A government supplement , issued by the press information department of the information ministry,published in English-language dailies on Thursday caught my attention.
Of the three lead articles,the one written by Syed Abul Hossain and translated by Sahana Akhtar had grammatical mistakes both in the heading and the sub-heading.The heading reads 'the communication infrastructure is being changed.' The definite article 'The' before the collective noun 'communication infrastructure'was completely superfluous.The sub-heading was also very confusing grammar-wise.It says'changes will there be in Bangladesh.'It really takes the cake!What was in the mind of the translator?Did she just substitute 'suitable' English words for Bangla ones as set in the Bangla expression?Did no one oversee or scrutinise the translation?May be they were all too busy enjoying the long weekend,which possibly began for them on Wednesday,or perhaps everyone was in a hurry to leave office.Or, may be,this is a new style of English of which I am ignorant , having left college way back in the 1950s.
Saturday, 15 January 2011
Study hard
Notwithstanding his positive handling of the tight moment,later in the evening his eyes were swollen from the silent shedding of tears.But now,he seemed to have completely weathered the sadness and turned the pain into power.He is now determined to prove that failure is the pillar of success.
Not envious of other's good fortune,Iwould like to mention that learnt that some of the students with lesser ability got a GPA 5,thanks to malpractice prevalent at the lower-level education system.As the Primary Terminal and JSC examination results will count in a student's future career,the authorities should quickly tie up the loose ends at the early-levels of education system.The corruption-ridden society of ours set me brooding deep into the night when,while browsing the internet,I fortunately came across this saying of Hazrat Ali (RA),which reinvigorated my mind."This world is like serpent-so soft to touch yet so lethal in its bite.Therefore,try to avoid those things of this place which please you or allure you,because this world will be with you for a very short time,and will be of very little use to you.Do not keep your mind fully engrossed in mundane affairs because you know for certain that will shortly leave this world."
Be the most wary and cautious of this vicious world at times when it allures and pleases you the most,because it is an old trick of this world that when a man is the most happy with pleasure of owning and possessing it, it suddenly deserts him and when a man is most confident of its protection,help and love,it certainly forsakea him.
Not envious of other's good fortune,Iwould like to mention that learnt that some of the students with lesser ability got a GPA 5,thanks to malpractice prevalent at the lower-level education system.As the Primary Terminal and JSC examination results will count in a student's future career,the authorities should quickly tie up the loose ends at the early-levels of education system.The corruption-ridden society of ours set me brooding deep into the night when,while browsing the internet,I fortunately came across this saying of Hazrat Ali (RA),which reinvigorated my mind."This world is like serpent-so soft to touch yet so lethal in its bite.Therefore,try to avoid those things of this place which please you or allure you,because this world will be with you for a very short time,and will be of very little use to you.Do not keep your mind fully engrossed in mundane affairs because you know for certain that will shortly leave this world."
Be the most wary and cautious of this vicious world at times when it allures and pleases you the most,because it is an old trick of this world that when a man is the most happy with pleasure of owning and possessing it, it suddenly deserts him and when a man is most confident of its protection,help and love,it certainly forsakea him.
Saturday, 8 January 2011
To the not -so-dear business community
You have taken the so -called free-market to mean robbery with overt and covert support from the government machinery,politicians and bureaucrats,intelligentsia and media.the so called civil society,etc.Thus,you feel free to raise prices instantly upon receiving info on price rise in the international market,but comfortably refuse to adjust it downward whenever it is in decline in the outside world (for reference see Rouf Chowdhury's comment regarding soybean price during the rule of hermits and saints, 2007-2008).
Let me give you a comparative.As a kid in a small ,sleepy,remote township,I would stand beside the barbed -wire fence following a wash after playing the whole afternoon.Day-labourers with axe in hand and cutters would be returning home at the twilight with a handful of rice tied at one end of their gamchah (washcolth), some small fish and some sweetmeat in paper wrapping for kids.Now you per capita income too has gone up.But because of the accumulation of that income into a few hands,the poor have gone further down the poverty line.
Your endless greed might one day land us in bloody revolution leading to innumerable tragedies.It is endless economic deprivation that had compelled us to take up arms against the Pakistanis not long ago.
Let me give you a comparative.As a kid in a small ,sleepy,remote township,I would stand beside the barbed -wire fence following a wash after playing the whole afternoon.Day-labourers with axe in hand and cutters would be returning home at the twilight with a handful of rice tied at one end of their gamchah (washcolth), some small fish and some sweetmeat in paper wrapping for kids.Now you per capita income too has gone up.But because of the accumulation of that income into a few hands,the poor have gone further down the poverty line.
