Tuesday 31 March 2015

English Banglish


গতকাল বন্ধু বান্ধব নিয়ে কিংসমেন সিনেমাটি দেকতে গেলাম বসুন্ধরা সিটিতে। লিফট দিয়ে নামার সময় একটু ধাক্কা ধাক্কির অবস্থা ঘটে। বন্ধুদের যায়গা করে দিতে গিয়ে ভুলক্রমে পাসে দারিয়ে থাকা এক ভদ্রলোককে (আচার বেবহারে খুব একটা ভদ্র নয় বটে) একটু ধাক্কা দিয়ে বসি। ভদ্রলোক বেস খেপে গিয়ে আমাকে ইংরেজি ও বাংলায় পাঁচমিশালি কায়দায় কি সব যেন বলল। আমি সাথে সাথে বললাম 'সরি ভাই'। উনি মুলত বলতে চাইলেন যে উনারা sponge না যে ঠেলা ঠেলি করলে ভিতরে ঢুকে যাবে। তবে ভন্দ্র লোক পাসে দারিয়ে থাকা গার্ল ফ্রেন্ডকে impress করার উদ্দেশে না কি কারনে বুজলাম না, বলে বসলো 'English' এ বলব।
আমার এক বন্ধু এটা শুনে বেস খেপে গেল। আমি অবশ্য বিষয় হালকা করার জন্য বলে বসলাম "ইংরেজিতে বলার কি দরকার ভাই। আমি ইংরেজি ভাল বুঝি না। তা ছাড়া আপনার মত দেশ বিদেশ ঘোরার সৌভাগ্য হয় নাই বিধায় আচার বেবহারে কিছু সমস্যা আছে। একটু ক্ষমা সুন্দর দৃষ্টিতে দেখেন না ভাই।' আসে পাসের lলোকজন বেস মজা পেল মনে হল।
তা যাই হোক। ভদ্রলোক আমাকে ইংরেজি শোনাতে চাইল কেন ঠিক বুজলাম না। ইংরেজি জানা লোকদের লিফটে ধাক্কা দাওয়া যায় না কিন্ত বাঙ্গাল পাব্লিকরে দাওয়া যায় এমন কোন নিয়ম আছে নাকি আবার ? কি জানি ভাই, আমিতো ইংরেজি মাধ্যমের ছাত্র ছিলাম। আমার সময় এমন কিছুত শুনি নাই। বোধয় আমি খুব একটা 'স্মার্ট' না। আমি চাবায় চাবায় আমেরিকান accent এ ইংরেজি বলতে পাড়ি না। আমি একটি বাংলা বাক্কে ৩টি ইংরেজি শব্দও ব্যাবহার করতে পাড়ি না। আমি ভাই 'খাইসি গেসি' বলা 'খেত' ভাঙ্গালি। আমার আম্মা সম্ভবত আমাকে বাজে কোন 'ইংরেজি মাধ্যম' স্কুলে ভরতি করেছিলেন। দেখি আম্মাকে বেপারটা জিজ্ঞেস করতে হবে। কেন আমার এরকম একটা ক্ষতি করে দিল।

Wednesday 5 November 2014


A Meaningful Existence

It’s an age old question, that have plagued generations before  me and most certainly will plague those to follow me. Why I am here, is there any purpose to my life? What am I to do with my life as it is now? I do not profess to have found an answer to it, nor do I preach a ‘summum bonum’ to the readers. The question has been knocking at the doors of by conscience and sub-conscience since my early teens and within these years I have gone through phases of transformation. At the British Council Library, instead of looking up a GCSE Chemistry book, I would often stand by the ‘Philosophy section’ looking up works of Bertrand Russell. At age 16, I picked up Russel’s History of Western Philosophy, and upon reading the chapter on Pythagoras, came to the instant conclusion that the purpose and meaning of life must exist in the realm of ‘mathematics’ and the domain of science in general. Therefore, it is necessary to under understand natural sciences at the particle level as well as astronomical level to understand the creator and its creation.  Alas that Eureka moment was short lived. Coelho’s ‘Alchemist’ led me to the realm of omens and symbolism. Please do not take the impression that I am an avid reader. Truly, I am not. I do not have the mental tenacity to go though critical literature. The age of multi-media has to some extent crippled my generation on the skill of reading. Its simply too boring! A great source of learning for me over the years has been the countless hours I have spent watching movies, documentaries and  listening to audio books which courtesy of the world wide web and piracy is now available at the fingertips of  a boy from a third world country with otherwise no access to such materials.

