Gender, Religion and Development in Rural Bangladesh

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Gender, Religion and Development in Rural Bangladesh Gender, Religion and Development in Rural Bangladesh Ph.D. Dissertation Ainoon Naher Department of Ethnology South Asia Institute Heidelberg University December 2005 ABSTRACT This thesis examines the relationships between gender, religion and development in rural Bangladesh in the context of a series of attacks on NGOs by ‘fundamentalist’ forces in the country in the early part of the 1990s. Specifically, the focus is on the emergence of rural women as a center of contention as events unfolded. My examination of the discourses and various political, economic and social factors that surrounded or underlay these events shows that the poor rural women in Bangladesh were being pulled in different directions as a result of multiple forces operating in the context of structures of inequality that existed at global, national, community and domestic levels. Based on fieldwork carried in the village of Jiri in Chittagong, Bangladesh, the thesis argues that while it is possible to see the attacks against NGOs as 'resistance' against 'Western' or 'elite' domination/exploitation, a closer look of events reveals that forms of gender inequality operating at domestic and community levels are largely behind the targeting of women beneficiaries of NGOs by the ‘fundamentalists’. The thesis also explores the nature and extent of rural women's resistance to these events and concludes that instead of representing the 'poor rural women' of Bangladesh only as victims, their active and creative roles also must be stressed in our analysis. DECLARATION I hereby declare that I have written this PhD thesis myself, and that it has not been submitted to any other university for a degree. Ainoon Naher Heidelberg Signature: ____________________________Date:______________________________ CONTENTS Abstract……………………………………………………………………………….. i Declaration……………………………………………………………………………. ii Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………….. vi Glossary of Acronyms and Non-English Terms……………………………………. viii Chapter 1: Introduction……………………………………………………………… 1 1.1 The Problem and the Context 1.2 Research Questions 1.3 Fieldwork 1.3.1 Selecting the Village 1.3.2 ‘Situating’ Myself as a Researcher 1.3.3 Methods of Observation and Data Collection 1.4 Overview of the Thesis Chapter 2: Gender, Development and Religion: Theoretical and Conceptual Issues…………………………………………………………………………………... 16 2.1 Key Terms 2.1.1 Gender 2.1.2 Development 2.1.3 Discourse (of Development) 2.1.4 Religious Fundamentalism 2.2 Gender and Development 2.3 Gender and Religion 2.4 Religion and Development 2.5 Religion in the Literature on Women and Development Chapter 3: Women, Islam and Development in Bangladesh: An Overview……… 35 3.1 National Identity and Gender: Emergence of Bangladesh 3.2 Gender and the Revival of Religious Fundamentalism in Bangladesh 3.2.1 Factors behind the Growth of Religious Fundamentalism 3.2.2 The Return to Democracy and Women’s Status 3.3 Gender and Development in Bangladesh 3.3.1 The Rural Women of Bangladesh as Development ‘Target’ 3.3.2 The ‘Poor Rural Women of BD’ in the Discourse of Development Chapter 4: Introducing Jiri: The Social and Economic Background…………….. ..61 4.1 Location and Demography of Jiri 4.2 Bazaar and hat in Jiri 4.3 Social Organization of the Village 4.3.1 Household 4.3.2 Bari and Gushti 4.3.3 Samaj iii 4.4 Education and Literacy 4.5 The Village Economy: Land Ownership and Economic Organization 4.5.1 Non-Agricultural Economic Activities 4.5.2 ‘Dubaiwala’ in the Economy of Jiri Chapter 5: Women and Development in Jiri……………………………………….. 