Letters
A Devil in Pir's Clothing
We are writing in response to the article 'A Devil in Pir's Clothing'. We are ordeal shocked to learn about Salma's. Such incidents are not uncommon in our society. Unfortunately the well-off section of our society is completely apathetic to the problems of the not-so-educated. This is not the kind of country the freedom fighters had dreamed of.
Our hard working rural people are simple and illiterate and hardly know about the main philosophy of Islam. They have a strong attachment to religion and frauds like pirs, fakirs and illiterate mullahs take advantage of these emotions. Bangladesh can never expect to modernise its economy without modernising its society. The status of religion has to make clear to for a modern society otherwise, fundamentalism will eat up the beauty of democracy.
The concept of madrassa education should be stopped immediately as it produces religiously blind Muslims who represent Islam in a wrong way to the society. Moreover it opposes the Bangladeshi nationality. Unfortunately the past governments have encouraged the mushrooming of madrassas for their own political interest. The media should be more responsible in raising awareness about this issue.
Jewel Rana, A R Shahed
Faculty of Agriculture
BAU, Mymensingh
Water-logged
The condition of the main road of Kazipara (from Mirpur 10 circle to Kazipara bus stand) is in a pathetic condition. The road becomes almost like a river and the vehicles have to function like boats. No sooner had the rainy season started than the road became flooded with rain water. Because of a poor sewerage system the rainwater cannot pass. So there is water stagnation for a long time. Moreover the various potholes become death traps for people. People waiting in line for buses are splashed with water by thoughtless vehicle drivers. People have to roll up their clothes up to the knee to cross the road. This has become an everyday sight.
None of the governments have taken any steps to repair the condition of the roads and the sewerage system. It just proves the truth of the saying “...the performer is different but the performance is the same”.
Shanta Nirupama
Executive, Finance & Accounts
Onetel Communications Ltd.
Banani, Dhaka
Crime Fighting
I want to thank The Daily Star for writing about a recurring event of our daily life in 'The Challenges of Fighting Crime' (July 27, 2007). The Agyan and Molom parties have become a terrible nuisance to our lives by taking advantage of the disorder within the political parties. The political parties have proved that they are selfish and have failed in their basic duties. The story talks about the collaboration between certain muggers and the representatives of the law enforcing agencies. We still want to have faith on our police. It is true that the police are not paid according to what they deserve. We hope that the present government will take the necessary steps to reform the police department. But reforming the police department is not the only process of curbing such crime. They should also focus on poverty alleviation, curtailing drug addiction and creating employment opportunities.
Md. Masud Parves Rana
Assistant Professor
Dept of Geography & Environmental Studies
Rajshahi University
***
The cover story 'The Commuter's Biggest Fear' was superb. Getting mugged and robbed has become a normal phenomenon in our daily lives. Almost everyone in this country has had a brush with such an incident. We say we are citizens of a free nation but we are in fact held prisoners in our own homes. People have to move around in great fear after dark and even by daylight.
The caretaker government has already expressed their dedication to improving the law and order situation of the country. But unfortunately such crimes have recently been on the rise. We urge the government to take steps to look at people's safety and give the people a chance to lead a better life.
S. M. Sharif (Adnan)
East West University
The Cultural Revolutionary
Very few people in the subcontinent have explored music, especially Rabindra Sangeet, with such extraordinary devotion and dedication as Kalim Sharafi. His contributions to Rabindra Sangeet have really enriched the music arena. The modern young people should learn a great lesson from such a person like him to make life meaningful and memorable. Life becomes precious when time is spent on good work, honest thinking, and valuable creation. We should always think of our contributions to our country, to our fellow people.
Kalim Sharafi has shown his optimism in the greater change in the field of music. He is only concerned about the abuses of the easy access to various cultures of the world. I am strongly in favour of this opinion that the blend of our own culture and that of others must be stopped. Although many veteran music specialists are sturdily aversive to popular music Kalim Sharafi believes that if any practice adds to the good image of our nation, it is positive.
I heartily congratulate the writer for bringing such a great genius of Rabindra Sangeet to light which, I think, would benefit all music aficionados.
Mohammad Shafiqul Islam
Lecturer, Department of English
Metropolitan University, Sylhet
Connecting Bangladesh with the Asian Highway
July 27 was a day for rejoicing for 140 million Bangladeshi people and the great contribution of the caretaker government. The deal was finally signed to connect our motherland with the Asian Highway. Now we can easily visit the south-east Asian countries China, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. Our homeland was cut off from this facility for a long time because of a Gordian knot. And this is a golden opportunity for us. Undoubtedly it will help the two countries be in good terms. Thanks to the caretaker government.
Mohammed Abdul Kader Biplob
Department of English
Chittagong College
Use of Chemicals in Agribusiness
The use of toxic chemical substances for increasing the shelf life of vegetables, fruits, fishes etc. is a major problem in our country. But the government is not taking the necessary steps to solve the underlying reason of using these toxic chemical substances.
It is necessary to use synthetic hormones for increasing shelf life of fruits, vegetables, fishes. This is because these products rot very fast. The use of the correct amount of these hormones is not harmful for the human body and along with increased shelf life the residual effect of these chemicals is also low. The synthetic chemicals are used all over the world in both domestic and international agri-business. For lack of knowledge about these technologies, toxic substances like formalin are used here.
Our agriculture marketing system is very poorly organised and maintained. There is no properly established preservation and labelling system here. It is essential to train farmers and sellers about the use of chemicals in preservation of fruits, vegetables, fishes.
Abu Kausar Md. Sarwar
Faculty of Agriculture
BAU, Mymensingh
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