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Tuesday, May 20, 2008

[chottala.com] MINHAZ, THE YOUNGER BROTHER of GEN. MOINUDDIN is OUT of REACH of DUDOK

It is well known by everybody that DGDP is one of the most corrupt
government organization like Customs, LGED etc. and 99% defense officer
working at DGDP are making illegal money for years with the help of
some dishonest suppliers. Minhaz, the younger brother of Gen. Moinuddin
is such a supplier of DGDP is making illegal money for long with the
assistance of his friend Wing Cmdr. Hannan there. This air force
officer itself made more than few crore taka and purchased land here
and there in Dhaka city and Savar, let alone Minhaz who made few
hundred crore taka already. As being younger brother of Gen. Moinuddin,
Minhaz can't be enlisted by DuDok.

DuDok is such an organization which is working only against politicians
and businessmen but government officers, defense officers and their
relatives are out of their sight for a strange reason! Do you have any
idea about the reason?

------------------------------------

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[chottala.com] United Bengal proposal was made by Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Sarat Chandra Bose not by Maolana Bashani

[Re: [notun_bangladesh] Now they want to accuse us as Communal ]
 
 
United Bengal proposal was made by  Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Sarat Chandra Bose not Maolana Bashani
[ With all due respect to Maolana Bashani]
 
Mr. Md Mostafa Kamal
 
Are you re-writing the history?  You are factually incorrect , your business as usual ! 
 
FYI:

The United Bengal proposal was the bid made by Bengali political leaders Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Sarat Chandra Bose to found a united and independent nation-state of in Bengal. The proposal was floated as an alternative to the partition of Bengal on communal lines. The initiative failed mainly due to the efforts  of communal political Party Hindu Mohasovha.

"Maulana Bhasani moved to Ghagmara in Assam in the late 1930s to defend the interests of Bangali settlers there. He made his debut as a leader at Bhasan Char on the Brahmaputra river  where he constructed an embankment with the co-operation of the Bangali settlers, thereby saving the peasants from the scourge of annual inundation. Relieved of the recurring floods the local people fondly started to call him Bhasani Saheb, an epithet by which the Maulana has been known from then on.  In 1937 Bhasani joined the Assam Muslim League and became president of Assam unit of the party.

The Assam government made a law restricting Bangali settlement beyond a certain geographical line, an arbitrary settlement which severely affected the interests of the Bangali colonisers. Protected by this restrictive law the locals had launched a movement to oust the Bangali settlers across the so-called line. [Bongal Kheda - drive away the Banglees from Assam]  On the 'line' issue, hostile relations developed between the Maulana and the Assam Chief Minister, Sir Muhammad Sa'dullah. At partition, Maulana Bhasani was in Goalpara district (Assam) organising the farmers against the line system. He was arrested by the government of Assam, and released towards the end of 1947 on condition that he would leave Assam for good.

Early in 1948 Maulana Bhasani came to East Bengal only to find himself brushed aside from the provincial leadership set-up. Disheartened, Bhasani contested and won a seat in the provincial assembly from south Tangail in a by-election defeating Khurram Khan Panni, the Muslim League candidate and Zamindar of Karatia. But the provincial governor nullified the results on grounds of foul play in the elections, and disqualified all the candidates from taking part in any election until 1950. Strangely enough, the ban on Panni was lifted in 1949 even though it remained in force on Bhasani.

In 1949 he went to Assam again, and was arrested and sent to Dhubri prison. On his release he came back to Dhaka. At about this time, the East Pakistan Muslim League was passing through a leadership crisis. The discontented elements of the Muslim League called a workers' convention in Dhaka on June 23 and 24 of 1949. Nearly 300 delegates from different parts of the province attended the convention. On June 24 a new political party, the East Pakistan Awami Muslim League, was launched with Maulana Bhasani as president and Shamsul Huq of Tangail as general secretary.    ....." [Banglapedia]

Your assertion:

"Maolana Bhasani asked the WB dewelers to Join BD for United Bengal as an independent conutry"

is wrong.
 
By the way, Maolana Bashani was one of the first person to say "Assalamu Alaikum" to Pakistan.
[In 1957, Bhasani said 'good bye' (Assalamu Alaikum) to Pakistan ....]
 
Please think twice and read the history, before calling someone "Gondo Murkho or Dalal of India"......
Learn to "Agree to disagree" instead of  false insuation & slanderous remarks...[as brother Faruque
item # 2 ].
 
 
Thank you;
 
Syed Aslam
 
 
 
--- On Tue, 5/20/08, Md. Mostafa Kamal @...> wrote:
 
RE: [notun_bangladesh] Now they want to accuse us as Communal

Maolana Bhasani asked the WB dewelers to Join BD for United Bengal as an independent country. The High Race Hindus the Brahmman was against independent united Bengal. But K. Raisuddin wants united Bengal.......is it BD to join with India or WB sever from India? How funny. We're happy with our 56000 sq. miles BD as an independent & sovereign country. We want a Prime Minister of BD like Khaleda Zia & not the Chief Minister like Sheikh Hasina. K. Raisuddin & his BAList gong have failed to show where I have written which is in favor of Pakistan same time that is against Bangladesh. CHORER MON, POLICE POLICE.

 

Thank You All,

 

Md. Mostafa Kamal.

 

--- On Tue, 5/20/08, Kajimel Raisuddin <Kraisuddin@...> wrote:

From: Kajimel Raisuddin <Kraisuddin@...>
Subject: RE: [notun_bangladesh] Now they want to accuse us as Communal
To: notun_bangladesh@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tuesday, May 20, 2008, 12:48 AM

BIRDS OF SAME FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER. The Bangla Peoverb says, "Shngo gune shong". So, what other options open other than being Gondo Murkho. DALALS OF PAKI AND ARBIS THINK EVERYONE ELSE IS DALALTOO. Obak !!! that group is quite big, seeing all over.


To: notun_bangladesh@ yahoogroups. com
CC: Kraisuddin@hotmail. com; s_ayubi786@yahoo. com
From: mmk3k@yahoo. com
Date: Mon, 19 May 2008 12:10:58 -0700
Subject: RE: [notun_bangladesh] Now they want to accuse us as Communal

I thought K. Raisuddina is an intelectual person. But he is not disimilar from Eng. Shafiq & his gong. K. Raisuddin has failed to reply Mr. Salahuddin Ayubi's point but diverting this debate attacking personally Mr. S. Ayubi by telling pondit etc bad words. It seems K .Raisuddin is either Gondo Murkho or Dalal of India.
 
Thank You All,
 
Md. Mostafa Kamal.

--- On Sun, 5/18/08, Kajimel Raisuddin <Kraisuddin@hotmail. com> wrote:

From: Kajimel Raisuddin <Kraisuddin@hotmail. com>
Subject: RE: [notun_bangladesh] Now they want to accuse us as Communal
To: notun_bangladesh@ yahoogroups. com
Date: Sunday, May 18, 2008, 12:01 AM

"You do not understand the history of this country".  When you said so, Ayubi Pondit Shaheb, you closed the issue. Just tell me why did you write then the rest of the things in your passage? For bishho pondity, needs the audience, who want to see the substance and rationanle. I do see your postings here and there everywhere - and you do always vor vor, may you know or not. It has clearly been noticed that always you attempt to spread hate and vulgarity, short of any expressions of compassion, love or feelings. That's what the world poets do. Definitely not someone like you. You are of your a kind. Why don't you stay within your periphery! If you want to do bishho pondity, you should be able to understand the others and to learn how to talk with the others. Then you will understand where the folks such as a poor guy like me come from. Until then, its up to you, to decide on your role. Most of your postings are really disgusted, but I would never tell you anything any time. But this time you have hurt me personally, so badly in the public arena, that I had no other option, then to tell you couple of words. Extremely sorry about it.


