In addition to English and Bengali, my three and a half-year-old son is learning a bit of Arabic in school. He is in playgroup. Once I happened to be in his sports room. What children do there is play with toys and watch rhymes. The very first rhyme they were to hear was: Bismillah Bismillah in the name of Allah.

Later one evening, I found my son flipping through his school book and reading to himself Arabic alphabets. My wife was impressed. Who wouldn&rsquo;t be, particularly, in a country like Bangladesh where Arabic is not a mere language, but the symbol of Islam.

I remember my school days. From third grade, we had mandatory Religious Studies. Islamic Studies for Muslim, Hindu Studies for Hindus. And the books were akin to moral science. The world is more advanced now. That is why, probably, children at present are taught religion a lot earlier.

But the scene is not same everywhere. Public schools follow a combined curriculum set by the government, where religion starts as a compulsory subject from the third grade. Private schools, especially pre-schools enjoy their own liberty. Education, like many things else, has become a mushrooming business in Bangladesh. A bit of inclusion of religion in studies, no matter how young the children are, could make all the difference. This practice is mainly to persuade parents rather than ensuring children a proper education.

Noble Laureate Rabindranath Tagore famously said, &lsquo;&lsquo;First know your own mother tongue, then English.&rsquo;&rsquo; He travelled widely and saw that without using its own language a nation cannot prosper. Since the birth of Bangladesh, the quality of education has suffered. Exam questions leak is a constant problem. As the rate of successfully passing an exam has gone up, the standard of education has steeply gone down.

The other day a cousin of mine requested me to fill up a bank account opening form for her. Why? It is written in English. But my cousin has a BA degree. What type of graduates is the country breeding that they cannot even fill up a simple form in English?

For the disastrous nature of the Bengali medium education system, a significant number of parents are sending their kids to English medium schools. And then, largely for the poor, there is the madrasa education system. And very recently, the government has given recognition to Dawra degree of Qwami madrasa as equivalent to the status of a masters degree. Thus, presently, in Bangladesh, there are four types of education system.

A few weeks ago, the ruling Awami League allegedly approved a project to build mosques and Islamic cultural centers in every district and sub-district across the country, with over $1 billion in funding from Saudi Arabia. Even though the Saudi government subsequently denied any such funding. For long the Kingdom has been known to spread Sunni extremism through these sort of donations around the globe.

Also, early this year, changes came in the school text books of Bangladesh to appease the Islamist groups, particularly Hefazat-e-Islam. Let us look at a piece regarding this issue published in New York Times on February 3, 2017. &lsquo;&lsquo;The Bengali letter &ldquo;o&rdquo; used to stand for &ldquo;ol,&rdquo; a yam; now it stands for &ldquo;orna,&rdquo; which is a scarf worn by women for modesty. Texts by non-Muslim writers, such as the classical poet Gyandas or the contemporary novelist Sunil Gangopadhyay&mdash;have been removed. Also gone are a small excerpt from the Ramayana, a Hindu classic that Islamists reject as foreign to the Muslim canon, and songs of the Sufi icon Lalon Shah, whose syncretic faith is anathema to Muslim conservatives.&rsquo;&rsquo;

That is not all. The removal of the statue of Lady Justice from the Supreme Court building shocked the secular minds of Bangladesh. Taking this as a victory, now the Islamist groups want demolition of all statues from the country.

Our language and culture are not out of danger in these darkest moments. The celebration of Bengali New Year did not go smooth this year. Some fundamentalist groups protested terming the festivities un-Islamic and Hindu culture.

So here we are. The consequences of Islamism are everywhere&mdash;in thinking, even in clothing. Over the last twenty years, there has been a remarkable increase of women wearing hijab and burqa. In the streets of Dhaka, it may also seem normal to spot a five-or six-year-old girl, fully covered, walking by.

Unfortunately, symptoms are everywhere that the syncretic Bengali culture of Bangladesh is suffering at the hands of Islamic extremism.

