Adda-fication

Notun Thikana!

2007-02-18T20:33:00.000-08:00

We've moved the blog to www.addafication.com.Check us out!

Moving

2007-02-17T21:24:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers,Addafication is moving to a new domain - we will announce it tomorrow night.Meanwhile, hope you enjoy reading our archives.

A Shi'i-Sunni problem?

2007-02-16T18:20:00.000-08:00

Is the current violence in Iraq a Shi'i-Sunni problem? A divisiveness that is hundreds of years old on which a lid was put by Saddam's iron-hand?A very complicated question.For a fine analysis and response, turn to Haroon Moghul, of Eteraz fame..

Has the Countdown Begun, Part I

2007-02-16T17:16:00.000-08:00

A fine piece of analysis on the possibilities and consequences of attacking Iran**Has The Countdown Begun?B. RamanAn Israeli air strike on Natanz and Isfahan is very likely soonerthan later. Things have started moving in that direction. Theaccumulation of US forces in the region is meant to deter anyIranian retaliation. ...The US and Israel—acting separately and in tandem—have startedstepping up

Has the Countdown Begun, Part II

2007-02-16T17:15:00.000-08:00

The US had seen in North Korea what happens if it avoids action inresponse to pressure from other countries co-operating with the US. North Korea has carried out a nuclear test and is now insisting thatany agreement it signs with the US and other powers would be as a nuclear power and not as a non-nuclear power.It is reportedly prepared to discuss a freezing of its military nuclear capability at

BP courts Berkeley

2007-02-16T17:01:00.000-08:00

Too many people criticize American Academia for its increasing corporate flavor.Here's an interesting article, pick of the week at Mother Jones. Does it Matter if BP Sleeps With UC Berkeley and Californians Fund Their Hotel Room? By Julia WhittyExcerpt:Nature.com, website of the Britishscience journal Nature, reports on growing concerns aboutoil-giant BP's $50-million energy research partnership

Shia's and Sunnis on NPR

2007-02-16T07:21:00.000-08:00

The Partisans of AliA History of Shia Faith and Politics. I haven't listened to all the parts. But I can vouch that NPR (National Public Radio) is usually interestingClick here for a background and the 5-part series: More on this, to come.

Mohsin Hamid

2007-02-15T18:30:00.000-08:00

Most of you guys, readers of Addafication, will have a sense of the term "Exile Complex."It is a feeling of nostalgia for a home far away. The nostalgia is often wrapped around imaginations of a city - its smells, sights, sounds, and friends it contains.The city remains geographically far but conversationally very near. It is evoked in the movies we like to watch. Perhaps more so in the music we

An Event: Philanthropy, Profits and Progress

2007-02-15T08:54:00.000-08:00

********Philanthropy, Profits and Progress: The Role of Private Actors inInternational DevelopmentA Conference Adda-fication's Shamshir is helping organize:Friday, February 16, 2007, Columbia University, Jerome Greene Hall, Room 104. Join CUPID at its third annual conference to evaluate activities byprivate actors — including philanthropic foundations, community-based organizations, corporations

'71 Part One. A Mindset of Mutual Exclusivity

2007-02-14T22:45:00.000-08:00

In Bangladesh, events of 1971 have cast a very long shadow. A shadow that has lodged itself in the subsequent history of the nation. And even harangues the present.Memories and rhetoric around '71 configures party politics. They shape foreign relations and populate imagination of artists, novelists and activists.Two years ago, I spent a good deal of time in London. The University at which I did

1971 Series

2007-02-14T22:41:00.000-08:00

Leading upto 21 Feb, Addafication will feature a series of posts on '71, Pakistan, and the creation of Bangladesh. As well as the Mujib and Military Periods. Stay tuned.

Valentine's Day

2007-02-14T18:36:00.000-08:00

I will steer clear of commenting upon empty theological debates about celebrating Valentine's Day. I will also try not taking any potshots at the yearly windfall generated for the gift-card industry, which estimates that 1 billion valentines are sent world-wide. Of course, the various Archie's and Hallmark shops in Dhaka (including the Archie's at New Market - how long before there's one even at

Speaking of Pakistan

2007-02-14T15:45:00.000-08:00

This Tuesday, at 11:00 AM, I am lecturing on Jinnah and the Muslim League as a part of a South Asia course. 2nd floor, Mathematics Building, Columbia University, if you want to make it.I am a tad nervous. Not so much because of stage fright, but more so because it's always hard to talk about Jinnah and the idea of Pakistan. Too many people seem to have axes to grind when it comes to this topic. I

