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Showing posts from March, 2009

Comments on a ultra-nationalist, racist Rakhine's interpretation of Rohingya history

Khin Maung Saw's thesis on trying to de-legitimatize the Rohingya history in Arakan is not new. For the last three years, as an obsessed, xenophobic Rakhine, much given to pen-pushing, and spread of hateful messages, he is known for trying his best to re-write history that would obliterate Rohingya's historicity in today's Arakan. His pseudo-history has been already refuted by others. In this short rebuttal, let me point out something that I have maintained in last three decades, is that the history of the geographical region we commonly came to know as the South Asia including what is today called Myanmar, which is sandwiched between South Asia and South-east Asia, has no one beginning, no one chronology, no single plot or narrative. This gargantuan fact is recognized by all great historians -- Professor David Ludden (who recently retired from the U Penn), Romila Thapar, R.S. Sharma and many others -- who spent their lifetimes to study the region. To these unbiased and g

The Pursuit of Nuclear Energy in Bangladesh - Facts and Figures to Consider

According to a published news report, the Government of Bangladesh is aggressively targeting to set up at least a 1000 MW nuclear power plant in the country within a decade. The official sources say that currently the Bangladesh government has received three preliminary proposals from Russia, China and South Korea. The news should come as no surprise given the current government’s promise and commitment to mitigate the appalling energy shortage inside the country. With all the added emphasis on limiting harmful greenhouse effects, it is safe to assume that nuclear energy remains a viable option to meeting Bangladesh’s growing energy needs. It has no “carbon footing” and does not cause climate change. On the other hand, its disadvantages involve the unsafe nature of the process and the exhaustibility of its fuel, e.g., uranium for thermal fission reactors and plutonium for breeder reactors (note: the latter material can be used directly to making “dirty” bombs, while the former requires