The Sundarbans, nestled between India and Bangladesh, is the largest mangrove forest in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. My recent trip to the Bangladesh Sundarbans with my family and friends was nothing short of a life-changing experience. This extraordinary place isn’t just a forest; it’s a world teeming with vibrant life and an incredible example of human-nature coexistence. What I saw, learned, and experienced there will stay with me forever. We started our trip from Dhaka, and it took us just over five hours to reach the ‘TigerHouse’ at WildTeam Conservation Biology Centre, Joymoni, near Mongla, Bagerhat. There, we were warmly welcomed by Dr Md Anwarul Islam, CEO of WildTeam. The Museum of the TigerHouse featured many taxidermies and preserved specimens of different animals from around the Sundarbans. After a short break and refreshment, the Village Tiger Response Team (VTRT) also demonstrated how they protect the villagers from tiger attacks when tigers stray into the village.   When it comes to saving tigers and conserving wildlife around the Sundarbans these local volunteers are real heroes. They have dedicated their lives to this noble cause. For me, listening to their stories and seeing their courage up close was incredibly humbling. They in a way embody the delicate balance between humans and wildlife that defines the Sundarbans. We met the BaghBandhus – the friends of tigers and the TigerScouts and listened to how they are involved in tiger conservation in the Sundarbans.  It was not easy to engage the local communities in tiger conservation when their dear ones were taken over by tigers.  The next morning, we went on a boating excursion through the network of waterways that crisscrossed the Sundarbans. The beautiful sunrise and the morning lifestyle of the villagers contrasted with the constant hustle and bustle of city life. Professor Anwar guided us throughout the trip and gave us a lot of information about the humongous mangrove forest. I was astonished by the variety of flora and fauna and their different ways of survival instincts. There were a lot of ‘Sundari’ trees that are in fact the alveoli of the Sundarbans, which are like the lungs of Bangladesh and the broader South Asia region.  The mangrove trees can reach incredible heights and have been providing the community with resources for daily living. However, the Sundari trees have been affected by an unknown top-dying disease, which made this plant species globally threatened.  We took a stop at the Harbaria Ecotourism Center, which was located at the heart of the Sundarbans. The forest rangers showed us around the park and provided us with various information about the wildlife in the Sundarbans.  The fresh pugmarks of tigers, calls of red jungle fowl and the crested serpent eagle and a variety of breathing roots attracted me most.  It was a new experience to see how some of the mangrove species take oxygen through their breathing roots, the pneumatophores.  From the moment I stepped into the Sundarbans, I was surrounded by nature's wonders. One of my most memorable moments was watching a pair of Brahminy Kites glide effortlessly above the dense mangroves.

One year ago, as we looked toward 2024, our garment exports were a remarkable $47 billion. We were optimistic, setting our sights on reaching $50 billion in exports. However, discrepancies in export data led to substantial shifts in our calculations and projections. When we received the revised figures, we found that our garment exports from January to November 2024 had decreased to $34.71 billion, though this figure was still 6% higher than the revised numbers for 2023. As 2023 ended, we faced a climate filled with uncertainty. Challenges such as minimum wage protests and factory shutdowns in October 2023 loomed large. In response to these issues, we made the tough decision to raise the minimum wage by 56%, effective December 2023. While this was a difficult but necessary step for our industry, we held onto the hope that it would improve working conditions and that, with buyers' support, increased productivity and enhanced value addition, we could navigate these turbulent waters.  The beginning of the new year brought its own challenges as we implemented the new wage structure, all while uncertainty surrounded the 12th National Election. This climate directly impacted our investments and growth trajectories, leading to a modest growth rate of only 1.45% in January.  February turned out to be particularly challenging; just a month after the national elections, we encountered a drastic 60% reduction in export incentives. This sudden decision, made without adequate consultation or preparation, plunged our already struggling industry into a deeper crisis.  On top of these domestic issues, global conflicts, economic instability, and fluctuations in the oil market exerted continuous pressure on buyers and consumers throughout 2024. Although inflation began to decline towards the end of the year, reduced purchasing power affected buyers' ability to purchase fashion items in the international marketplace. The UNCTAD forecasted a 5% decline in global garment trade by the end of 2024, resulting in a continuous drop in the unit price of our garments throughout the year, despite expectations that rising wages would positively influence pricing.  Alongside wages, other production costs surged due to increasing prices for gas, electricity, and transportation, coupled with rising bank interest rates, which now hover between 14% and 15%. Many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) faced significant losses, leading to closures across the industry throughout the year.  During these challenges, the July Revolution instilled hope for our nation, yet the industry and economy paid a heavy price. The unrest that began in mid-July, paired with a nationwide internet blackout, disrupted critical marketing activities for winter and Christmas sales. Supply chains and production schedules were thrown into turmoil, forcing the diversion of many confirmed orders to other countries. As a result, our July exports saw only a modest increase of 2.89% compared to July 2023, which marked a decline of 1.55% compared to July 2022. August 2024 fared slightly better, with exports rising 7.20% compared to August 2023, but still dropping by 6.88% compared to the same month in 2022.  