India may create more Mumbai-like incident to invade Bangladesh

Mohammad Zainal Abedin

The repeated ugly India-planned terrorist attacks on Indian installations, even trains, and subsequent media propaganda about the alleged involvement of Bangladesh unveil one truth that India may cause such more incidents to prepare an acceptable excuse at least to squeeze, if not to invade, Bangladesh. The threat of Rajnath Singh to declare war on Bangladesh in order to demolish the alleged terrorists bases inside Bangladesh territory coincides with the media propaganda about the involvement of Bangladesh in the serial bomb attacks on commuter trains in Mumbai that killed about 200 and wounded over 500 passengers. Let me quote how Indian media launches fabricated propaganda to accuse Bangladesh.

‘All the seven attackers on trains were trained in Bangladesh who also spent sufficient days in ISI training camps in Pakistan. (Mumbai Mirror: July 15, 2006). Ziauddin Ansari, the main architect of the attack on trains is a Bangladeshi and availing of his assistance a number of other Bangladeshis participated in the attacks. (Mumbai Mirror and DNA: July 16, 2006). Mohammad Ayaz, the main mastermind of attack stayed in Gulshan Tower of Dhaka before he entered India and might have sneaked to Bangladesh from Calcutta after bomb blasts in trains’ (The Statesman: July 27, 2006).

Volumes will be required if one wishes to quote the misinformation involving Bangladesh that Indian print and electronic media launch using only in one single incident of recent serial bomb attacks on commuter trains in Mumbai. India tries to relate the imaginary Bangladeshis with ISI, Lashker-e-Taiyeba and even al-Qaeda to justify Indian claim that Bangladesh is a haven of international terrorists. It is mentioned in the print media that there are about 200 organisations of the fundamentalists in Bangladesh, particularly in the bordering areas adjoining West Bengal and Northeastern States of India and these organisations might have played vital role in the bomb attack on trains in Mumbai. (Mumbai Mirror: July 15, 2006). INB-India (July 16, 2006) claims, "Bangladehs has emerged as the new hub of terror and acts as a safe haven for terrorists seeking passage through the porous borders of north-eastern States." IBN-India on the same date alleged that inside Bangladesh territory adjoining northeastern bordering states of India there are 200 camps of 18 fundamentalist organisations. One can easily imagine how the Indian media contradicts with one another in mentioning the figures, as these stories and figures are not authentic, rather the products of their derailed brains.

Mr. Biman Basu, the General Secretary of West Bengal Branch of CPM, uncovered the falsity of the Indian government and media and explored the reality. He said that internal feud of Shibsena, an extremist Hindu organisation, was responsible for the bomb blasts on train in Mumbai on July 12. ‘Aanandabazar Patrika’ a Bengali daily of Calcutta published his accusation of Biman Basu on July 20, 2006. Addressing a rally at Dharmatala of Calcutta on July 17 he said it is to be investigated whether the series bomb blast on trains in Mumbai occurred due to personality clash between Uddab and Raj Thakeray, son and nephew of Shibsena leader Bal Thakeray respectively.

He said, the political situation of Maharashtra gradually went worse due to the rivalry between the two brothers. Both of them were getting weak in the State and losing their support, Biman Basu said. "The Shibsena might have caused the bomb blasts to improve their position," ‘Anandabazar’ quoted Biman Basu as explaining. He asked the police to investigate his accusation. Meanwhile, Mumbai police recovered caps that the Muslim use to say their prayers and some fake beard from the residence of a RSS activist. This activist during interrogation confessed to the police that he used to dress as Muslim to ascribe the blames on the Muslims. Police for obvious reason did not disclose his name.

On the other hand the e-mail that was sent to an Indian TV channel on behalf of Lashkar-e-Taiyeba claming the responsibility of bombing was also fake. Omra Kar, an activist of Vishwa Hindu Parishad sent the e-mail message to the TV channel to blame and harass the Muslims for the bomb blasts on Mumbai trains. Police arrested him.

