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Featured Hasina calls for strengthening ties with Pakistan

From one perspective ( and not necessarily the correct one ) that viewpoint holds true; for the simple reason that Bangladesh either through state sponsored efforts or through interest groups rarely project the Musolmani Bengali culture. Which is why a non-Bengali person like me is far more likely to be exposed to a movie by Satyajit Ray and theater performances by Badal Sarkar.
I agree with you that the majority of the Indian diaspora is Punjabi or Gujarati. We are not discussing Punjabi Sikh or Patel ex-pat Indian diaspora, and in any case their professions are more towards self employment and small business. They contribute little to projecting India's cultural image and are mostly very tightly knit communities that rarely interact with other Indian ex-pat or diaspora communities. India is not mono-cultural and mono-lingual but very diverse and Bengali culture and language ( termed West Bengali, now that I am better informed 😊). is but ONE culture of India.
The South Indians, Marathis, UP and Delhi Punjabi upper caste Hindus , and of course the West Bengali bhadralok make up the majority of the white collar professionals in the Indian diaspora So a Pakistani like me is far more likely to have a one-on-one social contact with such people of Indian origin as colleagues in the workplace than with a Sikh taxi driver or Patel grocery store owner.
Professional Pakistanis run into South Indians far more than Indian Bengali or Hindi speaking upper caste Northern Hindus, simply because South Indians dominate the professional scene in North America. The two groups that project their culture the most are South Indians and of course the West Bengali bhadralok . It is simply a choice I made. I found a lot of intellectual compatibility with the West Bengali professional elite on account of their " left-of-center " political views, strictly secular outlook, their extreme fluency in English, and a remarkable fluency in Hindi/Urdu. Their tolerance for differing opinions was remarkable. Like South Indians I could discuss any topic in the world with them. They never highlighted their Bengali identity. But on expressing my own curiosity about their culture they generously opened the flood gates to me exposing me to West Bengali . culture. There were Robindro Songeet sessions in their homes where amateur talent abounded.
My friend's spouse was a physician but was also an accomplished sitar player and another friend's spouse ( also a physician) was a talented solo singer specializing in Dwijendrageeti . During October when they have their Durga Puja celebrations they would hold public music and theater events to which I would get a free tickets. Attending these was a very pleasant experience and I wasn't the only non-Bengali attending; there were other Indians mostly from northern India as well
as Americans. Attending these events was easy because the plays or songs were meticulously translated by an introductory speaker or master of ceremonies. I was told the South Indians, particularly those from Tamil Nadu have their own cultural groups.
The final point...
Despite India being the mortal enemy of Pakistan I unfortunately ( repeat unfortunately) identify with Indians because like India, Pakistan is diverse. Pakistan is not mono-lingual, mono-cultural but has a rich diversity of cultures . We are not as diverse as India and unlike India we have a common communication language, (which is a good thing). But the diversity in Pakistan makes us much more flexible as a mindset to be receptive to other languages and cultures as well as proudly holding our heads high on our own culture.
Karachi is a "melting point " of cultures both from the subcontinent and from many parts of the Middle East . Karachi even has a legacy Bengali library and a small but vibrant Bengali speaking community, who even celebrate Poila Baisakh .
To be brief. I sought a diverse intellectual company,( beyond the grocery store chat and the mosque) and found it in the West Bengali ex-pat diaspora. Having said that I do have a very close circle of friends and relatives from my own country and it is a delight to share Urdu poetry and literature over excellent food, where unfortunately my West Bengali social circle falls short.
Pakistanis make the best food (period). I don't much relish luchi aloo dom though it is good for a change.
I hope I have answered your question.
When I visited Dhaka I was looking at the country through West Bengali eyes and Ekushey February had no significance for me because it is hardly known or even talked about in West Bengal. But now I know better. Maybe on my next trip to BD I will go to Ramna Maidan on that occasion.,
My respects to the Musolmani Bengali cultural heritage of Bangladesh and congratulations on preserving this.
May I add the song below written by Atulya Sen of Dhaka. I was introduced to it by my West Bengali friends .

