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Birth of Bangladesh: Down Memory Lane
Indian Foreign Affairs Journal Vol. 4, No. 3, July - September, 2009, 102-117 ORAL HISTORY Birth of Bangladesh: Down Memory Lane Arundhati Ghose, often acclaimed for espousing wittily India’s nuclear non- proliferation policy, narrates the events associated with an assignment during her early diplomatic career that culminated in the birth of a nation – Bangladesh. Indian Foreign Affairs Journal (IFAJ): Thank you, Ambassador, for agreeing to share your involvement and experiences on such an important event of world history. How do you view the entire episode, which is almost four decades old now? Arundhati Ghose (AG): It was a long time ago, and my memory of that time is a patchwork of incidents and impressions. In my recollection, it was like a wave. There was a lot of popular support in India for Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his fight for the rights of the Bengalis of East Pakistan, fund-raising and so on. It was also a difficult period. The territory of what is now Bangladesh, was undergoing a kind of partition for the third time: the partition of Bengal in 1905, the partition of British India into India and Pakistan and now the partition of Pakistan. Though there are some writings on the last event, I feel that not enough research has been done in India on that. IFAJ: From India’s point of view, would you attribute the successful outcome of this event mainly to the military campaign or to diplomacy, or to the insights of the political leadership? AG: I would say it was all of these. -
In East Pakistan (1947-71)
Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh (Hum.), Vol. 63(1), 2018, pp. 59-89 THE INVISIBLE REFUGEES: MUSLIM ‘RETURNEES’ IN EAST PAKISTAN (1947-71) Anindita Ghoshal* Abstract Partition of India displaced huge population in newly created two states who sought refuge in the state where their co - religionists were in a majority. Although much has been written about the Hindu refugees to India, very less is known about the Muslim refugees to Pakistan. This article is about the Muslim ‘returnees’ and their struggle to settle in East Pakistan, the hazards and discriminations they faced and policy of the new state of Pakistan in accommodating them. It shows how the dream of homecoming turned into disillusionment for them. By incorporating diverse source materials, this article investigates how, despite belonging to the same religion, the returnee refugees had confronted issues of differences on the basis of language, culture and region in a country, which was established on the basis of one Islamic identity. It discusses the process in which from a space that displaced huge Hindu population soon emerged as a ‘gradual refugee absorbent space’. It studies new policies for the rehabilitation of the refugees, regulations and laws that were passed, the emergence of the concept of enemy property and the grabbing spree of property left behind by Hindu migrants. Lastly, it discusses the politics over the so- called Muhajirs and their final fate, which has not been settled even after seventy years of Partition. This article intends to argue that the identity of the refugees was thus ‘multi-layered’ even in case of the Muslim returnees, and interrogates the general perception of refugees as a ‘monolithic community’ in South Asia. -
Why Dots and Dashes Matter: Writing Bengali in Roman Script Colonial Contexts, of Non-Roman Scripts Generally, Except for Greek
Carmen Brandt Why Dots and Dashes Matter Writing Bengali in Roman Script A friend recently sent me a photo of an Indian restaurant called “Vagina Tandoori” and asked for my ‘official statement’ as a scholar of South Asian studies. After we had had a good laugh – as many other Internet users had before us – I was not shy of providing an answer, as I explained the potential reason behind this awkward name: the restaurant owners could be of Bengali origin and might have transcribed the Bengali term ভািগনা/bhāginā1 “nephew”2, the way they thought it should be written in Roman script. I have come across this transcription several times in Bangladesh. Beyond that, a male colleague of mine regularly gets emails from his “vagina”, i.e. from a friend in Bangla- desh who is much younger to him and refers to himself as his “nephew”. Even though the awkward restaurant name turned out to be a hoax,3 the writing of South Asian lan- guages – especially Bengali – in Roman script is, nonetheless, often a challenge. Hence, this essay reflects on these challenges, discusses in general why South Asian languages are often written in Roman script, and which options might be best to do so. The Roman Script – a Symbol of Colonial Conquest As I have already discussed in detail (Brandt 2020), in South Asia, the Roman script is often perceived as a symbol of foreign domination in past and present. Its 1 All Bengali words are transliterated according to the rules in Table 4 below. 2 That means the son of one’s sister or the son of one’s husband’s sister. -
Bangladesh: Urdu-Speaking “Biharis” Seek Recognition, Respect and Rights Bangladesh: Urdu-Speaking “Biharis” Seek Recognition, Respect and Rights