As September, October, and November rolled in, we encountered additional challenges, including labor unrest, factory closures, security concerns, and banking crises. These issues severely disrupted supply chains tarnished the industry’s reputation, and eroded buyer trust. Nevertheless, we continued our efforts to normalize production and shipping schedules. Thankfully, we experienced significant growth in exports during these months, particularly buoyed by an extraordinary rebound in apparel imports from the EU and USA, which jumped by over 20% in October.  Overall, our garment exports from January to November 2024 grew by 6.23% compared to the same period in 2023, but this still represented a decrease of 7.17% compared to the same timeframe in 2022. While this reflects satisfactory year-over-year growth, it is not significant enough considering the industry's capacity. Thus, 2024 has proven to be a year rife with crises and challenges. However, I remain hopeful that 2025 will usher in a revival for the global garment trade and improve our export performance.  Despite the hurdles faced throughout 2024, we have successfully sustained our commitment to industrial sustainability. In 2023, 24 garment factories earned USGBC LEED certification. This number grew to 26 factories in 2024, with 16 receiving platinum and 10 achieving gold certification. In total, we now boast 232 green factories, showcasing our dedication to sustainable growth.  Looking ahead, I believe we have the potential for qualitative changes as we diversify our product lines and explore new markets. Significant investments in activewear and non-cotton products are emerging within the industry. Nevertheless, the ongoing crisis in sustainable energy has hindered new investments, causing previous investors to struggle. We are nearing the finish line for graduating from LDC status, with only two years left. This raises an important question: how well have we prepared to tackle the impact of this transition? Throughout 2024, various events have hindered our ability to achieve the desired momentum in business and investment. Currently, we find ourselves falling short in crucial investments and preparations needed to confront the challenges that accompany our graduation from LDC status. If the graduation timetable proceeds as planned, our economy may encounter significant hurdles. While I am optimistic that 2025 will mark a significant comeback for the global economy and our apparel business, I sincerely hope our nation overcomes the ongoing crises, particularly the challenges within the banking and financial sectors. Achieving sustainable improvements in industrial relations and establishing stable political and economic reforms are essential for restoring our confidence as we dedicate ourselves to the immediate future. I truly believe that these improvements will take shape in 2025. Mohiuddin Rubel is a former director of  BGMEA . The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.

As I reflect on my journey in ornithology and natural history, I should share the profound impact that Dr. Salim Ali, the Birdman of India, had on my life. It was a remarkable privilege to work under his guidance as his last student, a privilege I cherish deeply. I first came to know Dr. Ali through my Dhaka University teacher, Dr. Ali Reza Khan, who was his first Bangladeshi student.  In 1982, at the age of 86, Dr. Ali, at the recommendation of Dr Khan, agreed to accept me as his PhD student, a gesture that marked the beginning of an incredible mentorship. His initial letter to me, while somewhat hesitant, showed his willingness to support my project proposal on a comparative study of laughing thrushes in the Himalayas and the Western Ghats in India. I remember feeling both honored and intimidated by the opportunity. Dr. Ali was not just a mentor; he was a hands-on supervisor, eagerly awaiting my field reports every month. He made it a point to visit my field stations, bringing with him a big basket of mangoes, which added a personal touch to our professional relationship. I can still recall the day I accompanied him to Kalona, near Nainital in the Himalayas, in March 1983, when I was able to study four species of laughing thrushes. As we trekked through the hills, his passion for nature was palpable, extending beyond birds to include butterflies, wildflowers, and the serene landscapes around us. Despite his age, Dr. Ali was vibrant and engaged. I remember how he would call me at 5 am from his stay at the Royal Bombay Yacht Club to discuss my studies. I often arrived on time, but he was always already at work, driven by his insatiable curiosity and dedication. These early morning discussions were a blend of learning and laughter, often punctuated by his love for cold coffee and the mangoes he generously shared. One of the qualities I admired most about Dr. Ali was his humility. He accepted new ideas gracefully, even when they challenged his long-held beliefs. During our fieldwork, I discovered that the laughing thrushes in southern Indian hills often lived in pairs, contrary to his assumption that they were gregarious. When I presented my findings, he visited my study areas, evaluated the evidence, and, once convinced, embraced my conclusions without hesitation. Dr. Ali’s commitment to bird conservation extended beyond research. He believed deeply in the ecological importance of birds, arguing compellingly that their role in controlling insect populations was vital for sustaining plant life and, ultimately, all animal life, including humans. His passion for conservation resonated with influential figures like Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, who recognized his dedication to preserving India’s natural heritage. Throughout our time together, Dr. Ali shared not just his knowledge, but also his life experiences. He often spoke fondly of his wife, Tehmina, who played an essential role in his success. I remember him reflecting on how she adapted to life in the forests, supporting him tirelessly during challenging times. This tribute to his partner underscored the importance of support and companionship in achieving one’s goals. Dr. Ali’s sense of humor was another cherished aspect of our interactions. On his 86th birthday, surrounded by friends in Borivali National Park, later re-named Sanjay Gandhi National Park, in Bombay, he playfully requested extra candles on his cake, ensuring that no one would doubt his age. His laughter was contagious, and his anecdotes often left us in stitches, even when he was addressing serious topics.