To: notun_bangladesh@ yahoogroups. com
From: s_ayubi786@yahoo. com
Date: Fri, 16 May 2008 22:01:10 -0700
Subject: RE: [notun_bangladesh] Now they want to accuse us as Communal

Mr. Raisuddin,
                    You do not understand the history of this country. Can you explain as to why the caste hindus opposed the partition of bengal tooth and nail in 1905 which prompted tagore to write our national anthem but in 1947 they meekly accepted the partition of bengal, they did not even consider the option of an independent Bengal that suhrwardy and sarat Bose tried to establish. The caste hindus has always been slefish and they have oppressed the backward Muslims of Bengal. Those sad stories probably you do not know or no one possilbly told you... I do not agree with you that the bengalis are one nation and they will ever unite. viva la difference!! !!!
                  Salahuddin Ayubi

--- On Fri, 5/16/08, Kajimel Raisuddin <Kraisuddin@hotmail. com> wrote:

From: Kajimel Raisuddin <Kraisuddin@hotmail. com>
Subject: RE: [notun_bangladesh] Now they want to accuse us as Communal
To: notun_bangladesh@ yahoogroups. com
Date: Friday, May 16, 2008, 10:04 PM

Anyone with the commitment as shown in the red below can not deviate from the principle of greatest lover of our mother and father land and also our birthplace. Anyone who does not possess these vested qualities may have different opinions.  Certainly we value Bangla as the most sacred language since the genes of us and all our previous ancestors have been created out of Bangla. So, anyone who championed in Bangla is unquestionably always a champion to us. Please do not do something that becomes detrimental to this principle. So, Tagore and Nazrul can not be marked as just West Bengalis. They are Bangalis and our most champions in the Bangali nation. Bangalis are one nation. Physical reasons may have kept them separate. But the obvious situations will put them together some day in future. There was a politically incorrect staunch in the following write up.. I REALLY DO NOT APPRECIATE IT.
However, I understand where the angle settles finally. We may keep talking on these issues as long as we are honest and have no hidden agenda.
 
History: Robindranath did most of his works in kutibari that belongs to Bangladesh. He spent most of his life there, even though his zamindari was in Jurashku, West Bengal.. All his works on the nature are based on what Bangladesh looks like. West Bengal does not look like similar to what he felt and expressed in his poems and other works.. If it was today, he would be Bangladeshi. Nazrul was born in West Bengal but was raised in Trishal, Mymensingh by a Police Officer. He married in Comilla. Finally settled in Dhaka and died in Bangladesh ans also buried here.. So, please stop assigning them as a foreigner to Bangladesh. On the contrary, after partition of India and Pakistan, we were very generous to accept a huge number non-bengalis to our country. What they did finally? They never had allegiance to our land, to our language, and to our creed and culture. They were always opportunist. And at the end backed up the killer Pakistanis and they did the most killing. They did not stop there. Some of them learned Bangla or married Bangalee, posed to be converted as Bangalee but working in the underground  with ISI, Saudis, and other agents and poisoning the society in Bangladesh. Some of them with old root even working for RAW. So, there are reasons why we must be careful such that these flock of mice can not cut everything of our home day in and day out.
 

 

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[chottala.com] The Pagan Pakistani tribe that dares to defy the fundamentalists

