Former vice-chancellor, Rabindra Bharati University
Everyone knows the three Latin goals of the Olympics: citius, altius, fortius! That is, “faster, higher, stronger.” Remember, it is not only since the 1896 Athens Olympics that human beings have set such mad ambitions for themselves. From the very beginning of their existence, they have thought of these as desirable, as fulfilment, as success. And not only humans—animals too must have learnt, at the cost of life itself, that these matter
What do we, the common people, understand by the term ‘judiciary’? We understand it as a system that determines the truth of any matter, delivering verdicts in favour of truth and taking action accordingly. Here, strict reasoning reigns supreme; there is no place for flights of fancy.
build and change upon this landscape. Agriculture is culture, cooking is culture, and therefore even fishing is culture. That is why I do not know whether we should see as cultural exchange the recent incident in which 95 people lost their way into the seas of Bangladesh, were caught by police of the other country, and, as I heard, were returned after being beaten severely. If it is an exchange, surely it is not an example of “lawful” or mutually desired exchange between two countries.
For quite some time now, driven by the madness of old age, I’ve had the urge to write this piece. Some might see it as unsolicited advice, or question my right to say such things. That right, however, is nothing more than this: the writer is a resident of the cultural region known as South Asia; two, teaching has been his profession, so it has become second nature to him; and three, he is of age. In Bangladesh, an elderly person is called a murubbi, and murubbis are said to be accorded a special respect. Their words are meant to be heard by the younger ones—though how far that holds true in reality, I do not know. In many countries around the world, the elderly are viewed with a certain care, and even in democratic Western societies, they receive kindness and consideration. These, then, are the excuses from the writer’s side.
On April 22, in a terrorist attack at Baisaran in Pahalgam of Indian Kashmir, 26 Indian tourists were killed. This incident was tragic and horrific, and we have received individual and collective expressions of grief about it, which need not be repeated here. It is yet another heinous crime against humanity—a statement that is also redundant because such crimes continue to happen, whether in Palestine, Ukraine, or in smaller forms in Bangladesh. Our shock, surprise, condemnation, and disgust persist, but such crimes are continuing without regard for anything.