M Adil Khan, Author At Countercurrents

Articles by: M Adil Khan

2006: Professor Muhammad Yunus with the Nobel Peace Prize

The recent surge in insults and harassment of the Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus in Bangladesh, a sign of a nation collapsing, morally?

While the Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus has many admirers, he is no stranger to insults either, especially inside Bangladesh. Yunus has been a target of insults and harassment for a while and, more prominently and visibly since 2009 though in recent times, the pattern of these insults has undergone an important change – the sources of insults have moved[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 15/09/2023 — Comments are Disabled — South Asia

The democracy in Bangladesh, bashed and brutalised!

The recently held July 17, 2023, by-election at Dhaka-17 vacant seat that witnessed a vicious attack on an independent candidate, Mr. Hero Alom, revealed two contrasting trends – a missed opportunity for the government and that old habits die hard. Indeed, the by-election was an opportunity for the ruling Awami League, which has lately been subjected to harsh criticisms, both[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 22/07/2023 — Comments are Disabled — South Asia

Paul Keating’s criticism of Australia’s AUKUS deal is damming but not “astonishing”, – in fact, timely!

On March 14, 2023 Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stood side by side with the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the US President Joe Biden at a Naval base in San Diego, USA and signed off the next phase of AUKUS deal, where Australia will purchase three nuclear powered submarines. which would be based in Australia. According to the[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 21/03/2023 — Comments are Disabled — World

Neoliberalism’s GDP Hoax and its Costly Consequences: Time for a different ‘Development’ paradigm?

It is true that economic growth – meaning rising GDP – is one of the key indicators of rising prosperity in a society though as the Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz also reminds that “Maximising GDP is not same as maximising wellbeing” puts to question the merit of overemphasis that are often put to GDP as the marker of ‘development’ in[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 20/02/2023 — Comments are Disabled — World

Fall of Boris Johnson: Some Take-Home Lessons

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has described Boris Johnson’s political tenure as “…one of the most shameful sagas in the history of British politics …[who] presided over a government defined by lies, sleaze, an utter lack of integrity, unlawful behaviour, incompetence, and a damaging culture of impunity in public office”. Sadiq further said that “At every turn, his government has sought[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 13/07/2022 — Comments are Disabled — World

The Ukraine War: “Beyond the fight, lies the greater fight”

The “Unwinnable War” Last week, the UN secretary-general António Guterres said that the Ukraine war is “….unwinnable” and this is true but sadly, there seems to be no letup in the war, not yet. In the meantime, Russia’s relentless bombing has reduced Ukraine into a pile of rubbles and turned Ukraine into a non-functioning state! On the other hand, Russia’s[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 30/03/2022 — 1 comment — World

Ukraine War, US/West’s War Hypocrisies, and Quest for a Rule-based World – Can UN Help?

“World Tour of Wars” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is both illegal and immoral. While Russia’s concern that Ukraine’s decision to join NATO which also included the prospect of NATO setting up a missile base in Ukraine, 100 miles from Russia’s border, is genuine, this by no means is a justification for invading Ukraine. Russia should have continued to explore other[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 02/03/2022 — 2 comments — World

Is Modi working overtime to reverse India’s progression into a nation from a country?

Muskan Khan, the lone Karnataka (India) Muslim student in Hijab, standing up against Hindu extremists; Source: CNN In the past, there were no countries. There were civilizations and empires and then, there were nations of small ethnic and linguistic groups. ‘Country’, is a colonial construct and thus a very a recent idea. For example, before British colonised ‘India’, it did[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 15/02/2022 — Comments are Disabled — India

The Rising China – A Boon, A ‘Debt Trap’, A ‘Security Threat’?

Recently, I attended a book launch. The book is about China (I am withholding the name of the book). I did not read the book, but like most official book launches, a flyer capturing the core messages of the book was circulated at the Launch event. The core messages of the book are the following: internally, China is a dysfunctional[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 17/12/2021 — Comments are Disabled — World

Violence against Hindus in Bangladesh and Muslims in India: a case of state failure in one and state inspired, in another?

Image of the recent destruction of Hindu Temple in Comilla, Bangladesh. Source: The Free Press Journal Image of destruction of Muslim properties during the 2020 anti-Muslim riot in Delhi, India. Source: Al Jazeera In Bangladesh, former East Pakistan where bulk of Pakistan’s Hindus belonged once, violence against its minority, mainly the Hindus (9% or 14.7 million of its total population[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 15/11/2021 — Comments are Disabled — South Asia

New Taliban, New Afghanistan?