If impartial investigation is conducted, it will be proved that neither the Indian Muslims nor the Bangladeshis were involved in any subversive activities inside India. There are hundreds of thousands outfits and groups in India, who are well trained and fighting with Indian Army. Besides, the communal Hindus and fanatics who are also trained and cannot tolerate the existence of the Muslims, whether they live in Bangladesh, India or Pakistan, create such problem to crush the Muslim and their two countries in the subcontinent. The suggestion of Rajnath Singh to Indian government to invade Bangladesh in order to dismantle the so-called terrorist camps and bases, unveils the inner intention of bomb blasts in Mumbai and subsequent media propaganda involving Bangladesh. If the Mumbai blasts did not happen neither Indian media could launch propaganda nor Rajnath could call Indian government to invade Bangladesh.

It is apprehended, India might cause such more terrorist attacks inside India to make the international community believe that Bangladesh is a serious threat for India’s security. This may be done what Rajnath said to get consent of the main players of the world. Bangladesh should not remain idle. Strong-worded protest against India’s deliberate allegation is not enough to counter India’s probable invasion. Bangladesh should take appropriate steps to create public opinion internally and externally. It is unfortunate to note that the way the Indian media propagates against Bangladesh using fake charges, Bangladeshis media do not come forward with same spirit to counter those allegations. The passive mode of our media makes the international community believe that the charges and propaganda that are flashed by India against Bangladesh are possibly true. Almost all the concerned ministries and departments and the private and public media perform their routine works, none seems to be serious. Only press briefings and statements are not enough. Concerned ministers and officials of different ministries and departments should use our print and electronic media to unveil falsity of India and uphold the reality.

‘Talibanisation of Bangladesh’ :A thesis of anti-Bangladesh propaganda
Mohammad Zainal Abedin

The book, ‘The Talibanisation of Bangladesh: The next Afghanistan’ that one Hiranmay Karlekar of India wrote is merely laughable, as it displays his utter anti-Bangladesh bias. The book is entirely propaganda oriented that carries such fake and unfounded allegations that were also unfortunately repeatedly propagated by the Indians and their hired fellows in Bangladesh and around the world.

Among others, the main theme of the book was to brand Bangladesh as the home of the Muslim fundamentalists having relations with al-Quaeda, which prompted Hiranmay to mention in the title of the book, ‘Bangladesh is the Next Afghanistan.’ To justify his claim he mentioned such stories which are unfounded and are not sufficient to say that Bangladesh gets Talibanished or leads to be the next Afghanistan. He mentioned as reference the incidents of bomb blasts on the rally of Sheikh Hasia on August 21, 2004 and series bomb blast across the country on August 17, 2005. Then he mentioned there have been innumerable other attacks on religious minorities, and secular intellectuals by Islamic fundamentalist outfits. Using all these, he tried to justify as the symptoms of rise of the Taliban-like movement in Bangladesh and prophesies that Bangladesh is going to be Talibanised and next Afghanistan, though crores of such incidents occurred in his country and still occur there since 1947.

Attacks on the minority are very common in India. In Bangladesh there is no such a record that the government officially instigated the people to demolish the religious cite or temple, pagoda, or church of any religious community. There was no communal riot in Bangladesh since its emergence in 1971. Attacks on the minority community were nothing but exaggeration. Bring a Christian or a Buddhist who could say that he was persecuted for his religious identity. If any Hindu, Buddhist is ever harassed, he faces so due to personal, social or political rivalry or quarrel on property. None was ever became the victim due to his religious identity. Muslims also face such harassment. The Muslims kill Muslims almost daily. Miscreants do not care for the religious identity of an individual. Hindus in India, even in Bangladesh, kill the Hindus.