Against all odds, Donald Trump has been re-elected as President. The result surprised many, but even more so was the scale of his victory. Trump secured higher vote counts in nearly every county across almost every state, leaving Democratic strategists scrambling to understand what went wrong. One factor is clear: the ruling Democrats couldn’t escape the negative impact of the post-COVID economy on lower and middle-income Americans. Despite promises and repeated warnings about Trump, Democrats failed to reassure voters. Desperate for change, Americans turned to a leader they felt was firm in his commitments. This shift echoes a global trend, as we’ve seen "strongman" leaders rising in countries unsettled by post-COVID economic and social upheaval. Kamala’s Candidacy While Kamala Harris bears some responsibility, it’s unfair to place all the blame on her. She had only three months to campaign after stepping in for Biden, whose approval rating had dipped to 40% with 70% of Americans feeling the country was on the wrong track. Tied closely to Biden’s administration, she couldn’t separate herself from its failures. Kamala emphasized abortion rights, an issue that had energized Democrats in recent elections. However, by 2024, economic concerns had overtaken abortion as the primary voter issue. Her focus on Trump’s dangers also fell flat; for a decade, people have heard enough about Trump to form their own conclusions. Immigration Beyond the economy, immigration remains a key concern across the voter spectrum. Trump’s hardline stance resonated deeply, especially with voters who worry about the impact of uncontrolled immigration on America’s identity and security. He painted a picture of the country as a “dustbin” where dangerous outsiders find refuge. Surprisingly, this rhetoric gained support among some Hispanic voters, many of whom saw additional immigration as a threat to their own jobs and safety. This appeal also extended to African-Americans. Traditionally Democratic, some African-American voters were drawn to Trump’s promises of strong leadership and law enforcement. In communities burdened by crime and poverty, some felt that Democrats’ promises had delivered little change. At a rally two weeks before the election, conservative radio host Tucker Carlson called Trump a “strict father.” Many cheered. Carlson argued that for African-American and Hispanic communities, which he claimed lack “responsible father figures,” Trump represented a strong hand to restore order. Instead of backlash, chants of “Daddy’s home” erupted. Middle East Kamala’s ambiguous stance on Israeli attacks in Gaza and Lebanon hurt her campaign. Biden’s administration offered unconditional support for Israel, alienating Arab, Muslim, South Asian, and progressive American voters. Jewish voters in swing states, meanwhile, saw her as too lenient toward Palestinians. The Elitist Democratic Party The election underscored that the Democratic coalition forged in Obama’s era has splintered. Once grounded in working-class and African-American support, the Democratic Party is now seen by many as an “elitist” entity, primarily focused on issues like transgender rights and abortion over economic survival. Voters looking to address immediate concerns felt overlooked by the party. Bangladeshi-American Voters Even some Bangladeshi-Americans, despite Trump’s tough stance on immigration, supported him—many hoping his relationship with Modi would benefit them. Ironically, Trump’s vow to deport 12 million “illegal” immigrants, even using military force, puts one in three Bangladeshi-Americans at risk, including those with U.S.-born children. Trump supporters may soon face hard questions. When their neighbors and relatives are deported, and families are torn apart, will they feel a pang of responsibility? When children are left behind, will they still believe their vote was justified?

