Talk:Drishtipat
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Controversy surrounding Drishtipat
The overwhelming number of British Bangladeshis originate from Sylhet Division (comprising the districts of Sylhet, Habiganj, Moulvi Bazaar and Shunamganj). Drishtipat has been accused [1]of highlighting social, economic and human rights issues in the Dhaka region, to the detriment of Sylhet, as it's membership in London is composed entirely of Bangladeshis originating from the Dhaka region.
In response to these accusations the administrators of the Drishtipat Blog site have deleted those threads which show their exclusive nature, rather than dealing with the problems within their organisation. http://66.249.93.104/search?q=cache:aR9W8ECbNV4J:www.drishtipat.org/blog/2006/07/27/monica-ali/+Drishtipat+sylhet+ali&hl=en&gl=uk&ct=clnk&cd=2
—Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.74.20.118 (talk • contribs)
Drishtipat Response: please don’t change the wiki entry with unstubstantiated claim. Formal complaint has been made and the article hopefully will be locked. To refute your argument 1. Drishtipat is just not based in london. It has 7 chapters all across the world. 5 in america and 1 in canada and 1 in australia 2. It does not claim to represent sylhetis rather it represents bangladeshis 3. I have not seen any controversy about this other than your comment. Can you cite a newspaper article which highlights this so called controversy? 4. There is no discrimination based on where the member is from. What you are asking is a serious form discrimination to only include members from Sylhet region. 5. Also we have no record of where the members are from so we do not know whether members are from sylhet or not. We don't really care. 6. Grow up. We are all trying to help people in our free time. We are a voluntary organization. We don't get any funding from anywhere. So please stop picking a fight with us. We don't claim to represent any region. We pick projects based on our mission with greater Bangladesh in mind.
—Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.4.131.140 (talk • contribs)
Freedom of expression!
The concerns I have raised against Drishtipat are legitimate ones. I am airing a view with which the majority of British Bangladeshi Sylhetis will sympathise.
How can Drishtipat be a credible org when it's leader is an American Dhakaiya and it's members from Dhaka and it's environs? Their priorities are different and biased.
Given that 95% of the population in the UK is Sylheti:
-Why do we have the obscene situation whereby the Drishtipat London branch's opening event and theme is about garments factory workers? Hellloooo....the real question we should be asking (and what any real Human Rights org would ask)is why are so many of these factories situated in/around Dhaka? Especially when the Sylhet region is crying out for government development funds?
-Why is it that Sylhetis are so massively under-represented in the media, political circles, armed forces and the civil service? This bias leads the media to be dominated by the Dhakaiyas shuddho language to the detriment to other languages in Bangladesh like Sylheti and Chatgaiya. Most DP members speak Dhakaiya, so we know where their alligiences lie....
-Why is it that Sylheti expats and NRB contribute billions of pounds into the Bangladeshi economy and FOREX reserves over the years but Sylhet region is the last place to see any government investment?
IF WIKIPEDIA IS THREAD THEN IT IS A SLAP IN THE FACE OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND THE PROVISION OF ACCURATE INFORMATION TO THE WEB SURFER. PLEASE DO NOT THINK YOU CAN IGNORE THE LEGITIMATE GRIEVANCES AND VIEWPOINTS OF SYLHETI PEOPLE.