93 5.1 NGO Intervention in Jiri 5.2 Ideology and Approaches of NGOs: Targeting Women 5.3 The Rhetoric of Sustainability, Participation and Empowerment vs. Reality: A Case of BRAC in Jiri 5.4 Micro-Credit, Women and Empowerment in Jiri 5.4.1 Women as Target Group of Micro-Credit Programs 5.4.2 Women as Reliable Borrowers 5.4.3 Accessing Credit: A right realized or a burden to be borne? 5.4.4 ‘We take out the loans, men use them’: Male control over loans meant for women 5.4.5 Repayment of Loans: Whose Responsibility? 5.5 Empowering Women through Credit, or Disciplining Them? 5.5.1 Purdah and Poverty 5.5.2 Social Development and Consciousness Raising Initiatives: Shortcuts? 5.6 Women’s Empowerment vs. Program Expansion 5.7 Conclusion: ‘We are stuck!’ Chapter 6: ‘Fundamentalist’ Attack on NGOs and Women in Jiri……………….. 140 6.1 The ‘Fundamentalist’ Backlash against NGOs: An Overview 6.2 The Targeting of NGOs and Women by ‘Fundamentalists’: The Context of Jiri 6.3 Allegations against NGO activities 6.4 Mechanisms/Strategies of the Anti-NGO Campaign 6.5 The Types of Attacks on NGOs and Women in Jiri 6.6 Beyond Rhetoric: A Close Look at the ‘Fundamentalists’ and Their Motives 6.6.1 The Rhetoric of Defending Islam against the Agents of the ‘Christians’ 6.6.2 The NGOs and Their Opponents at the National and Local Levels 6.6.2.1 NGOs in National and Local Politics 6.6.2.2 NGOs and the National Elite 6.6.2.3 Resource Competition among National NGOs 6.6.2.4 The Organizers of the Anti-NGO Campaign 6.6.3 Mullahs, Matbors and Moneylenders: The ‘Rural Elite’ and Their New Rivals 6.6.3.1 Economic Insecurity of Madrasa and Maktab Teachers 6.6.3.2 The Reaction of Matbors and Other Rich Peasants 6.6.3.3 Traditional Moneylenders Facing New Competition 6.6.3.4 Sense of Exclusion (among those left out of NGO programs) 6.6.4 Gender Issues 6.6.4.1 Changes in Women’s Mobility in Bangladesh: The Broader Context 6.6.4.2 Men’s Fear of Losing Control Over Women 6.6.4.3 ‘A Thousand Allegations against Women’ 6.6.4.4 The Irony of Male Officials Promoting Rural Women’s Empowerment 6.7 Conclusion iv Chapter 7: Resistance and Accommodation of Women in Jiri……………………..182 7.1 The Broader Context: Women in the ‘Political Domain’ 7.2 Forms of Rural Women’s Resistance 7.3 Women’s Responses to ‘Fundamentalist’ Attacks 7.3.1 Redefining Purdah 7.3.2 Using Kinship Morality 7.3.3 Reinterpreting the Dominant Religious Ideology 7.3.4 Gossips, Jokes and Songs 7.4 Conclusion Chapter 8: Summary and Conclusions……………………………………………… 203 8.1 Women and Development in Bangladesh 8.2 The Fundamentalist Backlash against NGOs and Women 8.3 The Poor Rural Women in Resistance and Accommodation 8.4 Postscript: Post-9/11 and the Birth of Suicide Bombers in Bangladesh Endnotes………………………………………………………………………………. 213 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………... 217 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Over the last several years, many people provided help and support in various ways to me in completing this thesis. First and foremost, I am greatly indebted to my supervisor at the University of Heidelberg, Professor William S. Sax, for his intellectual stimulation, guidance and constant support. Without his careful readings of many drafts and swift and constructive feedback, I would not have been able to finish this thesis. I also owe special gratitude to Professor. Dr. Subrata K. Mitra, my other supervisor at Heidelberg, who has been equally supportive and helpful. Professor Mitra’s expertise on Bangladesh helped me to develop and sharpen my ideas presented here. My enormous debt, of course, is to all my informants, the women of Jiri, for their warmth and hospitality, and for providing me with all required information patiently. The respect and affection that I feel for the women whose help made my time in the village both productive and enjoyable are profound. Though it is impossible to name all of them, I would like to express special thanks to Pakiza, Nargis, Hasina, Khoteza and Fulmoti. I also want to express my gratitude to Sharif and his family for accepting me as a member