This is a question that was obvious in 1971, Bengalis of East Pakistan claimed to be Bangladeshi first and Islam was passed to the side, for survival from the General Khans murderous army. However, over the years Islam has come back to the lives of Bangladeshis. I go to Bangladesh in 2005 and I see girls starting to wear the hijabs; these same girls used to party all the time. I see Islam is still in the hearts of Bangladeshis but why can’t we show it? We are Bangladeshis but I thought Islam comes first. Islam is a faith that touches every aspect of life but some Bangladeshis refuse to recognize it. One of the main groups in Bangladesh that is known to push Islam away is the Awami League political party. Before, the party’s official name was the “Muslim Awami League” but they removed ‘Muslim’ to go secular.
I don’t understand, what’s the problem of showing that we are Muslims publicly to the world? Of course our Bengali culture is beautiful but does it hurt to show that we’re Muslims on our flag? Why can’t we have the shahada or the star and crescent on our flag to show who we are? Another issue is the blaming of Islam by the action of corrupt people who claim to be Muslims. Islam does not tolerate genocide or immoral acts; however, Islam is blamed for them in Bangladesh. Jaamat-I-Islami and other Islamic groups who used violence are hated upon in Bangladesh; and whenever someone who is religious comes to the public scene they are convicted of being an extremist.
I know some ignorant Bengalis who would call me “rajakar” because I brought this topic up, but I think this topic will come up no matter what.
What is a rajakar?
It’s an individual (a traitor to Bengalis) who was part of Al-Badr and Al-Shams that sided with the Pakistani soldiers in 1971 and killed, raped, overall massacred Bengalis. About 80% of those Bengali victims were Hindus. They were harmed because they were not Muslims and that’s another reason Islam is pushed away because in the name of Islam, the Pakistani forces killed the Hindu Bengalis. It was the Islamists goal to “purify” East Pakistan; Pakistan means the “land of the pure”. However, these Islamists totally ignored the fact that, regardless of religion, an innocent person cannot be harmed according to Islam.
So, the question of the day is, are you a Bangladeshi first or a Muslim first?
Bangladeshis and Pakistanis have publicly having talks to bring the brotherly Muslim nations together. It looks as if prominent people from both sides want closer ties with each other. As a pro-Muslim Bangladeshi I’m optimistic about this and impressed. However, I don’t think our neighbors from India are too happy about this.
Pak-Bangla Friendship Forum Launched in Karachi
FE Report
The Pakistan Bangladesh Friendship Forum (PBFF) was launched in Karachi, Pakistan Monday by prominent figures from both countries, with the aim of bringing the brotherly nations closer, according to a Pakistani newspaper report.
PBFF Chairman Justice (Retd) Saiduzzaman Siddiqui expressed the hope that the Forum would strengthen trade and economic ties between the two countries.
He also lauded Grameen Bank Founder and Managing Director Muhammad Yunus for the expansion of the middle class in Bangladesh, and said that Pakistan could benefit from the experiences of the former.
The High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Pakistan, Yasmeen Murshed, expressed gratitude to the people of Pakistan. “Pakistan and Bangladesh possess very deep and close ties based on common memories, common heritage and values. Moreover we stand together at an international level and have almost common policies towards international affairs,” she said.
The Deputy High Commi-ssioner of Bangladesh in Karachi, Saquib Ali, said the current period is the best in the history of Pakistan-Bangladesh relations .
American Desi describes someone who has origins from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lankan. They are usually born in those countries and grew up in America or they are born in America and raised under Desi parents.
‘Ek Probashi’ in Bangla means, a Bangladeshi living abroad. Now for a lot of people who wants to skip all the reading, I have a movie that you can watch to get an idea of the American Desis. We are brown people living in America and the movie below pretty much sums up what we are faced with, whether we are Muslim Desis or Hindu Desis.
Bangladesh, a 100% fertile land country, currently has food deficiency which is hard to believe; however, the agriculture sector has not fully reached its potential for reaching a surplus level of food.
Expand Vertically and not Horizontally
Bangladesh, when it was in the proces of being East Pakistan, was supposed to compromise of Assam and Meghalaya with East Bengal, to take full advantage of the land area for development, but it never went through with the British Raj. Bangladesh has limited land, but that should not give the government of the country any reason to let poor people die starving.