Outside the major international sporting events, i.e. the Olympics and the football World Cup, the US presidential election may well lay claim to being the greatest show on Earth. Every four years, it captures the world’s attention (sometimes even its imagination) unlike any other electoral race, and due to the particulars of the election schedule, we can now see it more or less dominate the news agenda for the entire year in which the election is held. When the race is as close as the one this year between Donald Trump, representing the Republican party on the ticket for the third time in a row, and vice president Kamala Harris, representing the Democrats, it makes for an even more engrossing contest. Harris and Trump spent the closing stretch of the race crisscrossing the country  - the ‘battleground states’ this time are spread across the vast landscape - to rally voters in the states that matter most. They tried to stay focused on a clear and concise closing message - although the Republican let slip on a few occasions in a manner that would’ve counted for major gaffes in any other politician’s CV. With him, there is no telling though.  As usual, each side has invested massively to drive up turnout in the final early voting period, coinciding with the campaign's finish line. And in this critical phase, the flow of misinformation intensified By general consensus, he results on Election Day will come down to seven ‘battleground states’: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have visited them the most. Together, these states are likely to deliver the Electoral College votes needed for the winning candidate to get a majority of 270. But they are proving impossible to predict, with the candidates running almost neck-and-neck in all of them. Nate Silver, the polling guru, writing in the New York Times over the weekend, asserts that in an election where the seven battleground states are all polling within a percentage point or two, “50-50 is the only responsible forecast”. With the US handling of the Israel-Hamas war and conflict in the Middle East looming over the White House race this time, many American Muslim voters — most of whom backed President Joe Biden four years ago — have been wrestling with voting decisions. After US support for Israel left many of them feeling outraged and ignored, some are turning their backs on the Democrats. For voters in swing states like Georgia, which Biden won in 2020 by fewer than 12,000 votes, the weight of such decisions can be amplified. Read: How AP has declared US election results since 1864 In 2020, among Muslim voters nationally, about two-thirds supported Biden and about one-third supported Trump, according to AP VoteCast. That Biden support has left many feeling betrayed or even guilty. The reasons behind what is essentially a choice for the American electorate becoming a global hot button issue every four years, with stakeholders seemingly spread in every corner of the world, are many-faceted. What is common among them all is that they each derive from the US hegemony that still prevails in the world today.  That means as the world’s most powerful nation, which is only one component of its hegemony, America is uniquely placed to involve itself in global hotspots, and frequently does so. As the world’s richest nation, or at least its biggest economy, the number of people looking in its direction for reasons of trade alone far outnumber any other nation. The occupant of the White House is often described as ‘the leader of the free world’, positioning itself as the world’s leading democracy, as well as its leading defender of democracies. Last but by no means least, the cultural hegemony or ‘soft power’ that America established over the course of the 20th century means that events in the American cultural or political calendar attract global interest, and this election is no different.  This time, Trump is looking to overcome another historic candidate, after Hillary Clinton in 2016. As the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, both highly respected academics in the liberal bastion of Berkeley, Kamala Harris represents an even more historic candidacy than Clinton. Seeking to become the first woman (among other things) to be elected president in US history, her great strength may lie in women, who are expected to outnumber men at the polling booths, buoyed by a number of issues deemed endangered under Trump, including reproductive rights.  Read more: ChatGPT being used to influence US elections, alleges OpenAI As the hours trickle down to the closing of the first polls on Election Day in America, all eyes were on Pennsylvania - a traditionally Democrat stronghold that Trump memorably flipped in 2016, but lost in 2020 in his loss to Biden. This time again, the Keystone State’s votes in the electoral college may prove decisive in deciding his fortunes. And the fortunes of the world’s premier democracy, that in this intervening period has been caught up in a culture war between new, emerging, diverse forces, and an old vanguard not quite willing to let go. It’s all on the line, in what some are calling ‘the most consequential presidential election in history.’ May the best candidate win.  Enayetullah Khan is Editor-in-Chief of UNB and Dhaka Courier. 

My dear citizens at home and abroad, Distinguished friends, who join us in celebrating this auspicious day, I greet you with my most heartfelt feelings, affection and respect. I congratulate each and every one of our citizens living in our country and in all corners of the world, on 29 October Republic Day. I would like to thank all our friends and guests at home and different parts of the world as well for sharing with us our joy on this festive day, on behalf of my country and nation. Today, we feel the happiness and rightful pride of reaching the first anniversary of the new century of our Republic.

