MUKTHI SHENADHER MILON MELA AT KALKINI

Freedom Fighter Abdul Mannan Talukdar in The Victory Day 2009, upazila administration celebrated the freedom fighters at Syed Abul Hossain University College ground.

My field commander Md.Sikim Ali, Subedhar Naek (Ex Military gunner in the middle) The Victory Day 2009, upazila administration celebrated the freedom fighters at Syed Abul Hossain University College ground.

I embraced  Kalkini Thana Commander Md. Mojibur Rahman & Freedom Fighter Abdul Mannan Talukdar in The Victory Day 2009, upazila administration celebrated the freedom fighters at Syed Abul Hossain University College ground.

All the Freedom Fighters with the old 3/3 rifles in The Victory Day 2009, upazila administration celebrated the freedom fighters on the victory day 2009 at syed abul hossain university college ground.

71 er hathiar gorje utthuk ar ekbar

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Me & my best friend Freedom Fighter Abdul Mannan Talukdar in The Victory Day 2009, upazila administration celebrated the freedom fighters on the victory day 2009 at syed abul hossain university college ground.

 Freedom Fighter Akon Mohamed Mosharraf Hossain & Abdul Mannan Talukdar in The Victory Day 2009, upazila administration celebrated the freedom fighters on the victory day 2009 at syed abul hossain university college ground.

The Backgound of 25th March Midnight Genocide

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Operation Searchlight : The Background of 25th March Genocide Posted by xanthis on March 25, 2008 The night of massacre, 25th March 1971, was a complete military operation by Pakistan Army, officially named Operation Searchlight. The idea of this operation came to some of senior Generals after massive demonstration of East Pakistanis on 21st February 1971. This is one of very few military operations in post World War II history which ultimately had been planned against civilians, just to kill a smart percentage of them and to scare survivors. The concept of Operation Searchlight was inspired by the My Lai massacre that U.S. Army did in Vietnam. The plan was drawn up in March 1971 by Maj.Gen. Khadim Hussain Raza and Maj.Gen. Rao Farman Ali, as a result of a meeting between Pakistani army staff on the 22nd of February. Senior Pakistani officers in East Pakistan who were unwilling to support any military attack on civilians, Lt.Gen. Shahabzada Yakub Khan, GOC East Pakistan, and the governor Vice Adm. Ahsan, were relieved of their duties. As a replacement of these two officials, Lt.Gen. Tikka Khan was made both the Governor and GOC of East Pakistan. On March 17, Gen. Khadim Hussain Raza was given the go ahead to plan for the crackdown via telephone by Gen. Hamid, COS Pakistan Army. On the morning of March 18, Gen. Raza and Maj.Gen. Rao Farman Ali put the details to paper at the GOC’s office at Dhaka cantonment. The plan was written on a light blue office pad with a lead pencil by Gen. Farman containing sixteen paragraphs spread over five pages. Gen. Farman wrote out the operational premises and conditions for success, while Gen. Khadim dealt with the distribution of forces and particular tasks of the individual brigades and other units. Planners took this to consideration that the Bengali officers and other military or para-military units will revolt at the onset of operations. To minimize that risk, it was suggested that all Bengali armed units like Police, Riffles (EPR) should be disarmed and the political leadership arrested during their meeting with the President, Gen. Yahya Khan. No operational reserves were earmarked. Though the draft asked to disarm Police, EPR units, thousands of unarmed Police men & EPR troops were massacred inside Dhaka’s Police lines at Rajarbag & EPR Headquarters at Pilkhana. <!–[if gte vml 1]> <![endif]–><!–[if !vml]–>The handwritten plan was read out to Gen. Hamid and Lt.Gen. Tikka Khan on the 20th of March at the flag staff house. Gen. Hamid objected to the immediate disarming of regular army Bengali units but approved the disarming of EPR, armed police and other para-military formations. In the initial draft of the massacre plan, Pakistan’s genius Generals like Gen. Farman suggested that Awami League leaders could be arrested amid the ongoing dialogue with Gen. Yahya, but another genius Yahya Khan refused it, proved he is at least wiser than Gen. Farman . After frequent verification & scrutiny, the amended plan was approved and the operational plan was distributed to various area commanders on the 24th and the 25 March daytime, when a group of Pakistani Generals, accompanied by Gen. Hamid, Gen. Mittha, the QMG, and Col. Saadullah, PSO, visited the major garrisons via helicopter and personally briefed the various garrison commanders or senior West Pakistani officers on the operation. Gen. Mittha was the chief of the Special Services Group (SSG Commandos). SSG was given the vital role of the most dramatic chapter of total plan, the arrest of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Maj.Gen. Qamar Ali Mirza, and Brig.Gen. Harrison later arrived from West Pakistan to assist Gen. Mittha for arranging the logistical details, mainly because the non cooperation program by Awami League was causing immense impact including hampering food supplies to the military. Secrecy was maintained at extreme strictness, only a few junior commissioned officers learned about the plan beforehand on a need to know basis. Some Bengali officers had become suspicious of the all West Pakistani officer briefings. Later it showed that some of Bengali officers initiated revolts as a confused advance from their suspicions. The Operation started on the night of 25 March, 1971 in Dhaka, and other garrisons were to be alerted via phone about their zero hour to start their operations. Gen. Farman Ali commanded the forces in Dhaka, while the rest of the province was commanded by Gen. Khadim himself. Lt.Gen. Tikka Khan and his staff were present in the 31st field command center, to supervise and support the command staff of the 14th division inside Dhaka Cantonment. To the time of leaving Dhaka for Karachi, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto accompanied Gen. Tikka Khan inside the cantonment. While observing the massacre under name of ‘Operation Searchlight’, Zulfikar Ali at a moment showed interest to be taken with a military unit see what is happening in the city and asked for Gen. Tikka’s consent. Gen. Tikka refused him showing no reason.

