Life in Bangladesh
On 22nd August an article entitled “ Innocent citizens are hostages in the hands of a few organised criminals” was published in The Daily Star. Since I am known to the writer for over fifty years, he telephoned me with a request to go through the news item. I requested him to re-direct his original write up to my departmental email address. He immediately agreed to comply with my request. I got a print out of the item and went through it. To mention it frankly, the news item did not enthuse me at all. The question arises, why?
Before I go on further I am confident the respected author is very much familiar with a small age-old story which goes like this “ During the reign of Emperor Sikander (popularly known as Sikander Badsha) he used to go out in disguise to see with his own eyes the sorrows and sufferings of his dear subjects. On one such occasion, one of his sons was with him. While moving round the city the emperor's son seeing the inhuman condition of the people asked his father (Sikander Badsha) as to whether the poor people could not eat 'Polao” (fine rice boiled with ghee) at least once in a day. I do not remember whether the emperor felt ashamed of his son's enquiry or kept quiet.
However, I know the respected writer is an internationally reputed and a retired Professor of Dhaka University and had been living in the States (as citizen) since the mid-1990s with his family. They visit Dhaka after two/three years, that too for a short time and hardly get the time to mind what has been going on in the country or it may so happen he takes little or no interest in the political situation obtaining in the country. It is about three months he has been staying Dhaka. Did he see what happened in the country during the period between 2000 and 2006. I don't know whether he has heard about the so-called “Molom Party”. If the respected author gives me a patient hearing I can discuss with him hundreds of such activities of the so called “Molom Party”.
In the end, I take the opportunity to thank him for his concern about the people of this country.
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