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Bangladesh e-Journal of Sociology ISSN 1819-8465 The Official Journal of Bangladesh Sociological Society Committed to the advancement of sociological research and publication. 1 Bangladesh e-Journal of Sociology. Volume 14, Number 1. January 2017 Bangladesh e-Journal of Sociology Volume 14, Number 1. January 2017 Contents Note from the Editor: Middle Class in Bangladesh Page 4 Planning for Blended Pedagogies: Appropriateness Tlou Ramoroka, 16 for Modern Transformation in the 21st Century Johannes Tsheola and Mokoko Sebola Disability Benefits Payable by Retirement Funds Lufuno Nevondwe 33 under the South African Law Kola O Odeku and Konanani Raligilia Livelihood Resilience and Diversity in the Face Clement Chipenda 47 of Socio-economic Challenges: Exploring the Experiences of Urban Youth in Harare (Zimbabwe) Sustainability of Rural Entrepreneurship as a Gerald Guta 70 Livelihood Strategy in Zaka District, Zimbabwe George Vhudzi and Bernard Chazovachii Afrophobia in South Africa: A General Malesela J Masenya 81 Perspective of Xenophobia Xenophobic Attitudes Against Immigrants Mokoko Piet Sebola 89 and Cheap Political Talks: Sitting Time Bombs and Explosives in South Africa Television News Coverage and Xenophobic Okorie Nelson and 104 Attacks on Foreign Africans in South Africa: Abiodun Salawu A Content Analysis of Youtube Videos Continued on next the page 2 Bangladesh e-Journal of Sociology. Volume 14, Number 1. January 2017 The OBC Muslims: Some Little Known Marginal MD. Intekhab Hossain 117 Communities of West Bengal, India and Syed Abul Hafiz Moinuddin Education and Socio-economic Marginalization Notan Bhusan Kar 129 of Muslim Women: A Case Study of North and 24-Parganas District in West Bengal Bhola Nath Ghosh Religious Pluralism among the Muslims: A Case Hasibul Rahaman 150 Study of Hussain Dighi of Uttar Dinajpur District of West Bengal, India ISSN 1819-8465 The Official Journal of Bangladesh Sociological Society Committed to the advancement of sociological research and publication. 3 Bangladesh e-Journal of Sociology. Volume 14, Number 1. January 2017 Bangladesh e-Journal of Sociology (Biannual e-Journal of the Bangladesh Sociological Society) Editor Nazrul Islam Professor of Sociology Eastern University Associate Editor Managing Editor Book Review Editor S. Aminul Islam M. Imdadul Haque A.I.Mahbub Uddin Ahmed University of Dhaka University of Dhaka University of Dhaka Web Master: Faridul Islam, University of Dhaka Emails: [email protected] [email protected] Published on the Internet URL: http://www.bangladeshsociology.org http://www.bangladeshsociology.net Published by Bangladesh Sociological Society From Room No. 1058, Arts Faculty Building University of Dhaka, Ramna, Dhaka -1000 Phone: 88-0172-717-7666. Email: [email protected] Views expressed in the articles are those of the authors and are purely academic in nature 4 Bangladesh e-Journal of Sociology. Volume 14, Number 1. January 2017 Note from the Editor Middle Class in Bangladesh 1 Not much is available by way of serious research on the nature, composition or even the definition of the middle class in Bangladesh. But the importance of research on the middle class in Bangladesh has been keenly felt by some sociologists, chiefly among them was a senior friend and colleague, Professor Bazlul Mobin Chowdhury, the Former Vice Chancellor of the Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), who passed away on December 30, 2010. His reason was simple: the middle class that we knew and were a part of has changed radically and we must document this. During his last days he was planning a research project with some of us but we never got to the real work. Recently, in relation to another issue, that of where in the social hierarchy can we place the poor after they graduate from poverty, that I got an opportunity to look at the literature on the middle class, the result of which is an article on the middle class and the World Bank published in the Bangladesh e-Journal of Sociology (Volume 11, No. 2). But the question of Bangladeshi middle class remains unresolved. I have hinted at the current situation in the article, but obviously, much research is needed there. One of the very basic issues that I had occasion to discuss with Professor Chowdhury was when does one become a middle class person? That was the theme of the published article too. Is it through wealth or the income levels, is it education or occupation, or is it inheritance and tradition? But in most of our discussions we ended up favouring the notion that one becomes a middle class person when one acquires “middle class values” and in this he would agree with me that in Bangladesh it takes “three generations of educated-urban living” to acquire such values and traits and we would often test our hypothesis on persons and families we knew and pretty much found a strong correlation between our assumption and observations, statistically significant or not. 2 It will be difficult