Journal articles on the topic 'Bengali Muslim population'

Nutritional status based on BMI is not only influenced by biological factors but also affected by demographic, economic, socio-cultural and environmental conditions of a population. The present paper intends to study the nutritional status with reference to age and family income among the Bengali Muslim and Meitei Women of Cachar District, Assam. The data have been collected by household census method and nutritional anthropometry among 172 Bengali Muslim and 181 Meitei women of 20 to 64 years age. The study reveals that 40.1% of Bengali Muslim and 30.4% of Meitei women are suffering from CED malnutrition while very few women are found to be overweight or obese in both the communities. Chi-square test doesn’t show any significant (p-0.195) difference in nutritional status between the two communities. More than 50% of Bengali Muslim women who belong to higher age group (50+) are found to be suffering from CED malnutrition while frequency of CED malnutrition is high among the middle aged Meitei women. CED malnutrition is found to be more among the Bengali Muslim women of lowest family income category but it is high among the Meitei women who belong to middle income group. Although slight negative correlation exists between BMI and age of the Bengali Muslim women but opposite picture is observed among the Meitei women. BMI of both Bengali Muslim (r=0.209, p<0.01) and Meitei women (r=0.165, p<0.05) demonstrate significant positive correlation with annual family income. The study indicates the affect of family income in nutritional status. However, further studies are required considering other correlated bio-social factors to get deep insight knowledge on it.

The years 1948-1952 were pivotal for the history of Bangladesh. The question of what would be the state language was raised by the people of this country. Muslim leaders in Pakistan, at the time, believed that Urdu should be the state language because it had become recognized as the cultural symbol of sub-continental Muslims. However, most of Pakistan’s population, the Bengalis of eastern Pakistan, to whom Urdu was a foreign language, considered it a ploy by the West Pakistanis to colonize East Pakistan. Protests erupted across East Pakistan after the then Prime Minister of Pakistan replaced Bangla as the state language with Urdu. On February 21, 1952, a student protest resulted in the deaths of some students by police. The language movement drew Bengalis’ attention to their collective aspirations to create a new nation and nationalist identity, leading them to fight for an imagined sovereign state, Bangladesh. Against the backdrop of our language movement, Fagun Haway (In Spring Breeze, 2019), a film by Tauquir Ahmed, captures the anecdotes of Pakistani repression towards Bengalis by portraying the nationalist consciousness and identity approaches of this nation. Employing the concept of nationalism and the historical development of our identity approaches, this paper shows that Ahmed displays the coexistence of Bengali and Muslim identity approaches as well as the contentious relationship between these two approaches inside our nationalism at that time. Besides, Bengaliness is viewed as the dominating approach when the debate over the state language turns into a divisive political one and a fight for our very existence. Social Science Review, Vol. 40(2), December 2023 Page: 39-58

The present study was conducted to explore the relationship between academic anxiety and academic performance among upper primary Muslim students with respect to their gender and locale. Students of class VIII from fifteen schools from the three districts of West Bengal [North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, and Kolkata], under the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education were treated as the population of this research. The Academic Anxiety Scale (AASC) consisted of twenty items developed for Indian culture was adopted and translated into the Bengali language (1). Mean, SD, correlation and t-test were used as statistical techniques for analyzing the collected data. The study found that there is a significant difference in academic anxiety and performance with respect to gender and locale. The present study explored the negative correlation between the academic anxiety and academic performance of the students.

AbstractTotal birth records for the Bengalee Muslim population (BMP) and the Bengalee Hindu caste population (BHCP) for the period 1980-1988 were 17,720 and 119,107 respectively. Of these, the number of twin pairs were 363 BMP and 1,229 BHCP. These data were obtained from the registers of the following hospitals: Islamia Hospital, NRS Medical College and Hospitals and RG Kar Medical College and Hospitals, Calcutta and Medinipore Sadar Hospital, West Bengal, India. The twinning rates found were 20.48 and 10.57 per thousand deliveries in the BMP and BHCP respectively. The proportion of twins, 0.02048, in the BMP was significantly higher (Z = 12.38, p ≤ 0.01) than that in the BHCP, 0.01057. This finding of a higher twinning rate in the BMP is corroborated by the fact that available data on the Muslim population of Srinagar in Kammu and Kashmir, and Lucknow and Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh show higher twinning rates than the other populations of India. This increased twinning rate may be due to the greater amount of inbreeding in the BMP.

The Partition of Bengal (1905) and the creation of a new province opened a new chapter in the history of this region. Whatever might have been the real motive of the colonial government behind the scheme, it divided the Hindus and the Muslims of Bengal. Most of the upper caste Hindus opposed it on the ground that by partitioning Bengal the government, in effect, had planned to divide the Bangla- speaking people. The also argued that it was the part of the government’s grand design of ‘divide and rule’. On the other hand, most of the upper class Muslims in general supported the scheme. The thought that their interests would be better protected in the newly created province and the would be able to overcome decades of backwardness. Yet, there were some Muslims who opposed the partition. As they belonged both to upper class and ordinary section of the Muslim population, their reasons for supporting the partition also varied. Personal, community, national and economic interests prompted interests prompted them to oppose the partition of Bengal.

In 1945, at the end of the Second World War, the British government clearly stated its intention of granting independence to India.The conflict between the British and the Indian nationalists receded into the background, while the increasing antagonism between Hindus and Muslims came to the fore. The Hindus, centred round the Congress Party led by Jawaharlal Nehru, wanted to maintain the unity of India by establishing a government made up of representatives of the two communities. The Muslims, under the banner of the Muslim League and its President, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, demanded the creation of a separate Muslim State, Pakistan. The problem was further complicated by the fact that the approximately 300 million Hindus, 6 million Sikhs and 100 million Muslims in British India were not living in geographically distinct regions, especially in Punjab and Bengal, where the population was mixed.

India is a nation characterised by diversity in religion and caste. This paper attempts to determine whether diversity among religious and social groups has any impact on the borrowing and spending behaviour of households in West Bengal, India. We conduct a Fairlie decomposition analysis to evaluate the religious and caste differences in the socio-economic variables that mostly contribute to the disparity in institutional borrowing, use of institutional loans, and use of banking services using a household-level primary survey in two districts of West Bengal, India. The results of the decomposition analysis in terms of social group differences and religious group differences show that households belonging to the unreserved category and the Hindu population are more likely to hold savings bank accounts, make use of institutional borrowing, and use loans for production purposes than different reserved categories and the Muslim population, respectively. The gap between the reserved and unreserved populations and the Hindu and Muslim populations in terms of institutional borrowing and the use of loans for production purposes widens for regular wage earners and casual labourers in nonagriculture. To reduce the gap between social and religious groups, occupation categories play a major role. The implication is that wider access to financial services should be provided to all sections of the population.

Most scholars believe that the majority of the population of Bangladesh embraced Islam through the influence of the Sufis (mystics, holy men). A large majority of Bangladeshi Muslims perceives Sufis as sources of their spiritual wisdom and guidance, viewing Sufi khanqahs [hospices] and dargahs [mausoleums] to be the nerve centers of Muslim society. It has been argued that the greatest achievement of the Sufis of Bengal is the “growth of cordiality and unity between the Hindus and the Muslims.” Yet, Sufism is a contested phenomenon in Bangladesh. Islamic reform movements in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries preached against some Sufi rituals and practices, and Sufism as a whole. This article analyzes how the concept of “Bangalee Nationalism” emerges, among others, from various Sufi ideologies that recognize the authenticity of another’s faith. This article will also analyze how these traditions have hitherto been engaged in establishing a pluralistic society as well as in developing a culture of tolerance and interfaith dialogue.

Relationship between fertility and mortality is well known, which exists among different populations of the world. This is known as a genetic phenomenon that has been operating in all human populations. This study examines fertility and mortality differentials among the Paundra Kshatriya community living in a peri-urban setting of West Bengal, India. Altogether, 249 Paundra Kshatriya women were interviewed. A subsample was drawn from this sample, numbering 98, who have completed their reproductive span. Differential fertility is 0.3134 and differential mortality is 0.1393, whereas, index of total selection intensity is 0.4964 according to Crow’s (1958) formula and 0.5980 according to Johnston and Kensinger’s (1971) formula in the study population. The higher value according to Johnston and Kensinger’s (1971) formula is probably because of inclusion of embryonic deaths in the latter. Findings of the present study reveals that differential fertility (If: 0.3134) contribute more than the differential mortality (Im: 0.1393) towards the total opportunity for selection (I=0.4964) in the study population. Paundra Kshatriya is placed with other populations of West Bengal like Jale, Tili, Muslim, Kayastha, Paschtya Vaidya Brahmin, Duley Bagdi, Namasudra and Lepcha in this respect.

This article examines the writings of the nineteenth-century Indian essayist Bhudeb Mukhopadhyay. Locating the writer within the history of colonial Bengal and a wider world of racial anxieties, it excavates the foundations of Indian conservatism outside the familiar terrain of anti-Muslim ressentiment. It argues that “traditionalist” conservatism in India was a transformative project that sought to intervene in the racial nature of a colonized people, focusing on the reordering of familiality, education, and health. Simultaneously liberating and constraining the individual subject, the interventions were expected to produce a population that, through engaging in a tense dialogue with Europe, could redefine its distinctive body of custom and also repair its perceived degenerative condition.

AbstractThis paper reconsiders the concept of “syncretism,” and identifies its range and implications when applied to the analysis of the saintly cult of the Hindus and Muslims in Bengal. The mausoleum of Manamohan Datta (1877–1909) is situated in what is currently eastern Bangladesh. Both Hindus and Muslims in the area join together in the various rituals held at the mausoleum. The article discusses the social and cultural factors that explain the sharing of rituals and beliefs by these people. In particular, word correspondences in the religious vocabulary facilitates the mutual acceptance of different cultural forms and norms. The article also examines the critical discourses on syncretistic situations related to the mausoleum in the context of contemporary Bangladesh. Finally, the article discusses the usefulness of the concept of syncretism in elucidating the social and cultural conditions which make possible religious pluralism and multiple discourses. The article opens with a literature review and a statement of the problems. This is followed by a brief history of Saint Manomohan and a description of the ritual practices at the mausoleum. The pluralistic structure of these practices is then examined, and the conditions for acceptance of pluralistic practices are discussed with reference to the critical discourses conducted by the local population. The findings are summed up in a conclusion.

