Bangladesh is a fragile and unstable country – in terms of institutions and inherited individual and collective good practices, including an inability to deal positively with differences in views, opinions and lifestyles. There are many reasons for this sad state of affairs, but I won’t explore my understanding of them in this short piece. Recently, […]
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URDU IS A BANGLADESHI LANGUAGE TOO, YOU KNOW
URDU IS A BANGLADESHI LANGUAGE TOO, YOU KNOW By M Ahmedullah- first posted on Facebook on 25 February 2014 As far as I can see Urdu and Hindu are the same language with slight variations caused by the dynamics of history and language evolution. I don’t know why there are so much ill feelings and […]
The future of Bangla language in London
I was prompted to write this short, quick piece after reading the article ‘With third-generation British Bangladeshis losing their mother tongue, the community faces a tipping point’ (link below). This is not a unique problem faced by Bangladeshis. I have seen the same issues faced by most other migrant communities in London. However, each community has its uniqueness and something […]
Bangladeshi cricket fans’ joy at India losing against Australia – Indian reactions and Bangladeshi counter-reactions explored
Bangladeshi cricket fans’ joy at India losing against Australia – Indian reactions and Bangladeshi counter-reactions explored By M Ahmedullah, 26 November 2023 Young people are fashion-conscious, develop strong group identities, engage in both harmful and harmless group rivalry, and they are also more careless than older people when expressing themselves. What should have been seen […]
Is ‘Love Jihad’ real or propaganda?
https://www.thequint.com/news/india/karnataka-anti-love-jihad-squads By M Ahmedullah, 22 May 2023 Before I discuss the topic, I want to point out that nationalism – whether based on tribalism, religious fanaticism, racialism, etc. – makes it near impossible to develop a balanced understanding of anything, as agendas interfere with perceptions, focus, data collection, selective use of archival resources and their […]
Bengal in India bans The Kerala Story from the state
What do I think? M Ahmedullah, 8 May 2023 Picture taken from: https://www.galatta.com/amp/tamil-movies-cinema-news/west-bengal-becomes-the-first-state-to-ban-the-kerala-story-chief-minister-mamata-banerjee-issues-a-statement/ In principle, I oppose banning most things as I believe when there are strong institutions and civil society, then any dangerous fall outs from free speech can be handled effectively. However, people in charge who have to maintain law and order and […]
The Kerala Story
The image taken from: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/protest-strengthens-against-the-kerala-story/article66797309.ece Why am I reluctantly glad that such a film has been made? M Ahmedullah, 8 May 2023 I despise and always try to challenge propaganda, especially when the intention behind them is to generate hate and othering of people. But, in a way, I am glad, though reluctantly, that a […]
The Kerala Story
Why it is imperative to engage in the debate! By M Ahmedullah, 30 April 2023 We should all engage with the film and the debates, which will continue long after the film is released. I have seen parts of the trailer of the movie to be released soon, listened to some reviewers’ perspectives on the […]
Can Russia lose the war in Ukraine?
M Ahmedullah, 28 April 2023 Well, it’s obviously possible. However, the opposite possibility is also true. So, how about the probability of Russia losing or winning the war? Not knowing much about the reality on the ground means that my assessment of either way probability is based on media reports and the propaganda of the […]
‘Critical Race Theory’ is going nowhere!
By M Ahmedullah, 25 April 2023 ‘Critical Race Theory’ is here to stay and spread its roots sideways and below the ground. The theory is a special creation from black people’s efforts to develop critical thinking tools to theories about and destroy narratives and structures of their long pain and sufferings. In the wake of […]