লালন ফকিরের মাজার

লালন ফকিরের মাজার

Tuesday 10 April 2012

I’M HARUN BAUL SPEAKING (2)


যেও না আন্দাজি পথে, মন রসনা


কুপঙ্কে কুপা পলে, প্রাণ বাঁচবে না।


অনুরাগ তরণী ছোড়ো


দাঁড় চিনে উজান ধরো


লালন বলে করতে পারো


মূল সাধনা


Jeo na andaji pathe, o mon rasana.


Kupanke kupanche pole, praan bachbe na.


Anurag tarani choro


Dhar chine ujan dhoro

 
Lalon bole karte paro


Mul sadhana.

(Do not proceed through conjectural path


It has fatal pitfalls.  


Sail on a boat of devotion, and go ahead knowing your limit.


Lalon says, you can then sustain the originality).

Like many politicians, as I have previously concluded on the 25th of January, most NGO activists and ulama are also proceeding through conjectural paths and becoming social pests. As a lowly Baul I see that the ex-president and ex-prime minister are in the pitfalls of conjectural paths. I feel pity for them. The first of these could have been a little more honest to protect himself from the illness of heart pain. The other had failed to act as prime minister. She is not doing very well as the current leader of the opposition. A set of clearaction-lineson poverty reduction through self-reliant livelihoods for our village people could be presented in her political barking. She would be able to win with this strategy.
While in power, the ex-prime minister could continue on Marhum Zias role ofkhal khanan(re-excavation of dying water bodies) effectively.
This would help sustain ‘dhaner shish’ (paddy flowers-pike) at the people’s collective heart. She knows neither how Bangladesh can be self-sufficient through households’ self-reliant productivity, nor does she understand the importance of water (ways) for riverine Bangladesh, Lalon grieves for this type of people:

যার আপন খাবার আপনার হয় না।


লালন মরে জল পিপাসায়।


কাছে থাকতে নদী মেঘনা।



Jar apon khabar apnar hoy na.


Lalon more jol pipasai,  


Kase thakte nadi Meghna.


(One who does not know his/her own treasure,


can die thirsty while river Meghna is at hand).

The present re-excavation project in Bangladesh is ineffective. Re-excavated sites still dry out in summer. This affects people, livestock, agriculture, fishing, economy, ecosystem and bio-diversity. The ex-prime minister still has time to effectively embark on these two points that will solve the socio-economic and environmental problem of Bangladesh in a sustainable manner. In fact self-reliance livelihood for the rural households and water in the water bodies are the primary indicators of sustainable development in village Bangladesh. Abundance of free-flowing renewables (sunshine, biomass, tide, wind, rain water), and নদী-নালা-খাল-বিল-হাওর-বাওর nadi nala khal beel haor baor (water bodies) are the unique gifts of nature for the sustainability of Bangladesh. Should she wish to seek help on these points, she would surely get a response. Bauls would spontaneously sing addressing these in simple and heart touching words.

Bangladesh has issues for which Bauls have innovative ideas. Environmental degradation, the desertification trend in the Barind Tract and population pressure are important examples. Bauls are ready to disseminate their ideas to co-operative type NGOs for needful replenishment.

NGOs are, in general, built on low morality and unsustainable principles. It is unlikely that NGOstarget peoplewill continue to bear with them without once saying আর যে পারি নাar je pari na(sorry, cant bear any more.Lalons দিয়া ভাঙা নাও বোঝাই দেশে; মূল হারালাম লাভ করতে এসে "Dia vanga nai bojhai theshe; mul haralam laav korte eshe" (Too much loads on the broken boat bring no profit but the loss of capital) will be echoed.

I feel discontent with the audacity of NGO activists against religion and ulama. Our people have no problem with religion. They do not like to beGodless. They also respect the respectable ulama. NGO activists have mountainous failures in their developmental policies. Bauls discount them as জ্ঞান পাপী jnan papi (conscious sinners). As part of privileged society, they could do much better. Many NGO executives are qualified with a PhD degree. They can proceed through the path of sustainable development. It is not difficult for them to educate the donor community with culturally acceptable way of doing NGO activities in this country. They could easily kill the snake without breaking the stick. They should know ways to protect both shores. But as জ্ঞান পাপী jnan papi, they do not think right. Lalon says: ঠিকের ঘরে ভূল পড়েছে মন, কিসে চিনবি রে মানুষ রতন thiker ghare bhul porese mon. Kishe chinbi re manush ratan (If erroneous thinking has corrupted the righteousness; then how is it possible to understand human capital?).

There are stories about the misdeeds of NGOs. Poor villagers were able to sleep soundly in the past. NGOs have destroyed this. Culturally our people are debt averse. An assetless may sleep better than the one in debt. Debtors are on increase. This must be stopped. Politicians can use the termpoverty alleviationfor political win. How can NGO people use it while they know that micro-credit does not alleviate poverty, rather elevate it in most cases. It benefits only a few in a hundred. How can an NGO boss say that poverty may only be seen in museums of Bangladesh? The majority of the so-called beneficiaries of NGOs are in a pitfall of perpetual debt and poverty. The trend is rather to make entire Bangladesh a huge museum of poverty, with a few non-poor curators.