Tumi আমাদের Pitha

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January 11, 2010 Posted by muktimusician | 1 | | N

why Bangladesh?

WHY BANGLADESH? The Bengalis’ demand for independence had been forced upon the people of East Pakistan by the savage and atrocious action of the West Pakistani army government. What the Bengalis had really been wanting were regional autonomy and social and economic justice. Recent events have conclusively proved that there was no plan for secession and there was no armed preparation on the part of the Bengalis to achieve that. They were confidently expecting a good result from President Yahya Khan’s democratic gesture. But the West Pakistani army, through its systematic butchery of unarmed civilians, forced the Bengalis to take the ultimate decision-to become a completely independent sovereign state. A clear cut line has been drawn decisively, separating the Bengali speaking people of the East and the people of West Pakistan. The decision was inevitable because of the continuous exploitation of the East by the West. To the world it naturally did not come as a surprise. On the other hand many voices had been predicting it for a long time. Besides religion, there was nothing common between these two people. Ethnically, culturally, in their thought, language, way of life-in everyway they were two nations. There was no attempt towards reconciliation but only economic exploitation and social injustice. East Pakistan existed only for the benefit of the West Pakistani capitalist merchants, industrialists and contractors, for the militarists and civil bureaucrats. For the last 24 years the Pakistan Government, manned mostly by West Pakistanis, dominated the state policy aiming to develop the barren deserts of West Pakistan by a deliberate policy which impoverished East Pakistan. Cleverly enough, Pakistan Government tried its best not to reveal the figures separately to show the gross disparity. Nevertheless, from available figures, mostly official, the truth could not be kept concealed. AVERAGE ANNUAL BUDGET Total Revenue Rs. 6,000 million W.P. E.P. Expenditure on Defence Total 60% 50% 10 % Civil Expenditure Total 40 % 25% 15% While E.P. provides 60% of the total revenue, it receives only about 25% for its expenditure and West Pakistan providing 40% in the central exchequer receives 75% of the remaining. FOREIGN TRADE & EXCHANGE EARNINGS During 10 year period 1958-68 West Pakistan East PakistanExport Import Export Import£820 m £2,315 m £1,153 m £1,000 m 41% 70 % 59% 30% In foreign trade East Pakistan exports constitute 59 % of the total but imports only 30% of the imports which consists of consumer goods and food, very little is left for development projects. During the same period West Pakistan earned 41 % of the total foreign exchange and was allowed 70% of the foreign exchange earnings. Major portion of this was spent on various development projects in West Pakistan. INTER ZONAL TRADE 1964-1969 Exports from West to East Pakistan Rs. 5,292 million Exports from East to West Pakistan Rs. 3,174 million This is an example of continuous drain of East Pakistani capital to West Pakistan. It has been estimated that total transfer of resources from East Pakistan to West Pakistan since 1947 had been £3,000 million. Let us look at typical Export items for the year 1964-65: Rs. Jute and jute products (all from East Pakistan): 124,580 m Cotton & cotton manufactures (many from W.P.): 51,880 m Hides & Skins (mainly from East Pakistan): 6,130 m Tea (all from East Pakistan): 1,000 m Wool (all from West Pakistan): 7,300 m Others (East & West together): 56,200 m PERCENTAGE OF ALLOCATION OF FUNDS FOR DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS Item West Pakistan East Pakistan Foreign Exchange for various developments: 80 % 20% Foreign Aid (excluding U.S. AID): 96% 4% U.S. Aid: 66% 34% Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation: 58% 42% Pakistan Industrial Credit & Investment Corporation: 80% 20% Industrial Development Bank: 76% 24% House Building: 88% 12% ———- ——— 77 % 23% Above figures are clearly indicative for the tremendous industrial growth in West Pakistan which received 77% of the total development expenditure for its 40% of the total population. FOREIGN AID TO PAKISTAN Chinese loan to Pakistan U.S. $ 60 m in 1965 mostly spent in West Pakistan including a Heavy Machinery Complex costing U.S. $ 9 m, but only U.S. $ 125,000 for East Pakistan Water & Power Development. But the loan is to be repaid by exporting jute and jute products. World Bank credits in 1954 $ 14 m and in 1965 $ 15 m for Sui Gas Project in West Pakistan. Same source supplied $ 17 m in 1964 for Karachi Port Deve­lopment and $ 30 m to Pakistan Investment and Credit Corporation to finance mostly projects in West Pakistan. International Development Association (U.N. Agency) gave a credit of $ 8.5 m to West Pakistan and $ 4.5 m to East Pakistan in 1964 for educational projects. Russian Aid of £ 11 m to £ 18 m was given to West Pakistan in 1965 for oil prospecting. U.K. Loan during the period 1947-1965 amounted to £ 64 m has been spent mostly in West Pakistan. U.S. Aid of $ 3.6 billion-$ 2.7 billion spent for Mangla Dam & Tarbela Dam in West Pakistan and only $ 0.9 billion for control of flood in East Pakistan. These loans no doubt converted the barren lands of West Pakistan into fertile ones whereas very little was done to tackle effectively the flood problem of East Pakistan-the most fertile land in the world. The people of East Pakistan had been allowed to suffer from recurring cyclones and flood disasters since 1953. COMPARATIVE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT West Pakistan East Pakistan Established INDUSTRIAL in both wings 1947-48 1966-67 1947-48 1966-67 Cot-.on Textile