Bangladesh News and Discussions

[ajtr]

This is one Good and courageous move bangladeshi govt took to move country away from islamic terrorism.Atleast bangladesh is learning from the depravity of pakistan .

Bangladesh bans books written by radical Islamic author​

The Bangladeshi government has ordered mosques and libraries across the country to remove all books written by a controversial Islamic scholar.

The chief of the government-funded Islamic Foundation told the BBC that the books by Syed Abul Ala Maududi encouraged "militancy and terrorism".

Mr Maududi - who died in 1979 - is the founder of the Jamaat-e-Islami party.

His works are essential reading for supporters of the Jamaat-e-Islami party in the region.

Born in India, the Pakistani scholar is considered the most prominent theorist of radical Islam in modern South Asian history.

But Bangladeshi officials say Mr Maududi's writings promote radicalism and his ideological goal was to capture power in the name of Islam.

"His writings are against the peaceful ideology of Islam. So, it is not correct to keep books of Mr Maududi in mosques," Islamic Foundation Director-General Shamim Mohammad Afjal told the BBC.

The government has now ordered nearly 24,000 libraries attached to mosques to remove his books immediately. Some have already started to do so.

A senior official from Jamaat-e-Islami, ATM Azharul Islam, described the move as an attack on Islam.

"Mr Maududi's books are being published in many countries and there have been no complaints against his writings so far," he said.

The decision by the Awami League-led government is widely seen as part of its efforts to curb the activities of Jamaat-e-Islami, accused by many Bangladeshis of collaborating with the Pakistani army during the 1971 war of independence.

Five senior leaders of the party were arrested recently on charges of committing mass murder during the war. The party denies the accusations.

 

[Oracle]

Former Bangla ministers, officials face action
Spl correspondent
NEW DELHI, July 21 – Several top ministers and bureaucrats in the erstwhile Khalida Zia's government, including former Minister of State for Home Lutfuzzaman Babar may face legal action for their alleged involvement in the Chittagong arms haul of 2004.
If indicted, Babar may be highest official to be prosecuted after two Major Generals were put behind bars. The seized arms were meant for ULFA and were destined for Assam.

The latest action in the case indicates that the crackdown mounted against ULFA by the Awami League regime has gained further momentum, said sources.

Sources here said that the probe team investigating the arms haul has found 'crucial evidence against several high-profile people including Babar. Probe into the case is nearing completion. At least 43 people are behind bars and charge sheet was filed before the Chittagong Court.

Other high-profile suspects include former home secretary Omar Faruque. They were earlier interrogated as part of investigations in the case and pointed their fingers to the ex-junior Home Minister, who however, is already in jail to face several other criminal and graft charges.

Interestingly, another minister and Jamaat-e- Islami chief, Maulana Matiur Rahman Nizami is also likely to be 'arrested' in connection with the case. The former Industries Minister is already behind bars in some other case. He was interrogated in custody on Saturday last for his suspected role in the haul.

Nizami is reported to have denied his involvement in the haul and shifted his responsibility to others in using the Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Company Ltd (CUFL) jetty for unloading and loading the arms consignment, the official said

At least 10 truckloads of weapons were seized despite efforts by certain "influential quarters" for their safe passage to ULFA hideouts in Assam through south-eastern port city of Chittagong.

The smugglers used a jetty belonging to CUFL under the industries ministry for unloading the weapons and reloading in the trucks destined for Assam.

The weapons were manufactured at China North Industries Corporation or Norinco for its defence forces, some of which are adaptations of Soviet equipment.

The ship that carried the weapons from China is yet to be identified.

Sources said Bangladesh is now officially looking for ULFA military chief Paresh Barua for his involvement in the arms haul case. Barua reportedly oversaw the abortive smuggling process in connivance with the influential people in Bangladesh.

http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=jul2210/at07

 

[Oracle]

Now, they are talking. This is a good initiative from Bangladesh. With zero support to NE terrorists from Bangladesh (through ISI) relations will go to a new level. GoI should welcome this step and help Bangladesh in whatever way GoI thinks is best.

 

[Rage]

At least 100 hurt in Bangladesh clash on wages

Saturday, 31 Jul, 2010

Bangladeshi policemen (L) run from garment workers on a highway during clashes between
garment workers and police in Asulia some 20kms north-west of Dhaka on July 31, 2010.
Bangladeshi police fired rubber bullets in a bid to subdue garment workers who rioted for
a second day in protest against low pay as unrest spread to areas outside Dhaka, police said.
Workers fought pitched street battles with riot police in the manufacturing hub of Ashulia,
north of Dhaka, as union officials rejected a government-backed pay hike as "insultingly low." – AFP Photo


DHAKA: At least 100 people were injured when garment workers attacked factories and vehicles in Bangladesh on Saturday in a second day of protests to demand higher wages, police and witnesses said.

