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The Muktijuddho Jadughar, our cherished Liberation War Museum, has been playing a pivotal role in keeping us glued to the ideals of the war we once fought for national independence. It was nine years ago that the museum was inaugurated. When that event, seminal in nature because of all the buffeting pro-liberation forces were going through in the country, it was expected that the museum would truly and fully uphold the spirit which once impelled this entire Bengali nation into waging war for political sovereignty and, by extension, economic emancipation. Today, as an exhibition and sales of books devoted to the War of Liberation goes on at the Liberation War Museum, we are happy to report that the museum has done a creditable job of constantly reinforcing in us the ideals of nationalism in the defence of which we trekked off to the fields of battle all those years ago.
   The Muktijuddho Jadughar is today deserving of our congratulations. In times of despair, it has been a powerful signal to all of us that despite all the gathering darkness around us, there is always hope beyond the periphery of sadness. One of the very important ways in which the museum has been playing its role is the strict emphasis it has placed on a dissemination of history. Unadulterated and concerned purely with the history of the rise of Bengali nationalism and the ultimate armed struggle for liberty, this history has been fully preserved by the museum. In an era when politics, including the story of the war for freedom, is forever getting entangled in the cobweb of political partisanship, it has always been refreshing to know that the Liberation War Museum has preserved the records and documents of the Bengali struggle for self-assertion as it shaped itself over the years. It is for such reasons that a visitor to the museum will note the meticulous way in which the course of national history has been preserved. The roles of the national political leadership, the Mukti Bahini, the sector commanders, the peasants, the workers and the students have carefully been kept in good and indeed appreciable form at the museum. Besides, the nature of the seminars and discussions the museum has organised over the years is a strong suggestion that it means to keep alive as well the intellectual discourse that has regularly been a feature of Bengali thought. That serves as one more impetus to the urge in all citizens of this country to uphold in themselves and in their children the principles of a struggle that is as important today as it was when we waged our movement for self-expression throughout the years until we achieved victory on a December day.
   The Muktijuddho Jadughar will, we expect, carry on the noble work it has been doing over the years. There are whole classes of good, well-meaning, self-respecting people all over the country who have always been supportive of the efforts the museum has expended in keeping history alive for us. In the times ahead, it will be in need of support in a bigger sense, especially in the matter of more space for itself. As it exists today, the museum is constrained by a lack of space. The rooms, indeed the building housing it, are not enough to preserve the many documents it already has in its possession as also the papers which so many citizens all over the country are always willing to hand over to the museum authorities. The museum authorities, together with people who remain steadfast in their secular political beliefs and who are in a position to offer advice on an expansion of the scope and space for the museum, will need to reflect on these problems as also possibilities. For now, let us tell the museum just how splendid a job it has been doing for us. It is, truly, emblematic of the struggle we waged and won so many winters ago.

The next queen

The good news is that Camilla Parker Bowles will be queen someday. The British authorities have just put it about that whether or not the British public likes it, the woman Prince Charles is set to marry in April will become queen when the Prince of Wales succeeds his mother on the throne. That news will surely offend all those people who have never quite got over the fact that the late Diana’s marriage to Charles was in many ways ruined by her husband’s affair with Mrs. Parker Bowles. Whether the marriage would have survived even without the presence of the next wife of the Prince of Wales remains open to question, given that Diana was never truly comfortable within the parameters of the royal household. Add to that her own inclination towards men not her husband. So if there is any question about infidelity, one could say that it applies equally to Charles and Diana.
   As to the matter of Camilla Parker Bowles becoming queen, it is a simple matter of logic. The Duke of Edinburgh may not be king, because it is his wife who has primacy as queen. But in Charles’ case, his wife will be called queen because he will be the functioning king. Besides, anyone who thinks that Parker Bowles ought not to be given that position must first mull over the very serious matter of how to go about changing the laws that will ensure her not becoming queen. At the same time, as has been pointed out, it will be necessary to go for a change in law in as many as fifteen countries where the British monarchy still holds pride of place. And there we are.
   As the April showers draw near, the sense of happiness in Charles and Camilla will be hard to miss. What was it Shakespeare said once? Ah, men are April when they woo. Let us not recall the line that follows, for that would be a little unromantic on our part.