production in million yds 350 6,836 508 550 1,853% increase 8.26% increase Sugar production in ‘ 000 tons 10 304 25 112 2,940 % increase 348 % increase Cement production in ‘000 tons 305 1,934 46 75 534% increase 63 % increase Above tables clearly show how the established industries in East Pakistan had been allowed to grow extremely slowly in comparison with the extremely fast growing industries in the West. With the influx of capitalists from Bombay the picture began to change rapidly. In the field of new industries, the percentage of investments in West and East Pakistan is roughly 75% and 25% respectively. Moreover, East Pakistani industries are mainly owned and controlled by the West Pakistanis whose main interest is to transfer the profits to West Pakistan instead of helping East Pakistan’s prosperity. It has been calculated that since 1947 the real transfer of resources from East to West has been to the tune of £ 3,000 million. There was no state control over private investment and as such the flow had been completely unchecked. Steel-the basic item required for any development-is now being produced in two mills in West & East Pakistan. Funds provided for these mills were £ 56 million for West Pakistan and £ 11 million for East Pakistan. AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT West Pakistan East Pakistan Fertiliser distribution during 1964-68, in ‘ 000 nutrient tons 739 66 % 371 33% Improved seed distribution during 1964-69, in ‘ 000 tons 342 89 % 40 11 % 1951-52 1966-67 1951-52 1966-67 Increase in fish production in ‘ 000 mts 56 153 175 259 273 % increase 48 % increase Distribution of tractors Wheel type (numbers) 20,069 1,825 Other large (numbers) 2,000 350 91% 9% Needless to mention that the agricultural land in East Pakistan has more acreage and most lands produce 2 to 3 crops a year, whereas in the West the acreage is less and the productivity per acre is much smaller. One fails to understand the logic in these state of affairs. In agriculture finance, the Pakistan Agricultural Development Bank has lent over Rs. 600 million, but most of these went to West Pakistani farmers. Most of the large irrigation projects have been treated as federal projects and financed by the Central Government and has been completed in West Pakistan. This was a deliberate attempt to keep the 75 million Bengalis at starvation level. In the federal army of 500,000 only 20,000 are Bengalis. Those 480,000 West Pakistanis spend their income in the West which indirectly help the economy of that part of the country. Economic experts have evidence that in 1959 an average East Pakistani was 20% worse off than another in the West. In 1968, he was 40% worse off than his brother in Islam in West Pakistan. POWER DEVELOPMENT Another criterion to measure progress is the consumption of electric power per head of the population. In Pakistan growth in power production has grown considerably. West Pakistan generates by hydel, thermal and other means a total of 838,000 KW (83% of the total) whereas East Pakistan generates 179,500 KW (17% of the total). A great share of foreign aid had been spent on various power development projects. Two giant irrigation and power development projects in Indus Basin cost $ 1800 million and WAPDA spent Rs. 1453 m in 5 years 1959-64. EDUCATION: Progress in 20 years Area West Pakistan East Pakistan 1947-48 1968-69 1947-48 1968-69 Primary Schools 8,413 39,418 29,663 28,308 Number increase Number decreases in spite 4 times of increased children 1947-48 1965-66 1947-48 1965-66 Secondary Schools 2,598 4,472 3,481 3,964 176% 114% increase increase 1947-48 1968-69 1947-48 1968-69 Colleges-various Types 40 271 50 162 675% 320% increase increase Medical/Engineering/ Agricultural colleges 4 17 3 9 425% 300% increase increase Universities 2 1 (654 scholars) (1620 scholars) 6 4 (18.708 scholars) (8,831 scholars) Increase in scholars 30 times 5 times It is interesting to note that although the school going population increased in East Pakistan the number of schools decreased through deliberate policy of neglect, whereas during the same period the Pakistan government spent vast sums of money and increased the number of schools in West Pakistan by 4} times. Was not that a systematic plan for giving the West Pakistani children a better academic start so that their future career was firmly assured? The natural result was the vast increase in the number of colleges of all kinds and universities. This is a clear evidence of Government policy aiming at keeping the East Pakistani children intellectually inferior by not providing the facilities they deserve. The end product that we see is in the number of University scholars. In East Pakistan, which had double the number of scholars in 1947, the number only increased by five times in 20 years and in West Pakistan the corresponding increase is thirty times. In the field of research and development centres established for agricultural, medical, scientific, industrial research. out of 16 centres 13 are located in West Pakistan. As far as the scholarships and training grants for studies abroad under Colombo Plan, Ford Foundation. Cotnmonwealth Aid and many others the bulk of these go to the West Pakistanis. Some of these are not even advertised in the East Pakistani press and many of these are awarded directly from West Pakistan. If we consider the question of employment, we can see the repetition of the same injustice. While the state policy on education had kept the East Pakistanis less developed, in the case of recruitment in civil, military and other services the same policy of depriving the Bengalis had been effectively carried out. Having most of the recruitment centres, they have the most advantage. Headquarters of the army, navy, air force and all central