Trump Virus and the dead Muslim captain

“The Trump Virus’s primary effect is twofold: First, it implants in its hosts the unshakable conviction that one of the most execrable clowns in history of these United States is a hero who deserves to be elevated to the White House; then, having inculcated the conceit, it removes the faculties that are necessary for its removal.”

Above is an excerpt from Charles C. W. Cooke’s essay titled “Donald Trump – Trumpism Is a Virus” in National Review. National review happened to be an iconic conservative semi-monthly that was founded by none other than William F. Buckley.

The article was published a year ago in August 10, 2015. A year ago, Trump was still considered to be an insignificant fringe show of good entertainment.  Things have changed. Trump virus is now mightier than ever; the afflicted ones have become increasingly ovine, rigid and un-nuanced when the world world-order has become mightily nuanced.

Since the coronation of Trump at RNC convention, Michael Moore and Robert Reich came with scary scenarios where Trump, indeed, could triumph. In today’s (08/03/2016) New York Times Thomas L. Friedman wrote: “It scares me that people are so fed up with elites, so hate and mistrust Clinton and are so worried about the future — jobs, globalization and terrorism — that a bare majority could still fall for this self-infatuated carnival barker if he exhibited half a political brain.”

Yes, the Trump Virus is proving to be scarier than the deadly Ebola or even the currently trending Zika. 

Death of Mahishasura was ingrained in the very boon that provided him with near-total immortality. He too was killed by the most unlikely of possibility – a woman!! 

Donald, as he repeatedly says, he loves women; at the same time his disdain for women is of epic proportion.

But nope! Donald needed no Durga for his ultimate unraveling; all he needed is a dead soldier, and precisely a dead Muslim soldier. Agape with incredulity J

Khizr Khan, the father of the dead captain, did the doctoring. Trump Virus is slowly relenting on its octopus grip in the gullible brains of millions. “Is this the beginning of the end for Donald Trump?” – asks Dana Milbank in his yesterday’s (08/02) opinion piece in Washington Post.

May be … Trump no longer tweets of incredible poll numbers !!!

do we need an election in 2019?

In Wachowski brothers’ movie MATRIX, machine made in the image of man took over; placed man in the pods and used them as batteries to energize their sentient bodies. Morpheus explained to Neo, matrix is nothing but a system of algorithms – a computer program and it must be defeated to save the human kind. Neo, a deft programmer, is the only hope left …

When come to the purportedly digital and/or digitized nation of ours, astute one can see a matrix of  giant governmental juggernaut brewed by a nexus of corrupt polity, business gluttony, coercion by armed outfits (police/RAB and by extension the armed forces) and an indifferent public  consciousness.   It is nothing about Khaleda or Hasina; nothing about AL or BNP or JI or even JP – it’s all about the Matrix – the supposed prime movers of power on Bangladesh are just levers of power and nothing more.

As Morpheus correctly understood – it is the system that is the enemy; and with this neology in mind, I would like to answer the most poignant of questions of this day.

Do we need an early election? Why one should such proposition that is invariably fraught with enormous expense, violence, loss of lives and totally unproductive exercise in economic term, unless there is a fair chance of an outcome that shall be unlike the previous ones.

Why replace one despot with another? Why replace one Asaduzzaman with a Babar who, in his remand-free heydays, presided over the birthing of the RAB? I can go and on adding more and more examples as to the stupidity of having another election early or even at scheduled date, but it is pointless unless the matrix is changed in a meaningful way.

So, do we need an election in 2019?
Answer is in the matrix!

An Eulogy for Qandeel

Qandeel Baloch promised an online striptease to celebrate Pakistan’s cricket victory over India. Pakistan lost and the dance never happened. Qandeel is dead. Her brother strangler her to death and unabashedly declares that he killed to save his family’s honor – the so called and dreaded honor killing.

No I am not writing to mourn. I am not writing a tome on societal maladies either. I am writing for a free spirit that did rock the core of a society that is still rooted to its feudal past.

Fauzia Azeem is one of those garden variety teen from rural Pakistan (one can read rural South Asia instead) who was married off to an older man, birthed a child and then divorced; a life full of pangs of pain.

She had a free mind. Her mind soared. She buried her olden name. She could have the namesake like Icarus or Phoenix; but she chose a befitting name Qandeel, that in Arabic means LIGHT.

 Light she was.  She asked Imran Khan, one of the most handsome men in her land to marry her. He was a village girl and yet her sweet-nothings and her cooing absurd* undulated the hearts of Pakistan’s urban uppity. She became a light in her own right. At her death, she was a star with over 750,000 Facebook followers.

Qandeel had a very short life. Her social media life started in January of 2014 and ended in July of 2016. And that two and half, indeed, was her real living.

Reuters reported that on the wake of Qandeel’s killing, Pakistan is about to pass law against honor killing. Let this be her legacy. Let this be her epitaph.

Mohammad Zaman

July 06, 2016: Its Time for Soul Searching

Tonu was a subaltern uppity while Mitu was already in the midst of privilege and power. Death is supposed to be the ultimate equalizer. They both are dead. 

Tonu was raped in secret by her killers and then raped in open daylight by some conniving doctors in cahoots with some dog-eat-dog-type-behind-the-scene powerful "Gods" of a safe zone. Mitu was killed in front of her child’s forsaken eyes by a gang of lowly culprits; and then was doubly killed by a process unleashed by none other than her husband’s own ilk.

Tonu’s father lives in one of the most secured place in Bangladesh and he was advised to keep mum. Mitu’s father says, “The sirs asked us to keep mum.” Rumor thus roars while the police and the doctors and the media continue to fan the flame of falsehood and innuendo.

One day blame is directed to extremist ‘jongi’. The next day ‘jongi’ melts away; and there comes the garden variety miscreants. Cycles of suspicion brings cycles of more suspicion and even more confusion.

It is reported in some electronic news media that few guys in MainaMoti were made invisible by their powerful superiors; nope, law enforcers has no access to them. 