All people have the right to be proud of their language and I am proud of my own so I will exit this thread with the couplet.

اردو ہے چسکا نام ہم ہی جانتے ہیں داغ
سارے جہاں میں دھوم ہماری زُباں کی ہے

Trans: I Daag ( the poet) only know what is the ( meaning of ) the name of Urdu. It is famous though out the world..
Have modified the original couplet so "ouch" in advance if someone here raps my knuckles.

What I meant was, abroad, without getting to deep into it is Bengalis are synonymous with the Bengali Muslim ethnic group and refers to Bangladesh more than it does W.Bengal. This may play out differently in the subcontinent as Bengalis are an ethnographic group (similar to the two Punjabs).

If a white man was to find out that I am Bengali, it would be Bengali from Bangladesh as his mostly likely presumption..

This is the point I was trying to make, most people associate Bengali to Bangladesh esp in Europe and the middle east where most of them are migrant workers from BD..

The scene in the states is very different I can't comment on it, they may not be well established as their other diaspora settlements.
 
Good analysis on separation of East Pakistan and Col. Z. I. Farrukh book "Bichar Gaye:A Story Of Woes, Misery, Betrayal, Unfairness, & Criminal Negligence" gives us more understanding , where we made mistakes.The consequences of the events make many Pakistani s, who were hearing of what was going on at that time still cry in silence for the lost brotherhood.
 
From one perspective ( and not necessarily the correct one ) that viewpoint holds true; for the simple reason that Bangladesh either through state sponsored efforts or through interest groups rarely project the Musolmani Bengali culture. Which is why a non-Bengali person like me is far more likely to be exposed to a movie by Satyajit Ray and theater performances by Badal Sarkar.
I agree with you that the majority of the Indian diaspora is Punjabi or Gujarati. We are not discussing Punjabi Sikh or Patel ex-pat Indian diaspora, and in any case their professions are more towards self employment and small business. They contribute little to projecting India's cultural image and are mostly very tightly knit communities that rarely interact with other Indian ex-pat or diaspora communities. India is not mono-cultural and mono-lingual but very diverse and Bengali culture and language ( termed West Bengali, now that I am better informed 😊). is but ONE culture of India.
The South Indians, Marathis, UP and Delhi Punjabi upper caste Hindus , and of course the West Bengali bhadralok make up the majority of the white collar professionals in the Indian diaspora So a Pakistani like me is far more likely to have a one-on-one social contact with such people of Indian origin as colleagues in the workplace than with a Sikh taxi driver or Patel grocery store owner.
Professional Pakistanis run into South Indians far more than Indian Bengali or Hindi speaking upper caste Northern Hindus, simply because South Indians dominate the professional scene in North America. The two groups that project their culture the most are South Indians and of course the West Bengali bhadralok . It is simply a choice I made. I found a lot of intellectual compatibility with the West Bengali professional elite on account of their " left-of-center " political views, strictly secular outlook, their extreme fluency in English, and a remarkable fluency in Hindi/Urdu. Their tolerance for differing opinions was remarkable. Like South Indians I could discuss any topic in the world with them. They never highlighted their Bengali identity. But on expressing my own curiosity about their culture they generously opened the flood gates to me exposing me to West Bengali . culture. There were Robindro Songeet sessions in their homes where amateur talent abounded.
My friend's spouse was a physician but was also an accomplished sitar player and another friend's spouse ( also a physician) was a talented solo singer specializing in Dwijendrageeti . During October when they have their Durga Puja celebrations they would hold public music and theater events to which I would get a free tickets. Attending these was a very pleasant experience and I wasn't the only non-Bengali attending; there were other Indians mostly from northern India as well
as Americans. Attending these events was easy because the plays or songs were meticulously translated by an introductory speaker or master of ceremonies. I was told the South Indians, particularly those from Tamil Nadu have their own cultural groups.
The final point...
Despite India being the mortal enemy of Pakistan I unfortunately ( repeat unfortunately) identify with Indians because like India, Pakistan is diverse. Pakistan is not mono-lingual, mono-cultural but has a rich diversity of cultures . We are not as diverse as India and unlike India we have a common communication language, (which is a good thing). But the diversity in Pakistan makes us much more flexible as a mindset to be receptive to other languages and cultures as well as proudly holding our heads high on our own culture.
Karachi is a "melting point " of cultures both from the subcontinent and from many parts of the Middle East . Karachi even has a legacy Bengali library and a small but vibrant Bengali speaking community, who even celebrate Poila Baisakh .
To be brief. I sought a diverse intellectual company,( beyond the grocery store chat and the mosque) and found it in the West Bengali ex-pat diaspora. Having said that I do have a very close circle of friends and relatives from my own country and it is a delight to share Urdu poetry and literature over excellent food, where unfortunately my West Bengali social circle falls short.
Pakistanis make the best food (period). I don't much relish luchi aloo dom though it is good for a change.
I hope I have answered your question.
When I visited Dhaka I was looking at the country through West Bengali eyes and Ekushey February had no significance for me because it is hardly known or even talked about in West Bengal. But now I know better. Maybe on my next trip to BD I will go to Ramna Maidan on that occasion.,
My respects to the Musolmani Bengali cultural heritage of Bangladesh and congratulations on preserving this.
May I add the song below written by Atulya Sen of Dhaka. I was introduced to it by my West Bengali friends .

