15 Aug, 2015

SECOND EDITION

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

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Shraban 31, 1422, Shawwal 29, 1436

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 121

NEW LETTER TO INTERPOL TO LOCATE MUJIB’S KILLERS PAGE 2

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www.dhakatribune.com | 36 pages | Price: Tk10

REMEMBERING SHEIKH KAMAL, JAMAL AND RUSSEL PAGE 25

40th anniversary of Bangabandhu’s death today n Abu Hayat Mahmud Today is National Mourning Day, the 40th anniversary of death of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The architect of the 1971 Liberation War and independent Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujib was assassinated by a group of disgruntled army officials at his Dhanmondi 32 residence on this day in 1975.

His wife Fazilatunnesa Mujib, sons Sheikh Kamal, Sheikh Jamal and Sheikh

A day of national tragedy n Zafar Sobhan Just as December 16, 1971 will stand forevermore as the crowning glory and greatest moment in the history of Bangladesh, so must August 15, 1975 stand as the lowest and most shameful point in our history.

Let us make no mistake about it. The brutal killing of the Father or the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman together with almost all of his family on August 15, 1975 shames all Bangladeshis and can be viewed as nothing other than a day or infamy that will live on as a permanent stain on the honour of our nation.

Without Bangabandhu, there would be no independent Bangladesh today. It was he who embodied the spirit of our nationalism and united the nation into a proud and liberated people.

To brutally murder this great man in his own home not four years after the he had led us to victory and the dignity of being a free and independent people beggars belief.

Even worse was the butchery of almost his entire family in the process, including his 10-year old son.

The brutality and bloodiness of the assassins was chilling, and continues to shock the conscience even today, 40 years on.

We may not agree on much as a nation, but surely we can all agree that these were killings that should never have happened and that can never be justified or excused.

This should not be a partisan political thing. To mourn on August 15 is not the sole preserve of the Awami League or the family of Bangabandhu.

The killings of August 15, 1975 were a national tragedy and it is right and befitting that the day be commemorated as a national day of mourning.

The memory of that black day in Bangladeshi history should bring a tear to the eye of any proud Bangladeshi and every sentient human being.

In a bitterly divided country, we must have some touch-stones of unity and consensus, to say nothing of decency and respect. The Liberation War is one of them, but August 15 must be another.

The trials of the Bangabandhu killers were therefore very necessary, and it is to be regretted that it was only the AL governments of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina which saw fit to launch them and to bring them to fruition.

There is much left to be done, with six of the convicted killers still beyond the reach of the law, and no stone should remain unturned in our efforts to bring them back to Bangladesh to face justice. This is about justice, not revenge, and it is the cry of the entire nation not that of one political party or one family.

A nation that does not respect its heroes can never respect itself or expect others to respect it in turn.

Let us never forget that Bangabandhu was the greatest and most enduring of all of our heroes and ensure that he never is dislodged from the place of respect he deserves so long as our nation survives. l

Russel, daughters-in-law Sultana Kamal and Rosy Jamal, and sixteen more people, the near and dear ones of Bangabandhu, were also killed in the bloodbath – considered as one of the most heinous in the world’s history.

Bangabandhu’s two daughters – Sheikh Hasina, the prime minister and Awami League president, and Sheikh Rehana, mother of British Parliamentarian Tulip Siddiq – survived as they were in Germany at that time.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

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2 NEWS

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

New letter sent to Interpol to locate Bangabandhu’s 6 fugitive killers n BSS Bangladesh Police forwarded a letter afresh to the Interpol to know the current location of the six fugitive killers of Bangabandu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, as they are changing their locations.

Police and officials earlier said the fugitives appeared to be moving from one country to another, changing their locations to evade the security clampdown.

“We have sent a new letter to the Interpol through the Ministry of Home Affairs a few days ago requesting information on the latest location of the six fugitive killers,” Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Hoque told the BSS. All necessary measures have already been taken to bring the fugitive killers back as the nation is set to recall the Father of the Nation with profound gratitude today, marking his 40th anniversary this year, he said.

He further said two of the absconding convicts, former Lt Col SHMB Noor Chowdhury is staying in Canada and Lt Col Rashed Chowdhury is in the US. The US Ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat on Thursday assured of providing assistance in bringing back Rashed and war criminal Ashrafuzzaman Khan, who is also believed to be in the US. She made the assurance after paying a courtesy call to State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam at his secretariat office on Thursday.

BSS

The IGP said legal and diplomatic efforts are on to bring back the fugitive killers home.

“The government has sent information along with photographs of the fugitive killers to important airports of the world through the Interpol to arrest them from anywhere they are.”

He said a task force headed by the law minister held several meetings on this matter so that these convicted killers could be brought back home for their execution.

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali held a bilateral discussion with US Secretary of State John F Kerry at the US Department of State in Washington DC in February this year for repatriation of these heinous killers. The other fugitive killers are: sacked Lt Col Khondokar Abdur Rashid and Lt Col Shariful Haque Dalim.

Earlier, the Foreign Affairs Office con-

firmed the natural death of one of the fugitives, sacked Lt Col Aziz Pasha, in Zimbabwe in 2001.

In September 1997, warrants of arrest were issued against the fugitive killers through Interpol, which were renewed by the government in January 2010, as required under the Interpol rules on expiry of 10 years of the original order.

Twelve former army officers were handed down death sentences for masterminding and carrying out the August 15, 1975 carnage under a protracted trial process that began in 1996, when Awami League returned to power and scrapped an indemnity act that until then protected these killers from justice.

Five of them, who faced the trial in person or were tracked down subsequently, were hanged on January 28, 2010 after the Appel-

late Division cleared ways for their execution as they lost their last legal battle.

They were former lieutenants colonel Farookur Rahman, Mohiuddin Ahmed (artillery), Shahriar Rashid Khan and AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed (lancer) and ex-major Bazlul Huda.

Huda was brought back home from Thailand after Dhaka and Bangkok signed an extradition treaty coinciding with the date of the trial court verdict while the United States returned sacked Lt Col AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed during the past military-backed interim government despite the absence of an extradition treaty.

The post-1975 military regimes also rewarded many of them with diplomatic assignments abroad and allowed others to float and run political parties at home until 1996, when Awami League returned to power. l

Minister: Government will punish the plotters too n BSS

Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq yesterday said that conspirators of Bangabandhu murder who remained beyond the justice yet would face the consequences the way the direct killers were punished.

“Some of the killers were hanged [in 2010] and some are on the run...but the conspirators are yet to be punished,” he told a function organised to distribute cattle in madrasas and orphanages marking the National Mourning Day.

“They will also be punished in the soil of the country under the government headed by Prime minister Sheikh Hasina,” Mozammel warned.

Gazipur city unit Awami League organised the function in Chhaidana area when more than 100 cows were distributed among the orphanages and madrasas of 57 wards in Gazipur.

“BNP founder Ziaur Rahman was involved in the putsch conspiracy in which Bangabandhu was killed along with most of his family members...subsequently his son

[Tarique Rahman] masterminded the August 21 grenade attack [in 2004] to kill her surviving daughter Sheikh Hasina,” the minister alleged.

Thirty-four years after the assassination, the Supreme Court on November 19, 2009 confirmed death sentences for 12 killers, five of who were hanged the following year. Six others are on the run while another died in Zimbabwe.

Zia is accused of patronising Bangabandhu’s killers by sending out most of them on

diplomatic assignments for many years. He also cancelled the war crimes cases under way in 73 tribunals and released the convicts and accused from jail.

The government of Khandker Mushtaque Ahmed, installed after the bloody military coup, passed an ordinance in November 1975 indemnifying the perpetrators and closing the door on the possibility of a trial.

The Awami League government revoked the indemnity ordinance in 1996 and cleared the way for the trial. l

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

40th anniversary of Bangabandhu’s death today The coup set the stage for decades of military rule.

The trial of Mujib’s killers had been stalled since November 1975 until 1996 through an indemnity ordinance. Many of the killers were given diplomatic assignments for many years.

Five of the 12 convicted killers were hanged on January 28, 2010 while six are on the run.

Another fugitive died in Zimbabwe. The government has been working to bring the absconders back home for executing the apex court order given in 2009.

In separate messages, President Abdul Hamid and the premier recalled with gratitude Bangabandhu’s chequered, long and eventful political career, and his immense contributions and dedication to the independent and

sovereign Bangladesh.

Ruling Awami League, its students’ wing Chhatra League, all associate bodies and other pro-liberation, democratic and progressive political parties, social, cultural and professional organisations including Gonojagoron Moncho have arranged various programmes alongside paying homage to Bangabandhu.

On August 1, the party began observing a 40-day programme to pay respect to the great leader.

The day’s programmes will start with the hoisting of the national flag at half-mast and raising of black flags atop all public and private buildings including Bangabandhu Bhaban at Dhanmondi 32 and all Bangladesh Missions abroad.

Special prayers will also be offered at all the places of worships seeking divine blessings for eternal peace of the souls of the martyrs of August 15 carnage while blood donations camps are the other programmes of the day.

The president and the prime minister will lay wreaths at the portrait of Bangabandhu at Bangabandhu Memorial at 6:45am. At 7:30am, Hasina will visit Banani Graveyard where the other martyrs were buried.

Later, the premier will place wreaths as party chief on behalf of the party at the Mausoleum of Bangabandhu at Tungipara in Gopalganj at 10am.

Milad and doa mahfils will be organised at both the places.

Awami League central leaders will attend

the milad and doa mahfil at the Mausoleum of Bangabandhu at Tungipara at 11am.

Addressing an event on Thursday, the prime minister said that through the assassination of Bangabandhu, the nation not only lost its founding father but the spirit of the Liberation War was suppressed as well. The ongoing war crimes trials were stopped while convicts and detained collaborators released and established politically.

“Bangabandhu’s blood is still there in Bangladesh soil. Though Bangabandhu was assassinated, but no one could kill his ideology and neither will be able to do so in the future,” she said while addressing the inaugural function of a three-day photo exhibition at the South Plaza of Jatiya Sangsad. l

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NEWS 3

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

Police to ask blogger Niloy's wife to positively identify arrestees n Kamrul Hasan Two suspects arrested in connection with the murder of Niladri Chatterjee, also known as Niloy Neel, will be brought before the deceased blogger’s wife and sister-in-law for positive identification to determine whether they were present at the crime scene, police said.

One of the arrestees, Saad Al Nahiyan, is a nephew of State Minister for Labour Mujibul Huq Chunnu. The other, Masud Rana, is a relative of Ariful Islam, who has been accused for the murder of another blogger, Oyasiqur Rahman Babu.

SM Jahangir Alam Sarker, additional deputy commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's media wing, said the two arrestees had confessed to being members of outlawed militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team during preliminary questioning.

DB Deputy Commissioner (east) Mahbub Alam added: “Although they did not confess to being involved in the killing, they named other militants whose identities and records are now being analysed by police.”

The deputy commissioner said the arrestees would be brought before Niloy’s wife, Ahsamoni, and his sister-in-law Isratun Tanni for positive identification.

“This will help us to determine whether they were present when the crime took place,” he said.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mollah Saiful Islam placed the arrestees on eight-day remand yesterday after they were produced in court by the investigating officer, Detective Branch (DB) Inspector Mahbubur Rahman, who had requested ten days’ remand.

Charges were earlier brought against Nahiyan for the attempted murder of blogger Asif

Mohiuddin in 2013. He was arrested on March 31, 2013 and made a confessional statement in the case. He received bail on September 25 last year.

Masud was an accused in the Oyasiqur Rahman Babu murder case, but his name was subsequently dropped from the charge sheet.

His cousin and brother-in-law Arif is an accused in the case. Arif was caught red-handed while fleeing after hacking Babu in Begunbari area with two other accomplices.

Police sources said Masud was arrested around 7pm on Thursday in front of Purabi Cinema Hall in the capital’s Mirpur area. Nahiyan was arrested around 9:30pm from Kalyan Samiti Park area of Uttara Sector 7 the same night.

Detectives have not yet questioned Niloy’s wife, Ashamoni, about the murder but were trying to schedule a meeting with her today.

On August 7, Niloy was hacked to death by

four unidentified assailants inside his apartment in Goran in the capital. He is the fourth blogger so far this year to have been murdered for holding non-conformist and secular views.

Niloy was attempting to leave the country after receiving several death threats and being followed around on public transportation. Despite several attempts, he was unable to convince the police to take down a general diary about his safety concerns.

A little-known group calling itself Ansar Al Islam has claimed responsibility for the murder. In an email sent to the media the day of the murder, the group said Niloy had been killed for his “blasphemous activities” and warned others of similar consequences “for demeaning the Almighty and the Prophet.”

Investigators refute this claim, saying they believe that banned militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team is behind Niloy’s murder. l

National Mourning Day to be observed around the country n BSS Besides the Awami League and its affiliated organisations, many other organisations have taken preparations to observe the National Mourning Day today in the capital as well as in other parts of the country.

In Dhaka, the Islamic Foundation has chalked out elaborate programmes to observe today, which also marks the 40th death anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The foundation’s programme will begin with milad mahfil, doa and Qur'an Khawani at Banani graveyard at 8am. Besides, special prayers will be offered at Baitul Mukarram National Mosque at 10am, according to a press release. A discussion on the life and works of Bangabandhu will be held at 11:30am at the foundation auditorium.

In Chittagong, the authorities of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP), Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and district police have taken extra security measures to avert any untoward incident in observing the occasion, RAB and CMP sources said.

The educational institutions, different socio-cultural and professional bodies in the district have chalked out detailed programmes to observe the day.

The Chittagong district administration will organise various programmes including mourning procession in the morning with the participation of people from all walks of life, placing wreaths at the portrait of Bangabandhu at Shilphakala Academy at 10am, exhibition of the documentary on the life of Bangabandhu, and special prayers at religious institutions, as well as essay competition, poetry recitation and discussions. The national flag will be hoisted at half-mast atop all public and private buildings in the city.

Other organisations that will arrange separate programmes are the city units of Bangladesh Communist Party, Gono Forum, Chittagong Press Club and Chittagong Union of Journalists, Islamic Foundation, Shishu Academy, Press Information Department, Chittagong, Institution of Engineers, Chittagong

A three-day photo exhibition arranged at South Plaza, Sangsad Bhaban displays rare photographs of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The exhibition was inaugurated on Thursday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN centre, Civil Surgeon’s Office, Chittagong, Bangabandhu Parisad Chittagong, Sheikh Russel Smriti Parisad, Greater Chittagong Development Action Council, Projonmo 71 and Shaheed Smriti Pathagar, among others.

In Rangpur, Rangpur City Corporation (RCC) has chalked out elaborate programmes to observe the day, which include hoisting of the national flag at half-mast at the City Bhaban at sunrise, placing of floral wreaths at the portrait of Bangabandhu at Central Shaheed Minar and observance of one-minute silence at 9:30am, a procession from the City Bhaban, and a discussion on Bangabandhu at RCC auditorium.

A milad mahfil will also be arranged and special prayers will be offered for Bangabandhu and his family members.

Besides, the RCC authority will distribute foods among the poor and distressed people.

In Rajshahi, various political, socio-cultural and voluntary organisations have chalked out elaborate programmes to observe the National Mourning Day.

The programmes include hoisting of national flag at half-mast atop government, semi government, autonomous and private buildings, hoisting of black flags and wearing black badges, bringing out processions, observing one-minute silence and holding discussion and milad mahfil at Shilpakala Academy auditorium.

In addition, discussions highlighting the life and deeds of Bangabandhu will be arranged in all schools, colleges, madrashas and special milad mahfils and prayers will be offered at all religious institutions.

Improved meals will be served to inmates of Rajshahi Central Jail, orphanages, shishu paribars and homeless shelters.

Besides, painting competitions, essay writing, poem recitation and discussions will be arranged at Shishu Academy.

Similar programmes have been arranged in the districts of Natore, Naogaon, Chapain-

awabganj, Pabna, Sirajganj, Bogra and Jaypurhat in Rajshahi division.

In Gaibandha, discussion, doa and milad mahfil have been taking place for the past few days in observation of the National Mourning Day. Yesterday, a discussion was held on the premises of Badiakhali High School under Sadar upazila, arranged by Awami League’s Badiakhali union unit.

In Khulna, a two-day programme to observe the National Mourning Day begins today in the city and district, chalked out by Khulna district administration.

The programmes include poem recitation and art competition, which took place yesterday at Khulna Shishu Academy as well as a video show on the life of Bangabandhu.

Today, an essay competition on Bangabandhu and Liberation War, and Bangabandhu and Bangladesh, begins today among the school children at Khulna Zilla School.

National flags will fly at half mast in all government, semi-government, autonomous and private buildings today. Besides, there will be mourning processions, discussions, placing of wreaths at the portrait of Bangabandhu, screening of film show on life and works of Bangabandhu and special milad mahfils and prayers at all religious institutions.