Coming back to the question, at age 15, during a month of Ramadan, as I was going to school on my car, the driver put on a waz-mahfeel by ‘Delwar Hossain Sayedee’ (by the way, he was not this heinous monster back then that seems to be common knowledge today courtesy of his conviction as war criminal serving life sentence). At first, I found the sermon rather embarrassing, I became self-conscious that no body should see me in the act of listening to something so ‘khet’. However, as the words and his powerful recitation of ‘Holy Quran’ penetrated my ears I started to ease out and pay attention to it. I had a small cassette player at home and for the next week I kept listening to the sermon again and again on ‘life after death’. By the end of that Ramadan, I fell into a state of ‘transcendental spirituality’, losing touch with the perceived sense of immediate physical reality. I vowed never to miss a rakat of salat hence forth, which at that state of mind seemed something fairly easy task to accomplish; little did I know it was not. Eid came, holidays was over , school resumed and gradually I slipped off to the mundane reality and before I knew it, I was intentionally foregoing salat and completely lost track of that spiritual side of me. I tired listening to Sayeede’s sermons again many times later, but it had no  impact on me and I now find it rather hilarious than spiritually enriching. In fact it has been a roller coaster ride for me since and to this date those few days of Ramadan, the intensity of being in the zone, where you just know what you need to do, remains the most spiritual days of my life.

I have gone through phases where I have questioned whether God exists at all and whether life on planet earth is entirely meaningless. I have been inspired by Camus and Sartre’s idea of life having no inherent meaning and individuals defining their own reality within the context of their limited existence. There is no inherent ‘good’ and ‘bad’ they say, ultimately it’s a construct of man. Life is one, and you are amongst one in a billion of the current population living on planet earth today. Billons have come before you and billions will come after you. Your bedroom today will probably be a bathroom someday where some stranger takes a shit. As such my life is entirely insignificant and meaningless in the entire scheme of things; hence camus in his book ‘myth of sisyphus’ was contemplating why is it that man does not commit suicide. My life has only the meaning that I give to it in my relative context, it has no meaning to someone else. This gloom and dark view of life seems to be the message that is directly or indirectly being bombarded into our heads constantly by the popular culture. ‘Life is one’ they say, ‘ don’t have any regrets’, ‘live like a king on earth’ – these are practical manifestations of existentialist philosophy to its core.

Again I have watched countless hours of Islamic programs in TV channels and YouTube contemplating a very different purpose of life solely defined by Man’s spiritual connection with GOD and the ultimate reality of transition to life after death. I have argued with my Islamist friends about Islam and its teaching, many have been offended by my views and asked me to refrain from reading philosophy due to its character to confuse the mind and weaken ones ‘Iman’. Needless to say, I was not swayed by their warning one bit. I have gone from phases where I felt rituals and strict adherence to sunnah as unproductive, clouding ones judgment to separate good from bad, but that is before I found Hamza Yousuf and Abdul Hakim Murad in YouTube that completely reversed my stand on sunnah. I have no shame in admitting that I am a half baked, half educated, self-taught student of Islam who have nothing to contribute or teach others. Nonetheless, I felt sharing my feelings and my struggles with others in the hope that it may  clarify my own though process and can help others who may be in a similar mental and spiritual state of confusion as I have been for the good part of my adult life.