Background: Dhat syndrome is a culture-bound syndrome of the Indian subcontinent. Traditional and cultural teachings through generations, and myths and misconceptions about sex are its principal contributing factors. Although prevalent, there is scarcity in studies on Dhat syndrome, particularly from Bengal. Aims and objectives: 1. To study the phenomenology of Dhat syndrome in men attending the out patients department (OPD). 2. To study the comorbid sexual and psychiatric disorders associated with Dhat syndrome. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional observational study conducted in the psychiatric OPD in a tertiary care medical college hospital in West Bengal. The duration of the study was 18 months. 122 patients were included in this study that fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The diagnosis of Dhat syndrome was made as per International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, diagnostic criteria for research (DCR) criteria. A semi-structured pro forma was used to obtain sociodemographic variables along with numerous physical and sexual symptoms. Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview was applied for psychiatric comorbidities. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Studies 17 by SPSS Inc., Chicago. Results: 122 patients met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Majority of patients were among age group of 20 to 30 years (60.7%). 56.6% were from the Muslim community and 43.4% were from the Hindu community. 54.1% population was unmarried and 39.3% were newly married. Routes of passage were night falls in 62.3% patients, and 52.5% patients pointed toward passage through urine. Many patients reported passage of semen more than one route. All patients (100%) complained about generalized weakness and thinning of semen. 66.4% had generalized body ache, 55.7% complain about headache, 60.7% decreased body glow, 50% had loss of appetite, 98.4% had decreased self-confidence, sleep disturbance was reported in 34.3% patients, 58.2% reported that their penis was becoming smaller, and 49.2% patients reported decreased sexual capability. The most common comorbid condition was sexual dysfunction (39.3%) followed by depressive disorders (27.9%). Premature ejaculation was found in 54.17% patients and erectile dysfunction in 33.33%. Conclusion: Dhat syndrome is a common culture-bound syndrome in Bengal. It is widespread in the Muslim community also. The importance of exploration of sexual comorbidities in Dhat syndrome is very much needed.

The primary goal of Liberation Theology is to change the material conditions of marginalised and oppressed groups in society. Within Islamic Liberation Theology, however, issues related to class and economic inequality are notably missing. This paper seeks to begin this conversation and highlight the necessity of addressing economic exploitation, which affects most of the world’s population and Muslims disproportionately. Using a praxis-based methodology, it centres the interpretation of activists from Nijjor Manush, a British Bengali activist group, and seeks to understand how Islam is used as a liberative tool to combat class oppression. Through interviews and focus groups, an alternative and revolutionary Islam emerges. Echoing a Marxist understanding of class, it sees exploitation as an inherent part of the current capitalist system and recognises the necessity of people seizing economic power. This overarching objective is the lens through which activism in the here and now is interpreted and tactics decided. Establishing economic justice therefore means trying to secure “non-reformist reforms” in the short term, which resist the logic of capital and secure the interests of the marginalised, while working towards the ultimate goal of ending economic exploitation and, by extension, abolishing class.

Goitre prevalence of selected population in respect of age, sex, religion and caste was evaluated in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal during post salt iodization phase. The study was carried out on 9321 school children in the age group 6-12 years of both sexes from randomly selected 26 representative localities from all 26 Community Development Blocks. Children were clinically examined for goitre. Result showed that the prevalence of goitre was found at endemic level. The overall goitre prevalence was found 22.1%. Besides palpable goiter (2.5%), the prevalence of visible goiter (19.7%) in school children was prevalent. A gradual increase in goitre rate was found from the age of 6 yr till the age of 8 yr followed by a short decline at the age of 9 yr to 12 yr. Goitre was most prevalent in Hindus (23.7%) than Muslim (21.4%) communities. Among the Hindus, general caste (20.8%) students suffered more than Scheduled caste & Scheduled tribe (19.0%). These variations in goitre prevalence among different caste and religions might be due to their different environmental adaptability and dietary habit.

The Brahmaputra and other rivers of Assam are replete with numerous sandbars, which are locally called chars. Chars are home to nearly 10 per cent population of Assam. Char dwellers live a precarious life. Battered by recurrent floods and soil erosion, chars have an impermanent existence. In western Assam, the char dwellers, mostly belonging to the migrant Muslim community of East Bengal origin, live in backwardness and poverty. The article examines two questions pertaining to their economic life: income and seasonal migration. Through a primary data survey and statistical analysis, the article seeks to delineate the salient factors which influence their income and migration decision. We conclude that land holding, land lost due to erosion, household size and education are some of the factors which play a key role in this regard. We find that location of a char is important: some chars are more migration-prone than others. Policy implications have been spelled out in the end.

Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCD) are the leading cause of adult mortality and morbidity worldwide now days. The NCD like hypertension is emerging as a major health problem in India with increasing prevalence significantly in both urban and rural population. The objectives of the study were to find out the prevalence of hypertension and its association with socio-demographic factors among the study subjects, if any. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from May, 2013 to April, 2014 in rural communities of Singur block among 651 individuals, aged 20 years or above of both sexes except pregnant and seriously ill subjects. Data were collected about education, type of family, family history of hypertension, income etc. Results: The overall prevalence of hypertension was 26.1% (male 21.8% and female 29.9%). Prevalence increased with increase in age group. Muslim religion, less education and sedentary life styles were found to be significantly associated with hypertension; while socio-economic status had no association with hypertension. Conclusions: The prevalence of hypertension in the rural population was found to be on the higher side compared to previous reports from India. Strong public health measures need to be seriously implemented to combat hypertension and its consequences.

Background: Newborn period is culturally and traditionally sensitive in every society. Different communities have different traditional practices when it comes to taking care of newborn. Head-shaving in newborn period is one such unique traditional practice existent among rural population of West Bengal. This study was conducted to explore the traditional practice of head-shaving and to highlight its related morbidities among newborns following head-shaving.Methods: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted at triage of special newborn care unit of Malda Medical College and Hospital among 650 mothers who presented to us with their sick newborns following head-shaving. After obtaining informed consent, mothers were interviewed. The data were collected using pre-designed questionnaires. Statistical analyses of the data were done using SPSS version 21.Results: In the present study, majority (52.62%) of the mothers were within the age group of 18-21 years and 94.15% belonged to Muslim community. Neonatal head-shaving was usually done on 4th day of life (48.15%) and on 10th day of life (28.77%). Baby bath following head-shaving was given in 49.54% newborns using pond water and 77.70 % mothers used crude mustard oil for massaging following baby bath. Following head-shaving, 37.69% of newborns presented with poor feeding, 33.23% with abdominal distension and 61.23% presented with respiratory distress.Conclusions: Findings of present study highlights the harmful aspects of traditional practice of head-shaving among newborns in rural Bengal. This practice can be avoided by proper health education and counselling of the mothers and her associates involved in newborn care.

This article focuses on the fragmented “illegal immigrant” identity in (post)colonial India. Employing a critical postcolonial lens, it provides a genealogical investigation of the legality surrounding the illegal immigrant, which reveals a colonial legislation that served British wartime interests—the Foreigners Act (1946). The application of the legislation in contemporary times bolsters the (Hindu) nationalist rhetoric that views the Bengali Muslim as the “Bangladeshi illegal immigrant.” The production of the Bangladeshi illegal immigrant as a governmental category, however, has a longer history that is tied to the question of citizenship and mass migratory flows before and after Partition (1947) as well as to the birth of Bangladesh (1971). The Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act, 1983 was passed in Assam, but later struck down by the Supreme Court in 2005; both the promulgation and ultimate revocation point towards the ethno-religious bias inherent in the popular and politico-legal responses to immigrants, as well as the fact that Assam has become the locus for setting the agenda on migration. Assam has suffered the consequences of a politicization of immigration coupled with the poor political management of migratory populations, but the discourse on illegal immigration travels far and wide across the nation, uncovering the limits of the nation-state itself.

Background: Newborn care is culturally and traditionally sensitive in every society. India is a vast country with different communities having their own traditional practices of newborn care. Squeezing of breasts in newborn period is one such unique traditional practice prevalent among population of rural background of West Bengal. This study was conducted to explore the traditional practice of squeezing of neonatal breasts and to highlight its related morbidities following the procedure among newborns.Methods: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted at triage of Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of Malda Medical College and Hospital among 352 mothers who presented to us with their sick newborns following squeezing of neonatal breasts. After obtaining proper informed consent, mothers were interviewed. The data were collected using pre-designed questionnaires. Statistical analyses of the data were done using SPSS version 21.Results: In the present study, majority (33.52%) of mothers were 18-21 years old and 92.90% were Muslims. Squeezing of neonatal breasts was usually done on 10th day of life (40.34%) and on 4th day of life (27.27%). Local application following squeezing was done with hot turmeric paste (31.25%) and mustard oil (27.56%). Majority of newborns presented with features of mastitis (39.49%), 15.91% with breast abscess and 35.51% with sepsis.Conclusions: This study highlights the harmful aspects of traditional practice of breasts-squeezing among newborns prevalent in rural Bengal. This practice must be condemned by everyone through an integrated approach of proper health education and counseling of mothers and family members.