Unveiled: The Pakistani tribe that dares to defy the fundamentalists

In the North West Frontier Province, the mullahs' word is law and the veil is worn. But one ancient tribe refuses to cover up. Jerome Taylor reports from the Rumbur Valley
In Pakistan's deeply conservative North West Frontier Province, the veil is simply a way of life. Whether in the bazaars of the capital Peshawar or high up in the myriad of Himalayan villages bordering Afghanistan, women wishing to leave their houses do so under the cover of a niqab or a billowing burqa. So important is the Islamic concept of purdah that the fort-like houses in the tribal areas usually contain separate living quarters for women and men.
Give or take the occasional advertising hoarding or glitzy film from Lahore, most men are unlikely to see an adult female face outside of their immediate family until they marry.
But in the remote Chitral region nestled high in the Hindu Kush mountain range are the last remnants of a tribe where the women walk unveiled in bright red and black dresses. Lavishly decorated with orange bead necklaces and colourful hats made from cowrie shells, they dance in public and are often free to marry and take lovers. They are the Kalasha, one of Pakistan's only remaining indigenous non-Muslim communities and a remarkable living throwback to a pre-Islamic era.
Yet according to the Kalasha themselves, their unique way of life is under attack like never before. Thanks to rising extremism among a small minority of Pakistanis and the growing appeal of populist orthodox mullahs who espouse sharia law and Taliban-like austerity, the Kalasha are increasingly in the firing line.
"We've always been called kafirs (infidels) but most people simply left us alone," says Azam Kalash, one of the few members of his 3,500-strong community who managed to go to university and now campaigns for his tribe's welfare. "Now we are deemed enemy number one. Particularly after September 11 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the missionaries and mullahs are determined to see us wiped out."
Isolated from the outside world by the remoteness of their valleys and the heavy Himalayan snows that block the mountain passes in winter, the Kalash somehow managed to survive successive waves of Muslim invaders and missionaries that pushed back the pre-Islamic Hindu, Buddhist and pagan tribes who once filled the fertile plains of the Indus valley.
Until last century, very few outsiders had ever made it as far as the three valleys of Rumbur, Bumboret and Birir where the Kalasha now live. Even today the valleys are only accessible by 4x4 along a tortuous road perilously carved into the shifting mountain side. But 20 years ago, following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the rise of the religious mujahedin, things began to change.
"For a long time the Kalasha lived in total isolation," says Cecil Chaudhury, General Secretary of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance. "I remember going there in the 1950s with a mountaineering expedition and they were blissfully happy living in their own distinct social system. But with the mujahedin came the missionaries and the Kalasha were always going to be an easy group to target. Now the extremists are back."
Although the fighters have largely disappeared from the Chitral region, the Kalasha are now outnumbered in their own villages by converts and outsiders. During the Soviet war in Afghanistan, the notoriously brutal Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar used the valley as his hideout and many believe he has returned to the region to continue his fight against Nato forces and the Afghan government.
After a 10-year lull, the missionaries are returning and many fear that if orthodox preachers, such as those who, until recently, ran Islamabad's Red Mosque, continue to increase their appeal, the country's last non-Muslim tribe may sink into oblivion.
No Kalasha would mean no Zonor Bibi. The mother of five sits on the front porch of her mud-walled house perched high above the swollen glacial river that roars through the heart of her village. It is harvest time and apricots lie drying in the summer sun eyed by her eight-year-old daughter Walena.
Zonor's husband has just set off on the daily three-hour walk to the grazing meadows that lie high above the village but that does not stop Zonor from welcoming outsiders with open arms, an act that would be unthinkable to her Muslim neighbours.
Deeply proud of her culture, she bursts into laughter when asked how long it takes to make the iconic cowrie shell hats that all Kalasha women wear.
"They take us months," she says. "It is important to continue our traditions so not to anger our spirits and god."
Kalasha believe that failure to practice their ancient traditions has profound religious implications and can bring disaster on the village which may explain why their dress and distinct practices have managed to survive against such odds.
The role of women in Kalash society is perhaps the most obvious aspect that separates their culture from their Muslim neighbours. Where Muslim women in the region generally remain indoors or hidden from public view, their Kalash counterparts are conspicuous in the fields working alongside their men. During the festivals that celebrate the various summer harvests and preparations for winter, it is not unusual to find Kalasha women drinking apricot wine and dancing in public with males that are neither their husband nor family. Although some marriages are arranged by families, it is perfectly acceptable for Kalasha women to choose their husbands. If they are treated unkindly during the marriage the women are expected to leave the house and take a lover.
Such comparative sexual and social freedom has led to the false but commonly held perception among many lowland Pakistanis that the tribe's women are sexually promiscuous. But while Kalasha men do seem to extend a greater level of physical and social freedom to their other halves, the lives of their women-folk are still strictly regimented.
To the Kalash the world is divided into two states, onjesta (pure, sacred) and pragata (impure, profane). Women are considered pragata, particularly during menstruation and childbirth where they are exiled to special huts away from the village. Only once they have purified themselves can they return to the tribe. Certain fields and shrines considered pure and sacred to the community are also out of bounds for the tribe's women.
Such peculiarly distinct customs have fascinated anthropologists, linguists and travellers alike for centuries, not just because the survival of the Kalasha in a sea of Islam is so unusual but because no one is sure exactly where they came from.
Their tongue, like many of the dialects spoken in the Hindu Kush range, is closest to the Dardic branch of the Indo-European languages of Central Asia. But Kalash oral history tells a different story, that they are descended from Shalak Shah, one of Alexander the Great's generals whose armies conquered as far as the Indus river before turning back towards Europe. Although blond hair and blue eyes are common amongst the Kalash, recent genetic testing has suggested that they may be an aboriginal group that are, in fact, indigenous to the area.
But how did the Kalasha manage to cling on to their distinct polytheistic pagan traditions in an area renowned for its particularly orthodox brand of Islam?
"I think they were just lucky," says Siraj Ul Mulk, a direct descendant of the Sunni Muslim royal family that once ruled the Chitral region until they ceded to Pakistan in the 1960s.
"Despite their orthodox appearance, Chitralis have always been very relaxed about the Kalasha and other minorities. The missionaries always tend to come from outside." Walking through the dusty fort that his father, the Mehtar of Chitral, once used as his summer palace, Mr Ul Mulk also offers another explanation for why the Kalasha of Pakistan remained unharmed: India's partition. "Under British partition we were lucky enough to be placed on the Pakistani side," he says. "If we'd ended up in Afghanistan I doubt the Kalasha would have survived."
Two hundred years ago Afghanistan was also home to numerous Kalasha tribes, known locally as the Red Kafirs, but they were annihilated at the end of the 19th century. After receiving a bloody nose in two disastrous conflicts with the Afghans, the British simply stood by as the founding father of modern Afghanistan, Abdur Rahman Khan, systematically forced the non-Muslim tribes in the east of the country to convert at the point of a sword. A small number of Afghan Kalasha managed to flee towards Chitral and can still be seen in the upper valleys wearing their distinctive red dresses but all Kalasha are fully aware of the threat that extremist beliefs pose to their very survival.
That the Kalash are frightened of the current climate in Pakistan is testament to how seriously they take the current threats. They survived the marauding armies of Tamerlaine, the religious zeal of Abdur Rahman and even the anti-Soviet mujahedin. But now, like many of Pakistan's religious and ethnic minorities, they once again feel unprotected and vulnerable.
"We've survived so much over the years and we're not about to give up now," says Azam Kalash. "For centuries we have lived happily alongside our Muslim neighbours but thanks to extremism our numbers are dwindling. Whether we'll survive this century I simply don't know."
In Pakistan's deeply conservative North West Frontier Province, the veil is simply a way of life. Whether in the bazaars of the capital Peshawar or high up in the myriad of Himalayan villages bordering Afghanistan, women wishing to leave their houses do so under the cover of a niqab or a billowing burqa. So important is the Islamic concept of purdah that the fort-like houses in the tribal areas usually contain separate living quarters for women and men.
Give or take the occasional advertising hoarding or glitzy film from Lahore, most men are unlikely to see an adult female face outside of their immediate family until they marry.
But in the remote Chitral region nestled high in the Hindu Kush mountain range are the last remnants of a tribe where the women walk unveiled in bright red and black dresses. Lavishly decorated with orange bead necklaces and colourful hats made from cowrie shells, they dance in public and are often free to marry and take lovers. They are the Kalasha, one of Pakistan's only remaining indigenous non-Muslim communities and a remarkable living throwback to a pre-Islamic era.
Yet according to the Kalasha themselves, their unique way of life is under attack like never before. Thanks to rising extremism among a small minority of Pakistanis and the growing appeal of populist orthodox mullahs who espouse sharia law and Taliban-like austerity, the Kalasha are increasingly in the firing line.
"We've always been called kafirs (infidels) but most people simply left us alone," says Azam Kalash, one of the few members of his 3,500-strong community who managed to go to university and now campaigns for his tribe's welfare. "Now we are deemed enemy number one. Particularly after September 11 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the missionaries and mullahs are determined to see us wiped out."
Isolated from the outside world by the remoteness of their valleys and the heavy Himalayan snows that block the mountain passes in winter, the Kalash somehow managed to survive successive waves of Muslim invaders and missionaries that pushed back the pre-Islamic Hindu, Buddhist and pagan tribes who once filled the fertile plains of the Indus valley.
Until last century, very few outsiders had ever made it as far as the three valleys of Rumbur, Bumboret and Birir where the Kalasha now live. Even today the valleys are only accessible by 4x4 along a tortuous road perilously carved into the shifting mountain side. But 20 years ago, following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the rise of the religious mujahedin, things began to change.
"For a long time the Kalasha lived in total isolation," says Cecil Chaudhury, General Secretary of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance. "I remember going there in the 1950s with a mountaineering expedition and they were blissfully happy living in their own distinct social system. But with the mujahedin came the missionaries and the Kalasha were always going to be an easy group to target. Now the extremists are back."