For all practical purpose, the Tonu’s case has strayed into the cold. Miracles may happen and high authorities may blink; we better keep our hands folded in eternal prayer …

Mitu on the other hand is still kicking. However, things seem to be taking a turn toward the colder corridor. Some media tried to tarnish the image of the killed. The police, by creating a haze around the very unorthodox interrogation of once-decorated officer of their own, have created an aura where Babul’s reputation is thrown into unpleasant question.

It is reported that three senior police officers (DIG), during their 15-hour marathon interrogation, asked the SP to resign from his job or face prosecution as a suspect in his wife’s murder. As if, the value of Mitu’s life is less valuable that the reputation of the police force – cool stuff!!

It is also reported that Babul, under pressure from superiors, signed a resignation letter that is yet to be produced to the department …

In the meantime, Tonu’s story is shifted to the back seat. Her father is afraid and quiet. Her mother is crying her soul out. And her brother is hiding in Dhaka away from harm’s way. Sorry my dear daughter, in today’s Bangladesh you do not matter more than an empty zero.

But Mitu is the dead wife of a once-powerful man. It is not very easy to brush her away. On the hilt of her death over ten thousand commoner and a few ‘jongi’ are already in police custody; the nefarious people in the net tried to call this drive ‘Sref Eid Banijyo’ or just Eid Business J

And this brings us to the Armageddon of 7/1. 

Yes, Mitu too is now in the back burner. It’s time move on. It’s time to move on past Hefazat, past BNP and past JI. History of decades of misrule has reached a precipice. 

It's time for the ruling elite to feel the pangs of an ever increasing national rictus.  

It’s time to ponder. As Professor Yunus says, “We must do soul searching on how this breeding of violence began in our country” (http://www.thedailystar.net/dhaka-attack/yunus-calls-soul-searching-after-gulshan-attacks-1250695)

July 27, 2015: No Fresh Start for BCL - Ah!!

"BCL Should Take the Opportunity for a Fresh Start” – was the heading of July 27th Dhaka Tribune (DT) editorial. Obviously, the editorial was upbeat because the Prime Minister who, ideally, should have nothing to with comings and goings BCL suggested that the BCL hierarchy should be elected by the councilors. 

Then there was the usual behind the curtain dealings and negotiations; there were no opposing candidates; and the leaders were selected by an election! As opposed to alleged 5% voter turnout in the last general election, 95% of councilors voted. 

Walla!

No, the heartfelt wish of DT editor did not come true for the very reason he was optimistic about. When a partisan political leader goes to the house of a student’s organization and dictates what to do and what not to do; that is the miasma that ails. 

When a national political organization, be is BAL or BNP, uses the student’s organization as a muscular front and lavishes its foul-tongued leaders with illicit money and power; this is the miasma that ails. 

And when the politically appointed administrators of public educational institutions fail to hold student’s body elections for years to come; this is the miasma that ails.

When I was a student of my eleventh class, I have seen a very charismatic leader of BCL in my neighboring college in Sylhet. I passed my higher secondary certificate examination and went to medical school for 5 years. Then following a year of internship I, in search better life, came over to this supposed El Dorado in North America. Years passed by. I finished my residency and my fellowship training. It was 90’s. 

In those pre-internet ages, news from home was slow to travel. One day, I got hold of a rather recent weekly issue of Bichitra. And there he was – a glowing picture of him as the elected VP of Dhaka University Student’s Union.  

I know politics does not pay. He must be in his early mid or late-thirties.  Was he married, and if married who his putting up with his bills – I wondered. I wondered about the sorry wrinkles on his father’s forehead …

No, I really was not that naïve. I knew his father must have been proud of his son. And his son definitely was bringing some dough home …   

That puny dough now in 2015, must have transformed into mighty trunk-full of golden bills adorned with BongoBondhu’s head.

Yes, it is the money and power that ails BCL.  

Lofty ideals? What’s the heck …

July 23, 2015: When the Rajons get Killed

It seems that the murderers of Rajon will face prompt justice. This is welcome news. However, the Rajon’s murder did not occur in a void. The milieu is littered by trails of hundreds of murders or other gruesome crimes where the perpetrators remain out of reach of the supposedly long arm of justice. 

Despite great leads by different investigating outfits including the elite RAB, justice for Tawki remains in perpetual limbo. Limon’s perpetrator remains untouched. AB Siddique’s allegedly well-built stout professional-looking kidnappers also remains yonder. 

Mastermind of N-7 murder reportedly snarled that the government is afraid to get him back home. 

Murder-investigation of an erstwhile minister of BAL (Shah Kibria) still remains shrouded. And yes, Avijit’s wife may get to speak to her foreign friends of PEN, the pencil of justice in Bangladesh, as it pertains to her husband’s murder, shall keep doodling forever … 

Now, let’s suppose that the killers of Rajon belonged to a powerful BAL-Family like the one in N-Ganj, and let’s suppose the police officer who let the culprit set free to travel to Saudi Arab hails from a specific district; given the matter of fact and the prevailing state of affair in Bangladesh, would you expect that the legal process would have taken the same celerity?  

Twaki’s father goes to Jail for writing a bad check (if the news reports are correct) but those cousins of Borgi bandits who have plundered the banks and the money-houses of DSE over and over, still remain free to roam the alleys of power in style …

Those Epicurean virtues like simplicity, courage, honesty and moderation are not the forte of our today’s leaders – both in power and in opposition.  Save a few, they are the modern-day epicures enjoying fine wine, gourmet food, classical music and finer-than-Muslin raiment.  

As the nation slowly but surely slides towards more and more entropy; they, by grace of God, keep on talking lovely about their puny democracy and development. They taunt any opposing view by touting Bangladesh’s promotion to lower middle income economy. Ayub Khan's much talked about "Decade of Development", frankly, did not save the day! 