government services as well as private employees of all kind are located in West Pakistan. Most of the vacancies are either not advertised in the East Pakistani press or the practical difficulty of being interviewed is present. Moreover, the various recruitment boards consisting mostly of West Pakistanis are not so well disposed to accept an East Pakistani. In the armed forces, by making a physical standard far too high for an average Bengali, the system of eliminating the Bengali candidates had been very easy and successful. The following figures show some examples of disparity in this field: West Pakistan East Pakistan Central Civil Service 84% 16% Foreign Service 85% 15% Foreign Head of Missions (numbers) 60 9 Army 95% 5% Army: Officers of General Rank (Numbers) 16 1 Navy Technical 81% 19% Navy-non technical 91% 9% Air Force Pilots 89% 11% Armed Forces (Numbers) 500,000 20,000 Pakistan Airlines ,, 7,000 280 P.I.A. Directors ,, 9 1 P.I.A. Area Managers ,, 5 none Railway Board Directors „ 7 1 ORGANISATIONAL IMBALANCE The selection of the capital of Pakistan in Karachi in 1947 gave the West a boost to growth in all spheres. Rs. 200 million was spent on its development and when it was fully developed it was handed over to the West Pakistan provincial government. All incomes derived as a result went to the provincial government. Thereafter another Rs. 200 million was allocated for the capital development at Islamabad. A sum of only Rs. 20 million was provided for a second capital at Dacca, in East Pakistan. All the offices of the central government are located in the West including the headquarters of the army, navy and airforce and all the military academies. It is important to note that 60% of Pakistan’s budget is spent on defence and 80% of that goes to the military contractors, armed personnel who are West Pakistanis. Head offices of all the public and private establishments, e.g., State Bank of Pakistan, Pakistan International Airlines, National Bank of Pakistan and other banks, Insurance companies, Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation, National Shipping Corporation, Foreign Missions and hundred other Pakistani and foreign agencies have their head offices in West Pakistan and with their West Pakistani bosses and West Pakistani connections made sure that the policies of those organi­sations favour West Pakistanis. SOCIAL WELFARE In the field of social welfare, the same pattern is reflected. Let us look at some of the statistics comparing the two wings. West Pakistan East Pakistan Population 55 million 75 million Total number of doctors 12,400 7,600 Total number of Hospital beds 26,000 6,000 Rural Health Centres 325 88 Urban Community Development Centres 81 52 East Pakistan has been described as one of the poorest country in the world. Even the economists, impartial and foreign, admitted that. How does the average East Pakistani compare with his compatriat in West Pakistan? West Pakistan East Pakistan Rural Urban Rural Urban Employment of civil labour force 59 % 41 % 86% 14% In West Pakistan the industrial development provided 41 % of the total labour force, employment and a better standard of life. In East Pakistan, the poor development in industrial sphere made only 14% of the total employment available in the cities. The result is reflected in the figures for per capita income and gross domestic product. West Pakistan East Pakistan 1960 1970 1960 1970 Per Capita income in Pakistan Rupees 355 492 269 308 The difference in per capita income between East and West Pakistan had been 86 in 1960. Ten years later the difference sored to 184. In other words while the standard of living had been increasing in the West it had been declining in East Pakistan. West Pakistan East Pakistan 1959-60 1964-65 1959-60 1964-65 Gross domestic product per capital 312 391 242 297 Staple food of East Pakistani is rice and of West Pakistani is wheat. Let us compare the market price of the two. West Pakistan East Pakistan Rice per mound (82 lbs) Rs. 18 Rs. 50 Wheat per mound (82 Ibs) Rs. 10 Rs. 35 How could one expect a better health standard when the East Pakistani has to pay a far higher price for his food when his income is far below that of his compatriot in the West? The picture becomes clearer when we compare the average calories intake in rural areas. West Pakistan East Pakistan Calorie intake in rural areas in 1960-65 per head per day 1,625 1,556 In the urban areas the disparity is even greater. (Calorie intake in U.K. is 3,250). These facts and figures, backed by current available statistics, prove that East Pakistan is economically viable. The necessary resources vital for the development of a country are present, though undeveloped. Given substantial foreign aid, and opportunities to develop its natural resources, there is no reason why Bangla Desh should not be self-sufficient in course of time. World powers must realise that since Bangla Desh is fully capable of attaining economic stability, the right of self­determination, vital to her very existence, can no longer be denied.Above all, the injustice meted out to her, the social and economic neglect that was her share over the past two decades, justifies in all fairness that she be given the right to govern herself.—————————————————————————————— All these statistics have been taken from official and other reliable sources which include : National Planning Commission, 20 Years of Pakistan, Central Bureau of Education, Depart­ment of Investment Promotion, Central Board of Revenue, Central Statistical Office, Pakistan Year Book, 1970, Marine Fisheries Department, Pakistan Economic Survey, Government of Pakistan Budgets, Keesing’s Contemporary Archives, Financial Times, The Economist, Developponent Prospects of Pakistan (by a Norwegian Economist).

