High Court bars use of Hindi songs as mobile ringtones, welcome tunes

[my2cents]

Suffice it to say Bangladeshis have borrowed many influences from many parts of the world. And your 'Dharmic Bengali' contribution is only a small part of it and is thankfully no longer important in today's Bangladeshi culture.

Bangladesh is doing fine as a secular modern state Thank You - with enough sensitivity toward all types of religions including Islam.

Contrary to what they brainwash you with at the RSS shakha - you don't have to be a Racist Hindu to have talent or to have contribution to 'Indian culture'.

Talking about classical Bengali culture - that Bankim Chandra idiot was a first-class Muslim hater. Racist of the first degree. He called all Muslims 'mlecchas'. Nice of you to put him on a pedestal. Early Racist and probably worshipped in your local RSS shakha.

Don't call Rabindranath 'dharmic'. His family and him were founding fathers of the 'Brahma Samaj' and were the least racist of all Hindus. They were not even 'narrow-minded' Hindus in the true sense. Their philosophy was a lot broader than that.

Read some history please...

My point was that India has a lot better culture and principles to offer to us than these racist ideologues like Bankim and their hate-philosophies. Also - keep your trash Bollywood culture to yourself.

Bangladeshis have contributed to your classical music that you know very little about. Ever heard about Ustad Alauddin Khan? He is the founder of the Maihar Gharana tradition of Indian Music.

He was awarded the 'Padma Vibhushan', India's second highest civilian honour in 1971, and prior to that in 1954, the 'Sangeet Natak Akademi' in India awarded him with its highest honour, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship for lifetime contribution to Indian music.

His son Ali Akbar Khan was born in the village of Shibpur, Nabinagar Upazila, Brahmanbaria , in present-day Bangladesh, (then Comilla, East Bengal), to renowned musician and teacher, Allauddin Khan and Madina Begum. Soon after his birth, Khan's family returned to Maihar (in present day Madhya Pradesh, India). Ali Akbar Khan was also awarded the 'Padma Vibhushan' and was nominated for five grammy awards.

Allauddin Khan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Your best movie lyricist S.D. Burman and his son R.D. Burman were all originally from Comilla, Bangladesh (members of the Tripura Royal family).

Many of the Bengali Hindu film actresses in India had Bangladeshi family connections originally. Suchitra Sen is a good example.

Even today the best Rabindra Sangeet singer is from Bangladesh (Rizwana Chowdhury).

Now tell me she has to be 'dharmic' to sing 'Rabindra Sangeet'??d

If we see something good in any culture - we have the right to adopt and enjoy it. And without becoming Hindu - I might add.

Nice post.

I did not know any of the persons you mentioned except RD Burman and Suchitra Sen who happen to be from same Bollywood fraternity. Isn't it an irony you want to ban bollywood which gave them name and fame.

 

[Bilal9]

Nice post.

I did not know any of the persons you mentioned except RD Burman and Suchitra Sen who happen to be from same Bollywood fraternity. Isn't it an irony you want to ban bollywood which gave them name and fame.

Bollywood as a commercial money-making entity is not the best representation of culture India represents. Although Bangladesh born people have participated in the activities there, it does not represent the best of the best India offers.

Most cultured people in Bangladesh are more aware of superior Indian talent other than that represented by Bollywood actors. And they are open to those kind of cultural exchanges. But if you block our media in India - then it starts putting negativity in that cultural exchange and prompts us to ban unhealthy influences like Bollywood in order to protect our own media.

For example - even Pakistani rock bands routinely perform in Dhaka, as well as classical sitarists and musicians from India.

It's all in my Bangladeshi Music thread,

Bangladeshi music

 

[nForce]

I dont know if there is any rating system in BD. But Indian serials are very popular. And its just bad influence and killing people's precious time especially women folks. We should ban the daily soaps specially. Like the Pakistani channels are banned.

Might as well declare yourself Taliban and find your own Bamiyan Buddha to destroy.
Culture cannot be enforced, it depends upon acceptance of the public. Hindi channels are aired in West Bengal too. That does not mean Bengali culture is lost there.
This is one of the stupidest decisions I have heard in recent times.