This happens throughout the world. This cannot be called communal hatred. A section of dailies tilted to India deliberately and frequently poured their pages with the incidents of atrocities on the Hindus. But after proper investigations the reports found false. This happened repeatedly. These types of reports were published to brand Bangladesh as a communal country. India later officially used these fake reports as reference in the international forum to isolate Bangladesh from the community of the world. Hiranmay also used such fake and deliberately prepared stories in his book by the hired Indian tentacles. What Hiranmay wrote in his voluminous book were nothing new, and were used by hundreds of thousands of Indians and their mercenaries around the world, including the Bangladeshi ones. This is an integrated propaganda mission of India to prove false as true.

Is it justified to relate serial bomb blasts on August 17, 2005 or grenade attack on Awami League rally on August 21, 2004 with Taliban movement? Hiranmay’s references to the serial blasts on August 21, 2006 at the rally of Sheikh Hasina or over 400 sites on August 17, 2005 were also masterminded by the Indian intelligence agencies. All the materials used in those blasts came from India and the attackers also were recruited, financed, trained and used by those agencies, official investigation proved. JMB is a brainchild and tool of RAW of India. Indian national JMB cadre Giyusuddin during interrogation confessed that the decision of series bomb blasts on August 21, was taken at a meeting held in the residence of Maulana Abdul Matin Salafi in West Dinajpur (district) of West Bengal of India. A number of JMB leaders including Shaikh Abdur Rahman were present at that meeting. Giyus informed though he is an Indian national, he at instruction of Indian intelligence officials, married a Bangladeshi woman hailing from Sathkhira. These officials also visited Bangladesh under the cover of Giyusuddin’s close relations. Another arresttee, a Bangladeshi, Nasir Uddin confessed his involvement with the Indian intelligence officials. The JMB cadres netted so far informed that all the bombs used on August 17 were smuggled from India through Satkhira and Chapainababganj borders. Hiranmay should know all these information, as they were published in newspapers and telecast by the electronic media. India is directly or indirectly responsible for all the untoward happenings in Bangladesh, whether they are political killings, political or labour unrest, campus violence, attack or arson on mills and factories, ransacking or arson on vehicles, etc.

Hiranmay in his book not only avoided ‘RAW’s involvement with JMB, but also failed to explore the basic differences between Taliban and Islamic movement in Bangladesh. Taliban emerged in Afghanistan due to the civil wars of the warlords that basically ruined Afghanistan. The common Afghans hailed Taliban’s war against the warlords and their assumption of power. Despite all-out American-led war on Talibans, they still enjoy strong support-base in Afghanistan. But JMB did not emerge from Bangladesh but was imposed on Bangladesh from India using some Bangladeshis. It was not originated from people’s support-base. It did not emerge from the ruins of civil war. Talibans war was directed against the warlords who were foreign mercenaries, including the agents of ‘RAW.’ JMB emerged as mercenaries of ‘RAW.’ When its leaders and cadres were netted there were jubilant reactions from the people. None expressed their solidarity with or sympathy for them. They were isolated from the people and even from own family members. JMB will never emerge as Islamic force in Bangladesh, as even the common people who are very regardful to the Islamic scholars, muftis, imams, etc. treat them as the enemy of Islam, humanity and the country. So there is no scope to comment that Bangladesh goes to be Talibanised.

Bangladesh government and its people successfully thwarted another heinous design of India to brand Bangladesh as terrorist country in her bid to invade it with the consent of the Western powers. India’s basic goal is to occupy Bangladesh and empower its tentacles. These tentacles are not the JMB criminals, but some so-called secularist elements and parties. These elements and parties instead of assisting the government in netting JMB, tried to brand the alliance government and its partners and leaders as the mentors of JMB, mainly to hide the involvement of India. Neither India nor its Bangladeshi stooges ever speak against the terrorists who create anarchic situation in southwestern region of Bangladesh since 1972, because they are directly sponsored by India and they are used in favour of the secularist groups and elements in Bangladesh. Western powers comprehended Indian games and did not tune to Indian chorus, as they found the government and people of Bangladesh sincere and serious in crushing JMB. Bangladesh welcomed and even availed of the assistance and support of the western powers in combating JMB parasites. Though Bangladesh successfully thwarted another design of India, yet it (India) may come forward with new agenda using its other pawns to frustrate the onward march of Bangladesh and its efforts to get out of the claws of Indian influence and hegemony-oriented friendship.