From a strict Islamic point of view, the purpose of life is rather straight forward or is it ? The following ayat is often quoted to explain purpose of life in Islam.  {I have only created jinns and humans that they may serve Me.} (Adh-Dhariyat 51:56).Note- other translations use the word worship/ibadah in place of service. Now what is the nature of this service/worship one may ask?  Allah is unlike man in the sense that he does not need anything from us like we may need from our subservient. The often recited sura Ikhlas reads as follows; "He is Allah, the One and Only. Allah is Independent of all and all are dependent on Him.”. To attempt to draw an analogy one may compare the nature of man’s relation with computers. Man created computer and the computer in my household serves me in the way I want it to perform. I need something from it. I ask it to play games, play multimedia, check mail and it does as it is commanded by application of binary programming. If my computer stops functioning I will be suffer due to its absence. Surely, I can replace it with a new one, but the essential point is that, a computer although a creation of man, is capable of affecting its creator positively or negatively as the case may be. Now if we try to speculate between the nature of man and its creator in light of Islam, one will observe that it is a recurrent theme in Quran is that Allah is self-sufficient, he does not need us, we are insignificant to him but rather it is we that need him for our sustenance. He is our Rab (nourisher, sustainer, and provider). One may look carefully at the ‘ayatul-kursi’ (the ayat of the throne) , 2:255 which reads as follows : Allah! La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the Ever Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that exists. Neither slumber, nor sleep overtake Him. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on earth. Who is he that can intercede with Him except with His Permission? He knows what happens to them (His creatures) in this world, and what will happen to them in the Hereafter . And they will never compass anything of His Knowledge except that which He wills. His Kursi extends over the heavens and the eartand He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.”  To my knowledge Allah has not disclosed anywhere in Quran his intentions for creating man kind to serve any higher purpose. He is Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim to us from our perspective, but it is entirely voluntary and there is no reciprocity in this relationship.

The question therefore begs to be asked, what is it to worship Allah then? What is it that he expects from us? it is fairly clear from the life of our prophet Muhammad (PBUH) that Allah does not expect a life of isolation and meditation like the Buddhist monks. We are to live in this world, pursue the worldly aims of having a vocation, earning a wage and raising a family. The prophet was a husband, a father, a businessman, a politician, a spiritual leader, an army general, all under one umbrella. And if we are to model out life on  Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) we are to do all these things also, but bearing in mind that our sole purpose at the end of the day is to worship Allah at all material times.

That is where I find living in the 21st Century modern world rather challenging. I feel a consistent dichotomy in my heart between the temporal and spiritual realm of existence. How does an accountant carrying complex calculations over a spread sheet, or cashier at a bank counting money all day worship Allah ? How do I worship Allah as a lawyer, living and breathing law about 12 hours a day approximately for the rest of my healthy moral life? One has to be highly motivated to reach the top they say, be good at you job and attain perfection they say?  And I am motivated, ambitious to be recognized, to be good at what I do, to be taken seriously, to be rewarded for my excellence in terms money and social recognition- this ego needs a lot of feeding to feel good! I am the same person in evening, socializing with friends and family at a party having idle chit chats. I am the same person at night, playing cricket in my xbox360, completely absorbed in it, completely oblivious to my surrounding. I am the same man that is moved by the injustice in my society and want things to change. But I am also that man, that feels ultimately its all meaningless, and what matters is the life after this one. At the end of the day, if one is to live life in the modern world, one has to face this this recurrent question – how is it that I am serving Allah in what am doing today , tomorrow and for the next year to follow ? Often it is suggested by scholars that to serve Allah means to abide by the commands or rulings and injunctions prescribed by Allah in the Holy Quran and illustrated in the sunnah of the prophet. Proponents of  ‘personal Islam’ therefore take the view that as long you are performing you daily prayers, keeping the mandatory fasts, doing the fards, keeping away from the prescribed harams, you are fine. What else you do with you life at most of the waking hours of the day is therefore not relevant to you piety. Just make sure, you are not doing something haram. 

I find this black and white distinction, of basing you Godliness on the basis of ‘dos and ‘don’t’s of Islam rather limiting. In any case it does not give you any guidelines or direction as to the meaning and purpose of your life. You are then left to you own devices again to find your purpose or calling in life based on the secular methods of determination. Therefore, it is inadequate to define life’s meaning and purpose form an Islamic perspective based on do’s and don’t or ones tenacity to follow the sharia to the letter. Does Islam therefore, give us something more comprehensive, a more detailed guideline to find out true calling in life? or shall we resort back to existentialist mode of discovery to find ones calling purely form ones relative point of view divorced from perceived objectivity of society in any time and place. 

I have perhaps dragged on for long with this piece for and perhaps I am starting to bore you now (if you are still reading that is). So I will end it abruptly here without trying to draw a conclusion. Frankly, I am in search of the conclusion myself.

Sunday 14 September 2014

Angry Man




"Anyone can become angry. That is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose and in the right way - that is not easy."

Wednesday 23 April 2014

Makkah on a Cycle - the unfulfilled desire of Zafar Farazi

Zafar Farazi on his Cycle


I met this man yesterday as I was walking out of the Court building through the Mazar gate. His cycle caught my attention and I read the information on the placard. His name is Zafar Farazi. He has traveled all the 64 Districts of Bangladesh on his cycle. His furthest attempt so far is a trip to Ajmir, which took him 16 days he tells me.