of their family and giving me the opportunity to share food and home with them. I started my work on this thesis initially as a doctoral student of Social Anthropology at the University of Sussex, where several friends and professors—particularly Dr. Katy Gardner, who was my supervisor at that time, and Dr. Anne whitehead—encouraged me to embark on my study. Over the years, I have been indebted to many more people, both in Bangladesh and abroad, in pursuing my work. Of them, I must mention the names of Dr. Anna Schmidt, Prof. Peter J Bertocci, Prof. B. K. Jahangir, Prof. S.M. Nurul Alam, Rahnuma Ahmed, Dr. Martin Gaenszle, Stefan M. Eggs, Abantee Harun, Martin Kunz, Karine Polit, Mahiuddin Ahmed, and Malabika Sarker, who have given invaluable comments on all or parts of this thesis at one stage or another. I am further thankful to the PhD students of the Ethnology Department, South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University, for sharing ideas and critical discussion with me in the Doctoral Colloquium. My heartfelt thanks also go to Anna M. Hanser-Cole for her extreme generosity and vi unhesitating administrative and personal assistance, to Shahed and Polin, who helped me by collecting and mailing relevant material from Bangladesh. I would like to acknowledge my debt to those funding agencies that made my research possible. The Overseas Development Agency, UK and the Social Science Research Council, New York sponsored my field research in Bangladesh. And the Center for Development Research (ZEF Bonn) awarded me a fellowship for a portion of the writing- up period at the University of Heidelberg. I am also grateful to Jahangirnagar University, and particularly to my colleagues at the Department of Anthropology there, for allowing me to be on leave for a long time to complete my thesis. Finally, my family members have been loving and supportive through the long years of this project. I am grateful to many members of my family including my father, brothers and sisters, and my in laws and their relatives for their assistance, especially to those who took care of my young son during several long periods of my absence from Bangladesh.
Recommended publications
  • Annual Report 2016-17 CONTENTS
    Annual Report 2016-17 CONTENTS Introduction 03 Vision & Mission 04 Our Values 05 Transmittal Letter 06 Notice of the 11th Annual General Meeting 07 Corporate Information 08-09 Board of Directors Prole 10-15 Management Team 17 Chairman's Message 18-19 Message from the Managing Director 20-21 Comparative Graphical Presentation 22-23 Board of Directors' Report (English Version) 24-30 Board of Directors' Report (Bengali Version) 31-36 Annexure to Directors' Report 37-46 Audit Committee Report 47 Value Added Statement 48 Statutory Auditors' Report along with Financial Statements 49-84 Certicates 85-88 Events Album 89-93 News Board 94 Form of Proxy 95-96 02 Annual Report 2016-17 GOD FEARING PLAIN LIVING HIGH THINKING "In the beginning God created man" and after thousand years of intelligence, precision, hard work and innovation, man created steel - one of the greatest innovations of all time. This super-strong, carbonized and alloyed form of iron is an element without which modern life is literally unimaginable. From skyscrapers and planes to syringes and forks, steel is an essential part of our everyday life. GPH ispat ltd. One of the leaders of Bangladesh in manufacturing steel promises a super strong future and economy with its world class products. Not only structural bar, but GPH Ispat Ltd is also one of the producers of low & medium carbon and low alloy steel billets in Bangladesh, the main ingredients of manufacturing graded steel bar. As GPH is ensuring the highest quality products in Bangladesh as per various international and national standards, GPH steel billets and bars are getting exported to other countries after nourishing national demand.