Your endless greed might one day land us in bloody revolution leading to innumerable tragedies.It is endless economic deprivation that had compelled us to take up arms against the Pakistanis not long ago.
Ensuring quality medical service
The main objective of doctor's noble profession is to serve the humanity . Irrespective of colour,caste and creed, the doctor's main duty is to serve the sick people .But at present, the mentality of many doctors has changed.They are now busy with private practice.For earning money,doctors have forgotten their own duty to deliver health service in hospitals.Most of the time ,they remain busy at private practice,leaving the hospital doctor-less.As a result,the poor and distressed people are not getting proper medical service from government hospitals.The condition of our country's health service is very pitiful.Now the dignity of this noble profession has been tarnished.
It is matter of regret that , many doctor's are not interested in going to the villages for providing medical service.This kind of mentality in a doctor that their prime duty is to repay their debt by giving medical service to the poor.We appreciate the prime minister's call for improving health service.
The present government has taken initiative to give health service at every upazila and union.Undoubtedly,it is a praiseworthy commitment for the government .But for turning this commitment in to reality,the presence of doctors in the hospitals has to be ensured at first .Besides, the government should supply necessary modern medical equipments to all the government hospitals for improving medical service.
Our country's standard of health service is not satisfactory .For changing this pitiful state of health service,the government should be more attentive towards modernising health service.
It is matter of regret that , many doctor's are not interested in going to the villages for providing medical service.This kind of mentality in a doctor that their prime duty is to repay their debt by giving medical service to the poor.We appreciate the prime minister's call for improving health service.
The present government has taken initiative to give health service at every upazila and union.Undoubtedly,it is a praiseworthy commitment for the government .But for turning this commitment in to reality,the presence of doctors in the hospitals has to be ensured at first .Besides, the government should supply necessary modern medical equipments to all the government hospitals for improving medical service.
Our country's standard of health service is not satisfactory .For changing this pitiful state of health service,the government should be more attentive towards modernising health service.
Friday, 7 January 2011
People want positive changes and our economy
The government should take initiatives which bring only the well-being of the country and as well as of the p well as of the people of Bangladesh.But we hardly find such initiatives taken by the incumbent government.The government should take pragmatic steps to save immediately.
1.Dhaka from severe traffic congestion.2.The rural and urban people from extortion. 3.Share market from unexpected rise and fall. 4.Chhatra League from illegal activities. 5.Women and children from stalking,rape, humiliation and smuggling. 6.The poor and middle income people from frequent price rise in the kitchen market. 7. Remove beggars and crowed buildings from Dhaka city. 8.Make load shedding tolerable. 9.Root out bribery from the office sphere. This list can go on and on.The people would like to see immediate changes.
With the accession of Sheikh Hasina to power, a vision began to germinate . That vision was that of a Bangladesh which is vibrant with the entrepreneurial energy of the few, with the rest of the population serving with their labour.The argument was that despite 40 years of Independence, most of the Bangladeshis, Remain desperately poor and many barely, Literate Free market advocates backing the present government thought that the energy of the business community could both enrich the rich and, through trickle-down effects,improve the condition of ordinary people.
The upcoming budget of 2011-12 would be a further step towards the implementation of that vision.Quoting from Margaret Thatcher, you and I come by road or rail, but economists travel on infrastructure.With more than 67 per cent of the nation's freight moving on highways, economists believe that our ability to compete internationally is tied to the quality of our infrastructure, although economists are pre-occupied with wealth, and are criticised for disregarding all consideration of happiness or virtue.
The present government drastically cut down public investment and expenditure on the social sector.As soon as the global financial crisis hit Bangladesh and the interests of the Bangladesh's rich demanded fiscal stimulus, the government overthrew fiscal orthodoxy and budget deficits soared.The Minto Road-based policymaker can claim that the stimulus worked and the growth rates did not crash.The problem is with the content of that growth.
1.Dhaka from severe traffic congestion.2.The rural and urban people from extortion. 3.Share market from unexpected rise and fall. 4.Chhatra League from illegal activities. 5.Women and children from stalking,rape, humiliation and smuggling. 6.The poor and middle income people from frequent price rise in the kitchen market. 7. Remove beggars and crowed buildings from Dhaka city. 8.Make load shedding tolerable. 9.Root out bribery from the office sphere. This list can go on and on.The people would like to see immediate changes.