Texts by non-Muslim writers, such as the classical poet Gyandas or the contemporary novelist Sunil Gangopadhyay have been removed from textbooks in Bangladesh

In addition to English and Bengali, my three and a half-year-old son is learning a bit of Arabic in school. He is in playgroup. Once I happened to be in his sports room. What children do there is play with toys and watch rhymes. The very first rhyme they were to hear was: Bismillah Bismillah in the name of Allah. Later one evening, I found my son flipping through his school book and reading to himself Arabic alphabets. My wife was impressed. Who wouldn’t be, particularly, in a country like Bangladesh where Arabic is not a mere language, but the symbol of Islam. I remember my school days. From third grade, we had mandatory Religious Studies. Islamic Studies for Muslim, Hindu Studies for Hindus. And the books were akin to moral science. The world is more advanced now. That is why, probably, children at present are taught religion a lot earlier. But the scene is not same everywhere. Public schools follow a combined curriculum set by the government, where religion starts as a compulsory subject from the third grade. Private schools, especially pre-schools enjoy their own liberty. Education, like many things else, has become a mushrooming business in Bangladesh. A bit of inclusion of religion in studies, no matter how young the children are, could make all the difference. This practice is mainly to persuade parents rather than ensuring children a proper education. Noble Laureate Rabindranath Tagore famously said, ‘‘First know your own mother tongue, then English.’’ He travelled widely and saw that without using its own language a nation cannot prosper. Since the birth of Bangladesh, the quality of education has suffered. Exam questions leak is a constant problem. As the rate of successfully passing an exam has gone up, the standard of education has steeply gone down. The other day a cousin of mine requested me to fill up a bank account opening form for her. Why? It is written in English. But my cousin has a BA degree. What type of graduates is the country breeding that they cannot even fill up a simple form in English? For the disastrous nature of the Bengali medium education system, a significant number of parents are sending their kids to English medium schools. And then, largely for the poor, there is the madrasa education system. And very recently, the government has given recognition to Dawra degree of Qwami madrasa as equivalent to the status of a masters degree. Thus, presently, in Bangladesh, there are four types of education system. A few weeks ago, the ruling Awami League allegedly approved a project to build mosques and Islamic cultural centers in every district and sub-district across the country, with over $1 billion in funding from Saudi Arabia. Even though the Saudi government subsequently denied any such funding. For long the Kingdom has been known to spread Sunni extremism through these sort of donations around the globe. Also, early this year, changes came in the school text books of Bangladesh to appease the Islamist groups, particularly Hefazat-e-Islam. Let us look at a piece regarding this issue published in New York Times on February 3, 2017. ‘‘The Bengali letter “o” used to stand for “ol,” a yam; now it stands for “orna,” which is a scarf worn by women for modesty. Texts by non-Muslim writers, such as the classical poet Gyandas or the contemporary novelist Sunil Gangopadhyay—have been removed. Also gone are a small excerpt from the Ramayana, a Hindu classic that Islamists reject as foreign to the Muslim canon, and songs of the Sufi icon Lalon Shah, whose syncretic faith is anathema to Muslim conservatives.’’ That is not all. The removal of the statue of Lady Justice from the Supreme Court building shocked the secular minds of Bangladesh. Taking this as a victory, now the Islamist groups want demolition of all statues from the country. Our language and culture are not out of danger in these darkest moments. The celebration of Bengali New Year did not go smooth this year. Some fundamentalist groups protested terming the festivities un-Islamic and Hindu culture. So here we are. The consequences of Islamism are everywhere—in thinking, even in clothing. Over the last twenty years, there has been a remarkable increase of women wearing hijab and burqa. In the streets of Dhaka, it may also seem normal to spot a five-or six-year-old girl, fully covered, walking by. Unfortunately, symptoms are everywhere that the syncretic Bengali culture of Bangladesh is suffering at the hands of Islamic extremism.