 

[Spring Onion]

Very good that is called having some balls.

Its time to ban star plus Indian shit as well.

 

[Kaniska]

When did we tell that BD does not have contribution Indian music...??...

Suffice it to say Bangladeshis have borrowed many influences from many parts of the world. And your 'Dharmic Bengali' contribution is only a small part of it and is thankfully no longer important in today's Bangladeshi culture.

Bangladesh is doing fine as a secular modern state Thank You - with enough sensitivity toward all types of religions including Islam.

Contrary to what they brainwash you with at the RSS shakha - you don't have to be a Racist Hindu to have talent or to have contribution to 'Indian culture'.

Talking about classical Bengali culture - that Bankim Chandra idiot was a first-class Muslim hater. Racist of the first degree. He called all Muslims 'mlecchas'. Nice of you to put him on a pedestal. Early Racist and probably worshipped in your local RSS shakha.

Don't call Rabindranath 'dharmic'. His family and him were founding fathers of the 'Brahma Samaj' and were the least racist of all Hindus. They were not even 'narrow-minded' Hindus in the true sense. Their philosophy was a lot broader than that.

Read some history please...

My point was that India has a lot better culture and principles to offer to us than these racist ideologues like Bankim and their hate-philosophies. Also - keep your trash Bollywood culture to yourself.

Bangladeshis have contributed to your classical music that you know very little about. Ever heard about Ustad Alauddin Khan? He is the founder of the Maihar Gharana tradition of Indian Music.

He was awarded the 'Padma Vibhushan', India's second highest civilian honour in 1971, and prior to that in 1954, the 'Sangeet Natak Akademi' in India awarded him with its highest honour, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship for lifetime contribution to Indian music.

His son Ali Akbar Khan was born in the village of Shibpur, Nabinagar Upazila, Brahmanbaria , in present-day Bangladesh, (then Comilla, East Bengal), to renowned musician and teacher, Allauddin Khan and Madina Begum. Soon after his birth, Khan's family returned to Maihar (in present day Madhya Pradesh, India). Ali Akbar Khan was also awarded the 'Padma Vibhushan' and was nominated for five grammy awards.

Allauddin Khan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Your best movie lyricist S.D. Burman and his son R.D. Burman were all originally from Comilla, Bangladesh (members of the Tripura Royal family).

Many of the Bengali Hindu film actresses in India had Bangladeshi family connections originally. Suchitra Sen is a good example.

Even today the best Rabindra Sangeet singer is from Bangladesh (Rizwana Chowdhury).

Now tell me she has to be 'dharmic' to sing 'Rabindra Sangeet'??

If we see something good in any culture - we have the right to adopt and enjoy it. And without becoming Hindu - I might add.

 

[Bilal9]

Might as well declare yourself Taliban and find your own Bamiyan Buddha to destroy.
Culture cannot be enforced, it depends upon acceptance of the public. Hindi channels are aired in West Bengal too. That does not mean Bengali culture is lost there.
This is one of the stupidest decisions I have heard in recent times.

Dada use Taliban moniker with caution. It is not to be taken lightly and thrown hither and thither at the slightest disagreement.

The argument here is not about Islamization. If that was the case (and Jamaat was in power) then all Indian cultural exchanges (seen as Hinduization by them) would come to an immediate halt. As many here would agree.

It is more a question of preserving our own Bangladeshi media Industry and our specific brand of values and culture that we are fond of. And having equal opportunity in cultural exchanges. Don't ban our media in Kolkata and not expect us to do the same.

Bollywood Media draws revenue from all across India - hence it is strong, much stronger than our media. It draws in technical capability and talent from all across India with that revenue. We don't have that luxury.

At the end of the day - it is up to us to preserve our Media. We will take all steps to preserve it because we as a free, sovereign nation are free and will remain free of cultural imposition from anyone. We have proven it by giving millions of our lives.

It's interesting that you bring up Kolkata. Even store banners and street advertisement is in Hindi. There is not much of a popular Bangla culture left there (at least in the scale and quantity we have). We have even fought imposition of English in govt. circles - to our massive financial detriment I'd say. Yet we persisted.