Khulna district information office, Islamic Foundation, Khulna Betar, Khulna University, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, Khulna Press Club and other organisations have planned similar events as well. l

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4 NEWS

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

300 BNP men join AL in Khagrachhari n Our Correspondent, Khagrachhari

At least 300 leaders and activists of the BNP joined the ruling Awami League in Khagrachhari yesterday.

Local Awami League lawmaker Kujendra Lal Tripura welcomed them with floral wreaths at a discussion in the afternoon at the Town Hall auditorium.

The event was organised to mark the 40th anniversary of death of the father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Around 200 BNP men led by district BNP member and Khagrachhari sadar union Chairman Amya Marma, 50 people led by district BNP member and Panchhari upazila Vice-Chairman Ratna Tanchangya and 50 others led by district Jubo Dal member Ershad joined the ruling party formally. They also vowed to work upholding the spirit of the party.

MP Kujendra asked them to work for the welfare of the society. “Awami League believes only in democracy, and it exercises democracy aiming at developing the country,” he added.

Khagrachhari Hill District Council Chairman Kongjori Chowdhury, District AL vice-presidents Rono Bikrom Tripura and Mokyaching Chowdhury, General Secretary Md Jahedul Alam, district unit Jubo League General Secretary Ismail Hossain and Chhatra League General Secretary Jahir Uddin Firon also addressed the programme. l

Protesting the recent brutal murders of bloggers and demanding exemplary punishment for the culprits, Gonojagoron Moncho activists light candles on the Central Shaheed Minar premises yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Two girls raped in city, one teenager arrested n Kamrul Hasan Two more children fell victim to rapists in the capital’s Karwan Bazar and Mohammadpur areas last week.

On Thursday, one victim, a three-year-old girl who lived with her mother in a Tejgaon shanty, was raped by Rasel Hossain, 14. He lured the child out of her house by offering her chocolate.

RAB 2 yesterday arrested Rasel in connection with a complaint made by the victim’s fa-

ther. The victim’s father also filed a case with Tejgaon Industrial police station.

The RAB 2 operation officer, Assistant Superintendent of police Ferdousi Rahman, said they conducted a drive near the Karwan Bazar railway slum area and arrested Rasel. “He will be handed over to police custody,” he added.

The victim is currently under treatment at the One-stop Crisis Centre at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).

Meanwhile, a seven-year-old was raped by a driver named Amir Hossain.

According to the father of the victim, who was a guard at the house where Amir worked, the girl was raped on Monday but did not speak about the incident until yesterday.

She revealed the incident to her mother after falling ill and was immediately taken to the DMCH One-stop Crisis Centre.

The victim was later sent home after doctors said her treatment could be continued at home.

Asked about lodging a case, the father of the victim said he would file a case after his daughter recovers. l

Seven sued over Human traffickers-cops gunfight murder of Madaripur schoolgirls after rape leaves seven hurt in Jessore chased the gang and halted their car at Churan UNB n UNB monkati Bazar around 11:30pm, said Mir ShaA case was filed against seven people yesterday afternoon in connection with the killing of two schoolgirls after rape in sadar upazila of the district. Father of one of the victims filed the case around 3pm, Madaripur sadar police OC Ziaul Morshed said.

Earlier in the morning, Superintended of Police of the district Sarwar Hossain visited the spot. On Thursday, some unidentified miscreants killed the two girls after violating them.

Officials at Sadar Hospital said four unidentified youths brought the two girls of Mustafapur High School to the hospital in a critical condition in the afternoon, claiming that the duo took poison to commit suicide.

However, the girls, hailing from Mustafapur village, succumbed to their injuries around 5pm. l

Seven people, including four policemen, were injured in a gunfight between police and human traffickers in Churamonkati area of Sadar upazila on Thursday night.

The injured policemen are Officer-inCharge of Kotwali model police station Shikder Akkas Ali, Sub-Inspector Shamim, and Constables Zahid and Abdur Rahim.

The traffickers who were injured in the gunfight were identified as Ashraful, 32, of Hatjadabpur village; Rahmat Ali, son of Bachchu Miah of Debbariya village; and Jahirul Islam, son of Shakhawat Hossain of Uttar Hatjadabpur village in Maheshkhali upazila of Jhenaidah district.

After being tipped off that a group of human traffickers abducted truck driver Abdul Aziz from Mobarakpur village in Jhikargachha upazila around 8:30pm, a team of police

fin Mahmud, assistant police superintendent of Jessore.

Sensing presence of the law enforcers, the human traffickers opened fire on them, prompting the police personnel to fire back that triggered a gunfight.

Seven people, including the four cops, sustained bullet injuries in the gun battle, the ASP said.

Meanwhile, police arrested the three injured human traffickers, rescued the victim and seized the private car and one gun loaded with two bullets.

Later, the injured policemen were rushed to Jessore Police Lines Hospital and the arrested human traffickers sent to Jessore Medical College Hospital.

Two cases have bene filed in this connection. l

Indian SC issues rule over Felani murder n Tribune Report

The Indian Supreme Court yesterday issued a rule upon the central and West Bengal governments, the Border Security Force and the Central Bureau of Investigation over Felani Khatun murder case, the first such case over killings along Bangladesh border.

Taking a petition into cognisance, the three-member bench headed by Chief Justice HL Dattu asked the authorities concerned to issue notices to the respondents.

The petition challenged the acquittal of BSF Constable Amiya Ghosh by a special court in a revision trial on July 3. The self-confessed killer, Amiya, was earlier acquitted by the same court on September 6, 2013.

The second verdict is yet to be approved by the BSF chief, who last week said that they would consider fresh trial in the case by constituting a new court if Felani’s father wanted.

Father of Felani Nur Islam and West Bengal-based rights group Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) filed the petition last week seeking retrial in the sensational case and compensation for the victim’s family.

The petition sought order for constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT)/CBI team consisting of officers from outside West Bengal to take over the investigation and to prosecute the offenders in accordance with the law, MASUM said in a statement yesterday.

Felani, 15, was shot dead on January 7, 2011 while crossing the barbed wire fence at Anantapur frontier in Kurigram’s Phulbari upazila.

MASUM said that the trials held in secrecy and that all investigation, prosecution and judgement had been done by the BSF. Two other petitions filed over the trial procedure are pending with the Supreme Court of India. l

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SPOTLIGHT 5

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

These snapshots of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman highlight his long and illustrious political career GOVERNMENT ARCHIVE

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6 NEWS

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

Water-logging in schoolyards hampers education n

Our Correspondent, Moulvibazar

Academic activities of students at seven schools in Rajnagor upazila, Moulvibazar have come to a halt as they could not attend their classes due to rainwater which has intruded into their classrooms.

Local sources said every year during the rainy season the school compounds got submerged in knee-deep to waist-deep water. This year, these schools remained closed for several days in the beginning of the rainy season.

Overflowing water of the Monu River entered not only into schoolyards and but also classrooms of Fatehpur Government Primary School, Zahidpur Government Primary School, Natun-Sunapur Government Primary School, Dakshin-Antehari Government Primary School, Chalbond Government Primary School, Shahbajpur Government Primary School, Uttar-Antehari Government Primary School and Abdullahpur Government Primary School.

As education of students is hampered, au-

thorities of Fatehpur Government Primary School have arranged a makeshift arrangement for students at a house.

Saidur Rahman, acting headmaster of the school, said imparting class-teaching of his school continued at the house of Hazi Sorforaj Chowdhury after consultation with higher authorities.

Ranju Chandra Das, a guardian Fatehpur Government Primary School, said students of these schools were facing trouble to attend school and take part in class-teaching as water had entered into the classrooms of these schools.

Monir Hossin, a student of the school, said: “Every year we face this problems, in the rainy season we cannot go to school as water intrudes into our class rooms.”

He said if the district education office took steps to resolve the problem permanently, their educational life will be save.

Fahim Hossain, a student of Zahidpur Government Primary School, said he had not been

Bridge on Tangail-Basail Road at risk of collapse Correspondent, n Our Tangail The bridge on the Tangail-Basail Road in the district may collapse anytime as slabs at several points got damaged and hole developed here and there.

More than six lakh people of Basail and Sakhipur upazilas use the bridge to go to the district town.

They are passing unhappy days thinking the bridge may collapse anytime.

Sources said the bridge was constructed over a canal on the road about 40 years ago.

The slabs at several places damaged causing risk journey to the commuters.

In recent visit it was found that two big holes had developed on the bridge. Drivers and Passengers of several vehicles said fatal accident might take place anytime if the authority did not take steps immediately.

Roads and Highway Department authorities repaired the damaged steel slabs and made it useable to traffic movement temporary.

The bridge is only way to communicate among the people of the two upazials.

The people of the two districts cross the bridge to reach Tangail district town. Many people from Sadar upazila also use this road to go to some

parts of Gazipur and Mymensingh districts.

Hundreds of buses, trucks, micro-buses, pickup vans, CNG-run auto-rickshaws and other vehicles move over the dilapidated bridge.

“The bridge may collapse any time as it is badly damaged. The authority should take immediate measure,” said CNG-run auto-rickshaw driver Sabuj.

Md Ashikur Rahman Palsah, president of Basail Upazila Press Club also Basail upazila correspondent of a national daily said: “We travel only 16 km to reach Tangail district town from Basail. If the bridge collapses, we will have to cross 70 km then.”

“I hope the authority will take step to construct a new bridge over the canal,” he said.

Uzzal Khoshnabish, passenger of a bus said: “Accidents take place sometimes on the bridge.”

“A CNG-run auto-rickshaw fell in the hole damaging its front wheel yesterday. Four passengers also got wounded,” he said.

Basail Upazila Chairman Sahidul Islam said: “Movement of heavy vehicles on the bridge is risky. Accident may occur any time.”

“The concern authority should make a new bridge over the canal as it became very old and vulnerable,” he said.l

going to school for last 20 days.

“The government should pump out water from our school compund,” he said.

Describing sorry-state of these primary schools, Motiur Rahman, chairman of the Fatehpur union parishad, said water entered into six to seven primary schools of his union every year during rainy season.

He said they had discussed the matter in Rajnagor upazila co-ordination meeting on Sunday to find out a way of getting rid of the ongoing problem.

Md Askir Khan, chairman of Rajnagar upazila parishad, said he had been informed about the matter.

He said he had already requested the Water Development Board to install machines on school compounds to pump out water.

Panchanon Bala, Moulvibazar district primary education officer, said he had visited different affected primary schools on Saturday. “I will talk with higher authorities about the matter.” l

Jamaat ameer among 10 held in Sylhet n Our Correspondent, Sylhet

Police have arrested 10 leaders and activists of Jamaat-e-Islami, including its ameer, while holding a clandestine meeting at Sabujbag Jame Mosque in the district’s Shibganj area.

The arrestees are Sylhet Metropolitan Jamaat ameer Advocate Ahsanul Mahbub Jubayer, Mohammad Abdus Shobur, Ahmad Al Musad, Mir Hossain, Joynal Abedin, Delwar Hossain Jamil, Mahmud Ahmed, Mohammad Morshed Alam, Abdullah Al Munim and Ahmed Hossain.

Shahporan OC (Investigation) Monirul Islam said: “Acting on a tip-off, we conducted a raid at the mosque and arrested them around 9:45pm Thursday. They are being interrogated at the police station.”

However, in a press release Jamaat claimed that the party had organised a prayer at Sabujbag Jame Mosque for the departed soul of one of their activists aft Asr prayer .

Many of the leaders and activists got stuck in the mosque due to the rain who were later arrested by the police at night, the press release said. l

DT

NEWS 7

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

Accused drug peddler hacked to death in Chittagong n Our Correspondent, Chittagong

A group of four men killed a youth by slitting throat in Alamtara Pukurpar area in Sagarika, Chittagong yesterday.

Police identified the slain youth as Saidul Islam, 24, an accused in seven cases, said Pahartoli police station Officer-in-Charge Azizur Rahman.

Saidul, who hailed from Arban Ali Majir Ghat area, was accused in cases for drug peddling.

Police suspect that the murder was conducted following personal conflict, said the OC. He said around 1:30pm, a man called out Saidul from his house during Jumma prayers.

As he came out of the house, three to four men forcibly took him in Alam Pukurpar area, slit his throat and indiscriminately hacked him with sharp weapons.

In a severely injured condition, Saidul was taken to Chittagong Medical College Hospital where the doctors declared him dead.

During primary investigation, police had found that Saidul’s friend Sohel was involved with the murder. Filing of a case in this connection was under process, said OC Azizur. l

Muhith: VAT on private universities will not be lifted n Our Correspondent, Sylhet Finance Minister Abul Mal Abdul Muhith yesterday said VAT on tuition fees of private universities would not be lifted.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the movement of private university students for reducing value added tax (VAT) on their tuition fee, the minister said: “It cannot be accepted that they they cannot give 7.5% VAT while they are able to pay Tk30,000-50,000 as tuition fee.”

Muhith also said he had no support with the movement.

The minister was talking to reporters after distributing foods at a Government Children Home at Bagbari in Sylhet city marking the 40th death anniversary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Students of private universities throughout the country recently arranged various demonstrations demanding the withdrawal

of 7.5% vat on their tuition fee, foxed by the government in the current fiscal.

President of Sylhet unit Awami League Badaruddin Ahmed Kamran, General Secretary of Awami League district unit president Shafiqur Rahman Chowdhury, city unit president Asad Uddin, Chief Executive Officer of Sylhet City Corporation Enamul Habib and acting chief engineer Nur Azizur Rahman accompanied the minister.

While addressing a meeting organised by Sylhet Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the minister said wealthy people of Sylhet should invest in different development programmes for maximising economic potential in the region.

As Sylhet region has huge business potential, affluent people here should come forward to invest in economic sectors to supplement the efforts to make Bangladesh a middle-income country, he told a meeting on “Develop-

5 Shibir men held in Chittagong n FM Mizanur Rahaman

WEATHER

Police yesterday morning detained five Islami Chhatra Shibir members who were holding a secret meeting in Chittagong’s Satkania upazila.

The five - Liakat Ali, 25, Md Faruk, 24, Md Saiful Islam, 19, Md Arafat, 18, and Mainul Islam, 18 – were held after a tip-off.

Satkania police station Officer-in-Charge Farid Uddin Khandaker said police arrested the five men from a mosque in Demsha union.

“Some literature on Jihad and anti-state leaflets were seized from them,” he said, adding that a case was also filed with Satkania police station in this connection. l

THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15 DHAKA TODAY

TOMORROW

SUN SETS 6:34PM

SUN RISES 5:33AM

FORECAST FOR TODAY 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 31

Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Cox’s Bazar

26 26 26 26 25 27 27 27

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

35.3ºC

25.4ºC

Rajshahi

Sylhet Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajr Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

ment of trade and commerce”.

Former chairman of Rupali Bank Dr Ahmed Al Kabir, sadar upazila chairman Ashfaq Ahmed and chamber leaders, among others, addressed the meeting.

At the meeting, Muhith said the country witnessed massive development as the present government was working for the well-being of the people.

He urged all to contribute to the development process through their active participation as the government cannot alone move the country ahead.

Regarding a demand for establishing a special economic zone at Sylhet district, the finance minister said, “Initially, we are setting up an economic zone in each division and it is getting good result. So, we are mulling to establish more special economic zones to accelerate economic progress in the country.” l

4:11am 5:32am 12:03am 4:39pm 6:32pm 8:02pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

A good number of goods-laden trucks get stuck on the Dhaka-Mawa Highway near Shimulia ferry ghat in Munshiganj as the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority suspended ferry service yesterday morning due to navigability crisis in the Padma River DHAKA TRIBUNE

CUTA to go work abstention over proposed pay scale n Tribune Report Chittagong University Teachers Association (CUTA) has made an announcement to go to observe three-hour work abstention programme in every Sunday till august 31 demanding review the 8th National proposed pay scale what it said the pay scale is discriminatory and an independent pay scale for the university’s teachers.

Professor Khasrul Alam Quddusi, general secretary of CUTA said teachers will be refrained from the classes for three-hour from 10am to 1pm from next Sunday till August 31 as per Bangladesh University Teachers’ Association Federation’s decision demanding an independent pay scale and review of the discrimi-

natory pay scale for the university teachers.

However, the scheduled examination will be out of purview of the programme, he said adding that CUTA will also hold a mass signature campaign and stage a sit-in programme on tomorrow (Sunday) along with the work abstention.

The teachers’ leader also threatened to go for tougher movement if the government would implement the pay scale ignoring the teachers’ demand.

Soon after publishing the proposed pay scale, CUTA has been observing several protest programmes including holding press conference, formation of human chain, abstention for work, since last three months terming it “discriminatory” for the university. l

Mother, son found dead in Brahmanbaria n Our Correspondent, Brahmanbaria Police have recovered the bodies of a woman and her baby boy from Ashurail village under Nasirnagar upazila in Brahmanbaria.