As a proud American and son of India, I look with hope at the exciting possibilities surrounding professor Muhammad Yunus’s leadership of Bangladesh. Three days after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country on August 5, Yunus was sworn in as Bangladesh’s interim government head. Yunus, whom I consider a friend and have known for decades, accepted that post at the insistence of the student leaders who were at the forefront of the student-led struggle. I am an entrepreneurship zealot, a believer in the power of ideas, and passionate about sustainability and impact. I am in awe of what Yunus has accomplished in his life. I work to bring life-enhancing technology to the world through my investments. Yunus, through endless experimentation and tinkering, has developed a series of institutional success models for reducing poverty, improving health care and education outcomes, and combating climate change. For example, in 1996, Yunus succeeded in putting cell phones in the hands of hundreds of thousands of poor women in rural villages in Bangladesh, allowing them to generate income as village cell phone ladies. I am passionate about protecting our environment. Yunus founded a company that, beginning in 1995, has installed 1.8 million solar home systems and 1 million clean cook stoves, again almost exclusively in rural Bangladesh. That doesn’t even include the creation of Grameen Bank that has cumulatively made US$39 billion in small, mostly income-generating loans to more than 10 million poor women that became a model for similar efforts in India and many other countries. But now, Yunus has turned his attention to a new challenge, leading the eighth largest country in the world by population, a nation of more than 170 million people. This is a country with about half the population of the United States all in a land mass equal to the U.S. state of Illinois. There are people throughout Bangladesh and around the world who are batting for Yunus’s success. I am one of them. But there are others who want him and the interim government he leads to fail and are spreading false narratives about what is going on under his leadership. So I would like to share my perspectives about his values, his approach, and his early results. In his first two months in office, he got the police to return to work, which improved the law and order situation, took tangible steps to protect minorities such as Hindus, worked to improve relations with India, suggested that the regional powers reinvigorate SAARC, and made progress on bringing stability to the banking and financial sectors in Bangladesh (which were in disarray when he took office). He also represented Bangladesh effectively at the U.N. General Assembly, and had more than 50 productive meetings with global leaders while he was in New York. In his work in this role, I have seen him applying the same values and approach that I have seen him use throughout his career: building a national consensus on key issues, experimenting to determine what works best, inspiring fellow citizens (especially youth) to get involved in practical and constructive ways, treating all people with respect regardless of their religion, gender, or ethnicity, and being pragmatic as well as energetic (despite being 84 years old). But there are many challenges. Leading a government can be many times more difficult than running a suite of social businesses and nonprofits. People aligned with the prior government that lost power wants his efforts to fail. The party that has been out of power for years wants a quick return. But I believe Yunus is up to the job. In September, I joined 198 global leaders including 92 Nobel laureates in a letter to the people of Bangladesh and people of goodwill around the world. “We are excited to see Professor Yunus finally free to work for the uplift of the entire country, especially the most marginalisd, a calling he has pursued with great vigor and success across six decades (sic).” His early successes in this role augur well for the future of Bangladesh, and a successful Bangladesh is more likely to be a strong ally of India than a failing one. We should all be rooting for Yunus to continuing making progress in this important interim role, because Bangladesh reaching its potential is in India’s best interest. This opinion piece has been republished from The Wire, India. Vinod Khosla is a businessman and venture capitalist. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of this publication.

October 21, 2024 marks the 53rd anniversary of the publication of the “Testimony of Sixty,” a collection of eye-witness accounts of the tragic situation in Bengal (East and West) at that time, in 1971. In addition, October 28, 2024 marks the 53rd anniversary of the publication in the United States Congressional Record of the full text of the “Testimony of Sixty.” The “Testimony of Sixty” of 1971 was an attempt to shock and wake up the world to the then ongoing crisis in Bengal. The world, yet again, needs to come to its senses in 2024 to the Rohingya crisis which seems to have no end in sight. “The Center for the Study of Genocide and Justice” of the Liberation War Museum brought out, in 2018, a “Testimony of Sixty” related to the Rohingya refugees and, to shock the readers, used the 1971 format. As I am probably the only person born outside Bangladesh, currently living and working in Bangladesh, who was personally involved in 1971, with the collection of many of these eye-witness accounts, I thought that the readers, particularly the younger generation, will be interested to learn how and why Oxfam decided, in 1971, to publish this document. The plan In 1971, I had the responsibility of coordinating the relief efforts of Oxfam-UK which was assisting approximately 6 lakh Bangladeshis in many refugee camps in the border areas of Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam, Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Siliguri, West Dinajpur, Balurghat, Barasat, and Bongaon. As we were unsure how long the tragic situation would last, at any one time we were always planning and budgeting for 6 months ahead, and in September 1971, we were assessing the future cost of assisting the refugees through the winter which, in many areas, would be severely cold. We needed regular and large sums of money each month. This campaign, Oxfam’s biggest ever relief operation after Biafra (1968-70), and before Kampuchea (1979), meant that Oxfam’s fundraising effort and publicity had to be second to none. To raise funds for a crisis which appeared to be never-ending needed a sustained fundraising strategy using advertisements which would both inform but also shock people into giving. As the winter of 1971 approached, and with it the need for blankets and warm clothing, Oxfam ran campaigns to “Take a Blanket Off Your Bed,” “Buy a new sweater for Christmas and Throw Your Old Ones to Oxfam,” “You know what a lot of people are praying for this Christmas? A swift and merciful death.” The British Post Office, at