Right now hes only desire is to go to Saudi Arabia riding on his cycle to perform Hajj. He will travel via India, Pakistan, Iran , Iraq to reach Saudi Arabia. He also prepared a road map marking the break down of distances he needs to travel in each country. However, the authorities have denied him VISA for travelling. With the recommendation of the foreign ministry, he has appealed to be granted VISA for his trip but he has not heard from the relevant authority till date.




In most developed countries, a man like Zafar Farazi is likely to be featured in a reality TV show or some magazine. In Bangladesh however, he is only to be treated as BUM ! A mindless vagabond who has nothing better to do. I hope his desire to perform Hajj riding on his bicycle to destination Makkah comes true someday. 

Friday 14 March 2014

The BCB T20 Opening Concert- fingerprints of a confused nation!


 Yesterday I went to the BCB T20 Opening Concert. I was under the impression that it was an ICC event, so was expecting to see the usual bunch of stuff I am used to seeing on TV, like players rallying with flags, some cultural shows and fireworks etc. I heard Akon and AR Rahamn was here, so was expecting to see cameo performance. But as it turned out, the event was not really an ICC event at all but rather one organized by Bangladesh Cricket Board  and it most certainly cannot be passed off as an opening ceremony. Basically it was a concert, plain and simple , with AR Rahman being the main show, and Akon also chipping in with a cameo at the fag end.

Much criticism has been made in the social media about this event and also about the price of the ticket. I got in with a complementary ticket (courtesy of a client from the sporting arena) which was priced at Tk. 20,000. I can't imagine myself paying 20,000 Tk to buy this ticket! On the event itself I met some friends who also came in with complementary tickets. I seriously doubt how many people actually bought the tickets (which went as hight as Tk. 75,000, I am told). Questions may be raised as to how BCB gathered this fund to hold this event and more importantly was this event at all necessary to do, given that ICC did not officially acknowledge this event? On a lighter vein, some melody , some dance , some fun..what's the harm in it eh ? after all the pre-election violence, let the nation just take a chill pill !

Well apparently many people in the social media is complaining that if we are to have fun in a T20 opening event, we rather do it in 'deshi style'.They are of the view that events such as these are an opportunity to portray our own culture and heritage and BCB did not do the best job they think. On the other end of the spectrum I have come across Facebook comments that says AR Rahman and Akon are world class artists and our local artists are not up to that standard to compete with them. If the people are interested to buy tickets and watch these celebrity artists then why stop them ? A third category of people cannot understand what the fuss is all about; "if you dont like it, just turn off the GOD DAMN TV" they say.

Well I am trying to appreciate the view of the second category who think it is fine to present mega celebrities before our hungry audience as clearly there is a market for it, and people are willing to pay the heavy fee charged. Proponent of the 'open market' will say, our entertainment industry will thrive when there is completion from superior foreign artists. If the people want  some melody,dance and romance, why not let them have it as our local industry is not fulfilling the demand of the people.

But is our 'entertainment industry' merely a 'product' for the market ? I know hollywood and bollywood is, but I am asking the question should it be ? Yes the reality of 'revenue generation' is ingrained with any artistic work, that no body can deny. But should 'entertainment industry' give the people what ever it demands  or should there be certain standards or values that the industry will seek to promote ? The Iranian film industry is a good example. They are not as technologically advances as Hollywood or Bollywood but they do a very good job with the script. Most of their movies have an inner social message which sticks to you long after you are done with the movie.

Coming back to the main issue, there is nothing wrong with foreign artists flying in to celebrate the opening of T20 world cup. Brian Adams did it last time during the ODI World Cup. That was fine, a couple of songs, a few words of appreciation, bye bye. But I did not understand why we had to have a full fledged concert as 'opening ceremony' ? And even if we must have one, why does AR Rahman have to be centre stage in it. He could have been the 'surprise guest artist'. As an official BCB event , which effectively should be considered a national event, I think there was no harm in our local artists getting more attention in the event. Clearly our local artist did not like it much. Ayub Bacchu of LRB expressed his grievance  openly on stage. Miles walked out of the event as organizers did not let them play due to shortage of time (just imagine, MILES cannot play because there is no slot available to them ? wowwwww).


Souls and LRB playing to a dis-interested crowd in the afternoon.