Although the fighters have largely disappeared from the Chitral region, the Kalasha are now outnumbered in their own villages by converts and outsiders. During the Soviet war in Afghanistan, the notoriously brutal Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar used the valley as his hideout and many believe he has returned to the region to continue his fight against Nato forces and the Afghan government.
After a 10-year lull, the missionaries are returning and many fear that if orthodox preachers, such as those who, until recently, ran Islamabad's Red Mosque, continue to increase their appeal, the country's last non-Muslim tribe may sink into oblivion.
No Kalasha would mean no Zonor Bibi. The mother of five sits on the front porch of her mud-walled house perched high above the swollen glacial river that roars through the heart of her village. It is harvest time and apricots lie drying in the summer sun eyed by her eight-year-old daughter Walena.
Zonor's husband has just set off on the daily three-hour walk to the grazing meadows that lie high above the village but that does not stop Zonor from welcoming outsiders with open arms, an act that would be unthinkable to her Muslim neighbours.
Deeply proud of her culture, she bursts into laughter when asked how long it takes to make the iconic cowrie shell hats that all Kalasha women wear.
"They take us months," she says. "It is important to continue our traditions so not to anger our spirits and god."
Kalasha believe that failure to practice their ancient traditions has profound religious implications and can bring disaster on the village which may explain why their dress and distinct practices have managed to survive against such odds.
The role of women in Kalash society is perhaps the most obvious aspect that separates their culture from their Muslim neighbours. Where Muslim women in the region generally remain indoors or hidden from public view, their Kalash counterparts are conspicuous in the fields working alongside their men. During the festivals that celebrate the various summer harvests and preparations for winter, it is not unusual to find Kalasha women drinking apricot wine and dancing in public with males that are neither their husband nor family. Although some marriages are arranged by families, it is perfectly acceptable for Kalasha women to choose their husbands. If they are treated unkindly during the marriage the women are expected to leave the house and take a lover.
Such comparative sexual and social freedom has led to the false but commonly held perception among many lowland Pakistanis that the tribe's women are sexually promiscuous. But while Kalasha men do seem to extend a greater level of physical and social freedom to their other halves, the lives of their women-folk are still strictly regimented.
To the Kalash the world is divided into two states, onjesta (pure, sacred) and pragata (impure, profane). Women are considered pragata, particularly during menstruation and childbirth where they are exiled to special huts away from the village. Only once they have purified themselves can they return to the tribe. Certain fields and shrines considered pure and sacred to the community are also out of bounds for the tribe's women.
Such peculiarly distinct customs have fascinated anthropologists, linguists and travellers alike for centuries, not just because the survival of the Kalasha in a sea of Islam is so unusual but because no one is sure exactly where they came from.
Their tongue, like many of the dialects spoken in the Hindu Kush range, is closest to the Dardic branch of the Indo-European languages of Central Asia. But Kalash oral history tells a different story, that they are descended from Shalak Shah, one of Alexander the Great's generals whose armies conquered as far as the Indus river before turning back towards Europe. Although blond hair and blue eyes are common amongst the Kalash, recent genetic testing has suggested that they may be an aboriginal group that are, in fact, indigenous to the area.
But how did the Kalasha manage to cling on to their distinct polytheistic pagan traditions in an area renowned for its particularly orthodox brand of Islam?
"I think they were just lucky," says Siraj Ul Mulk, a direct descendant of the Sunni Muslim royal family that once ruled the Chitral region until they ceded to Pakistan in the 1960s.
"Despite their orthodox appearance, Chitralis have always been very relaxed about the Kalasha and other minorities. The missionaries always tend to come from outside." Walking through the dusty fort that his father, the Mehtar of Chitral, once used as his summer palace, Mr Ul Mulk also offers another explanation for why the Kalasha of Pakistan remained unharmed: India's partition. "Under British partition we were lucky enough to be placed on the Pakistani side," he says. "If we'd ended up in Afghanistan I doubt the Kalasha would have survived."
Two hundred years ago Afghanistan was also home to numerous Kalasha tribes, known locally as the Red Kafirs, but they were annihilated at the end of the 19th century. After receiving a bloody nose in two disastrous conflicts with the Afghans, the British simply stood by as the founding father of modern Afghanistan, Abdur Rahman Khan, systematically forced the non-Muslim tribes in the east of the country to convert at the point of a sword. A small number of Afghan Kalasha managed to flee towards Chitral and can still be seen in the upper valleys wearing their distinctive red dresses but all Kalasha are fully aware of the threat that extremist beliefs pose to their very survival.
That the Kalash are frightened of the current climate in Pakistan is testament to how seriously they take the current threats. They survived the marauding armies of Tamerlaine, the religious zeal of Abdur Rahman and even the anti-Soviet mujahedin. But now, like many of Pakistan's religious and ethnic minorities, they once again feel unprotected and vulnerable.
"We've survived so much over the years and we're not about to give up now," says Azam Kalash. "For centuries we have lived happily alongside our Muslim neighbours but thanks to extremism our numbers are dwindling. Whether we'll survive this century I simply don't know."
In Pakistan's deeply conservative North West Frontier Province, the veil is simply a way of life. Whether in the bazaars of the capital Peshawar or high up in the myriad of Himalayan villages bordering Afghanistan, women wishing to leave their houses do so under the cover of a niqab or a billowing burqa. So important is the Islamic concept of purdah that the fort-like houses in the tribal areas usually contain separate living quarters for women and men.
Give or take the occasional advertising hoarding or glitzy film from Lahore, most men are unlikely to see an adult female face outside of their immediate family until they marry.
But in the remote Chitral region nestled high in the Hindu Kush mountain range are the last remnants of a tribe where the women walk unveiled in bright red and black dresses. Lavishly decorated with orange bead necklaces and colourful hats made from cowrie shells, they dance in public and are often free to marry and take lovers. They are the Kalasha, one of Pakistan's only remaining indigenous non-Muslim communities and a remarkable living throwback to a pre-Islamic era.
Yet according to the Kalasha themselves, their unique way of life is under attack like never before. Thanks to rising extremism among a small minority of Pakistanis and the growing appeal of populist orthodox mullahs who espouse sharia law and Taliban-like austerity, the Kalasha are increasingly in the firing line.
"We've always been called kafirs (infidels) but most people simply left us alone," says Azam Kalash, one of the few members of his 3,500-strong community who managed to go to university and now campaigns for his tribe's welfare. "Now we are deemed enemy number one. Particularly after September 11 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the missionaries and mullahs are determined to see us wiped out."
Isolated from the outside world by the remoteness of their valleys and the heavy Himalayan snows that block the mountain passes in winter, the Kalash somehow managed to survive successive waves of Muslim invaders and missionaries that pushed back the pre-Islamic Hindu, Buddhist and pagan tribes who once filled the fertile plains of the Indus valley.
Until last century, very few outsiders had ever made it as far as the three valleys of Rumbur, Bumboret and Birir where the Kalasha now live. Even today the valleys are only accessible by 4x4 along a tortuous road perilously carved into the shifting mountain side. But 20 years ago, following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the rise of the religious mujahedin, things began to change.
"For a long time the Kalasha lived in total isolation," says Cecil Chaudhury, General Secretary of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance. "I remember going there in the 1950s with a mountaineering expedition and they were blissfully happy living in their own distinct social system. But with the mujahedin came the missionaries and the Kalasha were always going to be an easy group to target. Now the extremists are back."
Although the fighters have largely disappeared from the Chitral region, the Kalasha are now outnumbered in their own villages by converts and outsiders. During the Soviet war in Afghanistan, the notoriously brutal Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar used the valley as his hideout and many believe he has returned to the region to continue his fight against Nato forces and the Afghan government.
After a 10-year lull, the missionaries are returning and many fear that if orthodox preachers, such as those who, until recently, ran Islamabad's Red Mosque, continue to increase their appeal, the country's last non-Muslim tribe may sink into oblivion.
No Kalasha would mean no Zonor Bibi. The mother of five sits on the front porch of her mud-walled house perched high above the swollen glacial river that roars through the heart of her village. It is harvest time and apricots lie drying in the summer sun eyed by her eight-year-old daughter Walena.
Zonor's husband has just set off on the daily three-hour walk to the grazing meadows that lie high above the village but that does not stop Zonor from welcoming outsiders with open arms, an act that would be unthinkable to her Muslim neighbours.
Deeply proud of her culture, she bursts into laughter when asked how long it takes to make the iconic cowrie shell hats that all Kalasha women wear.
"They take us months," she says. "It is important to continue our traditions so not to anger our spirits and god."
Kalasha believe that failure to practice their ancient traditions has profound religious implications and can bring disaster on the village which may explain why their dress and distinct practices have managed to survive against such odds.
The role of women in Kalash society is perhaps the most obvious aspect that separates their culture from their Muslim neighbours. Where Muslim women in the region generally remain indoors or hidden from public view, their Kalash counterparts are conspicuous in the fields working alongside their men. During the festivals that celebrate the various summer harvests and preparations for winter, it is not unusual to find Kalasha women drinking apricot wine and dancing in public with males that are neither their husband nor family. Although some marriages are arranged by families, it is perfectly acceptable for Kalasha women to choose their husbands. If they are treated unkindly during the marriage the women are expected to leave the house and take a lover.
Such comparative sexual and social freedom has led to the false but commonly held perception among many lowland Pakistanis that the tribe's women are sexually promiscuous. But while Kalasha men do seem to extend a greater level of physical and social freedom to their other halves, the lives of their women-folk are still strictly regimented.
To the Kalash the world is divided into two states, onjesta (pure, sacred) and pragata (impure, profane). Women are considered pragata, particularly during menstruation and childbirth where they are exiled to special huts away from the village. Only once they have purified themselves can they return to the tribe. Certain fields and shrines considered pure and sacred to the community are also out of bounds for the tribe's women.