The deceased are Farzana Akhter, 22, wife of Dubai expatriate Nur Uddin and their threemonth of son Shafiqul Islam.

Police said Shafiqul’s body was found on the bed while Farzana’s was found hanging to a guava tree in the courtyard of their house on Friday morning.

Nasirnagar Sub-Inspector Shahjalal said: “The locals are assuming that Farzana might have killed her son and later committed suicide by handing herself.”

He said: “The truth behind the incident will be unveiled only after investigation. The bodies were sent to district sadar morgue around 9:30am.”

Family sources said Nur was supposed to return to Dubai on Saturday. l

DT

8 WORLD

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

Report: Extreme weather poses risk of food shortages, unrest n Thomson Reuters Foundation, Toronto Global food shortages will become three times more likely as a result of climate change and the international community needs to be ready to respond to price shocks to prevent civil unrest, a joint US-British taskforce warned on Friday.

Rather than being a once-a-century event, severe production shocks, including food shortages, price spikes and market volatility, are likely to occur every 30 years by 2040, said the Taskforce on Extreme Weather and Global Food System Resilience.

With the world’s population set to rise to nine billion by 2050 from 7.3 billion today, food production will need to increase by more than 60% and climate-linked market disruptions could lead to civil unrest, the report said.

“The climate is changing and weather records are being broken all the time,” said David King, the UK foreign minister’s Special Representative for Climate Change, in the report.

“The risks of an event are growing, and it

could be unprecedented in scale and extent.”

Globalisation and new technologies have made the world’s food system more efficient but it has also become less resilient to risks, said King.

Some of the major risks include a rapid rise in oil prices fuelling food costs, reduced export capacity in Brazil, the United States or the Black Sea region due to infrastructure weakness, and the possible depreciation of the US dollar causing prices for dollar-listed commodities to spike.

Global food production is likely to be most impacted by extreme weather events in North and South America and Asia which produce most of the world’s four major crops - maize, soybean, wheat and rice.

But such shocks in production or price hikes are likely to hit some of the world’s poorest nations hardest such as import dependent countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the report said.

“In fragile political contexts where household food insecurity is high, civil unrest

might spill over into violence or conflict,” the report said.

“The Middle East and North Africa region is of particular systemic concern, given its exposure to international price volatility and risk of instability, its vulnerability to import disruption and the potential for interruption of energy exports.”

To ease the pain of increasingly likely shocks, the report urged countries not to impose export restrictions in the event of wild weather, as Russia did following a poor harvest in 2010.

The researchers said agriculture itself needs to change to respond to global warming as international demand is already growing faster than agricultural yields and climate change will put further pressure on production.

“Increases in productivity, sustainability and resilience to climate change are required.

This will require significant investment from the public and private sectors, as well as new cross-sector collaborations,” the report said. l

Two Syrian refugees sit at the dock of the port of Kos as the passenger ship “Eleftherios Venizelos” backs into the quay on the Greek island of Kos,on Friday. The vessel will house more than 2500 migrants who arrived in the country from the Turkish coast and will be used as a registration center for migrants. The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) called on Greece to take control of the “total chaos” on Mediterranean islands, where thousands of migrants have landed.

About 124,000 have arrived this year by sea, many via Turkey, according to the UNHCR. REUTERS

Murder probe casts shadow over comeback bid by Sri Lanka’s Rajapaksa n Reuters, Colombo The exhumation of the remains of a star rugby player whose death is now the target of a murder investigation has cast a shadow over former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s comeback bid at Sri Lanka’s general election next week.

Rajapaksa, 69, has denied allegations by the government that Wasim Thajudeen was tortured to death in May 2012 by members of his security team and did not die in a car crash as reported at the time.

“There are no bloodstains on our hands,” the two-term president said after police last week obtained a court order to exhume Thajudeen’s body on suspicion that he had been murdered.

Rajapaksa, who has set his sights on becoming Sri Lanka’s next prime minister, said the investigation was timed to coincide with the August 17 elections. He demanded an independent inquiry.

Nobody has been arrested or charged, but the case has received sensational coverage in the local press that could mobilise voters resentful of Rajapaksa, who as Sri Lankan leader built a close alliance with China.

“It’s potentially very explosive - it might go right to the top,” said analyst Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, who runs a policy think tank and election monitoring group.

Although still held in high esteem by much of Sri Lanka’s majority Sinhala community for defeating a 26-year Tamil insurgency in 2009, Rajapaksa is reviled by others who accuse him of running a brutal dynastic regime.

According to a poll by Saravanamuttu’s Centre for Policy Alternatives, most minority Tamils and Muslims back Prime Minister Ranil Wikremesinghe’s reformist coalition.

Rajapaksa has a narrow edge among Buddhist Sinhalese - who make up seven in 10 voters. In a one-on-one premiership contest, Wikremesinghe would have a 10-point lead.

Thajudeen’s remains, wrapped in polythene, were exhumed on Monday on the order of a court to establish whether his injuries were consistent with a police report that his car crashed into a wall on a quiet Colombo side street and caught fire.

Government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne alleged last week that three members of the presidential security guard had tortured and killed Thajudeen, who played for the national rugby side captained by Rajapaksa’s second son, Yoshitha. l

Pakistan’s answer to ‘The Onion’ tackles tough topics with satire n AFP, Islamabad From a mullah who wants a military operation against women wearing jeans to “uncircumcised” Islamic State fighters, a satirical Pakistani website is using humour to shine a light on current affairs in the turbulent nation.

And the public, though initially nervous,

now can’t get enough of it.

Born a year ago, amid massive anti-government street protests, Khabaristan is inspired by satirical US news website The Onion and American comedian Jon Stewart, who retired last week after 15 years hosting the caustic “Daily Show”.

“You want to change something you have

to criticise yourself, your own country, your own leaders,” said Kunwar Khuldune Shahid, one of the founders of the Khabaristan Times.

One piece, headlined “Pakistan will not tolerate any non-US drone”, mocks what most believe is the government’s position on America’s drone strikes against the Taliban and other Islamist rebels, denouncing them

in public while secretly supporting them.

Another joke article said the country’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency had found that most Islamic State fighters were uncircumcised, “proving” the Middle Eastern militant group were not Muslims, but backed by the West -- a common conspiracy theory in Pakistan. l

DT

WORLD 9

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

Agendas on Greece draft deal at Eurogroup meet n AFP, Brussles Eurozone finance ministers were scheduled Friday to go over a new bailout programme in return for reforms by Greece, but some of the creditors feel Athens’ pledges are not precise enough.

Here is a list of the main questions that still need to be discussed, according to a working document obtained by AFP which will serve as a basis for the discussions

Debt sustainability

“Debt sustainability is one of the most important open issues,” the document said, since Greece’s financing needs “are higher

than expected.”

The document insists that Athens must be more precise about how it aims to reduce its debt and its current memorandum of understanding is “not yet compliant” with creditors’ expectations.

Privatisation fund

In July, Athens promised to scale up its privatisation programme and transfer valuable Greek assets to an independent fund that will monetize the assets through privatisations and other means. The aim is to raise €50bn across the length of the third bailout programme.

Under the memorandum of understanding, Athens has promised to appoint an “in-

Chronology of Greece’s battle for survival 2010

Greece’s public debt rises to 350 billion euros.

1st bailout: the EU* and IMF* lend Athens 110 billion euros in return for wage and spending cuts, tax rises and pension reform

2011

Violent protests over the austerity measures. The government collapses.

2012

2nd bailout: the EU lends Athens 130 billion euros.

Private-sector creditors cancel 100 billion euros in Greek debt

2015

Jan 25

Anti-austerity party Syriza wins the general election on a pledge to renegotiate the bailout terms

June 26

After months of fruitless talks with creditors, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras calls a referendum on the EU-IMF conditions for more rescue funds June 29

Athens shuts its banks and imposes capital controls to stop mass cash withdrawals

June 30 Greece’s 2nd bailout expires. The country defaults on a 1.5-billion-euro debt repayment to the IMF July 5 Aug 11

Greek referendum: Voters reject the EU-IMF’s bailout conditions 3rd bailout: Athens and the EU draw up a new 85-billion-euro rescue plan Aug 14 Greece’s parliament accepts the 3rd bailout, which demands tough economic reforms Deadline for other eurozone states to approve the 3rd bailout and avoid Greek default on a 3.4-billioneuro debt repayment to the ECB* Aug 20

*EU (European Union), IMF (International Monetary Fund), ECB (European Central Bank)

AI: Austrian refugee camp violates children’s rights n AFP, Vienna Amnesty International on Friday slammed conditions at Austria’s main refugee camp as a “disgraceful” violation of human rights, highlighting what it called the “inhumane” plight of more than 1,700 unaccompanied children.

The human rights organisation visited the Traiskirchen camp, 20km south of Vienna, last week, a day after the overcrowded centre stopped accepting new arrivals because of disastrous sanitary conditions.

Built to house 1,800 people, the camp and an adjacent government building are currently home to 4,000 men, women and children.

Of these, around 1,500 do not have a bed, with many minors sleeping in tents outside the camp, in parks or at the local train station.

“The situation of unaccompanied children and adolescents is particularly precarious,” Amnesty spokeswoman Daniela Pichler said at a news conference.

“There is no adequate care for them. They are not sufficiently protected in Traiskirchen and de facto completely left to their own devices.”

The damning report came as the European Union declared it was facing its “worst refugee crisis” since World War II, with tens of thousands of people risking their lives to flee violence in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Amnesty said the government could have prevented the crisis at Traiskirchen, but had been too slow to react.

Refugees were forced to queue for hours in the blazing sun to register or get food because of inadequate staffing levels and mismanagement of the camp, which is run by a private firm, Amnesty observed.

Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner acknowledged the crisis at Traiskirchen, but accused the individual Austrian states -- responsible for taking in refugees while their applications are being processed -- of dragging their feet in providing extra housing. l

dependent Task Force to identify options and prepare recommendations ... on the fund to be created” by October.

Fiscal targets

Under the memorandum of understanding, those targets have been substantially reduced and Athens is pencilling in a primary deficit of 0.25% in 2015, followed by primary surpluses of 0.5% in 2016, 1.75% in 2017 and 3.5% in 2018.

Reform of public administration

The document charged that Athens was only “partially compliant” because it had “weakened” the summit language and not yet drawn up any concrete plan for reforming

Greece’s public administration.

Reform strategy

The working document complained that there was still “no full clarity on the direction of policies with clear timetable for legislation and implementation, including structural benchmarks, milestones and quantitative benchmarks foreseen.”

The memorandum was therefore only “partially compliant” with what had been agreed in July, the document stated.

Earlier this week, the German finance ministry said it planned to raise questions about the draft bailout deal at the eurozone finance ministers meeting on Friday. l

Q&A

Titbits of “Flash Crash” fraud Navinder Singh Sarao, the London-based trader wanted in the United States for his alleged role in the 2010 Wall Street “flash crash”, is set to be freed on bail on Friday after his conditions were modified, Reuters reported quoting one of his lawyers.

Sarao was arrested by British police on a US extradition warrant in April after being charged with wire fraud, commodities fraud and market manipulation by the US Justice Department.

Lawyer Russell Nicholson said Westminster Magistrates Court had removed a condition to pay £5m, without objection from the United States, and following that decision Sarao would be released from custody.

Here are some of the facts for the readers to understand what Navinder was really upto--

Q1: What was the Flash Crash?

A1: On May 6, 2010, the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index plummeted by 6% in a matter of minutes – an unprecedented single-day fall. The shares of some enormous American companies such as General Electric and Accenture were virtually worthless at one point and $1tn in the paper value of shares was suddenly gone. And then the Dow promptly shot back up again, recovering almost all of the earlier losses.

Q2: How could one trader be responsible for such occurance?

A2: Navinder Singh Sarao stands accused by the US financial regulators of illegally manipulating the Chicago Mercantile Exchange futures market in equities to turn a private profit. The wording of the US Department of Justice charge sheet is that Mr Sarao’s activities on May 6 “contributed” to the Flash Crash by creating an “extreme order book imbalance” in the futures market.

Q3: What exactly is Sarao accused of doing?

A3: The main manipulation technique outlined by the US authorities is so-called “layering” or “spoofing”. This means a trader places a large number of fraudulent electronic orders to sell futures contracts.

These orders are visible to other traders and indicate lots of market desire to sell.

That prompts them to drive the price of a contract down. The accusation is that Sarao then cancelled the orders prompting prices

to bounce back up. He allegedly managed to profit from the price swing by buying contracts when they were artificially low and selling them back when the price snapped back. It’s illegal because the market rules say that orders have to be made in good faith and with the intention to complete.

Q4: How did this destabilise the main stock market?

A4: Prices in the futures markets influence prices in the main market. The US authorities seem to be claiming that Sarao’s futures manipulation helped to create a kind of financial avalanche.

Q5: So was he one of those ‘high-frequency traders’ we hear about?

A5: Not really. Those traders are characterised by their use of a vast amount of computing power and privileged access to electronic stock market infrastructure. The accounts of Sarao’s one-man company show that the value of his computer technology in 2010 was just $2190. Sarao also described himself to the UK financial regulators as an “old-school point and click” trader who had “always been good with reflexes and doing things quick”.

Q6: Did he make much money from his activities?

A6: According to the US regulators he did.

They estimate he made around $879,000 on the day of the Flash Crash. They also think he creamed off $40m from his manipulation of markets over the next four years.

Q7: Is this the only sort of market manipulation that takes place?

A7: Far from it. Traders, in private, outline a host of other techniques of questionable legality. One is “quote stuffing”, which creates uncertainty in markets for other traders by making a large numbers of orders and issuing a stream of updates. Another is “momentum ignition” which is a series of orders intended to start or accelerate a trend favourable to a particular trader. There are also “ping orders”, tiny buy or sell requests which are intended to ascertain the level of concealed orders in a market.

Source: Reuters and other news wires

DT

10 Advertisement

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

DT

EDITORIAL 11

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

INSIDE

The unforgettable Sheikh Shaheb

PAGE 12

From tears to triumph

PAGE 13

Live up to Bangabandhu’s ideals

What Bangabandhu did for us

PAGE 14

Mujib in words Be heard Write to Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 Email letters.dt@ dhakatribune.com

Send us your Op-Ed articles:

opinion.dt@dhakatribune. com www.dhakatribune.com Join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook. com/DhakaTribune

PAGE 18

T

oday’s National Mourning Day observes the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and all but two members of his family.

The brutal murders of August 15, 1975 cast a dark shadow on the history of Bangladesh.

It is a tragedy that this one day four decades ago, before most of our population today was even born, has left a legacy of violence and dysfunction in our politics, which harms our development.

We should use this anniversary to reflect upon Bangabandhu’s vision for Bangladesh. His vision of a peaceful and prosperous Sonar Bangla, in which Bangladesh could flower as a “Switzerland of Asia” working in co-operation and friendship with all nations of the world, remains just as important and necessary today.

Bangabandhu’s courage and vision in articulating the case for selfrule and providing the historic inspiration that held people together during the liberation war, are the bedrock on which our independence stands today.

Bangabandhu did not just unify the nation to lead it to independence. After liberation he worked hard to overcome the devastation of 1971.

He had to pragmatically use his global stature as a respected statesman to help rebuild the country and gain recognition of Bangladesh from states which had opposed its freedom. He faced many difficulties and had to balance many conflicting forces, from left, right, religious and overseas quarters, including those who opposed the independence of the nation.

We must not forget just how many challenges he faced in the three and half years he led newly independent Bangladesh, before his life was brutally cut short.

The people of Bangladesh have shown great resilience in keeping economic development and the spirit of democracy alive all these years.

We should all strive to seek out and build on the best of Bangabandhu’s ideals if we are to take the nation forward and achieve his vision for Bangladesh.

His vision of a peaceful and prosperous Sonar Bangla remains just as important and necessary today

DT

12 OPINION

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

The unforgettable Sheikh Shaheb Why we all remember Bangabandhu for the man he was

There was more to Bangabandhu than just being an exemplary politician

n Enayetullah Khan

O

n Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s 40th death anniversary, you remember the larger-thanlife man he was. He inhabits our consciousness in all his largeness of form and substance, and not just in the figurative sense. Tall for a Bengali, he gave us to understand that in him were all those traits which underline the making of a political giant.

His height mattered. So did his convictions.

Think about it, think about all the other significant political figures who, in the course of our modern history, have influenced our evolution into where we happen to be today.

Bangabandhu falls within that category.

And yet, he breaks free of all those earlier stars and forms, within and by himself, a world apart. Of all the historical icons we have had cause to observe in our political ambience, only Bangabandhu stayed steadfast in purpose. That element you call compromise, or a shifting of the ground, was not part of his nature.