BANGLADESH: URDU-SPEAKING “BIHARIS” SEEK RECOGNITION, RESPECT AND RIGHTS BANGLADESH: URDU-SPEAKING “BIHARIS” SEEK RECOGNITION, RESPECT AND RIGHTS International Republican Institute IRI.org @IRIglobal © 2020 All Rights Reserved Bangladesh: Urdu-Speaking “Biharis” Seek Recognition, Respect and Rights Copyright © 2020 International Republican Institute. All rights reserved. Permission Statement: No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the International Republican Institute. Requests for permission should include the following information: • The title of the document for which permission to copy material is desired. • A description of the material for which permission to copy is desired. • The purpose for which the copied material will be used and the manner in which it will be used. • Your name, title, company or organization name, telephone number, fax number, e-mail address and mailing address. Please send all requests for permission to: Attn: Department of External Affairs International Republican Institute 1225 Eye Street NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20005 [email protected] Cover Image Description: Aerial view of the Biharis Relief Camp, known as the “Geneva Camp.” IRI | BANGLADESH • Urdu-Speaking “Biharis” 3 OVERVIEW In early 2020, the International Republican Institute (IRI) conducted a qualitative research study of the Bihari community in Bangladesh — an Urdu-speaking linguistic minority group in the South Asian nation. The study examined the challenges and needs of Biharis in different locations around Bangladesh. The term “Bihari” refers to approximately 300,000 non-Bengali, Urdu-speaking citizens of Bangladesh who came to what was then East Pakistan mostly from the Indian states of Bihar and West Bengal after the Partition of India in 1947. -
The Other Battlefield Construction And
THE OTHER BATTLEFIELD – CONSTRUCTION AND REPRESENTATION OF THE PAKISTANI MILITARY ‘SELF’ IN THE FIELD OF MILITARY AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NARRATIVE PRODUCTION Inauguraldissertation an der Philosophisch-historischen Fakultät der Universität Bern zur Erlangung der Doktorwürde vorgelegt von Manuel Uebersax Promotionsdatum: 20.10.2017 eingereicht bei Prof. Dr. Reinhard Schulze, Institut für Islamwissenschaft der Universität Bern und Prof. Dr. Jamal Malik, Institut für Islamwissenschaft der Universität Erfurt Originaldokument gespeichert auf dem Webserver der Universitätsbibliothek Bern Dieses Werk ist unter einem Creative Commons Namensnennung-Keine kommerzielle Nutzung-Keine Bearbeitung 2.5 Schweiz Lizenzvertrag lizenziert. Um die Lizenz anzusehen, gehen Sie bitte zu http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ch/ oder schicken Sie einen Brief an Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California 94105, USA. 1 Urheberrechtlicher Hinweis Dieses Dokument steht unter einer Lizenz der Creative Commons Namensnennung-Keine kommerzielle Nutzung-Keine Bearbeitung 2.5 Schweiz. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ch/ Sie dürfen: dieses Werk vervielfältigen, verbreiten und öffentlich zugänglich machen Zu den folgenden Bedingungen: Namensnennung. Sie müssen den Namen des Autors/Rechteinhabers in der von ihm festgelegten Weise nennen (wodurch aber nicht der Eindruck entstehen darf, Sie oder die Nutzung des Werkes durch Sie würden entlohnt). Keine kommerzielle Nutzung. Dieses Werk darf nicht für kommerzielle Zwecke verwendet werden. Keine Bearbeitung. Dieses Werk darf nicht bearbeitet oder in anderer Weise verändert werden. Im Falle einer Verbreitung müssen Sie anderen die Lizenzbedingungen, unter welche dieses Werk fällt, mitteilen. Jede der vorgenannten Bedingungen kann aufgehoben werden, sofern Sie die Einwilligung des Rechteinhabers dazu erhalten. Diese Lizenz lässt die Urheberpersönlichkeitsrechte nach Schweizer Recht unberührt. -
Liberation War of Bangladesh
Bangladesh Liberation War, 1971 By: Alburuj Razzaq Rahman 9th Grade, Metro High School, Columbus, Ohio The Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971 was for independence from Pakistan. India and Pakistan got independence from the British rule in 1947. Pakistan was formed for the Muslims and India had a majority of Hindus. Pakistan had two parts, East and West, which were separated by about 1,000 miles. East Pakistan was mainly the eastern part of the province of Bengal. The capital of Pakistan was Karachi in West Pakistan and was moved to Islamabad in 1958. However, due to discrimination in economy and ruling powers against them, the East Pakistanis vigorously protested and declared independence on March 26, 1971 under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. But during the year prior to that, to suppress the unrest in East Pakistan, the Pakistani government sent troops to East Pakistan and unleashed a massacre. And thus, the war for liberation commenced. The Reasons for war Both East and West Pakistan remained united because of their religion, Islam. West Pakistan had 97% Muslims and East Pakistanis had 85% Muslims. However, there were several significant reasons that caused the East Pakistani people to fight for their independence. West Pakistan had four provinces: Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and the North-West Frontier. The fifth province was East Pakistan. Having control over the provinces, the West used up more resources than the East. Between 1948 and 1960, East Pakistan made 70% of all of Pakistan's exports, while it only received 25% of imported money. In 1948, East Pakistan had 11 fabric mills while the West had nine. -