Education plays a crucial role in the empowerment of women. Nearly half of the world's population is female, and women often face barriers to achieve equal opportunities due to the dominance of masculine ideologies. The objective of this study is to compare the gender-specific education status between two neighbouring subdivisions: Barasat-I and Barrackpore-II, in the North 24 Parganas District of West Bengal. Researchers conducted structured interviews randomly within 60 adults to collect data for the study. The study revealed that the Covid-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the education system, particularly affected women's education. Furthermore, it had been observed that Hindu women were more empowered as compared to Muslim women. Another noteworthy finding was that the individuals lived in Kacha houses had exhibited greater empowerment than those lived in Pucca houses. This study underscores the pressing need to address gender inequalities and provide equal opportunities for female education. The lack of awareness regarding women's rights and government schemes for their welfare highlights the necessity for awareness campaigns and educational programs. Furthermore, recognizing the prevalence of child marriage, the government should proactively implement measures to tackle this issue. To empower women and promote education, governments should expand awareness campaigns, implement policies that ensure equal educational opportunities for girls, and work towards eliminating gender disparities for holistic development.

An epidemic of any infectious disease is an invisible ruthless enemy that cannot be defeated by military, political, economic or ideological means. Humanity always reacts to such threats quite nervously and subconsciously tries to mythologize them, at least a little, in order to somehow psychologically protect itself from the real fear of imminent death. Since there is no rational defense against such a threat, people for the most part react in an irrational manner.The 19th century, almost the same as the previous centuries, «started» in epidemiological terms almost from the very beginning of its calendar. Only in contrast to the previous 18th century, the main and dominant danger was posed by another infectious pathology — cholera.In the history of medicine, over the 19th century, as many as six outbreaks of cholera epidemics were recorded since 1817. The first of them began in East Bengal and lasted 8 years (1817—1824), gradually, covering almost all India and big regions of the Middle East. It was worsened by the traditional travels of both Hindu and Muslim pilgrims to «holy places» who spread Vibrio cholerae on foot and through active communication with local residents.One of the significant reasons why cholera epidemic continued with minimal interruptions for almost the entire nineteenth century was an insufficient level of scientific knowledge in microbiology and the resulting ignorance of the causative agent of cholera — vibrio and its properties.Another factor was a complete lack of understanding by society of the need to observe at least the simplest sanitary standards in everyday life. And there was also misunderstanding among the leadership which tried to limit the next outbreak of cholera mainly by administrative measures without adequate explanations of their essence and necessity to the population.

As one of the most marginalized groups, the Rohingya are compelled to endure abhorrent conditions within Myanmar. This paper examines in depth, within the framework of the Islamic solidarity paradigm, the social engagement, challenges, and experiences of the Rohingya Muslims presently residing in Pakistan. Because of institutionalized bigotry, the Rohingya population is compelled to seek refuge in several foreign nations, such as Malaysia, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. This issue is a pervasive global dilemma that is progressively worsening. They are particularly burdened with many obstacles in Pakistan, the most significant of which is their statelessness. The complexity of this issue is compounded by the fact that they are categorized inconsistently by various nations; Bangladesh classifies them as Burmese citizens, whereas Pakistan classifies them as Bengalis. In the current era characterized by globalization and heightened moral awareness, the principles outlined in the United Nations Charter on Human Rights are flagrantly transgressed through protracted periods of statelessness and targeted violence. This encompasses the abominable acts of violence perpetrated by Burmese forces against juveniles, including documented instances of rape and heinous crimes against women and children who were not involved in the conflict. The purpose of this study is to provide information and conduct a meticulously investigation into the current circumstances pertaining to the Rohingya's access to healthcare, employment opportunities, and education in their host countries. Such an investigation aims to offer valuable insights into these matters. The Rohingya population is sadly residing in abject poverty throughout substantial portions of Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. Consequently, safeguarding their citizenship and fundamental human rights in the nations to which they have recently migrated is of the utmost importance. Moreover, they are granted constitutional and legal protection in Pakistan, which empowers them to participate in national politics in support of their community's interests. By utilizing a qualitative approach, alongside analytical and historical research methodologies, this study effectively investigates these substantial issues.

Abstract The causative genetic mutations of inherited giant platelet disorders (IGPD) encompass genes coding for the platelet glycoprotein Ib-IX complex (Bernard Soulier syndrome and its variants), myosin heavy chain 9 (MYH9 gene mutated in May-Hegglin anomaly and other IGPDs), GATA-01 (GATA-related thrombocytopenia), TUBB-1, ITGA2, ITGAB3, FLNA and some others. IGPDs are frequently associated with other disorders including renal disease, sensorineural deafness, and leukocyte inclusion bodies. Most are accompanied with variable degrees of bleeding diathesis, while others, like TUBB1 IGPD, do not have any bleeding manifestations. Harris platelet syndrome (HPS), previously called asymptomatic constitutional macrothrombocytopenia, is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by low-normal to severe thrombocytopenia IGPD and absence of bleeding. HPS has also been observed in healthy blood donors from the northeastern part of India (Bengal) and some areas of Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. We describe a high prevalence of an autosomal dominantly inherited form of IGPD with mild to severe thrombocytopenia in the Muslim population in Kashmir Valley in the northern Indian subcontinent. 830 voluntary, healthy, male blood donors from Kashmir Valley were included in the study. They were aged 15-55 years (median 31 years) and underwent ancillary screening as follows; CBC, peripheral smear, HBV, HCV, HIV, ANA and Anti-H pylori antibodies. 15% of the donors had thrombocytopenia (mean platelet count 109.6 compared to 189.9 in controls; p=<0.0001). No differences were noted in age between the 2 groups. The mean platelet volume (MPV) in thrombocytopenic subjects was higher (12.53 + 0.78 vs 9.52 + 1.03 fl). The red cell distribution width (RDW) in thrombocytopenic subjects was higher than in those with normal counts (15.6 + 1.61 Vs 13. 22 + 1.36, p=<0.001). Hematocrit and other red cell indices were not different in the 2 groups. None of the participants had a history of bleeding, renal disease, sensorineural deafness, or leukocyte inclusion bodies. Peripheral blood platelet morphology revealed large platelets in all subjects. In a pilot study of 7 families, Kashmiri thrombocytopenia was compatible with autosomal dominant inheritance affecting both genders. The congenital nature of Kashmiri thrombocytopenia was demonstrated by analyses of 34 consecutive neonates born in Sher-i-Kashmir Institute Hospital; among 20 girls and 19 boys, we found 18% (2 male and 5 female) to have low platelet count, the mean platelet count of the affected group when compared to unaffected group were 102.6 vs 234 (p=<0.001) respectively. We then searched for a causative mutation using the following approaches. We sequenced the MYH9 gene and no mutation was found. We then employed SNP array analyses using Shared Genome Segment (SGS) and Whole Genome Association Study (WGAS). We were able to exclude all previously reported IGPD-causing genes. SGS that overlapped with WGAS narrowed the target into 3 chromosome regions in Chr. 5 (rs6872531-rs100072476), Chr. 9 (rs11999541-rs12682912) and Chr. 10 (rs11013452-rs7083349). The performed SNP analyses included large genomic segments as candidates for a Kashmiri thrombocytopenia-causative gene. To further narrow down the cause of this disorder, we recruited 3 TRIO families (an affected parent and a child) for stronger linkage analysis and next-generation sequencing to continue the search for the cause of the Kashmiri thrombocytopenia. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Abstract Objectives The United States is experiencing an increased influx of Bangladeshi and Bengali immigrants, yet there is limited research on how migration may affect the traditional diet in this population. Addressing this research need, the present study aimed to: (1) Examine the dietary changes upon migration among Bangladeshi women in New York City (NYC), and (2) Explore the influence of religion (Islam) on the dietary acculturation process. Methods Cross-sectional qualitative study, using semi-structured interviews with 18 Bangladeshi-born, Muslim women, who immigrated to the US within the last 15 years. Interview transcripts were analyzed iteratively using Dedoose to organize and compare themes emerging from the interview. Results The women reported having access to traditional ingredients in NYC, given the expansion of South Asian stores. Drivers for dietary change included trying new foods as part of celebrating American holidays, learning about new foods through their children, and trying new recipes for American and other ethnic foods found through social media. Following Islamic diet laws prevented the women from consumption of pork products, and led them to modify dishes served during American holidays (i.e., Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day). Changes were also reported in views regarding the healthfulness of Bengali cuisine after migration. These changes included the switch to brown rice instead of white rice, grilling meat rather than frying, and portion control. Conclusions This study contributes to understanding of the dietary acculturation process in Bangladeshi- American population, including the influence of religion in the process. The results show that immigrants seek to keep their identities and that food is one of the main ways to keep their memories of their homelands. These findings can be applied to future interventions targeting the growing South Asian immigrant population in the US. Funding Sources CUNY-Brooklyn College.

Abstract Background Anaemia among women is a public health problem with associated adverse outcomes for mother and child. This study investigates the determinants of women’s anaemia in two Bengals; West Bengal (a province of India) and Bangladesh. These two spaces are inhabitated by Bengali speaking population since historic past. The study argues that open defecation, contraceptive method use and food consumption patterns are playing crucial role in explaining anaemia. Methods Using non-pregnant women belonging to different religious groups, we analyzed a total of 21,032 women aged 15–49 from the nationally representative cross-sectional surveys, i.e., Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey (BDHS-VI, 2011) and National Family Health Survey (NFHS round 4, 2015–16). We performed spatial, bivariate and logistic regression analyses to unfold the important risk factors of anaemia in two Bengals. Results The prevalence of anaemia was 64% in West Bengal and 41% in Bangladesh. The significant risk factors explaining anaemia were use of sterilization, vegetarian diet and open defecation. Further, women who used groundwater (tube well or well) for drinking suffered more from anaemia. Also, younger women, poor, less educated and having more children were highly likely to be anaemic. The study also indicates that those who frequently consumed non-vegetarian items and fruits in West Bengal and experienced household food security in Bangladesh were less prone to be anaemic. Hindus of West Bengal, followed by Muslims of that state and then Hindus of Bangladesh were at the higher risk of anaemia compared to Muslims of Bangladesh, indicating the stronger role of space over religion in addressing anaemia. Unlike West Bengal, Bangladesh observed distinct regional differences in women's anaemia. Conclusions Propagating the choices of contraception mainly Pill/ injection/IUDs and making the availability of iron rich food along with a favourable community environment in terms of safe drinking water and improved sanitation besides better education and economic condition can help to tackle anaemia in limited-resource areas.

