If you combine the population of the Indian state with the population of Bangladesh you have well over 250 million Bengali speaking people, making it one of the world's most widely spoken languages. Two observations here: it is the pull of language that sometimes confuses the issues in Bangladesh, people are not sure whether they are Bengalis first and then Muslims or vice versa. Indeed it was the Language Movement that underpinned the separation from Pakistan in 1971, although its roots are much older and deeper than that. Ordinary people as much as academics have taken great pride in the Bengali language and its literary traditions. Then there is the colonial legacy. English is still the language of the elite and there is a move back to making English more central to education as well everyday discourse as English has moved from being the language of the oppressors to the universal language of international commerce; a tool for entry into the global economy. Which brings me to the newspapers.
Basically there are two types of newspapers; the Bangla papers aimed at the mass market and the English language papers aimed at the elite. Indeed it is the The Daily Star, New Age and The Bangladesh Observer that are perceived to be the influential papers (although the Bangla Prothom Alo, a stablemate of The Daily Starr) is also taken very seriously in important circles. What distinguishes these papers from the others is that have taken an objective stand in regard to politics (at least in Bangladesh context) whereas most other papers are clearly identified with a political party or religious grouping. Like Europe, you can usually identify someone's political affiliations in Dhaka by the paper they read.
One of the things that strikes you about the English language papers is their collective use of English as a medium of expression. At times it seems that English has been frozen in a pre-modern era. I was once talking to a Belgian who made the point it was if they had been written by Charles Dickens. One example will do to illustrate this point; the use of the word "miscreant". All law breakers are universally described as 'miscreants', a word I have become very fond of, but you rarely if ever find it used in the modern Australian press.
All of which leads me to speculate that the study of the usage of English in nations forged from a colonial struggle could make the subject of a fine study.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Good News
Normally Bangladesh only ever gets bad press in the Australian media but over the past week things have been a lot more positive, although if I were to do a symptomatic reading I could probably argue that it's not as good as it first appears.
I am referring of course to the separation of the twins Trishna (I think this name is made up for 'poetic' reasons) and Krishna (which suggests the children are Hindus, although again this may be poetic license) who were conjoined at the head. The marathon operation was reported at length in the Australian media and the prognosis looks good.
However, it seems to have taken a long time for this to happen. I can remember the case being discussed in the High Commission Social Club in early 2008 where a number of the AYAs (Australian Youth Ambassadors) were actively engaged in raising funds to get the kids to Australia. Be that as it may, its good that this has happened and one can only congratulate all those involved in bringing it to a happy conclusion.
I am referring of course to the separation of the twins Trishna (I think this name is made up for 'poetic' reasons) and Krishna (which suggests the children are Hindus, although again this may be poetic license) who were conjoined at the head. The marathon operation was reported at length in the Australian media and the prognosis looks good.
However, it seems to have taken a long time for this to happen. I can remember the case being discussed in the High Commission Social Club in early 2008 where a number of the AYAs (Australian Youth Ambassadors) were actively engaged in raising funds to get the kids to Australia. Be that as it may, its good that this has happened and one can only congratulate all those involved in bringing it to a happy conclusion.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Corruption
Another gap - such is life!
I see that Transparency International (TI) has published its CPI for 2009 and Bangladesh has risen in the ranks (or is it declined) from the tenth most corrupt nation in the world to 13th! A cause for celebration one thinks!
There is no doubt that TI does good and necessary work but one wonders whether its indices whereby corruption is measured have any real meaning for the garment workers and rickshaw wallahs in Dhaka, Comilla, Chittagong and so on. Do they take into account the impact the 'landgrabbers' have on everyday life, where canals and rivers are seized, land filled, developed and sold at a profit. The environmental degradation, not to mention health consequences and impact of social living, is significant. The Daily Star has been leading a campaign to reclaim the canals and restore Dhaka to something like its previous state. A nice idea but ultimately futile I suspect. Despite the 'naming and shaming' nobody seems to be punished and the developments remain. I sometime think the most serious problem confronting Bangladesh is bureaucratic apathy, which, when you think about it, is at the heart of corruption.
I see that Transparency International (TI) has published its CPI for 2009 and Bangladesh has risen in the ranks (or is it declined) from the tenth most corrupt nation in the world to 13th! A cause for celebration one thinks!