A great interview with Shabana Azmi

2007-02-14T02:35:00.000-08:00

Ever heard of the Indian New Wave?The Indian New Wave or "Parallel Cinema" was largely a movement to produce high-quality Indian films, rich in plot and texture, to counter the incessant saccharine feel-good and formulaic Bollywood productions.A sitar of this movement was the distinguished Shabana Azmi. I remember Ms. Azmi from Masoom, a movie that left quite an impression on me as a child. The

Doing Business in South Asia Report 2007

2007-02-13T22:34:00.000-08:00

The World Bank's Doing Business in South Asia Report 2007 Report was just launched yesterday. Get your PDF hot from the presses here! [Hat tip: WB/IFC's Private Sector Development Blog for the link]Lot's of interesting data and topics. A sample: It takes 425 days to register property in Bangladesh. Four Bangladeshi cities are covered: Dhaka, Chittagong, Bogra and Khulna. Check it out!

On The AL MOU Scrapping and Reading Things Closely

2007-02-12T23:43:00.000-08:00

One of the hot news items in the last couple of days has beenAL's scrapping of the MOU with Khelafat-e-Majlis. Defending the MOU required AL to twist itself into pretzels/jilapis (the most prominent recent example, of course, being Sajeeb Joy Wazed's blog post on this matter, which numerous commenters, such as many on Drishtipat blog, justly critiqued). Now the MOU has been scrapped.Mr. Wazed

A broader horizon, but a smaller view

2007-02-12T14:56:00.000-08:00

Here is something I wrote on Bangladeshi urban youth and values a while ago. I beleive its still relevant. Read it, let me know what you think, and let's see if there is a solution. Here's the punch line of the piece: The struggle will be to inspire the young to take up this challenge, and ally their dreams of individual success to those of the nation. We must give them a sense of place and

World Press Photo of the Year

2007-02-12T14:24:00.000-08:00

Spencer Platt, USA, Getty Images (Thanks, BQ)Young Lebanese drive through devastated neighborhood of South Beirut, 15 August.

Kids and Praise

2007-02-12T08:25:00.000-08:00

Raising a child is perhaps the utmost social engineering endeavor. Far surpassing anything any strange state has ever endeavored. One that's perhaps more treacherous because you have a near blank slate of a young mind on which to impress. A slate that, through strange processes of osmosis, is likely to absorb all kinds of qualities from people around, to which the parent might be completely

On Dr.Yunus entering politics

2007-02-12T03:39:00.000-08:00

I have nothing against Dr.Yunus joining politics per se. I believe in the aftermath of the current ‘cleansing’ operation that is being carried out back home, there will be a place for smart, qualified individuals to take the places vacated by possibly the worst generation of politicians witnessed by any country in any period in history. Dr.Yunus is certainly a very capable man. He is one of

Fine Op-Ed on the Corruption Drive

2007-02-11T22:55:00.000-08:00

Young Shameran Abed at the New Age has an insightful op-ed about the SOE Corruption Drive that meshes quite well with my thinking on this subject. He correctly notes that the SOE government needs to look beyond catching a few big fish, and highlights the need for institutional reform. He writes, in the key paragraph:"Similarly, corruption in these institutions cannot be adequately reduced unless

A Quibble about Microfinance and the "Productive" Sector

2007-02-10T08:48:00.000-08:00

ASA's M Enamul Hoque has an interesting op-ed on microfinance in the Daily Star. He starts off:Often there raised an allegation from among those who tend to think over utilityand effectiveness of microcredit that microcredit providers extend more of ittowards non productive i.e. non-farm activities than to productive schemes. Thisis half wrong or half right.The rest of the article is an

From Dhaka and Tehran

2007-02-08T21:26:00.000-08:00

So I tend to like most things Persian - Kiarostami, miniature paintings, khoresht, the excessive use of nuts and saffron in "polow" - and almost all of whatever I have been exposed to - of Persian architecture, arts and literature. I also love how Farsi sounds.I was once shooting the shit with a Professor of Islamic History and he pointed to me, how political Islam has had an uneasy relationship

Avian Flu, Intellectual Property

2007-02-08T13:24:00.000-08:00

Over at marginalrevolution.com, a blog I read daily almost religiously, there's an interesting post up about how Indonesia has stopped sending samples of the avian flu virus to the World Health Organization because it's negotiating some kind of contract with a pharmaceutical company. Tyler concludes, "If this entire episode does not convince you that IP law is out of control, I don't know what

"Violence is the Last Refuge of the Incompetent"

2007-02-07T19:51:00.000-08:00

Excerpts from an interview with Hamza Yusuf Hanson on PBS:"Listen, hurricanes are a much greater threat to us right now. Katrina did much more damage than anything the terrorists could ever put together." "Yeah, there's nuclear weapons are out there and that certainly is a concern. That's the job of these intelligence people to stop that, right? But stop making us all live in fear and telling

Bona fides?