3Rupture in South Asia
3Rupture in South Asia While the 1950s had seen UNHCR preoccupied with events in Europe and the 1960s with events in Africa following decolonization, the 1970s saw a further expansion of UNHCR’s activities as refugee problems arose in the newly independent states. Although UNHCR had briefly been engaged in assisting Chinese refugees in Hong Kong in the 1950s, it was not until the 1970s that UNHCR became involved in a large-scale relief operation in Asia. In the quarter of a century after the end of the Second World War, virtually all the previously colonized countries of Asia obtained independence. In some states this occurred peacefully,but for others—including Indonesia and to a lesser extent Malaysia and the Philippines—the struggle for independence involved violence. The most dramatic upheaval, however, was on the Indian sub-continent where communal violence resulted in partition and the creation of two separate states—India and Pakistan—in 1947. An estimated 14 million people were displaced at the time, as Muslims in India fled to Pakistan and Hindus in Pakistan fled to India. Similar movements took place on a smaller scale in succeeding years. Inevitably, such a momentous process produced strains and stresses in the newly decolonized states. Many newly independent countries found it difficult to maintain democratic political systems, given the economic problems which they faced, political challenges from the left and the right, and the overarching pressures of the Cold War. In several countries in Asia, the army seized political power in a wave of coups which began a decade or so after independence. -
Religion in History: Conflict, Conversion and Co-Existence the Bengal Renaissance
Religion in history: conflict, conversion and co-existence The Bengal Renaissance John Wolffe In the following discussion we’re going to consider Ram Mohan Roy and Vivekananda not in Britain but in Bengal and the city of Calcutta where both lived for different parts of their lives. There they created movements for which they are remembered during a period in which it has been claimed India experienced a renaissance. I shall be talking with William Radice, Senior Lecturer in Bengali at the School of Oriental African Studies, University of London. In the following section, Dr Radice uses Bengali pronunciation. John Wolffe How do you think a British administrator or missionary travelling to Calcutta in the 19th century might have anticipated what they would find when they got there? William Radice You mean in the early period? Well, of course great wealth was built up in the 18th century because of the activities of the East India company and there were Bengalis who were able to build up great wealth too because of all the trading activity which led to the growth of Calcutta as a great city, but I think administrators going out to work, say for the East India company, they would have been aware that this was an environment with extraordinary social contrasts and they would have been aware that amidst all this wealth in the city of Palaces, as so called, there would be great squalor and great poverty and particularly if they had progressive ideals or if they had evangelical religious convictions, they would’ve been aware that there would be a lot of social iniquities and abuses, religious practices, that they would regard it as barbaric and so on. -
Searching for the Greatest Bengali: the BBC and Shifting Identity
National Identities Vol. 10, No. 2, June 2008, 149Á165 Searching for the greatest Bengali: The BBC and shifting identity categories in South Asia Reece Jones* University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA Drawing on debates generated by the BBC Bengali Language Service’s naming of the greatest Bengali of all time, this article investigates the shifting boundaries between group identity categories in our ‘globalising’ world. First, the con- troversy over the meaning of the term ‘Bengali’, which emerged in contemporary Bangladesh and India in response to the BBC’s list, is investigated. Then writings and speeches of several of the individuals who were honoured as the greatest Bengalis are analysed in order to draw out the multiple ways they approached their own Bengali identities. In the conclusion, it is argued that rather than imagining the end of place-based identity categories through the process of globalisation, it is more useful to conceptualise shifting categories that continue Downloaded By: [Jones, Reece] At: 15:14 29 April 2008 to incorporate a place-based aspect, but in hybrid and contradictory ways. Keywords: categories; ethnicity; nations; globalisation; South Asia In Spring 2004, following the British Broadcasting Company’s naming of Winston Churchill as the greatest Briton of all time, the BBC Bengali Language Service conducted a survey of its twelve million listeners to determine the greatest Bengali of all time (BBC, 2004).1 Respondents were asked to rank their top five choices and in the end more than 100 individuals received votes. The top twenty were announced one per day beginning on 26 March, Bangladesh’s Independence Day, and ending on 15 April, the Bengali New Year’s Day, with the naming of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the greatest Bengali of all time. -