In a country where un-natural death in the hands of nefarious outfits is a constant fear; where accidental death in highway is pervasive, and in a country where the supposed blindness of justice is blind – does it matter if the highly skewed per capita income is few hundred dollars more than a few years ago?

06/12/2015: When the Hype is Over

Narendra Damador Modi has come and gone. In the print and electronic media it’s all gold and glitter. Our honorable PM danced in elation. And our honorable ex-PM read a litany of complaints from her sorry cheat-sheet at Modi’s musings. Yes, if he wished, like Caesar, Modi could have twitted back to his own capital - veni vidi vici ...

Yes, substantial accomplishment happened. LBA is done. It’s great. However, the scope of LBA is not that wide or important in the context of wider national scape. Murder at border and Felani’s hanging corpse is languid but still lingers. Despite fanfare and signing of score-plus bilateral accords of puny-plus significance, a half billion vs six billion dollar trade imbalance still lingers in our sceptic mind. Visa simplification still cries in vain for the Delhi-Wala’s sympathetic ears. 

And the five-hundred-pound gorilla, I mean equitable sharing of common river waters, thanks to the Chief Minister of our neighboring Opar Bangla, is a hush hush taboo… 

In his well-received speech Modi uttered the forbidden words Teesta and Feni with an urbane inflection. He, too, is thinking of a resolution; he said – it is humanitarian … 

Sorry. It’s no humanitarian. It is a legal issue. Norm of water sharing of international rivers follows certain international rules and regulations. It can’t be done by diktat or by benevolence of a brutal (think of Gujrat pogrom) leader. 

Hope is what we got from Manmohan – it didn’t work. Hope is what we again got from Manmohan’s successor – and it shall not work. 

When the hype is over, it’s all fruitless floccinaucinihilipilification – thus says the wiser. 

04/09/2025: Haque Vs Awal Vs the Dark-Horse Candidate (An Wishful Musing in Political Romanticism)

Anisul Haque is a tested businessman and an untested and unknown quanta in politics. Tabith Awal is a novice businessman and also is an untested and unknown quanta in politics. Selection, as opposed to be popularly nominated, of these two persons for the highly prestigious mayoral office of Dhaka City Corporation North (DCC-North) is tantamount to political blighting or bankruptcy of the two major parties of today’s Bangladesh.

It is a shame that none of the party-supreme can find an untainted man/woman to steer the capital city to its rightful glory. And the reason behind is very simple – today’s politics nourishes neither politics nor political leadership for the morrow. It’s all about the supreme leadership – her wishes and the wishes of her kowtowing lesser leaders who have learned the art of playing kerfuffle so well …

Both Mr. Haque and Mr. Awal are from outside the rigid establishment of two political Ghoranas. It is possible that they will be able to think out of the box, and steer the city for better days. But history of the recent past forces us contemplate the opposite. If Mr. Haque wins, he will win because of the good grace of his mentor. Without any popular support (that a good politician usually can have), he will have no power but to succumb to the wishes of the Prime Minister. On the other hand, if Mr. Awal wins, his situation will be much more precarious. He will have to honor the wishes of his leader (Begum Khaleda Zia). At the same time, while navigating the murky alleys of political Dhaka, he will have to give way to the wishes of the perpetual nemesis of his own leader. An impossible feat to accomplish even by slickest of all slicks …

Any pragmatic mind, I think will give Mr. Haque a definite edge. He is smart, articulate, rich (does not own a car though … ha ha …), and above all he is in the good book of an all-powerful Prime Minister. If he works hard, and I think, he will, his chance of delivering on his promise is more than 50/50.

Mr. Awal, if elected, will find himself stranded between the rock and the hard place. Unless he switches his allegiance (yes, he will not be tethered by that awful Article 70), he may be able to finish a 5-year fruitless term and end up with a laurel of multiple politically motivated law suites; and if lucky will be dismissed by the LGRD ministry for some 'God-knows-what-reason' leaving the citizenry of DCC-North stranded in the same old “trishonku” position. However, fugacious glory, like cherry is never forever. Hence, who can tell for sure, what the fate of a Mayor Awal shall be?

Well, I am not a pragmatic guy. I voted for Professor Muzaffar Ahmed when the lesser Rahman (I mean, General Ziaur Rahman) bagged the presidency of Bangladesh almost effortlessly. I am a political romantic. When a very elderly Professor Muzaffar Ahmed politely declined to be honored with the highest state honor, my 'kind-of-dystopian' political romanticism got its highest credence.

Political romanticism still remains infectious. The primordial days of Shahbag is a testament that such romanticism can still capture the imagination of the nation. I am a hard core hater of capital punishment. I never believed that the slogan of “Fashi Chai” was the reason why the whole conscience of Bangladesh was moved so much by a handful of Shahbag Youth. An overwhelming, yet subliminal anti-establishment yearning was the essence of Shahbag-to-its-True-Core. The entrenched establishment, early on, understood the power of Shahbag. They rapidly moved in. Took it over. And entropy ensued.

That anti-establishment yearning is still in the air. The youth and the politically non-aligned majority of the citizenry can still pull an awe. Mr. Haque or Mr. Awal, even their all-powerful mentors can be dumb founded. Yes, this very romantic spirit of Shahbag is alive and well. When the right spark arrives, Shahbag shall roar again like a dragon and shall breath fire to burn the entrenched coterie to their ashes.

I still see the spirit of Shahbag in the blogosphere, in the twits and in the face book statuses. Some of the prime movers Shahbag are hyper-vocal and writing incessantly in support of the dark horse candidacy of Junaid Saki. I have seen him once in a television talk show. He came across knowledgable, thoughtful and well spoken. For Saki, being tall and handsome is definitely a plus in politics! Mahi B. Chowdhury is smart and articulate and handsome. He is likable and I like him. But his politics remain rooted in the non-kosher politics of BAL/BNP paradigm. I do not believe that he has the right innards to light up the aspirations of the Shahbag masses.