Rise of Islamism leaves its footprints on the secular culture of Bangladesh

Nobel Prizes are recognised as one of the most prestigious honours awarded in the field of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, Peace and Economics. These prizes are instituted by Alfred Nobel&#39;s last will, which specified that his fortune be used to create a series of prizes.

So far, as many as 835 individuals (791 men and 44 women) and 21 organisations have been&nbsp;awarded with the Nobel Prize, some more than once. Among the total recipients, 12 are Indians &ndash; 5 Indian citizens and 7 of Indian origin or residency.

Listed below are the 5 Indian citizens who were awarded with Nobel Prize:

1. Rabindranath Tagore

Born in the year 1861 in Kolkata, Rabindranath Tagore reshaped Bengali literature and music, as well as Indian art with Contextual Modernism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tagore was awarded Nobel Prize for Literature in the year 1913 for &#39;Geetanjali&#39;, a collection of his poems.

2. CV&nbsp;Raman

Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman was born in Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu. He won the Nobel Prize in the year 1930 for his work in the field of light scattering. This effect is now named after him &mdash; the Raman scattering.

3. Mother Teresa

Born in Skopje (now capital of the Republic of Macedonia), then part of the Kosovo Vilayet in the Ottoman Empire, Mother Teresa spent most of her life in India. Mother Teresa was awarded with Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. She struggled to overcome poverty and distress. Popularly known as Saint Teresa of Calcutta, Mother Teresa was canonised on September 4, 2016 and her death anniversary September 5 was made her feast day.

4. Amartya Sen

An Indian economist, Amartya Kumar Sen was born on November 3, 1933 in Manikganj, British India (present-day Bangladesh). In the year 1998, Sen received Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He has taught and worked in the United Nations and the United Kingdom. Sen has made contributions to welfare economics, social choice theory, economic and social justice, economic theories of famines, and indexes of the measure of well-being of citizens of developing countries.

5. Kailash Satyarthi

Kailash Satyarthi, an Indian children&#39;s rights and education advocate was born on January 11, 1954. Satyarthi, along with Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, was awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education. He is the &nbsp;second Indian winner of the Nobel Peace Prize after Mother Teresa.

(WION) 
&nbsp;

Till date, 835 individuals and 21 organisations have been awarded with the Nobel Prize, some more than once

Nobel Prizes are recognised as one of the most prestigious honours awarded in the field of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, Peace and Economics. These prizes are instituted by Alfred Nobel's last will, which specified that his fortune be used to create a series of prizes. So far, as many as 835 individuals (791 men and 44 women) and 21 organisations have been awarded with the Nobel Prize, some more than once. Among the total recipients, 12 are Indians – 5 Indian citizens and 7 of Indian origin or residency. Listed below are the 5 Indian citizens who were awarded with Nobel Prize: 1. Rabindranath Tagore Born in the year 1861 in Kolkata, Rabindranath Tagore reshaped Bengali literature and music, as well as Indian art with Contextual Modernism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tagore was awarded Nobel Prize for Literature in the year 1913 for 'Geetanjali', a collection of his poems. 2. CV Raman Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman was born in Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu. He won the Nobel Prize in the year 1930 for his work in the field of light scattering. This effect is now named after him — the Raman scattering. 3. Mother Teresa Born in Skopje (now capital of the Republic of Macedonia), then part of the Kosovo Vilayet in the Ottoman Empire, Mother Teresa spent most of her life in India. Mother Teresa was awarded with Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. She struggled to overcome poverty and distress. Popularly known as Saint Teresa of Calcutta, Mother Teresa was canonised on September 4, 2016 and her death anniversary September 5 was made her feast day. 4. Amartya Sen An Indian economist, Amartya Kumar Sen was born on November 3, 1933 in Manikganj, British India (present-day Bangladesh). In the year 1998, Sen received Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He has taught and worked in the United Nations and the United Kingdom. Sen has made contributions to welfare economics, social choice theory, economic and social justice, economic theories of famines, and indexes of the measure of well-being of citizens of developing countries. 5. Kailash Satyarthi Kailash Satyarthi, an Indian children's rights and education advocate was born on January 11, 1954. Satyarthi, along with Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, was awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education. He is the second Indian winner of the Nobel Peace Prize after Mother Teresa. (WION)