Police fired rubber bullets and used teargas and batons against workers blocking roads in the capital Dhaka's suburbs.

This week the government set the minimum monthly wage to 3,000 taka ($43). Workers are demanding 5,000 taka.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made a plea for calm.

"Who will benefit if the (garment) industry is destroyed? The workers should not involve themselves in any activity that might put their own source of bread at risk," Hasina's press secretary, Abul Kalam Azad, quoted her as saying.

The garment industry is Bangladesh's second biggest employer after agriculture, and accounts for more than 80 percent of the impoverished country's annual export earnings of $16 billion.

Saturday's protests started in Ashulia, an industrial area 30 km (19 miles) north of the capital.

"Several policemen were also injured, as they clashed with workers, trying to dispel attacks on their vans," a local newspaper reporter at the scene told Reuters.

The workers beat and seriously injured a cameraman working for a local television channel when he tried to film them. They also damaged and looted machines and ready-to-wear garments from a number of factories, witnesses said.

Police have so far detained 25 people.

Protesters also blocked a road at Fatulla, 16 km east of Dhaka, and more than 50 people were hurt in clashes with police.

BLAME

Protest leaders blamed police for sparking violence by assaulting workers during peaceful rallies.

Begum Khaleda Zia, former prime minister and chief of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, speaking at a party meeting blamed "wrong government policies for the ongoing anarchy in the garment sector".
Leaders of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) demanded order be restored and threatened to close down factories if vandalism continues.

"We will be compelled to close down factories if government fails to give us protection," BGMEA vice president Faruque Hassan told Reuters. He said criminals disguised as workers had looted factories and wayside shops during the clashes.

BGMEA represents some 4,500 garment factories, that employ more 3.5 million workers, mostly women.

Bangladesh-based factories make garments for international brands such JC Penney, Wal-Mart, H&M, Kohl's, Marks & Spencer, Zara and Carrefour. – Reuters


http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect...0-hurt-in-bangladesh-clashes-over-wages-sk-12

 

[ezsasa]

something is being cooked for BD.
=======

It’s great to be in Bangladesh. Looking forward to some interesting discussions in Dhaka in the coming days.

for context

India is accusing US of directly interfering in upcoming Bangladesh elections. Allegedly, India has conveyed to U.S. that Biden admin is destabilizing Hasina government and promoting BNP-Jamaat alliance which raises serious security concerns for India & South Asia.

 

[Cheran]

The return of the anti-liberationists would be detrimental to India’s security, especially in the North East

Bangladesh general election 2024: Why victory of incumbent Sheikh Hasina is crucial for India

The return of the anti-liberationists would be detrimental to India’s security, especially in the North East

www.firstpost.com

Lot of american diplomats & some miliitary officers are "visiting" Bangaldesh.

They want the islamists to be back in power. can needle India NE as well.

 

[Rango]

 

[Indx TechStyle]

How cash incentives from taxpayers' pockets benefit Western RMG buyers
Western brands and buyers are reaping the benefits of Bangladesh's cash incentives and tax breaks for garment exporters who incorporate these subsidies in their apparel pricing. This practice, however, leaves workers without their fair share despite rising living costs since the minimum wage was set at Tk8,000 per month five years ago.

Infograph: TBS

Industry insiders point to the stagnant pricing of basic tee shirts as a prime example of this phenomenon. A decade ago, a basic tee shirt typically sold for around $1.50. Today, that same tee shirt is often sold for the same price or even less due to intense competition among suppliers. Meanwhile, Western retailers often sell these tee shirts for $4.50 each, a significant profit margin.

Likewise, Bangladesh sells a shirt for $4.5 and a pair of denim pants for $6.5 but retailers in the USA and Europe are selling them for $13.5 and $19.5, respectively. This translates to a substantial threefold profit margin for these retailers.

Despite exporters' claims of a 40% increase in production costs over the past five years, Western buyers resist raising the price of tee shirts made in Bangladesh by even a few cents.

BGMEA President Faruque Hassan said they have been advocating for an increase in the cutting-and-making charge of apparel, but their efforts have been futile.