For farming, Bangladesh has limited amount of land to expand her food growth if it was done by the conventional method. However, Bangladesh can go beyond many third world countries and stop importing food from other nations and start exporting. Bangladesh has many agricultural engineers, my own father being one of them, and they have knowledge and the capability to raise a surplus of food to not only feed everyone in the country, but also export and raise revenue.
If we can’t farm horizontally due to limited land then let’s farms vertically with farms that goes straight up as high as skyscrapers. The farms will be compromised of buildings with crops being grown inside. Each floor will have a certain crop, whether it’s for food or cash crops such as cotton.
Pros
Unlimited types of crops can be grown.
One acre of land can produce 10 acres of crops or how ever man number of floors in the vertical farm.
Temperature controlled floors will enable Bangladesh’s agricultural engineers to raise virtually any crop.
No monsoon threat to wash away crops since it’ll be protected inside the buildings.
Water can be recycled and be used over and over again through electrolysis, combustion, and condensation.
Benefit regular farmers in Bangladesh to grow crops which will guarantee profits and raise their standard of living; the farmers would be able to produce more foods out of their land.
No pesticides or insecticides will be needed, which may harm the environment or the crop, it may also harm the consumers of the foods.
It’ll be easier for agricultural engineers to research in reaching the maximum potential of the country’s agricultural sector.
There will be a surplus of foods to export to other nations and reduction on imports of foods which will help raise the country’s GDP significantly.
The money gained from the revenue of the crops will pay off any loans used to build these farms fast since there will be no weather disturbance to harm the crops and put weight on any payments.
Cons
Energy is needed to create artificial sunlight within the building and to water the crops and to control temperature but Bangladesh is lacking a lot of energy. Energy is very costly and the power goes out too often in Bangladesh.
There is too much corruption in the government. The project will not be able to pay for itself if bribes are given left and right to corrupt officials to approve of projects or renew licenses every year to conduct this project.
Hartals, or strikes, casued by political parties such as the Awami League may cause problems to deliver foods and conduct business in a proper manner.
As you can see the pros outweight the cons; however, the main obstacles come from the political parties and the civil servants from the government. This venture looks to be very promising but the politicans who call themselves patriots are the ones who stand in the way of progress and development.
The farms can also be used to raise livestock, and stop the illegal importing of cows from India. The Indian federal government complains of the illegal imports of food from India to Bangladesh and with it they harm Bangladesh’s image to the world.
In Bangladesh, land is expensive; however, the most rural areas can be used for this project. Rural areas are usually cheap since there are no townships or cities near them, which keeps their land value low. I checked on the statistics of land prices in Bangladesh and so far I found the Netrokona district to be the cheapest.
Financial
In America the cost of building a vertical farm is expected to be $200 million per project. However, supplies and labor to build such a project in a 3rd world country will be a lot cheaper than supplies and labor of an industrialized country; in Bangladesh it would be about 96% cheaper.
I did the calculations of prices of land in the Netrokona district and how much it would cost to NRBs. It’s about 5000 Bangladeshi taka (Bangladesh’s currency) for every 0.01 hectare of land in the Netrokona. To put it in simple terms I used dimensional analysis to figure out how much US dollars would cost for every acre. Let’s take a look at the calculations below.
Calculations
(1 acre)
(1 hectare)
(5000 BD Tk)
(1 USD)
_________
x
_________
x
___________
x
_________
= $2,933.76
1
(2.47 acres)
(0.01 hectare)
(69 BD Tk)
We want to know how much it would cost for every acre of land in Netrokona. I started off with 1 acre because we want to know how much it costs in that unit. I know for a fact that 2.47 acres of land is 0.01 hectare so, I used that for conversion. We were given the price of land per hectare which was 5000 BD Tk per hectare and so we use that for conversion from hectare. But we’re not done yet; we want to know how much the land would be in US dollars so I looked up the currecy rate on Yahoo financial and found that the current currency rate is 69 BD Tk to 1 US dollar. Now the 69:1 currecy rate is as of today, it will definately be lower or higher in the future so, this is just an example. I used the currency rate to convert and found the amount in dollars to be $2,933.75 total for every acre of land in the Netrokona district.