Extremism in Bangladesh by AIR CDRE (RETD) ISHFAQ ILAHI CHOUDHURY

AIR CDRE (RETD) ISHFAQ ILAHI CHOUDHURY

As we say goodbye to the year 2012, we might take time out to reflect on our achievements and failures in the year gone by, examine our prospects for the future and the challenges that lie ahead. Religious extremism leading to terrorist activities is one such area that needs to be reviewed. While many South Asian countries are deeply embroiled in the fight against terrorism, Bangladesh had generally been free from terrorist attacks since 2005. As we tended to relax, two incidents in 2012 brought our focus back to the terrorism issue. The first was the burning and looting of the houses and temples of the Buddhist communities in Cox’s Bazar area on 29-30 September. The second was the arrest on 17 October of a young Bangladeshi man caught while planning to bomb the Federal Reserve Building in New York, USA. As the year was coming to a close, the violence unleashed across the country by the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), a right-wing Islamist party, sent us a clear signal of the growing strength of Islamist politics. we say goodbye to the year 2012, we might take time out to reflect on our achievements and failures in the year gone by, examine our prospects for the future and the challenges that lie ahead. Religious extremism leading to terrorist activities is one such area that needs to be reviewed. While many South Asian countries are deeply embroiled in the fight against terrorism, Bangladesh had generally been free from terrorist attacks since 2005. As we tended to relax, two incidents in 2012 brought our focus back to the terrorism issue. The first was the burning and looting of the houses and temples of the Buddhist communities in Cox’s Bazar area on 29-30 September. The second was the arrest on 17 October of a young Bangladeshi man caught while planning to bomb the Federal Reserve Building in New York, USA. As the year was coming to a close, the violence unleashed across the country by the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), a right-wing Islamist party, sent us a clear signal of the growing strength of Islamist politics. These are happening at a time when an avowed secular party, the Awami League (AL), is in power. AL won the 2008 election with a commitment to amend the constitution to restore its secular character. It also promised stern action against all forms of religious extremism and terrorism. Four years down the line, much of those promises remain unfulfilled. Constitutional reform was half-done; Islam remained a state religion. Religious parties are more organised today than ever before. Their student fronts are active in most educational institutions. While Islamists are active on political fronts, more radical amongst them are organising themselves for terrorist activities as and when opportunities appear.  

Rise of Islamic extremism in Bangladesh

On 16 December 1971, we hoped that Bangladesh would emerge as a modern democratic state. The spirit of the nation was epitomised in the Constitution (1972) that adopted secularism as a state principle and prohibited the political use of religion. The Constitution barred the state from declaring any religion as state religion. However, it all changed after the killing of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and many top-ranking political leaders in 1975. Those who seized power at the time found the Islamists as their political ally and started islamising the society and the state. Islamist political parties, such as JI, started building their party structures. The power elites established thousands of madrassas that produced religiously indoctrinated youths who would be the front-line activists of the Islamist parties. Poor, jobless students from the madrassas became easy target of the recruiters of militant Islamist organisations. By late 1990s we had militant organisations such as Jamiatul Mujahedin Bangladesh (JMB) and Harkatul Jihad Al-Islami (HUJI) that took roots in Bangladesh.

Starting from 1999 to 2005, the militants bombed temples, churches, political rallies, cultural functions, cinema halls etc. The government and the opposition kept on blaming each other for those attacks. Even when grenades attack was made on the AL rally in Dhaka on 22 August 2004 killing 22 people and injuring the AL Chief Sheikh Hasina, the government blamed it on the opposition. The series bombing on 17 August 2005 finally compelled the government to come out of the denial mode and stand up to the terrorist threat. In 2006-07, we saw a series of arrests, prosecution and handing down of sentences, including death sentences, on some of the terror leaders. Since then there has been no major terror attack in Bangladesh, but that the terrorists are active is evident from the frequent arrests of activists and seizure of large cache of arms and explosives from their hideouts.