2007-02-07T09:10:00.000-08:00

There's been a little bit of a buzz recently on the Bangladeshi blogosphere regarding Sajib Joy Wazed's entry to the blogosphere. [See here, and here, for example, for a sample of reactions] But I have a question: How do we really know this really is Sajib Joy Wazed who's posting?It's true 'cos I read it on the internets. But seriously though, reading it on the internet should add to rather than

Anti-Corruption Botox

2007-02-06T21:17:00.000-08:00

Over at Drishtipat blog, ZaFa and Asif have commented glowingly about some recent developments on the anti-corruption front, namely, the face-life (as ZaFa calls it) in the ACC personnel, and Bangladesh's signing on to the UN Convention Against Corruption. Nai mama-r cheye kana mama bhalo (a blind uncle's better than no uncle), I suppose. And definitely, there will likely be some short term

Family Memories?

2007-02-06T09:30:00.000-08:00

These days I am fascinated by the workings of old, handed-down, memories. I was reading somewhere for a project on Sufism in America, how African American Islam and its "explosion" in the '70s had something to do with the fact that some of the founding fathers, Elijah Mohammad and Noble Drew Ali, all had family memories of Islam.Family memories?A personal example from my own family: My family is

NYTimes on Ramadan: Islam in a Secular World III

2007-02-05T09:16:00.000-08:00

So I can't make up my mind about New York Times. Of course, I can't expect a creature from the jungle that is American media to settle in completely with my Weltanschauung. But I have to say that, for the most part, I enjoyed Ian Buruma's piece on Tariq Ramadan. Although, it did seem at times, Buruma was looking for the fanatic in Ramadan and is surprised he doesn't find one.Of Egyptian

Metril for Diarrhoea and Certain Niceties

2007-02-05T00:08:00.000-08:00

Metril (which I think is called imodium here, but I might be wrong about this) is probably one of the most popular medicines in Bangladesh, ranking somewhere after Orsaline, Panadol (in its various forms: Napa, Paracetamol, Panacitin) and the delightful Civit citrus chewable tablet... Metril has saved me from quite a few embarassing situations in my time - unsoiled train rides, flights that

Seeing Ourselves

2007-02-04T21:18:00.000-08:00

“Where are you frrrom??” is a common question asked of me by taxi drivers in the city. The next question that often follows: “Are you Muslim??” For some reason, this usually sends my eyes darting searchingly for their IDs, which are on display above them. This lets me know that they are Muslim.Although by now I should be accustomed to this sort of interrogation, both the direct verbal form by cab

Album art

2007-02-03T16:32:00.000-08:00

One of my favourite things in the world. Admittedly less.. accessible in this era of revolution(you know the one I’m on about) , but still such an integral part of the whole package. I was just listening to The Verve’s first record, A Storm in Heaven,and having a look through the sleeve and came across some ‘too good’ pictures, and kind of got lost in there. So I’m going to try to remember some

Global Warming, Bangladesh sinking...

2007-02-02T16:27:00.000-08:00

They were showing Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth truth on campus. Highly recommended.Bangladesh, of course, comes up as one of the countries that will be most badly affected by global warming. Given that the country is, on average, only about 10 m above sea level, and large areas on the coast are at sea level, a rise in sea level will obviously lead to incredible devastation and displacement. A

Of Ishqs and Salaams (okay maybe not)

2007-01-31T20:24:00.000-08:00

Okay. So I really don't watch Bollywood. Unless they are the esoteric types. Like Maqbool or Omkara. But sometimes, just sometimes, I give in to the cheese. The masala, the drama and the funda. As I did last weekend when I went with a herd of brownness to watch Nikhil Advani's Salaam-e-Ishq.Granted, my brain stopped working for about two-hundred minutes, have to admit I found it worth my time.

Kob’e Holam Probashi?

2007-01-30T22:17:00.000-08:00

It often just creeps up on you, a tad insidiously sometimes. College, grad school, a few years of work experience in between, and after, and then some. And before we know it, we’re wearing the Probashi label and looking about a little confused, wondering where the last decade vanished. Often we actively seek out others like us and sit around, often over the cha’er cup

Owning Our Future

2007-01-30T22:14:00.000-08:00

Often, my friends tell me that they want to be involved in somehow affecting the way things work back home in Bangladesh, or they want to volunteer and help out in some way. The frustrating block then is – how? As young academics and professionals residing outside of Bangladesh, do we always have access to information regarding the various avenues through which we can contribute to Bangladesh?