Cash incentives, tax benefits to RMG

Currently, garment exporters receive a 5% cash incentive when exporting apparel items made from locally procured raw materials such as yarn and fabrics. An additional 4% cash incentive is granted for shipments to non-traditional markets encompassing all export destinations except for the European Union, Canada, and the United States. Furthermore, garment exports benefit from an additional 1% cash incentive in all countries.

According to an OECD and United Nations report "Production Transformation Policy Review of Bangladesh: Investing in the Future of a Trading Nation" released in September, for the fiscal year 2022-23, the total estimated cost of export cash incentives in Bangladesh amounted to Tk7,550 crore ($700 million). This figure represents approximately 10% of the country's total subsidy expenditure in that year's budget.

The report says these incentives mostly benefit the RMG sector, as, according to the latest official data from the Government of Bangladesh, 65% of these cash incentives or nearly Tk5,000 crore benefitted the garments and textiles industry.

However, cash incentives are not the sole advantage for garment exporters. They also enjoy a multitude of tax and duty benefits.

According to an estimate by the National Board of Revenue (NBR), the total value of tax subsidies, including rebates, discounts, exemptions, and reduced rates, was estimated to reach Tk1.78 lakh crore in the fiscal year 2022-23. A significant portion of this financial relief benefits the garment exporters.

Wages in Bangladesh and other countries

Currently, the minimum wage for a garment worker in Bangladesh stands at Tk8,000, which is less than $73 based on the current exchange rate of Tk110 for a US dollar. When this wage was established in 2018, Tk 8,000 was equivalent to $94.

In stark contrast, the monthly minimum wage for RMG workers in China exceeds $300, while it's $200 in Cambodia, $171 in India, $170 in Vietnam, and $110 in Pakistan. Even in Myanmar, the minimum wage is above $100 per month.

Who is pocketing the taxpayers' money?

These incentives directly benefit Western buyers and their consumers. Exporters have pointed out that American and European brands and buyers offer prices after calculating the incentives the Bangladesh government gives to the exporters.

Iqbal Hossain, who operates a buying house for exporting apparel products to various countries, said, "All businesses do this. It is a common practice."

However, the actual beneficiaries of these incentives, the producers, employ another tactic by inflating their prices to maximise their gains. For instance, if the true export price of a shirt is $3, some exporters may declare it as $4 to obtain a larger share of the incentive funds. To take advantage of this, they initially export their products at inflated prices to intermediary destinations like Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore, or other countries first and then re-exporting to their actual intended markets, industry insiders told TBS.

Infographics: TBS

Owners blame workers' low productivity

According to data provided by the Asian Productivity Organisation – an intergovernmental organisation committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region, the hourly productivity of a Bangladeshi garment worker in terms of value stands at $3.4, which is comparatively higher in competing countries: $4.1 in Myanmar, $4.7 in Vietnam, $7.5 in India, $8.7 in the Philippines, over $11 in China, and nearly $16 in Sri Lanka.

Also, the OECD report on Bangladesh underscores that Bangladesh's labour productivity remains significantly lower when compared to other nations. In 2019, Bangladesh's labour productivity was merely 9% of that of the USA, while it was 12% and 14% for India and Vietnam, respectively.

Faruque Hassan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), emphasised the need to enhance workers' productivity, reduce waste, and improve resource efficiency within Bangladesh's apparel industry.

He pointed out, "Although the cost of manufacturing continues to rise annually, we are still falling short of the global benchmark in productivity. Therefore, we must strike a balance in the short term while simultaneously focusing on long-term priorities, such as innovation, technological advancements, and knowledge-based transformation."

Faruque Hassan underscored that boosting productivity benefits both factories and workers, creating a win-win scenario.

He also highlights the unique challenges faced by Bangladesh, stating that it would be unjust to compare the country to competitors who possess their own raw materials like raw cotton and chemicals, while Bangladesh competes without these inherent advantages.

A BGMEA estimate reveals that the cost of production has surged by over 40% in the past five years.

Mohammad Hatem, executive president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said Bangladesh is unique in employing a substantial group of helpers to assist operators, even though production efficiency remains low.

He said after implementing the new wage structure, many factories may discontinue hiring helpers. Piece-rate workers, who are paid based on output, tend to exhibit higher efficiency than those under a fixed wage structure.

Hatem urged a delay of at least three months in implementing the new wage structure to account for the fact that orders are typically received three to six months in advance of production.

Way out of low-wage culture

According to international organisations and local experts, the solution to breaking free from the low-wage culture in the country lies in diversification and innovation.

The OECD report highlights that Bangladesh finds itself ensnared in a cycle of low wages and low productivity, primarily perpetuated by sectors with limited future employment prospects and a failure to create meaningful formal job opportunities.