A venture in vertical farms can change Bangladesh for the better. Since many good Bangladeshis are powerless and oppressed by the government, it is up to the NRBs (non-resident Bangladeshi, which includes myself), to bring these development projects in existence. This project should remain in the private sector since, it can only improve while being built in the private sector. The poor people in Bangladesh are suffering and dying due to lack of food, and as NRBs, being well educated, with money and power, we should go back and help those in need.
What do you guys think? I would like to know your feedback.
A country that brought a rise to a separate Muslim nation in South Asia, divided in 1971 by her enemy, is now she threatened to be divided again due to power struggle.
President Pervez Musharraf resigned last Monday August 18th, 2008, in order to avoid impeachment. Now that he is out of power, his fate is undecided. The Muslim extremists want to kill him and the political parties want to eradicate him from politics.
After the President’s resignation, a suicide bomber bombed a hospital in the country. Talk about pure stupidity, out of the all the places they chose a hospital, where people go to get medical treatment. It looks as if some Pakistanis don’t want to be Pakistanis.
Pakistan is truly a country of countries: Balochistan, West Punjab, Sindh, and the tribal areas (FATA). Initially it was supposed to be a democratic country for Desi Muslims, but now it’s becoming war zone.
The democratic elected government is having a hard time controlling the country, Pakistan’s future looks undecided.
If Pakistan falls then it may be bad news for Bangladesh. Pakistan is the most powerful Muslim country in the Muslim world, and it keeps a balance of power in South Asia with India. If Pakistan breaks up like 1971, then the Indian federal government may target Bangladesh for destabilization. Bangladesh is booming and regardless of the flooding, the political instability, and the corruption, the country’s economy is growing constantly with great significant developments. If Bangladesh becomes the second largest economy of South Asia, like some Indian and US financial institutions say, then it may signal some East Indian states that independence is a must. Cities of Assam, West Bengal, Tripura, Meghalaya, are all Indian states that are underdeveloped when compared to Mumbai, Bangalore, New Delhi, Hyderabad. If they see the rise of Dhaka, Sylhet, Chittagong, then East Indian states’ independence may be inevitable thus Bangladesh’s rise will be a threat to the Indian federation.
So, what ever is going on in Pakistan, it will affect Bangladesh indirectly economically, politically, and may be militarily. Let’s hope Pakistan stays together insh’Allah, because Muslims are divided already as it is; and any more division will only weaken the Muslim Ummah even more. On top of everything, millions of innocent people will die from multiple divisions of the Muslim federation.
Surprised aren’t you? Well, I’m not; throughout history Bengalis were always known for tolerance and now we’re about to see it on a grand scale.
In Chittagong, a USD $100 million university spanning about 100+ acres is currently being built for women of Asia. For the enrollment 25% of the seats will be reserved for women from Bangladesh and the rest of the 75% seats will be for women from all over Asia. Women from other parts of Asia such Pakistan, India, Malaysia, China, Afghanistan and part of the Middle-east will have the opportunities to get superior quality education from international teachers.
Over 36 years of anger and hatred between majority of Bangladeshis and Pakistanis existed; and it was always because of men who brought about this problem. Now we will see how Bangladeshi and Pakistani women will co-exist as they sit next each other to get great international-standard education to better their lives. Perhaps our Bangladeshi and Pakistani women will insh’Allah totally heal the wounds of the past permanently between the two brotherly Muslim nations.
Asian University for Women (AUW)
The university targets women of underprivileged backgrounds, such as women of the rural areas. And the enrollees will go through a preparatory program called, Access Academy, which will help the women prepare for the English medium courses of the university. On April 2008, which is several months ago, the university commenced their first 130 students; their maximum capacity will be 3,000 students per year.
The university’s dormitory will be totally secured with international standard security all around. To ensure total success and fight corruption Transparency International, an international anti-corruption watchdog, will be constantly monitoring the university activities.
AUW Master Plan
Currently the massive, state-of-the-art-university is being built, but in the mean time the recruited students are taking their courses nearby off-campus modernized buildings till the campus is titally complete.
Some of the Asian University for Women Teachers
History is Repeating Itself Folks
Before the British, the Bengal used to be one of the most richest and tolerant regions in the world which had cultures, religions, and trade from all over the world flourishing; the Mughals always kept a stronghold of the Bengal for her significance and now we’re about to see history repeating itself. The international community chose to build AUW in Bangladesh because of the location and because of the history of different people coming together there. So after seeing all these developments, all I can say is RISE BANGLA RISE, Bangladesh Zindabad!