Linguistic nationalism. India and its Bangladeshi pawns propagate that Bangladesh is the creation of linguistic nationalism, not religious nationalism. Our religion or Islamic culture was not endangered during Pakistan period. So there was not such situation to germinate religious nationalism among our people. On the other hand our linguistic nationalism was not antagonistic to our religious identity and faith and feeling. We did not fight against our religious identity. We fought when our democratic and economic rights were denied. If these rights were properly ensured, I think people of the defunct East Pakistan would not have taken arms to dismember Pakistan and paved the way for India to become the key player in the region.

We fought against the Muslims, but we did not fight against our religious Muslim identity. We only implemented the ‘Lahore Resolution’ of 1940 that sought separate sovereign independent homelands for the Muslims of Northwest and Northeast regions of India. And Lahore Resolution was based on Muslim identity, i.e. two-nation theory. Our religious identity remains intact in liberated Bangladesh. I should say, India’s misbehaviour, exploitation and anti-Bangladesh attitude and designs sharpened the spirit of two-nation and religious sentiment of the Bangladeshi Muslims who comprise above 90 per cent of the total population. India is scared of this feeling. For this reason India brand all the Bangladeshis as fundamentalists and militants. India is aware that her misbehaviour would have created anti-India sentiment in Bangladesh.

If the oppression of Pakistan could create linguistic nationalism and led to the disintegration of Pakistan, why anti-Muslim design and exploitation and oppression of India will not provoke the Muslims of Bangladesh to stand against India? During Pakistan period whenever we spoke against Pakistani exploitations and sought equal rights and justice, we were branded as agents of India. Now, when we condemn Indian exploitation and hegemony-oriented design against Bangladesh, we termed as fundamentalists, terrorists, and even ISI agents. To implement her designs and keep Bangladesh under her knee, India tries to crush the patriotic forces of Bangladesh in advance branding them as ‘Talibans’ — a target of western power. India thought that it could have sold this blame against Bangladesh and get the blessings and support of the West to capture Bangladesh in the name of war on terror.

Democratic system: Parliamentary democratic system prevails in Bangladesh where people, irrespective of their ethnic, religious and ideological affiliation can express their opinion and views. Bangladesh is perhaps the only country where hundreds of religious and political parties and groups operate independently, where freedom of press is secured. The internal democratic practice is so nice that there is no need of becoming extremist or militant here. People partially welcomed extremist outfits. Gano Bahini emerged against the misrule of early seventies. When one-party rule routed out and multi-party democracy restored, Gano Bahini withered away. The so-called leftist groups active in Southwestern Bangladesh, despite Indian support, could not gain ground during the last 35 years, as the people never extended support to this hired extremists. I mentioned these only to prove that Bangladeshis people will never welcome Taliban-type militancy in Bangladesh whatever name they use. Bangladesh will never become an extremist country unless India fuels or provokes it. The way India behaves with Bangladesh is enough to make her people extremist and militant. So India will remain responsible if Bangladesh ever goes to militancy.

It is very strange to note that Hiranmay and associates though claim themselves as the champion of democracy, try to undermine the democratic opinion of Bangladesh. In his effort to brand Bangladesh a haunt of Talibans, Hiranmay said, " The objectives of Bangladesh’s fundamentalist outfits is the destruction of the country’s secular parliamentary democracy." What a fun it is! What Hiranmay means by the terms ‘secular democracy’? In democracy people and groups and parties can preach their ideas and ideologies freely. In democracy people enjoy the free right to extend their support to their choices freely, whether they are secularists, communists, Islamist, communalists. When Jammat-i-Islami’s candidates enjoying people’s verdict were elected Hiranmay found the ghost of Taliban in them and without any proof said that they would destroy so-called secular democracy. Through this comment Hiranmay wants to say, Jammat’s inclusion in the alliance thwarted the way of pro-Indian elements to assume power. He apprehends if the alliance remains intact, pro-Indians will also suffer the same fate in the next election and beyond, which will lead to their political death. Hiranmay technically blames Jammat for such disaster cause to the pro-Indian elements whom Hiranmay brands as secularists. He wants to say, their failure to be elected due to Jammat, is equivalent to end of secular democracy, as India even brands BNP as fundamentalists.