With the accession of Sheikh Hasina to power, a vision began to germinate . That vision was that of a Bangladesh which is vibrant with the entrepreneurial energy of the few, with the rest of the population serving with their labour.The argument was that despite 40 years of Independence, most of the Bangladeshis, Remain desperately poor and many barely, Literate Free market advocates backing the present government thought that the energy of the business community could both enrich the rich and, through trickle-down effects,improve the condition of ordinary people.
The upcoming budget of 2011-12 would be a further step towards the implementation of that vision.Quoting from Margaret Thatcher, you and I come by road or rail, but economists travel on infrastructure.With more than 67 per cent of the nation's freight moving on highways, economists believe that our ability to compete internationally is tied to the quality of our infrastructure, although economists are pre-occupied with wealth, and are criticised for disregarding all consideration of happiness or virtue.
The present government drastically cut down public investment and expenditure on the social sector.As soon as the global financial crisis hit Bangladesh and the interests of the Bangladesh's rich demanded fiscal stimulus, the government overthrew fiscal orthodoxy and budget deficits soared.The Minto Road-based policymaker can claim that the stimulus worked and the growth rates did not crash.The problem is with the content of that growth.
Don't beg in the street,but to other countries
'Why would our people beg on the streets?' asked the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, while addressing the inaugural function of National Social Welfare Day 2010 at the Bangubandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka on Sunday . We do appreciate her posing that question.some days ago I went to Bhutan, where I could not find a beggar anywhere, and the country has almost no resources.Everyone there seems to be working their level best.The Bhutanese people love their king, but I could not find anything named after him.In Dhaka,you could see installations with the name of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman even within less than a kilometre from each other.There are three international airport in our country for a small number of passengers.Yet, the government has decided to build a new one, possibly only for the purpose of naming it after Sheikh Mujib, at the cost of scarce cultivable land and money .To do this, the incumbent government will be begging for loan.Can we ask why the prime minister herself is begging?
"Carpool in Dhaka"- Recently the finance minister has suggested that one way to reduce traffic congestion is to ban private cars with two or less passengers from plying .This is totally undemocratic and draconian if applied for 24 hours.However,if it is applied for commuter traffic only,then it may be feasible .In such a scheme ,the rush hour should be short and no longer than 90 minutes, and it may stop an empty car from returning home to do duties at the house which is unrelated with commuting to an office or work place to earn a living .
"Carpool in Dhaka"- Recently the finance minister has suggested that one way to reduce traffic congestion is to ban private cars with two or less passengers from plying .This is totally undemocratic and draconian if applied for 24 hours.However,if it is applied for commuter traffic only,then it may be feasible .In such a scheme ,the rush hour should be short and no longer than 90 minutes, and it may stop an empty car from returning home to do duties at the house which is unrelated with commuting to an office or work place to earn a living .
Thursday, 6 January 2011
Carpool in Dhaka
As a writer and a student of biochemistry i have studies several religions as electives of my own choice at McGill University.I belive we have enough religions to make us hate , but not enough to make us love one another.This observation finds ample reflection in the words 'Human will wrangle for religion; write for it , fight for it, die for it, anything but-live for it.'
To day no effort is spared by unscrupulous and vested interest groups to unsettle people's faith in the religion into which they are born.Benjamin Franklin wondered: ' If humans are so wicked with religion, what would they be without it?' Religion cannot be displaced by intellectual argument, for it provides a primordial identity to many.What is needed is a public policy aimed at creating space to strengthen secondary identities.Education should encourage children to cultivate a scientific temper in all spheres of life. When reason takes centre stage,religion will automatically be relegated.
While all religions are good and preach peace, their followers seem to have the tendency to become narrow-minded and bigots.More people have been killed in the name of religion than in the name of any other cause.I simply do not understand how people think what they believe in is the only truth and the rest of humanity which thinks otherwise is wrong, even though all religious beliefs remain theories and shall remain so till eternity.
To day no effort is spared by unscrupulous and vested interest groups to unsettle people's faith in the religion into which they are born.Benjamin Franklin wondered: ' If humans are so wicked with religion, what would they be without it?' Religion cannot be displaced by intellectual argument, for it provides a primordial identity to many.What is needed is a public policy aimed at creating space to strengthen secondary identities.Education should encourage children to cultivate a scientific temper in all spheres of life. When reason takes centre stage,religion will automatically be relegated.
While all religions are good and preach peace, their followers seem to have the tendency to become narrow-minded and bigots.More people have been killed in the name of religion than in the name of any other cause.I simply do not understand how people think what they believe in is the only truth and the rest of humanity which thinks otherwise is wrong, even though all religious beliefs remain theories and shall remain so till eternity.
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