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     Volume 4 Issue 33 | February 11, 2005 |


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Letters

SAARC and India
It is only for the Indian government's unilateral decision to withdraw from the SAARC Summit that the meeting has been postponed for the second time in a row. Despite the political turmoil it has been facing, Nepal has decided to join the conference in Dhaka; but India has refused to budge. The Indian government expressed its concern for the security situation in Dhaka; Delhi did not even wait for the report of the team it had sent primarily to assess security threat in the Bangladeshi capital. It is disturbing to see that India does not want to see the SAARC flourish. If the other six countries want to see a vibrant regional group, they should consider this fact. Unless and until India does not change its attitude towards SAARC, the organisation will not be able to alleviate poverty and other challenges of the 21st century.
Nirupoma Rahman
Dhaka

An Excellent Article on "The
Table Tennis Queen"

Congrats, Sultan Quamrun Nahar for writing in a recent issue of SWM on Zobera Rahman Linu, the Bangladeshi table tennis queen. Linu has won 16 national championships in a row, which is the best ever in any country of the world. The Guinness Book of World Records listed her name for her outstanding performance in table tennis. She also wrote four books and is now writing her autobiography. Despite many limitations, she has made a unique mark and brought us fame. These days, it seems to have more negative media publicity but SWM is trying to contribute positively for the betterment of the country and general people. This article is the continuation of its work. Thanks, SWM, for this praiseworthy article and keep it up.
Khan Md. Mominul Hasan
Asian University of Bangladesh

Save the Nation Builders of Tomorrow
Since the death of SAMS Kibria, the country has gone through a series of strikes which has brought life to a standstill. The economy has been struggling to keep pace and the common people are the ones who suffer. Students are getting frustrated as the schools are closed and the pressure of study is increasing, as they have to finish their syllabus in a shorter time. If this continues, we will have no one to lead us in future, as the nation builders of tomorrow will be lost to darkness. Do our politicians want to see a future where anarchy, massacre and treachery rules supreme and where our youth have turned into unruly mobs? The self-centred politicians do not think of the people who have voted them into power, but only care about their own interests. All politicians must come together in the greater interest of the people if they are to stop this country from becoming a state of disgrace.
Nayeem Islam
The Aga Khan School

Live With Reality
Bravo Bangladesh! The Tigers have done it once again. They have disproved their critics. However, the bitter question is how often our pumped up Tigers will show their credibility in the real arena. The officials and the local commentators were flooding in with all sorts of praises, even by stating that we are more ahead than New Zealand, and it was during their first few years of recognition as a test playing nation. Well, logistically it's correct, but this also has a vague reality that we all are so not willing to face.
The bitter truth is our cricket hasn't improved much at all, with all due respect to Dav Whatmore's relentless efforts in trying to improve the team's performance. It's true that New Zealand won their first test after 26 long years of getting the test nod, however during that time, cricket wasn't played all that often as it is played now. Data shows that during that time New Zealand played 1.7 (approx. 2) test matches a year where as today Bangladesh plays 8 tests a year on an average.
It also has to be said that the visiting Zimbabwean team is a very young and inexperienced. Roughly speaking, the Zimbabweans were less experienced than their Bangladeshi counterparts. Therefore, it was very much expected that the Tigers were most likely to win.
I am definitely not slamming the Bangladeshi cricket team but am trying to apply some constructive criticism, which I hope will keep the players on their feet rather than on cloud nine. Anyway, a job very well done to the Tigers, as it came as a relief to them and to the devoted cricket-crazy fans of the country. However, they must realise that it's still a long walk to home. Obviously the Tigers deserve to celebrate their victory as much as they want, but they must not forget that they have won against a side which is very talented and yet inexperienced. My best wishes remain to the Bangladesh cricket team and I pray for their success.
Saifur Rahman
Wari, Dhaka


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