Bulk of the Islamic militants arrested so far had come from poor rural communities. Many were from the Quomi Madrassa background. However, recent years saw a new breed of extremists called the Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT). HuT members are drawn from children of urban, upper income parentage, educated in the mainstream or English medium schools and colleges. HuT is targeting the cream of our youth, the nation’s future, and therefore, poses a clear danger. It is feared that HuT has penetrated among schools and universities, professionals – engineers, doctors, government officials and even among the security apparatus. Although the party was banned in 2009, its clandestine activities continue in the country. On the political front, JI continued to grow in strength in Bangladesh. The party is small in size, but highly disciplined, well-organised and has a well-defined hierarchy. Jamaat’s aim is to establish a pure Islamic state based on Sharia. The party had opposed the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971 and actively collaborated in the genocide. Some of the top leaderships are now facing war-crime trial. The party, therefore, is on a back foot now, but given the fact that a new election is around the corner, its rank and file might align with the major opposition party to make a bid for power. JI’s student wing, Islami Chattra Shibir (Islamic Students Front), is now a potent student organisation, from schools to universities. The other Islamist party of importance is Islami Oikyo Jote (Islamic Unity Front), a collection of small Islamic parties. Like JI, IOJ also wants to establish an Islamic state in Bangladesh, but there are differences in outlook. IOJ members are exclusively from Quomi madrassa background and more traditional. IOJ has been in the forefront, along with JI, in the movement to declare Ahmedia community as non-Muslims. Present government’s attempt to register Quomi Madrassas and reform their curriculum was thwarted by IOJ’s agitation. None of the Islamist political parties gave open support to the militant activities, however, many of the JMB and HUJI activists had previously been members of Islamist political parties. The Islamist parties have multifarious social, economic and financial investments. Some of the largest banks, insurance, hospitals, diagnostic centres, schools, universities, coaching centres, and travel agencies are operated undercover by the Islamist parties. The Islamist parties have been gaining in strength in Bangladesh at the expense of the two major political parties – BNP and AL. Both parties at one time or other have been courting these parties in order to gain short term advantage over the other.

Countering the extremists

Bangladesh government has taken a number steps to check extremism and militancy. Notable among those are: Anti-Terrorism Act 2009 and Money Laundering Prevention Act 2009 as amended in 2011. The two acts provide for deterrent punishment to offenders in case they engage in acts of terror or launder money to support terrorism. Based on a series of dialogues, workshops and seminars, participated by academics, researchers, politicians, parliamentarians, civil and military officials, a national strategy to combat terrorism in the country has been proposed.Bangladesh has banned a total of six terrorist organizations, including JMB, HUJI and HuT. A number of Islamic NGOs have been banned who had terror links, including Revival of Islamic Heritage Society (Kuwait), Rabita Al Alam Al Islami (Saudi Arabia), and International Islamic relief Organization (Saudi Arabia), Muslim Aid (UK). More than 1,300 militants were arrested; most of them belonging to JMB, HUJI-B or HuT. 29 terrorist kingpins have been sentenced to death and many more sentenced to long imprisonment or are awaiting trial.While our police action has been commendable, we did not do enough on the social front. We need to address urgently the problem of poverty, ignorance, and backwardness. Democratisation of the society is an insurance against extremist ideology. We need to improve governance and provide access to justice for the poor and downtrodden. We need to impart modern education to our youth that prepare them to face the challenges of a fast changing world. A thorough overhaul of madrassa education in our country is long overdue. We need an education system that produce people with high ethical and technical standards, a system that encourages freethinking rather than rote learning. Emergence of HuT points out a lack of pride and a sense of disillusionment among the children of affluent class. This is because English medium schools, where most of the rich parents send their children, follow a curriculum that has no relevance to our culture, history or traditions. Therefore, English medium school syllabus too needs a thorough review.Government must legislate not to allow use of religion to gain political mileage. We need to check creeping ‘Sudiaization’ of Islam. Along with the money from the ME donors, comes the ideological package of Wahhabi Islam which is alien to South Asia. One of the prices we pay for the remittance from our labour force in the ME is the influx of Saudi brand of Islam. How do we de-radicalise these migrant workers is a big challenge for us. Meanwhile, hundreds of extremists who are arrested or under trial must be segregated from other prisoners. At present, these extremists are finding a captive audience 24 hours at their disposal, busy recruiting new ones from among the prisoners. We need to isolate the extremists and start a de-radicalisation program so that when they return to the society they become useful citizen.Our effort to counter religious extremism must be supplemented by regional and global effort. We need to have close cooperation and coordination between the governments of the region. Border monitoring, passport control, anti-money laundering measures, exchange of information on the movement of suspects, arrest and deportation of fugitives are some of the areas where regional countries could cooperate. Checking of arms smuggling across the porous border is another area where regional cooperation is the answer. In short, a total, comprehensive strategy has to be adopted for fighting religious extremism. If Bangladesh is to emerge as a modern, democratic state, the menace of extremism must be eliminated.

VERY SIMPLE WOMEN SHEIKH HASINA

SHEIKH HASINA, Honorable Prime Minister of People's Republic of Bangladesh (2nd term), was born on 28 September, 1947 at Tungipara under Gopalganj district. She is the eldest of five children of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder of independent Bangladesh.

She graduated from the University of Dhaka in 1973. She was elected Vice President of the Students Union of Government Intermediate Girl’s College. She was a member of the students League Unit of Dhaka University and Secretary of the Students League Unit of Rokeya Hall. She actively participated in all the mass movements since her student life.

Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with the members of his family was martyred on the fateful night of 15 August 1975. Sheikh Hasina and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana were the only survivors as they were in West Germany at that time. Later she went to the United Kingdom from where she started her movement against the autocratic rule in 1980. Sheikh Hasina was unanimously elected President of Bangladesh Awami League in 1981 in her absence, while she was forced to live in exile in New Delhi. Ending six years in exile, she returned home finally on 17 May 1981.In the parliamentary election held in 1986, she won three seats. She was elected Leader of the Opposition. She led the historic mass movement in 1990 and announced the constitutional formula for peaceful transfer o

f power through Articles 51 and 56 of the Constitution.

Following the election of 1991 Sheikh Hasina became Leader of the Opposition in the country’s Fifth Parliament, She steered all the political parties in the parliament towards changing the Presidential system into the Parliamentary one.

Sheikh Hasina created awareness among the people and waged a struggle for Non-party Caretaker Government to ensure free and fair polls. Her movement reached the peak after a non-cooperation movement in March 1996 and the provision for Non-party Caretaker Government was incorporated in the Constitution.

At the call of Sheikh Hasina a large number of people of all walks of life expressed solidarity with the movement at the ‘Janatar Mancha’. In the Parliamentary election held on 12 June 1996, Bangladesh Awami League emerged as the majority party and she assumed the office of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh on 23 June 1996.

After becoming the Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina adopted a number of pragmatic policies for overall development of the nation including poverty alleviation.

During the last four years her government achieved laudable success including signing of the historic 30 year Ganges Water Sharing Treaty with India, signing of historic peace Accord on Chittagong Hill Tracts and inauguration of the Bangabandhu Bridge on the river Jamuna.

Sheikh Hasina was conferred Degree of Doctor of Law by the Boston University of the US

A on 6 February 1997 and Honorary Doctor of Law by the Waseda

 University of Japan on 4 July 1997. She was also conferred the Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy in Liberal Arts by University of Abertay Dundee of the United Kingdom on 25 October, 1997. She was conferred Honorary Degree of Desikottama (Doctor of Literature, honoris causa) by Visva-Bharati University of West Be

ngal, India on 28 January 1999. She was also conferred the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, on the ground of her distinguished creative contributions in the service of society by the Australian National University on 20 October 1999. Dhaka University conferred Honorary 'Doctor of Laws' degree to Sheikh Hasina on 18 December, 1999 for her outstanding contribution towards peace and democracy. The World famous Catholic University of Brussels, Belgium conferred Honorary Doctorate degree (Doctor Honoris Causa) on Sheikh Hasina on 04 February, 2000 for her decisive role in establishing democracy, protecting human rights and peace. Sheikh Hasina has been conferred Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by the Bridgeport University, USA on 5 September, 2000.

Sheikh Hasina has been awarded UNESCO's Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize for 1998 for her remarkable contribution to bringing peace through ending the 25 years of conflict in Chittagong Hill Tracts with political courage and statesmanship.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina received prestigious Pearl S. Buck Award '99 on 9 April 2000 in recognition of her vision, courage, achievements in political, economic and humanitarian fields by Randolph Macon Women's College of USA. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has been awarded the prestigious CERES' medal to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in recognition to her fight against hunger on 02 August, 1999. The All India Peace Council awarded her 'Mother Teresa Award' in 1998. The Mahatma M K Gandhi Foundation of Oslo, Norway awarded Sheikh Hasina ‘M K Gandhi Award’ for 1998 for her contribution towards promotion of communal understanding, non violent religions harmony and growth of democracy at the level of grassroots in Bangladesh. Sheikh Hasina was named Paul Haris Fellow by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. She was also given Medal of Distinction in 1996-97 and 1998-99 and Head of State Medal in 1996-97 by the International Association of Lions Clubs.

She has authored several books including "Why Are They Street Children", "The Origin of Autocracy", 'Miles to Go", "Elimination of Poverty and Some Thoughts", "People and Democracy", "My Dream My Struggle" and "Development for the Masses." She performed holy Hajj and Umrah several times.

Sheikh Hasina is the Chairperson of "The Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Trust". She has been helping a lot of poor boys and girls for their education.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, throughout her life has been a strong proponent of peace, freedom and democracy. From an early age, inspired by the lofty ideals and love for the people of her father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the liberator of Bangladesh, she developed a strong sense of identity for the common people. She always spoke out against oppression and violation of human rights. This commitment has hardened over the years, particularly when her parents, brothers and scores of relatives were brutally assassinated by the misguided members of the military in 1975 soon after the independence of Bangladesh.

Since that time her resolve for democracy and development for the teeming millions of Bangladesh has become firmly entrenched. She struggled for the return of democracy in Bangladesh and fought valiantly for its establishment in the country in every possible manner. She was committed to making Parliament the centre of all national activities.

In 1996, the people of Bangladesh gave her a strong mandate as the Prime Minister of the country. Despite serious resource and constraints and recurrent natural calamity as well as widespread poverty, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, during the first two years of her government, has lived up to her unswerving commitment to the cause of peace, democracy, development and human rights.