There is no doubt that TI does good and necessary work but one wonders whether its indices whereby corruption is measured have any real meaning for the garment workers and rickshaw wallahs in Dhaka, Comilla, Chittagong and so on. Do they take into account the impact the 'landgrabbers' have on everyday life, where canals and rivers are seized, land filled, developed and sold at a profit. The environmental degradation, not to mention health consequences and impact of social living, is significant. The Daily Star has been leading a campaign to reclaim the canals and restore Dhaka to something like its previous state. A nice idea but ultimately futile I suspect. Despite the 'naming and shaming' nobody seems to be punished and the developments remain. I sometime think the most serious problem confronting Bangladesh is bureaucratic apathy, which, when you think about it, is at the heart of corruption.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Moving On
I didn't realise how long it is since I've posted. I can only offer the usual excuses - friends from the UK, writing, family obligations (baby sitting really) and pure laziness have all distracted me but I have been keeping a log of things I want to discuss. It's too long to develop in depth here so I'll just list them and expand upon them over the next week or so.
The list includes
Corruption - focussing of the issue of 'land grabbing' that The Daily Star has covered in depth over the past month or so.
Student unrest - Comilla University has been closed down but this is only symptomatic of a deeper problem, which allows me to continue to talk about education.
Traffic congestion - friends tell me it's worse than ever, which has prompted the government to offer solutions like a metro and more extensive flyover system to relive congestion. It always strikes me as passingly strange that nobody will ever address the real issue and that is the utter disregard Dhaka drivers have for the rules of the road. When I went down to Calcutta (I'm a recidivist on Indian names) I was immediately struck by the fact that drivers stopped for traffic lights and this in a city that has a reputation for crazy driving!
There have been reports that LeT (Laksher-e-Talibar), the group allegedly responsible for the Bombay massacres earlier this year, has threatened to attack the US Embassy, which is built like a fort anyway. However, there has been no comment on the threats to the Australian High Commission, which led to the closure of the Recreation Club - a real hardship! There are also reports coming out of the AHC of increased crime in the Gulshan area with an increase in muggings of foreigners.
Unrest continues in the garment industry - a lot of reading and work to be done here.
The Copenhagen climate change meeting is very much on the agenda in Australia where there seems to have been a sharp upward increase in the number of sceptics and deniers and a concomitant decrease in the number of people who see it as an important issue - if the polls are to be believed. It seems to me that the implications of climate change for Bangladesh defy scepticism and when you point this out to Australians you are often met with blankness - what's new they almost say. More research and thinking to be done here as well. However, I will say that living in Bangladesh and visiting the Sundarbans post Sidr really convinced us of the need for action on climate change. Maybe the solution is to ship all the sceptics and deniers to the Sundarbans after a cyclone and present them with a vision of the future that will occur if nothing is done.
Hopefully my posts will return to a more regular patter in the future.
The list includes
Corruption - focussing of the issue of 'land grabbing' that The Daily Star has covered in depth over the past month or so.
Student unrest - Comilla University has been closed down but this is only symptomatic of a deeper problem, which allows me to continue to talk about education.
Traffic congestion - friends tell me it's worse than ever, which has prompted the government to offer solutions like a metro and more extensive flyover system to relive congestion. It always strikes me as passingly strange that nobody will ever address the real issue and that is the utter disregard Dhaka drivers have for the rules of the road. When I went down to Calcutta (I'm a recidivist on Indian names) I was immediately struck by the fact that drivers stopped for traffic lights and this in a city that has a reputation for crazy driving!
There have been reports that LeT (Laksher-e-Talibar), the group allegedly responsible for the Bombay massacres earlier this year, has threatened to attack the US Embassy, which is built like a fort anyway. However, there has been no comment on the threats to the Australian High Commission, which led to the closure of the Recreation Club - a real hardship! There are also reports coming out of the AHC of increased crime in the Gulshan area with an increase in muggings of foreigners.
Unrest continues in the garment industry - a lot of reading and work to be done here.
The Copenhagen climate change meeting is very much on the agenda in Australia where there seems to have been a sharp upward increase in the number of sceptics and deniers and a concomitant decrease in the number of people who see it as an important issue - if the polls are to be believed. It seems to me that the implications of climate change for Bangladesh defy scepticism and when you point this out to Australians you are often met with blankness - what's new they almost say. More research and thinking to be done here as well. However, I will say that living in Bangladesh and visiting the Sundarbans post Sidr really convinced us of the need for action on climate change. Maybe the solution is to ship all the sceptics and deniers to the Sundarbans after a cyclone and present them with a vision of the future that will occur if nothing is done.
Hopefully my posts will return to a more regular patter in the future.
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