Matters of grave concern
Wednesday, 16 September 2009
Shamsher Chowdhury
I am not against government's efforts in conserving power at the backdrop of the ongoing power crisis. But this business of officially declaring a dress code for staff of the Secretariat and tagging it as a measure for energy saving is taking things too far. I remember way back during the days of Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto in the western part of the then Pakistan a dress code was introduced (for government officials). Besides I have my serious doubts if the objective would be met or the directive would be complied with. The so called dress code even in Pakistan ultimately fell apart. On the other hand, the use and abuse of air conditioners cannot be regulated in this manner. Any directive that has even ten per cent doubts of being implemented should not be entered into. On the other hand, we should also remember that old habits die hard. Habits that are ingrained in the very culture of a select group of people cannot be reversed by a proclamation or a regulatory measure.
This long drawn business of the RMG workers not being paid their salaries and benefits has now become endemic. Neither the government nor the owners seem to be really committed to, or interested in, resolving this long outstanding issue of vital importance. Come Eid the situation becomes even more acute. I am neither an economist nor an industrialist but one thing for sure that in this the two major parties that are guilty are the owners and the government, more so the owners of the factories.
I said before in my previous columns that nothing disserves the cause of justice than selective justice. We are now calling for Matin to be on the dock. If Matin is to be on the dock so should Fakhruddin Ahmed and General Moin U Ahmed, former chief of our Army. If known 'criminals' can be exonerated for their heinous crimes to which the entire nation was a witness, I see no reason to hold the kinds of Matin or any one else. In this context, I am tempted to quote a remark made by Dr. Kamal Hossain, a Jurist of international repute when he made this remark at a function celebrating the birth anniversary of Late MAG Usmani, I quote, "Stop politicization of government and private institutions --.We need to promote the politics of unity to meet the challenges of 21st century" unquote.
Despite the high propaganda about due preparations being taken to combat the spread of Swine Flu, people still continue to be disillusioned about the availability of related services in hospitals and clinics. In a major news report in one of our leading dailies, it is now reported that most hospitals are not fit to fight the scourge of Swine flu and that the system seemed to have failed to keep pace with the rising number of patients.
I remain concerned to this day about the final outcome of the BDR trial-process. This business of referring the matter to the President followed by the Supreme Court's forming a team of Amicus curie all point fingers to the fact that the government is trying to pass the buck on to the shoulders of the others. I still maintain that, if issues of custodial deaths of BDR personnel are not addressed during the process of the trial and a few others like who did what to whom, the root cause of the revolt will neither be dealt with nor will it disappear. The possibility of the demon raising its head will continue to haunt the nation.
On a different note, custodial deaths and extra judicial killings as reported in the media are on the rise. As a matter of fact over the past eight months as per media report the cross fire killings by RAB was the highest ever. No nation worth its name can subscribe to or endorse such debilitating acts of human rights violations. Related to this are also the growing instances of highhandedness of the police, a classic example is the most recent brutal lathi charge by the police on the protest march organized by the National Committee for protection of Gas, Oil and Mineral resources. One only has to go through the related news photographs published in the local dailies and the video clips in the electronic media in order to understand the brutalities of it all. Of relevance here too is the growing concern amongst the people at large about the role and purpose of our intelligence agencies. To say the least, they have not only lost their credibility amongst all sections of the people but also been rendered ineffective.
I am highly disturbed with the news of the homes and hearths of three Hindu families in some village in Rajshahi being vandalized with a view to grab their property by evicting them from their homes. Grabbing of properties and land in this fashion continue unabated in the Hill Tracts too, so much for our being a secular state and a moderate Muslim country. This is not only shameful but also outrageous and unacceptable.
I realize that the government has "Bigger" issues to deal with but these too need to be addressed. Ours is a Peoples' Republic and hence issues like these cannot be over looked. We must not also forget that people are the real owners of the state. Hence their security, safety and wellbeing are the responsibility of the government.