the time, charged nothing for sending blankets and warm clothing by parcel postage if addressed to Oxfam, and the Royal Air Force air-freighted the blankets and warm clothing to Kolkata. For those of us who have forgotten or are too young to remember, there were an estimated 10 million Bangladeshis existing in about 900 refugee camps. The logistics of feeding and caring for such a large number of people even now, after so many years, are difficult to comprehend. How was it done? It was done through the heroism of so many, and these men and women never sought fame or credit but insisted that they were just doing what had to be done. Most of them were refugees themselves. With my own eyes To those who, in 2024, still question if genocide, by the Pakistan Army and their collaborators, took place, I can only say that on numerous occasions, over a period of seven months, when I visited the refugees, I saw traumatized families who had witnessed the murder of their loved ones. On my visits to the refugee camps where Oxfam was making some sort of difference, I became used to seeing dead bodies, mostly children, and lines of people queuing up to use latrines and some, with acute diarrhea, not making it in time. In the camps where there was no supplementary support to the aid being given by the Indian government, the situation was much worse. I saw many refugees dying, mostly the very young and the very old. They did not die in peace or with dignity. They died of hunger, in the mud. They died of cholera and they died of cold. It was difficult to keep the crisis on the front pages of the world’s newspapers. The news of the genocide of March 25, 1971 put it on the front pages, and with the outbreak of cholera in May and June, the humanitarian crisis was front page news once more. Again, when the camps got flooded that year, it was front page news. By September 1971, the British newspapers had headlines of “Carry on dying,” “Can the refugees ever go home?” and “Pakistani famine is worse than Biafra.” However, Oxfam, at its Oxford-based head office, decided that it must find a way to shock the world’s leaders to an even greater extent, to make them open their eyes and wake up. In a surprisingly short space of time, eye-witness accounts of the tragedy were collected and published as “The Testimony of Sixty on the Crisis in Bengal.” With a little help from friends This carried statements and articles written by famous persons such as Mother Teresa and Senator Edward Kennedy and well-known journalists such as Anthony Mascarenhas, John Pilger, Nicolas Tomalin, Clare Hollingworth, James Cameron, and Martin Woollacott. Well-known photographers including Romano Cagnoni and Donald McCullin provided heart-wrenching photos. I personally collected many of the statements from people in Kolkata and I remember one day sending a telex to Oxfam full of statements which took 75 minutes to send over the wires! Copies of “The Testimony of Sixty” were handed over to many heads of governments and its publication coincided with the opening of that year’s General Assembly of the United Nations where it was distributed to all ambassadors to the UN. The day before the official publication date, October 21, 1971, the British post office assisted Oxfam with telephone directories from all over the UK to pile up 49 million names on the pavement outside an Oxfam shop which was situated at 49, Parliament Street, London. 9 million represented the number of Bangladeshi refugees at that time in India and the other 40 million names represented the number of people displaced inside (then) East Pakistan who were also facing extreme hunger. It is interesting to record that, although the US was firmly supporting Pakistan in 1971, Senator Edward Kennedy, who had visited India and the refugee camps in August 1971, brought “The Testimony of Sixty” to the attention of the US Senate and it was published in full on October 28 1971 in the “Congressional Record,” only one week after it was published by Oxfam in the UK. Introducing the “Testimony of Sixty” to the United States’ Senate, the Congressional Record states the following: “Mr Kennedy: “Mr President, the crisis in East Bengal is a story of human misery on a scale unequaled in modern times. It is a story of systematic terror and military repression, of indiscriminate killing and the killing and dislocation of millions of civilians. It is a story of death and disease, of too little food and water, of fetid refugee camps without hope and a countryside stalked by famine. And throughout it all the world has barely murmured a word. Perhaps this is because we are conditioned in the world we have created to accept such suffering and injustice. To many the plight of the Bengali people is just another link in the chain of war-ravaged populations stretching around the world in recent years. But perhaps, Mr President, the public is silent because it does not know. To bring the facts more forcibly to the public’s attention, the noted British charity, Oxfam, has recently published an impressive brochure entitled “The Testimony of 60 on the Crisis in Bengal.” No one who reads this document can remain unmoved or uninformed of the plight of the Bengali people. To share this eloquent statement with Members of the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it be printed at this point in the RECORD. There being no objection, the testimony was ordered to be printed in the RECORD as follows.” It is important to place on record that, although the US government supported Pakistan at that time, there was a huge outpouring of generosity and concern by the American people who put the fledgling Oxfam-America clearly on the map at that time. In addition, over half a million dollars of medical supplies donated by American companies were sent to Oxfam for use in the refugee camps, and later, after Liberation, in Bangladesh. In 2007, the Liberation War Museum brought out an English facsimile edition so that more people could learn more about the history of how this nation was formed and the pain and suffering that was involved, and on December 16, 2009, The Daily Prothom Alo published a Bangla facsimile edition which has reached many more readers. This, then, is the story of how this historical document was prepared and why it was prepared. As someone who witnessed the very painful birth of Bangladesh, I am astonished that there are many who still deny that genocide took place in Bangladesh in 1971. I strongly recommend that they read The Testimony of Sixty wherein the eye-witness accounts will bring tears to their eyes. Footnote Not long ago I was reminded that about 75% of Bangladesh’s population was born after 1971, so it is important that they know some of the true history of the emergence of Bangladesh and to also ensure that everyone comes to terms of the genocide which has, in recent years, as well as over the last few decades, taken place in the Rakhine State of Myanmar. Julian Francis was awarded the Friend of Bangladesh Liberation War honour in 2012.