It means those who do not tolerate Indian hegemony and big brotherly attitudes are fundamentalists and anti-liberation forces, if there are even freedom fighters among them, while who lean to India to harvest their personal gains are liberal secularists and pro-liberation forces, if there are even razakars among them. But in India if butchers like Naorendra Modi or Jossey even communalist Atal Bihari Vajpaiyee, Bal Thakeray and associates are elected and can form government, secular democracy in India does not face any problem, as killers like them are not fundamentalists because they are Hindus, rather they are genuine secularists. According to Hiranmay, if a Muslim love his religion and culture, history and heritage, he is fundamentalist. On the other hand, if any Muslim, at least, is indifferent to his religion, culture and history and his country’s interest he is liberal and secular and eyeball of India.

The entire book of Hiranmay Karlekar is full of misleading information and fake charges. To counter the book and furnish the international community with accurate position of Bangladesh, at least 10 volumes are required to be written. Bangladesh is being emerged as economically prosperous country, which is the main headache for India. Besides, India failed to use the alliance government as tool and realise illegal advantages from it. India thinks if Bangladesh become economically prosperous, it will not only get out of India’s control, rather its prosperity will inspires deprived Indian States to be liberated. For this reason India continues anti-Bangladesh propaganda with baseless information, to misguide the people around the world so that they remain mum if India invades Bangladesh virtually to implement its expansionist design.

Mohammad Zainal Abedin

It is very pitiful that the Indians do not look at their own problems whenever they make ugly comments about others, particularly its neighbouring countries. Though India itself is beset with hundreds of thousands of irritant problems for decades, Indians for nothing poke their nose into Bangladesh. If the problems of India do not concern and worry them, why they should be worried for others, particularly Bangladesh. Indians do so, perhaps for multiple reasons: it is their big-brotherly expansionist policy which is directed to bury their own problems and divert the attention of its suffered nationals from their problems.

When India experiences and rocks daily with bomb explosions, grenade attacks, terrorist and communal and caste violence, rape, murder, even war daily, how she could say that Bangladesh is going to be ‘The Next Afghanistan." Can India give real statistics how many communal riots occurred in India and how many Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and others were killed during the last six decades. How many Hindus lost their lives in caste violence? How many people withered away in secessionist wars that continue since 1948? Now what are the comments of the Indians about the Maoist movement, what they brand as ‘Naxal’ movement that now rocks and shatters India?

According to Anil Kamboj, a security analyst of India, "At least 225 districts of the country are under the throes of some kind of militancy. 8,695 police station areas are affected by Naxalism. There are about 9,500 Naxalites spread across these affected states. The Naxalites have step up 'Dandakaranya Liberated Zones' in the tribal areas stretching from Nepal to Andhra Pradesh. The Naxalites have step up 'Dandakaranya Liberated Zones.' laid the foundation of Janatana Sarkar or people's government. It is an alternative form of governance established by the Naxalites. A strong bond binds the Naxalites to the local people. This bond is fostered through monthly village meetings that discuss common problems and needs."(http://www.ipcs.org/Terrorism_militaryIndex2.jsp?)