Such peculiarly distinct customs have fascinated anthropologists, linguists and travellers alike for centuries, not just because the survival of the Kalasha in a sea of Islam is so unusual but because no one is sure exactly where they came from.
Their tongue, like many of the dialects spoken in the Hindu Kush range, is closest to the Dardic branch of the Indo-European languages of Central Asia. But Kalash oral history tells a different story, that they are descended from Shalak Shah, one of Alexander the Great's generals whose armies conquered as far as the Indus river before turning back towards Europe. Although blond hair and blue eyes are common amongst the Kalash, recent genetic testing has suggested that they may be an aboriginal group that are, in fact, indigenous to the area.
But how did the Kalasha manage to cling on to their distinct polytheistic pagan traditions in an area renowned for its particularly orthodox brand of Islam?
"I think they were just lucky," says Siraj Ul Mulk, a direct descendant of the Sunni Muslim royal family that once ruled the Chitral region until they ceded to Pakistan in the 1960s.
"Despite their orthodox appearance, Chitralis have always been very relaxed about the Kalasha and other minorities. The missionaries always tend to come from outside." Walking through the dusty fort that his father, the Mehtar of Chitral, once used as his summer palace, Mr Ul Mulk also offers another explanation for why the Kalasha of Pakistan remained unharmed: India's partition. "Under British partition we were lucky enough to be placed on the Pakistani side," he says. "If we'd ended up in Afghanistan I doubt the Kalasha would have survived."
Two hundred years ago Afghanistan was also home to numerous Kalasha tribes, known locally as the Red Kafirs, but they were annihilated at the end of the 19th century. After receiving a bloody nose in two disastrous conflicts with the Afghans, the British simply stood by as the founding father of modern Afghanistan, Abdur Rahman Khan, systematically forced the non-Muslim tribes in the east of the country to convert at the point of a sword. A small number of Afghan Kalasha managed to flee towards Chitral and can still be seen in the upper valleys wearing their distinctive red dresses but all Kalasha are fully aware of the threat that extremist beliefs pose to their very survival.
That the Kalash are frightened of the current climate in Pakistan is testament to how seriously they take the current threats. They survived the marauding armies of Tamerlaine, the religious zeal of Abdur Rahman and even the anti-Soviet mujahedin. But now, like many of Pakistan's religious and ethnic minorities, they once again feel unprotected and vulnerable.
"We've survived so much over the years and we're not about to give up now," says Azam Kalash. "For centuries we have lived happily alongside our Muslim neighbours but thanks to extremism our numbers are dwindling. Whether we'll survive this century I simply don't know."
In Pakistan's deeply conservative North West Frontier Province, the veil is simply a way of life. Whether in the bazaars of the capital Peshawar or high up in the myriad of Himalayan villages bordering Afghanistan, women wishing to leave their houses do so under the cover of a niqab or a billowing burqa. So important is the Islamic concept of purdah that the fort-like houses in the tribal areas usually contain separate living quarters for women and men.
Give or take the occasional advertising hoarding or glitzy film from Lahore, most men are unlikely to see an adult female face outside of their immediate family until they marry.
But in the remote Chitral region nestled high in the Hindu Kush mountain range are the last remnants of a tribe where the women walk unveiled in bright red and black dresses. Lavishly decorated with orange bead necklaces and colourful hats made from cowrie shells, they dance in public and are often free to marry and take lovers. They are the Kalasha, one of Pakistan's only remaining indigenous non-Muslim communities and a remarkable living throwback to a pre-Islamic era.
Yet according to the Kalasha themselves, their unique way of life is under attack like never before. Thanks to rising extremism among a small minority of Pakistanis and the growing appeal of populist orthodox mullahs who espouse sharia law and Taliban-like austerity, the Kalasha are increasingly in the firing line.
"We've always been called kafirs (infidels) but most people simply left us alone," says Azam Kalash, one of the few members of his 3,500-strong community who managed to go to university and now campaigns for his tribe's welfare. "Now we are deemed enemy number one. Particularly after September 11 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the missionaries and mullahs are determined to see us wiped out."
Isolated from the outside world by the remoteness of their valleys and the heavy Himalayan snows that block the mountain passes in winter, the Kalash somehow managed to survive successive waves of Muslim invaders and missionaries that pushed back the pre-Islamic Hindu, Buddhist and pagan tribes who once filled the fertile plains of the Indus valley.
Until last century, very few outsiders had ever made it as far as the three valleys of Rumbur, Bumboret and Birir where the Kalasha now live. Even today the valleys are only accessible by 4x4 along a tortuous road perilously carved into the shifting mountain side. But 20 years ago, following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the rise of the religious mujahedin, things began to change.
"For a long time the Kalasha lived in total isolation," says Cecil Chaudhury, General Secretary of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance. "I remember going there in the 1950s with a mountaineering expedition and they were blissfully happy living in their own distinct social system. But with the mujahedin came the missionaries and the Kalasha were always going to be an easy group to target. Now the extremists are back."
Although the fighters have largely disappeared from the Chitral region, the Kalasha are now outnumbered in their own villages by converts and outsiders. During the Soviet war in Afghanistan, the notoriously brutal Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar used the valley as his hideout and many believe he has returned to the region to continue his fight against Nato forces and the Afghan government.
After a 10-year lull, the missionaries are returning and many fear that if orthodox preachers, such as those who, until recently, ran Islamabad's Red Mosque, continue to increase their appeal, the country's last non-Muslim tribe may sink into oblivion.
No Kalasha would mean no Zonor Bibi. The mother of five sits on the front porch of her mud-walled house perched high above the swollen glacial river that roars through the heart of her village. It is harvest time and apricots lie drying in the summer sun eyed by her eight-year-old daughter Walena.
Zonor's husband has just set off on the daily three-hour walk to the grazing meadows that lie high above the village but that does not stop Zonor from welcoming outsiders with open arms, an act that would be unthinkable to her Muslim neighbours.
Deeply proud of her culture, she bursts into laughter when asked how long it takes to make the iconic cowrie shell hats that all Kalasha women wear.
"They take us months," she says. "It is important to continue our traditions so not to anger our spirits and god."
Kalasha believe that failure to practice their ancient traditions has profound religious implications and can bring disaster on the village which may explain why their dress and distinct practices have managed to survive against such odds.
The role of women in Kalash society is perhaps the most obvious aspect that separates their culture from their Muslim neighbours. Where Muslim women in the region generally remain indoors or hidden from public view, their Kalash counterparts are conspicuous in the fields working alongside their men. During the festivals that celebrate the various summer harvests and preparations for winter, it is not unusual to find Kalasha women drinking apricot wine and dancing in public with males that are neither their husband nor family. Although some marriages are arranged by families, it is perfectly acceptable for Kalasha women to choose their husbands. If they are treated unkindly during the marriage the women are expected to leave the house and take a lover.
Such comparative sexual and social freedom has led to the false but commonly held perception among many lowland Pakistanis that the tribe's women are sexually promiscuous. But while Kalasha men do seem to extend a greater level of physical and social freedom to their other halves, the lives of their women-folk are still strictly regimented.
To the Kalash the world is divided into two states, onjesta (pure, sacred) and pragata (impure, profane). Women are considered pragata, particularly during menstruation and childbirth where they are exiled to special huts away from the village. Only once they have purified themselves can they return to the tribe. Certain fields and shrines considered pure and sacred to the community are also out of bounds for the tribe's women.
Such peculiarly distinct customs have fascinated anthropologists, linguists and travellers alike for centuries, not just because the survival of the Kalasha in a sea of Islam is so unusual but because no one is sure exactly where they came from.
Their tongue, like many of the dialects spoken in the Hindu Kush range, is closest to the Dardic branch of the Indo-European languages of Central Asia. But Kalash oral history tells a different story, that they are descended from Shalak Shah, one of Alexander the Great's generals whose armies conquered as far as the Indus river before turning back towards Europe. Although blond hair and blue eyes are common amongst the Kalash, recent genetic testing has suggested that they may be an aboriginal group that are, in fact, indigenous to the area.
But how did the Kalasha manage to cling on to their distinct polytheistic pagan traditions in an area renowned for its particularly orthodox brand of Islam?
"I think they were just lucky," says Siraj Ul Mulk, a direct descendant of the Sunni Muslim royal family that once ruled the Chitral region until they ceded to Pakistan in the 1960s.
"Despite their orthodox appearance, Chitralis have always been very relaxed about the Kalasha and other minorities. The missionaries always tend to come from outside." Walking through the dusty fort that his father, the Mehtar of Chitral, once used as his summer palace, Mr Ul Mulk also offers another explanation for why the Kalasha of Pakistan remained unharmed: India's partition. "Under British partition we were lucky enough to be placed on the Pakistani side," he says. "If we'd ended up in Afghanistan I doubt the Kalasha would have survived."
Two hundred years ago Afghanistan was also home to numerous Kalasha tribes, known locally as the Red Kafirs, but they were annihilated at the end of the 19th century. After receiving a bloody nose in two disastrous conflicts with the Afghans, the British simply stood by as the founding father of modern Afghanistan, Abdur Rahman Khan, systematically forced the non-Muslim tribes in the east of the country to convert at the point of a sword. A small number of Afghan Kalasha managed to flee towards Chitral and can still be seen in the upper valleys wearing their distinctive red dresses but all Kalasha are fully aware of the threat that extremist beliefs pose to their very survival.
That the Kalash are frightened of the current climate in Pakistan is testament to how seriously they take the current threats. They survived the marauding armies of Tamerlaine, the religious zeal of Abdur Rahman and even the anti-Soviet mujahedin. But now, like many of Pakistan's religious and ethnic minorities, they once again feel unprotected and vulnerable.
"We've survived so much over the years and we're not about to give up now," says Azam Kalash. "For centuries we have lived happily alongside our Muslim neighbours but thanks to extremism our numbers are dwindling. Whether we'll survive this century I simply don't know."

