South Asia, especially India, has reasons to celebrate the return of secular and democratic government in Bangladesh. Former Prime Minister Ms Sheikh Hasina’s (photo above) Awami League has won a landslide victory in Bangladesh’s election, reports the BBC.
It is heartening that democracy has also returned to India’s immediate neighbourhood, including Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan. Myanmar or Burma remains a sad exception.
“Election officials say the Awami League alliance has won more than 250 of the 300 seats in parliament. More than 70% of Bangladesh’s 81 million voters are thought to have cast their ballots in a poll intended to return the country to democracy after two years of rule by a military-backed government.” More here…
And here is the profile of Ms Sheikh Hasina…
The New York Times reports: “After two years of army-backed emergency rule, democracy returned to Bangladesh as the secular Awami League party secured an overwhelming victory in election results announced on Tuesday.
“It was unknown whether the army would fully give up power and return to the barracks. Ms. Hasina has promised to quash Islamist extremist groups in Bangladesh, a largely Muslim country.
“She has been a target of the extremists’ ire already, having been wounded by a grenade at a 2004 rally in an attack linked to Islamist radicals that killed 23 people.” More here…
AFP reports: “The US government congratulated Bangladesh for Monday’s successful and peaceful election, saying the high turnout reflected a ‘desire to see democracy restored’ in the south Asian nation.” More here…
The Economist writes: “Asked what they wanted from a new government, most voters—of whom some 45% live on less than a dollar a day—had a simple answer: cheaper food. In this one respect, the government may be in luck. A good rice harvest and lower international prices for fuel and other commodities have already dented inflation.” More here…
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.