· May, 2007

Stories about Bangladesh from May, 2007

India: Development and West Bengal

  31 May 2007

Singur underlines why development is crucial in West Bengal. “Today, regional and sub-regional cooperation is the axis around which the wheel of economic growth is turning. The nay-sayers to new investments in West Bengal and Bangladesh should glance eastwards to see how this wheel has turned in the direction of...

Bangladesh: Religion and Spirituality

  29 May 2007

Sadiq M Alam on religion and spirituality. “One can become cold blooded murderer even in the name of religion, in the name of God and justifying unthinkable crime even holding a holy book of religion. What is interesting is that Spirituality without religiousness again becomes selfish, an escape route for...

Bangladesh: No under-30 maids to the Gulf

  25 May 2007

a bengali in TO points to a recent move in India banning women under 30 to work as maids in the Gulf. “Renuka Chowdhury, the Indian minister of women and child development, has called for a ban on women under 30 to work as maids in the Gulf in a...

Bangla Blogs: Breaking Taboos and a Debate

  24 May 2007

The Bangla blogging platform Bandh Bhanger Awaaj is buzzing with discussions, debates, memes and literatures. Hundreds of bloggers and thousands of readers are keeping this space lively. It is generating a lot of interest among the bloggers and readers with its variety of posts. Recently there was a wave of...

Bangladesh: Indian Army and Liberation

  23 May 2007

The 3rd World View on the controversies regarding the Indian Army's role in liberating Bangladesh - “Now there are certain quarters in Bangladesh who try to ignore India's contributions and some think that it was India's game plan to divide Pakistan, their arch rivals. And interestingly there are some quarters...

Bangladesh: On Pakistan and the US

  21 May 2007

Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying on how the US is supporting the Pakistani Military. “In pursuit of its War on Terror, the Bush Administration has been subsidizing General Musharraf and his military as they continue to cling to power in Pakistan. Pakistan is most definitely not a poster...

Bangladesh: On Wolfowitz

  18 May 2007

Wolfowitz's exit from the World Bank prompts imperfect world 2007 says. “his man who is responsible for so much death and destruction personifies the unreal world neocon thinking inhabits. If you remember he was the man who predicted that US soldiers would be feted in the streets of Baghdad after...

Bangladesh: Comments and Threats

  15 May 2007

Mash on the threatening comments on various Bangladeshi blogs that followed the case of the Tasneem being arrested. “At the time he posted, the commenter had information about the negotiations to free Tasneem from military custody that was not yet public. He was also posting his comments from Dhaka, Bangladesh....

Bangladesh: release journalist blogger Tasneem Khalil

  11 May 2007

Bangladeshi blogger and journalist Tasneem Khalil has been arrested by the joint forces tonight. One of his colleagues (also a renowned blogger) broke the news requesting anonymity. They are afraid to speak out. His whereabouts are currently unknown.

South Asia: 1857, and 150 years later

  10 May 2007

An interesting discussion at Sepia Mutiny on the nature of the 1857 Rebellion against the British in the subcontinent, as official commemoration appears to suddenly be the mood of the hour. “I know shamefully little about this fundamental event in the history of the Indian Subcontinent, and even less about...

Bangladesh: Justice and Farce

  10 May 2007

Mash on the farce of justice and process in Bangladesh. “The military government, under the guise of an “anti-corruption drive”, is purging the political class in Bangladesh. Leading political figures in the country are being rounded up on all sorts of charges. The military has created special “summary courts” to...

Bangladesh: The “revenge” tour

  9 May 2007

Cricket played between India and Bangladesh promises high emotions says 3rd world view. “On the other hand it was a great moral booster for Bangladesh although they have beaten India earlier. But Indian fans see this opportunity to show Bangladesh where India stands. Bangladesh is still two ranks below India...

India, Bangladesh: Borders and Fences

  8 May 2007

Wanabehuman on fences and borders in South Asia. “But concern here is the fencing of the Indo-Bangladesh border, countries which are not only unmatched in size, population and resources but more importantly are friendly states with a solid record of their friendship track. Apart from very localised border shootouts, and...

Bangladesh: The Military and the Government

  8 May 2007

Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying on the precarious political situation in Bangladesh. “The situation in Bangladesh looks and feels like the period of coups and counter-coups in 1975. It has been widely reported that junior officers in the Bangladesh army, majors and colonels, had been intimidating the press...

Bangladesh: Islam and the Nation

  7 May 2007

Me, Myself and Bangladesh explores the links between Islam and nationalism, especially in the context of Bangladesh. “When East Pakistan broke away from the main Western part of the country to form Bangladesh in 1971, it was in opposition to the notion that all Muslim areas of former British India...

Bangladesh: Laily, the first graphic novel

  7 May 2007

black and gray in conversation with Sharier Khan, about Bangladesh's first graphic novel. “Being the youngest of four brothers—my elder brothers used to tell me how Hanna-Barbara made cartoons. Upon learning about how different frames created the illusion of a movie, I acquired tissue papers (they seemed so ‘foreign’ back...

Bangladesh: In 1971

  3 May 2007

Shahzaman Mozumder's Blog has a fascinating account of being a freedom fighter in 1971. “I reached the recruiting office, which was adjacent to Capt. Mahbub’s headquarters. Capt. Mahbub was also there and my name was soon written in a register and I became a Mukti Bahini recruit. There were a...

Bangladesh: That nameless person

  3 May 2007

A gut wrenching post on what means to be Bangla in Malaysia. “BANGLA, does that word mean anything to you? Or is it just something you shout to call that nameless guy from your toilet to scrape off that dried cow shit from underneath your car? Well for those who...

Bangladesh: “Soft” Bombs

  2 May 2007

black and gray on the “soft” bombs in Bangladesh. “The nature of bombs that simultaneously went off yesterday morning in three major rail stations in Bangladesh is a curious one. The bombers used thick layers of paper and leather to make the bombs harmless; not only that, no traces of...

Myanmar: Road to Bangladesh

  2 May 2007

New Mandala has a post on the new Friendship Road that is being built to connect Myanmar and Bangladesh. Road links between Myanmar and its western neighbors (India and Bangladesh) are not as developed as the ones in the East (Thailand and China). The blogger at New Mandala asks “Major...

Bangladesh: Terror attacks from new Al-Qaeda group raise questions

  1 May 2007

A series of bombs went off at Dhaka, Sylhet and Chittagong railway stations Tuesday morning from 6:45 AM to 9:30 AM (BDNews24). Only one person was injured in the attack but it created panic in the country. Bangladeshi bloggers are covering this extensively. Jadid Al-Qaeda, an unknown group believed to...