Lalon sings: এক কোরান শুনা, কেউ মৌলবী কেউ মাওলানা Ek e koran pora shuna, kew maulabi kew maulana (studying the same Koran, some are Maulabi, some are Maulana). Ulama are split. Some of them are deadly to Baul community. Bauls hardcore religious secularism is not intelligible to them. Now they are against some of the NGOs who support the judgement on Fatwa about Talak (divorce) issue. The NGOs who do it, I see as uninformed about the issue of Talak matter. They have blindly accepted the court judgement as the truth. However, why should ulama behave un-Islamically on the matter? If the judgement is incorrect, ulama should be able to prove that original Fatwa of the Islamic jurisprudence cannot be banned. It is the law for the world Muslims. It doesnt matter if some do not like this. It is impossible for everyone to be happy even with the state law. Fatwa should rather be encouraged to become part of the state law in certain cultural and economic matters. Respectable village ulama should be properly trained by the state. It has enormous value for people in Bangladesh where judgement from court is denied through delay. However, pronouncing Talak 3 times in a row out of utter anger is not Talak according to Islam. It has well defined and comprehensive texts. A valid Talak includes pauses for reconciliation before uttering the final Talak. The unversed or unauthorised jurisprudent or corrupted ulama who exercise crucial Fatwa like on Talak should be double punished; according to Islamic law and the law of the land.

It is good to see respectable ulama taking part in development. They have religious support from the vast majority of believers. To gain mass political support ulama are required to present alternate pro-people and culturally friendly NGO programs in the country. It will work in reality. Ulama will win with this. People including বুদ্ধি জীবী buddhi jibi and বিদ্যা জীবী bidya jibi (intellectuals and academics) would then support them. NGOs who would not follow the path of ulama will be in a fatal pitfall. Public sentiment in the country is largely anti-NGO. Ulama can take advantage of it. Baul community would support ulama community on this particular account. The undesirable activities of some NGOs involving religion or/and politics must be diverted to the desirable ones that include the aspects of sustainable development; otherwise perishability is knocking at the door.

As a lowly Baul I suggest that NGOs should aim to demonstrate sustainable development, a prerequisite to poverty reduction, by means of

(i) integrated natural resource (ecosystem) management; and
(ii) transfer of appropriate technologies (লাগসই প্রযুক্তি Lagsoi Prajukti) for villagersself-reliant livelihood.

NGO objectives should include

(i) to accept membership from all social strata, abolishing the present practice oftarget group concept.

The present practice restricts wider community participation in NGOS development works. There are hardly any examples in the history of development where only the poor class developed a nation.. China, Japan, Korea were developed with indiscriminate participation, though predominantly by middle class.

(ii) to make financial transactions culturally friendly.

This would help encourage members in several ways to invest their savings with NGO. This would also satisfy religious ruling in context. This is a self-help practice to generate funds, from within the community, for production and distribution activities which are not dependent on foreign aid.

(iii) to disseminate appropriate technologies including renewable energy technology systems amongst the rural artisans and farmers.

The above objectives would: (a) increase cottage industry production and agri-harvests; (b) help sustain resource-base; (c) use agri-wastes and other by-products; and (d) create job opportunities in the rural areas that would help stop rural migration to the cities resulting in crowds, slum
development, traffic jam, social and environmental pollution.

(iv) to re-excavate numerous natural water reservoirs, preventing the complete drying out in summer fatally affecting many types of indigenous small and large size fish to grow and breed in natural environment.

It is observed that natural breeding suffers negligible loss of fingerlings compared to losses during artificial breeding and raising. Despite this fact, small rivers and lakes are being presently pumped out in the winter to grow paddy, killing the entire marine ecology therein. Additionally, crop lands situated above flood level are being dug out for selected pisciculture for commercial purposes.

This practice is pushing many other forms of aquatic biota of existence. Consequently, other members of our ecology, who live on eating aquatic biota, are rapidly vanishing. Besides other environmental damages, this is also contributing to (a) a shortage of animal protein for most of the rural people who cannot afford to buy large fish; (b) the extinction of many aquatic species such as many indigenous fish types, tortoises, frogs, reptiles, oysters, snails to name a few; and (c) the extinction of some water birds such as eagles, wild ducks, river gulls, king storks, king fishers etc. who live on small fish.

(v) to plant multiple-use fruit trees at potential places where non-fruit timber trees have been planted customarily by NGOs in Bangladesh.

The present practice of planting non-fruit trees is contributing to the severe shortage of fruit vitamins for all, especially the poor, who neither have lands to grow fruit trees, nor can afford to buy imported apples, grapes and oranges. This practice also contributes to the extinction of fruit-eating birds, natural controllers of pests and insects, marking a distinct socio-environmental offense.

(vi) to seek the active guidance of the experienced elders and ulama; and charismatic personalities as Pir-fakirs and Bauls whom people obey with respect.

These people are the social, religious, economic, and even political facilitators and associates in everyday life of our people. They should be invited by NGOs to take part in development programs, for they are miraculously capable of transforming our society into the desired culture of peace, prosperity and sustainability.

Last, but not the least, to escape retaliations and gain sustainability NGOs must be reformed in the spirit of culturally friendly cooperative societies. "Sobar janya swastha O sanmanjanak swaschalata" (health and respectful income, সবার জন্য স্বাস্থ্য সম্মানজনক স্বচ্ছলতা) should be their slogan. To accomplish this, NGOs are required to change their current operational infrastructure.

Dated 19/04/2001 www.bangladesh-web.com
Md. Amzad Hossain

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