AL starts giving nomination forms to MP aspirants

Awami League started distributing nomination forms to intending candidates for parliament election with the collection of three for party-chief Sheikh Hasina for three seats comprising Gopalganj-3, Narail-1 and Rangpur-6 constituencies.

Her husband Wazed Mia’s nephew Azimul Islam Shamim collected nomination forms for Gopalganj and Rangpur while Narail AL leader Haji Mohammad Mafiz took the form for Narail.

The nomination forms will be distributed until November 7.

Acting AL general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam, who was present at the party’s central office, said party’s intending candidates drew the nomination forms with enthusiasm. “Electioneering will start in full swing with the return of Sheikh Hasina from the USA tomorrow,” he said.

Ashraful said now there was no doubt about the holding of the election on December 18.

Hasina returns early today

The rank and file of Awami League are now in a festive mood as the party President Sheikh Hasina returns home after her four months 24 days overseas treatment today (Thursday).

AL has taken all-out preparation to arrange a first-ever mammoth gathering from Zia International Airport to Dhanmondi Sudha Sadan residence as part of according a grand reception to her on the day.

According to party sources, the AL President Sheikh, started her journey from London by a flight of Emirate Airlines on Wednesday and is expected to land at ZIA at about 8am today.

Meanwhile, aspirants of AL ticket have begun picking up nomination forms for the ensuing Parliamentary polls. Syed Ashraful Islam on Wednesday inaugurated the distributing party’s nomination forms at the Banbandhu Avenue’s AL Headquarter in the morning. Tazimul Islam Shamim, relation of Dr Wajed Mia, picked the very first nomination form by paying TK some 7500 on behalf of Sheikh Hasina for constituency -217 (Gopalganj -3) .

Nomination forms would be on hand till Friday. Final selection of the grassroots level for candidates will be completed by November 9 as per AL’s decision. On the other hand, as per election schedule, the last date for submission of nomination papers is November 13.

While visiting the AL office, this correspondent witnessed a huge gathering in and around of AL Central Office. Around 970 nomination seekers picked up forms yesterday Followers and supporters of respective candidates remained busy showing their presence.

Coping with the fast changing political circumstances, the party brought some changes of requirements filing the nomination forms. Each candidate must fill up forms where some information is mandatory. These requirements include: address in details, academic qualification, previous political records – students’ politics, role of the candidate in 1971, after 1975, during anti-BNP-Jamaat movement in 2001 and after the 1/11 political changeover.

Talking to the newsmen, Syed Ashraful said, “We hope AL would be able to select honest and fit candidates for the upcoming polls. At the preliminary stage, forms for 300 seats will be distributed and later such allocation will be finalized among the allies of the mega alliance.”

“Sheikh Hasina will launch electoral campaign on Thursday. Final decision for forging electoral alliance, seat-sharing among allies, final nomination and election campaign would be after Hasina’s return,” added the AL spokesman.

Meanwhile, AL on Wednesday demanded of the Election Commission (EC) to defer the upazilla polls schedule by reasonable time at least one month.

A seven member high-powered AL delegation led by acting General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam held a meeting with the Election Commission.

After more than one and half hour long parley with the commission, talking to newsmen, Syed Ashraful Islam said, “We have requested the commission to set the timeframe for submitting nomination papers for UZ polls after the parliamentary poll.”

He said they also urged the commission to relax some criteria barring candidature of bill and loan defaulters.

“We have also requested the EC to introduce a code of conduct for both print and electronic media to ensure fair and impartial coverage of election news of all political parties. Besides, we have asked the commission to provide the list of local election observers to us so that we can asses their neutrality,” Ashraf added.

While his attention was drawn about lifting emergency before JS poll, the AL leader said, “It is the matter for the government to decide on and we have already talked to it in this regard. If necessary, we will sit with government again.”

What the silence said?

There was a moment last night– this was just before Barack Obama and his family walked onto the stage in Grant Park for his first public appearance as president-elect– when the throngs of people in the park fell almost completely silent.

In one respect this was a product of an explicable glitch in the proceedings. During the long campaign, the timing of Obama’s entrances at rallies was meticulously coordinated– the preliminary orators (usually local government officials and candidates) spoke, the music and its pacing built up with the intention of quickening the pulses of the crowds, and then, at exactly the right moment, Obama, the candidate, would make his entrance.