We fought a nine-month long war based on the preservation of our language and lost millions of lives. How many drops of blood spilled in Kolkata to preserve Bangla? None.

Compared to West Bengal - South Indian states have more pride and preserved their culture and language (Malayalam, Telegu, Kannada etc.) far better.

Bangladesh leads today in the preservation of classical Bangla culture, whether you talk about usage in govt. communication, the quality and scale of local literature, early introduction of Bangla fonts/virtual keyboards and use of Bangla usage in social media. We have kept it alive with our money and patronage and kept it in pace with the modern world.

Kolkata has become a sideshow in the preservation of classical or even modern Bangla culture.

These may sound like boastful words but they really are not. A casual visitor to Dhaka and Kolkata will immediately see these stark differences and decide for themselves.

 

[dray]

Dude read carefully our writers often named their country as Bangladesh. Way before Bangladesh was created. Countless times. They can be called joint citizens. We will glorify or highlight everything that originated or associated from our one inch of land that suits us. And we never threw away our claim in Bengal. Which is IOB. We dont claim Indian history. Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Khulna, Rajshahi, Barishal. All of them have particular histories. Combined them is history of BD. No BS plz.

From Rabindrath Thakur's interview
ছোটগল্প আমি লিখতে শুরু করেছিলুম একেবারে যৌবনে। জমিদার হওয়ার কারণে আমাকে গ্রামে যেতে হতো আর এর ফলে আমি গ্রামের মানুষের আর তাদের সাধারণ জীবন-যাপনের সংস্পর্শে আসতে পেরেছি। উপভোগ করতুম গ্রামবাংলার আপন সৌন্দর্য আর আশেপাশের দৃশ্য।এই প্রদেশের শ্রেষ্ঠে অংশ নদীমাতৃক বাংলাদেশ আমাকে মুগ্ধ করেছে এবং এই নদীগুলোকে আমি ভাল করেই চিনি। যেসব মানুষের জীবন আমি দেখেছি তা আমাকে বিশেষভাবে আকৃষ্ট করেছে। কলকাতায় জন্মগ্রহণ আর সেখানে বড় হওয়ায় প্রথমত গ্রামের জীবনের সাথে আমি একেবারেই অপরিচিত ছিলাম। আর সে কারণে আমার কাছে এটা একটা রহস্যময় ব্যাপার ছিল। তাদের সাথে ঘনিষ্ঠ সম্পর্কে আসার পর থেকেই আমার সমগ্র হৃদয় গ্রামের মানুষের প্রতি আকৃষ্ট হয়েছে। তাদেরকে মনে হয়েছে ভিন্ন এক জগতের মানুষ, কলকাতা থেকে খুবই আলাদা। আমার প্রথমদিককার গল্পগুলোয় এই পটভূমি রয়েছে আর সেগুলোতে গ্রামের মানুষের সাথে আমার যোগাযোগের কথা আছে, তাদের মধ্যে যৌবনের একটা সজীবতা রয়েছে। এই গল্পগুলো লেখার আগে বাংলা সাহিত্যে এ ধরণের কিছু ছিল না।

Kazi Najrul
‘সেই আমাদের বাংলাদেশ
রাজরানী আজ ভিখারিনী
কাঁদছে বনে লুটিয়ে কেশ\
মুক্তধারা সেই নদী আজ মন্দগতি বন্ধনে,
সুনীল আকাশ অশ্রুমলিন নিপীড়িতের ক্রন্দনে।
ধূলায় ছিল সোনার রেণু ঘরে ঘরে সুখ-বিলাস
নিঃশ্বসিয়া ফিরছে হেথা চাঁদ কেদারের দীর্ঘশ্বাস।
বাতাসে হায় ফিরছে উড়ে বীর-প্রতাপের ভস্মশেষ\’

Sukanto Bhattacharya
হিমালয় থেকে সুন্দরবন, হঠাৎ বাংলাদেশ

Michael Madhusudan
আর কি হে হবে দেখা যত দিন যাবে
প্রজারূপে রাজরূপ সাগরেরে দিতে
বারি রূপ কর তুমি এ মিনতি গাবে
বঙ্গজ জনের কানে সখে-সখারিতে।
নাম তার এ প্রবাসে মজি প্রেমভাবে
লইছে যে নাম তব বঙ্গের সঙ্গীতে।

There are many well known personalities who were born in undivided India, but Md Ali Jinnah will always be a Pakistani, LK Advani will always be an Indian, so is Rabindranath Tagore or Masterda Surya Sen, he fought and died for the freedom of India after all.