All people have the right to be proud of their language and I am proud of my own so I will exit this thread with the couplet.

اردو ہے چسکا نام ہم ہی جانتے ہیں داغ
سارے جہاں میں دھوم ہماری زُباں کی ہے

Trans: I Daag ( the poet) only know what is the ( meaning of ) the name of Urdu. It is famous though out the world..
Have modified the original couplet so "ouch" in advance if someone here raps my knuckles.
Here is an another Mosulmani Bengali Masterpiece. I will have a detailed response later tonight, I apologize I have been extremely busy!
 
@SylhetiBDeshiAmerican
Since you mentioned Allama Iqbal
here is a masterpiece hamd written by him and sung by Sanam Marvi and Shafquat Amanat Ali Khan. The subtitles are accurate and we both know the shahada :-)
If I may emphasize that this type of music is pure Pakistani culture ; and NOT Indian, and not even Indian Muslim because they dared not sing Iqbal's religious songs such this over there.
I once did introduce this song to my Hindu West Bengali friends and to my pleasant surprise they were very appreciative and downloaded versions of this song on their phones.

 
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@SylhetiBDeshiAmerican
Since you mentioned Allama Iqbal
here is a masterpiece hamd written by him and sung by Sanam Marvi and Shafquat Amanat Ali Khan. The subtitles are accurate and we both know the shahada :-)
If I may emphasize that this type of music is pure Pakistani culture ; and NOT Indian, and not even Indian Muslim because they dared not sing Iqbal's religious songs such this over there.
I once did introduce this song to my Hindu West Bengali friends and to my pleasant surprise they were very appreciative and downloaded versions of this song on their phones.


Such an heart soothing song, it was so calm and beautiful to listen. I am in love with the beat and the melodic style of the song as well. Urdu is such a beautiful language especially when it is expressed as a song and music! I believe Mosulmani Bengali language could have been preserved and gone further if we collaborated together and amended our relationship even after separation. Lastly, what is your view on Indo-Aryan Languages?.
 
Here is an another Mosulmani Bengali Masterpiece. I will have a detailed response later tonight, I apologize I have been extremely busy!
Loved this song. The rhythm and beat is enchanting and so are the words.
But the most significant aspect of this song is that the Musolmani Bengali culture has grown more vibrant with the younger generation and is evolving. They have made Nazrul Islam as a foundation and then building on it keeping with the times. Mashallah !
Will respond to your question on Indo Aryan languages .
 