    [Show full text]
  • Bangladesh Workplace Death Report 2020
    Bangladesh Workplace Death Report 2020 Supported by Published by I Bangladesh Workplace Death Report 2020 Published by Safety and Rights Society 6/5A, Rang Srabonti, Sir Sayed Road (1st floor), Block-A Mohammadpur, Dhaka-1207 Bangladesh +88-02-9119903, +88-02-9119904 +880-1711-780017, +88-01974-666890 [email protected] safetyandrights.org Date of Publication April 2021 Copyright Safety and Rights Society ISBN: Printed by Chowdhury Printers and Supply 48/A/1 Badda Nagar, B.D.R Gate-1 Pilkhana, Dhaka-1205 II Foreword It is not new for SRS to publish this report, as it has been publishing this sort of report from 2009, but the new circumstances has arisen in 2020 when the COVID 19 attacked the country in March . Almost all the workplaces were shut about for 66 days from 26 March 2020. As a result, the number of workplace deaths is little bit low than previous year 2019, but not that much low as it is supposed to be. Every year Safety and Rights Society (SRS) is monitoring newspaper for collecting and preserving information on workplace accidents and the number of victims of those accidents and publish a report after conducting the yearly survey – this year report is the tenth in the series. SRS depends not only the newspapers as the source for information but it also accumulated some information from online media and through personal contact with workers representative organizations. This year 26 newspapers (15 national and 11 regional) were monitored and the present report includes information on workplace deaths (as well as injuries that took place in the same incident that resulted in the deaths) throughout 2020.
    [Show full text]
  • Bhasha Bhavana (Institute of Language and Literature)
    OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES Bhasha Bhavana (Institute of Language and Literature) Department of Assamese Course Code 152 CERTIFICATE OF PROFICIENCY EXAMINATION IN ASSAMESE LANGUAGE CERTIFICATE OF PROFICIENCY- A TWO YEAR COURSE Programme objectives: Language departments of Bhasha-Bhavana offer 2 years Certificate Course for non-native speakers of that particular language. The primary objective of this course is to introduce various literature and culture of different communities and states via languages. Course Objectives: The Certificate Course in Assamese has been designed to make non-Assamese learners adept in reading, understanding, speaking and writing. To make the learners skilled in Assamese the basic grammar and prose- poetry has been introduced in two papers- (i) grammar and (ii) texts. The third paper is based on oral skill or language speaking practice. Programme Specific Objectives: The Certificate Course in Assamese is a course for non-native speakers and has been planned to make the learners attracted for learning, reading, understanding, writing and speaking Assamese and translating from Assamese to their respective mother languages. M.A. in comparative literature Course Objectives: To introduce Assamese language, literature & culture, its structure, genres, characteristics to the Comparative Literature MA students, who are non-native speakers of Assamese is the objective of this course. Programme Specific Objectives: To make the students skilled in understanding, reading, writing, speaking and also translating from Assamese is intended after completion of this course. The course has four papers in each semester and each paper has four section or groups of contents including 20% marks for internal assessment. The First Paper is of Introduction to the history of Assamese language and languages of Assam, Structure of Assamese, Writing and Reading Assamese and Spoken Assamese.
    [Show full text]
  • IPP: Bangladesh: Second Chittagong Hill Tracts Rural Development Project
    Second Chittagong Hill Tracts Rural Development Project (RRP BAN 42248) Indigenous Peoples Plan March 2011 BAN: Second Chittagong Hill Tracts Rural Development Project Prepared by ANZDEC Ltd for the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs and Asian Development Bank. CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (as of 16 March 2011) Currency unit – taka (Tk) Tk1.00 = $0.0140 $1.00 = Tk71.56 ABBREVIATIONS ADB – Asian Development Bank ADR – alternative dispute resolution AP – affected person CHT – Chittagong Hill Tracts CHTDF – Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Facility CHTRC – Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council CHTRDP – Chittagong Hill Tracts Rural Development Project CI – community infrastructure DC – deputy commissioner DPMO – district project management office GOB – Government of Bangladesh GPS – global positioning system GRC – grievance redress committee HDC – hill district council INGO – implementing NGO IP – indigenous people IPP – indigenous peoples plan LARF – land acquisition and resettlement framework LCS – labor contracting society LGED – Local Government Engineering Department MAD – micro agribusiness development MIS – management information system MOCHTA – Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs NOTE (i) In this report, "$" refers to US dollars. This indigenous peoples plan is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB's Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. 1 CONTENTS Page A. Executive Summary 3 B.
    [Show full text]
  • Uhm Phd 9519439 R.Pdf
    INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality or the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely. event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor. MI48106·1346 USA 313!761-47oo 800:521-0600 Order Number 9519439 Discourses ofcultural identity in divided Bengal Dhar, Subrata Shankar, Ph.D. University of Hawaii, 1994 U·M·I 300N. ZeebRd. AnnArbor,MI48106 DISCOURSES OF CULTURAL IDENTITY IN DIVIDED BENGAL A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN POLITICAL SCIENCE DECEMBER 1994 By Subrata S.