 

[bongbang]

There are many well known personalities who were born in undivided India, but Md Ali Jinnah will always be a Pakistani, LK Advani will always be an Indian, so is Rabindranath Tagore or Masterda Surya Sen, he fought and died for the freedom of India after all.

Why dont you understand there is no undivided India? There was British India. And there was India and Pakistan in 1947. Still many people became Indian in 1974 excluding exodus of migrated people. Before 1947 there was undivided Bangla. Maybe because some people didnt want to be part of our East Bengal thats why we didnt highlight them much. But before 1947 whoever was associated with us part of our history.

 

[dray]

Don't ban our media in Kolkata and not expect us to do the same.

It is not banned, cable operators air some Bangladeshi channels, but they failed to capture any significant audience.

It's interesting that you bring up Kolkata. Even store banners and street advertisement is in Hindi.

I can't remember any store banners and street advertisement that are in Hindi, there could be some in areas like Burra Bazaar, but nothing I can remember. But then I only live in Kolkata, Bangladeshis living in US must be having better knowledge about my city than me!

 

[Bilal9]

Kolkata and West Bengal as a part of India cannot be immune from Hindi-speaking cultural influences.

Hindi speaking belt in North India expects that everyone else in India should speak Hindi.

This is based on the assumption that 'Hindi is the National language of India' and it should stand true to its name by being spoken across the country.

But this is not true. Per the constitution of India, Hindi is not the National language. In fact, India has recognized some sixteen hundred languages and dialects as spoken in that country. Hindi and English are only official languages used to enhance communication, but not National languages.

So, Hindi speakers should lower expectations which are only supported by a myth rather than fact.

 

[nForce]

Dada use Taliban moniker with caution. It is not to be taken lightly and thrown hither and thither at the slightest disagreement.

This verdict has all the traits. You tell me, when in the recorded human history has these kind of bans and sanctions ever worked out. There may be a problem, but this is definitely not the solution.

The argument here is not about Islamization. If that was the case (and Jamaat was in power) then all Indian cultural exchanges (seen as Hinduization by them) would come to an immediate halt. As many here would agree.

I agree. The Taliban metaphor is for blocking media selectively.

It is more a question of preserving our own Bangladeshi media Industry and our specific brand of values and culture that we are fond of. And having equal opportunity in cultural exchanges. Don't ban our media in Kolkata and not expect us to do the same.

Two points here..

1. If this is where you start, where will you end ? Tomorrow, will you block some Western movie channel, say HBO, saying it does not portray Bengali culture. Culture cannot be destroyed by movie channels and songs, it is much stronger than that, strong enough to build a nation. In fact, this act weakens it.
There are Hindi channels in West Bengal too. Does that mean, people have forgotten their culture there ?

2.I'm not aware whether Bangladeshi channels are banned in Kolkata. If it is, then it is wrong. However, if you say banning some Hindi channel is the reaction to it, then it's wrong too, and two wrongs don't make one right. Bangladesh should have raised a formal protest instead, with Govt. of India and the State Govt. of West Bengal.

Bollywood Media draws revenue from all across India - hence it is strong, much stronger than our media. It draws in technical capability and talent from all across India with that revenue. We don't have that luxury.

This is complete nonsense. Media related technology is no rocket science. Neither do you need a million people to make it work.

At the end of the day - it is up to us to preserve our Media. We will take all steps to preserve it because we as a free, sovereign nation are free and will remain free of cultural imposition from anyone. We have proven it by giving millions of our lives.

Please don't over-sensationalize it.