Are Bangladeshis aware of this?
The Bengali language in India ( old India) has a sterling contribution to revolutionary and social ideology and thought, conveyed through literature music and poetry.
The contribution of the Bengali leftist movement in India in countering hate, division, among the people and fighting fascism communalism on the streets needs recognition across the nations. The revolutionaries fought the fascists in defense of minority Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Dalits, and secular intellectuals and paid the price in blood.
Volunteers of the Indian People's Front outnumbered by a 1000 to 1 fought the fascists and died heroically defending the Babri Masjid in defense of secularism and the law of the land . Like the INA under Bose and like Bagha Jotin, Binay , Badol and Dinesh this new generation of revolutionaries in their own misguided way fought to the bitter end. Their methods to achieve their goals were in violation of the law for which they paid the ultimate price, but intentions to build a world free from fear and hate were noble.
Two songs in the Bengali language are extremely motivating with a deep historical context. Ekla Cholo Re was sung by the INA fighting British Imperialism and the other is an International revolutionary song.
In the song below then audience is primarily non-Bengali yet so universal is the appeal of the language that celebrities and public office law makers came to hear Shreya sing. The song is so well known it is sung by Hindi/Urdu speakers also.

 
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Published on 07:33 PM, December 03, 2020
Bangladesh can’t forget Pakistan’s atrocities in 1971: PM to Pakistan envoy

www.thedailystar.net/country/news/bangladesh-cannot-forget-pakistan-atrocities-1971-pm-sheikh-hasina-to-pak-envoy-2005321%3famp

paki_envoy.jpg


Pakistan High Commissioner to Dhaka Imran Ahmed Siddiqui met Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence Gono Bhaban, in Dhaka, on December 3, 2020. Photo: PID

UNB, Dhaka

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said Bangladesh cannot forget the atrocities committed by Pakistan in 1971.

"The incidents of 1971 can't be forgotten. The pain will remain forever," she told Pakistani High Commissioner to Dhaka Imran Ahmed Siddiqui at her official residence Gono Bhaban.

The prime minister extended greetings to her Pakistan counterpart Imran Khan when the high commissioner conveyed good wishes of the Pakistan PM to Sheikh Hasina.

Referring to volumes of a book titled "Secret Documents of Intelligence Branch on Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman", the prime minister said all can learn historical facts on the 1948-1971 period from the book.

She mentioned that the Urdu version of the book "Unfinished Memoirs" by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is one of the bestsellers in Pakistan.

The high commissioner said the Pakistani PM advised them to learn about the development miracle of Bangladesh.

Mentioning that different bilateral and regional forums have remained inactive, he sought help from the Bangladesh prime minister to activate Foreign Office consultations between the two countries.

In reply, the prime minister said there is no bar here to the continuation of functioning regularly.
The new envoy said Pakistan wants to boost ties with Bangladesh without any obstruction.

In response, the PM said she believes in regional cooperation.

Referring to Bangladesh's foreign policy "friendship to all malice towards none", PM Hasina said that she believes in continuing relationships with countries based on different perspectives.

The high commissioner appreciated Sheikh Hasina for her statesmanship in the global arena.

The prime minister welcomed the high commissioner and assured him of extending all-out cooperation.

PM's Principal Secretary Dr Ahmad Kaikaus and Military Secretary Major General Naqib Ahmed Chowdhury were present, said a handout released from the Prime Minister's Office.
 
When she met her match for the soul of Bengal!
I hope she learns the secular cross cultural inclusion that Subhas Bose proclaimed using the words:
Itehad, Etmad ,Qurbani
(
what language these words belong to )


 
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When she met her match for the soul of Bengal!
I hope she learns the secular cross cultural inclusion that Subhas Bose proclaimed using the words:
Itehad, Etmad ,Qurbani
(
what language these words belong to )


Is it true that Khan tried to woo her into visiting Islamabad last October, when she was in Delhi?
 
