Bias at the BBC

 This lady is Samira Hussain, South Asia correspondent to the BBC. She recently gave a report on “false” videos on the plight of Bangladeshi Hindus.

Here's the email that I sent to Ms. Hussain. 

Hello from the United States of America. My local radio station WAMU 88.5 broadcasts the BBC World Service overnight and the BBC Newshour in the mornings.

I listened to your report on “false” videos on the plight of Bangladeshi Hindus with interest and ultimately concern. Your report was intended to minimize the plight of Bangladeshi Hindus. While you did have a throwaway line that Bangladeshi Hindus were being persecuted, that is not enough. You should give a report on what Hindus are suffering in Bangladesh, rather than a report on “false” videos.

I have copied the BBC World Service on this email. I have also copied organizations and individuals that might help you put together a report on the plight of Bangladeshi Hindus.

Those copied on the email were:

• Hindu Human Rights: not to be confused with the deceptively named Hindus for Human Rights
• Hindu Existence
• Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, USA
• Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) 
• Richard Benkin
• Hindu Students Council
• Amnesty International USA

Not surprisingly, Ms. Hussain did not respond to my email. Of those who were copied on this email, only Richard Benkin, a longtime advocate for Bangladeshi Hindus, replied. He wrote:

I'm heading out to Bengal soon. Things are horrible there for Hindus who are facing an existential threat.

Mosque being built on land of Kantajew Temple in Dinajpur, Bangladesh

 News about a terracotta temple in Bangladesh that I visited:

Hossain, M. F. (2024, March 23). Mosque being built on land of Kantajew Temple in Dinajpur. Dhaka Tribune. https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/nation/342502/minority-rights-group-urges-pm-s-intervention-to

HT

Spencer, R. (2024, March 25). Bangladesh: Mosque being built on land of historic Hindu temple. Jihad Watch. https://www.jihadwatch.org/2024/03/bangladesh-mosque-being-built-on-land-of-the-historic-hindu-temple

The Blood Telegram: India's Secret War in Pakistan by Gary J Bass

Namaste

The Blood Telegram : India's Secret War in East Pakistan by Gary J. Bass
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was released in the U.S. as The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide. This version was released in South Asia as The Blood Telegram: India's Secret War in Pakistan.

The U.S. title is more accurate. Nixon and Kissinger claim the opening to China as their greatest foreign policy success. In actuality, Pakistan was the conduit to the U.S. opening to China. To reward Pakistan, Nixon and Kissinger shipped arms, which Pakistan in turn used to brutally crack down on the Bengalis in East Pakistan, resulting in a near-genocide of Bengali Hindus. In The Blood Telegram, Garry Bass seeks to correct Nixon and Kissinger's foreign policy record.


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Tales from River Brahmaputra

Source: amazon.com via Julie on Pinterest

Namaste, 

I'm only on page 60, and Tales from River Brahmaputra by Tiziana Baldizzoni is already proving to be a better book than Rivers of India. It has a superior pressing and stunning photos. It's easy to overlook the text, which is filled with lore about the Brahmaputra.

It seems to be a little thin on the coverage of the river's course through India.

Reproductions of antique maps are provided on the back side of the front and back covers.

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Being the Bahu of Bengal is no longer a joke

I chose the screen name Bahu of Bengal as a joke. I extended that joke with a reference to Amitabh Bachchan, who worked as a shipping agent in Calcutta before he went into movies and met and married Jaya Bhaduri.

True, I am married to a Bengali and I have a loving relationship with my husband’s parents, who still live in Kolkata, so there’s the sentimental attachment. I realized that calling myself the Bahu of Bengal was something other than a joke when I reacted to this story about Muslims taking over a historic terracotta mandir in Bangladesh to build a madrassa.


Terracotta temple in Birgonj, Dinajpur, Bangladesh

We had visited this mandir (which is similar to those in Bishnupur, Bankura District, West Bengal) when we traveled to Bangladesh to see where my father-in-law was born and grew up. I was indignant and shocked to learn that this mandir has been appropriated to serve as a madrassa. These stories hit home when there's a personal connection.