For Dhaka’s new elites—including many who seized prime Bihari properties in the city’s most desirable neighborhoods—the 1974 famine was little more than a distraction. People were dying on the streets, in open fields, and at train terminals, but it rarely stirred their humanity. Poor relatives knocked on their doors, pleading for a small tin of baby food or a cheap pair of trousers from state-run, subsidized Cosco stores. Millions were forced to queue in front of gruel kitchens and ration shops. Yet these indignities barely touched the lives of the privileged.

Bangladesh had never witnessed a humanitarian disaster on the scale of 1974. It was, without doubt, the darkest year in our history—our true annus horribilis. Still, for the elites, life went on as usual. When the nation marked the fiftieth anniversary of the famine, there were almost no books, essays, or articles in the major newspapers to commemorate the tragedy. The silence was deliberate. Media houses feared revisiting the greatest failure of Mujib during Hasina’s authoritarian rule. Instead, they worshipped Mujib with the same fervor the Red Guards once worshipped Mao during the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward.

In 2023, one of Mujib’s most ardent devotees published an essay on “Mujibonomics” in Whiteboard, a magazine run by Mujib’s grandson. But Mujib never had a coherent economic strategy. Writing about “Mujibonomics” was nothing more than shameless bootlicking of an inept leadership. The few scholars who addressed the famine with honesty were those whose humanity was scarred by that man-made catastrophe—figures like Mohiuddin Alamgir (not to be confused with the notorious Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir). Much of what we know about the disaster exists thanks to his scholarship.

The rest of Dhaka’s elites quietly erased the episode from memory—and, years later, just as quietly embraced and legitimized Hasina’s dictatorship.

- Shafiqul Alam
Press Secretary, CA

#Bangladesh#Dhaka#Elites#SheikhMujib#Economics#Famine#Food

For Dhaka’s new elites—including many who seized prime Bihari properties in the city’s most desirable neighborhoods—the 1974 famine was little more than a distraction. People were dying on the streets, in open fields, and at train terminals, but it rarely stirred their humanity. Poor relatives knocked on their doors, pleading for a small tin of baby food or a cheap pair of trousers from state-run, subsidized Cosco stores. Millions were forced to queue in front of gruel kitchens and ration shops. Yet these indignities barely touched the lives of the privileged.

Bangladesh had never witnessed a humanitarian disaster on the scale of 1974. It was, without doubt, the darkest year in our history—our true annus horribilis. Still, for the elites, life went on as usual. When the nation marked the fiftieth anniversary of the famine, there were almost no books, essays, or articles in the major newspapers to commemorate the tragedy. The silence was deliberate. Media houses feared revisiting the greatest failure of Mujib during Hasina’s authoritarian rule. Instead, they worshipped Mujib with the same fervor the Red Guards once worshipped Mao during the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward.

In 2023, one of Mujib’s most ardent devotees published an essay on “Mujibonomics” in Whiteboard, a magazine run by Mujib’s grandson. But Mujib never had a coherent economic strategy. Writing about “Mujibonomics” was nothing more than shameless bootlicking of an inept leadership. The few scholars who addressed the famine with honesty were those whose humanity was scarred by that man-made catastrophe—figures like Mohiuddin Alamgir (not to be confused with the notorious Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir). Much of what we know about the disaster exists thanks to his scholarship.

The rest of Dhaka’s elites quietly erased the episode from memory—and, years later, just as quietly embraced and legitimized Hasina’s dictatorship.

- Shafiqul Alam
Press Secretary, CA

#Bangladesh#Dhaka#Elites#SheikhMujib#Economics#Famine#Food

"Dissolutionnite présidentielle, entre-soi (masculin) des lieux de pouvoir, refus de tout compromis avec une gauche pourtant conciliante, complaisance des milieux d’affaire envers le racisme et le nazisme et tant de menus détails… le tout sous la bannière d’un libéralisme autoritaire."

un déroulé du nouveau livre de Johann Chapoutot, "Les Irresponsables. Qui a porté Hitler au pouvoir ?" : https://blog.ecologie-politique.eu/post/Les-Irresponsables

#présidentialisme #constitution #capitalisme #gouvernement#extrêmeCentre#Macron#Papen #hindeburg#Hitler #nazisme#ascension #fascisme#élites#élite #histoire #centrisme#Allemagne #livre

bhaugen
bhaugen boosted

As William Kristol points out, the public is resisting Trump. But elites are not.

A new Quinnipiac poll shows him witwh a 54% disapproval rating. 64% of voters say they would prefer giving most undocumented immigrants a pathway to legal status. 56% disapprove of the way ICE is doing its job, 55% disapprove of sending National Guard troops to Los Angeles, and 60% disapprove of sending in the Marines.

#Trump #polls#ICE#LosAngeles #immigrants #deportations #elites
/4

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-public-is-resisting-trump-the-elites-are-not-polling-deportations-big-beautiful-bill

What we've learned is that they will willingly usher in fascism to protect their power and privilege -- just as German elites did as Hitler rose to power.

#Trump #polls#BigBeautifulBill#ICE#LosAngeles #immigrants #deportations #elites
/6

As William Kristol points out, the public is resisting Trump. But elites are not.

A new Quinnipiac poll shows him witwh a 54% disapproval rating. 64% of voters say they would prefer giving most undocumented immigrants a pathway to legal status. 56% disapprove of the way ICE is doing its job, 55% disapprove of sending National Guard troops to Los Angeles, and 60% disapprove of sending in the Marines.

#Trump #polls#ICE#LosAngeles #immigrants #deportations #elites
/4

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-public-is-resisting-trump-the-elites-are-not-polling-deportations-big-beautiful-bill

Only 29% approve of the "big, beautiful bill."

What's wrong with elites like corporate media and Wall Street tycoons and bankers? Let's start with the word "greed." The more imperative deep structural change becomes due to unprecedented economic disparities, the more entrenched and recalcitrant they become.

#Trump #polls#BigBeautifulBill#ICE#LosAngeles #immigrants #deportations #elites
/5

As William Kristol points out, the public is resisting Trump. But elites are not.

A new Quinnipiac poll shows him witwh a 54% disapproval rating. 64% of voters say they would prefer giving most undocumented immigrants a pathway to legal status. 56% disapprove of the way ICE is doing its job, 55% disapprove of sending National Guard troops to Los Angeles, and 60% disapprove of sending in the Marines.

#Trump #polls#ICE#LosAngeles #immigrants #deportations #elites
/4

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-public-is-resisting-trump-the-elites-are-not-polling-deportations-big-beautiful-bill