Drishtipat should either remain content to stay in the US or if you want a British/European base, then at least address our issues. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.74.20.118 (talk • contribs)
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[edit] semi-protection
Due to the extensive edit warring, I've blocked anonymous and new users via semi-protection. Please resolve your issues in the talk page. If there is controversy over content, please provide references (see WP:CITE for details). Thank you. --Ragib 22:04, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
+++Recommended Edition to Drishtipat page+++
Controversy surrounding Drishtipat
Drishtipat's London branch has been criticised for the composition of it's membership http://www.drishtipat.org/blog/2006/07/27/monica-ali/. The majority of British Bangladeshi's originate from Sylhet Division in Bangladesh and are keenly interested in the human and economic rights in their region. Drishtipat's national Dhaka-centric focus has thus been criticised. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.74.20.118 (talk • contribs)
Drishtipat rejects such racist and discriminatory view point . We do not discriminate by race, region, gender or any thing on choosing members, picking projects. The so called controversy mentioned here is just one person's racist opinion put as a comment in a blog entry. Very few people would subscribe to such a bigoted view. So we reject the recommendation made above. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Asifsaleh (talk • contribs)
Drishtipat is a Dhaka-centric org in a sea of Sylheti's
Drishtipat is an unrepresentative organisation as 90-95% of Brit Bangladeshis are Sylhetis but Drishtipat's leader is a Dhakaiya, it's membership is full of Shuddho Bengali speaking Dhakaiyas and it's projects benefit those outside Sylhet. WIKI SHOULD POINT THIS OUT TO READERS. It is part of the 'establishment' and does not campaign on behalf of Sylhet which is discriminated against in terms of resource allocation by Dhaka. If it makes me a racist to point this out then then so be it.
Perhaps Asif Saleh wishes to pursue a career in Bangladeshi politics and is using 'Drishtipat' as a stepping stone. NOBODY will use us Sylhetis for their own benefit. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.74.59.81 (talk • contribs)
You don't even realise how incoherent you are. On one hand you are saying dp london does not represent the sylhetis because they are all non-sylhetis. On the otherhand you are saying we are using the Sylhetis. We do not represent sylhet but the greater bangladesh. What am i missing here. Of course, you can say that we are not a credible organization if it comes to representing sylhetis. We are agreeing to that because that is not our focus. But you can't say we are not a credible organization when it comes to talking about human rights in Bangladesh in general. We also do not claim to cover every single issue. However, if you say that no organization can focus on issues which not local to Sylhet because 90% of the people here are from Sylhet, it is like saying no organization in the UK can focus on non-white/caucasian issues because 75% people in UK are white. Let the people in London be the judge of what we do. If they reject us, then we won't survive any way. But if they don't, then it will prove you wrong and you can resign from being the self styled spokesperson. Just so you know, 75% our sponsors of our prgram was Sylheti. Our media partner was Channel S which did an extensive report on the program. So your argument of non Sylheti inclusion falls flat on its face. This is my last comment on the issue. Already wasted too much time on this. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Asifsaleh (talk • contribs)
[edit] Verifiability
Anon 87.74.41.206 (talk · contribs) / Habz (talk · contribs) added the following statements:
- Drishtipat's membership is comprised of people from Dhaka.
- Drishtipat is opposed by people from Sylhet.
For the membership, can you provide a statistical breakdown of the home districts of the members of Drishtipat? Please provide some numbers. Hand waving, "Because I say so" do not count.
For the second comment, please provide a reference. Comments left in a blog do not count. The blog is open, and ANYONE can place ANY comment there. For example, if someone goes ahead and adds the comment "Drishtipat members come from Mars", that doesn't support statements like "Dristipat members have been accused of being Martians". So, please provide a reference, from a dependable source, that shows a) Drishtipat's activities are being criticized by a group of people b) that same group of people are of Sylheti origin.
Unless you can provide quantifiable statistics for the first point, and similar information for the 2nd point, I am going to remove the unverified information. Thank you. --Ragib 00:22, 11 September 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Drishtipat=Dhakaiya Organisation
That Drishtipat's membership hails mainly from the Dhaka region of Bangladesh is readily ascertainable from the fact that it's members converse in Dhakaiya Shuddho Bangla on it's Group Blog and Forums. In addition, Drishtipat member Gram admits: 'Drishtipat, as its current membership stands, is composed mostly of Bengali professionals with connections to Dhaka. And yes, most of them speak Shudhho'. [[1]].
In addition the gentleman states (for the consumption of my Sylheti bhais and bhuns) [[2]] 'Sylhetis regularly differentiate themselves from those who speak Shudhho. Whether this is because of an inferiority complex or something else, we don’t know. Speaking Shuddho in itself is not a crime'. I don't think one needs to be an expert statistician to see through this organisation for what it is. In addition, surely the very fact that the majority expatriate Sylhetis want nothing to do with this organisation speaks for itself.
