BanglaBhoot
RETIRED TTA
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2007
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Ishaq Khan Khakwani
Friday, August 19, 2011
In 90 years of the freedom struggle of undivided India, (1857-1947) despite massacres like Jalianwala Bagh and atrocities such as the Black Hole of Calcutta, the number of lives lost did not exceed a hundred thousand. Consequently, by the yardstick of lives lost under their political leadership, the Gandhi, the Nehrus, the Ali brothers of Bombay, and the Bose brothers of Calcutta pale in comparison to the score of Bangladeshs political leadership of 1971. Such is the rationale of civil society in Bangladesh.
The responsibility of motivating an unarmed population to confront the brutality of a marauding Pakistani army is eulogised as a marvel of political leadership. Indeed, the sacrifice of three million lives as yet to be identified or recognised is trumpeted as a statistical testament to the sagacity of the political leadership of East Pakistan in 1971.
Nineteenth century British Raj saw the advent and the rise of a community of Indian toadies of the colonial rulers in Calcutta popularly known as the Bhadralok Samaj. These were the landed Bengali gentry consisting of the Chatterjees, Mukherjees, and Bannerjees whose claim to fame as brown sahibs was their social association with the colonial white sahibs.
The late twentieth century witnessed the emergence and meteoric rise of the Bhadralok Samaj in Dhaka which is euphemistically called the civil society of Bangladesh. These worthies are primarily the sponsors of NGOs funded by western donor agencies. Senior media personalities engaged directly, or through their spouses, in the highly profitable NGO business are also members of the Bhadralok Samaj.
The Bhadraloks of Dhaka and the diplomatic community there thrive in a mutual backscratching association. Both communities, totally alien to the concerns and aspirations of a majority of Bangladeshis, are very articulate and facile in penning authoritative statements claiming to report on a diverse array of issues ranging from the constitution of the country to the latest buzz word, climate change. The Bhadraloks send weekly diplomatic reports to Paris, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Rome, Oslo, London and Washington. As a quid pro quo, the diplomatic missions in Dhaka patronise the Bhadroloks by funding the Bhadralok managed NGOs and promoting them as the civil society of Bangladesh.
A particularly high point in the machinations of the Bhadraloks of Dhaka was during the tenure of the 1/11 caretaker government of Moin U Ahmed. Their revealing homage to material interests in serving the cause of the 1/11 bandits has promoted the image of the Bhadraloks as a beacon of light to supposedly marooned humanity in Bangladesh.
Now the Bhadraloks have embarked upon rewriting the countrys constitution. They conveniently ignore the axiom that the efficacy of law is dependant on the popular opinion supporting it. The fourth amendment of the constitution was enacted by the first parliament of Bangladesh at the end of two years of its five-year tenure. Perhaps, it would not be too presumptuous to suggest that a lack of popular support for the first parliament resulted in its demise in less than seven months of the one party rule under the fourth amendment to the constitution.
Almost two and a half years of a five-year term of the ninth parliament have elapsed. Recent developments indicate that the electorate cannot be trusted to opine on subjects of such great import in favour of the Bhadraloks agenda.
It is to the credit of the colonial British that despite the sycophancy of the Bhadraloks of Calcutta, they astutely recognised the pernicious character of the ingratiating spongers of Calcutta and moved the capital of India to Delhi in 1911 - a thousand miles away.
The people of Bangladesh wait to see whether the international community in Dhaka wakes up to the machinations of the Bhadraloks of Dhaka and the dangers of their sanctimonious passions supported by a perverted rationale. Unless the agenda of the Bhadraloks is checked, the people there may not have to wait too long to witness the spectre of yet another demonstration of sacrificing millions of lives and breeding new heroes.
The Bhadraloks of Dhaka - Ishaq Khan Khakwani
Friday, August 19, 2011
In 90 years of the freedom struggle of undivided India, (1857-1947) despite massacres like Jalianwala Bagh and atrocities such as the Black Hole of Calcutta, the number of lives lost did not exceed a hundred thousand. Consequently, by the yardstick of lives lost under their political leadership, the Gandhi, the Nehrus, the Ali brothers of Bombay, and the Bose brothers of Calcutta pale in comparison to the score of Bangladeshs political leadership of 1971. Such is the rationale of civil society in Bangladesh.
The responsibility of motivating an unarmed population to confront the brutality of a marauding Pakistani army is eulogised as a marvel of political leadership. Indeed, the sacrifice of three million lives as yet to be identified or recognised is trumpeted as a statistical testament to the sagacity of the political leadership of East Pakistan in 1971.
Nineteenth century British Raj saw the advent and the rise of a community of Indian toadies of the colonial rulers in Calcutta popularly known as the Bhadralok Samaj. These were the landed Bengali gentry consisting of the Chatterjees, Mukherjees, and Bannerjees whose claim to fame as brown sahibs was their social association with the colonial white sahibs.
The late twentieth century witnessed the emergence and meteoric rise of the Bhadralok Samaj in Dhaka which is euphemistically called the civil society of Bangladesh. These worthies are primarily the sponsors of NGOs funded by western donor agencies. Senior media personalities engaged directly, or through their spouses, in the highly profitable NGO business are also members of the Bhadralok Samaj.
The Bhadraloks of Dhaka and the diplomatic community there thrive in a mutual backscratching association. Both communities, totally alien to the concerns and aspirations of a majority of Bangladeshis, are very articulate and facile in penning authoritative statements claiming to report on a diverse array of issues ranging from the constitution of the country to the latest buzz word, climate change. The Bhadraloks send weekly diplomatic reports to Paris, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Rome, Oslo, London and Washington. As a quid pro quo, the diplomatic missions in Dhaka patronise the Bhadroloks by funding the Bhadralok managed NGOs and promoting them as the civil society of Bangladesh.
A particularly high point in the machinations of the Bhadraloks of Dhaka was during the tenure of the 1/11 caretaker government of Moin U Ahmed. Their revealing homage to material interests in serving the cause of the 1/11 bandits has promoted the image of the Bhadraloks as a beacon of light to supposedly marooned humanity in Bangladesh.
Now the Bhadraloks have embarked upon rewriting the countrys constitution. They conveniently ignore the axiom that the efficacy of law is dependant on the popular opinion supporting it. The fourth amendment of the constitution was enacted by the first parliament of Bangladesh at the end of two years of its five-year tenure. Perhaps, it would not be too presumptuous to suggest that a lack of popular support for the first parliament resulted in its demise in less than seven months of the one party rule under the fourth amendment to the constitution.
Almost two and a half years of a five-year term of the ninth parliament have elapsed. Recent developments indicate that the electorate cannot be trusted to opine on subjects of such great import in favour of the Bhadraloks agenda.
It is to the credit of the colonial British that despite the sycophancy of the Bhadraloks of Calcutta, they astutely recognised the pernicious character of the ingratiating spongers of Calcutta and moved the capital of India to Delhi in 1911 - a thousand miles away.
The people of Bangladesh wait to see whether the international community in Dhaka wakes up to the machinations of the Bhadraloks of Dhaka and the dangers of their sanctimonious passions supported by a perverted rationale. Unless the agenda of the Bhadraloks is checked, the people there may not have to wait too long to witness the spectre of yet another demonstration of sacrificing millions of lives and breeding new heroes.
The Bhadraloks of Dhaka - Ishaq Khan Khakwani