The writer can be reached at
e-mail: chowdhury.shamsher@yahoo.com
I am not against government's efforts in conserving power at the backdrop of the ongoing power crisis. But this business of officially declaring a dress code for staff of the Secretariat and tagging it as a measure for energy saving is taking things too far. I remember way back during the days of Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto in the western part of the then Pakistan a dress code was introduced (for government officials). Besides I have my serious doubts if the objective would be met or the directive would be complied with. The so called dress code even in Pakistan ultimately fell apart. On the other hand, the use and abuse of air conditioners cannot be regulated in this manner. Any directive that has even ten per cent doubts of being implemented should not be entered into. On the other hand, we should also remember that old habits die hard. Habits that are ingrained in the very culture of a select group of people cannot be reversed by a proclamation or a regulatory measure.
This long drawn business of the RMG workers not being paid their salaries and benefits has now become endemic. Neither the government nor the owners seem to be really committed to, or interested in, resolving this long outstanding issue of vital importance. Come Eid the situation becomes even more acute. I am neither an economist nor an industrialist but one thing for sure that in this the two major parties that are guilty are the owners and the government, more so the owners of the factories.
I said before in my previous columns that nothing disserves the cause of justice than selective justice. We are now calling for Matin to be on the dock. If Matin is to be on the dock so should Fakhruddin Ahmed and General Moin U Ahmed, former chief of our Army. If known 'criminals' can be exonerated for their heinous crimes to which the entire nation was a witness, I see no reason to hold the kinds of Matin or any one else. In this context, I am tempted to quote a remark made by Dr. Kamal Hossain, a Jurist of international repute when he made this remark at a function celebrating the birth anniversary of Late MAG Usmani, I quote, "Stop politicization of government and private institutions --.We need to promote the politics of unity to meet the challenges of 21st century" unquote.
Despite the high propaganda about due preparations being taken to combat the spread of Swine Flu, people still continue to be disillusioned about the availability of related services in hospitals and clinics. In a major news report in one of our leading dailies, it is now reported that most hospitals are not fit to fight the scourge of Swine flu and that the system seemed to have failed to keep pace with the rising number of patients.
I remain concerned to this day about the final outcome of the BDR trial-process. This business of referring the matter to the President followed by the Supreme Court's forming a team of Amicus curie all point fingers to the fact that the government is trying to pass the buck on to the shoulders of the others. I still maintain that, if issues of custodial deaths of BDR personnel are not addressed during the process of the trial and a few others like who did what to whom, the root cause of the revolt will neither be dealt with nor will it disappear. The possibility of the demon raising its head will continue to haunt the nation.
On a different note, custodial deaths and extra judicial killings as reported in the media are on the rise. As a matter of fact over the past eight months as per media report the cross fire killings by RAB was the highest ever. No nation worth its name can subscribe to or endorse such debilitating acts of human rights violations. Related to this are also the growing instances of highhandedness of the police, a classic example is the most recent brutal lathi charge by the police on the protest march organized by the National Committee for protection of Gas, Oil and Mineral resources. One only has to go through the related news photographs published in the local dailies and the video clips in the electronic media in order to understand the brutalities of it all. Of relevance here too is the growing concern amongst the people at large about the role and purpose of our intelligence agencies. To say the least, they have not only lost their credibility amongst all sections of the people but also been rendered ineffective.
I am highly disturbed with the news of the homes and hearths of three Hindu families in some village in Rajshahi being vandalized with a view to grab their property by evicting them from their homes. Grabbing of properties and land in this fashion continue unabated in the Hill Tracts too, so much for our being a secular state and a moderate Muslim country. This is not only shameful but also outrageous and unacceptable.
I realize that the government has "Bigger" issues to deal with but these too need to be addressed. Ours is a Peoples' Republic and hence issues like these cannot be over looked. We must not also forget that people are the real owners of the state. Hence their security, safety and wellbeing are the responsibility of the government.
The writer can be reached at
e-mail: chowdhury.shamsher@yahoo.com