After 20 years of US/NATO/Afghan Puppet Army’s brutal and illegal occupation of Afghanistan, Kabul, the capital city finally fell on August 15, 2021, at the hands of the reclusive but a defiant new Taliban. The Fall has turned all military calculus upside down – world’s mightiest have been defeated by the world’s smallest, a jungle army, the new Taliban! Pundits[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 27/08/2021 — Comments are Disabled — World

China 101

Regardless of whether it is in democracies or otherwise, decisions on foreign policies including those that concern wars against other countries are almost always made exclusively by governments, with limited or no consultations with the citizens and often at the behest of vested interest who operate mostly within and at times, from abroad. Once decisions on wars are made, public[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 17/07/2021 — 1 comment — World

The 47th G 7 Meeting and reflections: the dirt is on the face and not on the mirror

47th G7 meeting was held at Cornwall, UK in May this year. The May G7 meeting was significant for many reasons but most importantly that this was also Jo Biden’s first foreign outing as the President of USA. Although the meeting announced more prominently, COVID 19 and Climate Change as its agenda, the real purpose of the meeting was to[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 21/06/2021 — Comments are Disabled — World

Israel’s land-grab and its unquenchable lust for more, Palestinian resistance and the familiar cycle of violence: when would it end?

Palestinian casualties of Israeli bombs that according to Mr. Netanyahu, targeted the “terrorists” in Gaza Like most Israeli/Palestinian clashes of the past, recent clash was also triggered and fomented by the Israelis. Al Jazeera reports that “Anger has been growing over the forced expulsion of Palestinian families [by the Israelis] from the occupied East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah, who[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 17/05/2021 — Comments are Disabled — Palestine

Cartoon image of Bangladesh Army Chief, General Aziz Ahmed’s bandit brother, Harris Ahmed. Source: Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera’s Tele-documentary, the Bandit Brothers and Bangladesh’s Dossier of Abuse

On February 1, 2021 the Qatar based TV outlet, Al Jazeera aired a tele documentary, “All the Prime Minister’s Men.” The tele documentary that included several sting operations involving convicted fugitive brothers of the Bangladesh Army Chief, General Aziz Ahmed depicted multiple layers of abuse and corruption – money laundering, extortion, bribery, extra judicial killing, disappearances, and arbitrary arrests of[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 13/02/2021 — Comments are Disabled — South Asia

Biden in the White House: Is US on the mend?

Biden is in and Trump is out. Despite all the drama, America’s flawed democracy has managed to make the will of its people prevail. Americans have got their President, Mr. Biden that they voted for. Mr. Biden was officially sworn in on 20th January 2021 as the 46th President of the United States of America and sadly, due to COVID[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 25/01/2021 — 3 comments — World

2020: 10 Good News, Bad News

GOOD NEWS 1)Trump will not be the President of USA in the new year and beyond 2) Vaccine for COVID 19 is in the market and more on the way 3) COVID 19 has demonstrated that not possession of sophisticated arsenals nor resources and not well-trained army but empathising leadership and people-centric state capacity are key to guaranteeing safety and[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 30/12/2020 — 2 comments — World

Conversation around controversies: a quest for objectivity and maturity in Bangladesh

Top Left: Sheikh Mujibur Rahman giving his penultimate speech on 7th of March 1971 at Racecourse Maidan, Dhaka, (then East Pakistan) Bangladesh); Top Right. Major (then) Ziaur Rahan announcing independence of Bangladesh at Kalurghat make-shift radio station in Chittagong, Bangladesh on 27th March, 1971; Bottom: Mr. Tajuddin Ahmed, Prime Minister of Government-in-Exile of Bangladesh formally proclaiming independence of Bangladesh on[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 21/12/2020 — Comments are Disabled — South Asia

Picture of Aussie soldier gulping beer from ‘prosthetic leg of dead Taliban fighter’

Australia’s Afghanistan War Crimes: A Case of Old Habits Die Hard?