As for the reliability of sources on Wiki, I have noted articles on Wiki where forums and blogs have been used to support assertions and I shall not be desuaded from their use just because you Regib (a Dhakaiya no doubt) wish to stifle debate and the dissemination of information on the web. You should not try to impose your views through editing articles, the contents of which you disagree with. I question your neutrality, friend Regib. I can point to least one article where forum discussion has determined an organisations stance on a given matter in their profile on Wiki.
If blogs and forums are deemed unsafe for the dissemination of the true makeup and aims of an organisation then how can newspaper articles from Bangladeshi newspapers be used to 'big-up' Drishtipat? Especially given that Bangladesh is the worlds most corrupt nation (according to Transparancy International) and Reporters Without Frontiers names Bangladesh one of the most dangerous places on earth to be a journalist. In addition, it is well known that Bangladeshi newspapers are highly politicised and biased eg. The Daily Star is a secular Awami League-leaning paper. So you need not speak to me about reliable sources. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.74.87.224 (talk • contribs) .
- Blogs, comments left in blogs, are not reliable sources. I've mentioned that above. Please stop racist comments and referring to people's origins. When you do come up with the relevant statistics, please mention them here. Otherwise, please stop adding unsupported claims/comments here. Thank you. --Ragib 20:38, 13 September 2006 (UTC)
- Also, as I've mentioned earlier, anyone can just go to the blog page and write "Drishtipat members are martians". "They turned the moon into a ball of cheese". Comments left in a blog by unnamed/unverifiable individuals do not count as encyclopedic material. Please stop adding these here. Thanks. --Ragib 20:55, 13 September 2006 (UTC)
- I will block any user re-inserting blog libels into wikipedia. See WP:NPOV, WP:CITE and WP:V for reasons. Thanks. --Doc 20:56, 13 September 2006 (UTC)
I've went to the blog you (the anon 87.74.x.x/Habz) constantly mention as a "proof of controversy", and A-HA!! Someone with the pseudonym "starman" brags there that he has changed the Wikipedia article to reflect the "controversy". Since the "controversy section" was added by the anon ips from 87.74.x.x, it shows the fake "proof" you've been adding continuously was added/imagined by yourself in the blog. The circular logic is very interesting ... commenting on the blog, and then claiming own comments as "proof" of controversy!
Anyway, to reiterate the position expressed by Doc, the next time such libel is introduced without any references, the ips/users will be blocked. Thank you. --Ragib 04:29, 14 September 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Who is a member of Drishtipat?
(<removed personal attack per WP:RPA > --Ragib 20:27, 28 September 2006 (UTC))
In any case, we feel that the Criticisms of Drishtipat by the government ought to be highlighted as Drishtipat claim to want the better for ordinary Bangladeshis but the Deshi government is telling them it doesn't want their partisan political 'help'. An important fact since Drishtipat claim they are 'generally lauded'. (By whom, certainly not the government of the entity currently known as Bangladesh).
In addition, this Dhakaiya based organisation needs to be exposed for what it is. One cannot operate amongst 90% Sylhetis with a 90% Dhakaiya org. It is racist, elitist and unrepresentative of British Sylhetis. This fact must be highlighted on the Wiki page.
ps. We have been threatened with expulsion by Ragib for writing the above ('a personal attack'), yet we don't see any difference between the pseudo insults hurled each others way in this discussion so far and what we have written. If ppl accuse us we have the right to express our own opinions as well. This is the beauty of the web. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.9.45.120 (talk • contribs)
- Adding more of these personal attacks will definitely be blocked. Commenting on a topic and on a person are different, please learn that. Also, the article is nobody's "mouthpiece", or a platform to have such racial/ethnic disputes. If you have things that are not "supported" by "blog comments left by yourselves", but rather supported by reliable sources, you are always welcome to add them here, in a neutral manner. Thank you. --Ragib 20:27, 28 September 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Drishtipat and Partiality Toward The Awami League
The article claims that 'Drishtipat' is 'non-partisan' and yet the group has been accused of partisanship by the Bangladeshi government led by the Bangladeshi Nationalist Party. The groups director, Asif Saleh, writes for the Daily Star, and the daughter of it's editor is a member. In addition, several other members or associates like Naeem Mohameian also write for the paper.