to define precisely what we meant by such “middle class values” but that is what the “urban educated” middle class represented until about the mid 1970s. It was a combination of certain Western values, learnt from the colonial masters, like being on time, having afternoon tea, or having read the classics in literature, able to communicate in English and refined Bengali; values and traits acquired by being in the professions requiring high level of education (like professor/teacher, doctor, lawyer, engineer etc.) or being in the government officer cadre, who were, indeed, trained to act and think in 5 Bangladesh e-Journal of Sociology. Volume 14, Number 1. January 2017 certain ways. These were all added to the sophisticated tastes and values deemed proper for a “Bhadralok”, a genteel person, or a “Bhadra Paribar”, a genteel family, as the family had a lot to do in inculcating the middle class values. This Bhadralok culture is similar to the upper-caste Hindu culture that originated among the educated professionals in the colonial administration and the absentee landlords residing in Calcutta (Kolkata), beginning in the early 19th century. Besides being highly educated, well read in both the local and European arts, literature and the sciences, the Bhadralok was also expected to be “modern” in attitude and, perhaps, secular in outlook. Kind of a hybrid, set between the Western, mainly English, culture and refined Hindu upper caste values. They ushered in what is often termed as the “Bengali Renaissance”. The Bhadralok was often addressed as the Babu, which later became a rather derogatory term. The Bhadralok or the Babu represented the middle class Bengali culture, although many of the Babus were wealthy enough to be counted among the upper class. Somewhat contrasting to this, the Muslims from East Bengal were seen as “Bangal” meaning rustic, more as a derogatory reference to their peasant background and to distance them from the Bhadra culture of the Hindu middle class. But certain Western values and refined tastes gradually formed among the newly educated Muslims towards the end of the colonial times, particularly among the government officials. These were not much different from those of the Hindu Bhadralok and in the post colonial era (1947 onwards), these set the tone for a Bhadra Muslim family. Education in the English medium, particularly for higher education, refined language, avoidance of the local or regional dialects and accents, Western values combined with respect for local (East Bengal) culture and retaining the basic tenets of the Muslim culture, without overdoing the Muslimness, became the hallmark of the “middle class values” that we were referring to. This was distinct from the Muslim culture of North India or Pakistan, distinct enough to seek a new identity in the creation of Bangladesh, as well as different from the Hindu caste prescriptions. It was more secular and tolerant of other religions and ideas and more progressive and modern in outlook. Urban living was a precondition in the sense that the necessary exposure to acquire these traits was available primarily in the urban centres like Dhaka or the larger district towns where many of the government officials were stationed in rotation. Also, because these towns housed the major colleges and high schools, imparting basic Western education. And to a far lesser extent than the Hindu Bhadralok culture, this culture also permeated to the village level, among the few educated families there as most urban educated people retained some contact with their rural homes for a couple of generations at least. But a clear cut distinction was made between the traditional rural and modern urban cultural values. Often a derogatory term “Khat”, meaning farm, was used to identify the ones fresh from the rural areas, or retaining of rural values and traditions, almost in the same manner as the Hindu Bhadralok would use the term “Bangal”. Professor Chowdhury was particularly offended by another derogatory term used to 6 Bangladesh e-Journal of Sociology. Volume 14, Number 1. January 2017 identify those from the more remote parts as “Mofossil”, meaning from backwaters, or “mofo” for short, backward, incapable of change or progress. So that, just by acquiring wealth or income, or even an education, one did not automatically turn into an “urban educated middle class” person, since one might retain much of the rural traits, remain a “Khat” or “mofo” for a considerable amount of time, incapable of changing or acquiring the said middle class values. It was in a study1 of mine in the 1970s, where I concluded that it is the third generation of education and urban living that turns one into a fully urbane person, rids one of the traces of “mofo” or “khat” elements. I argued the same for the middle class values as well, that just by living in an urban centre, or acquiring the wealth or income, or even education does not make one a middle class person.

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