But by late last night Obama was no longer a candidate, and there was no need to pump up the sense of anticipation, and the evening’s events– the concession call from John McCain, the congratulatory call from President Bush– were being dealt with as they rapidly occurred on a timetable Obama’s staff could not control. So there was some dead time in the park before Obama appeared on the stage.

And the crowd, for just those brief few moments, became all but mute. They weren’t certain what was going to happen next.

What happened next, in the crisp and clear night, was the Obama family suddenly coming into sight. Then, the cheers reached the sky. But in the quiet that preceded…

In that quiet there was the recognition:

Here comes the part of this drama that is unknown and unknowable.

Here– in the days and weeks and years ahead– comes life; here comes events that know no schedule, that can’t be planned, that will appear on no carefully constructed itinerary.

The silence from the crowd was like an intake of breath.

The silence said:

Here we are– we, the people in Grant Park; we, the people of the United States; we, the people of the world. Here we are, and none of us– not even and especially the man on the stage, the man just elected to be the 44th president– can be sure of what lies ahead.

If some in the audience– those of us in the park, and those watching around the world– sensed perhaps the slightest sliver of a subdued tone in Obama’s voice, a perceptible difference in his timbre, if not his words, from how he had sounded on the campaign trail, the shift was understandable.

It may have been his own version– intentional or involuntary– of that sudden silence that fell over the crowd. He can’t be silent, in any sense of that word– he is going to be the president. But during that same span late last night when the audience, in its brief hush, seemed to be acknowledging that everything– everything– had just changed, so, too, Obama appeared to be sending the signal, to the rest of us and maybe to himself, that he was well aware of the change, and was already beginning to deal with it.

He is no longer a candidate seeking something. Last night’s Chicago weather– so warm and inviting for November– was deceptive; it will not be warm here very much longer. Obama, of all people, knows that; he has lived in Chicago long enough to realize that balmy days with winter coming are the most predictable of teases.

The silence of the crowd ended and the roar greeted him, and as he, a man just hired for a new job, looked out at the people and at his city’s glorious skyline, you asked yourself if the thought may have been crossing his mind:

There will, in my life, be other good nights. But none of them will ever be as good as this one.

Facebook group: Bangladesh

Welcome to the largest Facebook group about the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

This group aims to serve as a place for young Bangladeshis and Bangladesh enthusiasts to meet and talk about nearly any topic of interest.

We always welcome fresh blood, so go ahead and announce your presence on the wall and put your two cents in on current discussion topics. With discussion boards frequented by some of the most intelligent, creative, and funny Bangladeshis on Facebook, you’re sure to have a blast!

Bangladesh may benefit from Obama victory

Fallout from the ongoing financial turmoil on the world’s economy may ease soon, as this issue will be the main agenda for newly elected US President Barack Obama, said economist Zaid Bakht yesterday.

“The Democrats manage the economy better than the Republicans. I think the world’s economy will stabilise soon. When the global economy gets stable, the whole world, especially the LDCs such as Bangladesh, will benefit from it,” said Bakht, research director of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS).

Quoting some policies announced during the election campaign for Obama, Bakht said Bangladesh would rather get special treatment in exports of garment items to the US market thanks to the new government.

Speaking to The Daily Star, Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), echoed Bakht.

Chowdhury said Bangladesh would benefit from the policies of the new US government.

Bangladesh leaders hail Obama

President Iajuddin Ahmed and Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed yesterday congratulated Barack Obama, president-elect of the United States of America.

In a message, the president said: “I would like to convey to you my warmest felicitation on your election as the president of the United States of America.”

He expressed the hope that during Obama’s tenure, bilateral relations would be further strengthened to mutual benefit of the two countries.

The chief adviser in his message said: “I am delighted to learn that you have been elected next president of the United States of America. Let me take this opportunity to extend to your excellency my heartiest congratulations on your victory.”

He hoped that in the coming years, the mutual relations of the two countries would be further widened and deepened.

HASINA, KHALEDA
Awami League President and former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in a message yesterday congratulated US president-elect Barack Obama.

“This is the victory of democracy,” she said.

The former prime minister expressed the hope that under the dynamic leadership of Obama, world peace and security would be ensured.

She also hoped that bilateral ties between Dhaka and Washington would be further strengthened under Obama’s presidency.

Bangladesh is also heading towards general elections, Hasina said, and hoped that a democratically elected government would be installed through a free, fair and credible election.

Former prime minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia yesterday congratulated US president-elect Barack Obama.