I am not a 'bangla purist', my problem is not that Hindi or English songs were played, far from it. My grievance is with the nature of the event itself i.e, the content and management of the event ; the prime minister gracing the occasion makes it a national event, yet I found the program itself to be an entirely 'commercial concert' focused around AR Rahman mainly. It was also a little hypocritical at one point when they were showing promotional videos on Bangladesh and its culture. I am not really a big fan of the cliche 'motherland diloguebaji' and generally don't pay much attention to it, but this was just so downright into your face. We are hosting the world cup and we are hosting the concert with the tax payers money, and yet we felt the need to to hire an Indian artist to be the centre of attraction , that I find a little hard to reconcile.


AR Rahman performing, Excellent light works, projection and choreography. loads of costume change and bollywood dance moves


Akon first time in Bangladesh.

I am not a big fan of bollywood music or hip hop, so the music was kinda okayish for me. But what I liked best was the fireworks. Man it was awesome!  







Thursday 12 September 2013



Published in Dhaka Tribune on 12 September 2013

The cost of negligence
Nabil AhsanLaw & Rights

Our legal system in its present form is not yet ready to accommodate widespread tort claims


Traffic accidents taking multiple lives or alleged negligent doctors killing patients are two very common phenomena in Bangladesh. Recently, there have been large scale industrial accidents killing and permanently crippling many workers. We often witness huge uproar in the media after such events, people demanding justice and putting the accused persons behind bars. Eventually the hype loses its momentum and life goes on as usual. We tend to forget what happened to the families of the victims who died or the sole bread earner of a family who lost his leg in an accident. Who is to take care of their families and to look after the education of their children?
Most developed legal systems have a concept of compensation for victims and their families for accidental death, bodily injury or property loss arising out of someone else’s negligence. It is commonly referred to as tort claims. If you have watched Boston Legal, you must have noticed lawyers constantly negotiating a deal out of the courtroom. Most of these negotiations are relating to tort claims for negligence. Essentially, the idea is to put a price tag on a person’s body and life so as to compensate him for his loss, taking into consideration his medical expenses, pain and suffering, and future earning potential.
In England the concept of tort of negligence developed in the early part of the 20th century. Following the landmark case of Donoghue v Stevenson, the “neighbourhood principle” gained widespread popularity in the English courts. In simple terms it means we all owe a duty of care to people who may be affected by our conduct or behaviour. So, a manufacturer owes a duty of care to its workers as well as to the end users of the products it prepares. Similarly, a driver owes a duty of care to his passengers and to other persons on the street. If he is negligent about his conduct, giving rise to bodily injury or financial loss to any other person to whom such duty is owed, by law he is liable to compensate the victim for the loss that victim suffered.
A few instances where a tortuous claim for negligence may be appropriate are given in the following paragraphs:
Negligence and road accident
If your family members died or suffered serious injury as a result of road accident, don’t just file a criminal suit. Yes, the driver may go to jail, but you can’t get a penny as compensation from the driver. In all likelihood he is a poor fellow with no substantial assets. Instead you are better of suing his employer, whether an individual person or a company. You can file a civil suit claiming for damages, to be assessed on the basis of the victim’s earning potential. This civil suit has no connection with the criminal charge against the driver, and both the cases can run simultaneously.
In a recent case, Bangladesh Beverage v Rowshan Akhter concerning death of a journalist in 1989 following an accident caused by the negligent driver of a reputed company, the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, awarded the family members of the deceased approximately Tk20m as compensation for the victim’s untimely demise. The company was held vicariously liable for the negligence of the driver employed by it.

Medical negligence
Often we hear about death due to medical negligence. An angry mob would barge in and break hospital property. Media will be there and so will the police. As a routine matter, the concerned doctor would deny any liability while the family members would insist that the doctor was negligent. At the end of the day what is really achieved? The better solution is to take all the evidence and reports and consult an expert to determine the real cause of death. If there is prima facie evidence of medical negligence, you may consider filing a lawsuit against the doctor and the hospital management.
Industrial accidents
The recent Rana Plaza collapse demonstrates how negligence and poor judgment can lead to colossal loss of lives. Somebody ought to pay for this. While media campaign for punishment of Rana, the owner of the building, and others is definitely positive, from entirely economic perspective, victims of industrial accidents should consider making tort claims against their employers for failing to take proper safety measures to ensure protection of factory workers. Under the Bangladeshi law, the Fatal Accidents Act, 1855 provides the legal instrument for obtaining damages as a result of negligent or wrongful act resulting in death.
It will be unrealistic to suggest that getting compensation will be an easy matter. In our legal tradition, unfortunately, the exercise of tortuous claims is not popular. There are many institutional hurdles as well. Most lawyers do not know how to handle tort claims. Moreover, courts are reluctant to pass an order attaching huge sum of compensation.  Our legal system in its present form is not yet ready to accommodate widespread tort claims. However, everything has to start somewhere. Knowing your legal rights is the first step!