It's interesting that you bring up Kolkata. Even store banners and street advertisement is in Hindi. There is not much of a popular Bangla culture left there (at least in the scale and quantity we have). We have even fought imposition of English in govt. circles - to our massive financial detriment I'd say. Yet we persisted.

1. Kolkata is metropolitan city, and the city has got nothing against Hindi.
2. You couldn't see banners in Bengali ? Hahaha.... Don't teach grandma how to suck an egg!!

We fought a nine-month long war based on the preservation of our language and lost millions of lives. How many drops of blood spilled in Kolkata to preserve Bangla? None.

West Bengal has done it's part giving shelter to 10 million refugees from East Bengal, something you should know.

Compared to West Bengal - South Indian states have more pride and preserved their culture and language (Malayalam, Telegu, Kannada etc.) far better.

I think it is stupid to compare one culture with other.

Bangladesh leads today in the preservation of classical Bangla culture, whether you talk about usage in govt. communication, the quality and scale of local literature, early introduction of Bangla fonts/virtual keyboards and use of Bangla usage in social media. We have kept it alive with our money and patronage and kept it in pace with the modern world.

Kolkata has become a sideshow in the preservation of classical or even modern Bangla culture.

These may sound like boastful words but they really are not. A casual visitor to Dhaka and Kolkata will immediately see these stark differences and decide for themselves.

Hahaha.. You make it sound like as it there is competition between West Bengal and Bangladesh on cultural aspect. There isn't any! And we will be happy to see Bangladesh lead the way, nothing wrong with that. It's not a Kolkata vs Dhaka thing. I refuse to resort to such a contest..

 

[dray]

Why dont you understand there is no undivided India? There was British India. And there was India and Pakistan in 1947. Still many people became Indian in 1974 excluding exodus of migrated people. Before 1947 there was undivided Bangla. Maybe because some people didnt want to be part of our East Bengal thats why we didnt highlight them much. But before 1947 whoever was associated with us part of our history.

That was undivided India under British rule, the undivided India was there under different rulers for thousands of years. Would you call Bangladesh under Awami League rule and Bangladesh under BNP rule are two different countries?

And the people who are being claimed as Bangladeshis by the Bangladeshis preferred to remain Indians and rejected Bangladeshi identity, many of them were even forced out of Bangladesh, and now Bangladesh cannot claim their legacy.

The confusion is because the country Bangladesh was created by dividing a nation on the basis of religion, otherwise they share fairly similar culture, music, dance, literature, food habit, dress, family values, and everything else, even the language is a derivative of Indic language family. Hence, Bangladeshis barely have anything that is exclusive to them, and probably that is why the desperation to claim a part of Indian legacy as their own!

Religion is not a sufficient reason for creating a separate country, and Bangladesh doesn't have enough differences in other parameters to have a separate country. But now Bangladeshis have one, and they are desperate to find out or create differences to justify to themselves their existence as a separate country, hence all such dramas like banning Bollywood and West Bengali music.

 

[Bilal9]

Rather than answer your points in detail, I will post something here (not written by me).

Why are Bangladeshi TV channels banned in India?
Bangladeshis watch all Indian Hindi and Bengali TV channels 24/7. They even use Indian DTH services to illegally watch Indian channels but Indians have no option to watch Bangladeshi TV channels. Why?

Ashiquzzaman Kiron

There are no official rules to ban Bangladeshi TV channels in India, it's completely unofficial and India has always neglected this issue. Over the past few years Indian politicians have stated that BD TV channels propagates Anti-India sentiment but seriously it's a false assumption (lame excuse). Indian politicians don't want TV channel from Bangladesh for some unknown reason.

On the other hand, Bangladesh has adopted a very liberal policy in allowing foreign television channels, including most Indian channels [even some regional language channels] and have not only allowed them in Bangladeshi cable network, but also, each month Indian channels are earning significant amount of revenue, both by selling advertisement as well as subscription to Bangladeshi entrepreneurs and households. Bangladesh freely allows more than 180 regional and international channels on country's domestic cable network, which includes HBO, ESPN, National Gepgraphic Channel, Discovery, BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, NDTV, Deutsche Welle (Germany), Fox, VOA, France24, MGM, TVC, TNT, Cartoon Network, RAI (Italy) etc.