In India, October 2nd is celebrated, a National Holiday, as Gandhi Jayanti -- Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary -- and this year it is the 155th. In 1969, the Gandhi Centenary Year, I happened to be working as an agricultural volunteer based at a Gandhian ashram in Bodh Gaya –incidentally, the birthplace of Buddhism -- in Bihar, India.  This particular ashram had been founded in the early 1950s by a dedicated follower of Gandhi, Vinoba Bhave, and it was set up to study all religions. At the early morning prayers, we would have a reading from the Qur’an one day, the Bible the next, and then on successive days from the Gita, the Granth Sahib (the holy book of the Sikh religion), the Torah (sacred to the Jewish people), and readings from different Buddhist scriptures.  From this experience, I have absorbed many teachings of all religions and I try to follow what Gandhi used to say: “Let the doors and windows of my house be open and let all the religions of the world blow through my house.” In 1969, there was a big Gandhi Centenary gathering at the ashram in Bihar founded by another follower of Gandhi, Jayaprakash Narayan. Many followers of Gandhi came to that celebration including the much admired “Frontier Gandhi,” Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan from Pakistan. Meeting him is something I will always remember. I had first met Jayaprakash Narayan in 1968 at the Gandhian Institute of Studies in Varanasi which was founded in 1960 by him with the help of the then President of India Rajendra Prasad, Vinoba Bhave, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Jagjivan Ram to propagate Gandhian teachings. Shastri, the then Railway Minister and later Prime Minister of India, arranged for the sale of Railway property to this institute and over the years I had the pleasure of staying at the Institute a number of times. Last year, I heard, to my horror, that the institute has been demolished, all occupants evicted and a huge number of valuable books and documents thrown out to be damaged by the monsoon rain. According to news reports, the Railways had given a legal notice saying that the Institute was occupying Railway property illegally. Nothing at all should have been done until the legal process had run its course. After all, the Institute allegedly held the title deeds to the land as well as receipts from the Railway Ministry related to the sale of the land in 1960. It is also surprising that the Government of India headed by a Prime Minister from the state, Gujarat, where Gandhi was born has, allegedly, done nothing to stop this extraordinary destruction of an important national institution. Many people in Bangladesh will remember that Jayaprakash Narayan strongly supported Bangladesh’s War of Independence in 1971 and traveled abroad on behalf of the Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, campaigning on behalf of Bangladesh’s independence. Another Gandhian leader who supported the formation of Bangladesh and worked with the refugees was the late Narayan Desai, whose father had been Gandhi’s secretary.  My life and work has definitely been changed and been benefited by the influence of Gandhian thoughts and beliefs. And it was at the Samanvaya Ashram at Bodh Gaya that, as a young man of 22 years old, I was influenced by the ashram leader, the late Dwarko Sundrani, one of the last living disciples of Gandhi with whom I worked closely for three years and had many meetings with after that. Dwarko was very critical of the way in which Gandhi’s birthday would be celebrated. In 2019, Dwarko said in an interview: “Celebrating Gandhi’s birth anniversary and then forgetting him till his next birthday is not a way to express our gratitude and respect for him. We are not going to organize any event on Gandhi Jayanti this year; rather, we will serve the helpless and needy people in flood-stricken Bihar. Why? Because this is what Gandhi would have done if he were alive.”  “What is the use of organizing seminars and workshops and reading his autobiography if we do not implement the teachings of Gandhi in our daily lives?” Dwarko asked.  In a small way, some of us, including Indian nationals, living and working in Bangladesh for many years, are glad to have recently been able to send financial support to the Gandhi Ashram, Noakhali, which has been distributing nutritious food for school age children in the very severely flood affected villages in August and September. So, the inspiration given by Gandhi still affects the villages in Noakhali that he visited in late 1946 to calm down communal riots. It was an affirmation that the Mahatma’s life still influences people of good faith to work for the communities in which they live, even outside India’s borders.

