Fayetteville, North Carolina
The Thirty-third Annual Bengal Studies Conference
This year the 33rd Bengal Studies Conference was held at Fayetteville State University, (FSU). It was very well organized by Dr Rama Datt and Dr Derick Smith. Both are professors at FSU. This remarkable university (in what was once Confederate territory) was founded by African Americans just after the Civil War to promote the cause of education among former slaves.By Victor A. van Bijlert
In his welcome speech FSU's Chancellor, Dr Willis B. McLeod, emphasized the importance of events such as the Bengal Studies Conferences, which he was proud to host, because they build bridges between different civilizations. In his short address for the round table discussion Prof. Clinton Seely (Chicago) teased the participants into considering the controversial view that perhaps the Bengali language is not a unifying factor for both Bengals, and that we impose unity on something that is no unity. After all, Bengal is divided between two nation-states.Prof. Enayatur Rahim (Washington DC) drew attention to the fact that by the year 2000 there will be about 220 million speakers of Bengali in the world. It is an arduous task to convince deans of faculties of arts to invest in the study of Bengali, which already has many more speakers than French. Further points were made to the effect that political divisions do not prevent the study of Bengal as a unity. Before the Partition of 1947 Bengal did exist as a single province. Regional co-operation on an economic basis could overcome political differences. Co-operation and cultural exchanges are absolutely necessary as an antidote to abused nationalism with its horrendous results as can be seen in the Balkans. The fact that both Bengals share a common history going back to pre-Mughal times cannot be dismissed lightly.
Literature
Clinton Seely (Chicago) argued that the Annadamangal Kavya by the eighteenth-century poet Bharat Chandra was a homogeneous work in praise of the Mother Goddess. Moreover, it was composed with the intention of proving that Raja Krishnachandra's royal line owed its kingship directly to the Mughal emperor, Jahangir. Sanjukta Dasgupta (Calcutta University) spoke on Bengali women's poetry . Although there is no feminist movement in Bengal, there is feminist awareness. Sanjukta read poetry by women poets Mallika Sengupta, Krishna Bose, Joya Mitra, and Taslima Nasrin, both in Bengali and her own translations in English.
Religion and culture
Umesh Gulati (Eastern Carolina University) held up the life and teachings of Sharada Debi (1853-1920), wife of Sri Ramakrishna (1836-1886), as those of an ideal religious prophet for the modern world. Through her life Sharada Debi had demonstrated that democracy should not merely be a form of government but a supreme ethical ideal. Narasingha Sil (Western Oregon University) compared Vivekananda (1862-1902, noted disciple of Sri Ramakrishna) and Friederich Nietzsche as two fin de siècle critics of Western modernity. Sil noted some striking similarities and dissimilarities between these two cult-figures. Whereas Nietzsche was a great scholar and writer, Vivekananda was primarily an orator but no scholar. Victor van Bijlert (NIAS-IIAS, Leiden University) spoke on Bankim's creation of the Indian national icon in his song Bande Mataram. This song praises the Goddess Durga as Mother of the country Bengal. It transformed the traditional devotion to Durga into patriotism. Subhra Nag (Perimeter College, Georgia) interpreted Sri Aurobindo's philosophy from her own experience: one could do one's daily work as a valid form of meditation.
History and Politics
Enayetur Rahim (Georgetown University) reported on his study of the State Department and White House papers dealing with the Bangladeshi War of Liberation in 1971. Nixon and Kissinger had favoured Yahya Khan in order to preserve the territorial integrity of Pakistan. This support helped the last in perpetrating grave atrocities in former East Pakistan. The State Department had assessed the situation in East Pakistan much better than the White House, but the latter carried out its own diplomacy without consultation with the State Dept. Serajul Alam Khan (independent scholar, political activist, and former right hand of Mujibur Rahman!) argued for the introduction of a bicameral parliament in Bangladesh. Zillur Khan (University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh) hoped for more investment in education in Bangladesh. In Bangladesh education on a large scale is necessary to establish the genuine empowerment of people. The elites should be trained to let go of what they perceive as their privileges. There was a suggestion that perhaps the elites do not want to achieve to more equitable economic relations. Before they acquiesce in this, a great deal of convincing and education will have to be undertaken.
Economy and Business
The lack of any work culture in West Bengal was considered the root cause of economic problems, according to three speakers: Amitabh Chatterjee (Fayetteville University), Sabyasachi Ghosh-Dastidar (SUNY), and Amalendu Chatterjee (telecom consultant and co-sponsor of the event). Amitabh Chatterjee moreover maintained that unlike the situation in nineteenth-century England urbanization in West Bengal did not create economic growth. Dastidar pointed out that the work culture in West Bengal is seven times worse than in the rest of India and West Bengal has most of the industrial strikes. On the positive side: Calcutta is one of the safest cities in India. Amalendu Chatterjee gave many examples drawn from his own experience of the lack of efficiency in public sector services. Inconveniences, lack of efficiency, customer-unfriendliness, and lack of work culture have to be overcome by a total change of attitude. This means more client-orientedness and creating better relations between supplier and customer.