And that made all the difference. It was made clear to Bangabandhu towards the end of the 1950s that Bangalis needed to make their way out of Pakistan. And remember that he came of a generation which, in the 1940s, went all the way into making sure that the Lahore Resolution of 1940 was implemented in the interest of the muslims of India.

That Sheikh Mujibur Rahman could break

out of the communal mould, that he was beginning to question the very basis of the country in whose creation he, like millions of other young men, had once taken immense interest, was an early hint of the greatness he was destined for. The path to that greatness was clearly laid out in 1966, when he overrode every other concern to inform the ruling classes of Pakistan that it was time to reinvent the state through his Six Point program for regional autonomy.

BANGLADESH OLD PHOTO ARCHIVE

was free in seven months.

As he prepared to fly to Rawalpindi in February 1969, to attend the round-table conference called by President Ayub Khan, he quipped: “Yesterday a traitor, today a hero.” In Rawalpindi, he spurned Ayub’s offer of the prime ministership of Pakistan. Always a man who went by the norms of political transparency, he emphatically told Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in January 1971 that the December 1970 elections had given his party the right to

Bangabandhu was our own. The mores and social norms we have grown up with were all exemplified in him. His smile radiated confidence and instilled courage in us. His sense of humour remains unmatched

Bangabandhu was a man of huge self-esteem and an abundance of confidence. At the height of the Agartala conspiracy case trial in 1968, he coolly told a western journalist that the Pakistani authorities would not be able to keep him incarcerated for more than six months. Note that he was on trial for sedition, possibly headed towards execution or a very long term in prison. In any case, he

govern Pakistan.

The People’s Party had its place marked out -- it was to be on the opposition benches.

Bangabandhu’s principled stand in national politics was matched by his diplomatic convictions abroad. He took Saudi Arabia’s King Faisal to task over the latter’s negative remarks on Pakistan’s break-up in 1971.

He put Yakubu Gowon in his place when

the Nigerian lamented the weakening of Muslim Pakistan through the rise of a secular Bangladesh. He asked Indira Gandhi, in blunt fashion, when she on taking her soldiers back home from Bangladesh.

Bangabandhu was our own. The mores and social norms we have grown up with were all exemplified in him. His smile radiated confidence and instilled courage in us. His sense of humour remains unmatched. He never forgot a face and always remembered names. His laughter reverberated across the room and beyond.

He was always filling the room with his presence. When he met complete strangers, he made them feel they had known him all their life.

When he found himself in the company of academics, he did not forget that these were men who deserved his unqualified respect. Alone among the great men we have known, he drew respect from the intellectual classes and the more humble citizens alike.

Across this land, men of letters speak of Bangabandhu with reverence. Peasants and rickshaw-pullers have always known him as their very own “Mojibor” or as their unforgettable “Sheikh.”

In the hallowed councils of the world, Bangabandhu was a colossus striding across the moments that constituted the embroidered fabric of history. l Enayetullah Khan is Chairman, WildTeam and Editorin-Chief, UNB and Dhaka Courier.

DT

OPINION 13

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

From tears to triumph Bangladesh would not have been a reality without Bangabandhu

Bangabandhu laid the groundwork for a better, brighter Bangladesh

History tells us that statesmen do not come and go in every 100 years, perhaps they are born every 1,000 years. Bangabandhu was here, and in his very short lifespan, left for his people, a nation

n Moazzem Hossain

I

n the month of August, the entire nation goes into mourning. Recently, Syed Ashraful Islam, general secretary of AL, called for “observing August 15, the National Mourning Day, in a universal manner.” This is a very significant call in order to bring people from all walks of life, political ideologies, or even opposition parties under one roof and mourn a day which is still unprecedented in the history of mankind. With this call, it is now clear that AL realises that, at the end, Bangabandhu and his deeds were not for any individual political party, but for the people as a whole.

I would like to argue that the time has come to celebrate the life of our Father of the Nation alongside the mourning. To

BANGLADESH OLD PHOTO ARCHIVE

celebrate his life, this young nation must know the leader by heart and know of all his achievements over a very short life. His life was shortened by an evil force to only 55 years of existence, and he was behind bars for 17 years out of those 55, under a quarter century of Pakistani rule of East Bengal.

To know intimately the life and works of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, there are many sources available right now. However, this writer has found The Unfinished Memoirs to be one of the most inspired bits of documents left by Bangabandhu for his people. The document is based on several notebooks Mujib wrote while he was in jail as a state prisoner between 1967 and 1969.

As they say, “behind every successful man there is a woman” -- during his struggle, Bangabandhu received neverending support from his wife, Begum Fazilatunnesa, who inspired him to write the memoirs.

Bangamata Fazilatunnesa supplied Bangabandhu with several notebooks while he was in Dhaka central jail in 1967. That was the start of his writing the memoires, which were later published as a volume, first by the Dhaka-based UPL, both in Bangla and English, in 2012.

In the past, I remember talking about Singapore’s success stories. Last week, Singapore observed its 50th anniversary of independence. Lee Kuan Yew, the architect of modern Singapore, was successful in making

a poor state of the Malaysian peninsula independent in 1965. One of the Asian leaders was not happy with this development, and called Singapore a “little red dot” in the South-east Asian region.

It was hard to make out what exactly he meant with the “little red dot” rhetoric, perhaps he meant Singapore was a tiny and poor new nation. The father of modern Singapore, LKY, showed the world that a poor nation can be re-built equitably within less than 50 years. LKY took the challenge of the “little red dot” rhetoric seriously and made his nation into a modern state in his life time.

In August 9, 2004, during the observation of Singapore’s National Day, Prime Minister Lee (son of the late LKY), said: “We may be small, but we have high hopes and big dreams, and so long as we are a little red dot in the middle of South-east Asia, let people know that we are a people who will keep on trying and never say die. And with this spirit, the future is ours to make.”

In a similar tone, in 1971, disregarding Bangabandhu’s dreams of “Sonar Bangla,” Dr Henry Kissinger predicted that Bangladesh, as a nation, will remain a bottomless basket, indeed this was then very scary thought for a new nation. However, the recent achievements of Bangladesh in terms of MDGs suggests that, within South Asia, it is Bangladesh which has brought poverty down by half well before 2015, at least since how bad it was in 1990. It appears that, even though we have yet to match Singapore’s success, Bangladesh, by its 50th year of independence in 2021, is genuinely on course to becoming a middle-income nation.

It is interesting, however, to see how Dr Kissinger has been proven wrong. Fortyfour years ago, Dr Kissinger’s words for Bangladesh, as a nation, were “bottomless basket case.” Interestingly, within his life time, Dr Kissinger witnessed that the reality was different from what he expected it would be.

Coming back to Bangabandhu’s memoirs, the document shows the world that, without the personal sacrifice and determination of a leader, it is impossible to make a dream come true. Bangabandhu’s eldest daughter, Sheikh Hasina, wrote the preface to The Unfinished Memoirs. She wrote: “They reveal to us how, for the sake of the country and its people, a man can sacrifice everything, risk his very life, and endure endless torture in prison.

We discover a personality who gave up the prospects of happiness, comfort, relaxation, wealth -- everything.”

History tells us that statesmen do not come and go in every 100 years, perhaps they are born every 1,000 years. Bangabandhu was here, and in his very short lifespan, left for his people, a nation. And the way he did it was unprecedented. The Unfinished Memoirs tells us all, and is a must read volume for anyone wishing to celebrate the life of our Father of the Nation. l Moazzem Hossain was the inaugural Sheikh Mujibur Rahman professorial fellow in 2000 at the University of Hull, Hull, UK.

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14 OPINION

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

What Bangabandhu did for us Forty years after his death, how do we remember Bangabandhu now? What does he mean to us?

n Junaidul Haque

W

hat does Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman mean to the 150 million people in Bangladesh? He was the best politician we ever had. He was the selfless leader who fought his whole life for an independent country for his Bangali brothers and sisters.

He achieved his goals but, tragically, he had to leave us too soon, like quite a few other third world nationalist leaders.

His people still love and respect him beyond words. He loved them to a fault, and they still love him in return. As long as the Padma and the Meghna flow, Bangabandhu will be fondly remembered by his people. His deeds will keep him immortal. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman founded independent Bangladesh after fighting for our rights for 24 long years. He spent many years in jail. He accomplished deeds which lesser leaders could not even dream of.

He was a legend. He taught us to live with honour and dignity. A true friend of Bengal, he had a heart proportionate to his handsome physique. His voice was thunderous. His oratory was matchless. His indomitable spirit, his bravery, his charm, and his selfconfidence were beyond the ordinary. His

greatest nationalist leader and supported him whole-heartedly. Students and the common folk took the 1969 movement for democracy to great heights and achieved full success, and the Pakistani rulers had to release Mujib from custody. Ayub Khan had to leave, handing over power to army chief Yahya Khan, who was quick to promise early elections.

Bangabandhu’s AL won 167 out of 169 seats in East Pakistan. This made him the leader of the biggest party in the whole of Pakistan. But Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who won 80-plus seats in West Pakistan, conspired with Yahya and his generals to start the unfair post-election game. The West Pakistanis had been in power for 24 years since Pakistan’s birth, how could they give up power so easily?

So, they very wrongfully decided to dishonour the clear popular verdict given to the charismatic Bangabandhu by his people.

Yahya Khan canceled the national assembly session he had called earlier.

The people of East Pakistan were seething in anger. They went for a month-long peaceful non-co-operation movement under Bangabandhu’s leadership. He was the de facto prime minister of the land. His political wisdom impressed his people as well as the international community.

Bangabandhu founded independent Bangladesh after fighting for our rights for 24 long years. He spent many years in jail. He accomplished deeds which lesser leaders could not even dream of. He was a legend There would be no Bangladesh without Bangabandhu personality cast a magical spell on the people -- no wonder he was called the poet of politics.

The Bangalis from East Pakistan accepted the famous Six Point program of the Awami League from the bottom of their heart. They wanted provincial autonomy and economic emancipation. Bangabandhu fought against the autocratic Pakistani governments and organised mass movements. Slowly and surely, he grew in stature. The Pakistani military regime was afraid of him, and committed the great mistake of taking him into custody for the so-called Agartala conspiracy case.

Bangalis didn’t fail to recognise their

He could rightly feel the pulse of his people.

Stalwarts like Syed Nazrul Islam -- father of the party’s present General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam -- and Tajuddin Ahmed assisted him during the most critical period of Bangladesh’s history.

Yahya Khan and his aides came to Dhaka for a dialogue with Bangabandhu and AL. But Yahya, advised by Bhutto, decided not to finish the talks and engage in treachery.

He and his government went for a military crackdown on the night of March 25, 1971.

Thousands of innocent civilians were killed in one night. Bangabandhu ordered for a total war of independence, hints of which he had

given in his historic speech of March 7 at the Suhrawardy Udyan. He himself courted arrest to save Dhaka from total destruction, but directed his close aides to form a government and carry on our war of independence to final success.

We fought our noble war of independence in the name of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, an orator of the highest order and a giant with the soft heart of a Bangali mother.

Our women prayed for his release from jail. The people fought heroically for independence. The government-in-exile of Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, Mansur Ali, Qamruzzaman, and others guided the

BANGLADESH OLD PHOTO ARCHIVE

nation during its time of crisis, with wisdom, sincerity, and sacrifice.

The governments of India and the Soviet Union were our great friends in 1971. We Bangalis proved to the whole world that we were a heroic nation and the leader who turned us into a confident and united country was none other than Bangabandhu himself.

Our losses were great but we were a free nation. Our future generations would not be colonial citizens any more. When we think of Bangabandhu’s tragic murder in 1975, we are engulfed with unbearable sorrow. l Junaidul Haque is a fiction writer and essayist.

DT

ARTS & LETTERS 15

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

‘The killers then went inside the house, and one by one, killed everyone they could find’ The following passages have been excerpted from Salil Tripathi’s book The Colonel Who Would Not Repent. The first excerpt talks about the day of the horrendous deed, the second discusses the impunity enjoyed by the killers for so long “What do you want?” Mujib asked Huda, been a major, and later, lieutenant colonel Ershad encouraged Farooq to return because n Salil Tripathi whom he recognised. in the Bangladeshi army. He had returned to he wanted a candidate to stand against him The day it happened Dhanmondi in 1975 had not changed much from how it looked in the 1950s, soon after Pakistan’s independence, when Dacca, as the city was then known, was the provincial capital of East Pakistan. The roads were lined with two-storey houses, the traffic quiet and unhurried. Today, there are multi-storey buildings, English-medium schools, new universities, shopping malls and hookah bars to lure younger crowds. Back in 1975, the area was quieter. In the evening, people strolled along the periphery of the large lake in the middle of the neighbourhood and at night you could hear the tinkling bells of cycle rickshaws.

On August 15, 1975, before dawn, 700 soldiers left their barracks and headed for the three homes where Mujib and his family lived. Everyone was still asleep at Mujib’s house, #677 on road 32. They first attacked the home of Abdur Rab Seraniabat, Mujib’s brother-in-law, at 27 Minto Road. Mujib heard about the attack. Seraniabat was a minister in Mujib’s government. Mujib called his personal assistant, Mohitul Islam, who was at his desk, and asked him to call the police immediately.

Mohitul tried calling the police, but was alarmed to find that the phones weren’t working. When he used another secure line to call the telephone exchange, the person at the other end said nothing. Mujib snatched the phone and shouted into the mouthpiece.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

At the time soldiers arrived at Mujib’s house, the guards outside were hoisting the national flag. They were stunned to find army officers rushing in through the gate, ordering them to drop their weapons and surrender. A few shots were fired.

Major Bazlul Huda entered Mujib’s house with several soldiers. A frightened servant woke up Mujib’s son Kamal, who got dressed and came down. Huda took out his gun and pointed it at Kamal even as Mohitul tried telling Huda that it was Kamal, Mujib’s son.

But before he could complete the sentence there was a loud burst of gunfire and Kamal fell down, dead. Huda heard Mujib’s voice at the top of the staircase and ran to face him.

The soldiers pulled their triggers, spraying Mujib with dozens of bullets. Mujib’s body was thrown back and then forward, gushing blood which splattered the stairs and the wall. He was dead by the time his body stopped tumbling down the stairs. Before his burial the following day at his birthplace, Tungipara, the imam noticed at least 10 bullets still lodged inside Mujib’s body.

The killers then went inside the house, and one by one, killed everyone they could find: Mujib’s wife, Fazilatunnesa; Kamal’s wife, Sultana; Mujib’s other son, Jamal, and his wife Rosy; and Mujib’s brother Naser, who was heard pleading, “I am not in politics.”

Then they saw Russell, Mujib’s 10-year-old son, who was crying, asking for his mother.

He, too, was killed.

Around the same time, another group of soldiers had killed Mujib’s brother-in-law Seraniabat at his home, and a third group had murdered the family of Fazlul Haque Moni, Mujib’s nephew, an influential Awami League politician who lived on Road 13/1, about 2km away from Mujib’s home.

Mahfuz Anam lived across the Dhanmondi Lake at that time, and had a clear view of Sheikh Moni’s house. “I saw what happened,” he recalled. “Early that morning I was awakened by the sound of firing. I got up. My room was on the side of the lake. I ventured out to the boundary wall. I saw troops enter Sheikh Moni’s house. I heard plenty of firing, followed by screaming. I heard shots -- some random, some from sub-machine guns. I saw the troops leave the house. It was all over in four to six minutes. I could hear the people inside groaning; it continued for some time.”

The junior officers’ coup had proceeded exactly as planned. There had been no resistance from the moment Huda and his team had reached Mujib’s home. After taming the Rakkhi Bahini, Farooq arrived at Mujib’s gate, eager to know what had happened there. Huda told him calmly, “All are finished.”When we met a decade after those killings, I asked Farooq: “And the 10-year-old boy: Did he have to be killed?”

Why did impunity last so long?

His name was Farooq Rahman, and he had

Bangladesh only recently, after several years in exile in Libya. What he had done in the past was not in dispute.

Before dawn on 15 August 1975, he had led the Bengal Lancers, the army’s tank unit under his command, to disarm the Rokkhi Bahini, a paramilitary force loyal to Sheikh Mujib. As Farooq left the Dhaka Cantonment, he had instructed other officers and soldiers to go to the upscale residential area of Dhanmondi, where Mujib lived. Soon after 5 a.m., the officers had killed Mujib and most of his family.

When we met a decade after those killings, I asked Farooq: “And the 10-yearold boy: did he have to be killed?”

I had been rehearsing how to ask Farooq about his role in the assassination. I had no idea how he would react or respond. After a few desultory questions about the country’s political situation, I tentatively began, “It has been widely reported in Bangladesh that you were somehow connected with the plot to remove Mujibur Rahman from power in 1975.

Would you…”

“Of course, we killed him,” he interrupted me. “He had to go,” he added, before I could complete my hesitant, long-winded question.

