Let’s all go back to zero.

I mean all of us. Religious, non-religious, agnostic, apathetic. Let’s all just remember that we’re humans first.

I want to go far back and remind you of how our ancestors, hunters and gatherers, learned to count, in order to measure the days in the month, the hours in a day, and to enumerate what food they have collected. Counting was essential in order to observe what times of the day were best to hunt, to record when in the month and when in the year they would find edible fruits and shrubs.

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To take a bold decision against a 600-year old tradition entrenched deeply in religious catholicism needs a man of rare courage and conviction. And Pope Benedict XVI became just that without fanfare, remaining peaceful within himself. His term in the Pontiff office was described so poetically by himself ”a journey of joy”. Admittedly, Papacy and Christian world in general were mired in a number of scandals and allegations, issues and controversies. Details…

” Power will go to the hands of rascals,rogues, freebooters …..all Indian leaders will be of low calibre and men of straw. They will have sweet tongues and silly hearts. They will fight amongst themselves for power and India will be lost in political squabbles. A day would come when even air and water would be taxed in India.”

The statement above was made by Sir Winston Churchill about 70 years back, One can also ponder whether these comments apply to all the countries in the Indian sub-continent and whether these, predicted then, depict a fairly true picture at this point in time. Details…

The one thought that I cannot purge, as I am sitting cross-legged on the street at Shabagh square and chanting death to the collaborators, is this: what will happen when all these war criminals are hanged? Will this put an end to the bickering politics, unbridled corruption and all other looming crisis that the nation is facing? And then, I have this epiphany: what is happening now could be the long-awaited youth awakening to build a beautiful Bangladesh. Details…

A fresh verdict is due tomorrow after weeks of protest at Shahbag; the discourse is now punctuated by local and international news stories, editorials, and blog posts, which are shared, quoted and used as references for discussions and arguments on facebook and twitter. I’ve made a quick round up of links that I think everyone should take in. There’s much more out there, of course!

The Alal o Dulal blog is filled with plenty of very important and relevant reads. I have four ‘don’t miss’ picks from here.

The first is “An Adivasi Speaks: What brings me to Shahbag, what pulls me back from it”

http://alalodulal.org/2013/02/25/shahbag-what-pulls-back/

This is an important perspective that many of those gathered at Shahbag don’t think to consider, because the understanding of ‘us’ is so blind to the presence of any minority that we never consider how we are disregarding their voices and opinions.

Next: Rehnuma Ahmed makes several important points in her much longer post, one of which is that this movement must not follow the same lines of ‘ethnic exclusion’ that existed in the 1971 Independence movement.

http://alalodulal.org/2013/02/18/rahnuma-ahmed-shahbagh/

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Originally published on Ahram Online: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/4/0/64000/Opinion/When-they-were-friends-Egypt-and-Iran.aspx

On Tuesday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be the first Iranian president in decades to visit Egypt in order to attend a summit on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Cairo. This has sparked the usual outrage amongst groups like the ultra-conservative Salafists, the Egyptian branch of Wahhabism that is practiced in Saudi Arabia.

Last August, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi made an equally historic move — that angered many in Egypt — when he visited Iran to attend the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM) Summit.

 Although Ahmadinejad is known for controversy, it was Morsi who stirred up some when he used notable Sunni rhetoric and attacked the Iranian-backed Syrian regime. The Iranians added to it by‘mistranslating’ the Egyptian President’s speech by replacing “Syria” with “Bahrain” and “Arab Awakening” with “Islamic Awakening”.

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Protesters at Shahbag have been active online, and many outside of the country who support the movement have taken to both twitter and facebook in an effort to bring the world’s attention to their movement. Twitter users are trying to make the hashtag #Shahbag trend worldwide. There is a @ShahbagSquare account on both twitter and facebook that has allowed thousands to connect to the same event. Here’s a small sampling of some of the tweets that have been pouring out, some supportive, some angry, some critical:

In solidarity with #Shahbag uprising - freedom, liberty and justice for #Bangladesh war crime in 1971

— Hossain Rabbi(@hrabbi) February 9, 2013

visit #shahbag and join the force to let those #rajakars know the power of youth. political parties has given them enough shelters. we wont!