Her first act of peace within months of her assumption of office was the initiative for resolution of the long-standing water-sharing dispute with India through a 30-years treaty. This put an end to a very complex regional dispute.

Her visionary idea of a business summit among the political and private sector leaders of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan has added a new chapter in the history of South Asia.

Her dedicated leadership also made possible a peace agreement in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, thereby solving the 23-year old insurgency in the Hill districts of Bangla

desh. This peace accord brought an area inhabited by nearly 5 million people out of violence and into a time of peace and development. Though the international media has not given much prominence to this accord, it is uniquely remarkable because the peace accord benefited such a large number of people and the whole area has been brought under development programs following the complete surrender of arms by the insurgents.

Her quest for peace has taken her to India and Pakistan to talk to the leaders of these two countries soon after the nuclear test urging reduction of tension in the region.

Prime Minister Hasina has been a strong advocate for the Culture of Peace at global, regional and national levels. In many major conferences, she espoused the concept of the Culture of Peace, most recently in South Africa at the 12th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) which has a membership of 114 countries. Her initiative has resulted in the first-ever resolution by the Plenary of the United Nations General Assembly on the Culture of Peace. She also provided leadership for the declaration by the UN of the period 2001 to 2010 as the International Decade for Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World.

Prime Minister Hasina’s determination for the eradication of poverty, in particular through wide-ranging microcredit programmes, has been recognized world-wide. Her co-chairpersonship of the Microcredit Summit in February 1997 which resolved to bring 100 million families of the world out of poverty by 2005 focused world attention to her strong commitment to the eradication of poverty and enlistment of the poorest of the poor. She has been a champion of microcredit by spreading the message in major international forums. Her leadership led to the adoption for the first time by UN General Assembly a far-reaching resolution on the role of microcredit in the eradication of poverty.

Along with poverty eradication, she has focused on the empowerment of women and has successfully completed legislation to ensure adequate representation of women in the local government bodies, leading to the election of more than 14,000 women to these bodies in 1997. She has taken major initiatives to stop violence against women and children.

She has also provided leadership in the field of education, particularly for the education of girls in her own country as well as advocating it for global support. Her government has greatly enhanced budgetary allocation for primary education focusing on girls’ education.

To improve the quality of life of the people of Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has particularly focused on human development, paying special attention to healthcare, family planning, nutrition, women’s rights and survival and development of children. At the UN and other forums, she has been a major voice in support of the cause of children and their rights.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has, all along her life, defended human rights in every possible way. Her active promotion of the rights of women and children has drawn appreciation by both of government and NGOs as well as international organizations. She has promoted the right to development as having centrality in the human rights regime. At the NAM Summit in South Africa in 1998, her proposal for a Convention on the Right to Development received welcoming endorsement of the Heads of State and Government. She initiated the establishment of a National Human Rights Commission and the office of Ombudsperson as well as Bangladesh’s recent accession to six major human rights instruments including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Her keen interest resulted in the signature by Bangladesh of the Statute for the International Criminal Court (ICC) and ratification of the Landmines Treaty, being the first country in South Asia to do so.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s initiative resulted in the hosting of the first-ever conference of the Asian parliamentarians devoted to peace and cooperation in Dhaka in September 1999 which elected her as the first President of the Association of Asian Parliaments for peace established at the conference.

At present, as someone who has lost so much personally and has been a victim of oppression and denial of freedom, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stands out as a messenger of peace, democracy, development and human rights. Her leadership of the eighth largest country of the world manifests her concern for the people, seen again during the worst-ever floods in Bangladesh in 1998.

§ Sheikh Hasina is the recipient of the UNESCO Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize for 1998 for her role in bringing peace in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region of Bangladesh.

§ Sheikh Hasina has been awarded the Mahatma Gandhi Award for 1998 (Oslo, Norway) for her contribution towards promotion of communal understanding, non-violence, religio

us harmony and growth of grassroots democracy in Bangladesh.

§ She has been awarded 1999 CERES Medal for contribution to the agriculture development by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.

§ She is the winner of the 1999 Pearl S. Buck Award for "your vision, your courage and your achievements in political, economic and humanitarian spheres capture the spirit of the award and of the woman who inspired it."

§ She has been awarded honorary Doctor of Liberal Arts by the University of Alberta Dundee in the United Kingdom in October 1997.

§ She has been conferred honorary Doctor of Laws by the Boston University in th

e United States and the Waseda University of Japan.

§ She has been conferred the degree of Desikottama (Doctor of Literature) by the Visva-Bharati University, India founded by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

§ She has been conferred honorary Doctor of Laws by the Australian National University in October 1999.

§ Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been conferred honorary Doctor of Laws by Dhaka University in December 1999.

§ She has been conferred honorary Doctor of Laws by the Catholic University of Brussels in February 2000.

§ Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been conferred by the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters for her contribution to world peace and development by the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut in the United States on 5 September 2000.

Under her leadership her party Bangladesh Awami League led grand alliance to win a landslide victory in the 9th Parliament Election on December 29, 2008 with 262 seats out of 299 in the National Parliament.

Sheikh Hasina took oath as Prime Minister of Bangladesh (2nd term) at a ceremony held at Banghabhaban on January 06, 2009.