Farooq Rahman thought he was a patriot.

He believed he had saved the nation.

The governments that followed Mujib reinforced this self-belief and perception, rewarding him and the other assassins with respectability by giving them political space, and to some, plum diplomatic assignments.

Farooq himself stood in presidential elections, which he lost badly. The Oxfordtrained lawyer, Kamal Hossain, who was Mujib’s law minister and later foreign minister, told me, “The impunity with which Farooq operated was extraordinary. President

in the rigged elections, so that the process would seem fair.

In the face of the refusal of the opposition parties to participate in the elections which would legitimise his rule, Ershad encouraged Farooq to contest in the elections to give Ershad credibility.” Farooq was able to operate with impunity for many years because the governments that followed Mujib were not keen to prosecute the killers and in the late 1970s, during the rule of General Zia, the 5th Amendment to the constitution was passed, granting them immunity. The political landscape in Bangladesh after Mujib’s murder was unstable. In its fortytwo-year history, there have been several coups, and the form of government has switched from parliamentary to presidential to parliamentary again. The country has had 11 prime ministers and over a dozen heads of state, and there have been times when it has been ruled by generals, or by a caretaker government comprising unelected officials.

Mujibur Rahman’s daughter Sheikh Hasina Wajed had first come to power in 1996 but her majority was precarious at that time -her party, the Awami League, had won 146 of 300 seats, and relied on the support of other parties to rule. But when she came to power with an absolute majority in 2009, Hasina was determined to redeem her father’s reputation and seek justice. Her quest has larger implications for Bangladesh’s citizenry.

Hundreds of thousands – and by Bangladesh government estimates perhaps 3 million -people were killed during the 1971 war. Tens of thousands of Bangladeshis now wait for justice -- to see those who harmed them and their loved ones brought to account.

But the culture of impunity hasn’t disappeared. Even for Sheikh Hasina, it took more than three decades before she received some measure of vindication, and one reason she was elected in 2008 was because she promised to set up tribunals to prosecute individuals accused of having committed international crimes, such as war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. l Salil Tripathi is a London-based Indian journalist and writer, currently serving as contributing editor for The Caravan and Mint.

DT

16 SPECIAL

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

Bangabandhu in words What the world said about Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman: “I have not seen the Himalayas. But I have seen Sheikh Mujib. In personality and in courage, this man is the Himalayas. I have thus had the experience of witnessing the Himalayas.”

-- Cuban leader Fidel Castro speaking about Mujib during the Non-Aligned Summit held in Algiers in 1973

“The appearence of Sheikh Mujib was the biggest event in the national history of Bangladesh. His burial did not take place through his death. More pragmatic, efficient, capable, and dyanmic political personalities than Sheikh Mujibur Rahman might have emerged or may emerge, but it will be very difficult to find someone who has contributed more to the independence movement of Bangladesh and the shaping of its national identity.”

-- Moudud Ahmed, Former Prime Minister of Bangladesh and Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader, in his book Bangladesh, era of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

“In a sense, Sheikh Mujib is a greater leader than George Washington, Mahatma Gandhi and De Valera.”

-- Lord Fenner Brockway

“A man of vitality and vehemence, Mujib became the political Gandhi of the Bengalis, symbolising their hopes and voicing their grievances. Not even Pakistan's founder, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, drew the million-strong throngs that Mujib has attracted in Dacca. Nor, for that matter, has any subcontinent politician since Gandhi's day spent so much time behind bars for his political beliefs.”

-- TIME magazine, August 1971

“Nasser does not belong to Egypt only. He is the messenger of freedom for the entire Arab world.

His Arab nationalism is the mesage of freedom for the Arab people. In similar fashion, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman does not belong to Bangladesh alone. He is the harbinger of freedom for all Bengalis. Bengali civilisation and culture surfaced afresh from his Bengali nationalism. Mujib is the hero of the Bengalis, in the past and in the times that are.”

-- Former editor of Al Abram and a close associate of the late President Nasser

“This is surely a supreme national tragedy for you. For me it is a personal tragedy of immense dimensions.”

-- British Prime Minister Harold Wilson in a letter to a Bengali journalist, after news of Bangabandhu’s assassination

In his own words: “This may be my last message. From today, Bangladesh is independent. I call upon the people of Bangladesh wherever you are and with whatever you have, to resist the occupation army. Our fight will go on till the last soldier of the Pakistan Occupation Army is expelled from the soil of independent Bangladesh. Final victory is ours. Joy Bangla!”

-- The Declaration of Independence on the night of March 26, 1971. The declaration was made minutes before his arrest by the Pakistan Army.

“If we had remained in Pakistan, it would be a strong country. Again, if India had not been divided in 1947, it would be an even stronger country. But, then, Mr President, in life, do we always get what we desire?”

-- Speaking about the break up of Pakistan with Nigerian leader Yakubu Gowon

“My greatest strength is the love for my people, my greatest weakness is that I love them too much.”

-- Interview with Sir David Frost, 1972

“Yes, but there is a difference. You see, I am a very poor sheikh.”

-- While being cheered with UAE ruler Sheikh Zayed Al Nahiyan as both men had the name Sheikh

“I am happy with my Bangladesh.”

-- Replying to a question on whether he contemplated the Indian state of West Bengal joining his country and creating a “Greater Bangladesh.” He was speaking to reporters at a press conference in London in January 1972 after his release from prision in Pakistan.

DT

EXCERPT 17

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

Rebirth of a people Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman inspired courage and unity in our people. Reprinted here is a piece first published in Forum magazine while he was still alive, on March 13, 1971

n Rehman Sobhan

F

or the first time since the Battle of Plassey, Bengal is free. This is not freedom in the juridical sense. Nor does it ignore the guns which remain pointed at us. But today, for the first time in two centuries, decisions are being made by the people of Bangladesh directing the course of their politics and economy without reference to the vested interests of alien ruling groups. The presence of these groups has, in the course of 10 days which shook the nation, been restricted to fortified enclaves within Bangladesh.

Here they remain islands in a hostile sea with not a friendly face to turn to. To re-impose their will on BangIadesh will, for all practical purposes, represent to the people, an act of aggression, analogous to the French and Dutch attempts to re-occupy Indo-China and Indonesia from “free” governments set up after the people’s anti-Japanese war.

No longer will this act of re-conquest be seen as the act of a legitimate government enforcing its writ, but will appear to the people as an act of re-usurpation against which resistance will become a sacred act.

To dream of any return to domination by the West ruling elite is absurd from the very outset. All that they can hope for is to continue their genocide until the bullets are exhausted. They can seek to cripple the economy through a scorched-earth policy and thus bring death and chaos to this land.

But they cannot rule us again, no matter how much they reinforce their isolated enclaves.

Awareness of this reality can point to only one course for any civilised and rational human being. Yahya must come to terms with Sheikh Mujib by accepting his four points.

The four points merely ask for legal recognition of a de facto situation and requires no concession on Yahya’s part.

Yahya must know that the trade and aid on which Mr Bhutto thought to break Pakistan are lost forever since no exchange can accrue to them without exports moving out of BangIadesh.

Nor can resources be drained with a total boycott in operation against West-wing goods and no taxes accruing to the centre. This, however, pre-supposes rationality. If the bloodlust alone predominates they may yet seek revenge in death and destruction and leave us a wasteland before they pull out.

Against the threat of economic war, the people must be vigilant and all factories and economic assets must be guarded by the workers and the people as the property of BangIadesh.

We should here expect democrats, socialists, and all people of human impulse in West Pakistan to see that this holocaust does not take place. Our war was never with them and they must now from a shared humanity and history see that sanity prevails amongst their rulers. To socialists, it may be said that a just society in West Pakistan can never be built from the blood and bones of the peasants, workers, and students of BangIadesh.

A tough road ahead We will rise from the ashes of destruction to rebuild a new order but for their connivance they will forever be held under the jack boot which tried to crush us. Baluchis, Pathans, Sindhis, and even the common man of Punjab will be bound to dictatorship with the progressive leader of today becoming the slave-master of tomorrow.

BANGLADESH OLD PHOTO ARCHIVE

any future they seek in this region lies only with the people and not their oppressors.

Today, only our will, courage, unity and capability to resist remain our assets. Out of adversity have emerged new reserves of strength from the people. Today, the middle class is camp follower rather than leader of the movement.

We should here expect democrats, socialists, and all people of human impulse in West Pakistan to see that this holocaust does, not take place. Our war was never with them and they must now from a shared humanity and history see that sanity prevails amongst their rulers

To the world at large, again, Bangladesh makes its appeal. Chinese guns, American ammunition, British and Soviet equipment are being used in this act of genocide. Today, the selfish interests of the great powers leave BangIadesh without sympathy. If these powers were to simply express their displeasure at the course of events and indicate that their own tools could not be used to commit genocide, this ramshackle machine of repression would grind to a standstill.

Till then, we must stand alone and appeal over the heads of governments to the people and ask them to tell their governments that the status quo itself is ephemeral and that

They are uneasy of the consequences of confrontation. They will continue to breathe fire into their now tax-free beer and take violent resolutions to fight to the last drop of someone else’s blood but secretly they can safely abuse compromise whilst enjoying its fruits.

Before setting out to a day of rhetorical aggression, they see that full use has been made of drawing right from the banks. Vital supplies are hoarded for emergencies and cars are full of petrol. Whilst troops are away they will march the streets but will make sure to be indoors during curfew whilst praising the courage of curfew breakers.

Luckily for BangIadesh, the movement is

no longer led by these forces.

Today, the character of the resistance has changed. It is the students, workers, the lower middle class, the bustee dweller and rickshaw puller, even the escaped convict, who dominate the mood, who are no longer afraid of death, the threat of genocide itself springing from this new courage.

If people were cowards, the spray of bullets would tranquilise any movement.

But today, millions are there to replace the thousand who are fallen, and this must haunt their leaders as much as their oppressors.

The character of the movement must therefore not only condition the response of the leadership but the social order. These men are not shedding their blood so that their bourgeois masters can safely emerge from their homes to dominate the economy and return to the good life.

This must be one war where the warriors share the spoils. Seeing workers and clerks taking responsible decisions on how to run their enterprise, one sees that they must be made the owners of the wealth they produce.

A socialist order must emerge out of this upheaval, for then it will be the people who will fight to defend their gains. We must never again repeat the experience of 1947, when all the enthusiasm generated by the struggle was dissipated in building a society of privilege and greed. We have had the rare opportunity of a second birth.

Let us build with and for the people. l Rehman Sobhan is an economist. He is Founder Chairman of Centre for Policy Dialogue. This excerpt was previously printed in the Dhaka Tribune on March 7, 2015.

DT

18 HERITAGE

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

A friend indeed?

Edmund Burke dared to question the motives of the East India Company when no one else would

Whatever the motives of Edmund Burke, who in his career in the British Parliament more or less defined, even until today, the ideal of a parliamentarian

What is certain is that this late 18th century Irish-born politician probably had more influence than most in moderating the cupidity and incompetence of the employees and investors of East India Company

n Tim Steel

W

hether Edmund Burke’s very active and vociferous intervention in the affairs of the governance of India and the East India Company, especially between 1781 and 1794, reflected his envy of the fortunes being made there by British adventurers, simple political pragmatism, or from high ideals, we may never know. It is often said that few people in positions of power and influence obtain and retain their reputation through adhering to higher standards of morality than those around them. All are human, and all, presumably, have human weaknesses.

But, what is certain is that this late 18th century Irish-born politician probably had more influence than most in moderating the cupidity and incompetence of the employees and investors of East India Company, and securing enduring reform in the governance of, in the beginning, perhaps largely the lands of the north-eastern Indian sub-continent, including those that are now Bangladesh.

That those reforms laid the foundation, a century and a half later, for the independence of three nations with some democratic tradition, speaks for his heritage.

It may also be no coincidence that it was five years after the loss of the American colonies that he joined the concerns of the British parliament in investigating the activities of the British in India. There were certainly those, and, as a great patriot, Burke amongst them, who feared that the mis-government that seemed to produce the endless stream of fortunes being repatriated by returning, “nawabs,” as the British nicknamed returning millionaires, could well eventuate in another such disastrous outcome.

It may also be no coincidence that, in 1774, he had been elected member of parliament for Bristol. There is no doubt that the large merchant community of that port had long resented the complete authority granted to the East India Company to hold a monopoly

on British trade with the Indian sub-continent and the Far East, considerably limiting their own freedom to trade.

To be fair, from early in his days as member for Bristol in 1775, he had very evidently recognised the justice of the demands of American colonialists, and had sought to reconcile the American rebels by introducing suggestion into parliament to achieve an outcome that did not involve independence.

Of course he failed, as we know, but whether his stand was principled, or much in the interests of his constituents, as it certainly was, is also unclear.

Whatever his motives, it is fairly clear that the governance of India and the remunerative trade in the area, long recognised by such as the Bristol merchants, became a focus for the attention of this long-serving, shrewd parliamentarian.

His public involvement in “Indian” affairs probably began in 1781, when he was appointed to a parliamentary select committee, investigating the affairs of the East India Company. Any political commentator would certainly recognise how such an appointment could serve the interests of his own constituents -- the involvement of Bristol merchants in the development of the West Indies Slave trade by 1774 is well documented, and, in view of earlier involvement in trade with the east, this may well have become a substitute for the fading away of such trade under Company interference.

The Bristol merchants, in fact, had yet an interest in Indian trade. The Company may well have held a monopoly on trade in Indian goods with Britain, but since we have reason to believe that, up to a third of slaves bought from the Arab slave-dealers of Africa were paid for in cloth woven in India, there may well have been further constituency interest in the operation of trade with India and the Company monopoly.

Whatever his motives for taking such an interest in trade with India and the Company, the depth of his interest was to become clear in the ensuing decade. That, in the end, his interest should be focused on a man who, other than Clive, certainly came to represent the management and achievements of the

DT

HERITAGE 19

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

Company in India -- Warren Hastings -- may come as no surprise.

After two years of the Select Committee work, he and his Whig political allies, known as the “Rockingham Whigs,” named for the Northamptonshire country estate of one of the leaders of his Whig faction, William Wentworth Fitzwilliam, which was led by Charles James Fox, introduced two bills before the house. The first called for the political administration of East India Company territories in India to be placed under a commission appointed by parliament, which would, effectively, nationalise such control.

The second bill was that the Company’s commercial activities should also be placed under another parliamentary commission.

It is clear that, quite apart from the behaviour of the East India Company and its agents, a broader concern for the sub-continent finds echoes in the speech Burke made at the introduction of these bills. Not least of those concerns was the Persian invasion of India that culminated in 1739, with the rape and looting of Delhi, further weakening Mughal authority over the lands of India.

“The Tartar (Persian) invasion was mischievous; but it is our protection that destroys India,” he began. “It was their enmity, but it is our friendship,” the great orator thundered. “Our conquest there, after 20 years, is as crude as it was on the first day.

The natives there scarcely know what it is to see the grey head of an Englishman.

“Young men (boys almost) govern there, without society, and without sympathy with the natives.

“They have no more social habits with the people than if they still resided in England; nor indeed any species of intercourse but that which is necessary to making a sudden fortune, with a view to a remote settlement.

“Animated with all the avarice of age, and all the impetuosity of youth, they roll in one after another; wave after wave; and there is nothing before the eyes of the natives but

Reflecting on the behaviour, especially, of London bankers of the 21st century, is it possible to find evidence of the proposition that history repeats itself?

an endless, hopeless prospect of new flights of birds of prey and passage, with appetites continually renewing for a food that is continually wasting.”

Reading the records and journals of the period of those engaged in the work of the Company, and viewing the considerable evidence of wealth shifting from India to Britain, not least palaces and stately homes of returning “nawabs” as the Company fortunately were known in Britain, it may be hard to quarrel with this rich flight of oratory.

Reflecting on the behaviour, especially, of London bankers of the 21st century, is it possible to find evidence of the proposition that history repeats itself?

Not that such social and economic rape and pillaging that certainly followed, first Plassey and then, in 1764, Buxar, which resulted in confirmation of the Company’s absolute control of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa, had not been experienced before in these lands -- so rich an international trading centre, with a heritage of local manufacturing skills, and invaluable locally-produced raw materials.

Not for nothing were the Khilji, and the

Mamluk Sultanate, the first conquerors with origins beyond the sub-continent since Alexander, in the 13th century known as “ruthless and remorseless.” And in the 16th century well into the 17th, the Mughals struggled hard to complete their domination of these areas of north-east India, which were known to the sixth Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb, as “the Paradise of Nations” for their wealth and trade.

Whatever the motives of Edmund Burke, who in his career in the British Parliament more or less defined, even until today, the ideal of a parliamentarian, for taking up the case of the Company’s gross mis-conduct and mis-management in this, probably the world’s first example of privatised conquest (one wonders if Bush and Cheney ever studied it … if so, it seems they learned no lessons) his interest was, certainly, to have enduring effect.

