The 1965 Factory Act is the core law governing working conditions in the country. By reason of its age and its purview, as civil society organisations have pointed out, it is past its prime. One particularly glaring shortcoming of the said law is the fact that it leaves out of its ambit the hundreds of thousands of slaves.
   Yes, that is what many, if not most, of the domestic servants are in Bangladesh, insofar as reality is concerned. The atrocious manner in which such folks are treated is a blot on our national character that will take many generations to overcome. Children as little as four and five years of age are mistreated by their employers. Don’t get me wrong; I am not one of those silly liberal ideologues who populate Washington DC think tanks and believe that with a magic wand all child labour can be eliminated tomorrow. But it is only decent and humane to bring working conditions inside otherwise ‘respectable’ homes under the purview of the law.
   Few things have shamed me as much about Bangladesh as the manner in which domestic servants are treated which is often worse than domestic animals. It is a blot on the conscience that must be addressed. Expanding the Factory Act to include such individuals and residences is a good start.
   BT
   USA

Income Tax & Value Added Tax (VAT) of a business is assessed on the basis of sale or turnover. This is unbelievable that in Bangladesh the sale or turnover of a business is always assessed twice by two different government departments and the sale or turnover figure assessed by the two departments for the same business is always different. This funny thing is happening because income tax & VAT is assessed by Income Tax & Customs department respectively and there is no coordination between the two departments. As a result, a businessman is harassed twice for the same business, which is completely unnecessary. Customs department should handle the duty and tax of goods being exported or imported, to or from other countries only, not inland tax (VAT or sales tax). As far as I know, Bangladesh is the only country in the world where inland tax (VAT or Sales Tax) is collected by customs department. Around the world, inland tax (VAT or sales tax) is collected by income tax department along with their regular income tax collection, and in this ways a businessman is not harassed twice. Arif Ahmed (Businessman) Dhaka.

I refer to the HS Suhrawardy’s article on Tagore first published in Calcutta Municipal Gazette and reprinted in New Age on May 13. The introduction by New Age mentions that these are recollections of HS Suhrawardy of the poet’s visit to Oxford AFTER he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1913. The word ‘after’ is wrong. These recollections are basically centred around Tagore’s lecture in Manchester College in late May 1913 and subsequent further meeting with Tagore at the home of English Poet Laureate Robert Bridges the next afternoon. Tagore spent the summer of 1913 in England and sailed for India on September 4 1913 and the Nobel Prize was awarded to him on November 14 1913 when the poet was in Shantiniketan and received the message by a telegram from Calcutta. So these recollections are of about six months before the award of Nobel Prize.
   I also refer to the Feedback by Hemayetuddin Ahmed (May 19) on this topic and thank him for his comments with which I am fully in accord. The book he mentions about biography of Tagore is also the main source of my own knowledge of life of Tagore, and which I think should be of immense value to many researchers.
   Tagore visited Oxford again in summer of 1920 after the World War I and gave lectures to Oxford students but Robert Bridges by then was trying to distance himself from Tagore (probably) because of his renunciation of knighthood. Suhrawardy, if he was still in Oxford, must have met the poet again then but meeting the poet again in Robert Bridge’s home around 1925 is not recorded anywhere else to my knowledge. Suhrawardy himself also admits vagueness of the two incidents which is not surprising after 30 years on from the days of full flush of youth at Oxford.
   Another reason for rapport between Tagore and Suhrawardy was that they were both born on 25 Baishakh as any Bengali panjika entry of that date will show. (Tagore 1861, Suhrawardy 1892).
   I also agree with Hemayetuddin about the contribution of Suhrawardy towards Bangabandhu and the political party which established Bangladesh as a nation state, and that research needs to be done on Suhrawardy’s life in this as well as on other respects.
   Engineer Shafi Ahmed
   London UK

Bangladesh is a land of natural wonders. God has created this land with endless colour and incomparable beauty. So to say, this small country of South Asia steps ahead with immense potential in tourism industry. In recent years, the industry has played good roles in enlivening economic, social and cultural impact across the country.
   How blessed Bangladesh is to have inherited a glowing cultural legacy! It is a country, in two thousand or more years of its vibrant history, rich in archaeological wealth, especially of the medieval period both during the Muslim and pre-Muslim rules. Its heritage reveals the ancient legacies of the Buddhist, Hindus and Muslims. The early history of Bangladesh reveals that Buddhism received royal patronage from some important ruling Hindu dynasties like the great Pal rulers, the Chandras and the Deva Kings. Under their patronage numerous well-organised monasteries sprang up all over the country.
   Its enormous beauty, hundreds of meandering rivers, crystal clear water lakes surrounded by ever green hills, luxuriant tropical rain forests, beautiful cascades of green tea gardens, world’s largest mangrove forest preserved as World Heritage, home of the Royal Bengal Tiger and the wild lives, music of birds in green trees, wind in the paddy fields, abundance of sunshine, world’s longest uninterrupted natural sea beach, rich cultural heritage, relics of ancient Buddhist civilisations and colourful primitive lives, — Bangladesh creates an unforgettable impression of a land of endless colour.
   As a tourism destination, Bangladesh is truly hard to beat. A country in South Asia with an area of 144,470 square kilometres, Bangladesh definitely offers a lot to see, enjoy and do. The splendour of its six seasons presents a diverse eco-system. The world’s longest natural beach (120 km) at Cox’s Bazaar, the nearby jungles and forests with their rich variety of flora and fauna, the Chittagong Hill Tracts’ cloud forests so named because the moisture of the mists linger on the tree leaves and fascinate tourists. A cable car network to be set up at Bandarban would enable tourists observe the plant and animal life from the treetop level. For the more adventurous, there are places built for the tourists to get the experience of moving from tree to tree using a network of rope attachments. Dry forests in some parts of Chittagong, seasons’ variation every two months, an abundance of canals and rivers can be attraction for tourists.
   The cliché ‘Bangladesh is a land of rivers and birds’ should be associated with ‘Bangladesh is a land of tourism,’ to represent the nation’s natural wonders. It can bring out the core of the country: from past to present, from north to south, from east to west. There is so much to see and do in Bangladesh that many visitors return to see what they missed before. The country is becoming popular as a tourism destination in South Asia.
   Mohammad Shahidul Islam
   Via e-mail

