Papers by Mohsin Siddique
Nagorik Year 3 No 1 নাগরিক , 2018
“নাগরিক” ‘অবগত-মত’ ব্যক্ত করার বাহন । আমাদের অভিপ্রায় গণতন্ত্র, প্রগতি, সংস্কৃত ও সৃজনশীলতা অনুশী... more “নাগরিক” ‘অবগত-মত’ ব্যক্ত করার বাহন । আমাদের অভিপ্রায় গণতন্ত্র, প্রগতি, সংস্কৃত ও সৃজনশীলতা অনুশীলন ও প্রসারে সহায়তা করা, বিশেষ করে সহনশীলতার চর্চা করা।
In 1868 Sir George Gilbert Scott, a British architect (of Gothic structures) commenting on the Cr... more In 1868 Sir George Gilbert Scott, a British architect (of Gothic structures) commenting on the Crystal Palace reported to have said " architecture is decoration of construction ". I was reminded of it after spending a few disappointing hours at an exhibit entitled: " Next Dhaka New Visions of the City ". It also brought to my mind the title of this write-up, an oxymoron no doubt. The exhibit was organized by the Bengal Institute of Architecture, Landscapes and Settlements and was housed at the Bengal Art Lounge on Gulshan Road. I was on a short visit to Dhaka and was very interested in this effort of some creative people outside the bureaucracy-which along with the illegitimate military power grabbers are fundamentally responsible for the disastrous anarchy that is Dhaka city today. I do think the resources expended in the exhibit is laudable, but it is severely myopic, show utter neglect of fundamental problems of the city that cannot be patched up by a few flowering plants here and there. The focus of the proposed plan is Buriganga River Bank, Sadarghat area and the Gulshan Avenue to Kawran bazar as a civic area. Plan calls for what amounts to beautification of the river banks and creating a few 'promenades'. All of it looks like a sad patchwork: not that the specific units are not worth pursuing, but in context of their surroundings, the proposals are deprived of whatever value they would have if these had any link to the problems they seem to address. It is easy to quote multiple sources that lists Dhaka, Bangladesh along with Lagos, Nigeria, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, and Harare, Zimbabwe, etc. among the least livable cities of the world. But if you are a Dhaka residents or even a reluctant visitor, you already know the nightmare that is getting around in Dhaka is. If it takes 3 hours to go from Road #5 in Gulshan to Dhaka University as a rule, a journey that should not take more than 30-45 minutes in a reasonable city, must lead anyone who pays attention to head-scratching. And I am sure many heads have been scratched, and some even led to the volumes of planning documents that adorn the shelves of various bureaucracies. Yet not much is happening to release the pressure that is building – in the physiognomy of the city as well as in those who reside here. This is not good. Some bad news, to start with. Dhaka is a sad example of the dialectic of capitalist 'development', of things turning into its opposite; the free market's unbridled growth underwritten by the false ideology that social and collective good is attained by individuals maximizing their advantages has created a hazardous environment that is Dhaka today. It reflects the typical sterile mindset of the lumpen bourgeoisie that cannot see beyond its nose and has in fact replicated the narrow haphazard villages of Bengal from where they just came out bringing the village bazar along. In rural ambiance, they are sometime quaint, but the misadventure of replicating of quaintness in an urban megalopolis has turned Dhaka into a monstrosity. A group of Columbia University geologists reported recently that the country sits on unstable, very dynamic tectonic plates and a major upheaval is only matter of time. And Dhaka is sitting on a zone of possible precipitous collapse – not just due to geological problems – but other typically urban problems: inadequate sanitary sewage collection & treatment; recurrent flooding caused by heavy rain which the poorly conceived storm water conveyance system is unable to cope with; ground water contamination by leaking sewage collection system is such a widespread concern that most people boil their water they drink; open sewers created as if in a purposeful plan to provide housing for mosquitoes, flies, etc. The lakes – not sure what the original intents were – have been repurposed into cesspools of stagnant bodies
Mohsin Siddique " The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of ... more Mohsin Siddique " The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living. "-The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte; Karl Marx, 1852. Communalism in South Asia is a nightmare left behind by generations past; it can raise its ugly head at any moment, and seems like a phenomenon without a foreseeable end. Admittedly, at this time in the second decade of the 21 st century social progress in many areas can be claimed. Yet it is also true that religious bias, related ignorance, hatred, opportunism, terrorism, etc., some of which predate what we understand as modern civilization, continue to cause havoc throughout the region in various degrees. It is easy to take advantage of the sense of insecurity imbedded in class divided societies to encourage suspicion of others, provoke riots, and forcibly occupy properties of the minorities, often the last bit of possession-their homestead. The savage practice of forcible conversion – even though banned – often of abducted individuals, continues illegally though sporadically. Taking advantage of ambiguities of bourgeois democracy, unscrupulous politicians freely employ communal divisiveness to win elections. Of the three countries created by dividing India as it existed through the British rule, Pakistan, true to its foundational premise does not claim to be a secular country and has more or less solved the 'minority' problem by 'managing' this demography to near extinction. India and Bangladesh vehemently claim to be 'secular'. But the litany of riots since August 1947 including those of 2002 & 2006 in Gujrat, India and of 2013 in Bangladesh, show the persistence & power of communal forces in these countries! Nearly 70 years after the independence and exodus of millions across political boundaries that never existed before– the tragic historic event that was supposed to solve the problem of communalism causes mayhem and death. Minorities in their respective countries do not feel accepted as full citizens. They are treated as burdens; authorities provide very little protection from communal attacks against them, condemning them to a permanent state of insecurity. There has always been opposition to this menace for reasons both practical and moral. Expansion of modern education and culture has made significant impact on the size of the population that has extricated themselves from the narrow confines of faith-based biases that is exploitable for fomenting communal violence. Transition of from feudal to capitalist phase contributes to secularization of the society, but does not entirely shutout the opportunity to deploy communalism, especially as a way to divide the working class. What is disturbing is the persistence of a segment of the population that continues to thrive on the false ideology of superiority of their faith and exclusivity of their rights over those of others. The relative strength of these, not necessarily numeric, but in their influence, is what resulted in the division of India. In Bangladesh, along with the Liberation, the commitment to secularism (and to democracy & socialism) at its inception was indeed cause for jubilation to those who have felt the brunt of and fought against the scourge of communalism. It appears that the wishes of the secular forces that shaped the ideological basis for Bangladesh –youth & student leaders affiliated with the Awami League (AL) and the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), were recognized in the core principles of the first constitution of the country. The reversal of public opinion that not long ago
If it is introduced in the Parliament, the proposed legislation to ban criticism of the Liberatio... more If it is introduced in the Parliament, the proposed legislation to ban criticism of the Liberation War, the martyrs, etc., will be yet another sign that democracy is marching towards slow death in Bangladesh. Both issues are of great emotional interest to most people in Bangladesh and some seem to feel the need to protect (from questioning) these emblems of the struggle for the freedom as patriotic. The irony seem to be lost on folks: it was for democracy all that sacrifice was made, and now we turn around and limit democracy by taking away freedom of speech. Under the most generous assumption, it exposes, as it has done on many occasions in the past, the ambiguous relations Bangladeshis seem to have with democracy: we demand it, fight for it, sacrifice for it, but often don't like its implications. We seem to be fearful of the freedom democracy is supposed to bring. This is not a psychological assessment, but there might be a link between elements of our culture that contributes to what appears to be a propensity to seek the 'comfort' of authoritarian 'protection'.
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Papers by Mohsin Siddique