 

Kalash girl


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
When I ran across these jaw-droppingly striking pictures, I couldn't believe I'd never heard of the Kalash Tribe — and I wanted to rectify that immediately. The tribe lives nestled in the North-Western Province of Pakistan. Protected by the Hindu Kush mountain range lives this culture of people Muslims call Kafirs or "infidels".

Among the region known as Kafiristan lies the town of Brir, considered one of the last remaining settlements of the Kalash — or "wearers of black." Its inhabitants consider themselves the direct descendants of Alexander the Great. The 3,500 souls are the last enclave of pagan tribespeople.

Incredibly, the Kalash have not changed much over the centuries. They make their own wine, elevate animals to religious status and believe in mountaintop fairies. To find out more about the tribe, read more.
Their gods, like those of the ancient Greeks, are split up into male and female deities and they claim they once belonged to highly literate culture until their books were burned by barbarian tribes. Shown in these pictures celebrating their annual Spring festival, the Kalash still maintain a fertility rite where a teenage boy is sent alone into the surrounding woods for a year and when he returns is treated to a feast and the mating rites to as many of the Kalash women he chooses.
They struggle to preserve their identity from encroaching Islamic rule, deforestation, and entrepreneurs who take advantage of their simple natures — as well as the assault of the Justin Timberlake/cell phone/jeans avalanche of the modern world. Here's to hoping they resist — I'm so taken with the fact that real diversity still exists in our ever-shrinking world.
Have you heard of the Kalash? Have you ever seen such beautiful pictures? Is it possible to maintain an untouched culture in our modern age?
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[chottala.com] Islamic Republic of Pakistan: A sex industry has begun to boom

 
Surprise! surprise! Didn't anyone ever hear about "the oldest profession"?
 
 
SEX IN DEPTH: In Pakistan, a sex industry has begun to boom- Report
 
SEX IN DEPTH
In Pakistan, a dark trade comes to light

By William Sparrow
 

BANGKOK - Prostitution in the Islamic nation of Pakistan, once relegated to dark alleys and small red-light districts, is now seeping into many neighborhoods of country's urban centers. Reports indicate that since the period of civilian rule ended in 1977, times have changed and now the sex industry is bustling.

Early military governments and religious groups sought to reform areas like the famous "Taxali Gate" district of Lahore by displacing prostitutes and their families in an effort to "reinvent" the neighborhood.

While displacing the prostitutes might have temporarily made the once small red-light district a better neighborhood for a time, it did little to stop the now dispersed prostitutes from plying their trade. Reforming a neighborhood, instead of offering education and alternative opportunities, appears to be at the core of early failures to curb the nascent sex industry. This mistake would become a prophetic error as now the tendrils of the sex trade have become omnipresent in cities like Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Karachi and Lahore, not to mention towns, villages and rural outposts.