“I, on behalf of my party and myself, would like to convey to you our warmest felicitations on your election as the 44th president of the United States of America,” she said in a message.

She also expressed her belief that Obama’s clarion call for changes would instil a new concept in the Americans as well as world population.

Referring to deep friendly relations between Bangladesh and the USA, the former prime minister said her party expects the relations between the two countries will be further deepened in the days to come.

Birth registration:Key to establishing child rights

BIRTH registration, a basic component of demographic discipline, is still an area where we have not attained our goal, with less than 10 per cent of the children below five having so far received the birth registration certificate.

It is really surprising that the Births and Deaths Registration Act 2006, which replaced an archaic law enacted in 1873, was the first serious attempt by the government to bring the whole issue under a legal framework. It is not clear why birth registration, the first official recognition given to a newborn baby, did not figure in the plans and programmes of successive governments in the past. The point is all the more relevant in a social setting where the number of vulnerable children is very high and in many cases they are left out of all social development schemes. Lack of reliable statistics also makes it difficult for the planners to assess our social and economic needs accurately.

So, the speakers in a seminar on birth registration held in the city on Tuesday very rightly observed that such registration was a step forward which would enhance the accountability of the state. The point is duly emphasised in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Birth registration will provide a clear picture of the demographic base needed for formulating development strategies. It is crucially important for the health and education sectors where our performance needs vast improvement. Since there are resource constraints, it is imperative that optimum use of the available resources is ensured. And this can be done when the agencies concerned know the facts and figures very well.

However, the task of registering all the births is a challenging one, since a huge number of people lack the awareness needed to place the issue in the right perspective. There is still low demand for birth certificates, as people do not realise the importance of obtaining the certificates for the newborn babies. Obviously, educating the people regarding the benefits of birth registration is the only solution here.

Birth registration is something that the developed societies introduced decades back, but we are still progressing slowly to fulfill this precondition for better handling of all development and social issues. Our target in this area has to be achieved as a matter of top priority.

Rice: ‘proud’ of Obama’s victory

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced Wednesday that the Department of State “will do everything we can” to ensure a smooth transition to President-elect Barack Obama.

While noting that Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain was “gracious” in his defeat, Rice said, “On a personal note, as an African-American, I am especially proud because this is a country that’s been through long journey in overcoming wounds, and making race not the factor in our lives.

“That work is not done, but yesterday was obviously an extraordinary step forward.”

US Chooses CHANGE

Barack Obama did more than thump John McCain in the Electoral College tally; he also handily won the popular vote and redrew the great divide between red states and blue states.

Riding a Democratic tide that bolstered the party’s presence in both houses of Congress, Obama snared about 63 million votes to McCain’s 55.8 million, according to totals early Wednesday.

According to exit polls, Obama crushed McCain among women voters (56 percent to 43 percent); voters under 30 (66 percent to 32 percent); African-American voters (95 percent to 4 percent); Latino voters (66 percent to 32 percent); first-time voters (68 percent to 31 percent); and voters making less than $100,000 a year (55 percent to 43 percent).

“I think this is the passing of an old order,” CNN senior political analyst David Gergen said as the results rolled in Tuesday night and the outcome became increasingly evident.

“I think what we see … is a new coalition, a new order emerging. It isn’t quite there, but with Barack Obama, for the first time, it’s won. It is the Latino vote we just heard about. It is the bigger black vote that came out. Very importantly, it’s the youth vote, the 18-to-29-year-old,” said the Harvard University professor and former presidential adviser.

Early voting totals in the East suggested things would go traditionally, with McCain taking most of the Southeast, Obama most of the Northeast.

But then things quickly changed, as the senator from Illinois struck — first in Pennsylvania and then in the Midwest state of Ohio, states McCain had to win in his bid for the Oval Office. Obama then delivered an uppercut in Virginia, a state that had not voted for a Democratic president since 1964.

As polls closed from East to West, Obama kept hammering McCain, as he snatched away Iowa, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada — states that had been in President Bush’s column in 2004.

And Wednesday morning, Obama added Indiana to the list of states he’d turned from red to blue. Indiana hadn’t voted for a Democrat since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

(Missouri and North Carolina were still counting votes Wednesday, but it appeared one or two of them could become blue-state converts as well.)

With McCain on the ropes, an Obama victory in Florida sounded the death knell.

When Indiana fell into Obama’s column Wednesday morning, he had a 349-163 lead over his rival in electoral votes, with only 26 undecided.