Every time you start to believe that West is your model of morality, you get a jolt. Recent revelations of horrific war crimes committed by the Australian soldiers in Afghanistan where innocent men, women and children were deliberately and gruesomely killed are a rude reminder that West’s claim to morality is not just outright falsehood, their colonial habits of abuse[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 03/12/2020 — Comments are Disabled — World

Biden Victory: A Mere Sigh of Relief or a Sign of Salvation?

Last four years of Trump presidency has been the most chaotic if not the most problematic that the US and the world at large have experienced, ever. Mr. Trump’s governing style has been unique and bewildering. He made White House a twitter factory – made policies, hired and fired people and attacked his opponents through twitters. Furthermore, and not[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 18/11/2020 — Comments are Disabled — World

The Begumganj (Bangladesh) Gang-rape and the Big Picture

I don’t know who drew this this rape-map of Bangladesh, but this is a telling geography of rape epidemic which as can be see here, has spread widely and reached every nook and corner of the country. The scrolls on each district which are in vernacular are appeals to the predators from the rape victims – desperate pleas to dissuade[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 08/10/2020 — Comments are Disabled — South Asia

Democracy Is Important But Is It Working?

If you think that democracy is about ‘government of the people by the people and for the people’, you are dead wrong, not these days. The way democracy has evolved in recent years in both developed as well as in developing countries, it has become more of a system that may be, just may be ‘of the people’ and to[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 26/08/2020 — Comments are Disabled — World

India/China Clash and South Asia: Discordant Mindsets, Changing Dynamics and the Way Forward

“It was a time when the unthinkable became the thinkable and the impossible really happened” ― Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things India’s Galwan Debacle Recently, in a gun-less fistfight (sort of) between India and China in the Galwan Valley, a stretch of land that divides China’s autonomous region of Tibet from India, 20 Indian soldiers were killed by[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 02/07/2020 — Comments are Disabled — India

COVID 19: Australia’s Anti-China Rhetoric Risks its Economic Recovery

Mr. Scott Morrison, the Prime Minister of Australia ought to be applauded for his remarkable leadership for mobilisation of best scientific advice and pursuing coherent federal/state policies and enlisting trust and cooperation of ordinary Australians, in tackling the COVID 19 crisis so successfully. By now, spread of the deadly virus in most parts of the country has come to a[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 10/05/2020 — Comments are Disabled — World

Is religion a strong motivator of ‘giving’?

For Muslims this is the month Ramadhan, the dawn-to-dusk fasting month, a month which is not merely about fasting but also a reminder to all Muslims of a key obligation of Islam – ‘giving’! For that matter, ‘giving’ as a religious duty is an integral component of every religion. In some religion ‘giving’ is compulsory and in others it is[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 08/05/2020 — Comments are Disabled — Life/Philosophy

COVID 19: The Crisis, Leadership and the State

New Zealand Prime Minister comforting a Muslim woman in the aftermath of the mosque massacre in Auckland, New Zealand in 2019 As of April 30, 2020, there were 3 018 952 confirmed and 207 973 deaths globally[3] and counting though Australia’s Chief Health Officer speculates that given that these numbers cover only those who have been clinically tested and recorded[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 30/04/2020 — Comments are Disabled — World

COVID – 19: Changing Dynamics, Shifting World?

As of April 17, 2020COVID 19, a health hazard of unimaginable proportions has infected 2020 1.9 million and killed more than 150000 and counting. However, Australia’s Chief Medical Officer speculates that given that these official numbers are based on those who have been tested and recorded as infected and as large numbers remain untested and unrecorded especially in developing countries,[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 19/04/2020 — Comments are Disabled — World

Bangladesh’s COVID-19 Response Plan: Can the government turn a chaotic start into a good end?

Contrary to the common belief that Government of Bangladesh has been least prepared and that its responses to COVID-19 have been ad hoc and impulsive, it is important to note that the government did have an elaborate plan, ‘National Preparedness and Response Plan for COVID – 19’ and that the Plan was prepared under the guidance of the Directorate General[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 06/04/2020 — 2 comments — South Asia

Two Hindu students in Kolkata, India walking a blind Muslim to a Mosque

Indian Muslims: Are they ‘invaders’, ‘scumbags’ or equal citizens?