— Kamrul Hasan (@mkhasan) February 8, 2013

Who are still doubtful about the spirit of youths, please visit #Shahbag just once. Your illusion will be shattered. Joy Bangla. #Bangladesh

— Kallol Talukdar (@k05001) February 8, 2013

@aarefeen47 I want justice! fair trail, non interference bu politicians, I want internationally recognised standards! You? #shahbag

— Abul Kalam (@0301kalam) February 9, 2013

The fought for our independence in the hope we’d become an influential developed country. Not backwards like these people #shahbag

— জারা কাদিরZara (@zarakadir) February 9, 2013

#Shahbag can’t say they are against government when what they want is exactly same but more extreme.You are Tea Party of Bangladesh.

— WAJiD (@wajidakhter) February 9, 2013

This protest is NOT about Islam. Its against rajakars. Don’t try to divert attention from the real issue,not gonna work. #Shahbag #Shahbagh

— Sabrina Sharmin Nody (@SabrinaNody) February 8, 2013

This protest isn’t under any particular party banner. Now it is a protest of general people of Bangladesh. #Shahbag

— Kaushik Ahmed Reza (@kau_shik) February 8, 2013

#shahbag everyone go and join this honest and youthful movement. It will change everything !!!!

— addicted (@addicted_7) February 9, 2013

Now I think the whole trial thing has rather done good for us …Bangladesh neededthis wake up call …. #Shahbag

— Zeba. ♈ (@insanefatchild_) February 7, 2013

#Shahbag uprising first #SocialMedia movement in #Bangladesh. Even there’s #Facebook sponsored campaign. twitter.com/polashdatta/st…

— polash datta (@polashdatta) February 7, 2013

And the uprising continues!

Shiv Sena, who in my mind are India’s version of National Socialist German Worker’s Party, has decided to act and do what they can to protect women – by arming them with knives and chilli powder. They claim to have already handed out 21,000 knives, and will distribute a total of 100,000.

It’s great that they’ve thought of something to do to change the danger that women face from the world, and I won’t lie, I too considered carrying a switchblade when out on the streets. But friends pointed out that a blade can be easily snatched or forced out of my hands and used on me instead, if someone did come up to me with the intention of attacking me in some way. I instead invested in pepper spray, and any time I find myself out alone after dark, I open it up and keep it ready to spray at anyone who comes too close. It doesn’t stop me from being frightened, though, when I realize that the car behind me has been moving along my path slowly, and not overtaking me. I usually tell myself that they might be looking for a particular house number, but I can never fully dismiss the fear in me, because it happens too often to be a coincidence. Maybe some boys do it for fun, to see where the girl is walking to. (Or maybe their intentions are darker, but I won’t stop to find out.)

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Students recently caught a burglar red-handed, roughed him up and turned him in to the police—only to be threatened by him the day after!

On a cold December evening, a residential student of Dhaka University was half-dozing, semi-unconscious, in his dormitory room. He kept the door unlocked as his roommate was yet to return. Light sound of door opening, footsteps and moving objects were coming into his ears. Suddenly he heard something different and thought his roommate was back. Then, as he looked up, he was startled. Details…

Government should shut down all the schools throughout the country for two weeks due to the extreme cold. The whole country is now under the winter blow which is record in our country i.e 7.2 degree Celsius in Dhaka and 3.2 at Dinajpur recorded today. The ordinary people including the school goers are under threat and already died a dozen guys including children throughout the country today. Due to this abnormal cold wave the children may suffer from various diseases too. In rural areas like northern districts the scenery is the worst ever. Temperature in the morning is very lower and school going boys and girls are facing serious problem. Since this is the beginning of the new class, so the authority may make up the gap of the holidays in the coming months. Hope, the concerned will take necessary steps instantly.

Md. Zahidul Islam (Milton)
Journalist & Columnist
Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Email: milton_goodluck2000@yahoo.co.in