I am not sure, how things shall play out. My pragmatic brain is willing to settle for something like Mr. Haque. But my heart cries for something more, something that shall make make soul soar to its romantic self. Yes, my heart pines for the 'break-out-of-the-pack-dark-horse-candidate'.

If citizens of Dhaka desires an AshwaMedha Jagya, they have to look for and find out the right horse to run and claim the terror-laden territory once and for all. 

02/17/2015: It’s No Time to Discourse

DISCOURSE is the zeitgeist. Talk show pundits to ‘Aam Admi’ all are rooting for a discourse. Another diplomatic foray by Oscar Fernandez Taranco seems to be on the offing, apparently 'cause the natives of the land are not big enough or smart enough to tame the churlish braggadocio of the reigning actors (I mean, the honorable PM and the honorable ex-PM). 



I am not sure that a meaningful discourse is possible at this juncture, for discourse is a natural extension of two logical minds of differing philosophies as they interact and strive to interject some cohesion. Successful discourse is constructed upon a good dose of healthy respect for the “Opposing Partner”. Although it sounds oxymoron, I am choosing the term deliberately to emphasize the fact that discourse is not for the hot-headed philistine who cannot bear the smell of opposition. “It’s no time to discourse, so Chrish (Christ) save me; the day is hot, and the weather, and the wars, and the king and the dukes: it’s no time to discourse.” (Shakespeare: King Henry V, Act III, Scene II

Well, without a sense of healthy respect and optimal ambience, not even Christ is going to save a discourse.

I do watch deshi television and read a lot more deshi newspapers on the net. I notice a tremendous amount of knowledge and talent in flux. Some are lovable while some are odious; and that’s all right. But a discourse without a sense of common sense is nonsense. A discourse has to undulate our mind like a gentle stroke of a finger-on-a-harp. It’s okay to bite and scratch and scratch (borrowed from Montaigne) as long as there is a sense of sensibility.

Not long ago I received an email from a person who frequents NFB (a Bangladeshi news portal and discussion forum) rather frequently. A firm believer of religion, I gather, he was irrationally furious at a certain scribe who made a name for himself by incessantly trashing religion of all sort, especially Islam. I also gather that this gentleman, a representative of silent majority, wrote only because, he was infuriated. One who writes or speaks or proposes, by definition is vocal, and intends to modulate the hearts and minds of those who are not yet in sink. Hence a discourse that brings forth such outright aversion is no discourse at all.

Going back to our honorable PM and ex-PM; I am an eternal optimist and still my mind is shrouded in gloom. I don’t see them looking eye to eye, sitting side by side and picking and poking each other’s brain in a way, that shall glean a ray of hope for the seventeen crores of souls who call themselves the real owner of Bangladesh.

A proposition, a concept or a statement that materialize no sensible consequence in the minds of the involved, whatever vainglorious it may be, is of no meaning. A noun is nothing a noun unless a verb is there to undulate it.

January 28, 2015: Looking Beyond Hasina/Khaleda Paradigm

Post-election (or selection) twelve month caesuras of 2014 was the cauldron where unabashed hatred and miasma were brewed only to spill over by the sheer lack of political wisdom on the part of the one-person-rule-of-SHW (Sheikh Hasina Wajed).  

Yes, BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) too, is ruled by one-person wish and whims and it made and continues to make serious political mistakes. This, however, does not negate their continued 30+% popular support.  

Buoyed by winning a flawed election, SHW just cannot wish the opponent away. And with the headwind of public mood as evidenced by the local elections of previous year, she also cannot offer a fair and interim election in which her boat is almost certain sink. So, she took the hawkish stand to tame the political enemy by brute force; underneath which, a sense of moral guilt and/or uneasiness is easily palpable. She is showering the military and other law enforcement outfits with all-they-want … being unbeknownst of the power of people – her ultimate master!

Whatever rotten it can be, Begum Khaleda Zia (BKZ) needed a little space to maneuver; pressed against the wall, even a dog shall bark. So it happened, and now we live in the dark dungeons of BKZ/SHW paradigm.  

It is now a fight unto finish for the two leaders. No – it is not a fight between the file and rank of BAL (Bangladesh Awami League) and BNP; they socialize, they intermarry and they all are not hate mongers …

In her zeal to fight the melee, supposedly unleashed by BKZ’s unwilling utterance of “OBORUDH” when she herself was “OBORUDDHO” by the silly acts of some very silly police-politicians on a silly presumption of “SECURITY”.

SHW has ordered her gun-bearing outfits to do all they can without worrying about any legal consequences.  She may not have the “Lal Gora” her farther had, but she has the equivalent in totally politicized police, BGB and RAB. 

Well, she also is borrowing a chapter from the dark days of BKZ's regime when she granted indemnity to military thugs – Operation Clean Heart whereby was morphed into an Operation Heart Attack.

The other day four senior ministers of SHW-regime had a meeting with the who’s who of Bangladeshi Media. No, they were not there to intimidate. There were there to lay the facts on table that things are all hunky dory in the land of BAL. 

By the way, which country they live in? Do their kids go in school in Bangladesh? Do they ride on public bus? Do they do their health check in Bangladeshi hospitals? Nope… but they surely have visited the burn unit in DMCH along with their big entourage including a few television cameras …

No, things are not hunky dory.  Lives of the little people are in ruins. State power is helpless and cannot provide security to its people. And this reminds this scribe of another dark age of our history, when state was in tatters and melee was the norm. 

Yes, after the death of Sasanka, sociopolitical construct of Bengal (from late 7^th to early 8^th century AD) was in chaos. Harshavardhana of Kanauj- Sasanka’s perpetual nemesis took a big bite while the rest was wrested by Bhaskaravarman, king of Kamrup. 

Without an overarching power (of Hobbs’ Leviathan), the petty chieftains were running amok.  Rule of law vanished. Rich and powerful were preying on the poor and weak. Taranath, the astute Tibetan Monk coined the word ‘MATHSHANNYA (a moral parallel of large fish eating small fish)” to describe this state of total entropy. It was the six hundreds and early seven hundreds. 