"The relative less importance of labour shift to more dynamic sectors – activities in which productivity grows faster than the average — contributes to explain the persistence of the productivity gap with respect to the frontier," says the report.

For example, the report says that Vietnam has seen productivity rise because of the dynamic sectors such as electronics, footwear and semiconductors.

Private sector invests little in innovation

While Bangladesh has made significant strides in establishing itself as a reliable hub for garment manufacturing worldwide, it has yet to transition into an innovation-driven economy.

The nation boasts home-grown firms and a highly influential domestic entrepreneurial class. However, business operations in Bangladesh predominantly fall into two overarching categories: 1) marketing basic and essential products within the protected domestic market, or 2) exporting cost-effective but labour-intensive products that capitalise on the country's comparative advantage in low labour costs.

These prevailing business strategies are sustained by a targeted policy framework that promotes domestic production through regulations and controls.

In Bangladesh, only 1.2% of firms invest in research and development (R&D) — less than half the rate observed in Indian firms and only 2.6% of Bangladeshi firms employ technologies licensed from foreign counterparts, in stark contrast to Vietnam's 10.8% and Türkiye's 14.4%, says the OECD report.

"This is the result not only of the current incentive schemes, which actually lack targeted conditionalities to support innovation and learning but also the prevailing approach of international partners, who still see in Bangladesh a business deal and not an innovation partner," says the report, adding that the country also suffers from overall gaps in technical and managerial skills for innovation.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

150 Bangladesh garment factories shut, 11,000 workers charged
Bangladesh's 3,500 garment factories account for around 85 percent of its $55 billion in annual exports, supplying many of the world's top brands including Levi's, Zara and H&M.

On Thursday, 15,000 workers clashed with police on a key highway and ransacked Tusuka, a top plant, along with a dozen other factories.

Bangladeshi garment manufacturers on Saturday shuttered 150 factories "indefinitely", as police issued blanket charges for 11,000 workers in connection with violent protests demanding a higher minimum wage, officers said.

Bangladesh's 3,500 garment factories account for around 85 percent of its $55 billion in annual exports, supplying many of the world's top brands including Levi's, Zara and H&M.

But conditions are dire for many of the sector's four million workers, the vast majority of whom are women whose monthly pay, until recently, started at 8,300 taka ($75).

Violent protests demanding better pay erupted last month, with at least three workers killed and more than 70 factories ransacked or damaged since, according to police.

A government-appointed panel raised the sector's wage by 56.25 percent on Tuesday to 12,500 taka, but garment workers have rejected the hike, instead demanding a 23,000 taka minimum wage.

On Thursday, 15,000 workers clashed with police on a key highway and ransacked Tusuka, a top plant, along with a dozen other factories.

"Police have filed cases against 11,000 unidentified people over the attack on Tusuka garment factory," police inspector Mosharraf Hossain told AFP. Bangladesh police often issue primary charges against thousands of people -- without specifying their names -- following large protests and political violence, a tactic that critics say is a way to crack down on dissent.

Police officials told AFP that 150 factories had closed in the key industrial towns of Ashulia and Gazipur, both north of the capital Dhaka, as manufacturers feared further strikes when Bangladesh's working week began on Saturday.

"The manufacturers invoked Section 13/1 of the labour laws and shut 130 factories at Ashulia indefinitely citing illegal strikes," Sarwar Alam, head of police in the manufacturing hub, told AFP.

Wage protests pose a major challenge to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has ruled the country with an iron fist since 2009.

A resurgent opposition has challenged her rule as she readies for elections due before the end of January.

 

[pankaj nema]

In This Bangladesh Tribal Community, Father Marries His Daughter

In This Bangladesh Tribal Community, Father Marries His Daughter - News18

In this tribe, whenever a woman is widowed, another man from the community steps up and marries her. He treats their children like their own.

www.google.com

 

[Abhijeet Dey]

'Burn your wives' Indian sarees': Bangladesh PM blasts BNP for running 'BoycottIndia' campaign

'Burn your wives' Indian sarees': Bangladesh PM blasts BNP for running 'BoycottIndia' campaign

The boycott campaign started on social media earlier this year following allegations of India interfering in Bangladesh's internal politics.

www.businesstoday.in

 

[ezsasa]

Mention of India's role in 1971 -
Gender equality -
Female empowerment -
Anti-government -
Human rights -
Climate change -

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Bangladesh, a young nation embracing globalisation • FRANCE 24 English