As he claimed victory Tuesday night, Obama told supporters, “change has come to America.”

“The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America — I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you — we as a people will get there,” Obama said in Chicago before an estimated crowd of up to 240,000 people.

With Obama’s win, he becomes the first African-American to win the White House.

McCain pledged Tuesday night to help Obama lead.

“Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much, and tonight, I remain her servant,” McCain said.

The senator from Arizona called Obama to congratulate him, and Obama told him that he was eager to sit down and talk about how the two of them can work together.

Obama will also be working with a heavily Democratic Congress. Democrats picked up Senate seats in New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina and Virginia, among others.

But Obama pledged to work across party lines and listen to the 46 percent of voters who chose McCain.

“While the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress,” Obama said.

“To those Americans whose support I have yet to earn — I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president, too,” he said.

And he recited the words of Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican in White House, to call for unity.

“As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, ‘We are not enemies, but friends … though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection,'” Obama said.

upporters in Chicago cheering, “Yes, we can,” were met with cries of “Yes, we did.”

Bush also called Obama to offer his congratulations.

The president told Obama he was about to begin one of the great journeys of his life, and invited him to the White House as soon as it could be arranged, according to White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.

More than 1,000 people gathered outside the White House, chanting “Obama, Obama!”

Sen. Hillary Clinton, Obama’s former rival for the Democratic nomination, said in a statement that “we are celebrating an historic victory for the American people.”

“This was a long and hard fought campaign, but the result was well worth the wait. Together, under the leadership of President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and a Democratic Congress, we will chart a better course to build a new economy and rebuild our leadership in the world.”

Sen. Edward Kennedy said Americans “spoke loud and clear” in electing Obama.

“They understood his vision of a fairer and more just America and embraced it. They heard his call for a new generation of Americans to participate in government and were inspired. They believed that change is possible and voted to be part of America’s future,” the Massachusetts Democrat said in a statement.

Voters expressed excitement and pride in their country after casting their ballots in the historic election. Poll workers reported high turnout across many parts of the country, and some voters waited hours to cast their ballots.

Tuesday marked the end of the longest presidential campaign season in U.S. history — 21 months.

Obama, 47, will begin his transition to the White House. He will be sworn in as the 44th president on January 20.

লালন The Great

Fakir Lalon Shah (Bangla: ফকির লালন সাঁই), also known as Lalon Shah (c.1774–1890), lived in the village of Cheuria in the area known as Nodia during pre-colonial, undivided Bengal and which is the District of Kushtia in present-day Bangladesh.
Early life
Lalon intentionally kept his place of birth and the identity of his parents unknown. He had no formal education and lived in extreme poverty. Around the age of sixteen he was found floating by the bank of Kaliganga river, suffering from smallpox. He was taken to the home of Seraj Shah and his wife Matijan, who brought him up.
Philosophy
Lalon left no trace of his birth or his ‘origin’ and remained absolutely silent about his past, fearing that he would be cast into class, caste or communal identities by a fragmented and hierarchical society. Despite this silence on his origins, communal appropriation of this great politico-philosophical figure has created a controversy regarding whether he is ‘Muslim’ or a ‘Hindu’ — a ‘sufi’ or a follower ‘bhakti’ tradition — a ‘baul’ or a ‘fakir’, etc. He is none, as he always strove to go beyond all politics of identities. Lalon Fakir sang, “People ask if Lalon Fakir is a Hindu or a Mussalman. Lalon says he himself doesn’t know who he is.

Lalon does not fit into the construction of the so called ‘bauls’ or ‘fakirs’ as a mystical or spiritual types who deny all worldly affairs in desperate search for a mystical ecstasy of the soul. Such construction is very elite and middle class and premised on the divide between ‘modern’ and ‘spiritual’ world. It also conveniently ignores the political and social aspects of Bengal’s spiritual movements and depoliticizes the transformative role of ‘bhakti’ or ‘sufi’ traditions. This role is still continued and performed by the poet-singers and philosophers in oral traditions of Bangladesh, a cultural reality of Bangladesh that partly explains the emergence of Bangladesh with distinct identity from Pakistan back in 1971. Depicting Lalon as ‘baul shomrat’ (the Emperor of the Bauls) as projected by elite marginalizes Lalon as a person belonging to a peripheral movement, an outcast, as if he is not a living presence and increasingly occupying the central cultural, intellectual and political space in both side of the border between Bangladesh and India (West Bengal).