The Daily Star has taken a view of the upcoming elections that is Pro Awami League (ie. President. Ijauddin is not suitable as Caretaker President) in the BBC and this should be made known to wiki readers in the interests of honest reporting and dissemination of information.
Drishtipat is hardly 'non-partisan'.
[edit] protection
I have temporarily protected this page from being edited by anonymous users, who have recently engaged in revert-warring and a content dispute. I strongly encourage the involved parties and other concerned editors to resolve the disputes on this, the talkpage and refrain from violating WP:POINT, WP:NPOV, WP:CITE and WP:CIVIL. Rama's arrow 00:40, 8 January 2007 (UTC)
Bangladesh Law Minister's criticisms regarding Drishtipat
The reason we have cited the report regarding the Bangladeshi Law Ministers comments about Drishtipat's partiality toward the Awami League is because Drishtipat themselves [[3]] put the Law Ministers comments and their response together under the heading ' Drishtipat response to the law minister's allegation' on their site. If the organisation itself felt criticised and responded, then it is hardly controversial to presume that it was Drishtipat that the Law Minister was talking about. I'm sure Drishtipat knew their own position and intentions better than the moderator (Ragib) on Wikipedia!
Besides in Bangali politikospeak, the governing party of the day rarely criticises an opponent by name. For example, when the BNP were in power, they would use oblique language like 'a certain party is causing violence in Bangladesh' with reference to hartals. Everyone would read between the lines and know that they are criticising their main opponents the Awami League. It's hardly rocket science.
It is therefore reasonable as a citation of the governments position and the Law Minister also expanded on the reasons eg. partisan reporting re: government achievements.
Drishtipat Leader and Support for the Awami League
Open letter by Drishtipat Executive Director Asif Shalah to Awami League General Secretary Abdul Jalil:
'You still have a chance to control the damage by scrapping this deal. If you want to have any shred of political credibility for the future, you will want to scrap this deal. Otherwise, you will not find the friends with you when you need them, and believe me, you will need friends a lot sooner than you think. Scrap or no scrap, do know this, that from now on we will make it very, very expensive for you to take our support for granted'.[[4]]
The above statement is self-explanatory. If anybody can still claim that DP is 'non-partisan' then they are truely blind. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.9.47.91 (talk • contribs)
- What "conclusion" are we supposed to draw from this? I don't see any implication of partisanship in regular english language interpretation of the above statement. Please stop the repeated trolling. Thanks. --Ragib 01:41, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Wiki Members Showing Partiality
Internet-based expatriate political groups based in New York, most prominently Drishtipat, have been obliquely criticised by the outgoing Bangladesh Nationalist Party led Bangladeshi government of partisan propaganda campaigns against the country' for urging e-mail campaigns in order to highlight issues concerning politics and human rights in Bangladesh.[citation needed] Drishtipat responded in the Daily Star by stating that they are non partisan and have been camapaigning[5]to raise awareness on issues of human rights since the previous government highlighing a project on journalist Tipu Sultan who was beaten by the Awami League MP Jainal Hajari.[6]. - - The Executive Director of Drishtipat, Asif Saleh, wrote a blog article [[7]] criticising the caretaker President Iajuddin Ahmed. He wrote, 'Don’t look elsewhere. For all the crisis and chaos in the country, you need to blame this one single man - the chief adviser and President Iajuddin Ahmed who has repeatedly disregarded the constitution and lied about it'. The President was appointed by the outgoing Bangladesh Nationalist Party led government and opposed by the Awami League led opposition [[8]].
There is nothing wrong with this. Drishtipat's leaders political viewpoint is central, as is the Bangladeshi governments accusation. Only a person involved with the Awami League and Drishtipat could disagree with this referenced addition to this article.
- Habz, please refrain from adding nonsense. The material presented above is unreferenced to begin with, and also quite irrelevant to the article. You've ranted on the organization before and received bans for that. Please edit constructively. --Ragib 18:10, 26 February 2007 (UTC)