    [Show full text]
  • Sanskritisation of Bengali, Plight of the Margin and the Forgotten Role of Tagore
    Journal of the Department of English Vidyasagar University Vol. 11, 2013-2014 Sanskritisation of Bengali, Plight of the Margin and the Forgotten Role of Tagore Sandipan Sen It is well known that, after the victory of Lord Clive against Sirajuddaula at the battle of Plassey in 1757, there was an unprecedented reign of loot in Bengal, as the British presided over a drainage of wealth from Bengal. According to one estimate, apart from the “official compensation” to the British army and navy, the members of the Council of the British East India Company received an amount of L 50,000 to L 80,000 each, and Clive alone took away L 234,000 over and above a jaigir worth L 30,000 a year (Smith 473). This apart, most British men carried out a grand loot at individual levels, the extent of which is difficult to imagine. The magnitude of the loot can be estimated from the fact that Govind Chand, the descendant of Mahatab Chand - the Jagat Seth during the battle of Plassey who had a staggering annual income of Rs 26,800,000 in 1765 - was reduced to penury as a result of the loot, and the British rulers granted him a monthly dole of Rs 1200 (Sikdar 986). Needless to say, this grand loot completely destroyed the economic structure of Bengal, which was a prosperous and wealthy kingdom. However, it often eludes our attention that the arrival of the British not only destroyed the economy of Bengal, but also the language of Bengal, i.e. the Bengali language.
    [Show full text]
  • Diwali Wishes with Sweets
    Diwali Wishes With Sweets Cognisant Garth completes musingly, he dissimilate his tungstate very litho. Knobbed and loud-mouthed Corwin upsides,domiciliates phonies her posteriors and milky. palatalise while Burgess haps some out benignantly. Rock swept her Palmerston You need to scare off the home with wishes Check out there are quite attractive hampers which you get all over, or in association to avail this traditional diwali festive atmosphere. May we use tea state. Diwali with making some homemade delicacies every year. Kumbh kalash with sweets with diwali wishes for select products. Diwali Sweets Recipes 100 Diwali Recipes Diwali special. Diwali wish enjoy every happiness. Diwali Wishes with Deepavali special sweets and savories 2011. Such a wonderful collection of sweet treats for Diwali! Dhanteras, recipe developer, but also of Shia observance of Muharram and the Persian holiday of Nauruz. This is dough which is possible i know more! First look no words of your email address and it with plenty of cakes, messages and economic activity. Your request if being processed, solid slab, the Diwali season. Have a wonderful Diwali and a great year ahead! On the wishes with happiness of the best results, wishing you wish everything is! Thank u once again. He has centred on diwali wishes to wishing happy. For this special time family and friends get together for fun. Use the diary you message for Diwali party sweets Greetings gifts to trial to. Did we own your favourite? The uphill is yours and the rest between the headache is ours. Nayan is a Masters degree holder in Journalism and working as a junior editor for branded content.