Amra Kojon

2007-01-30T21:29:00.000-08:00

A group of students, young professionals and music enthusiasts came together not too long ago, to celebrate their love for Bangla, Bangla music, and Bangla traditions and heritage. Their first program in 2003 was supported by almost a year long research into the history and evolution of Bangla music, coupled with 9-10 months of rehearsals with over 150 people involved in the project. They

The Story of Our T-shirts

2007-01-30T20:18:00.000-08:00

When we throw on our T-shirts, we rarely ever think about all the elements of this piece of garment. Who made it? Where did it come from? If we do ever think about our T-shirts, most us think about how cool we look based on what’s scribbled across the front: “Chicago Bulls,” "I [Heart] NY,” or “Life Sucks” or “I Hate Bush.”In the nineties, socially conscious college students often gave thought to

Islam in a Secular World Part II

2007-01-28T20:50:00.000-08:00

Throughout my travels in South Asia, home to 44% of the world's Muslim population, I am stunned to see a very commonplace apathy to the struggles of their brethren in the West, namely Muslims in the US, Canada, the UK and the continent.In fact, to many, the whole notion of a "Western Muslim" smacks of an oxymoron, commonly buying into "Clash of Civilizations" discourses that populate many

Truth be told

2007-01-26T13:49:00.000-08:00

A friend was telling me the other day how everything was looking up in Bangladesh now ever since the postponement of the elections. His source, reliably enough, was his mother back home, who had called to check up on her son, as mothers do. I really have no reason to disbelieve her, Bangali ghorer bou that she is. Her optimism certainly matches that of the stock market, almost always such a good

What I am about to start reading...

2007-01-25T13:58:00.000-08:00

I am so looking forward to the delivery from Amazon that should arrive in a day or two. I have, after arguing with myself about not having enough time for random reading, finally given in. I ordered the Buru Quartet. It was highly recommended on a blog I read regularly and like a lot as the least read great novel of the 20th century.Pramoedya Ananta Toer "wrote" his epic quartet while imprisoned

A Soapbox for All: British Muslims and the Fight for Young Muslims' Minds (Part I: Muslims in a Secular World)

2007-01-25T12:14:00.000-08:00

As spotlight intensifies on Barak Obama and his possible Muslim past/Madrassa education, Bush announces a "surge" in Iraq, 20, 000 strong, Hamas celebrates a year in government, and the British Education Ministry declares a plan to school children in "British Citizenship." Meanwhile the international posterwoman for CNN, Christiane Amanpour, comes up with a riveting documentary on Islam in

Private universities

2007-01-21T12:31:00.000-08:00

My co-blogger's post on the BRAC University gives appropriate credit where credit's due. I share his sense of optimism about the promising things that are happening there. Particularly impressive are the specialized Institutes and various research and program development partnerships that BRAC Univ. is setting up. There is a longer-term vision of what the institution can achieve and become that's

Some thoughts on our political crisis and the Emergency

2007-01-20T16:28:00.000-08:00

Not mentioning the State of Emergency in the first few posts of this blog would be as absurd as having a physical adda in the drawing room over cha and toast biscoot without mentioning , well, the State of Emergency.Financial Times had an interesting item a few days ago, which many readers will surely have read already. Money quote, I thought:“I don’t discount the possibility that the generals

Present's Trespass on the Past

2007-01-20T15:42:00.000-08:00

History or rather the space of history writing often becomes the battle-ground for competing visions of a nation. In the case of Indian history, many historians, many of whom work out of Delhi or American or British universities often find themselves in an inevitable dialog with present political concerns.It is often the case that the most ancient of histories are ones with the greatest relevance

Brac University Leading the Way

2007-01-20T14:04:00.000-08:00

The city of masjids is on its way to becoming the Boston of South Asia, the city of Bishyabidyalays. A Indian journalist friend of mine on his return from an assignment in Bangladesh was remarking on the strangeness that is the private university phenomenon in Dhaka. Apparently, there are more than 50 private universities in the city. The number sounds as ridiculous as the lack of originality of

Armies and Indoctrination

2007-01-20T11:42:00.000-08:00

Armies have always fascinated me. The fascination began with G. I. Joe action figures and might culminate by figuring centrally in a doctoral dissertation. I remember a conversation in college pre-Abu Ghraib with a politically conservative friend who insisted that the US Army pumped out jawans who were critical and ethical and unlikely to abuse their power in post-conflict situations. Abu Ghraib

Welcome...

2007-01-10T17:11:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Adda-fication.The idea of this blog is to take that most deshi of habits - adda - to cyberspace.Adda is Bangla for Conversation, usually over Chaa. The neologism, "Addafication," tries to capture the internet-surfing, blog-reading, globe-trotting, hybridizing yet Bengali cosmopolitanism that are our readers, in 'Desh and the Diaspora. The goal of Addafication is to provide an online