The Act of Permanent Settlement of

1793 gave at least a degree of stability to the conquered, and the locally recruited, trained, and managed administrators, as well as those recruited in Britain itself.

Certainly, more of the wealth of India, throughout the ensuing century, came to be reinvested locally, and private investment from Britain probably returned some of the looted wealth, both directly, in such as infrastructural development, especially railways, as well as the fruits of the Industrial Revolution, part of which was also probably financed by the fortunes acquired by the youthful adventurers so fiercely castigated

by Burke.

It is probably fair to judge him an important friend at a time of great need for the lands and people of India ... whatever his motives may have been. l Tim Steel is a communications, marketing and tourism consultant.

DT

20 FEEDBACK

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

To kneel at the altar of violence August 11

Shake Bujumbura Brainwashed cultists, the whole lot of them.

Barely Legal Alien It should be a crime to let people just go around and end other people’s lives like

this ... oh wait. sundar When and where religious right dominates all other rights, human rights are bound to get a subordinated status. That is the reason why our home minister and police chief’s statement on killings of bloggers reflected the priority of securing religious sentiment not human lives. They as the government functionaries know far better than us which is what. rose This murder could have been prevented if the killers of the earlier bloggers being killed had been punished.

Ahsan Well said. These types of murderers will only demand more and more if the government does not stand up to them.

The IGP should have said he would protect and not arrest people who are accused of the slippery-to-define charge of hurting religious sentiments.

A group of artists is painting the portrait of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to pay tribute to the Father of the Nation at his Dhanmondi 32 house on the occasion of National Mourning Day. The photo was taken August 12, 2015 by Syed Zakir Hossain

Mohammad Ahsan A picture is worth a thousand words, and no words can express what Bangabandhu did for this nation. May a thousand more portraits be painted of him.

If people ran the country August 9

DT Man let daughter drown rather than have strange men touch her, Dubai police claim August 13

Sk Farzana Ahmed He should have been killed instantly.

It’s better to kill such imbeciles than have them walk this Earth.

Mahjabeen A Kamal Why didn’t he save her?

Yasin Imon Muslim rules at its best.

Sujon You have rightly pointed out the wisdom of our crowd. They have their fingers on the pulse of the nation.

They know the whole shebang -- the issues, the solution, and, importantly, obstacles to solution.

The cardinal issue, you summed up well in one sentence: “The problem of this country is that politicians do not hail from the masses.’’

Seira Yeah, I have found these little pocket conversations interesting as well.

Mushfique Wadud Seira: And sometimes, they are very informative. rose Yes truly,the culprits basically turn out to be influential people and they go unpunished, for this particular reason, there is so much of killing going on in this country.

The government and the law enforcers

need to act responsibly. sundar Does the government have any obligation towards listening to what the citizens have to say? Definitely not.

Rather, citizens have the unreserved obligation and duty to listen with due care to what the government has to say.

That is why the bujurgan say that the “government is our mai-bap.”

Mushfique Wadud sundar: I understand your frustration but “The Darkest hour is just before the dawn.”

MC A tremendous article. Rings true in my experience -- not just on public transport but most places.

Sadly, most if our decsion-makers prefer getting frustrated inside cars and bleeping at everyone else. So-called elite people are so dumb most don’t even have the sense to chill and listen to the radio.

JU teacher gets 3-year jail for wishing PM’s death August 12

Saad Hassan Hasib Wishing ill of someone (even death) is not a crime, let alone deserving jail for three years!

Writing it on Facebook doesn’t even mean he really means it! It’s the right of every citizen to criticise their government and more, as long as no aggressive action is taken.

If this is all it takes to become an enemy of the state, we may as well start mourning the death of our free society today.

Km Raiyan I don’t hope they start reading people’s minds ... and punish everyone who wants the PM to die.

Sabina Faiz Rashid Ridiculous ... and we claim to live in a democratic space.

US won’t help Bangladeshi workers by singling them out August 13

AdamJee Smith Workers’ rights are still dire in Bangladesh but it is far from alone in this regard. The GSP exclusion is unfair but a red herring. It is America’s discriminatory tarrifs that are the bigger issue -- they add unfairly to the cost of our RMG exports and bring no benefit to either workers or consumers.

Vietnam’s progress holds lessons that can help our exporters August 12

Shumila Vietnam’s liberation war took longer and finished later than ours. The Americans killed millions of Vietnamese. Now their nations are friends and even closer trade partners. They’ re definitely doing something right.

Living in a lonely world August 12

sundar To my mind, for human contact, the first thing what is required is a human being.

In a city like ours, human beings are in very short supply, it is populated mostly by sharks, jackals, hyenas, snakes, vipers, dogs, cockroaches, mosquitoes, gorillas, etc, with whom human contact is well neigh impossible.

They can be watched and enjoyed only on the media screen and that is why all kind of contact is made through social media.

DT

PHOTO: BIGSTOCK

T-JUNCTION

Love a little Live a little

21

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

INSIDE

22

etiquette

Time to leave

23

letters to Mars

When a man has changed

24

Written in the Stars

Solving Sudoku: One for the puzzle lovers

DT

22 T-JUNCTION

Tell

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

etiquette

Time to leave Know when you are overstaying your welcome

n Baizid Haque Joarder While we agree that dine and dashing, aka “pulling a Noakhailla” is a no-no, overstaying your welcome isn’t socially acceptable either. We’ve all encountered that one loud and obnoxious uncle who’s had one too many, well, helpings of biryani and can be seen lounging well after the party has died. For the hosts, he’s probably being a pain in the backside. It doesn’t matter whether we do it unintentionally or unconsciously, but reading the situation in hand and understanding cues is key.

Most hosts will never spell it out for you to know when to leave. Keep these points in mind and you’ll never have to worry about overstaying.

Never ever We all know how bad the traffic is, but if the invite is formal in nature, take necessary steps to reach the venue on time.

Arriving 10 minutes late is acceptable but an hour is never a good idea. Oh and if you are late, that does not, in any way mean that you have to stay back late to make up

Photo: Bigstock for it. Don’t be the first person to leave and never the last one.

Tone and body language It’s only normal for hosts to assure you that you can stay back, often to come off as hospitable. Sometimes they’d generally want you there. However, notice if there is any sign of reluctance in their tone or the number of times you’ve been asked to stay back. Gather information from their body language; see if the host has lost enthusiasm in whatever topic you’re talking about. Or if your host doesn’t repeatedly keep asking you to prolong your stay, know that it is time to exit stage.

TAURUS (APR 20-MAY20): It’s about time

you started eating well again. If you don’t look after yourself no one will.

HOROSCOPE

ARIES (MAR 21-APR 19): It’s that time

of the week again where you have to use your brain to be extremely logical and practical about everything in your life and scrutinise every little detail to a perfection.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): Perhaps you should start paying a little bit of attention to what’s going on at home. Maybe there’s a lot that needs to be discussed with family.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JUL22): When faced with a situation that requires your attention please don’t be scared to confront it and deal with it with words.

Try not to choose sides; be fair and then make your decision.

LEO (JUL 23-AUG 22): This week you’ll need to pay close attention to your needs and hear out what your inner voice is telling you about yourself.

Keywords Keep your auditory senses on guard. Look for keywords which your hosts might mention even though they don’t want to be rude. Phrases like “it’s been such a long day” or “I still need to prepare for tomorrow’s meeting” usually means that the host is tired and not really in the mood to continue hosting, which is understandable since s/he had to prepare and entertain at the party. Thank them, and walk out that door.

Drop-ins There may be times when you are not invited to a gathering, but you want to drop-in and surprise someone. Steer

VIRGO (AUG 23-SEP 22): A great analyst

this week as well as a healer of many wounds. Keep at it and good luck with the projects at hand, many a prayer is being said for you as of this moment.

LIBRA (SEP 23-OCT22): Look into the mirror and maybe it’ll show you who your friends are and who’re your foes.

You may not always see it clearly but sometimes there are foes wandering amongst friends and friends turn into foes because of what you make them.

SCORPIO (OCT23-NOV21): There’s something that needs to be dealt with and usually you’re willingness to deal with such things is applauded. However in this case it is advised that you seek some help.

clear of that idea unless you know that person well enough. However, if you are certain that the other person would be fine with the idea, make your visit as brief as possible. Unless the other person is genuinely surprised and wants you to hang around for a bit, don’t linger around as that would make things very awkward.

Waiting for your carriage If you have to wait around for your ride, politely ask the host if it is okay to sit around for that duration. Offer to help clean up after, since a dinner party would definitely leave a mess behind. The more humble you are, the more the chances are that your host doesn’t mind having you there. l

SAGITTARIUS (NOV22-DEC 21): Believe in your investments and then only can you believe that whatever you touch will turn into gold. If you don’t believe in yourself, others won’t. Start with yourself, others will automatically follow.

CAPRICORN (DEC 22-JAN19): Instead of stretching out a problem or a certain dilemma like an elastic band, you need to let it go and stick with the decision you have made.

AQUARIUS (JAN 20-FEB 18): You are content with where you are now, so this week just relax and enjoy the time you’re being offered with family and friends.

PISCES (FEB 19-MAR 20): Time to work hard, de-stress and pay attention to those needs that require the cleansing of the soul. l

T-JUNCTION 23

DT

Tell

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

issues

The mother that left n Agony Aunt I am 29 years old and about to get married. My parents have been separated for several years and I was raised by my father. My mother cut all ties with us when she left 20 years ago.

Still, I wanted her to be a part of my wedding and sent her an invitation card, though I doubt she will turn up. Despite this, she’s all I can think about these days. I know that I should concentrate on my wedding and try to be happy but I can’t help but wonder if it was something I did that drove her away and is keeping her away. What should I do?

Every child of a divorced family believes that they are the cause of their parents’ separation. Something that was lacking in them, if only they were nicer or more intelligent and obedient. There is nothing you did that made your parents separate. I

am sorry your mother did not have much to do with you during your growing years. It is not too late. A card as an invitation is for a friend or an acquaintance; you need to phone her and ask to go and see her.

If she is in another town speak to her and tell her how much it would mean to you and what a difference it would make if she were there. Invite her partner and children if she has created another family. We must not forget that in our society, the wife is often accused for the demise of a marriage and society criticises the wife more than the husband (she may be reluctant to see her ex in-laws). You did not give me enough information about the situation, you could also ask your father to intercede on your behalf. I hope you succeed. Do not give up and make sure you enjoy your celebrations. l

Our Agony Aunt is a Life Coach and a Relationship Coach as well as a Corporate and Organisational Consultant. AA lives and works in Bangladesh but travels extensively around the world to attend seminars and see her clients

Photo: Bigstock

letters to Mars

letter to Venus

Out with the in-laws n Agony Aunt I am 40 years old and I live with my in-laws, husband and children. My father-in-law has a fiery temper and cusses at me and my family in front of our children. He does the same with my motherin-law and her relatives.

I don’t want to create a strife in our marriage by suggesting they move out. What should I do?

I honour the fact

Photo: Bigstock

that you do not want to create a strife in your marriage. But the happiness of your marriage not only reflects on the well-being of your husband and yourself but most importantly of your children. I would suggest you tell your husband that the situation is untenable and it would be better for everyone to find an apartment nearby. You could still have dinners together to begin with and slowly make it twice or thrice a week. You can still take care of your in-laws but you will finally have your space. Every woman deserves her own home to rule her roost and to decorate it the way she likes it. Once in Madison Avenue in New York, I saw a very elegant pillow with a meaningful sentence embroidered on top - “If Momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” l

When a man has changed Photo: Bigstock

n Agony Aunt I am 20 years old. My ex is leaving for Australia in a few weeks. I am desperately in love with her but she has cut all ties with me ever since we broke up over my involvement with my current girlfriend. She cannot look past that indiscretion and I cannot continue this sham relationship. We were young when we dated so I want to tell her that I’ve changed. What should I do?

You, my dear, are in love with a very sensible girl, she thinks that if you cannot be trusted when she is in town, what will you do when she is out of town for a long period. I am sorry for you, but may be, just may be, you desperately want her because she does not want you. Let it rest, as the saying goes, if they are roses they will blossom! If you are destined to be together it will happen. l

DT

24 T-JUNCTION

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

Written in the Stars

Solving Sudoku: One for the puzzle lovers n Saudia Afrin Math can be a nightmare for many. This paralysing fear of numbers often affect people’s ability to solve simple problems.

Whereas, besides crossword puzzle games, almost every newspaper around the globe has another popular section called Sudoku, a game based on numbers.

Despite all the fright surrounding math, there is a group of people who love solving math problems with logic. And after many decades of its modern origination, an enthusiastic union of people has published a Sudoku magazine for the very first time in Bangladesh titled “Sudoku.” The names behind this initiative are Nadim Majid, editor and Mostofa Kamal Biplob, executive editor. The editing team is led by Saimum Saad, Shaheda Ferdous and Jamil Mahmud.

Graphics and design are done by Biplob.

The modern version of Sudoku was first devised by architect Howard Garns and it went by the name of “Number place” that was published in “Dell” magazine in 1979.

Gradually it gained popularity in Japan in 1984. Since then, the rest of the world started to become familiarised with it too, especially when the Times magazine published a Sudoku puzzle developed by a puzzle-fan for the first time on November 12, 2004. This was the head start of Sudoku in human life, as it advanced from Sudoku club to mobile games.

Initially, the game was played on a 9x9 house table. But now it can be played both on 6x6 and 16x16 house tables as well. The magazine Sudoku features all three types of house tables along with Korno Sudoku, Khuni Sudoku, Naam Sudoku and Mini Naam Sudoku.

In the introductory section of the magazine, the rules and techniques of the game are provided. This magazine may also serve as a strong educational tool that will help improve people’s Bengali and math skills since some of the sections include Naam Sudoku and Mini Naam Sudoku that are developed using Bengali words.

The magazine will also be hosting competitions and encourage players to send in their answers/solutions of the Sudoku problems. For more information visit facebook.com/banglasudoku. l

A few facts about the game: Sudoku is short for “Suujiwadukushinnikagir” that was initially used in Japanese newspaper to refer to this puzzle game.

Sudoku helps boost IQ and mental ability to comprehend complex ideas.

Photos: Courtesy

The ATP Tour fined Australia’s Nick Kyrgios $12,500 on Thursday as it launched an investigation into an insulting comment he made during a Rogers Cup tennis match against Stan Wawrinka

Sport 26

CHANDIMAL TURNS THE TABLES ON INDIA

27

MURRAY BEATS MURRAY IN DOUBLES

29

25

DT

FINED

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

SMITH NEW SKIPPER, WARNER HIS DEPUTY

‘Before going to Germany on July 31, 1975, I asked Sheikh Kamal - what do you need? In reply, he requested that I bring Adidas boots for his players at Abahani’ Gone but not forgotten. Sheikh Kamal, Sheikh Russel and Sheikh Jamal might be long gone but their legacy still influences Bangladesh’s sports arena

n Shishir Hoque In recent times, I was lucky enough to meet one of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s used-to-be neighbours, Babu. An ardent sports faithful, Babu loves to talk about cricket and football. Once, not so long ago, he randomly went down memory lane and recollected a common feature of the Bangabandhu household.

While walking around Bangabandhu’s historic yet tragic house at Dhanmondi Road No 32, Babu and his family often heard the sound of Sitar coming from the inside. It took them some days to confirm that it was Sheikh Kamal who was playing the musical instrument.

It hardly came as a surprise to them as they already knew about Sheikh Kamal’s many talents. After all, he was involved in a number of cultural activities and made an invaluable contribution during the Liberation War in 1971. And having found out about his new trait, their respect for Sheikh Kamal grew even more. But first and foremost, they rec-

ognised Sheikh Kamal as a man with an immense amount of love and passion for sports.

Sheikh Kamal was the eldest son of Bangabandhu and he was only 26 when he was assassinated along with the rest of his family members on August 15, 1975. In the span of 26 years, the majority would get out of their academic life and start to know the realities of life. That he excelled in both education and sports at the relatively young age of 26 is one of Sheikh Kamal’s finest attributes.

Apart from playing cricket and basketball in the first division, Sheikh Kamal was always a step ahead than his peers. He always thought of developing the country’s sports sector and was always acknowledged as a shrewd and talented sports organiser. He was also responsible for establishing Abahani Limited, one of the country’s premier sports institutions, in 1972.

He only got three years to guide the traditional Sky Blues but it was more than enough.

During those three years, he laid a solid platform at the Dhanmondi-based club and one

only has to look at Abahani’s trophy cabinet in order to gauge Sheikh Kamal’s efforts. Following the Liberation War, Abahani claimed 11 top-flight football titles, including winning a hattrick of championships twice. Besides football, the club also have cricket, hockey and many other sports in their roster. Even today, Abahani are one of the country’s most successful and illustrious sporting establishments.

