Violators
Close to Home
The pictures of the detainees in Iraq, under the US
and British coalition soldiers are disturbing. It
is a crime and needs to be stopped immediately. But,
what shocked me the most is when I saw the letters
under the 'To The Editor' columns (Friday, May 7,
2004, Pg. 7). What happens to all those millions of
Bangladeshis when they clap and rejoice for the Pakistanis,
be it in a cricket match, or any victorious event.
We as Bangladeshis never forget to put our hands together
for the Pakistanis! But if you visit the War Museum
in Dhaka all you will see is perversion, sadism, intolerable
cruelty, rape, murder, against Bangali. What I am
trying to say is what the Pakistanis did with our
nation was also equally wrong and remains wrong as
long as they don't seek for pardon. Just because they
are not 'white' are they entitled to make mistakes
and get away with it? When it comes to Pakistanis,
how come we never talk about punishment as they have
also violated human rights? I haven't lost the language
to protest against such inequality, nor will I claim
human rights for other nations and leave our own nation
from the context.
Nusrat Wahid
66, Park Road
Baridhara, Dhaka
Disrespecting
Sanctity
I am glad that one of my classmates has expressed
his deep concern in his letter "Disrespecting
Sanctity" published on the 7th May issue of SWM,
about the unethical and indecent activities performed
by couples around the graveyard of the national poet,
Kazi Nazrul Islam. I would also like to say that the
poets' graveyard is also adjacent to the central mosque
of DU. Therefore, any kind of indecent activities
in that area should be checked with an iron hand to
preserve the solemnity and holiness of this area.
Hopefully, the DU authority is trying to keep the
campus safe from night-time intruders. But I, on behalf
of all the students of DU, (who really want the campus
to be an ideal place of learning and of high moral
values), hope that the authority will be very prompt
to address this issue and implement a unified code
of conduct for the students in the university campus.
If the concerned authorities prove themselves sincere
and successful in these matters it will make them
our real guardian in the campus. Any pragmatic step
would help to regain the lost honour and glory of
this so-called Oxford of the East.
Md. Arif Sadeq.
Department of English,
University of Dhaka
Super
Flop
The government still remains in power even after the
expiry of the April 30th 2004 deadline. The 30th of
April is a day of significance and will be remembered
because Awami league not only fooled the BNP-led-four-party-alliance
government but also the entire nation by continuously
saying that the government would be forced to resign
or be toppled on that particular date. It seems that
AL general secretary failed to become an astrologer.
The long awaited and much publicised drama of "30th
April" produced by the Awami League failed to
attract the spectators. Instead of becoming a box
office hit, it seems to be a super flop.
Iqbal Ahmed
Dhaka
Poems
Absent
I am a voracious reader of SWM and I find everything
very satisfactory in my favourite magazine. But I
cannot understand why the SWM team does not consider
putting in the most valued literary peace of them
all poems! Could you at least consider it
Kamal Uddin Azad Khokon
Chittagong
Remarkable
Cover
Your cover story on April 23rd about Mawalis was excellent
and praiseworthy. I spontaneously thank SWM and Mustafa
Zaman for such a revealing write up. Before reading
this article, Mawalis were unknown to me and even
to a lot of people. However, through this article,
I have come to learn about their lifestyle. Besides
this, the article has revealed the problems these
people have to face every day. I request the related
authority to take care of them as they are an important
strength in our country. I again thank SWM for such
a great cover story.
Shabbir Ibne Azam
Dhaka
