Bangladesh Blog Buzz

(Crossposted in the Global Voices Online)

The latest opinions and views from the Bangladeshi blogs:

* Refugees: Drishtipat discusses the plight of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh as the International community is not taking notice. Rohingyas are Barmese Muslims from Arakan fled to Bangladesh to escape military persecution in Myanmar.

* Gender Equity: Sonia discusses a flaw in the Bangladesh constitution which deters a Bangladeshi women to transmit her nationality to her spouse or children.

* Energy: The recent Asia Energy coal mining controversy in Phulbari, Bangladesh and the people’s uprising leaves a lot to ponder. Conversations with an Optimist argues that people’s power is not always right as it may lead to disastrous consequences for the country. Drishtipat urges everybody to talk less politics and more science reagrding this issue.

* Human rights: Journalist Tasneem Khalil discusses the human rights abuses of Bangladesh’s elite force commando RAB, which overshadows the country’s security forces’ laudable performance in the UN peace keeping missions. More ironical is that some RAB members are being selected for UN peace keeping missions.

* Censoring: Tasneem Khalil informs that the Curators of a British museum are role playing as bigot mullahs, as they have censored a documentary work made in Bangladesh by Syra Miah — Bangladeshi-British photographer from the museum’s Art and Islam exhibition on the charge that it contained an image of a semi-naked woman.

* Politics: Nazim Farhan Chowdhury of Conversations With An Optimist blog predicts the decrease in support of the ruling BNP among the Bangladeshis because of their failures. Salaam Dhaka confirms that analogy from a diaspora viewpoint.

* International relations: Razib Rashedin of Me, Myself and Bangladesh criticizes certain Indian politician’s propaganda that places in Bangladesh should be attacked where the terrorist centers against India are operating. He claims that these accusations are false and there are many insurgencies in north-eastern India that feed on local discontent due to the neglect of the federal government to their needs and from pure separatist impulses. Therefore, it does not require a neighbouring country to instigate troubles in India.

* Culture: The corruption in Bangladesh is becoming ubiquitous. However Salam Dhaka realizes that sometimes bribes can also do good to the society.

* Review: Deshcalling posts a review of an insightful book titled ‘The India Doctrine’ published by the Bangladesh Research Forum and edited by Barrister MBI Munshi. The book is a collection of articles by writers from Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka providing insight into controversial issues in this region and the role of India.

* Paintings: Artist Sumaiya Mehreen shares her paintings in her digital portfolio blog.

* Cyber society: Somewherein Dhaka is an increasingly popular user-friendly, informative and interactive events site from Bangladesh. It lets the users know all about the art, culture, sports and lifestyle events happening in Dhaka (what, when and where) and let the users to comment on or review the items. This is turning out to be an useful social networking tool.