Playing It Big Or A Proxy?: Bangladesh’s Growing Closeness To China – Analysis

[Bilal9]

I beg to differ with you here that urbanized and educated are secular and tolerant. At least in India you rarely hear about communal riots in villages, its majorly an urban phenomenon. Village people in general are very tolerant and have been living together peacefully since ages. The recent spurt in communalism in rural India is mainly attributed to BJP's campaign to build Ram Temple at disputed site and mushroom growth of wahabi madrassas which are contributing to radicalization among the youth. Even today, illiterate or less educated villagers have excellent communal harmony.

My experience is based in Bangladesh - so your experience in India may be different.

Education comes along with soul-searching and exposure, which transcends the petty boundaries of religious dogma.

My grandparents recounted village stories from before 1971 where Hindu families would not even drink the water a Muslim touched. I've had a Muslim friend recount that once he went to get a drink of water from a Hindu family's tubewell water pump in a village and they had to cleanup the whole area - which was astonishing to him. Something to do with none-touchability...

On the contrary - I personally had scores of Hindu college-mates in Dhaka with whom I have gone pandal-hopping on Durga Pujas in the older part of town, and participated in various Hindu seasonal traditions as well.

OTOH - several Hindu friends of mine have had multiple Iftars at my place every Ramadan and they also celebrate Eid. These are cordial relationships enjoyed irrespective of religion, possible only because we have transcended the narrowness and pettiness of minor religious dogma which lack of education accompanies, using exposure to each others' beliefs and traditions.

I am speaking from a Urban Bengali mindset and viewpoint of course. To appear prejudiced and narrow-minded is a shameful thing for an urban educated Bengali person. It is an impropriety that is rarely tolerated.

 

[Joe Shearer]

As a sovereign nation Bhutan can have diplomatic relations with any country. The propaganda is that India is against the existence of Bhutan which is a nonsense. India shares an excellent rapport with Bhutan and respects her independence.


I beg to differ with you here that urbanized and educated are secular and tolerant. At least in India you rarely hear about communal riots in villages, its majorly an urban phenomenon. Village people in general are very tolerant and have been living together peacefully since ages. The recent spurt in communalism in rural India is mainly attributed to BJP's campaign to build Ram Temple at disputed site and mushroom growth of wahabi madrassas which are contributing to radicalization among the youth. Even today, illiterate or less educated villagers have excellent communal harmony.

Actually, @Bilal9 , this post deserves attention and study. Let me get my mind around this counter-argument. That is not to say that I disagree with you; on the contrary. Just that we might be working towards a more complex model. Give it a thought.

My experience is based in Bangladesh - so your experience in India may be different.

Education comes along with soul-searching and exposure, which transcends the petty boundaries of religious dogma.

My grandparents recounted village stories from before 1971 where Hindu families would not even drink the water a Muslim touched. I've had a Muslim friend recount that once he went to get a drink of water from a Hindu family's tubewell water pump in a village and they had to cleanup the whole area - which was astonishing to him. Something to do with none-touchability...

On the contrary - I personally had scores of Hindu college-mates in Dhaka with whom I have gone pandal-hopping on Durga Pujas in the older part of town, and participated in various Hindu seasonal traditions as well.

OTOH - several Hindu friends of mine have had multiple Iftars at my place every Ramadan and they also celebrate Eid. These are cordial relationships enjoyed irrespective of religion, possible only because we have transcended the narrowness and pettiness of minor religious dogma which lack of education accompanies, using exposure to each others' beliefs and traditions.

I am speaking from a Urban Bengali mindset and viewpoint of course. To appear prejudiced and narrow-minded is a shameful thing for an urban educated Bengali person. It is an impropriety that is rarely tolerated.

Jobbor!

 

[Bilal9]

Actually, @Bilal9 , this post deserves attention and study. Let me get my mind around this counter-argument. That is not to say that I disagree with you; on the contrary. Just that we might be working towards a more complex model. Give it a thought.

The sum total of my thought is that no one carries around labels of Muslim or Hindu when they meet or interact unless you are carrying a red sindur mark or a topi.

Politicians in both our countries (having certain objectives) are trying to accentuate these Muslim/Hindu religious divisions for their own benefit and building their own power-base by duping the less educated who because of their lack of understanding don't see through the agendas of these politicians.

After manipulating public discourse and working one group against the other (an example is the creation of artificial Bangladeshi immigrant 'crisis' in India claimed as congress' vote-bank strategy) - politicians like Modi then quickly changed tack once they get to power.

Modi once claimed in multiple election rallies that all Bangladeshi immigrants would be pushed back. If that wasn't a boogieman issue and a guaranteed vote-getter, I don't know what was.

That issue quickly fell off the BJP agenda bandwagon of priorities and we haven't heard much of it since Modi got elected. Which makes you wonder - how much of a crisis was it really?

 

[Joe Shearer]

The sum total of my thought is that no one carries around labels of Muslim or Hindu when they meet or interact unless you are carrying a red sindur mark or a topi.

Politicians in both our countries (having certain objectives) are trying to accentuate these Muslim/Hindu religious divisions for their own benefit and building their own power-base by duping the less educated who because of their lack of understanding don't see through the agendas of these politicians.

After manipulating public discourse and working one group against the other (an example is the creation of artificial Bangladeshi immigrant 'crisis' in India claimed as congress' vote-bank strategy) - politicians like Modi then quickly changed tack once they get to power.

Modi once claimed in multiple election rallies that all Bangladeshi immigrants would be pushed back. If that wasn't a boogieman issue and a guaranteed vote-getter, I don't know what was.

That issue quickly fell off the BJP agenda bandwagon of priorities and we haven't heard much of it since Modi got elected. Which makes you wonder - how much of a crisis was it really?

It was never a problem. If it was, Bangladeshis in India would never have got jobs. It was always an excuse for people too lazy to work, and for politicians too sluggish of mind to grapple with difficult subjects.

 

[Nilgiri]

@Bilal9

I have been meaning to ask, is there any good data out there for the total amount of capital good imports Bangladesh gets from China (and also the overall total if its available)? This should be the number you use to back up your assertion that massive factor of production transfer is occurring from China to Bangladesh....otherwise it remains mostly hyperbole.