Now fast forward more than a millennium to first month of 2015; two unwise persons, driven largely by personal animosity for each other are the prime movers and their minions and the elites of the civil and arms-bearing outfits abetted by a self-serving genre of business-bureaucrat nexus is running amok and gobbling up the little fish, 

I mean, the poor and the powerless … its déjà vu all over again …

But wait – out of ruins and melee came Goplala – the first elected king of Bengal.

9/12/2014: The Pickwickian Evil that Ails the Honorable Minister

Despite his inane and some kind-of insane doings, Syed Mohsin Ali, the honorable minister of Bangladesh government who claims to have shared smoke and/or smoked alongside the father of our all-powerful sitting Prime Minister, deserves some credit to bring the not-so-peculiar Pickwickian issue to the fore; this issue, indeed, is a public health scourge, yet not a single newsman has written anything about up to this time. May be we lack the astute sense of Dickensian observation or we are too busy vilifying the ministers distasteful testiness.

Dickens’s “The Pickwick Paper” described a young Joe who was generous in build, had a love for gastronomical delights and had an uncanny ability to fell asleep anywhere. One hundred twenty years later in 1956, Dr. Burwell and his colleagues described this medical entity in a medical case report titled “Extreme Obesity Associated With Hypoventilation: A PICKWICKIAN SYNDROME”. This was case of a 51-year-old obese business executive weighing over 260 pounds and standing only five foot 5. He was suffering from obesity, fatigue and daytime somnolence. Somnolence was quite disabling that during a poker game he failed to take the opportunity when dealt with a hand of three aces and two kings! Such was the peril … however, Syed Mohsin Ali, I bet, given his very busy and successful life is doing quite well …

We have new name for this condition. We call it OBSTRUCTICVE SLEEP APNEA, a disorder, usually occurring in obese persons, in which, during sleep, lax tissue crowds the access to the breathing tube leading to frequent micro-awakenings and a state of chronic sleep deprivation leading daytime somnolence to catch up. Loud snoring is a very common associated feature. There is another kind of less common sleep apnea that can happen in non-obese persons too; it is called CENTRAL SLEEP APNEA, because, here the brain is at fault. In this article, we will focus on the more prevalent obstructive type.

What causes sleep apnea is a query that defies a clear or precise answer. During the wakeful hours the active tone of the throat muscles keeps the airway wide open. During sleep the absence of wakeful tone causes the muscles to relax with subsequent throat narrowing. Normally this is not a problem; however, in persons with obstructive sleep apnea there is partial or complete obstruction. Enough air does not flow in the lung, oxygen level in blood drops, that in turn wakes the brain up which help tighten the upper airway muscles and open the wind pipe. Normal breathing starts again, often with a loud snort or choking sound.

This oft repeated drop on blood oxygen level and reduced quality of sleep can trigger the release of stress hormones which, in turn, increases the risk of other nefarious maladies like high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke and irregular heart rhythm. When untreated, sleep apnea also alters the normal energy utilization leasing further worsening obesity and the risk of diabetes.

Yes, it is a nasty disease and commonly it comes with a loud bell – snoring, which can prove sore in relationship too. However, its symptoms are not as stealthy as early hypertension or diabetes or cancer. Excessive day time sleepiness, fatigue, poor concentration, morning headache etc. should prompt a doctor’s visit and subsequent diagnostic work up including a possible polysomnogram (PSG) that does simultaneous measurement of brain activity, eye movements and, hear rate and blood pressure.

Once diagnosed, treatment, cumbersome though, is very effective. However, losing weight, avoiding alcohol and stopping tobacco smoking can be an intial thumbs up ...And this brings us back to our honorable minister Syed Mohsin Ali, who happened to an avid smoker too. Sir, it’s time to stop smoking and see a doctor …

06/13/2014: Divas and Kings: They, too, do Defecate

Shashanka was the first to bring the whole Bengal (Banga, Samatata and Gaud) together under one rule. Shashanka's death in 625 AD left Bengal into the hands of feeble rulers.Harshavardana and Vashkarvarma came hounding. There was total entropy of the polity. According to Tara Natha – every single Brahmin, every single Kshatriyo, and every Elite became too powerful within their own small fiefdom. He described the condition as Matsyanyaya (big fish eating small fish) until the people got fed up and elected Gopala as king in 750 AD. Gopala was nothing more than a garden variety Khastriyo. His Pedigree was not of  high kind; definitely not the kingly kind, that our current Prime Minister or her perpetual nemesis Begum Khaleda Zia do aptly delude of. Yes, the first popularly elected leader of Bengal, Gopala made a great king. My be, he is the greatest Bangalee of all time! Anyway, genetic make up, indeed, is not needed for the make of a good king and/or leader.

***

It is a fact that, like our honorable PM is an accomplished artist; so was Hitler. But I shall talk about a different kind of artist now – Magadha'a Bimbisara was a true musician. He was no fan of the Licchavi republic at his northern border. But the knights of the Licchavi had Ambrapali – whose beauty was exquisite and her skills outstanding. She was a courtesan of the highest order – kind of a institution by herself and a pride of the Licchavi knights. Bimbisara was smitten and when, in disguise, he met Ambrapali, he was doubly smitten. His musical talent was a boon – Ambrapali too was smitten. But his days of dalliance with Ambrapli enraged the Licchavi knights of Vaisali. And the subsequent stories were rather incarnadine.

Affair of heart, yes, is not very compatible with affair of state. Thus, when the supposed servant of the people, the PM pours her heart for a N'Ganj family of ugly repute, not knowing how her heartfelt affair shall influence the rule of law, I cringe ... Ambrapali, eventually saw the light and dedicated her life to the alter of the Sakya prince – the Buddha. And let's hope for something of this sort to befall on the PM's beloved family of N'Ganj ...