At least 11 states of India are heavily infested with and affected by the Maoist guerrillas and they entirely control rural areas of these states. The number of these States will increase in coming days. In northeast the secessionist guerrillas control all the seven states of India. India is the lone country in the world whose 12-lakh Army personnel are fighting against their own people to keep India integrated. It is astonishing that the politicians, strategists, policymakers, intellectuals and journalists of India brand Bangladesh as terrorist country. A country where communalists and fundamentalist killers like L K Advani, Narrnedar Modi, Joisey, Bal Thakerary and their crores of followers live, do not have any right to speak ill of Bangladesh, as Bangladesh is far better off than India in all respects. In India majority people are deprived of socio-economic,religious and human rights. It is such a cruel country where female children are killed before their birth just in their mother’s womb. Women are burnt to death for dowry.

To these killers and terrorists Bangladesh is a ‘Talibanised Country’ which is turning to next Afghanistan! To justify their falsity as genuine, they use such examples, which are also manipulated by Indian intelligence agencies. Though bombings and terrorist attacks shatter and rock India daily Indians repeatedly cite the incident of August 21, 2004, at the rally of Sheikh Hasina. A judicial inquiry found involvement of a foreign country that architected the grenade attack of August 21. Those who were arrested confessed that they were used by Indian agencies. The 2nd example that they use as symptom of the Taliban activities in Bangladesh is the series bombs exploded across the country on August 17, 2005 by JMB terrorists. The terrorists that include even Indian nationals, confessed that they were motivated, trained, armed and financed by Indian agencies.

Since the US attack on terror in Afghanistan, India to create anti-Bangladesh opinion in international arena and pave the way to invade Bangladesh tries to prove that Bangladesh is Talibanised. Though the US government repeatedly acknowledges Bangladesh as a moderate Muslim democratic country, India and its local allies leave no stone unturned to prove that Laden followers are active to turn Bangladesh as Taliban State. The book written by Hiranmay Karlekar is directed to attack ruling alliance partner Jammat-i-Islami to turn Bangladesh to a Taliban State. Hiranmay and his associates intentionally avoid the basic difference between Jammat and JMB. The Taliban emerged out of war-ravaged situation in Afghanistan shattered by civil war. It emerged due to the power politics of the warring factions in Afghanistan. Their failure prompted the students to take arms and capture power, which was welcomed by the Afghan people. Talibans have strong roots in Afghanistan, they were not imposed from outside. For this reason US invasion in Afghanistan failed to rout them out. On the other hand, India imposed JMB on Bangladesh. It has no popular support in Bangladesh. When its leaders and cadres were arrested one after another none came in their support. People all walks of life staged jubilant processions and rallies across the country whenever any JMB leader was caught anywhere in the country. There is no activity of JMB in Bangladesh since its leaders and cadres were netted. So JMB never had network in Bangladesh as Talibans had and still have in Afghanistan.

Hiranmay tried to establish link between JBM and Jammat-e-Islami. But Jammat did not say even single word in favour of JMB when it routed out. Rather Jammat condemned JMB for its misinterpretation and misuse of Islam. Jammat officially practises the art of democracy and according to people’s mandate it is the 3rd largest party in the country.

The ulterior aim of targeting Jammat is to isolate it from the people, alliance and international community. India knows it well that if the alliance could be dismembered using any trick, Indian allies will form government in Dhaka, otherwise their dream to win election will remain far cry. If that cannot be done, such propaganda will at least divert some people from reality and it will one day help squeeze Bangladesh, if the Indian allies win. The international community realises India’s ulterior tricks and they remain passive despite India’s integrated propaganda against Bangladesh. India continues this propaganda hoping to implement its design.*
 

Financial Express
Negative journalism tends to confuse readers and deprive the nation of correct information
Sayed Kamaluddin
 
