Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured. Mark Twain It really is a grueling task to write about Pakistan because there is never anything encouraging to discuss. It is always an angry mob shouting against ‘foreign hands, […]
The government of Bangladesh has made secure moves toward greater equality of opportunity, particular in education of the young children of Bangladesh. This move is partly explained by the fact that the young stand for the greatest–certainly the largest– generation in the country. And the politics of the country will sway in whichever direction the […]
I’ve never quite understood the BNP leader’s use of the term oust, when she bleats on about ousting the sitting Awami League government “because its activities go against the interests of the people and the country”. Does Begum Zia mean that she will force Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation from power? Alternatively does she intend […]
The U.S. government has made several related moves that now allows it go after the Pakistani Taliban with meat and muscle. The U.S. Department of Justice has charged Hakimullah Mesud, the alleged leader of the Tehrik e-Taliban with conspiracy to murder 7 C.I.A officers. Using a Jordanian physician as a double-agent the Tehrik-e-Taliban were able […]
“It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.” Saint Augustine According to a report in Dawn, once again, Pakistanis have embarrassed themselves, and ironically enough, their struggling country the other day at Washington Dulles Airport by acting awfully. Bravo. It is unfortunate to note that there has […]
Islam, like other religions, instructs its followers to first help protect and comfort those who are in trouble. Therefore, it only makes sense that folks, especially those who are supporting the construction of a new mosque at Ground Zero abandon the mosque project and instead help the victims of horrendous floods in Pakistan. No, I […]
Hinduism is a religion of festivities. Pomp, color, dance and music, assortment of delicacies, traditional costumes and merry making are usually associated with most Hindu festivals. Janmashtami- celebration of Lord Krishna’s birth, epitomizing the grandeur of Hindu festivities was observed in India on September 1. The Janmashtami celebrations, like most Hindu festivals, have come to […]
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s exhortation that the journalists work with her to consolidate democracy sounds more like a threat than a claim that the government and journalists should work together. The Daily Star reports that she rang out: “Don’t do anything that might jeopardise democracy in the future.” Claiming that journalists help pass propaganda in […]
Oh c’mon now. Seriously: Pakistan? Pakistan’s already lost face to the world on politics, economics, development, education, human rights, and now…cricket? Pakistanis seem to have been taken down on the grounds of one of their most important cultural exports. Four players of the Pakistan team have been alleged to have accepted bribes to fix matches. […]
The closer cooperation between Bangladesh and India, signaled as a rush of agreements between public agencies in the two countries, seems to be taking a turn toward more solid ground. Bureaucrats within the two main public utilities have signed a memorandum of understanding to set up a new coal fired power plant in Khulna. Designed […]
Almost every news outlet is engaged with Pakistan’s flood and the dire needs of her people. The different ways in which terrible fortunes await those who have just narrowly missed losing their lives is mind-boggling. Disease is germinating in viral dark, wet corners. Given this attention, it is heart-breaking that the private and public donations […]
The world is watching in shock as Pakistan grapples with one of the worst floods in history. This week the UN estimated that the floods in southern Pakistan have displaced about a million people in a matter of two days. The massive floods began almost a month ago and have since displaced about 20 million […]
Two new reports – by Morgan Stanley and the Asian Development Bank – offer optimistic, albeit caveat-filled, appraisals of India’s long-term economic outlook. But whether the country can fulfill its potential is still an open question.
The High Court down the 7th Amendment to the Constitution of Bangladesh. This ruling deems unconstitutional the various decrees General Ershad passed through under martial law between March and November 1982. The 7th Amendment retroactively legitimated the very acts that successfully engineering the coup undertaken by then Chief of Army staff H.M. Ershad. Thus, striking […]
The recent approval by the Government of India for caste based census has aroused concerns among political parties as well as social scientists and ethnographers. For the self-proclaimed ‘modernists’ such regressive measures are likely to heighten caste consciousness among Indians. While the pragmatists argue that data on caste can help the government to better target […]