***

And the prince of the vacuous house of air or Hawa Vobon is on a tirade. I guess ­ a smart tirade! The lesser Rahman (his father) was being vilified right and left with very unkind words by the PM and her lackey ministers and her Awami minstrels.

So, the evil prince came swinging. He knew it well that Awami League (and also his own party) are glued together by apparitions of its slain leader. So, he is trying to bring the aristocratic image of the Father of the Nation down to the dirty and dinghy earth. Questions are being raised. But the people are smart, they have seen a lot and they don't care much.

But the Awami leaders seems to be more gullible and they are snarling right and left, oblivious of the fact that they, too, are not immune of Achilles heel.

***

The turbulent 9-­month caesura that gave birth to a politically independent Bangladesh had no kings or queens. Dedicated leaders of like Tajuddin Ahmed handled the most critical period of our national life just right. With out the benefit of the wisdom of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, things went very well. Now, when the country is immersed in another crisis, reminiscent of post-Shashanka Matsyanyaya - may be we need another commoner like Gopola or Tajuddin.

***

Michelle de Montaigne was an aristocrat who after a brilliant carrier in public service, retired at age 38 to write and reflect. He wrote numerous essays, often loosely bound – full of quotations, anecdotes and stories; essays long and short – some as long as a short book. 

Despite his earthly riches and a lofty mind, he was refreshingly humble. “­­­ ... so the opinion I give of this is to declare the measure of my sight, not the measure of things” - he said; and from this tangent of ignorance he was able to question all the inequities of our lives. And as such, he was refreshingly down to the earth – a simple fallible man, a true humanist. 

He worked as a courtier and lived in a castle; he was a philosopher influencing the likes of Shakespeare and Nietzsche – and yet he attacked his own pedigree by saying, “Kings and philosophers defecate, and so do ladies.” 

***

When shall our leaders shall realize that they are just fallible human and they, too, do defecate ...

05/03/2014: MONTRI: ?A New Curse Word

The very long and aristocratic appellation of Suja-ul-Mulk Hasim-ud-Daula Mir Mohammad Ja'afar Ali Khan Bahadur Mahabat Jung, through the passage of time, has reduced to a rather short “Mir Ja'afor” with a even shorter connotation – “the traitor”. He was a man of power, a general, who could have clipped the wings of British East India Company in 1957; if he did, the history of India, if not better, could have been different.

Yes, history has its funny way of taking revenge on its bad actors! Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonsson Quisling of Norway did not fare better, for he too abetted a foreign invader – Nazi Germany to be precise. At the fag end of Pakistani regime of General Muhammad Yahya Khan, a significant number of Bangalee joined different para-military outfits to help perpetuate the continuation of status quo; notwithstanding their rationale; they were on the wrong side of history and history took its revenge - “Razakar” is now synonymous with traitor or Mir Ja'afor or Quisling … Like Mir Ja'afor, this again can claim its origin in Bengal!

Undertone of words evolves with time; at time sophomoric banality gives way to unpropitious connotations. Razakar and Mir Ja'afor are words that lost innocence and morphed into a curse words very rapidly; however, it also possible that certain words, because of long association with nefarious people, can acquire nefarious connotations and eventually become curse words.

In his article “montri” meaning minister, Professor Jafor Iqbal alluded to the fact, that word “Montri” is now in danger of such sad metamorphosis. He wrote,

“The word Montri does not remind of anything honorable. I can't tell of an exact reason, but it must be the way, our history has unfolded over time. While growing up, I saw the Pakistani ministers roaming around clad in some unnatural garb (achkan). I can't think high of those “achkan-wearing' guys; of course excepting the occasion when a groom weras the same … After 1971, we noticed a new set of ministers with a new kind of ritualitic raiment – the Mijib Coat.

After liberation, we dreamt of a dream only to be undone by the hideous governing ny Awami League. By then, ours was a “shaheed poribar (family of a martyr)”. My mother and I paid visit to a number of ministers to realize our rightful rights; and in the process, they lost my respect … However, things worsened during Ershad regime, when ministerial portfolio were distributed to a coterie of kowtwowing imbeciles; even some thugs, I carefully evoided during by university days, were ministers. Akin to the words “potni and upo-potni (wife and concubine)” we began to internalize new terms – montri an upo-montri (minister and deputy minister!”

The word “minister”, any way, does not boast a very flattering pedigree. It has evolved from its Latin root meaning “servant”. In the utopian (at least in BD perspective) sense of democracy, ministers serve at the will of the Prime Minister, who in turn serves at the will of THE PEOPLE – the real master. And hence, ministers are nothing more than a bunch of servants, picked by the Prime Minister to help her discharge the service properly.

However, in my God forsaken home, ministers abound in dozens, and many of them seem to have no veritable function other than, like a troupe of minstrels, dancing around and singing one or two pangyric for their dear leader; and that's not all, we even had had minister with no portfolio for days and months. In addition, we had ministers, who remained a minister even after resignation and being AWOL for years …

Ministers are no minstrels who shall dance and sing and exalt the Prime Minister; they are given a portfolio of people's business that needs careful attention. They also have the solemn duty to provide thoughtful advice to the Prime Minister; in Bengali the very word “montri” means a person who provides “montrona (advice)” - are they doing it? Probably not …

It is said the during the regime last BNP-JI regime, some of the ministerial portfolios were sold for a price. I am not sure what transpired during the last 5+ years of Awami League, but the way Padma Bridge was held hostage by one single rich man, hearsay abounds. Aside from that, the number of cabinet positions seems too much for a country like ours; compare with that of the US, where there is only fifteen cabinet posts and five cabinet level administrators; or with that of the biggest democracy in the world where it has only twenty eight cabinet positions including the Prime Minister. Yet, the most important cabinet positions including defense, home and foreign affairs remains in the very busy hands of the Prime Minister. And, very often, we see the full ministers are incapable of making any decision on their own. No wonder, plethoric number is no panacea for anemic performance!