Without a shadow of a doubt, Sheikh Kamal’s loss has been an irreparable one. But it is not only Sheikh Kamal who loved sports among the Bangabandhu clan. Nicknamed the “Golden Girl of East Pakistan”, Sultana Ahmed Khuki, wife of Sheikh Kamal, was one of the most outstanding athletes at that time.

Khuki held national records in long jump and 100-metres and has since been an iconic and inspiring sports figure to the future women athletes of the country.

Bangabandhu’s second son and Sheikh Kamal’s immediate younger brother, Sheikh Jamal, was also believed to have passion for sports. Abahani will always live in the mem-

ories of the sports fans in this country but Sheikh Jamal are truly and surely the most dominant name in the domestic football arena right now. It has been a little over five years since Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club were founded. Within this time, Sheikh Jamal have earned a lot of praises for their performances not only in Bangladesh but in several Asian countries.

The conspirators might have been able to erase the lives of Sheikh Kamal, Khuki and Sheikh Jamal but their legacy lived on. In order to comprehend Sheikh Kamal’s love for sports, one has to listen to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

“Before going to Germany on July 31, 1975, I asked Sheikh Kamal, ‘what do you need’. In reply, he requested that I bring Adidas boots for his players at Abahani,” said an emotion-charged Hasina during the occasion of Sheikh Kamal’s 66th birth anniversary on August 5 this year. Who would have thought Sheikh Kamal would never get to see the football boots? l

DT

26 Sport

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

SL V IND, DAY 3 SRI LANKA 1ST INNINGS 183 (Mathews 64, Chandimal 59, Ashwin 6-46, Mishra 2-20)

INDIA 1ST INNINGS 375 (Dhawan 134, Kohli 103, Saha 60, Kaushal 5-134)

SRI LANKA 2ND INNINGS

R

B

(overnight 5-2) D Karunaratne b Ashwin K Silva b Mishra D Prasad c Rahane b Aaron K Sangakkara c Rahane b Ashwin A Mathews c Rahul b Mishra D Chandimal not out L Thirimanne c Rahane b Ashwin J Mubarak c Rahane b Harbhajan R Herath c Rahane b Mishra T Kaushal c Saha b Ishant N Pradeep b Ashwin Extras: (b3, w8, nb8)

0 5 0 6 3 12 40 70 39 63 162 169 44 76 49 60 1 15 7 22 3 4 19

Total (all out, 82.2 overs)

367

Bowling Ashwin 28.2-6-114-4, Mishra 17-2-61-3, Harbhajan 17-0-73-1, Aaron 7-0-39-1, Ishant 13-0-77-1

INDIA 2ND INNINGS

R

B

L Rahul lbw b Herath S Dhawan not out I Sharma not out Extras:

5 13 5 0

14 26 8

Total (for one wicket, eight overs)

23

Bowling

UNUSUAL INTRUDER

Sri Lanka’s Jehan Mubarak (L) and India’s Rohit Sharma watch curiously as a monkey runs past them during the third day of their first Test cricket match in Galle yesterday REUTERS

Prasad 2-1-2-0, Herath 3-0-13-1, Kaushal 3-1-8-0.

India need 153 more runs to win with nine wickets in hand

Brilliant Chandimal turns the tables on India n AFP, Galle Dinesh Chandimal smashed an unbeaten 162 off 169 balls to lead a brilliant revival by Sri Lanka on the third day of the first Test against India at Galle on Friday.

The hosts, who trailed India by 192 runs in the first innings, were reduced to 95-5 in their second knock before Chandimal launched an audacious counter-attack to steer his team away from imminent disaster.

Sri Lanka went on to make 367, setting India a tricky target of 176 runs to take the lead in the three-match series.

India ended the day at a shaky 23 for one after Lokesh Rahul was trapped legbefore by Rangana Herath for five. Firstinnings century-maker Shikhar Dhawan was unbeaten on 13 and nightwatchman Ishant Sharma was on five.

The 25-year-old Chandimal hit four sixes - one of them a spectacular reverse sweep off Harbhajan Singh over the mid-wicket boundary - and 19 boundaries in his fourth Test century.

Chandimal put on 125 for the sixth wicket with Lahiru Thirimanne (44) and 82 for the seventh with Jehan Mubarak (49) to frustrate India’s bid to force an early win.

Chandimal and Thirimanne, who joined hands before lunch with their team still 98 runs away from wiping the deficit, batted through a major part of the post-lunch session.

As the pair settled down, the Indians were left to rue the refusal by their powerful cricket board to use the Decision Review System for their bilateral matches.

Both batsmen were fortunate to get into double figures after surviving three appeals for catches close to the wicket - two against Chandimal and one against Thirimanne - in a 10-minute period before lunch.

Replays showed all three catches were

clean, but the absence of DRS meant India could not ask for reviews from the television umpire.

Mubarak chipped in with a valuable innings after Thirimanne was snapped up by Ajinkya Rahane at slip off Ravichandran Ash-

GOODBYE GALLE

Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara raises his cap to the crowd as he walks to the pavilion after his dismissal during the third day of the first Test against India at The Galle International Cricket Stadium yesterday AFP

win to give India its lone success in the afternoon session.

Rahane set a new world record for most catches by a fielder other than a wicketkeeper when he claimed eight catches in the Test -- three in the first innings and five in the second.

Ashwin finished with 10 wickets in the match, having taken six in the first innings and four in the second.

Earlier, Kumar Sangakkara scored 40 in his penultimate Test and captain Angelo Mathews made 39, the pair adding 87 for the fourth wicket after Sri Lanka were reduced to 5-3.

Sri Lanka, who resumed at 5-2, lost nightwatchman Dhammika Prasad off the first ball of the day to give India a flying start.

Prasad attempted to fend off a short ball from Varun Aaron and gloved a catch to a diving Rahane at gully.

Mathews and Sangakkara took charge with a series of attacking shots, including a straight six and a reverse-sweep boundary by the Sri Lanka captain off Ashwin.

Sangakkara, who looked in good form during his 70-ball innings in which he hit five boundaries, was dismissed against the run of play 20 minutes before lunch.

The left-hander edged Ashwin to the slip region where Rahane dived to his left to pick up a stunning one-handed catch.

Sangakkara received a standing ovation from some 1,500 home fans as he walked back after playing his final innings at the Galle International Stadium.

Mathews fell in the next over to leg-spinner Amit Mishra, gloving a catch to Lokesh Rahul at silly-point. l

DT

Sport 27

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

Murray beats Murray in doubles n Reuters

QUICK BYTES Adidas sign James Harden to ‘$200 million deal’

Jamie Murray earned family bragging rights when he and his doubles partner defeated younger brother Andy at the Rogers Cup in Montreal on Thursday.

Doubles specialist Jamie Murray and Australian John Peers edged Scotsman Andy Murray and Indian Leander Paes 6-4 7-6(9).

Andy, who is third in the singles world ranking, likes to play doubles occasionally but does not particularly enjoy playing his brother, whose livelihood depends on doubles.

“It’s not ideal, not a situation I want to be in all of the time,” Andy told reporters after the brothers met competitively for the first time.

“Doubles is Jamie’s career. I support him every single week. I watch all of his matches online. I’m always desperate for him to win.

“I want to play well for Leander too. It’s tricky.”

Andy’s doubles defeat came just a few hours after he easily won his third-round singles match against Gilles Muller in straight sets, 6-3 6-2.l

German sports giant Adidas on Thursday agreed a sponsorship deal with NBA superstar James Harden which was reported to be worth $200 million in a major blow to heavyweight rivals Nike. The contract for the 25-year-old Houston Rockets star takes effect from October 1 and is understood to span 13 years.

–AFP

Al Ahly beat El Gouna 13-0 in Egyptian Cup Al Ahly crushed El Gouna 13-0 in an Egyptian Cup match on Thursday with the defeated side forced to field a 14-year-old. El Gouna, down 5-0 at half-time, were so short of first-teamers that Zeyad El-Seheify, just 14, was named in the team.

–AFP

Djokovic cruises to 50th win of season Top seed Novak Djokovic claimed his 50th win of the season with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Jack Sock to reach the Montreal Masters quarter-finals Thursday. It was the world number one’s 28th consecutive win at the Masters level. His victory, achieved in just 54 minutes, gave the Serb a lasteight match-up against either Ernests Gulbis of Latvia or Donald Young of the United States.

–AFP

Baines ruled out for at least three months Everton defender Leighton Baines will be out of action for at least three months after an ankle operation, the Premier League club announced on Thursday. Baines required the surgery to correct the problem he sustained in training on the eve of the Premier League campaign and the injury has now been successfully repaired.

The 30-year-old England international faces a period of rehabilitation before he can return to first-team action and will be sidelined until at least November.

–AFP

Toure goal given to Silva Yaya Toure’s first goal in Manchester City’s 3-0 win over West Bromwich Albion on Monday has been reattributed to his team-mate David Silva, the Premier League announced on Thursday.

Toure took a shot at goal in the ninth minute of the game at The Hawthorns and the ball flicked off Silva before going between defender Craig Dawson’s legs and trundling over the line. “@ MCFC’s 1st goal against West Brom was in fact a @21LVA goal and has not been credited to @YayaToure,” the Premier League said in a statement on Twitter.

–AFP

Villa pounce for Barcelona starlet Traore Aston Villa have signed 19-year-old winger Adama Traore from European champions Barcelona on a five-year contract, the two clubs announced on Friday. Barcelona said that Villa would pay an initial 10 million euros ($11.1m, £7.1m), potentially rising to 12 million euros, and that the Catalan club would retain a buy-back option for the next three years.

–AFP

Bielsa contract concerns just a pretext for departure, say Marseille n AFP, Marseille The issue of a new contract for Marcelo Bielsa was “more a pretext than anything else” in the Argentinian coach’s shock decision to resign from Marseille, the Ligue 1 club president Vincent Labrune has said.

“I think his decision to leave was taken before (last) Wednesday”, said Labrune at a press conference on Thursday.

Bielsa stunned French football by quitting OM immediately after his side began their season with a 1-0 defeat at home to Caen.

His departure followed weeks of uncertain-

FIXTURES Saint-Etienne Rennes Troyes Caen Guingamp Angers

v v v v v v

Bordeaux Montpellier Nice Toulouse Lyon Nantes

ty over whether he would agree new terms to ensure he stayed at Marseille for a second season, but the club appeared to be completely unprepared for the announcement.

Labrune added that the press conference was “absolutely not” organised in order “to give the name of the next coach”.

Former Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp has already ruled himself out of the running to succeed Bielsa, who led OM to fourth place in Ligue 1 last season.

The Marseille president said the club had “full confidence” in interim coach Franck Passi. And while he admitted to being “stunned” and “disappointed’ by Bielsa’s decision to quit, he added: “We knew that Marcelo Bielsa was unpredictable. We had full knowledge of the facts and I take full responsibility.” l

Chelsea doctor just following rules: Wenger

n AFP, London Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said on Friday that Chelsea’s first-team doctor had been clearly following the rules in the incident that has reportedly seen her demoted by manager Jose Mourinho.

British press reports claim Mourinho has sidelined Eva Carneiro and physiotherapist Jon Fearn from matches and training sessions after they angered him by running onto the pitch to treat Eden Hazard during the latter stages of Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Swansea City last weekend, temporarily reducing his team to nine players.

Mourinho has been strongly criticised over the reports and Wenger said that it was dangerous for a manager to do anything that might damage unity within his club. l

Bangladesh Cricket Board has selected Mashrafe bin Mortaza as the Welfare Ambassador for the fivenation ‘Physically Disable Cricket Tournament’, scheduled to begin on September 2 COURTESY

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28

Ascent Cup 2015

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

GOAL SCORERS

TODAY’S FIXTURES 9:30am

Green Delta VS Gemcon

10am

Bitopi VS Dhaka Tribune

10:30am

Energy Pac VS Beximco Pharma

11am

Bay Developments VS HRC

11:30am

Beximco Textile VS Ascent

12pm

FAS Finance VS Securex

12:30pm

Sajeed Group VS Qubee

2:30pm 3pm

Runner Group VS Asiatic EXP I.M Dhaka.com Ltd VS Rahimafrooz

3:30pm

Bangla Cat VS Accenture

4pm

Spellbound VS BATB

4:30pm

BANDO DESIGN

Sterling Group VS BATB

5:30pm

BEXIMCO PHARMA

Swiss Contact VS Metronet

6pm

HRC

Asutex VS Chevron

6:30pm

SECUREX

Bando Design VS Bitopi

ASCENT

Green Delta VS Mutual Trust Bank

7:30pm 8pm

RESULTS

Comfit VS Bengal Blueberry

5pm

7pm

Name Sharif Imran Faruq Adil Rezwanoor Rakib Sohel Toy Sunny Shamim Riqta

EDGE CONSULTING

Metlife VS Energy Pac

ASIATIC EXP

Anchor Vs Bay Development

RAHIMAFROOZ ACCENTURE STERLING GROUP

Beximco Pharma’s hat-trick hero Syed Adil Ahmed (C) in about to shoot during their match against Metlife yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

BKASH SWISS CONTACT CHEVRON

Team Securex Bando Ascent Bex Pharma Anchor Qubee Gemcom Adcomm Bex Pharma Gemcom Gemcom

8-1 5-1 1-7 14-2 7-1 2-3 1-2 1-7 6-0 9-0 9-2 3-1 4-1

Goals 10 7 5 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2

DHAKA TRIBUNE METLIFE ANCHOR EXIM USA ADCOMM LE MERIDIEN QUBEE GENERAL ELECTRIC BONGO KAZI FARMS SPELLBOUND BENGAL BLUEBERRY IPDC BRAC BANK

Flying start for tournament favourites n Arsalan Quddus and Syed Shabab It’s been 10 years since the Ascent Corporate 5-A-Side Tournament has been enthralling the masses of Dhaka. It’s been a decade of triumphs, heartbreaks and overall thrills. Over 400 corporate houses and thousands of executives have participated in this tournament. We take great pride in welcoming you to this landmark edition of this year’s spectacle. For the next 9 days, 45 corporate houses will descend to the hallowed grounds of the STM Hall in Uttara, to battle their wits and leave behind a trail of blood, sweat and tears in their wake. All for the purpose of bringing the coveted Ascent Cup to their respective boardrooms.

consolation as they were left to contemplate what went wrong.

HRC v Anchor Exim USA

HRC were taken to the cleaners by the debutante team Anchor Exim USA in a 7-1 drubbing. Rezwanoor Rahman scored a hat-trick while Kabir and Anis also added to their cause. HRC who are stalwarts in this competition looked shell shocked at the final whistle.

No doubt they will be adopting a new game plan for their next match.

Securex v Adcomm

The first T20 score was recorded in the match between Securex and Adcomm. The advertisers drew first blood by scoring in the opening second which all but infuriated the Securitywallahs. What happened next was a deluge of goals by a marauding Securex team. Their striker Sharif netted a staggering 10 times in the match which puts him firmly in the lead of the goal scoring charts. Adcomm’s captain Toy pulled two back but it was a case of too little too late.

The home team Ascent started their campaign with a 7-1 trouncing to newbies Le Meridian.

The hoteliers found out how hard life is at the Ascent Cup. Faruq slammed in five for Ascent with Masum and Nipu scoring one apiece. Rajib scored the consolatory goal on behalf of Le Meridien. Hopefully they wont be too bogged down with this result.

It has been known to happen to the best of the teams.

Edge Consulting v Qubee

The first competitive match of the tournament was when old timers Qubee took on the new entrants Edge Consultants in a 2-3 thriller. Edge gave a good account of themselves with Rafel and Abrar slotting a goal apiece.

However, it was Qubee’s experience that gave them the edge (no pun intended). A fabulous hat-trick by Rakib sealed the deal.

Bando Design v Dhaka Tribune

And we couldn’t have asked for a better match to set the tone for the tournament, when 2013 Champion Dhaka Tribune took on last year’s finalist Bando Design. Right from the off set, Bando’s mercurial captain and last year’s Golden Boot winner took matters in his own hand and went on a goal scoring spree. He seems hell bent on retaining his last year’s crest. He put a mind boggling 7 past the Dhaka Tribune goal keeper. It can be said that Tribune are sorely missing their editor cum goal keeper Zafar Sobhan.

Gemcon v MTB

The reigning champions Gemcon were up next again Mutual Trust Bank. Needless to say, it was a one sided affair, with the MTB goalkeeper having to retrieve the ball out of net for 8 times. By the looks of it seems, Gemcon are still the team to beat this year.

Sohel scored three, Shamim and Riqta netted twice each while skipper Munna scored one for the giants.

Beximco v Metlife

The next match saw the five-time winners Beximco Pharma make short work of Metlife.

Tiger Arafat Sunny started the proceeding by scoring a fine brace in the first half. This was followed by a hat-trick by Pharma’s goal scoring machine Syed Adil Ahmed.