The Evolution of the Printed Bengali Character
The Evolution of the Printed Bengali Character from 1778 to 1978 by Fiona Georgina Elisabeth Ross School of Oriental and African Studies University of London Thesis presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 1988 ProQuest Number: 10731406 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ProQuest 10731406 Published by ProQuest LLC (2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 - 1346 20618054 2 The Evolution of the Printed Bengali Character from 1778 to 1978 Abstract The thesis traces the evolution of the printed image of the Bengali script from its inception in movable metal type to its current status in digital photocomposition. It is concerned with identifying the factors that influenced the shaping of the Bengali character by examining the most significant Bengali type designs in their historical context, and by analyzing the composing techniques employed during the past two centuries for printing the script. Introduction: The thesis is divided into three parts according to the different methods of type manufacture and composition: 1. The Development of Movable Metal Types for the Bengali Script Particular emphasis is placed on the early founts which lay the foundations of Bengali typography. -
'Aradhona' a University of Visual & Performing Arts By
‘ARADHONA’ A UNIVERSITY OF VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS BY IFREET RAHIMA 09108004 SEMINAR II Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelors of Architecture Department of Architecture BRAC University SUMMER 2013 DISSERTATION THE DESIGN OF ‘ARADHONA’ A UNIVERSITY OF VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS This dissertation is submitted to the Department of Architecture in partial gratification of the exigency for the degree of Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) at BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh IFREET RAHIMA 09108004 5TH YEAR, DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE BRAC UNIVERSITY, DHAKA FALL 2013 DECLARATION The work contained in this study has not been submitted elsewhere for any other degree or qualification and unless otherwise referenced it is the author’s own work. STATEMENT OF COPYRIGHT The copyright of this dissertation rests with the Architecture Discipline. No quotation from it should be published without their consent. RAHIMA | i ‘ARADHONA’ A UNIVERSITY OF VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS A Design Dissertation submitted to the Department of Architecture in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) under the Faculty of BRAC University, Dhaka. The textual and visual contents of the Design Dissertation are the intellectual output of the student mentioned below unless otherwise mentioned. Information given within this Design Dissertation is true to the best knowledge of the student mentioned below. All possible efforts have been made by the author to acknowledge the secondary sources information. Right to further modification and /or publication of this Design Dissertation in any form belongs to its author. Contents within this Design Dissertation can be reproduced with due acknowledgement for academic purposes only without written consent from the author. -
Disease and Death: Issues of Public Health Among East Bengali Refugees in 1971 -Utsa Sarmin
Disease and Death: Issues of Public Health Among East Bengali Refugees in 1971 -Utsa Sarmin Introduction: “Because of 'Operation Searchlight', 10 million refugees came to India, most of them living in appalling conditions in the refugee camps. I cannot forget seeing 10 children fight for one chapatti. I cannot forget the child queuing for milk, vomiting, collapsing and dying of cholera. I cannot forget the woman lying in the mud, groaning and giving birth.”1 The situation of East Bengali refugees in 1971 was grim. The Bangladesh liberation war of 1971 witnessed 10 million people from the erstwhile East Pakistan (present Bangladesh), fleeing the persecution by Pakistani soldiers and coming to India seeking refuge2. The sudden influx of refugees created a mammoth humanitarian crisis. At one hand, the refugees were struggling to access food, water, proper sanitation, shelter. On the other hand, their lives were tormented by various health issues. The cholera epidemic of 1971 alone killed over 5,000 refugees.3 Other health concerns were malnutrition, exhaustion, gastronomical diseases. “A randomized survey on refugee health highlights the chief medical challenges in the refugee population as being malnutrition, diarrhoea, vitamin-A deficiency, pyoderma, and tuberculosis.”4 The Indian government was not adequately equipped to deal with a crisis of such level. Even though there was initial sympathies with the refugees, it quickly waned and by May 1971, the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi characterized it as a “national problem”5 and by July, she described the problem could potentially threaten the peace of South Asia.6 The proposed research paper will look into the public health crisis and the rate of mortality due to the crisis among the refugees of West Bengal in 1971.