Performance aside, a large number of ministers, as per published and electronic news media are involved in careless uttering, illicit amassing of wealth, and wanton waste of public funds. It seems unreal that such thing can happen in a country like ours that can boast of international repute like BRAC and Grameen!

If my daily read of the newspapers is right, I bet, some day, the following fearful pronunciation of Dr. Jafor Iqbal can prove to be prophetic,

“I believe, if the ministers, do not change their way, some day, the word “montri” shall be used as a curse word, just the way “razakar” is being used for the lowly betrayers.”

   

05/03/2014: NARAYANGANJ-7: Unveiling of the 'Veil of Ignorance' & Collapse of 'Social Contract'

Thomas Hobbs (1851–1679) was not an misanthrope, but he harbored a deep cynicism as to the construct of human nature; and posited that, man, if left in the 'state of nature' (i,e., prior the formation law abiding society), “... the life of man (would be), solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” So, he constructed his Leviathan arguing that society to be successful and cohesive, there must be a social contract where a all-powerful but just ruler and/or government shall establish a commonwealth protect the populace from each other by enforcing laws of the land. Hobbs imagined the commonwealth as a giant human body (named Leviathan after the name of a Biblical sea monster) made out of its citizens and the head being the omnipotent sovereign; the absence of which shall culminate into anarchy – a war of every man against other man.

John Locke (1932-1704), in addition to be a giant of empiricist philosophy who famously considered mind a tabula rasa, also was an extremely influential political philosopher. Unlike Hobbs, Locke had faith in innate goodness and rationality of human nature, that, however, shows a selfish tendency especially in the matters of wealth and property. He also argued for the same call for a social contract, where government shall uphold the law, protect citizens; and in return civil obedience shall supervene. Unlike Hobbs, Locke also felt that religion does not cause strife; it is the intolerance that is the root cause of social unrest. Locke sanctified three natural rights: firstly, right to life; secondly, right to liberty or freedom of action (so long it does not imperil any one's right to life); and thirdly, right to property (so long it does not infringe on any one's life to life or liberty).

Locke's improved version of social contract inspired French Revolution and US constitution, and as of now forms the basis democracy all over the world – ours included! And this brings forth the most important facet of this social contract; and that is execution of law by the government – 'JUSTICE'.

In his seminal work on politics and philosophy– Theory of Justice, John Rawls (1921-2002) looked at the social contract from different tangent. He argued that principles of justice are those principles that any fair minded, logical person person shall agree upon when viewed from an impartial perspective. “Principles of justice are chosen behind a veil of ignorance” - Rawls argued; and this he termed the original position. Gareth Southwell explains the position as following:

“ … the only way to ensure the fairness of the social contract would be if it is formulated behind a veil of ignorance. In other words, principles of justice and fairness should be arrived at in complete ignorance of the type of individuals they might apply to. For instance, if I am the strongest or smartest, or possess certain advantages in terms of property or wealth, then (assuming I am a selfish person as assumed by Locke) I would want those principles to benefit me. However, from behind a 'veil of ignorance', I do not know I am strongest or smartest, so to protect myself – since I do not know what advantages others possess – I would favor principles which fostered equality. Furthermore, since there is every chance in this unseen society that I may suffer at the hands of fate, then I would also want to safeguard poverty or similar disadvantage.” This is very much like maximin strategy that plays out in game theory, whereby one chooses a principle that 'maximize the minimum'; for example, when freak of fate happens, one will be afforded with the best possible alternative.

Rawls' Theory of Justice of Rawls decouples morality from justice, critiques can rightly argue; however, it has become central to the modern notion of justice and equality. And as long as the 'veil of ignorance' is intact, it provides enforceable principles that can keep the society wholesome and happy.

II.

'' ... government is best which governs not all'' – yes, Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was consummate individualist to the point of being an anarchist. MK Gandhi and Martin Luther King, both were proponents of civil disobedience, however, their method was non-violence absolute pacifism; its root goes back to millennia, as underlined Plato's assertion that it's better to suffer wrong than to do wrong, for the wrongdoers are both ignorant and sick.

John Rawls was in agreement with Thoreau, Gandhi and King that civil disobedience is acceptable when the head of Hobbs' Leviathan deviates from its obligations of social contract, and unveils the 'veil of ignorance', thus setting forth events leading to its own dissolution. He however, proposed that civil disobedience, to be acceptable must meet certain criteria.

Firstly, act of disobedience must be public; the purpose of act is to highlight the injustice. There is no scope of secret act or sabotage. Laws must be respected, and imprisonment, if comes, should be accepted. Secondly, disobedience has to be conscientious with a political aim and seek remedy of the injustice; thus ruling out the possibility of using the tool for enhancing personal gain. Thirdly, it must be non-violent that distinguishes civil disobedience from criminality. Protesting Rowlatt Act of 1919, Gandhi called for a nationwide hartal, but when the protest gave rise to sporadic violence in Punjab, he immediately suspended hartal, for violence has no place in civil disobedience! And fourthly, it must appeal to the social sense of justice.

In essence civil disobedience is the last resort of defying legal authority of the sovereign when all legal avenues are exhausted and Leviathan's head is out of sink with its original obligation.

III.

For many years, relentlessly Bangladesh is tiptoeing towards an unfortunate undoing of rule of law. There were despots both unelected and elected type. The current regime of Sheikh Hasina Wajed continues to hold on to power following sham election thus undermining its moral legitimacy. The recent stint of governmental abuse of power during the Upo-Zila elections and government's unwillingness to hold election in the capital city where oversight of the process could be rigorous, are signs of a morally bankrupt regime. Its inability and/or unwillingness to reign on the rouge elements including law enforcement outfits and its own rancorous affiliates just add to its difficult moral standing.