It’s getting a bit harder every day on trying to progress my education faster to reach my career to save my motherland. We NRBs (non-resident Bangladeshis) are in constant observation of what Bangladesh is becoming and we’re researching constantly on how we can improve the country. NRBs are the key in Bangladesh’s progress as they send back remittance of $4.8 billion through official channels in 10 months and with the remaining through unofficial channels adding up to $6-$7 billion in one year. That’s a lot of money, and they are usually sent back to families to start businesses, or increase their standard of living, or to pay for education.
Ever since I was in 7th grade I would constantly think of how to make Bangladesh better. It’s hard to believe a 13-year-old teenage Bengali boy living in America thinking of improving a country over 4,000 miles away. Every single week the thought of seeing a beautiful Bangladesh comes to my mind. I didn’t know how I’m going to do it, I didn’t know how much support I will get, but I did know that I want to make a difference, a very significant difference.
I give Zakat (2.5% of my money to charity) every year before Eid-ul-Fitr (a Muslim holiday) comes but I don’t believe it’s a enough, even though I’m only one person. I want to see a new Bangladesh, cleansed from the disease of the Awami League, the people who defaced Islam from Bangladesh, and free from BNP, who produce Tareque Rahman, Mr. 10%, who forcefully illegally took a portion of money from every single business in the country. Right now they (all the politicians) are facing the wrath of the military, the strongest force in Bangladesh, for their misdeeds. It’s been about 37 years since independence and everyone is waiting for a revolution. I read here and there about a silent revolution of Bangladesh where not even corruption can hinder the progress of the golden Bengal. However, because of corruption the country cannot reach its full potential of raising the economy to the fullest.
I’m proud of Dr. Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank, along with Mr. Fazle Hasan Abed and his BRAC for giving livelihood and opportunities to raise one’s standard of living to the rural poor Bangladeshis. But to me, it’s not enough as I am told stories of people suffering every hour through the hardships of living in the Ganges Delta.
Dr. Muhammad Yunus on Google’s NYC Campus
I hope more and more NRBs of my age realize that clubbing, drinking, going to college parties is a waste and helping the helpless people of their mother country will give great meaning to their lives.
I’ve realized that struggling to be a physician in America is not as hard as struggling to survive in Bangladesh. After becoming a doctor, then what? I can’t live in luxury as it’s too much for me. I never bought a luxury car nor do I plan to in the future. I’m an NRB and I have a responsibility to help save Bangladesh, and this applies to all NRBs who have the capability to do so. NRBs have a lot of influence and power, and I know for a fact that with a lot of power comes with a lot of responsibilities. I did not choose to be a NRB, my parents brought me to USA when I was only 7-years-old, but as a Bangladeshi, as a Muslim, and as a human being it’s my duty is to help people.
As a person in my current state I have a lot of influence of people; I have developed social, writing, academic, analytical, and physical skills to gain massive support to help move Bangladesh forward and to help obliterate poverty. I know I’m not the only one, I’ve encountered Bangladeshis, who told me they want to do something for the country after they start their careers. As we can see Bangladeshis of London, the Sylhetis, have invested $3 billion this year in business to Bangladesh. But most of it is for Sylhet, what about the rest of Bangladesh? What about Khulna, Comilla, Mymensingh, Rangpur, Jessore, Kishorgonj, Netrokona, Bogra, and other places in Bangladesh. I’m proud of the Sylhetis for what they did so far for Bangladesh, as they are the elites of Bangladesh. However, the rest of the Bangladeshis in USA and in Canada should come together and work together to do our part.
I hope Bangladesh is prepared for ambitious NRBs like me; we are coming with full force to change Bangladesh. Hopefully, by that time the two begums would permanently retire from politics, since the core of corruption comes from them and their party leaders.
Bangladesh is booming, are you ready? The picture above is one of the progressing places of Bangladesh in Dhaka.
Source: Sky Scraper City
Bangladesh is booming, even with all her problems, and there are limitless opportunities for businesses for massive profits and at the same time it’ll help the helpless by giving them jobs and opportunities.
The picture above is one of the progressing places of Bangladesh in Dhaka.
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