MAILBOX

Is this Our City?

When I read the article titled "Is this Our City?" I was really shocked because even I never thought about how a person with disability crosses a busy street or how they walk along the crowded, broken sidewalks. It is very unfortunate that nobody thinks about the challenges faced by the people with disabilities in Bangladesh whereas we are now a middle income nation. Their sufferings and deprivations are completely absent from our mindset. I think rights of the people with disabilities should be incorporated in the school textbooks so that we can learn to be compassionate and ensure the rights of the people with special needs from our early life. I would like to thank Star Weekend for writing about this unheard but significant issue. 

Bappy Sadhu
Islamic University, Kushtia 

Suffering from an Identity Crisis?

I would like to thank Star Weekend for publishing the article titled "Suffering from an identity crisis?" by Fahmida Zaman which  indubitably stated that we have an identity crisis. Bangladesh is called a "Muslim country" only because, in this country, the number of Muslims is higher than the devotees of other religions. However, leaders of no other Muslim majority country of the world call their states "Muslim country." This debate on ethno-religious issue has created a chaos in our national, political and even in our cultural participation. It is sometimes believed that Islam has prohibited its followers to celebrate festivals which is derived from or related to other religion. However, whether a person wants to celebrate a particular festival should be left to their own choice in a democratic country like Bangladesh. I do not think celebrating a festival can be the testament to their nationality or religious belief. 

Rakibul Islam
Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology

Anandabazar's Alt-Journalism

Media plays a significant role in a democratic society. The published news and articles in the media are the windows through people can see the world outside. Reporters and editors create public opinion through their widely circulated publications.  Due to media's huge influence over people's mind, the responsibility of the media-workers is also immense. For any false and distorted news, irreparable disasters can occur, for which, the media organisation has to be held accountable. In this age of click bait online journalism, journalists should be very careful about the sensitivity of their job and their responsibility towards the nation. In this regard, the article titled "Anandabazar's alt-journalsim" published in Star Weekend on April 7, 2017 was a very important piece of writing. It reveals one of the worst examples of yellow journalism. I was shocked to see how a newspaper can still run its operation after making so much false news and outrageous journalistic blunders. I think the article can also be a lesson for Bangladeshi journalists. They should remember that people will lose faith on their media outlet and abandon them if they continue to publish false and distorted news to hide the truth intentionally. 

Joshinta Areng 
Notre Dame University Bangladesh 
Dhaka