When she died from a lingering cancer battle, I was not prepared. I mean there are so many who have it and we have lost many close and loved ones to its  deadly embrace but in the end, cancer’s triumph is in its endless ability to shock us when it strikes its final blow and someone dies. How final is it to say “ she is dead”.  Very, I am afraid. And that’s what I felt when I heard the news.  It came through social media, picked up from somebody’s FB post.  It couldn’t be more anonymous and that is why it is so painful. They were words of the announcement of death hanging in the digital air like a black cape of mourning and grief. I tried to come to terms with the immediate shock which had become physically painful.  But there was no other way, no means to communicate with others except through the same transparent social media sky. I posted the news and at least thought others would know. It was a slightly older news going by the digital clock. But I began to receive calls, sharing shock and grief. It lasted long into the night as brown leaves waiting to be shaken to the ground looked at the leaves that had already fallen. Our words carried the weight of a shared past for the dead shares no future. I admit. I accept, I shall move on. Bichitra days   I had met her as a person first in the mid-70s but didn’t get to know her well till late the mid-70s when she joined the weekly Bichitra where I was a regular visitor not workers since the early 70s , soon after liberation. It was a place where the young, “modern”, lefty types of the pro-Bangladesh variety congregated under the active, indulgent and benign eyes of its Editor Shahadat Chowdhury.  He himself was a freedom fighter from Sector 2 under Khaled Mosharraf. Many others came from the same camp including Dr. Zafarullah Chowdhury. In many ways Bichitra did much more than any others to establish the goals and ideas of Zafarullah bhai at a popular level. His notion of “Gono Shahstho” –People’s Health- was conceived in 1971 and they were spread to a wider audience through Bichitra’s pages.He set up an advertising company and a bulletin on the theme and Urmi apa  was part of that. In so many ways, she carried that spirit of the 70s, now looking back, the most productive, socially active decade of Bangladesh’s history. Even as she took care of her home life, she carved a niche as a media trainer, writer and activist while raising a child as a single mother. Soon she was also noticed as a journalist of high caliber and the offer from the BBC , London came. She was very suited to the job as she had the voice, had experience in radio broadcasting and knew the innards of Bangladesh courtesy her Bichitra days.    Urmi apa was excited at the prospect of moving to London, a wider world of broadcast media but she was very morose at the prospect of leaving her friends, home and memories behind in Bangladesh and living in London. I remember her awfully sad face as she struggled with bouts of near grief and excitement, even relief at the same time. Her son would be able to get a great education there so it’s with a huge mix of emotions that she left for London and entered into a truly new beginning. Her London days When I met her in London in 1991 at the BBC Bangla service office, I met a new Urmi apa, a dazzlingly happy, bright and shining apa. The reason was of course simple – Sagar da. She had met and married the gentleman broadcaster from Kolkata and was settling into a new life there. I was on my way to the US and ended up as their houseguest. It was a lovely time for all of us. Her life had truly changed. She later left the BBC and joined the UK local government and was planning to settle permanently there but “Bengal” called and she moved to Kolkata with Sagar da to live out their retirement life. She would often visit Dhaka particularly in February for the Ekushey book fair. We often met at parties thrown by old BBC and Bichitra colleagues. And then one day when cancer struck she became more fragile. She was still active on Facebook but one day she was there no more  leaving only memories behind. And FB is full of memorial posts. Farewell Urmi apa, till we meet again and laugh together like life doesn’t matter anymore.     ------------------------- Urmi Rahman is a Bangladeshi journalist and author with a Master's degree from Chittagong University. After working for several years on various newspapers and magazines in Bangladesh, she was awarded a UNESCO Fellowship to Michigan State University and to the Press Foundation of Asia in Manila, Philippines. In 1985 she joined the Bengali Section of BBC World Service in London as a producer-broadcaster and remained with them for eight years, before leaving to work in local government in London. Urmi has published a number of books, both fiction and non-fiction, and has translated several books from English to Bengali. She now lives in Kolkata with her Indian husband, and regularly contributes to newspapers and journals in both Kolkata and Dhaka. Urmi has a number of publications to her credit, which include books, both fiction and non-fiction, short story collections, children's story books and other books on different topics. These include, a title on Bengalis living in Britain (Bilete Bangalee: Shongram O Shafolyer Kahini), feminism in the West (Pashchatye Nari Andolon) and on war crimes in different countries (Juddhaporadh Deshe Deshe). Her latest book is based on interviews of distinguished personalities from Bangladesh and West Bengal (Atmokothone Shamay O Srijon Kotha). She has translated some books from English to Bengali, one of them is the translation of A;Question of Women's Liberation by American feminist-anthropologist Evelyn Reed (Narimuktir Proshne). One of her short stories was adapted for a TV drama that was telecast in a popular Bangladeshi Television channel. Urmi has written B is for Bangladesh, a pictorial children's book published by Frances-Lincoln and;Culture Smart! Bangladesh.