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
Submission
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