Education of women in particular is important for the development of a society. This is not only because women constitute half of the population and therefore they naturally have a right to education but also because women’s education has far reaching impact on the society as a whole. India is a country with diversities inhabiting various ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious groups. After Independence, much emphasis was given to women’s education, including Muslim women. Past researches on socio-economic profile of Muslims confirm that Muslims, especially women, remain socially, economically and educationally backward. The committee has clearly revealed that only 4 per cent Muslim population is educated and it is the most educationally and economically backward minority in the country. According to Census 2011 in Birbhum district 37.71% population is belongs to minority section and out of this 37.06% are Muslim population. The literacy rate of Muslim female is 57.47% while the literacy rate of female in general is 64.14%. The research paper tries to reveal the distribution of Khayrasole Block in Birbhum District, educational level of Muslim women, literacy rate of Muslim women, male-female literacy gap, and highlights the schemes initiated for the development of Muslims woman’s education. The present paper also tries to analyse the leading problems of the study and give some suggestions for accelerating the degree of the educational level and harmonious development of Islamic society. Key words: Education, Empowerment, Enrolment, Muslim women, Literacy.

The Bengal Renaissance (Bengali: বাংলার নবজাগরণ — Banglar Navajagaran), also known as the Bengali Renaissance, was a cultural, social, intellectual, and artistic movement that took place in the Bengal region of the British Raj, from the late 18th century to the early 20th century.Historians have traced the beginnings of the movement to the victory of the British East India Company at the 1757 Battle of Plassey, as well as the works of reformer Raja Rammohan Roy, considered the "Father of the Bengal Renaissance," born in 1772.[2] Nitish Sengupta stated that the movement "can be said to have … ended with Rabindranath Tagore," Asia's first Nobel laureate. Print language and literature played a vital role in shaping ideas and identities in colonial Bengal from the 18th century onwards. With its adoption by the ruling class and the indigenous population, Bengali marked a site that also oversaw contests for domination across a broad social spectrum. For the latter moreover, the language also defined their cultural identity, as part of the attempt to create a new literary prose Bengali to distinguish it from earlier colloquial forms. The new Bengali became an essential tool for the urban, educated upper middle classes to establish their power over lesser privileged groups - women, the lowly classes and poor Muslims. However, commercial print cultures that emanated from numerous cheap presses in Calcutta and its suburbs disseminated wide-ranging literary preferences that afforded a space to different sections of the Bengali middle classes to voice their own distinctive concerns.

Background: Psychological stress is rapidly becoming an occupational health epidemic. COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to signicantly affect the psychological stress of healthcare workers (HCWs), who stand in the frontline of this crisis. It is, therefore, an immediate priority to monitor psychological stress in order to understand mediating factors and inform tailored interventions. The aim of this study is to elicit the prevalence of psychological stress among Health Care Workers in a municipality area during the Covid-19 outbreak. Methods: This observational & descriptive epidemiological study with cross-sectional design was conducted from August to September, 2020 eld level health workers actively involved in COVID-19 surveillance in urban areas. The sample size of 62 was calculated by 4PQL2 where P stands for prevalence of reference study. A predesigned, pretested self administered questionnaire containing validated General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) was used for data collection. The questionnaire was translated to two local languages i.e Bengali & hindi to so that participants can understand it by themselves. Findings:Atotal of 75 urban Health workers participated in the study and 68 of them properly completed the questionnaire.According to GHQ-12 score 47.2% are found to be stressed. Stress is signicantly higher in Muslim population & among widows. There is signicant correlation between GHG-12 score & per capita income but there is no signicant correlation with income contribution by the health worker. There is highly signicant association between stress & the perception of work place safety. It is also seen that those whose motivation of work is money only are signicantly more stressed than those who motivation is to perform some social work