Is it true that Khan tried to woo her into visiting Islamabad last October, when she was in Delhi?
No. The diplomacy is very subtle. There was no communication between these two during any of her visits to Delhi. There have been only brief sporadic "Hi, Hello " phone calls when both heads of state have been in their respective capitals.
The Bangladeshi Prime Minister likes to make news for domestic audience regarding Pakistan like India does, using a diplomatic event to chastise Pakistan.
The Pakistani Ambassador is called in and chastised : " We will never forgive you " . This makes great news.
Diplomatic relations took a severe downturn when Bangladesh approved Indian Air Force air strikes on Balakot as India's "right to self defense". Bangladesh condemned "terrorism from Pakistan" as the Kashmiri resistance intensified and then supported the removal of Art 370, partition of Kashmir and suspension of the provisional government and assembly. This is surprising because in its History Bangladesh had a somewhat similar experience with suspension of an elected government and imposition of martial law. In effect Bangladesh was approving grave human rights violations in its neighborhood and supporting armed aggression on a sovereign nation.
Pakistan surprisingly has kept quiet but its arms sales to Myanmar are a telling reminder of its reaction.

The diplomatic effort is being generated from Bangladesh because there is a risk of suspension of the air corridor in an India Pakistan or even Sino Indian conflict. Bangladeshi planes may need refueling if they make a dog leg diversion over Karachi. Additionally the respective visa officials are sitting in hotels in each of the capital's awaiting acceptance and authorization. The consular staff are hardly issuing any visas which really doesn't matter much to Pakistan but for Bangladesh there is a Bengali speaking community resident in Karachi and other pockets of Pakistan who would like to travel to Bangladesh and whose relatives in Bangladesh would like to travel to Pakistan. This is very low priority for Pakistan.
The long shot benefits Bangladesh wants is the use of Gwadar or Karachi for transshipment of Bangladeshi exports to China with lower costs. This is because the other low cost shipment route would be overland through the Siliguri corridor into Sikkim and into China or through Nepal and into China but India is unlikely to allow that. Bangladesh's relations with Myanmar are not good at the moment. Shipping goods all the way through the Malacca straits and the SCS is extremely expensive. Geo politics has rendered Bangladesh into an island with its only land outlets into India and that too into one point in West Bengal.
Pakistan has 12 crossing points into Afghanistan and Iran and one land crossing point into China. Pakistan's geography is unique because it allows Central Asia an access through two modern ports in the Arabian sea.
An even longer shot requirement from Bangladesh is the purchase of JF-17 fighters because it can't afford more than a few dozen high maintenance Russian planes. China has refused to sell JF-17s directly to Bangladesh without Pakistan's permission. Pakistan is unlikely to sell these planes to Bangladesh as it fears their capabilities will be compromised in leaks to India.

The only thing that will come out ( if at all ) from an improvement of Bangladesh Pakistan diplomatic relations is the easing of the issue of visas which solely favors Bangladesh. See the videos I linked in my previous post on the complaints of Bangladeshi people in Pakistan.
Another significant aspect being discussed at this forum is "people to people contact " and though desirable it has some basic handicaps as I have shown in my posts. It is not a diplomatic issue at the state level neither government is interested in a cultural exchange. Remarkably even as India and Pakistan are officially enemy nations their governments do not discourage or bar informal "people to people" contacts. There is the spectacular case of the Kartarpur corridor and Sikh and Hindu pilgrims into Pakistan and small visits by Pakistani literary groups at Urdu poetry events in India and the bi-annual Book Fair with its single Pakistani book stall. Pakistan and India do have a degraded but still existing cultural affinity which will diminish over time or may miraculously improve if the regime in India changes. From Pakistan's side Muslim religious pilgrimages have stopped as Pakistanis have had a mindset change to look only inwards at their local Sufi shrines. Pakistani Hindus and Sikhs travel to India.
As the Mohajir community in Pakistan ages, dies out and assimilates the need for them to visit India has almost vanished.
So effectively on the visa exchange Pakistan has blunted India's once overwhelming advantage when visas were needed for the Mohajir community. Here Bangladesh comes short. There is no compulsion for religious pilgrimages or literary cultural exchange between Bangladesh and Pakistan. There is no linguistic affinity. Bangladesh would be like Maldives or Nepal to Pakistan.
 