Indian citizens who were awarded with Nobel Prize

Twelve years after Rabindranath Tagore&#39;s Nobel Prize was stolen in India&rsquo;s eastern state of West Bengal, police reveal that they have fresh leads in connection to the theft.&nbsp;

On November 12, Pardip Bauri, a baul singer (folk artist) was arrested from a village in Bengal&rsquo;s Birbhum district.

With this, police has reasons to suspect that this arrested folk artist has strong connections with the theft. However, so far, the investigating officers have not divulged more on him.&nbsp;

Sources reveal that a court&rsquo;s order has been recently issued, allowing Bauri to undergo Narco Ananlysis Test in Gujarat.&nbsp;

Tagore won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1913.&nbsp;

The Nobel Prize and the citation were stolen from the museum of Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan on March 25, 2004. The museum, which is a part of the University was founded by Tagore in 1921 was closed on the day of the theft.&nbsp;

Along with the medal, Tagore&rsquo;s gold pocket watch, his wife Mrinalini Devi&#39;s gold bangle and antique Baluchari saree, his father Debendranath Tagore&rsquo;s gold ring, several silver articles, rare paintings besides other awards, and certificates conferred on him were also stolen.

In 2005, the Nobel foundation handed over two replicas of the Nobel Prize to Vishwa Bharati University.

The case was immediately taken up by the state&rsquo;s investigating agency - Criminal Investigation Department (CID), later to be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).&nbsp;

After six years of investigation, which drew to a blank, the CBI submitted in the court in 2010 that they have stopped the investigation and closed the case with no headway into the case.&nbsp;

When Trinamool Congress supremo, Mamata Banerjee began her second innings as the Chief Minister of West Bengal, she expressed her wish to bring back the Nobel prize.&nbsp;

In August this year, the state government here in Bengal got a clearance from the Centre and immediately, a Special Investigation Team, headed by an Inspector General-rank officer was constituted.

(WION)

Rabindranath Tagore's Nobel Prize and the citation were stolen from the museum of Visva Bharati University in India on March 25, 2004

Twelve years after Rabindranath Tagore's Nobel Prize was stolen in India’s eastern state of West Bengal, police reveal that they have fresh leads in connection to the theft. On November 12, Pardip Bauri, a baul singer (folk artist) was arrested from a village in Bengal’s Birbhum district. With this, police has reasons to suspect that this arrested folk artist has strong connections with the theft. However, so far, the investigating officers have not divulged more on him. Sources reveal that a court’s order has been recently issued, allowing Bauri to undergo Narco Ananlysis Test in Gujarat. Tagore won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1913. The Nobel Prize and the citation were stolen from the museum of Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan on March 25, 2004. The museum, which is a part of the University was founded by Tagore in 1921 was closed on the day of the theft. Along with the medal, Tagore’s gold pocket watch, his wife Mrinalini Devi's gold bangle and antique Baluchari saree, his father Debendranath Tagore’s gold ring, several silver articles, rare paintings besides other awards, and certificates conferred on him were also stolen. In 2005, the Nobel foundation handed over two replicas of the Nobel Prize to Vishwa Bharati University. The case was immediately taken up by the state’s investigating agency - Criminal Investigation Department (CID), later to be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). After six years of investigation, which drew to a blank, the CBI submitted in the court in 2010 that they have stopped the investigation and closed the case with no headway into the case. When Trinamool Congress supremo, Mamata Banerjee began her second innings as the Chief Minister of West Bengal, she expressed her wish to bring back the Nobel prize. In August this year, the state government here in Bengal got a clearance from the Centre and immediately, a Special Investigation Team, headed by an Inspector General-rank officer was constituted. (WION)

India: Folk artist arrested in Tagore's stolen Nobel Prize case