Broadly speaking most Indian Hindus seem to entertain three perceptions vis-à-vis the Indian Muslims – that Muslims are: (i) ‘invaders’ and thus have no place in Hindu India; (ii) ‘scumbags’, liars, cheats and terrorists and thus be shunned; and finally, to some (iii) they are equal citizens and thus be treated accordingly. Muslims are Invaders and thus have no place[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 27/12/2019 — Comments are Disabled — India

Revocation of Kashmir’s Article 370 and a Prognosis

On Monday August 5, 2019, Modi government abrogated Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that gave special autonomy status to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and bifurcated the state into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir; and Ladakh. The move has led to mixed reactions in India though buoyed by the Hindutva ideology the majority who no doubt sees[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 19/08/2019 — 2 comments — India

My Recent Visit To Uzbekistan – Some Take-Home Lessons Of Their Public Policies

Uzbekistan always fascinated me. I always wanted to visit this country for several reasons. This is the country from where Timur Lung, the ‘Emperor of three Continents’, the ancestor (great, great, great grand-father) of Emperor Babar, the founder of Mughal Empire in the Indian-sub-continent came from and ruled. This is also the country where Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari who introduced in[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 22/07/2019 — 2 comments — World

Bangladesh’s rape epidemic: Are these a case of deviant sexual behaviour or ‘System’s failure’?

In Bangladesh incidents of loot, plunder, enforced disappearances, breakdown of rule of law, extra-judicial killings, deaths and injuries in road accidents through reckless driving have become parts of daily news. Lately, news of audacious rapes, abductions of girls and women and sexual harassments in almost all parts of the country are also becoming common occurrences these days. Spates of horrifying[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 16/05/2019 — 1 comment — Patriarchy

‘Pulwama’, ‘Balakot’, Modi, Imran Khan, Wing Commander Avinandan, War Cry, Peace Appeal etc. etc: What do we make of all these?

Whole thing started with Pulwama in Kashmir in Indian Kashmir where a suicide bomber attacked an Indian army convoy and killed 40 soldiers. The incident has happened in the wake of upcoming general election in India which also coincides with Modi’s plummeting popularity that have made some people looking at this sad incident beyond the obvious. There is nothing more[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 02/03/2019 — Comments are Disabled — South Asia

‘Muktijuddher Chetona’ – The Spirit of Liberation War: From Slogan to the Substantive

“Equality, Human dignity and Social justice” – the visionof independent Bangladesh, stipulated at the Proclamation of Independence by the Bangladesh Government-in-Exile on 17th April, 1971 in Mujibnagar In recent times, similar to Trump’s ‘Making America Great Again’ (an exclusionary ultra-right slogan) or Modi’s ‘Achche Din’ (promise of good days through Hindutva ideology that seeks to establish the hegemony of Hindus[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 08/02/2019 — 1 comment — South Asia

2018 Bangladesh General Election: An invitation to furthering volatility?

The 2018 Bangladesh General Election scheduled on December 30, 2018 marks the end of two consecutive terms of the ruling Awami League (AL), first ever by any political party since 1991, the year when parliamentary democracy was re-introduced in the country through a mass movement against a military dictatorship. AL’s decade long rule has witnessed both good and bad. During[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 23/11/2018 — 1 comment — South Asia

The challenges of evaluating popular leaders objectively, especially posthumously

Almost all leaders especially popular do good things to gain the status of a popular leader. But they also make mistakes. However, people often seem to get fiercely divided in portraying leaders in a balanced manner, especially posthumously. McCain, an immediate example of contradictions Senator John McCain for example, who died of brain cancer on August 28, 2018 is a[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 01/09/2018 — 1 comment — Life/Philosophy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh

Bangladesh General Elections and India: From Blatant Engineering to Colonial Control?

Until 2008, Bangladesh elections did not attract much attention in Indiaand at the same, within Bangladesh, India never figured as an important factor in any of its election discussions, neither.This changed since 2008. Although seeds of the change were sownmore immediately in the aftermath of the end of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) rule in 2006, its origin goes back[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 05/07/2018 — 1 comment — South Asia

Bangladesh’s World Cup Frenzy Dribbling Beyond the Obvious

2018 Football World Cup frenzy in Bangladesh has left everyone astounded. Entire nation seems to have gone crazy over this year’s championship tournament. Supporters have divided themselves among their favourites and doing the most unthinkable to reveal their choices. For example, a guy in a village, a supporter of Germany, had sold a piece of his land and made[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 19/06/2018 — 1 comment — World