Introduction I am a transmigrant who has moved back and forth between the West and the Rest. I was born and raised in a Muslim family in a predominantly Muslim country, Bangladesh, but I spent several years of my childhood in Pakistan. After my marriage, I lived in the United States for a year and a half, the Middle East for 5 years, Australia for three years, back to the Middle East for another 5 years, then, finally, in Australia for the last 12 years. I speak Bengali (my mother tongue), Urdu (which I learnt in Pakistan), a bit of Arabic (learnt in the Middle East); but English has always been my medium of instruction. So where is home? Is it my place of origin, the Muslim umma, or my land of settlement? Or is it my ‘root’ or my ‘route’ (Blunt and Dowling)? Blunt and Dowling (199) observe that the lives of transmigrants are often interpreted in terms of their ‘roots’ and ‘routes’, which are two frameworks for thinking about home, homeland and diaspora. Whereas ‘roots’ might imply an original homeland from which people have scattered, and to which they might seek to return, ‘routes’ focuses on mobile, multiple and transcultural geographies of home. However, both ‘roots’ and ‘routes’ are attached to emotion and identity, and both invoke a sense of place, belonging or alienation that is intrinsically tied to a sense of self (Blunt and Dowling 196-219). In this paper, I equate home with my root (place of birth) and route (transnational homing) within the context of the ‘diaspora and belonging’. First I define the diaspora and possible criteria of belonging. Next I describe my transnational homing within the framework of diaspora and belonging. Finally, I consider how Australia can be a ‘home’ for me and other Muslim Australians. The Diaspora and Belonging Blunt and Dowling (199) define diaspora as “scattering of people over space and transnational connections between people and the places”. Cohen emphasised the ethno-cultural aspects of the diaspora setting; that is, how migrants identify and position themselves in other nations in terms of their (different) ethnic and cultural orientation. Hall argues that the diasporic subjects form a cultural identity through transformation and difference. Speaking of the Hindu diaspora in the UK and Caribbean, Vertovec (21-23) contends that the migrants’ contact with their original ‘home’ or diaspora depends on four factors: migration processes and factors of settlement, cultural composition, structural and political power, and community development. With regard to the first factor, migration processes and factors of settlement, Vertovec explains that if the migrants are political or economic refugees, or on a temporary visa, they are likely to live in a ‘myth of return’. In the cultural composition context, Vertovec argues that religion, language, region of origin, caste, and degree of cultural homogenisation are factors in which migrants are bound to their homeland. Concerning the social structure and political power issue, Vertovec suggests that the extent and nature of racial and ethnic pluralism or social stigma, class composition, degree of institutionalised racism, involvement in party politics (or active citizenship) determine migrants’ connection to their new or old home. Finally, community development, including membership in organisations (political, union, religious, cultural, leisure), leadership qualities, and ethnic convergence or conflict (trends towards intra-communal or inter-ethnic/inter-religious co-operation) would also affect the migrants’ sense of belonging. Using these scholarly ideas as triggers, I will examine my home and belonging over the last few decades. My Home In an initial stage of my transmigrant history, my home was my root (place of birth, Dhaka, Bangladesh). Subsequently, my routes (settlement in different countries) reshaped my homes. In all respects, the ethno-cultural factors have played a big part in my definition of ‘home’. But on some occasions my ethnic identification has been overridden by my religious identification and vice versa. By ethnic identity, I mean my language (mother tongue) and my connection to my people (Bangladeshi). By my religious identity, I mean my Muslim religion, and my spiritual connection to the umma, a Muslim nation transcending all boundaries. Umma refers to the Muslim identity and unity within a larger Muslim group across national boundaries. The only thing the members of the umma have in common is their Islamic belief (Spencer and Wollman 169-170). In my childhood my father, a banker, was relocated to Karachi, Pakistan (then West Pakistan). Although I lived in Pakistan for much of my childhood, I have never considered it to be my home, even though it is predominantly a Muslim country. In this case, my home was my root (Bangladesh) where my grandparents and extended family lived. Every year I used to visit my grandparents who resided in a small town in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan). Thus my connection with my home was sustained through my extended family, ethnic traditions, language (Bengali/Bangla), and the occasional visits to the landscape of Bangladesh. Smith (9-11) notes that people build their connection or identity to their homeland through their historic land, common historical memories, myths, symbols and traditions. Though Pakistan and Bangladesh had common histories, their traditions of language, dress and ethnic culture were very different. For example, the celebration of the Bengali New Year (Pohela Baishakh), folk dance, folk music and folk tales, drama, poetry, lyrics of poets Rabindranath Tagore (Rabindra Sangeet) and Nazrul Islam (Nazrul Geeti) are distinct in the cultural heritage of Bangladesh. Special musical instruments such as the banshi (a bamboo flute), dhol (drums), ektara (a single-stringed instrument) and dotara (a four-stringed instrument) are unique to Bangladeshi culture. The Bangladeshi cuisine (rice and freshwater fish) is also different from Pakistan where people mainly eat flat round bread (roti) and meat (gosh). However, my bonding factor to Bangladesh was my relatives, particularly my grandparents as they made me feel one of ‘us’. Their affection for me was irreplaceable. The train journey from Dhaka (capital city) to their town, Noakhali, was captivating. The hustle and bustle at the train station and the lush green paddy fields along the train journey reminded me that this was my ‘home’. Though I spoke the official language (Urdu) in Pakistan and had a few Pakistani friends in Karachi, they could never replace my feelings for my friends, extended relatives and cousins who lived in Bangladesh. I could not relate to the landscape or dry weather of Pakistan. More importantly, some Pakistani women (our neighbours) were critical of my mother’s traditional dress (saree), and described it as revealing because it showed a bit of her back. They took pride in their traditional dress (shalwar, kameez, dopatta), which they considered to be more covered and ‘Islamic’. So, because of our traditional dress (saree) and perhaps other differences, we were regarded as the ‘Other’. In 1970 my father was relocated back to Dhaka, Bangladesh, and I was glad to go home. It should be noted that both Pakistan and Bangladesh were separated from India in 1947 – first as one nation; then, in 1971, Bangladesh became independent from Pakistan. The conflict between Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) and Pakistan (then West Pakistan) originated for economic and political reasons. At this time I was a high school student and witnessed acts of genocide committed by the Pakistani regime against the Bangladeshis (March-December 1971). My memories of these acts are vivid and still very painful. After my marriage, I moved from Bangladesh to the United States. In this instance, my new route (Austin, Texas, USA), as it happened, did not become my home. Here the ethno-cultural and Islamic cultural factors took precedence. I spoke the English language, made some American friends, and studied history at the University of Texas. I appreciated the warm friendship extended to me in the US, but experienced a degree of culture shock. I did not appreciate the pub life, alcohol consumption, and what I perceived to be the lack of family bonds (children moving out at the age of 18, families only meeting occasionally on birthdays and Christmas). Furthermore, I could not relate to de facto relationships and acceptance of sex before marriage. However, to me ‘home’ meant a family orientation and living in close contact with family. Besides the cultural divide, my husband and I were living in the US on student visas and, as Vertovec (21-23) noted, temporary visa status can deter people from their sense of belonging to the host country. In retrospect I can see that we lived in the ‘myth of return’. However, our next move for a better life was not to our root (Bangladesh), but another route to the Muslim world of Dhahran in Saudi Arabia. My husband moved to Dhahran not because it was a Muslim world but because it gave him better economic opportunities. However, I thought this new destination would become my home – the home that was coined by Anderson as the imagined nation, or my Muslim umma. Anderson argues that the imagined communities are “to be distinguished, not by their falsity/genuineness, but by the style in which they are imagined” (6; Wood 61). Hall (122) asserts: identity is actually formed through unconscious processes over time, rather than being innate in consciousness at birth. There is always something ‘imaginary’ or fantasized about its unity. It always remains incomplete, is always ‘in process’, always ‘being formed’. As discussed above, when I had returned home to Bangladesh from Pakistan – both Muslim countries – my primary connection to my home country was my ethnic identity, language and traditions. My ethnic identity overshadowed the religious identity. But when I moved to Saudi Arabia, where my ethnic identity differed from that of the mainstream Arabs and Bedouin/nomadic Arabs, my connection to this new land was through my Islamic cultural and religious identity. Admittedly, this connection to the umma was more psychological than physical, but I was now in close proximity to Mecca, and to my home of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Mecca is an important city in Saudi Arabia for Muslims because it is the holy city of Islam, the home to the Ka’aba (the religious centre of Islam), and the birthplace of Prophet Muhammad [Peace Be Upon Him]. It is also the destination of the Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islamic faith. Therefore, Mecca is home to significant events in Islamic history, as well as being an important present day centre for the Islamic faith. We lived in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia for 5 years. Though it was a 2.5 hours flight away, I treasured Mecca’s proximity and regarded Dhahran as my second and spiritual home. Saudi Arabia had a restricted lifestyle for women, but I liked it because it was a Muslim country that gave me the opportunity to perform umrah Hajj (pilgrimage). However, Saudi Arabia did not allow citizenship to expatriates. Saudi Arabia’s government was keen to protect the status quo and did not want to compromise its cultural values or standard of living by allowing foreigners to become a permanent part of society. In exceptional circumstances only, the King granted citizenship to a foreigner for outstanding service to the state over a number of years. Children of foreigners born in Saudi Arabia did not have rights of local citizenship; they automatically assumed the nationality of their parents. If it was available, Saudi citizenship would assure expatriates a secure and permanent living in Saudi Arabia; as it was, there was a fear among the non-Saudis that they would have to leave the country once their job contract expired. Under the circumstances, though my spiritual connection to Mecca was strong, my husband was convinced that Saudi Arabia did not provide any job security. So, in 1987 when Australia offered migration to highly skilled people, my husband decided to migrate to Australia for a better and more secure economic life. I agreed to his decision, but quite reluctantly because we were again moving to a non-Muslim part of the world, which would be culturally different and far away from my original homeland (Bangladesh). In Australia, we lived first in Brisbane, then Adelaide, and after three years we took our Australian citizenship. At that stage I loved the Barossa Valley and Victor Harbour in South Australia, and the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast in Queensland, but did not feel at home in Australia. We bought a house in Adelaide and I was a full time home-maker but was always apprehensive that my children (two boys) would lose their culture in this non-Muslim world. In 1990 we once again moved back to the Muslim world, this time to Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. My connection to this route was again spiritual. I valued the fact that we would live in a Muslim country and our children would be brought up in a Muslim environment. But my husband’s move was purely financial as he got a lucrative job offer in Muscat. We had another son in Oman. We enjoyed the luxurious lifestyle provided by my husband’s workplace and the service provided by the housemaid. I loved the beaches and freedom to drive my car, and I appreciated the friendly Omani people. I also enjoyed our frequent trips (4 hours flight) to my root, Dhaka, Bangladesh. So our children were raised within our ethnic and Islamic culture, remained close to my root (family in Dhaka), though they attended a British school in Muscat. But by the time I started considering Oman to be my second home, we had to leave once again for a place that could provide us with a more secure future. Oman was like Saudi Arabia; it employed expatriates only on a contract basis, and did not give them citizenship (not even fellow Muslims). So after 5 years it was time to move back to Australia. It was with great reluctance that I moved with my husband to Brisbane in 1995 because once again we were to face a different cultural context. As mentioned earlier, we lived in Brisbane in the late 1980s; I liked the weather, the landscape, but did not consider it home for cultural reasons. Our boys started attending expensive private schools and we bought a house in a prestigious Western suburb in Brisbane. Soon after arriving I started my tertiary education at the University of Queensland, and finished an MA in Historical Studies in Indian History in 1998. Still Australia was not my home. I kept thinking that we would return to my previous routes or the ‘imagined’ homeland somewhere in the Middle East, in close proximity to my root (Bangladesh), where we could remain economically secure in a Muslim country. But gradually I began to feel that Australia was becoming my ‘home’. I had gradually become involved in professional and community activities (with university colleagues, the Bangladeshi community and Muslim women’s organisations), and in retrospect I could see that this was an early stage of my ‘self-actualisation’ (Maslow). Through my involvement with diverse people, I felt emotionally connected with the concerns, hopes and dreams of my Muslim-Australian friends. Subsequently, I also felt connected with my mainstream Australian friends whose emotions and fears (9/11 incident, Bali bombing and 7/7 tragedy) were similar to mine. In late 1998 I started my PhD studies on the immigration history of Australia, with a particular focus on the historical settlement of Muslims in Australia. This entailed retrieving archival files and interviewing people, mostly Muslims and some mainstream Australians, and enquiring into relevant migration issues. I also became more active in community issues, and was not constrained by my circumstances. By circumstances, I mean that even though I belonged to a patriarchally structured Muslim family, where my husband was the main breadwinner, main decision-maker, my independence and research activities (entailing frequent interstate trips for data collection, and public speaking) were not frowned upon or forbidden (Khan 14-15); fortunately, my husband appreciated my passion for research and gave me his trust and support. This, along with the Muslim community’s support (interviews), and the wider community’s recognition (for example, the publication of my letters in Australian newspapers, interviews on radio and television) enabled me to develop my self-esteem and built up my bicultural identity as a Muslim in a predominantly Christian country and as a Bangladeshi-Australian. In 2005, for the sake of a better job opportunity, my husband moved to the UK, but this time I asserted that I would not move again. I felt that here in Australia (now in Perth) I had a job, an identity and a home. This time my husband was able to secure a good job back in Australia and was only away for a year. I no longer dream of finding a home in the Middle East. Through my bicultural identity here in Australia I feel connected to the wider community and to the Muslim umma. However, my attachment to the umma has become ambivalent. I feel proud of my Australian-Muslim identity but I am concerned about the jihadi ideology of militant Muslims. By jihadi ideology, I mean the extremist ideology of the al-Qaeda terrorist group (Farrar 2007). The Muslim umma now incorporates both moderate and radical Muslims. The radical Muslims (though only a tiny minority of 1.4 billion Muslims worldwide) pose a threat to their moderate counterparts as well as to non-Muslims. In the UK, some second- and third-generation Muslims identify themselves with the umma rather than their parents’ homelands or their country of birth (Husain). It should not be a matter of concern if these young Muslims adopt a ‘pure’ Muslim identity, providing at the same time they are loyal to their country of residence. But when they resort to terrorism with their ‘pure’ Muslim identity (e.g., the 7/7 London bombers) they defame my religion Islam, and undermine my spiritual connection to the umma. As a 1st generation immigrant, the defining criteria of my ‘homeliness’ in Australia are my ethno-cultural and religious identity (which includes my family), my active citizenship, and my community development/contribution through my research work – all of which allow me a sense of efficacy in my life. My ethnic and religious identities generally co-exist equally, but when I see some Muslims kill my fellow Australians (such as the Bali bombings in 2002 and 2005) my Australian identity takes precedence. I feel for the victims and condemn the perpetrators. On the other hand, when I see politics play a role over the human rights issues (e.g., the Tampa incident), my religious identity begs me to comment on it (see Kabir, Muslims in Australia 295-305). Problematising ‘Home’ for Muslim Australians In the European context, Grillo (863) and Werbner (904), and in the Australian context, Kabir (Muslims in Australia) and Poynting and Mason, have identified the diversity within Islam (national, ethnic, religious etc). Werbner (904) notes that in spite of the “wishful talk of the emergence of a ‘British Islam’, even today there are Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Arab mosques, as well as Turkish and Shia’a mosques”; thus British Muslims retain their separate identities. Similarly, in Australia, the existence of separate mosques for the Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Arab and Shia’a peoples indicates that Australian Muslims have also kept their ethnic identities discrete (Saeed 64-77). However, in times of crisis, such as the Salman Rushdie affair in 1989, and the 1990-1991 Gulf crises, both British and Australian Muslims were quick to unite and express their Islamic identity by way of resistance (Kabir, Muslims in Australia 160-162; Poynting and Mason 68-70). In both British and Australian contexts, I argue that a peaceful rally or resistance is indicative of active citizenship of Muslims as it reveals their sense of belonging (also Werbner 905). So when a transmigrant Muslim wants to make a peaceful demonstration, the Western world should be encouraged, not threatened – as long as the transmigrant’s allegiances lie also with the host country. In the European context, Grillo (868) writes: when I asked Mehmet if he was planning to stay in Germany he answered without hesitation: ‘Yes, of course’. And then, after a little break, he added ‘as long as we can live here as Muslims’. In this context, I support Mehmet’s desire to live as a Muslim in a non-Muslim world as long as this is peaceful. Paradoxically, living a Muslim life through ijtihad can be either socially progressive or destructive. The Canadian Muslim feminist Irshad Manji relies on ijtihad, but so does Osama bin Laden! Manji emphasises that ijtihad can be, on the one hand, the adaptation of Islam using independent reasoning, hybridity and the contesting of ‘traditional’ family values (c.f. Doogue and Kirkwood 275-276, 314); and, on the other, ijtihad can take the form of conservative, patriarchal and militant Islamic values. The al-Qaeda terrorist Osama bin Laden espouses the jihadi ideology of Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966), an Egyptian who early in his career might have been described as a Muslim modernist who believed that Islam and Western secular ideals could be reconciled. But he discarded that idea after going to the US in 1948-50; there he was treated as ‘different’ and that treatment turned him against the West. He came back to Egypt and embraced a much more rigid and militaristic form of Islam (Esposito 136). Other scholars, such as Cesari, have identified a third orientation – a ‘secularised Islam’, which stresses general beliefs in the values of Islam and an Islamic identity, without too much concern for practices. Grillo (871) observed Islam in the West emphasised diversity. He stressed that, “some [Muslims were] more quietest, some more secular, some more clamorous, some more negotiatory”, while some were exclusively characterised by Islamic identity, such as wearing the burqa (elaborate veils), hijabs (headscarves), beards by men and total abstinence from drinking alcohol. So Mehmet, cited above, could be living a Muslim life within the spectrum of these possibilities, ranging from an integrating mode to a strict, militant Muslim manner. In the UK context, Zubaida (96) contends that marginalised, culturally-impoverished youth are the people for whom radical, militant Islamism may have an appeal, though it must be noted that the 7/7 bombers belonged to affluent families (O’Sullivan 14; Husain). In Australia, Muslim Australians are facing three challenges. First, the Muslim unemployment rate: it was three times higher than the national total in 1996 and 2001 (Kabir, Muslims in Australia 266-278; Kabir, “What Does It Mean” 63). Second, some spiritual leaders have used extreme rhetoric to appeal to marginalised youth; in January 2007, the Australian-born imam of Lebanese background, Sheikh Feiz Mohammad, was alleged to have employed a DVD format to urge children to kill the enemies of Islam and to have praised martyrs with a violent interpretation of jihad (Chulov 2). Third, the proposed citizenship test has the potential to make new migrants’ – particularly Muslims’ – settlement in Australia stressful (Kabir, “What Does It Mean” 62-79); in May 2007, fuelled by perceptions that some migrants – especially Muslims – were not integrating quickly enough, the Howard government introduced a citizenship test bill that proposes to test applicants on their English language skills and knowledge of Australian history and ‘values’. I contend that being able to demonstrate knowledge of history and having English language skills is no guarantee that a migrant will be a good citizen. Through my transmigrant history, I have learnt that developing a bond with a new place takes time, acceptance and a gradual change of identity, which are less likely to happen when facing assimilationist constraints. I spoke English and studied history in the United States, but I did not consider it my home. I did not speak the Arabic language, and did not study Middle Eastern history while I was in the Middle East, but I felt connected to it for cultural and religious reasons. Through my knowledge of history and English language proficiency I did not make Australia my home when I first migrated to Australia. Australia became my home when I started interacting with other Australians, which was made possible by having the time at my disposal and by fortunate circumstances, which included a fairly high level of efficacy and affluence. If I had been rejected because of my lack of knowledge of ‘Australian values’, or had encountered discrimination in the job market, I would have been much less willing to embrace my host country and call it home. I believe a stringent citizenship test is more likely to alienate would-be citizens than to induce their adoption of values and loyalty to their new home. Conclusion Blunt (5) observes that current studies of home often investigate mobile geographies of dwelling and how it shapes one’s identity and belonging. Such geographies of home negotiate from the domestic to the global context, thus mobilising the home beyond a fixed, bounded and confining location. Similarly, in this paper I have discussed how my mobile geography, from the domestic (root) to global (route), has shaped my identity. Though I received a degree of culture shock in the United States, loved the Middle East, and was at first quite resistant to the idea of making Australia my second home, the confidence I acquired in residing in these ‘several homes’ were cumulative and eventually enabled me to regard Australia as my ‘home’. I loved the Middle East, but I did not pursue an active involvement with the Arab community because I was a busy mother. Also I lacked the communication skill (fluency in Arabic) with the local residents who lived outside the expatriates’ campus. I am no longer a cultural freak. I am no longer the same Bangladeshi woman who saw her ethnic and Islamic culture as superior to all other cultures. I have learnt to appreciate Australian values, such as tolerance, ‘a fair go’ and multiculturalism (see Kabir, “What Does It Mean” 62-79). My bicultural identity is my strength. With my ethnic and religious identity, I can relate to the concerns of the Muslim community and other Australian ethnic and religious minorities. And with my Australian identity I have developed ‘a voice’ to pursue active citizenship. Thus my biculturalism has enabled me to retain and merge my former home with my present and permanent home of Australia. References Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. London, New York: Verso, 1983. Australian Bureau of Statistics: Census of Housing and Population, 1996 and 2001. Blunt, Alison. Domicile and Diaspora: Anglo-Indian Women and the Spatial Politics of Home. 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Citation reference for this article MLA Style Kabir, Nahid. "Why I Call Australia ‘Home’?: A Transmigrant’s Perspective." M/C Journal 10.4 (2007). echo date('d M. Y'); ?> <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0708/15-kabir.php>. APA Style Kabir, N. (Aug. 2007) "Why I Call Australia ‘Home’?: A Transmigrant’s Perspective," M/C Journal, 10(4). Retrieved echo date('d M. Y'); ?> from <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0708/15-kabir.php>.