India - though it allows most international channels within its domestic cable network; continues to stop Bangladeshi channels from entering the same network, for reasons unknown.

Bangladesh is a very profitable business area for Indian channels. Below is the chart of monthly revenues earned by the Indian channels from Bangladesh:

Monthly Revenues from Subscription (this is a rough estimation)

1. Star Plus--US$ 195,000
2. Star Movies--US$ 118,000
3. Zee Studio--US$ 94,000
4. Zee TV--US$ 67,000
5. SONY--US$ 123,000
6. Set Max [Part of SONY]--US$ 72,000
7. Star GOLD--US$ 61,000
8. Zee Cinema--US$ 95,000
9. Star Sports--US$ 70,000
10. B4U--US$ 5,000
11. Star Jalsha--US$ 17,000
12.Zee Premie--US$ 39,000
13.Zee Action--US$ 29,000
14. Zee Café--US$ 19,000
15.Zee Bangla--US$ 17,000
16.SAB--US$ 6,000
17.TARA TV--US$ 6,000
18. TARA Music--US$ 6,000
19. Doordarshan Bangla--US$ 000,00
20. STAR One--US$ 23,000
21.Star World--US$ 23,000

One might be inclined to believe that TV channels in Bangladesh are producing low quality programming, but this is not the case. In fact compared to Indian daily soaps (family conflicts, over-sensationalized dramas, family feuds) BD natok/daily drama soaps are far better in terms of subject scope (I am not badmouthing Indian TV channels just their daily soaps ).

Only time can tell whether Indian government will allow BD TV channels or not. As for Bangladesh it should either ban Indian TV channels unless Bangladeshi channels are allowed to be broadcast in India.

That was undivided India under British rule, the undivided India was there under different rulers for thousands of years. Would you call Bangladesh under Awami League rule and Bangladesh under BNP rule are two different countries?

And the people who are being claimed as Bangladeshis by the Bangladeshis preferred to remain Indians and rejected Bangladeshi identity, many of them were even forced out of Bangladesh, and now Bangladesh cannot claim their legacy.

The confusion is because the country Bangladesh was created by dividing a nation on the basis of religion, otherwise they share fairly similar culture, music, dance, literature, food habit, dress, family values, and everything else, even the language is a derivative of Indic language family. Hence, Bangladeshis barely have anything that is exclusive to them, and probably that is why the desperation to claim a part of Indian legacy as their own!

Religion is not a sufficient reason for creating a separate country, and Bangladesh doesn't have enough differences in other parameters to have a separate country. But now Bangladeshis have one, and they are desperate to find out or create differences to justify to themselves their existence as a separate country, hence all such dramas like banning Bollywood and West Bengali music.

Bhairey - this is saying, if I moved to the US (for whatever reason) then I am not a born-Bangladeshi anymore?? Everything is denied and forgotten?

I honestly don't get the logic at all. Once a Bangladesh-born person, always a Bangladeshi, no matter where you go. You can't deny it. Every DNA and molecule in your body attests to it.

 

[dray]

Bollywood Media draws revenue from all across India - hence it is strong, much stronger than our media. It draws in technical capability and talent from all across India with that revenue. We don't have that luxury.

That was a weak argument. Bollywood didn't destroy the regional film industries, in fact South Indian film industry is probably bigger or comparable to Bollywood. More importantly, Hollywood with far more revenue, resources and technical capability didn't destroy Bollywood.

Bangladesh just need to make enough good films, and money is not a significant criterion to make good films. It's Bangladesh's fault if they can't.

 

[nForce]

Kolkata and West Bengal as a part of India cannot be immune from Hindi-speaking cultural influences.

Why on Earth do you think West Bengal needs immunity from Hindi-speaking people ?!! That makes no sense at all! Bengalis are doing quite fine there.

Hindi speaking belt in North India expects that everyone else in India should speak Hindi.

What makes you think so ?