An aid worker for an Islamabad-based non-governmental organization (NGO) recently related a story: quickly after his arrival in the capital, he realized the house next to his own was a Chinese brothel. The Chinese ability to "franchise" the commercial sex industry by providing down-trodden Chinese women throughout Asia, North America and Europe would be admirable in a business sense if it were not for the atrocities - human trafficking, sexual slavery and exploitation - which cloud its practice.

Chinese bordellos, often operating as "massage parlors" or beauty salons, are across Pakistan, even spread even to war-torn and restive locations such as the Afghan capital Kabul. Chinese in the sex industry have developed a cunning ability to recognize areas where the demand for sex far outstrips the supply.

The NGO worker said that after months of living adjacent to the brothel things were shaken up - literally. One evening a drunk Pakistani drove his car into the brothel. Later the driver told authorities the ramming was a protest by a devout Muslim against the debauchery of the house and its inhabitants. The NGO worker, however, had seen the same car parked peacefully outside the house the night before.

The local sex industry comprised of Pakistani prostitutes has also grown in recent years. One can easily find videos on YouTube that show unabashed red-light areas of Lahore. The videos display house after house with colorfully lit entranceways always with a mamasan and at least one Pakistani woman in traditional dress. The women are available for in-house services for as little as 400 rupees (US$6) to take-away prices ranging 1,000 to 2,000 rupees. These districts are mostly for locals, but foreigners can indulge at higher prices.

Foreigners in Pakistan have no trouble finding companionship and may receive rates similar to locals in downtrodden districts. More upscale areas like Lahore's Heera Mundi or "Diamond Market", cater to well-heeled locals and foreigners. At these places prettier, younger girls push their services for 5,000 to 10,000 rupees for an all-night visit, and the most exceptional can command 20,000 to 40,000 rupees for just short time.

Rumors abound online that female TV stars and actresses can be hired for sex. "You can get film stars for 50,000 to 100,000 rupees but you need good contacts for that," one blogger wrote after a trip to Lahore.

"The Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi sex scenes are totally changing and it's easier and easier to get a girl for [sex]," another blogger wrote. "Most of the hotels provide you the girls upon request." Bloggers also reported that it is easy to find girls prowling the streets after 6 pm, and foreigners can find young women hanging out near Western franchises like McDonald's and KFC. Such women, the bloggers claim, can lead the customer to a nearby short-time accommodation.

Short-time hotels offering hourly rates can be found all over major cities, underscoring the profits being reaped by the sex industry.

Pakistan can also accommodate the gay community with prostitution. Unfortunately, this has also given rise to child prostitution.

A Pakistani blogger wrote, "We [ethnic] Pathans are very fond of boys. [In Pakistan] the wives are only [had sex with] once or twice a year. There are lot of gay brothels in Peshawar - the famous among them is at Ramdas Bazaar. [One can] go to any Afghan restaurant and find young waiters selling sex."

As in many societies, access to technology, the Internet and mobile phones has only facilitated the sex trade in Pakistan. "Matchmaking" websites serve the male clientele, while providing marketing for prostitutes.

The root causes of prostitution in Pakistan are poverty and a dearth of opportunities. Widows find themselves on the streets with mouths to feed, and for many prostitution offers a quick fix. A local Pakistani prostitute can earn 2,000 to 3,000 rupees per day compared to the average monthly income of 2,500 rupees.

Forced prostitution is not rare. Women in hard times are often exploited and pushed into prostitution. Sandra (not her real name), said that after the death of her father she was left alone; friends and relatives deserted her after the grieving period. As a middle-class, educated woman she was surprised to find herself forced into prostitution from her office job.

"My boss initially spoiled me at first," she told Khaleej Times. "[But] now I am in [the sex industry]." Sandra first thought her boss was being gracious, but quickly learned he was grooming her for sex for his own pleasure, and then acting as her pimp.

Many of Pakistan's contemporary sexual mores may have evolved from traditional practices. For example, the polygamy permitted in Muslim society stemmed from the need for larger family units, the better to support familial ties and tend for widows. Until such ancient customs are updated, women such as Sandra will continue to be bought and sold.

It's time for Pakistan to admit that prostitution is doing a roaring trade within its borders, and will continue to prosper until it is addressed in a modern manner. Let us hope that the people and government of this proud Muslim country will stop pretending the problem simply isn't there.

William Sparrow has been an occasional contributor to Asia Times Online and now joins Asia Times Online with a weekly column. Sparrow is editor in chief of Asian Sex Gazette and has reported on sex in Asia for over five years. To contact him send question or comments to Letters@....

--
Whiz News provides news, views and interesting articles from various sources and all perspectives.
 
Source:
 
Also visit:
 
A female sex-worker performing as a dancing girl to avert from the illegalities of prostitution at the red-light district of Hira Mandi in Lahore.
A female sex-worker performing as a dancing girl to avert from the illegalities of prostitution at the red-light district of Hira Mandi in Lahore.
Prostitution in Pakistan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
British explorer Richard Francis Burton, who visited the Sindh region long before the British conquest, documented a brothel of boy prostitutes in Karachi. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_in_Pakistan - 59k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
 
 
Recall 22-year-old Jakia Khatoon who had a traumatic journey from her home in Tripura to Pakistani brothels and Karachi jails.
From Karachi's brothels and jails, Jakia has risen to become a respected tailor in her village
 
 
 
 
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[chottala.com] U N I T Y N U N I T Y N U N I T Y vs "Dalal of India or a Gondo Murkho" .

 
 
Mr. Faruque Alamgir
 
I applaude your comment:
 
"One more important thing is that Bangladeshis by and large are very secular and polite in nature and they all through rejected any attempt to be ruled under any type of fanticism either it is religious or political ideology. The cessation from Fakistan and rejection of the religious fanatics of any religion. "
 
Hope, our friend Mr. Md. Mostafa Kamal has enough intellect to understand this. But be careful, sooner
or later he may start calling you a "Dalal of India or a  Gondo Murkho" .
 
In the mean time, I just wonder how calling others "Dalal of india" or  "Gondo Murkho" will help
the much sought national UNITY ?
 
Thanks
 
Syed Aslam
 
Ref:
13279 Re: Now they want to accuse us as Communal
   by Md. Mostafa Kamal.
 

 
 
 
 On 5/19/08, Faruque Alamgir <faruquealamgir@yahoo.com> wrote:

Dear Musfique and Enayet Hossain

Both of you are very much correct in identifying the main issue that is haunting the poor Bangladesh for last 37 years  " UNITY".

The call of the day is the "UNITY" . It appears that the nation has lost its sense of direction as well as goal as set by the Ocean of Blood of the Martyrs.

We have not only deviated from that path rather we have treacherously side tracked and side lined the original aim of the "Mohan Mukti Judhdha" and
trapped it into one
party's property.

The most coveted unity has been shattered and that divided the country into many segments and mainly into the  the so-called "Chetona" and anti "Chetona" . In fact those who thronged in the  fold of Chetona  are none but pro indi  quislings and RAW implanted agents in Bangladesh with "Sudur Proshari noksha " to undo the stability of Bangladesh and make  it a "Korod Rajjya"of indi.