BACKGROUND: It is a marked recognition that when the population is disaggregated by religion, wide disparities in the utilization of maternal health care services can be observed. The study was aimed to analyze the levels and trends of maternal health services among Muslims in India. The study also delineated the investigation of confounding factors attributed to maternal health services among the selected population.METHODS: The study utilized the data from the third and fourth round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS), conducted in 2005-06 and 2015-16 respectively. The bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were employed to accomplish the study objectives.RESULT: There is an increasing trend in the distributional patterns of all three indicators (full ANC, SBA and PNC) during the last two successive surveys. Muslim women belonging to Southern States were seen to be utilizing more maternal health care services as compared to Muslim women in the Northern States. Muslim populated States like Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal were far cry to achieve the MDG-15 target of utilization of 100 percent skilled birth attendants in 2015. Education, media exposure and wealth status appeared to be major confounding factors for determining the utilization of maternal health services.CONCLUSION: The study revealed that the utilizations of maternal health services among Muslims have progressed during the last decade. It can be concluded that the NHM policy has played an instrumental role in increasing the utilization of maternal health services among Muslims.

Movement is an integral part of human existence. While talking about transborder migration from Bangladesh to India, we are, however, aware that this is a controversial subject. The partition of Bengal in 1947 was the cruelest partition in the history of the world and caused forced illegal migration from erstwhile East Pakistan. It is estimated that there are about 15 million Bangladeshi nationals living in India illegally. West Bengal has a border running 2,216 km along Bangladesh. The present study highlights push-pull factors of illegal Bangladeshi migration based on perceptions of respondents obtained from a qualitative survey done on the basis of purposive sampling in Kolkata and 24 parganas and two districts of West Bengal (WB), an Indian State. The economic push factors that motivate people to leave Bangladesh are instability and economic depression, poverty, lack of employment opportunity, struggle for livelihood, forced grabbing of landed property from minority group, and lack of industrialization in Bangladesh. About 56% of the respondents expressed that lack of industrialisation/lack of employment/economic insecurity would be the probable cause of this migration. Among the demographic factors, population explosion in Bangladesh and lowest human development index may be the most important cause of illegal migration from Bangladesh to West Bengal. Hindu minority group faced problems in connection with matrimonial alliances. Educational curricula, which were framed according to Islamic preaching and curtailment of facilities enjoyed by Hindu minority group, were responsible factor for illegal migration of Hindu minority population. Another cause is social insecurity. Political instability, fear of riots and terrorism in Bangladesh, inhuman attitude and activities of the political leaders, absence of democratic rights, Muslim domination, religious instigation by political leaders, insecurity feeling of Hindus, are the major crucial issues that require to be mentioned as political push factors. About 59% of the respondents are of the opinion that religious fundamentalists/insecurity of the minority group/discriminating law and order against Hindus may be the factors that motivated migration from Bangladesh to West Bengal. In terms of ethnic cleansing, one can witness elimination of groups of minorities by dominant ethnic group, curbing their rights controlling their influence in a state’s system. Double standards are observed in punishing criminals. Police officials do not record complaints from minority community. According to 85% of the respondent economic opportunity in terms of job opportunity, economic security prevailing in West Bengal worked as pull factors for migrants to West Bengal. Geographic proximity of Bangladesh and West Bengal, the linguistics and cultural similarities, same food habit, homo-ethnic climate, belief of getting shelter, cordiality, fellow-feeling, acceptance power of people of West Bengal have contributed to the movements of population from Bangladesh to West Bengal.