With the American economy facing its worst post-war recession, it is becoming increasingly dependent on the world’s only fast growing economy — China. Although growth of the Chinese economy suffered due to the global downturn, it is still growing at a rate of 6 per cent, a drop from the earlier rate of 11 per cent. This is in stark contrast to the US economy which has contracted by 6.2 per cent. In the wake of the subprime mortgage crisis, the American banking system has all but collapsed, forcing massive bailout by the federal government. Economist Josh Bivens of the Washington-based Economic Policy Institute calls the drop in investment ‘a cliff-dive.’
   To spur investment and consumer confidence, the United States has announced a $787 billion stimulus package. But so far, it has spent only a fraction of the package and the response of the market has been minimal. The only good news is that most analysts say the economy is bottoming out. But with a bankrupt banking system, the US will have to go a long way to revive its economy.
   China has also announced a stimulus package of $586 billion. This massive spending on infrastructure is aimed at providing jobs to millions of laid off manufacturing workers and spur consumer spending to compensate the falling demands for Chinese products abroad. Interestingly, China’s efforts to quickly pump up its economy is also providing much-needed boost for the US economy as well.
   A growing number of American companies, from earthmoving equipment makers to fast food chains, are benefiting from China’s massive stimulus package, which has quickly poured money into infrastructure projects and into the pockets of workers and consumers. Just 11 days after the Chinese government approved construction of a $930 million Xianshan Island Bridge, which will extend over the East China Sea, massive drilling equipments were already on site and Caterpillar Corporation, the world’s biggest earthmoving equipment maker has been the principal beneficiary. Such speed was critical to the US equipment makers who are providing most machineries and equipments. Caterpillar Inc. CEO James Owens says the company’s excavator sales in China have returned to record levels in recent months, bouncing back from plummeting sales in winter.
   In fact, the fate of the United States is becoming increasingly tied with China. By the end of 2007, China surpassed Canada as the biggest exporter of goods to the United States. China exported $321 billion worth of goods to the US while Canada exported $304 billion worth of merchandise to its neighbour. Moreover, the US-China trade is marked by a massive trade surplus in China’s favour. The US exports to China were about $89 billion, leaving a staggering trade surplus of $232 billion in China’s favour.
   China has also overtaken Japan as the greatest creditor to the United States. China is now bankrolling most of the US budget deficits. Recession and the need for deficit financing have increased America’s dependence on China. ‘The hope is that China would become an engine of growth to drive the global economy out of this severe recession,’ says Daniel Meckstroth, an economist at the Manufacturers Alliance, a public policy group in Arlington, Virginia. He notes that China has a huge foreign currency reserve, built up over years of trade surpluses, that puts it in a position to spend massively to stimulate its economy by building infrastructure. These efforts are also stimulating consumer spending, and that helps manufacturers both at home and abroad, including in the US.
   The Chinese stimulus seems to be responding better. Although the growth rate of 11 per cent has been halved to 6 per cent, the Chinese economy is still healthy and poised to take off on the strength of Chinese consumer spending. The spur in Chinese consumer spending contrasts sharply with cutbacks by American customers, and may help China to recover faster from the financial crisis. A torrent of bank lending, spurred by the government, is increasing investments in China. Prime Minister Wen Jiabao stressed that ‘consumer confidence is more important than gold or money,’ and consumer confidence levels suggest Beijing’s efforts to boost morals are working. Automakers in particular are benefiting. Vehicle sates in China climbed 5 per cent from February to record 1.1 million units in March. China has also surpassed the United States in car sales. It is clear that it is China which can pull the US from its slump. America’s economic future seems to be increasingly tied with the growing Chinese economy.
   Mahmood Elahi
   Ottawa, Canada

An ethnic minority’s bloody war to snatch a chunk of Sri Lanka to make a separate homeland has come to an end. There is no doubt that all ethnic minorities do suffer from some kind of deprivations in the hands of the majority but do they have a right to ask for a separate homeland? The answer may be vexed and varied but it’s always hard for the majority to accept such a demand and more so if that demand comes in the shape of a war.
   The Tamils of Sri Lanka do have some legitimate grievances but the way they wanted to express their anger was not accepted by the outside world and the movement was termed as a terrorist one due to its extreme tactics. The minority psyche is a difficult one as well as in many cases an incompatible one too. The tendency to cling to ones language and culture is good one to a certain extent but that tendency must be balanced with pragmatic necessities. The Sinhalese majority can’t be blamed for their fierce resistance to divide their country in face of a ruthless and bloody military offensive. This is their patriotic right and they have paid heavily for the last 25 years. Since this tragedy has come to an end now, the world will hope that the vanquished Tamils will be treated with compassion and respect. Their
   grievances should be heard and effective steps need to be taken by the Sri Lankan government to address those.
   This will be the best way to bury this tragic chapter.
   Akbar Hussain
   Canada