The Wind Of Bad Breath

Wind has no smell The aroma it spreads is from the Master’s garden. Nor has it any sound Music you hear in the wind is from the singing birds. Alas! Master’s garden has dried up And the birds sing no more! The crackling noise of the broken trumpet That you hear that hurts your eardrums Is from the oppressor’s loud[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 12/04/2018 — 1 comment — Arts/Literature

Mr. Xi Jinping, Take A Look At This Photo

I urge you, Mr. Xi Jinping, President of Peoples’ Republic of China to take a good look at this photo. Do you see what I see? I see the agony. I see sadness. I also see numerous questions in the eyes of these Rohingya kids that are asking – why are we here, why our parents are not with us,[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 27/09/2017 — 1 comment — Human Rights

Remedying Rohynga Genocide

George Orwell, the author of the ‘Burmese Days’ once said that, “Every saint is a sinner until proven innocent”. Aung San Su Kyi, a Nobel Peace Laureate who is currently presiding over one of the most horrendous genocides of our time of her country’s ethnic minority, the Rohyngas- has never been a saintnor is she likely to be one in[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 08/09/2017 — 1 comment — Human Rights

Rohyinga Villages Burning Again

Authorities in Myanmar say close to 100 people have been killed since Friday when armed men, reportedly from the ArakanRohynga Salvation Army (ARSA), launched a pre-dawn raid on police outposts in the conflict region and this has been the main cause of the latest violence in Arakan. According to one report, “The army has declared a war against ‘terrorism’, encircling[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 31/08/2017 — 2 comments — Human Rights

Disappearing Role Models, Crisis of Nations and the Urgency of ‘Socially ConsciousLeadership’

This would have been early eighties,then as a public servant in Bangladesh I visited a district called Kushtiato inspect progress of implementation of development projects. At that time I was working at the central monitoring organization of the government of Bangladesh. Upon arrival in Kushtia after I met the concerned officials to discuss my project inspection itinerary the officials told[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 28/08/2017 — 1 comment — Life/Philosophy

Bangladesh’s Governance Decay: A Case Of Leadership Betrayal?

The sad thing about democracy is that every time you vote, a politician wins and for Bangladesh its tryst with ‘democracy’ its politicians have been anything but happy. Most Bangladeshis feel that they have been betrayed by their politicians especially by their leaderships. They have witnessed how their leaders that sought votes and got themselves elected through democratic frameworks[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 05/08/2017 — 5 comments — South Asia

The Rohingya Open Letter And Search For A Permanent Solution

2016 did not end completely hopelessly. In late December,15 Nobel Laureates including Professor Mohammed Yunus and 12 global leaders wrote an Open Letter to the President of the United Nations Security Councils (UNSC) and its members decrying the Rohingya carnage in Myanmar that are“amounting to ethnic cleansing” and that the crisis has “the potential for genocide” and that it “has[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 02/01/2017 — 4 comments — World

Rohingya Tragedy And Aung San Suu Kyi’s ‘Buddy’ Solution

Persecution of Rohingyas in Myanmar is continuing with impunityand without a break. Dieng and Yanghee Lee, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, have confirmed these atrocities and “requested independent UN investigations on the alleged ‘ethnic cleansing’ and other mass atrocities in the Rohingya region of Rakhine State”. But Aung San Suu Kyi has remained defiant to an extent[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 10/12/2016 — 3 comments — Human Rights, South Asia

No Action On Ongoing Repression Of Myanmar’s Muslims

In one of its recent reporting the Guardian reports that at the entrance to Thaungtan village in Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Delta a brand-new signasserts, “No Muslims allowed to stay overnight. No Muslims allowed rent houses. No marriage with Muslims.” Al-Jajeera also reports of similar rise in systematic eviction, rape, loot and arson of Rohingyas (the Muslim ethnic minority of Myanmar’s Delta)[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 29/10/2016 — 1 comment — Human Rights

The Looming India/Pakistan Crisis – Who To Blame?

The short answer to the above question is, both! Recent bout started with Uri, the Indian border post at the Kashmir front. 18 Indian soldiers were killed by across-the-border assailants. India blames Pakistan and Pakistan denies and says it is the work of the disaffected Kashmiri insurgents. In the ensuing row India is winning diplomatically, Pakistan is rambling madly and[Read More…]

by M Adil Khan — 03/10/2016 — 1 comment — South Asia

Articles by: M Adil Khan

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