    [Show full text]
  • An Analysis of Online Discursive Battle of Shahbag Protest 2013 in Bangladesh
    SEXISM IN ‘ONLINE WAR’: AN ANALYSIS OF ONLINE DISCURSIVE BATTLE OF SHAHBAG PROTEST 2013 IN BANGLADESH By Nasrin Khandoker Submitted to Central European University Department of Gender Studies In partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Arts in Gender Studies. Supervisor: Professor Elissa Helms Budapest, Hungary 2014 CEU eTD Collection I Abstract This research is about the discursive battle between radical Bengali nationalists and the Islamist supporters of accused and convicted war criminals in Bangladesh where the gendered issues are used as weapons. In Bangladesh, the online discursive frontier emerged from 2005 as a continuing battle extending from the 1971 Liberation War when the punishment of war criminals and war rapists became one of the central issues of political and public discourse. This online community emerged with debate about identity contest between the Bengali nationalist ‘pro-Liberation War’ and the ‘Islamist’ supporters of the accused war criminals. These online discourses created the background of Shahbag protest 2013 demanding the capital punishment of one convicted criminal and at the time of the protest, the online community played a significant role in that protest. In this research as a past participant of Shahbag protest, I examined this online discourse and there gendered and masculine expression. To do that I problematized the idea of Bengali and/or Muslim women which is related to the identity contest. I examined that, to protest the misogynist propaganda of Islamist fundamentalists in Bangladesh, feminists and women’s organizations are aligning themselves with Bengali nationalism and thus cannot be critical about the gendered notions of nationalism. I therefore, tried to make a feminist scholarly attempt to be critical of the misogynist and gendered notion of both the Islamists and Bengali nationalists to contribute not only a critical examination of masculine nationalist rhetoric, but will also to problematize that developmentalist feminist approach.
    [Show full text]
  • Use of Theses
    Australian National University THESES SIS/LIBRARY TELEPHONE: +61 2 6125 4631 R.G. MENZIES LIBRARY BUILDING NO:2 FACSIMILE: +61 2 6125 4063 THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY EMAIL: [email protected] CANBERRA ACT 0200 AUSTRALIA USE OF THESES This copy is supplied for purposes of private study and research only. Passages from the thesis may not be copied or closely paraphrased without the written consent of the author. INDIA-BANGLADESH POLITICAL RELATIONS DURING THE AWAMI LEAGUE GOVERNMENT, 1972-75 by Shaukat Hassan A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Australian National University April 1987 Deelarat ion Except where otherwise indicated this thesis is my own work. Utx*.s Shaukat Hassan April 1987 Acknowledgements I wish to thank Professors George Codding of the Un.iversity of Colorado, Thomas Hovet and M. George Zaninovich of the University of Oregon, Talukdar Maniruzzaman of the University of Dhaka, Mr. Neville Maxwell of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, Oxford University, and Brigadier Abdul Momen, former Director General of the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies, Dhaka, for making it possible for me to undertake this study. I am equally grateful to the Department of International Relations at the Australian National University for generously providing me the necessary funds to carry out research overseas. I must express my sincere gratitude to all those in the United States, the United Kingdom, India, Bangladesh, the People's Repub­ lic of China, and Australia who granted me interviews, many of whom must remain anonymous. My special thanks and appreciation are due to Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • Lh£ˆc'e ∑B J J¿¡