Thursday 1 August 2013

Published in Dhaka Tribune on 8th July 2013

Law that protects: Police interrogation or unpardonable torture?





The Hollywood movie “Unthinkable” vividly portrays an interesting dilemma on the use of torture to obtain information from a person in custody. It is common belief within the police forces around the world that torture is a civil necessity and if some force is not applied, no clue can be found from hard-nut criminals.
In Bangladesh there is serious allegation against the police of using torture and often lethal force on persons detained in custody. We commonly hear rumors of physical and psychological assault, the so called “water treatment,” “shock treatment” and “egg treatment.” Those who come out of such torture usually prefer not to speak in public but close ones know and see the marks of apparent torture on their bodies.
Recently, the rates of custodial torture and death is on the rise in Bangladesh, with the courts routinely handing over detainees to police custody for torture in the guise of a legal instrument commonly referred to as "remand." But what is this remand and what is the legal basis of this term remand?
Actually, in our Criminal Procedure Code, the word "remand" is mentioned nowhere. However it is commonly understood by the magistrates and lawyers that remand is that process whereby the accused/detainee is taken into police custody and tortured to solicit information or obtain forced confession. Political leaders and activists often fall victim to this procedure of remand. So does the underprivileged members of the society. The privileged few however, use influence and money to avoid torture in remand.
Ultimately, the widespread discretionary power of the police to arrest any individual suspected of committing an offence and this power coupled with the threat of torture while in "remand" has resulted in a "racket" of corrupt police officials, extorting money from families of unfortunate victims.
If one looks at the law, it is difficult to find any legal basis for this torture in the name of remand. Custodial torture and death runs counter to the high ideals on which this nation is founded.
Article 35(5) of the Constitution gives protection to every person from being subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment.
In 2003, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh in a landmark judgment (Blast v Bangladesh and Others) held that the provision of the Criminal Procedure code (sections 54 and 167) which gives the police widespread authority to arrest individuals and thereafter carry out torture in police custody in the name of remand is unconstitutional.
The court stressed that there ought to be detailed guidelines on how to conduct an interrogation of a detainee in police custody.
The court further held that failure to observe those guidelines should result in criminal charges being filed against those officers responsible for unlawful conduct. Moreover, the victim of torture is entitled to compensation for his suffering.
The Hon’ble Court observed: “The magistrate in the absence of any guideline passes ‘parrot like’ orders authorising detention in police custody which ultimately results in so many deaths and incidents of torture in police custody.”
To remedy the lapses in the existing law, the Supreme Court proposed certain modifications/amendments to the law in order to ensure proper accountability of police officials.
Unfortunately, 10 years after the deliberation of the Supreme Court, the government has made no necessary amendment to the law.
By contrast, the observation by the Supreme Court declaring the caretaker government unconstitutional gets the attention of the Parliament within days of passing a short order and the constitution gets amended at light speed. One can only infer that, the political parties whenever they assume office want to maintain the culture of inhumane policing for collateral purpose; hence the blatant disregard to a judgment of the Supreme Court.
Bangladesh is a signatory to United Nations Convention Against Torture. The Convention requires states to take effective measures to prevent torture within their borders, and forbids states to transport people to any country where there is reason to believe they will be tortured.
Unfortunately, the government has taken no visible steps to comply with its international obligation.
The government is yet to enact a law directed to end torture and inhuman or degrading treatment by law enforcers or government officials although a bill in this regard has been placed in parliament by one of its lawmakers on September 10, 2009.
In reality, paying lip service to any international obligation is unlikely to bring about any substantial change. What is needed is a political will to stop custodial torture once and for all.
Failing that determination and political will to make the police force an independent, efficient and accountable body of civil defence, all attempts to redress the current problem is bound to fail.