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As I stated in my earlier post, the main geopolitical player here is China.

As Biden prepares to assume office, US is expected to be more serious to push Bangladesh on human rights and democracy issues which would threaten Hasina's rule. As a counter, Hasina is trying to get closer to China by responding to Chinese suggestion to reconcile with Pakistan.

The diplomatic effort is being generated from Bangladesh because there is a risk of suspension of the air corridor in an India Pakistan or even Sino Indian conflict. Bangladeshi planes may need refueling if they make a dog leg diversion over Karachi. Additionally the respective visa officials are sitting in hotels in each of the capital's awaiting acceptance and authorization. The consular staff are hardly issuing any visas which really doesn't matter much to Pakistan but for Bangladesh there is a Bengali speaking community resident in Karachi and other pockets of Pakistan who would like to travel to Bangladesh and whose relatives in Bangladesh would like to travel to Pakistan. This is very low priority for Pakistan.
The long shot benefits Bangladesh wants is the use of Gwadar or Karachi for transshipment of Bangladeshi exports to China with lower costs. This is because the other low cost shipment route would be overland through the Siliguri corridor into Sikkim and into China or through Nepal and into China but India is unlikely to allow that. Bangladesh's relations with Myanmar are not good at the moment. Shipping goods all the way through the Malacca straits and the SCS is extremely expensive. Geo politics has rendered Bangladesh into an island with its only land outlets into India and that too into one point in West Bengal.
Pakistan has 12 crossing points into Afghanistan and Iran and one land crossing point into China. Pakistan's geography is unique because it allows Central Asia an access through two modern ports in the Arabian sea.
An even longer shot requirement from Bangladesh is the purchase of JF-17 fighters because it can't afford more than a few dozen high maintenance Russian planes. China has refused to sell JF-17s directly to Bangladesh without Pakistan's permission. Pakistan is unlikely to sell these planes to Bangladesh as it fears their capabilities will be compromised in leaks to India.

The only thing that will come out ( if at all ) from an improvement of Bangladesh Pakistan diplomatic relations is the easing of the issue of visas which solely favors Bangladesh. See the videos I linked in my previous post on the complaints of Bangladeshi people in Pakistan.

Lol where did you get these from? Looks like one of those funny "I'm-the-center-of-the-universe" crap.

Pakistan's airspace is crucial for Indian planes traveling between India and the Middle-east/West but hardly matters for Bangladeshi planes.

Kashmir crisis: Bangladeshi carriers little affected by Pakistani airspace closure

On connectivity, Bangladesh doesn't have any significant trade with western China or Central Asia, so I doubt if Gwadar/Karachi would serve any benefits. It's rather far more cost-effective to transport goods to China through the sea.

I don't remember any instance where Bangladesh expressed an interest in JF-17 as all the official tenders/reports suggest BAF is interested in twin-engine fighters. For single-engine, China has already offered J-10 to BAF on a silver plate which is much superior to the thunders.

The Bengalis living in Pakistan are not Bangladeshi citizens so there is hardly any concern from Bangladeshi side. The only issue Bangladesh had was the repatriation of the stranded Pakistanis living in Bangladesh, but even that has been resolved as they have been granted Bangladeshi citizenship.

Easing the consular services would rather benefit the Pakistani businesses and students more than the Bangladeshis as Bangladesh is one of the largest export destinations for Pakistan and one of the major host countries for Pakistani students abroad. In any case, fixing up the diplomatic ties is a good move by both the countries.
 

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