Indeed, "Bangladesh is a paradox", as a noted British commentator Philip Bowring has written in the wellknown global newspaper - the International Herald Tribune earlier in May. Nowhere in the world national print media is so much full of negative coverage about its own country other than in Bangladesh.
Even while covering the same news item, different newspapers highlight different -- almost contradictory -points and, in the process, make the readers totally confused. This happens quite frequently while covering both local and foreign events concerning Bangladesh.
For example, a group of US Congressmen last Wednesday had a briefing session in Washington on Bangladesh where several Bangladeshi leaders were invited to be present. The contents of the report on this meeting varied so much that even the most intelligent reader of English-language newspapers, reading only one daily, will fail to get the correct picture.
Little elaboration, of course, is needed. The Financial Express (FE) made the story its lead item last Thursday, entitled "US Congressmen for inclusion of Dhaka in MCA programme." MCA stands for Millennium Challenge Account under which the US government is providing special funds for the developing countries to finance various development projects. Each country has to qualify in terms of performance in certain areas.
While this newspaper reported: "The briefing of the (US) Congress members on Bangladesh ended yesterday with strong recommendation from the congressional leaders for inclusion of Bangladesh in the threshold programme of the Millennium Challenge Account"
Another English daiIy reported it on its front page - entitled "US blasts Dhaka for extra-judicial killing, HR violations". The report on the same day said: "The United States blasted Bangladesh for extra-judicial killings, human rights abuse, repeated bomb blasts, dilly-dally in investigating and finding out the perpetrators in the August 2 I grenade attack and former minister SAMS Kibria killing. "
However, there is an identical paragraph in the report, which both FE and the above-mentioned daily reported: "At the meeting overall political, social and human rights issues came up for discussions that witnessed both appreciation and criticism. In a report placed before the briefing, country's political and social issues received mild criticism while empowerment of women and social sector development was highly appreciated."
Going by similar comparison, while referring to the rise of (religious) extremism in Bangladesh, the FE mentioned in its headline: "Information on rise of extremism in Bangladesh taken from Indian sources: US expert", the other daily made no mention of it at all.
Again, the FE carried the news agency report that quoted Chris Fair, a member of the second panel and South Asia expert at the US Institute of Peace. She was reported to have termed Bangladesh "as an important ally of the United States in the Muslim world where democracy and Islam co-existed." It further said: "Referring to the rise of extremism, she acknowledged that there was an absence of direct information from Bangladesh and that much of information available in the US in this regard were being taken from the Indian sources."
Fair has also identified that "the confrontational political environment as the key challenge facing Bangladesh that hinders governance" and observed that "the United States should continue to provide extensive assistance to Bangladesh in building poli*~l institutions."
While the ot1J.er daily mentioned the presence of Ms. Chris Fair on the panel, it did not use a single sentence of what she said at the briefmg session. So unless the reader of the concerned daily also reads the FE or another daily, he/she will not get the full picture of what had actually happened at the briefing given by the group of US Congressmen on Bangladesh. Both this daily and the FE picked up the story circulated by an on-line news agency but while the daily focused only on the negative point that did not exist in the same story used by the FE.
No wonder casual visitors get baffled to find such detailed coverage on the front page on crime and statements made by the political leaders -- belonging to both the ruling and opposition parties on non-issues. Foreign residents are more fortunate in the sense that they don't get to read the numerous BangIa dailies,


which, at the last count, number at over 50 in Dhaka alone, and yet they wonder why even the major English-language newspapers give so much coverage to the politicians who make the same point day in and
day out in their statements repetitively on issues not intelligible to most of them. .
Apparently in their single-minded dedication to fmd out the negative points only, local newsmen miss out the positive aspects of the country that visiting newsmen like Bowring have to pinpoint. However, Philip Bowring, an old Asia hand and a former editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review of Hong Kong, did not overlook the basic weaknesses that the country suffers ITom either and still gives a balanced account that cannot be refuted even by any of the local newsmen who tend to thrive in negative journalism.
Bowring wrote: "Bangladesh is a paradox. It lacks natural resources and good governance and is beset by natural calamities, corruption and self-destructive political infighting. Yet its gross national product persistently maintains a growth rate of 5.0 percent, well above average developing countries, it has overtaken India on several social indicators. Its aid dependence has fallen ITom 6.0 percent to 1.8 percent of gross domestic product."
These are all facts and will remain so regardless of the party that may come to power in the next election.
http://www.financialexpress-bd.comlprint.asp?newsid=6