Throughout its history, India has been the target of a multitude of external aggressions, which have frequently resulted in initial confrontations between domestic forces and foreign aggressors. In India, the coexistence principle has played a significant role in the development of a multicultural and multiethnic society. However, the memory avenue remains scarred by the enduring effects of the violent conflict. Local communities, places of worship, and valuables were destroyed during the incessant conflict between regional regimes that opposed the expanding Mughal Empire prior to British colonization. Throughout this period, devout Hindus who harbored this resentment held in high regard monarchs who vehemently opposed the Islamic invaders. Following the British removal of Muslim authorities, the Muslim population, in conjunction with non-Muslim segments, extended a helping hand to the indigent and swore to defend India's independence. The sociological study of group dynamics exerted a significant impact on the political terrain of the Indian independence movement by fostering solidarity among individuals of various religious and racial affiliations who opposed the colonialists. Nevertheless, the British possessed knowledge of the religious and linguistic dichotomies that existed among the various communities in India, in addition to their extensive chronicle of internal turmoil and discord. Consequently, they devised the "divide and rule" strategy by specifically exploiting communal elements. At the behest of the authorities, the communal infection extensively permeated the Indian political system during the British colonial period. The Indian National Congress was established in 1885 in opposition to the British approach of fostering animosity between the Muslim and Hindu communities. In an effort to operate as a nationalist entity, the recently established organization solicited contributions from all sectors of Indian society and exerted diplomatic pressure on the government. Notwithstanding the Congress comprising leaders from both communities, a considerable number of Muslim leaders retained apprehensions concerning the impact of Hindu leaders. They held the view that the Congress, which was under the control of a westernized Hindu oligarchy, would be incapable of effectively representing Muslim interests and could potentially be detrimental to them. Measures were taken to enhance Muslim support on a national level in order to protect the interests and well-being of the Muslim community. Many interpreted the Viceroy of Bengal, Lord Curzon,'s 1905 decision to partition the province into communal territories as an effort to further segregate the Hindu and Muslim communities.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) of the United Nations, the global scenario for the number of international migrants increased to 281 million in 2020, meaning that 3.6% of the world's population lived outside their country of birth in that year. The objective of the study demographic condition of the internal migration population, working conditions of in migrant construction workers, inmigrant construction workers socio culture condition, psychological condition, the consequences and problems faced unorganized migrant construction workers. The research study adopted Descriptive Research design for the present study because the primary of the study is to attain information concerning the existing status of quality of life of migrant construction workers. The researcher moved to another location with the reference of previous contact, in the way, snowball sampling method was used to access the required number of population. It was noted that the majority of the construction workers were semi-skilled and were illiterate. Most of the respondents spoke Hindi as their major language, 38 percent of them spoke Oriya. The workers are said to be receiving monthly wages and the majority of them have a monthly income of up to Rs.10,000 on a average. It was identified that construction workers migrated from other states at 19 to 25 years. Temporary migrants migrating with their families are found to be higher. Among the migrant construction workers within the age group of 26 to 35 years migrate more than others. Sizeable size 94 percent of the respondents belong to the male category, most of the people working as a construction labourers are married. Among the in-migrant construction workers, migrants from Odisha are more in number, followed by people from West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and other states. The Hindu community is dominated in number compared to Muslim and Christian community.

Abstract Background Despite its considerable impact on health and productivity, anemia among men has received limited attention. In a country as diverse as India, characterized by extensive geographic variations, there is a pressing need to investigate the nuanced spatial patterns of anemia prevalence among men. The identification of specific hotspots holds critical implications for policymaking, especially in rural areas, where a substantial portion of India’s population resides. Methods The study conducted an analysis on a sample of 61,481 rural men from 707 districts of India, utilizing data from the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-21). Various analytical techniques, including Moran’s I, univariate LISA (Local Indicators of Spatial Association), bivariate LISA, and spatial regression models such as SLM (Spatial Lag Model), and SEM (Spatial Error Model) were employed to examine the geographic patterns and spatial correlates of anaemia prevalence in the study population. Results In rural India, three out of every ten men were found to be anemic. The univariate Moran’s I value for anaemia was 0.66, indicating a substantial degree of spatial autocorrelation in anaemia prevalence across the districts in India. Cluster and outlier analysis identified five prominent ‘hotspots’ of anaemia prevalence across 97 districts, primarily concentrated in the eastern region (encompassing West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Odisha), the Dandakaranya region, the Madhya Pradesh-Maharashtra border, lower Assam, and select districts in Jammu and Kashmir. The results of SLM revealed significant positive association between anaemia prevalence at the district-level and several key factors including a higher proportion of Scheduled Tribes, men in the 49–54 years age group, men with limited or no formal education, individuals of the Muslim faith, economically disadvantaged men, and those who reported alcohol consumption. Conclusions Substantial spatial heterogeneity in anaemia prevalence among men in rural India suggests the need for region-specific targeted interventions to reduce the burden of anaemia among men in rural India and enhance the overall health of this population.

Introduction: The skill and quality of doctors largely depend on their academic performances. Examination scores of medical students can be impacted by their personality and Socioeconomic Status (SES). Identification of the effects of different personality traits and socioeconomic profile on the academic results of medical undergraduates can help to identify the vulnerable groups and consider possible support by counselling, financial aids and policy formulation. Aim: To assess the correlation of personality traits and SES with the academic performances of undergraduate medical student based on the marks scored in the second professional Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) examination. Materials and Methods: An observational cross-sectional study of 10 months duration from May 2017 to February 2018 was done on 143 students of sixth semester (Part I) of MBBS course, in a Government Medical College of Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Participants filled up the Big Five Inventory (BFI) questionnaire that evaluates dimensions like extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness, and the Kuppuswamy’s SES scale form which considers education of the head of family, occupation of head and monthly family income. The examination marks were collected from the student’s section of the institution. Demographic parameters of the population like age, gender and religion were considered. Data was tabulated in MS Excel spreadsheet and a descriptive statistical analysis was performed. Any correlation of the study parameters with student’s academic performance was determined through statistical analysis using Spearman correlation coefficient and p≤0.05 was considered significant. Results: Among the participants of the study (n=143), a mean age of 21.53 years was observed with male:female ratio of 2.04; about 87.41% of the students were Hindu while rest were Muslim. The results showed conscientiousness (r=0.1842) and neuroticism (r=0.1799) were correlated with total academic score as well as openness to pathology (r=0.1783) and forensic medicine (r=0.2362). Higher SES positively affected the results in microbiology (r=0.1698). Occupation of the head of the family was correlated positively with total marks (r=0.1677) and performances in microbiology (r=0.2256) and pathology (r=0.1919). Conclusion: Conscientious behaviour, an attitude of openness and even neuroticism, can contribute to better grades. Higher occupation of the head of the family may also contribute positively. Appropriate counselling to nurture beneficial personality traits and adequate guidance by mentors may help students achieve better academically.