A cacophony of bad news emanating from Bangladesh points towards a societal entropy where the rich and the powerful are increasingly confident of their standing without the fear that there may be a day reckoning! This is especially true in the port city of Narayanganj. Although mystery of Twaki murder is no mystery in people's mind, the government continues to dither. Even after unearthing significant evidence implicating a certain family (if the newsfeed is correct), politically allied with the the ruling party, process of justice conspicuously stymied with no clear reason whatsoever. A publicly understood rough element was selected to be the powerful MP despite miserable performance in the mayoral election of Narayanganj just a year ago. Then came the abduction of AB Siddique - an incidence that was about to unleash a tsunami of civil unrest. AB Siddique's initial description of the abductors as a group of stout men with short hair is curious! Even more curious is his release after the appeal from the high seat. On the hilt of that, came the sad abduction of seven people in broad daylight; their eventual murder and recovery of their mutilated body. Junior home minister was privy to such possibility. Family filed complaint mentioning of a suspect. And yet, the police took six days to search the house of the suspect.

Narayanganj, hence, seems to be slithering to the hole, where, government is unwilling to abide by its end of social contract by letting some of its allied people defy the rule of law. These people, by virtue of their wealth and connection, has broken through the 'veil of ignorance'!

IV.

Just today, an eminent jurist Shahdin Malik and a group of civil society members were not allowed to demonstrate peacefully in front of Sangsod Vabon – the supposed sanctuary for law and order and for people's power. This is a telltale sign that the nation demands a Gandhi or a Martin Luther!

05/03/2014: An Open Letter to the Prime Minister

Dear Ms. Prime Minister,

Your ascendancy to power was on the wings of democracy. I want to believe you when you talk high of democratic ideals and principles. I do not condone the calls (from different quarters) for your resignation. I despise the calls to topple your government. Your failure shall be a failure not of yours only. Your failure shall be a failure for the nation as a whole. I want you to succeed. I want you to serve your people until your term ends. But I want you to serve well. Government is nothing but an institutional tool to serve. As the head of the government, you must listen to voices of the people who graciously have given you the opportunity. In democracy, will of people's will eventually prevails, for they are the REAL MASTERS!

As you know, once-almighty Hawa Bhavan is in disarray; its chief patron, having a waylaid sore back, supposedly recuperating on the distant Albinos Land and it’s all powerful point-man Babar is on perpetual remand. But those, who wields the same double edged sword of power, for the sake of their own tomorrows, don’t you think, should slow down and think a little before sliding on onto their wayward galumph?

And here, Dear Prime Minister, I must say something about a few issues that makes crouch in angst as the nation lumber towards an uncertain trimester.

15th Amendment:
Constitution is neither a gospel nor an mathematical axion. It is a document, albeit a very important document, that broadly dictates the governing principles, the people, are willing to be subjected. In democratic nations,

“It is a practice of our justice to condemn some as a warning to others. To condemn them because they have done wrong would be stupidity, as Plato says; for what is done cannot be undone. But they are condemned so that they may not do the same wrong again, or so that others may avoid the example of their wrongdoing.” (Montaigne)

Thus one may justify that the ‘extra-judicial killing’ in ‘crossfire’ serves the same end-point of condemnation plus warning as Montaigne maintained. But this simplification misses the very important point of "practice of our justice". Built-in checks and balances are intrinsic to the justice system. Arguments are made pro and cons. The accused has his/her time to present his/her own stories in presence of fellow citizens (juries or assessors). A judgment is rendered and the common people know the ins and outs.


Yes, justice system at its crux, at times to the chagrin of many, is an elaborate process lest we condemn our innocent. Yet when I talk to my friends at home, the paradox is confounding. They also despise the idea of killing by crossfire but still are happy with the proximate outcome. Criminals, after long, are really afraid! Such ambivalence of my friends at home sprouts directly from a feeling of helplessness, that nothing can be done and that the lesser pain is better than the greater!

But the government, that you run, with its enormous machineries of power is no helpless fawn like a commoner. It just is callus and moribund. Or it just doesn’t care about the inherent rights of its citizens. Hence, to do one ‘small good’, it embarks on one ‘terrible bad’.


Once upon a time, during the reign of your predecessor, it was ‘Operation Clean Heart’ that eventually morphed into the then-infamous ‘Operation Heart Attack’. Those pathetic operators were not sufficiently abreast of the physiology of heart attack otherwise they also could have divined the new meaning of now-infamous but much more palatable ‘Operation Crossfire’. Ah! What a morbid inflection of a rather mundane word ‘CROSSFIRE’!


Yes, extreme situation, indeed, needs extreme measure. Situation arising from stupidity and apathy, however, often ends up with stupendously stupid measure! Crime and violence is not a quantity and/or entity in itself. It rather is a form of a more sinister societal ill that can aptly be described in a single sad word "LAWLESSNESS". Unlawful extra-judicial measure, not only adds further to the abysmal entropy but also acts as a catalyst for its accelerated perpetuation, especially when it is sanctioned by a legitimate government — the prime function of which, as John Locke would have argued, is to preserve and protect the rights of its citizens.


Living in my safe sanctuary in North America, I am not subject to the abject lawlessness as experienced by my friends living in Dhaka. I, thus, am in no position to utter a single word opposing their position of staying mum.


But, as a person who cares for dignity and sanctity of human life I do have harsh opinion as to the often-stated subliminal policy of your elected (not necessarily democratic) government.


And lastly I would like to say a few words about the mal-treatment of the most famous living Bangladeshi – an icon of integrity, magnanimity and of true grit. You know, I am talking about Professor Yunus! Believe me - he has done more for the image of Bangladesh than anyone else I know. Please, for the sake of your Father’s beloved Bangladesh, reign on your minions and let Prof Yunus do what he does better…


Dear Ms. Prime Minister,

I do not want to cram your head with stories from history. You must have seen and heard a lot. Here are a few thoughts from a very ancient epic where a king despite being indisputably brave and incontestably strong was described as aloof and out of touch with his people’s welfare and thus deserving of the ultimate punishment:

His vanity swelled him so vile and rank
That he could hear no voices but his own. He deserved
To suffer and die … (Beowulf)


And remember, fugacious glory, like the bashful cherry, is never for ever!