It is true that there are some so-called private universities which are acting simply as business organisations where degrees are bought and sold. However, it is also true that the environment in public universities is not ideal in most cases and there are widespread dissatisfaction regarding their ways of working. I also wonder how the UGC allowed their administration to fail so miserably to uphold the students’ interest!
   Is it possible that newspapers take initiative to open a web forum where students affected by mismanagement of public universities log their cases and all these are compiled and presented to the concerned ministry/UGC so that action can be taken against respective teachers and administrative staff whose negligence caused loss of valuable time of meritorious students and also caused undue mental torture to them?
   Samiul Amin
   West Agargaon, Dhaka

My earlier letter about China’s rising clout overshadowing the United States seemed to have upset Richard Murphy to pen a long letter. But Murphy should realise it is not a personal attack on America (which I admire immensely), but an analysis based on facts. China’s meteoric rise as the world’s most dynamic economic power is taking place at a time when the world’s most powerful economy is in a spiral of decline and the Americans are to be blamed for their own misfortune.
   And many Americans themselves feel the same. In a headline, ‘Booming China faults US Policy On the Economy,’ The New York Times wrote on June 17: ‘Not long ago, Chinese officials sat across conference tables from American officials and got an earful. The Americans scolded the Chinese on mismanaging their economy, from state subsidies to foreign investment regulations to the valuation of their currency.... But in recent years, the fingers have been wagging in the other direction. Senior Chinese officials are publicly and loudly rebuking the Americans on their handling of the economy ... Chinese officials seem to be galled by the apparent hypocrisy of Americans telling them what to do while the American economy is at best stagnant. China, on the other hand, has maintained its feverish growth.’
   And signs of American decline are clearly visible. While the Chinese economy has been growing at 11 per cent on the average, the American economy has been growing barely at 2 per cent. While the US imported from China a staggering $321 billion worth of goods, its exports to China were a paltry $65 billion, leaving a massive $256 billion trade surplus in China’s favour. The pathetic performance of the US is further evident by the fact that China is no longer the supplier of cheap garments and toys, but an exporter of machine tools, electrical and power generation equipments and computers and televisions.
   When compared with China’s other trading partners, America’s weakness is even more visible. In 2007, China exported to Japan goods worth of $102 billion and Japan’s exports to China were $134 billion, leaving a trade surplus of $32 billion in Japan’s favour. China exported to Germany goods worth of $48 billion, while Germany exported to China goods worth of $45 billion, leaving a small surplus of $3billion in China’s favour. Compared to the staggering $256 billion US trade deficits, China’s trades with Japan and Germany are broadly balanced.
   America’s economic inferiority vis-à-vis China stands in stark contrast to its enormous military superiority in sea and air power. American aircraft carriers and missile-equipped submarines prowl world’s oceans in the same way Britain’s Royal Navy ruled the oceans in the 18th and the 19th centuries. Britain’s immense empire was the product of unique circumstances. The wonder is not that it declined eventually but its dominance lasted as long as it did. And Britain’s decline coincided with the rise of the US and Germany overshadowing Britain as a global economic power. The same way China is rising as a global economic power. And as an economic power, China is destined to become a political and military power in the same way the US became a global power after eclipsing Britain as an economic power.
   Mahmood Elahi
   Ottawa, Canada

There is something beautiful about Bangladesh. No matter how it appears in its current tense political situation, there is something fundamentally beautiful about Bangladesh. One must live in Bangladesh to feel it! Like most other countries in the world it has its share of injustice –– the innocent getting punished, guilty set free and many more. But there is something good about Bangladesh and about its majority of 140 million ordinary people.
   The splendid and uncommon natural beauty and everyday life of the common people of ‘Gram Bangla’ attract us all, especially those who were born and raised in Bangladesh. I feel deep into my heart and soul a close touch of natural beauty and humanity rooted deeply in the greetings, hospitality and cares of these millions and millions of poverty-stricken faces and families in there. The ‘exquisite’ beauty of its ordinary people, the splendour we find in their poverty, their unspoken happiness of satisfaction and in all their imperfections shall amaze anyone.
   Mohammad Gani
   Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Many people talk a lot about HIV/AIDS but I do not think that enough efforts are being made to eradicate HIV/AIDS from the world. Unless governments and NGOs fight against the HIV/AIDS on a war footing, this disease instead of decreasing will increase with the passage of time. The first and the foremost thing is to create awareness among the people that no medicine has yet been invented anywhere in the world which could save the precious human lives. Once a person is infected with HIV/AIDS, he/she will have to die. Print and electronic media should play an important role in creating awareness among the people.
   I do not think the world community is doing enough to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in developing countries, especially Sub-Saharan Africa. Part of the reason is HIV/AIDS is receiving little attention from the media in the West. Some HIV/AIDS activists like Bono have, however, tried to influence leaders in the West to devote more funds. But the media is very important in the Western world because the media is what people listen to.
   Sarah Chowdhury
   Los Angeles, USA