (What is the objective and plan for this intervention and where is the exit strategy?). Rather than seeking the advice of committed nationalists and experts they have resorted to taking assistance from various individuals of dubious backgrounds and qualifications. A democratic political party representing the nationalist ideal would serve the nation better provided the top leadership remains incorruptible and appoints statesman to the helm of government affairs rather than amateurs and opportunists.

MBI Munshi

September 1, 2008

Dhaka