August 17 attack
A Canada based Islamic website published the JMB’s message to the Bangladesh government. The message stated that the Bangladesh government has already been warned twice and after this third warning the JMB will take direct action against the government if it does not establishes Islamic rule in the country.
I presume that the recent bombing that caused minor damage was the second warning from JMB. The website is full of news about jihad and it is conceivable that this site published the JMB news because of JMB’s jihadi status.
The problem of the country is that two components of the ruling alliance are in all out move to prove that the bomb attack was not the work of a Muslim organisation rather it was the work of a neighbouring country.
Well, bomb attacks are not a new phenomenon in Bangladesh. There were bomb attacks during the AL rule. The ruling coalition and many people in Bangladesh believe that AL has a soft corner towards India and AL preserves Indian interest in Bangladesh. Then was India responsible for the bomb attacks during its own rule? We heard of Mufti Hannan’s link with Kotalipara bomb case. The same Mufti Hannan is now a leader of JMB. If JMB is created by India, then why Mufti Hannan wanted to kill Sheikh Hasina? All the bomb attacks except for the recent one had similar pattern. Bombs targeted AL and its allies. Why there was not a single attack on BNP and its alliance? The best way to destabilise a country is to attack the government, not the opposition. When we say that the opposition is killing themselves it seems that we are living in a lunatic world. It seems to me that the two parties in the alliance are trying to create confusion and putting pressures on the government so that it cannot take action against the attackers. If the government bows down to such pressure then the situation will worsen further. I am pretty sure that the BNP would not be benefited in the long run in such situation.
Wasim Haider
Toronto, Canada
Top women
Women have been the subject of letters to Feedback recently. Who knows who the greatest or most powerful woman is?
But in his letter, SA Mansoor (August 9) seems to imply that women’s most important role is having and raising our children. Well, I certainly hope he’s wrong! It’s important, but it’s not all!
Telling us that women are best when viewed as breeding stock, which is basically what he is saying, is likening them to cattle or goats, good only for producing offspring.
This traditional view of society is not sustainable, however convenient it is to men. Women have brains that were meant to be used, ambition that must be fulfilled and their own personal desires that they have every right to satisfy.
Society can only benefit from women being fully engaged at all levels and in all facets of our society. Men have nothing to lose. We all have everything to gain from their participation.
Especially if they play football!
Richard J Murphy
Somewhere in England
* * *
I refer to SA Mansoor’s ‘In dust be equal made’ (August 10) comparing various living women and women in history quoting from Shakespeare and other poets on the subject. Perhaps a woman’s own point of view is more interesting and enlightening. The greatest woman on earth in the opinion of my wife is Barbara Bush. When challenged to explain this ‘silly’ remark, she said, ‘She made her husband as well as her son’ the most powerful men on earth. What other woman deserves this honour?
Shafi Ahmed
London, UK
The Tata trap
It seems that Tata’s investment (or unilateral?) deal is heading Tata’s way, and may even supersede the ill famed KAFCO deal! We will have fertilizers, power and steel, but Tata will steal the show! Perhaps our bureaucrats and politicians are no match for Tata’s sharp business acumen. To sum up; the agreement seems to be: Tata says and we agree.
As far as one can gather, till date it seems to be a one-way traffic. Figuratively, it appears that Tata is conniving to get Bangladesh’s limited natural gas resources; and that too at special favoured prices!
In return their proposals, both for steel and fertiliser production is, flawed. The steel product proposed, is not what we need, and may be most of it has to be sent to India at a specially favoured price! The fertiliser production will waste a lot of Ammonia, which may be sent to India for further processing or destroy our environment. Only the coal based power plant and coal mining proposal appear to be realistic on its own merit.
Tata’s attitude seems to be: take it or leave it. One wonders if the whole idea is to utilise cheap natural gas from Bangladesh for making products for Indian consumption. In the national overview, the potential employment of around 2000 people is nothing compared to the benefits for Tata. It could be an indirect way of taking natural gas from Bangladesh to serve Tata and India’s interest.
Let the nation be aware, and carefully look before we leap and ink a fundamentally flawed agreement to sell out our steel and fertiliser future for a pittance. The products proposed for us is not just a minor issue that our powers to be seem to envisage.
A Tata watcher
Dhaka
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