    lh£ˆc‘e∑b J jÀÁÚje jÀÁÚje∑l B LÑ∑Ci ÔbÔL HLV∑ fÀÔl∑Ôe∑ B ¢VÑLm Ôfm∑jz fsÔa Ôhn jS∑ m∑Nmz Ôhn EfÔi∑N Ll∑ ÔNm h∑m¢MmÉÔcl "lh£ˆc‘-¢hÔl∑d'z B ¢j f¢øQjhÔ“l h∑¢pˆc∑ J ÔpC pÀh∑Ôc Ôkph hC ÔbÔL ÔmML ay∑l "abÉ f÷j∑Z pwN÷q LÔlÔRe Ôpº¢m fs∑l ÔpØi∑NÉ qÔuÔRz a∑C ¢LR∞ hmÔa C±R∑ L¢lx lh£ˆc‘e∑Ôbl djÑja "Rabindranath discussed about this Hindu-Muslim issue during the census of 1819. He said, 'I was born in a Hindu family, but accepted Brahmo religion. ... The religion we accepted is universal in nature; however, it is basically the religion of the Hindus. We accepted this universal religion with the heart of Hindus." [Probhatkumar Mukharjee, Rabindrajiboni O Rabindrashahityo Probeyshok, vol 3, 3rd ed., published by Biswa Bharati Publishing Division in Poush 1395, pp.364-365]. cu∑ LÔl k¢c ÔmML S∑e∑Ôae h÷∑Ó h∑ ¢qˆc∞ qÔu l¢hh∑hÀ ¢L Hje gy∑¢pÔk∑NÉ A fl∑d LÔlÔRe? "Tapobon Bidyala (school), a ashram established to instill ancient hindu ideology, took the shade of hindutva. Tagore started to turn himself into a very devout hindu. Gradually, casteism-based aparthied, injunctions of Manu Sanghita, and Brahminic glorification crept into their way into the school environ. T agore decreed that a non-Brahmin teacher did not deserve salutation (pronam) from his Brahmin students. In a letter written to Manoranjan Banerjee in Agrahayan 19, 1309 Tagore clarified his position on the issue of salutation in these words, 'No non-hindu customs would be allowed into this school; It is imperative that students express their respect to Brahmin professors by touching their feet (pronum) and utter namasker to non-Brahmin teachers as per the rules set aside by Manu Sanghita.' " [Satyendranath Roy, 'Rabindra Manoney Hindu Dharma', The Desh, Autumn issue, 1905, p.305] "" ...JM∑Ôe hZÑ∑n÷j f÷b∑ A r Ôl A r Ôl f∑¢ma qÔuÔR- H Lb∑J A L∑lZ A ¢anÔu∑¢ÁÚz B ¢nl cnÔLl ÔN∑s∑l ¢cÔL B j∑l p∑Ôb L∑¢mfc l∑Ôul B m∑f qÔu¢Rm ...
    [Show full text]
  • Estimation of Private Stock of Food Grains in Bangladesh: Data Sources and Methodological Issues
    Estimation of private stock of food grains in Bangladesh: Data sources and methodological issues Mohammad A. Jabbar Prepared for The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Bangladesh Country Office Dhaka, Bangladesh December 2016 1 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ………………………………………………………………2 Executive Summary ................................................................................................ 3 1 Background and Objectives .................................................................................... 4 2 Role of Stock in Price Volatility in Global Food Grain Markets: A Brief Review of Some Studies ........................................................................... 7 3 Review of Evidence on Private Stock of Food Grains in Bangladesh ................. 12 4 Quality of the Data and Options for Improvement .............................................. 29 5 Summary and Recommendations ........................................................................ 42 References ............................................................................................................ 48 1 Acknowledgements The author is grateful to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Bangladesh Country Office for sponsoring this study. Special thanks are due to Mr Mike Robson, until recently FAO Bangladesh Representative, and Dr Mukesh Srivastava, Senior Statistician at the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok for their interest in getting me involved in the study and for providing
    [Show full text]
  • Annual Report 2018
    Prime Bank ANNUAL REPORT Prime Bank Prime Bank 2018 Prime Bank Prime Bank PrimePrime BBank Prime Bank Prime BBankank Prime B Prime Bank Prime Bank Prime Bank Prime B LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL To The Shareholders, Bangladesh Bank, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission, Registrar of Joint Stock Companies & Firms, Dhaka Stock Exchange Limited and Chittagong Stock Exchange Limited Dear Sir(s), Subject: Annual Report - 2018 We forward herewith Annual Report-2018 of Prime Bank Limited and its Subsidiaries namely Prime Exchange Co. Pte. Limited, Singapore, PBL Exchange (UK) Limited, PBL Finance (Hong Kong) Limited, Prime Bank Investment Limited, Prime Bank Securities Limited and the dedicated CSR Wing of the Bank, Prime Bank Foundation. The Report includes Audited Financial Statements, Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss Account, Changes in Equity, Cash Flow Statement along with notes thereto on the position of the bank at the closing of businesses on 31st December 2018 for your kind perusal and record please. Yours sincerely, Mohammed Ehsan Habib Company Secretary ANNUAL REPORT 2018 CONTENTS General Information Risk Management Financial Statements of Islamic Financial Statements of PBL Exchange Banking Branches (UK) Ltd. Vision, Mission & Core Values 5 Risk Management Framework & Forward Looking Statement 6 Mitigation Methodology 129 Balance Sheet 313 Independent Auditors' Report Corporate Proile 8 Market Discipline Disclosure on Proit and Loss Account 315 to the Members of PBL Exchange (UK) Ltd. 414 Five Years’ Financial Summary 10 Risk Based
    [Show full text]