In 2014, telecommunications companies Ooredoo and Telenor introduced a 3G phone network to Myanmar, one of the last, great un-phoned territories of the world (“Mobile Mania”). Formerly accessible only to military and cultural elites, the smartphone was now available to virtually all. In 2020, just six years later, smartphones are commonplace, used by every class and walk of life. The introduction and mainstreaming of the smartphone in Myanmar coincided with the transition from military dictatorship to quasi democracy; from heavy censorship to relative liberalisation of culture and the media. This ongoing transition continues to be a painful one for many in Myanmar. The 3G network and smartphone ownership enable ordinary people to connect with one another and the Internet—or, more specifically, Facebook, which is ‘the Internet in Myanmar’ (Nyi Nyi Kyaw, “Facebooking in Myanmar” 1). However, the smartphone and what it enables has also been identified as a new instrument of control, with mass-texting campaigns and a toxic social media culture implicated in recent concerted violence against ethnic and minority religious groups such as the Muslim Rohingya. In this article, I consider the political and cultural conversations enabled by the smartphone in the period following its introduction. The smartphone can be read as an anomalous, hybrid, and foreign object, with connotations of fluidity and connection, all dangerous qualities in Myanmar, a conservative, former pariah state. Drawing from Sarah Ahmed’s article, “The Skin of Community: Affect and Boundary Formation” (2005), as well as recent scholarship on mixed race identification, I examine deeply held fears around ethnic belonging, cultural adeptness, and hybridity, arguing that these anxieties can be traced back to the early days of colonisation. During military rule, Myanmar’s people were underserved by their telecommunications network. Domestic landlines were rare. Phone calls were generally made from market stalls. SIM cards cost up to US$3000, out of reach of most. The lack of robust services was reflected by remarkably low connection rates; 2012 mobile connections numbered at a mere 5.4 million while fixed lines were just 0.6 million for a population of over 50 million people (Kyaw Myint, “Myanmar Country Report” 232). In 2013, the Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor and the Qatari company Ooredoo won licenses to establish network infrastructure for Myanmar. In August 2014, with network construction still underway, the two companies released SIM cards costing a mere 1500 kyats or US$1.50 each. At the time, 1500 kyats bought two plates of fried rice at a Yangon street food stall, making these SIM cards easily affordable. Chinese-manufactured handsets quickly became available (Fink 44). Suddenly, Myanmar was connected. By early 2019, there were 105 smart connections per 100 people in the country (Kyaw Myint, “Facebooking in Myanmar” 1). While this number doesn’t count multiple connections within a single household or the realities of unreliable network coverage in rural areas, the story of the smartphone in Myanmar would seem to be about democratisation and a new form of national unity. But after half a century of military rule, what did national unity mean? Myanmar’s full name is The Republic of the Union of Myanmar. Since independence in 1948 the country has been torn by internal civil wars as political factions and ethnic groups fought for sovereignty. What actually bound the Union of Myanmar together? And where might discussions of such painful and politically sensitive questions take place? Advertising as a Space for Crafting Conversations of National Identity In a report on Asian Advertising, Mila Chaplin of Mango Marketing, the agency charged with launching the Telenor brand in Myanmar, observes thatin many markets, brands talk about self-expression and invite consumers to get involved in co-creation … . In Myanmar what the consumers really need is some guidance on how to start crafting [national] …] identities. (4) Advertising has often been used as a means of retelling national stories and myths as well as a site for the collective imaginary to be visualised (Sawchuk 43). However, Myanmar was unlike other territories. Decades of heavy censorship and isolationist diplomatic policies, euphemistically named the “closed” period, left the country without a functional, independent national media. Television programming, including advertising, was regulated and national identity was an edict, not a shared conversation. With the advent of democratic reforms in 2011, ushering in a new “open” period, paid advertising campaigns in 2015 offered an in-between space on nationally broadcast television where it was possible to discuss questions of national identity from a perspective other than that of the government (Chaplin). Such conversations had to be conducted sensitively, given that the military were still the true national power. However, an advertising campaign that launched a new way to physically connect the country almost inevitably had to address questions of shared identity as well as clearly set out how the alien technology might shape the nation. To do so required addressing the country’s painful colonial past. The Hybrid in National Narratives of Myanmar In contemporary Myanmar, the smartphone is synonymous with military and government power (mobile Internet traffic in northern Rakhine state, for example, has been shut down since February 2020, ostensibly for security). Yet, when the phone was first introduced in 2014, it too was seen as a “foreign” object, one that had the potential to connect but also “instantiated ... a worldly sensibility that national borders and boundaries are potentially breached, and thus in need of protection from ‘others’” (Sawchuk 45). This fear of foreign influence coupled with the yearning for connection with the outside world is summed up by Ei Phyu Aung, editor of Myanmar’s weekly entertainment journal Sunday:it’s like dust coming in when you open the window. We can’t keep the window closed forever so we have to find a way to minimize the dust and maximize the sunlight. (Thin)Ei Phyu Aung wishes to enjoy the benefits of connecting with the world outside (sunlight) yet also fears cultural pollution (dust) linked with exploitation, an anxiety that reflects Myanmar’s approach to belonging and citizenship, shaped by its colonial history. Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, was colonised in stages. Upper Burma was annexed by British forces in 1886, completing a process of colonisation begun with the first Anglo-Burmese wars of 1823. The royal family was exiled from the pre-colonial capital at Mandalay and the new colony ruled as a province of India. Indian migration, particularly to Rangoon, was encouraged and these highly visible, economic migrants became the symbol of colonialism, of foreign exploitation. A deep mistrust of foreign influence, based on the experiences of colonialism, continued to shape the nation decades after independence. The 1962 military coup was followed by the expulsion of “foreigners” in 1964 as the country pursued a policy of isolation. In 1982, the government introduced a new citizenship law “driven as much by a political campaign to exclude the ‘alien’ from the country as to define the ‘citizen’” (Transnational Institute 10). This law only recognises ethnicities who can prove their presence prior to 1824, the year British forces first annexed lower Burma. As a consequence of the 1982 laws, groups such as the Rohingya are considered “Bengali migrants” and those descended from Chinese and Indian diasporas are excluded from full citizenship. In 1989, the ruling State Law and Order Council (SLORC) changed the country’s name to Myanmar and the anglicised Rangoon to Yangon. Thus the story of Burma/Myanmar since independence is of a nation that continues to be traumatised by colonisation. Given the mistrust of the foreign, how then might an anomalous hybrid object like the smartphone be received? Smartphone Advertising and National Narratives Television advertising is well suited to creating a sense of national identity; commercials are usually broadcast repeatedly. As Sarah Ahmed argues, it is through “the repetition of norms” that “boundary, fixity and surface of ‘social forms’ such as the ‘nation’ are produced” (Cultural Politics of Emotion 12). In her article, “The Skin of Community”, Ahmed describes these boundaries as a kind of “skin”, where difference is recognised through affective responses, such as disgust or delight. These responses and their associated meanings delineate a kind of belonging through shared experience, akin to shared identity—a shared skin. Telenor’s first advertisement in this space, Breakfast, draws from the metaphor of skin as boundary, connecting a family meal with cultural myths and social history. Breakfast was developed by Mango Marketing Services in 2014 and Telenor launched its initial television campaign in 2015, consisting of several advertisements brought to market in the period between 2014 and 2016 (Hicks, Mumbrella). The commercial runs for 60 seconds, a relatively expensive long format typical of a broadly-disseminated launch where the advertiser aims to introduce something new to the public and subsequently, build market share. Opening with images of Yangon, the country’s commercial centre, Breakfast tells the story of May, a newlywed, and the first time she cooks for her in-laws. May’s mother-in-law requests a famous breakfast dish, nanjithoke, typical of Mandalay, where May is from. But May does not know how to cook the dish and blunders around the kitchen as her in-laws wait. Sensing her distress, her husband suggests that she use his smartphone to call her mother in Mandalay and get the recipe. May’s dish is approved by her in-laws as tasty and authentic. In Breakfast, the phone is used as if it were a landline, its mobility not wholly relevant. The locations of both parties, May and her mother, are fixed and predictable and the phone in both instances is closely associated with connecting homes and more significantly, two important cities, Yangon and Mandalay. The advertisement presents the smartphone as solving the systemic problem of unreliable telecommunication in Myanmar as well as its lack of access; there is a final message reassuring the user that calls are affordable. That the smartphone is shown as part of everyday life presents it as a force for stability, a service that locates and connects fixed places. This in itself represented a profound shift for most people, in light of the fact that such communication was not possible during the “closed” period. Thus, this foreign, hybrid object enables what was not previously possible.While the benefits of the smartphone and network may be clear, the subtext of the advertisement nonetheless points to fears of foreign influence and the dangers of introducing an alien object into everyday life. To mitigate these concerns, May is presented in the traditional htamein or longyi and aingi, a long wrap skirt and fitted blouse with sleeves that end on the forearm, rather than western jeans and a t-shirt—both types of clothing are commonly worn in Yangon. Her hair is pulled back and pinned up, her makeup is subtle. She inhabits domestic space and does not have her own smartphone. In fact, it does not even occur to her to call her mother for the nanjithoke recipe, which is slightly surprising given her mother has a smartphone and knows how to use it, indicating that she has probably had it for some time. This subtext reflects conservative power structures in which elder generations pass knowledge down to new generations. The choice to connect Yangon and Mandalay through the local noodle dish is also significant. Breakfast makes manifest historic meanings associated with “place” a mapping of the “hidden” and “already given cultural order” (Mazzarella 24-25). As discussed earlier, Yangon was the colonial capital, known as an Indian city, but Mandalay as the pre-colonial capital remains a seat of cultural sophistication, where the highest form of the Myanmar language is spoken. The choice to connect Myanmar with the phone, as foreign object and bearer of anomaly, should be read as a repudiation of its bordered past, when foreigners (or kalaa, a derogatory term), including European ambassadors, were kept separate from the royal family by walls and a moat. The commercial, too, strongly evokes a shared skin of community through the evocation of the senses, from Yangon’s heat to the anticipation of a tasty and authentic meal, as well as through the visualisation of kinship and inheritance. In one extremely slow dissolve, May and her mother share the screen simultaneously, compressed in space as well as time. It is as if their skin of kinship is stretched before us. As the viewer’s eye passes from left to right across the screen, May’s present, past, and future is visible. She too will become the mother, at the other end the phone, offering advice to her daughter. There is suggestion of a continuum, of an “immemorial past” (Anderson 12), part of a national narrative that connects to pre-colonial Mandalay and the cultural systems that precede it, to the modern city of Yangon, still the commercial of contemporary Myanmar.At first glance, Breakfast seems to position the phone as an object that will enable Myanmar to stay Myanmarese through the strengthening of family connections. The commercial also strives to allay fears of the phone as a source of cultural pollution or exploitation by demonstrating its adoption among the older generation and inserting it into a fantasy of an uninterrupted culture, harking back to pre-colonial Burma. Yet, while the phone is represented in anodyne terms, it is only because it is an anomalous and hybrid object that such connections are possible. Furthermore, the smartphone in this representation also enables a connection between pre-colonial Mandalay to contemporary Yangon, breaching painful associations with both annexation and colonisation. In contrast to the advertisement Breakfast, Telenor’s information video, Why we should use SIM slot 1, does not attempt to disassociate the smartphone with foreignness. Instead, it capitalises on the smartphone as a hybrid object whose benefit is that it can be adapted to specific needs, including faster Internet speeds to enable connection to external video channel, such as YouTube.The video features young women dressed in foreign jeans and short-sleeved tops, wearing Western-style make-up, including sparkly nail polish. Both women appear to own their smartphones, and one is technically adept, delivering the complex information about which slot to use to facilitate the fastest Internet connection. Neither has difficulty with negotiating the complicated ports beneath the back cover of their smartphone to make the necessary change. They are happy to alter their phones to suit their own needs. These women are perhaps more closely in line with other markets, where the younger generation “do not expect to follow their parents’ practice” (Horst and Miller 9). This is in direct contrast to Breakfast, where May’s middle-aged mother has adopted the phone and, in keeping with conservative power structures, is already well-versed in its uses and capabilities. While this video was never intended to be seen by the audience for Breakfast, there remain parallels in the way the smartphone enables a connection within the control of its user: like May’s mother, both women in Breakfast are able to control or mitigate the foreign material through the manipulation of their device, moving from 2G to H+. They can opt in or out of the H+ network.This article has explored discussions of national identity prompted by the introduction of the smartphone to Myanmar during a moment of unprecedented political change. Breakfast, the advertisement that launched the smartphone into the country, offered a space in which the people of Myanmar were able to address questions of national identity and gently probe the discomfort of the colonial past. The communication video Why we should use SIM slot 1 reflects Myanmar’s burgeoning sense of connection with the region and presents the smartphone as customisable. The smartphone in advertising is thus positioned as a means for connecting the generations and continuing the immemorial past of the Burmese nation into the future, as well as a hybrid object capable of linking the country to the outside world. 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