The rulers from day one have made people fools to make them believe that it was only they have the eternal right to rule "Bongsho Poromporai" and by thus created a "jonjal Bad" named "MUJIB BAD". This so called "Bad" ferried by the characterless  Sharmeo jiibs as the only life saving drug for the Bangladesh  which has ingredients imported from their mentors India. Khondker Illyus(a chamcha writer) wrote a 1000(???) pages treatise explaining what is this bloody Mujib Bad is ?? Why it is termed bloody by then saner section of the populace since it caused many many thousands of litres of blood of youth spilled who opposed the useless "Bad" and the tyrannical ruler and thy family.

So, from day one none thought or took any action to unify the country to have a right sense of direction to go ahead instead willfully we are forced to have back steps. The succeeding governments after the obvious revolt in 1975 miserably failed to unify the country and the country remained divided rather fragmented into many more fractions. This disunity has caused serious set back for the budding nation and helped the detractors and enemies from within and outside to reap benefit.
 

One more important thing is that Bangladeshis by and large are very secular and polite in nature and they all through rejected any attempt to be ruled under any type of fanticism either it is religious or political ideology. The cessation from Fakistan and rejection of the religious fanatics of any religion. So, if we are successful in estabilishing democracy in truest sense of the meaning the fanatics will automatically vanish from the national arena.
Many more lines can be added on the haunted issue of the nation but we now need the most coveted unity. We now should think what was not done and what is to be done to bring the derailed nation back on the track.

To my opinion the following are the immediate action to be taken into consideration:

1. The first and foremost is that we must shun our politics of division in the name of so-called "Chetona and Razakar".
 
2. There must be respect and tolerance to the opposing views as practiced by democracy.
The real democracy preachers and practicers must keep in mind the sayings of President Jefferson of USA while opposing the opposing compeers he underscored that " I will shed my blood to uphold your views though I am not in agreement with the same". This is the real and decent democracy. But our ones is nothing but intolerant and bestial like.
  
3. To make full stop to "Bekti Puja" and ask the nation to bow down to anyone.

4. The nation does not owe to any one singly or family wise or party wise for it's independence. So, we have to conclude unanimously that 99% of the then(1971) population  were responsible either directly or indirectly for the "Shadhinota" . The 1% Janwar razakar opposed it.

5.There has to be new and energetic leadership to run our show as we have been misled and misruled by both oldies dynastic and party politics resulting in the gory present situation that has gripped the whole nation.

6. Let us follow the example of other countries by allowing all segments to contribute to the nation building as like the Germans allowed the Nazis to be in the mainstream and work for reconstruction and for that reason they have not only recovered but within very short time became strongest economy of EU.

7. Time has not run out to try the Janwar Razakars and the war criminals as well their connivers with specific charges. Let all the power aspiring political parties to make a open promise to the people that if they are voted to power they will  initiate and finish the trial of the most hated janwars. This is very much required to help the nation to mend its fragments.

8. All political parties must get rid of their "Tainted"   leaders and leaders over 50 years and make place for the youth to steer the party and the politics. It is expected that the new and energetic leaders will be able to clean the "Janjal" left by the useless and criminal oldies.

9. The people at large must be vigilant about the "Chatukars and 0 small parties" Dalal(menon/ inu/m.i.selim/ borrua/n. islom/koraishi etc) who are the silent killers of democracy. No party should be allowed to remain a party unless it has acquired 10 - 15% of the popular vote and have less than 5 seats in the Sangshad.

I agree totally with the following para (high lighted) of Musfique as the "appropriate" one for the present day need of the nation.

Let us hope that good sense will prevail on the nation to choose it's dignified future to glow as a vibrant nation and help fly the  " LAL  SABUJ  PATAKA" with right dignity.
Faruque Alamgir


Musfique Prodhan <chena_kew@yahoo. com>
wrote:
Dear Enayet Hossain
thank you for your excellent observation. You have touched the right nerve about the problem that exists. As you have rightly pointed out that, Bangladesh cannot afford to be ruled by either Islamic fanatics or ultra fundamentalist "seculars" ( read dada following Islamophoebics) . Unfortunately it is the nationalists who are divided into many factions, whereas the "seculars" are strongly united. ( There are divission among hardliner Islamic parties too).
The practice of icon worshipping and family dynasty is the biggest chalenge to stablish any kind of unity among the nationalists. Two major nationalists parties ( BNP & JP) are orbitting around Khaleda Zia and H M Ershad, which have given them the power to act as autocrats
 
And thus diminishing any possibility for dynamic young leadrship to emerge in our politcal arena. Instead we observe the existance of a bunch of old, non charismatic, vissionless, non energetic plodders whose only duty is to continue the failed political practice of icon worshipping. 
Due to the event of 1/11, Bangladesh is facing the critical most time in her history. A strong and powerfull patriotic nationalist movement in all fronts,  can only secure the soveriegnity of Bangladesh and her citizens.
Musfique. 
  
Enayet Hossain <enayeth111@yahoo. com> wrote:
It is not understood why nationalist minded leaders do
not sit together to discuss the issues of unity. If
they perform like puppets of so-called shahzada
sonarbangla secular group will replace them. However,
people will not tolerate the secular group for a
longer period and, once time will come, Islamic
fanatic group will join with people to fight against
and remove the secular rulers.

It is difficult in Bangladesh to become either
religious fanatic or anti-religious. It is also
difficult if not democratic culture is followed within
a party, which intends to rule the country. If
existing 'howcow' leaders do not learn democracy
through culture, new leadership will come out from the
military academy inevitably to teach democracy and
fill the gap and people will give them upper hand.

Enayet

--- Salahuddin Ayubi <s_ayubi786@yahoo. com> wrote:

 
It is the Shahzada who is the root of all evil. the
shazada was given a role far bigger than his boots and
he made a complete mess of it. It is he who made th
luggage smuggler a minister. Present army chief was
his selection, removal of badrudozza was his doing.
All three actions have back fored very badly. When
there was time no one raised any voice against the
shahzada.

Salahuddin Ayubi
--- On Wed, 5/14/08, Enayet Hossain
<enayeth111@yahoo. com> wrote:

From: Enayet Hossain <enayeth111@yahoo. com>
Subject: [notun_bangladesh] Unity is first
To: notun_bangladesh@ yahoogroups. com
Date: Wednesday, May 14, 2008, 10:52 AM

Political leaders' motto should be: Unity is first -
leadership is next.

It is time to unite the nation in the name of
Bangladeshi nationalism, not that it should be under
the leadership of Begum Khaleda. Main reason of her
capturing power was that her opponents were
anti-Bangladeshi- nationalism. Her associates misused
the chances, for which she cannot avoid the blame of
misrule and lack of transparency.

However, there is no time to waste any more. If the
nation fails to plant a better leadership, the country
will fail to cement its foundation to command over
nationalism in the long run. If Bangladeshi
nationalism looses its root, some cynical leaders
would capture the ground and destabilize the country.

At this moment duty of people oriented leaders would
be to become sincere and unite with one slogan â€"
Bangladeshi nationalism. Selection of leadership would
be on the basis of consensus. If they run after power
ignoring interest of the country they would never be
able to capture power, rather would be culminated
soon. A concrete thought should work quickly.

MH Enayet
 

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