The Economist (March 12-18, 2005) carried a lead news that presents a strongly argued case for responding to the challenge of digital divide. In its view, responding to the challenge of digital divide lies in encouraging the spread of mobile phones. This is the most sensible and effective response to the digital divide. The expansion and access to internet facilities is not seen as a solution to the problem of digital divide. The problem has to be seen in the wider canvas of uneven distribution of income, development and literacy. Even if all the village households of the world were filled with computers, these will just lie there unused. Other priorities such as food or electricity and ability to read and write have to be attended to.
   It is said on March 14, following years of debate and consultations, the united nations (UN) decided to launch a ‘Digital Solidarity Fund’ to support local infrastructure projects centering on rural telecentres so that the issue of ‘the uneven distribution and use of new information and communication technologies’ can be addressed. This approach, it has been argued, will not yield fruitful results in terms of narrowing down the digital divide between the rich and the poor nations. It has been said that this approach that centres on expansion of internet will amount to ‘treating the symptoms rather than the underlying causes’. The argument goes further on to say that ‘the more sensible goal is to determine how best to use technology to promote bottom-up development. And the answer to that question turns out to be remarkably clear by promoting the spread not of PCS and the internet, but of mobile phones’. Such phones have an appreciable impact on economic growth and development. It can bring down transaction costs.
   Bangladesh case
   The national telecommunications policy (NTP, 1998) lays down targets for teledensity in the short, medium and long term. In the short term, the target is to achieve a telephone penetration of 1.3 million against 1998 penetration level of 475,036 lines. More than 55 percent of such lines were digital. This was to be achieved in the year 2000 in order to substantially eliminate the unmet demand and increase the teledensity from 0.4 telephone to 1 telephone for every 100 persons. This takes into account the increase in population during the period at a projected rate of growth.
   The achievement
   Available evidence point out that the above target could not be met. However, by the year 2003-2004, the total fixed lines stood at 962,294 or about 74 percent of the target set. For the medium term, the policy envisages raising the penetration to 4 telephones for every 100 persons by the year 2010. The long term target is set at 10 telephones per 100 persons by 2025. This will include value added services and global mobile personal communication by satellite (GMPCS).
   Expansion of mobile phones
   The rate of expansion of mobile phones far outpaced that of fixed phones. The four private sector operators had, by June 2004, achieved a penetration level of about 3.2 million. The mobile teledensity thus stands at 2.37 per 100 persons. Taking into account both fixed and mobile phones, the overall teledensity is estimated to be about 3 per 100 persons. Viewed in this context, the mid-term target of NTP is likely to be met or even exceeded by 2010. This note of optimism also takes into account the number of licenses issued to private operators for fixed phone as well as Bangladesh Telephone and Telegraph Board’s (BTTB) entry into the mobile network.
   Rural-urban divide
   The above note of optimism has to be assessed in the context of rural-urban penetration of telephones. The issue of universal access or service is relevant in this context. This is because the strategic vision of NTP is to facilitate universal telephone service throughout the country and where there is a demand. It further speaks of universal access as well as accessibility upto village level. In particular, NTP affirms to make telecommunication services available in phases at all the Upazilas, unions, villages and growth centres by the year 2005. The private sector too will contribute to achieve these goals.
   The present status
   The status of rural telephony upto June 2004 causes some concerns. Of the total number of 962,294 fixed phones operated by BTTB, 87 percent is urban and 13 percent rural. However, the bright side is that BTTB has been able to expand digital phones to the extent of 96 percent. Most of the Upazilas are now accessible.
   The telephone ladies in the rural Bangladesh
   The penetration of mobile phones into rural areas is difficult to estimate. The Economist, however, refers to ‘telephone ladies’ in Bangladesh villages. They are of course members of Grameen Bank (GB) who purchased mobile phones with credit. GB has recently given mobile phones to destitutes as part of the effort to increase their livelihood opportunities. Information reveals that there are about 100,000 members of GB who operate mobile phones in the far flung villages that has increased their livelihood opportunities. The impact of teledensity is almost always assessed at the macro-level. The Economist affirms that an extra ten phones per 100 people in a typical developing country increases GDP growth by 0.6 percentage points.
   This point is well-taken, but the fact remains that in Bangladesh context, it is the issue of increasing livelihood opportunities for the rural poor, in particular women, that is of critical importance. It is said that our central planning process does not calculate contribution of telephone to GDP separately. It is lumped together with government postal service which is on the wane because primarily of the growth of private courier service. Admittedly, the contribution of the government owned postal service would be negligible. In 2003-2004, the contribution of telecom and postal service to GDP was at 1.41 percent as against 1.30 percent of the preceding year. In 1990-91, it was 0.36 percent which means that it has more than doubled over a ten year period.
   It is felt that not only BTTB but other private operators can substantially contribute to increase rural teledensity and thus reduce the rural-urban divide if they follow the example of GB. NGOs involved in micro-credit can similarly take such initiatives. It is said that technology firms operating in poor countries will be encouraged, under the “Digital Solidarity Fund” programme, to contribute one percent of their profits to the fund. More or less similar initiative can perhaps be taken by the public and private operators to expand telephone service in the rural areas.
   The poor countries use telephones more than the rich
   There is strong evidence that the people in the poor countries use telephones more than those in the rich countries. If teledensity in the rural areas of Bangladesh can be increased, it is expected to have a dramatic impact in the rural markets and institutions in terms of sharing of information on prices of commodities that flow to the urban market centres. There are no structured information and analysis in this regard for Bangladesh. This gap notwithstanding, anecdotal evidence are visible. Mobile phones are used by farmers and fishermen to gather information.
   Apart from the women members of GB, who commercially operate mobile phones, shops in most of the Upazillas are there with fax and phone services. This scenario is of recent origin. In the urban areas, fixed phones were there during the late eighties and early nineties. They are still there. Mobile phone service has also been added now with nation-wide dialling (NWD) and international phone connections. Unfortunately, card phone service, which replaced coin phones, did expand during the first half of the nineties but is now said to be in a moribund stage. An expansion of card phone services could have increased access of average citizens who cannot afford either fixed or mobile phones. And they are in the majority.
   ICT versus teledensity
   As explained earlier, questions of priority has been raised on the issue of narrowing down the digital divide between rich and poor countries. Some of our telephone experts such as Munir Ahmed and Habiur Rahman have written about digital divide in Telereach, a journal of BCS telecom samity (Vol XIII, May 2004). It is felt that priorities now are to expand teledensity in the rural areas focussing on livelihood opportunities for the poor.