Metlife did pull one back, but it was of scant

Ascent v Le Meridien

Asiatic Exp v General Electric

A jubilant Qubee side celebrate their close win with a group selfie

Asiatic EXP fought tooth and nail against General Electric but they fell short when it mattered most. GE took the spoils in a 2 -1 victory with Romel and Shakti each adding to the GE cause while Joy pulled one back for the AD firm. l

DT

Sport 29

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

Australia clash excites Bracewell n AFP, London New Ireland coach John Bracewell Is looking forward to renewing a long-standing rivalry with Australia after the selectors named a 13man squad on Thursday for their lone oneday international against the world champions in Belfast on August 27.

Former New Zealand off-spinner Bracewell, who enjoyed many a trans-Tasman clash in his playing days, was appointed to the Ireland job after the World Cup when Phil Simmons stood down to take charge of his native West Indies.

The match at Belfast’s Stormont ground in two weeks’ time will be Australia’s first oneday international since they beat fellow tournament co-hosts New Zealand in the World Cup final in Melbourne in March, with nonTest nation Ireland only being denied a place in the last eight on net run-rate.l

DAY’S WATCH Ten Sports 4:30PM MotoGP: Qualifying: Bwin GP Ceske Republiky 3:00AM PGA Championship 2015 : Day 3 5:00AM WTA 2015 : Rogers Cup SF 2

Ten Action 5:30PM Sky Bet Championship 2015/16 Burnley v Birmingham City 7:30PM French Ligue 1 2015/16 9:00PM AS Saint-Etienne v Girondins Bordeaux 12:00AM Guingamp v Olympique Lyonnais

Ten Cricket Sky Bet Championship 8:00PM MK Dons v Preston North End 10:15PM QPR v Cardiff City

Sony Six 10:00AM India tour of Sri Lanka 1st Test, Day 4

Star Sports 1 English Premier League 5:35PM Southampton v Everton 7:50PM Swansea City v Newcastle United

Star Sports 2 Pro Kabaddi League 2015 8:20PM Patna v Mumbai 9:30PM Bengaluru v Hyderabad

Star Sports 4 10:15PM German Bundesliga Monchengladbach v Borussia Dortmund

Steve Smith (L) and David Warner cheer each other after they were named as the new Australian cricket captain and vice-captain respectively

REUTERS

Smith new skipper, Warner deputy n Reuters, Melbourne Steven Smith will take over as captain of the Australian Test team following the retirement of Michael Clarke after the fifth Ashes Test against England, the country’s cricket board said on Friday.

Opening batsman David Warner will be Smith’s deputy in the Test and one-day international formats, Cricket Australia said in a statement.

Clarke announced his decision to quit international cricket after England won the fourth Test at Trent Bridge last week to regain the Ashes.

The 26-year-old Smith was expected to take the role having previously led the team

when he replaced the injured Clarke as captain for three Tests during the home series against India. National selector Rod Marsh said Australia had no doubt that Smith was the right man for the job.

“We have had a clear succession plan in place for the captaincy with Steve Smith gaining valuable experience leading the Australian Test team while Michael Clarke was recovering from injury last season,” Marsh said in the statement.

“When Michael made his decision to retire last week it was a very straight forward decision for us to nominate Steve as his successor.

“He has big shoes to fill but everything about him suggests he is the right man for the job. At 26, he is a fine young man with ex-

Koeman returns to boost Southampton n AFP, Southampton Ronald Koeman returns to boost Southampton as the Dutchman makes a belated start to the Premier League season when his side host Everton on Saturday.

Koeman was absent when Saints started their league campaign with a 2-2 draw at Newcastle last Sunday after undergoing Achilles tendon surgery but the 52-year-old returned to the club this week and will be in the dug-out at St Mary’s.

The meeting with Roberto Martinez’s team marks Southampton’s first home league game since they signed off in May with a 6-1 victo-

FIXTURES Southampton Sunderland Swansea City Tottenham Watford West Ham

v v v v v v

Everton Norwich City Newcastle United Stoke City West Brom Leicester City

ry over Aston Villa, a game marked by Sadio Mane’s 176-second hat-trick, the Premier League’s fastest ever.

Mane is anxious to carry on where he left off and maintain the progress he showed in scoring 10 league goals in his first season following his move from Salzburg.

The Senegal forward failed to get on the scoresheet last weekend, but fellow forwards Graziano Pelle and Shane Long were on target and, with Jay Rodriguez back following a long-term knee injury, Koeman has an enviable range of forward options.

“It was nice to end the season like that at St Mary’s,” Mane said. “I will try and score more than last season.

“In football, for the striker it is important for them to score for the team. We start the season and I didn’t score but the team drew, which is more important.

“Especially for Graziano, he is in good form at the moment and we try to help him with everything. We give him the ball so he will score for us. The team is more important than me.”l

traordinary talent, excellent leadership qualities and a terrific temperament.

“He is highly regarded by the selectors and we congratulate him on being appointed to the role on an ongoing basis. He should be incredibly proud.”

Smith has clearly been Australia’s best batsman in the last year but his team is certain to have a very different complexion when they embark on a two-Test tour of Bangladesh in October.

Wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, Chris Rogers and Shane Watson are all expected to have played their last Tests during their calamitous trip to England, while paceman Ryan Harris retired before the first Ashes Test after suffering another knee injury.l

CAPITAL ONE CUP FIXTURES Aston Villa v Notts County Walsall v Brighton Crystal Palace v Shrewsbury Sheffield Wed v Oxford Portsmouth v Reading Hartlepool v Bournemouth Fulham v Sheffield Utd MK Dons v Cardiff Hull v Rochdale Sunderland v Exeter Bury v Leicester Doncaster v Ipswich Rotherham v Norwich Swansea v York QPR v Carlisle Barnsley v Everton Peterborough v Charlton Birmingham v Gillingham Newcastle v Northampton West Brom v Port Vale Wolves v Barnet Burton v Middlesbrough Luton v Stoke Preston v Watford Ties to be played in week commencing August 24

DT

30 DOWNTIME

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Teaching periods (5) 6 Wrath (3) 7 Snares (5) 10 Vestige (5) 12 Male deer (4) 13 Auctions (5) 15 Night birds (4) 16 Horseplay (3) 18 Cricket score (3) 20 Pimply condition (4) 22 Distinguishing feature (5) 23 Passport endorsement (4) 25 Thicknesses (5) 27 Concise (5) 28 Short sleep (3) 29 Heavenly bodies (5)

DOWN 1 Stifled laugh (6) 2 Do wrong (3) 3 Sanity (6) 4 Starry (7) 5 Inclined (3) 8 Donkey (3) 9 Long detailed story (4) 11 Crow’s cry (3) 14 Leaks out (7) 16 Eyeball part (6) 17 Holds firmly (6) 19 Single entity (4) 21 No score (3) 22 Sailor (3) 24 Dry, of champagne (3) 26 Corn spike (3)

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 18 represents B so fill B every time the figure 18 appears.

You have two letters in the control grid to start you off. Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.

Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.

As you get the letters, fill in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check off the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

A B C D E FG H I JK L M N O P Q RST UVWXYZ

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SUDOKU How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no number repeating.

PEANUTS

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

DILBERT

SUDOKU

DT

SHOWTIME 31

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

Kapil Sharma debut

CELEBS ON SOCIAL

n Showtime Desk

Stand-up comedian Kapil Sharma makes his debut in Bollywood with the movie “Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon,” directed by Abbas Mustan. The comedy movie is a new turn for the director, who is known for his thriller specialty, and is said to be released on September 25.

The storyline goes with Shiv, Ram and Shivan, all of whom are married and live in the same building, and share a common secret. This secret happens to be that all three of them are actually the same person, with three different wives living in the same plot. To add to the thrill of adventure, he also has a girlfriend.

It all starts well, with none of the wives knowing about their husband’s quadruple identities. Shiv/Ram/Kishan is played by Kapil Sharma, while his unfortunate partners are played by actresses Manjari Phadnis, Amrita Puri, Simran Kauri Mundi and Elli Avram. l

Jimmy Kimmel @jimmykimmel My secret identity revealed: Bobby Butter @footlocker @adidasOriginals #ZXFLUX ad watch it! http://bit. ly/1Iqy7IC @Dame_Lillard @22wiggins Meghan Trainor @ Meghan_Trainor The #LikeImGonnaLoseYouVideo with the amazingggg @JohnLegend is up on @VEVO now http://smarturl.it/ LIGLYVideo

Chris Pine at the crossroads of his superhero career

John Cena @JohnCena Remember where you started. Don’t be afraid to go BACK to basics... @TapouT @Muscle_ Fitness @SportsCenter #NGU

WHAT TO WATCH

Janice is alive and well n Showtime Desk A recent rumour about the death of Maggie Wheeler, or better known as Janice from popular TV show Friends, has been abuzz on social media, claiming she was found dead in her apartment bedroom on August 12 after a fatal heart-attack. Devastated fans all over the world began to dig deeper, only to find out it was simply a hoax.

It was later confirmed by her attorney that Maggie is indeed alive, and just celebrated her 54th birthday. l

n Showtime Desk Star Trek lead and major eye candy Chris Pine is all set to join the DC Cinematic Universe, though it seems he has more than one offer on the table. Reportedly Pine is struggling to pick between two key roles; Hal Jordan (aka Green Lantern) and Steve Trevor (Wonder Woman’s first love interest and the most recognised one in her love life). Steve Trevor is an intelligence officer who first encounters Diana Prince (Wonder Woman) in World War II when his plane crashes on Paradise Island and Diana nurses him to health, falling for him along the way. She even follows him back to the normal world, becomes his colleague and crime fighter extraordinaire. Hal Jordan on the other hand gains power from a magical ring and is a suave ladies’ man who fights evil across the universe. After the disastrous 2011 Green Lantern movie, loyal Hal Jordan fans will hope that Pine will do a better job than Ryan Reynolds. Supposedly Pine favours Hal Jordan and many would

do the same as it means he will probably play the character in Justice League movies as well and have his own superhero franchise. The only downside is that he won’t get his own solo joint before 2020. In any case it will be interesting to watch how this plays out as he’s up for two big roles in movies that belong to the same interlinked universe. l

Godzilla HBO 4:51pm The world is beset by the appearance of monstrous creatures, but one of them may be the only one who can save humanity.

Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston Lucy Star Movies 1:30pm A woman, accidentally caught in a dark deal, turns the tables on her captors and transforms into a merciless warrior evolved beyond human logic.

Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Min-sik Choi Indian Idol Junior Sony Entertainment TV 2:30pm This season brings the latest addition to the Idol phenomenon. Indian Idol Junior, like Pop, Canadian, and American Idol, brings the entire country together to compete to become the next singing sensation.

Jury: Vishal and Shekhar, Shalmali Kholgade, Salim Merchant

DT

32 BACK PAGE

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

THE UNFORGETTABLE SHEIKH SHAHEB PAGE 12

WHAT BANGABANDHU DID FOR US PAGE 14

Control over cattle market and jhut trade behind Badda murders Locals say extortion money and political infighting also motives for murders

Firoz Ahmed, left, and Mahbubur Rahman Gama

n Kamrul Hasan The competition for securing lease to the Badda cattle market and the control over local jhut trade were the likely reasons behind Thursday’s attack in Badda that killed three people, sources close to the victims have claimed.

Locals said the killing of the three men might have also been caused by disputes surrounding the distribution of extortion money and political infighting.

The police, however, said a number of different reasons might have been behind the premeditated attack; but it would take some time to ascertain the true reasons.

The deceased were Mahbubur Rahman Gama, 40, the cultural affairs vice secretary of Dhaka (north) city unit of Swechchhasebak League; Samsuddin Molla, 53, the vice president of Dhaka’s ward 6 unit of Awami League; and Firoz Ahmed, 40, a friend of the deceased with no political affiliations.

The shooters arrived soon after local leaders met inside the operator room of Adarshanagar water pump to discus the distribution of extortion money collected in the name of organising National Mourning Day programmes Abdus Salam, 44, senior vice president of Badda Jubo League, survived the attack and is now being treated at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Aminur Rahman Ripon, a cousin of deceased Swechchhasebak League leader Gama, said the attack might have been carried out because of Gama’s attempt to secure this year’s lease for the Badda cattle market ahead of Eid. Requesting anonymity, a cousin of deceased Awami League leader Samsuddin told the Dhaka Tribune that several Chhatra

Khurshed Alam, elder brother of deceased Firoz Ahmed, breaks into tears seeing his brothers dead body in front of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital yesterday. Firoz, former manager of Al Sami Hospital, was one of the three killed in Thursday’s attack in Badda MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU League leaders stand to gain from the murder as they would now be able to take over the local jhut trade that had been under the control of Gama.

However, Golam Mohsin Polash, another cousin of Samsuddin, said the deceased AL leader ran his own business and had no rivals.

He also expressed suspicions that the witnesses knew the identities of the killers but would not reveal any name out of fear.

Sources, meanwhile, said Firoz was not associated with any political party and was a friend of the deceased. He was the former manager of Badda’s Al Sami Hospital and had recently left the job to start his own business.

Swechchhasebak League General Secretary Pankaj Debnath, while visiting the DMCH to see bodies of the deceased yesterday, said no internal clash had been behind the murders.

Hinting at the BNP’s involvement in the murders, Pankaj said only a certain party could do such a heinous act at the time of National Mourning Day. Deputy Commissioner of DMP (Gulshan Zone) SM Mostaque Ahmed Khan said the profiles of all of the deceased would be verified. Not only the shooters, but also the mastermind behind the murders would be arrested, he assured.

No case had been filed with Badda police station as of filing this report yesterday evening.

Eyewitness account

Tahsir Rahman Saikat, who was with the victims at the time of the shooting, said he was standing beside Swechchhasebak League leader Gama when three people approached them silently and shot at the leader.

Saikat said he dropped to the floor at the sound of the gunshot and later saw that Samsuddin Molla and Abdus Salam had been shot.

He also saw Firoz being shot at while trying to flee from the attackers.

Maruf Ahmed Manik, who was also there at the time of the shooting, told the Dhaka Tribune that he was inside a nearby toilet when the shots were fired and could not see or identify the shooters.

Seeking anonymity, different sources also described to the Dhaka Tribune a similar chain of events taking place.

They said the attack took place soon after a meeting had taken place inside the operator room of Adarshanagar water pump, where local leaders discussed the distribution of money that had been extorted in the name of organising National Mourning Day programmes.

Several of the men present at the meeting left the scene soon after the meeting ended around 8:30pm, while the rest were sitting beside the room when the attack happened.

The shooters, all aged around 30 years, carried out the attack swiftly before fleeing the scene while firing shots in the air, the sources added. l

BANGABANDHU IN WORDS PAGE 16 Khaleda to celebrate her birthday later today n Tribune Report BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia did not cut cake at the first hour of her “birthday” to mark her 70th birth anniversary this year, but party leaders and activists said they would cut cake later in the day today.

Every year, Khaleda, flocked by leaders and activists of her party, cuts a cake at one minute past midnight on the night of August 14-15 to celebrate her birthday.

Party leaders said because this year Khaleda’s birthday falls on a Friday, party leaders and activists will cut cake on Saturday instead.

Each year, August 15 is observed as the national day of mourning for the 1975 assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the murder of most of his family by a group of disgruntled military officers in one of most heinous assassinations in the history of the world.

“As Madam [Khaleda] does not attend office on Friday, she will stay home and will not come to the office. So we will celebrate her birthday on Saturday,” Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal, president of the Jubo Dal, told the Dhaka Tribune.

The ruling Awami League has repeatedly urged Khaleda Zia, a former prime minister, not to celebrate her birthday on a day of mourning.

Meanwhile, the official website of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, the student wing of the BNP, was hacked by people who urged Chhatra Dal leaders “not to commit violence in the name of celebrating Khaleda’s birthday on national mourning day.”

The actual birth date of Khaleda Zia, who according to the BNP entered her seventh decade of life this year, has long been a matter of contention.

Khaleda’s father Iskandar Majumder, originally from Feni, was a resident of Dinajpur, where Khaleda was born. Her mother was Tayeba Majumder.

Khaleda married Ziaur Rahman, a captain of the then Pakistan army, in August 1960. Zia fought as a sector commander in the 1971 Liberation War. Awami League leaders accuse the BNP chief of observing her birthday on August 15 to celebrate the attempt to turn Bangladesh towards Pakistani ideals after Bangabandhu’s assassination.

It has been reported that Khaleda’s marriage certificate lists her birthday as September 5, 1945. However, on her first passport, the date of birth is allegedly dated August 19, 1946.

According to a curriculum vitae distributed to the media after Khaleda took oath of office as the prime minister of Bangladesh in 1991, the BNP chairperson was born in Feni on September 19, 1945.

The BNP observes Khaleda’s birthday on August 15. l

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com