Trump 2.0 World and Sheikh Hasina’s Sinking Boat in Bangladesh

SALEEM SAMAD

Just days after Donald Trump won a landslide victory in the US presidential election, Ambassador Humayun Kabir, a credible commentator on foreign affairs, said in an interview with an independent newspaper Prothom Alo that the bilateral relationship with Bangladesh and the United States will not be sailing in troubled water, as expected by ousted Sheikh Hasina’s loyalists.

“I do not foresee any major changes in US-Bangladesh relations,” the former diplomat said confidently.

He also said that unlike in South Asian countries, American foreign policy does not change after a change of government, whether the Democrats or Republicans win the election.

It is very rare for an incumbent regime in US polity to engage in witch-hunting of loyalists of the previous government or opposition political party. This unfortunately is very common in South Asia’s revenge political culture.

Dr Muhammad Yunus, Bangladesh’s interim government’s chief adviser, has congratulated Trump on his election as the new US president, expressing optimism for strengthened bilateral ties and future cooperation.

Anyway, as reported on social media the disgraced Awami League and its exiled leader Sheikh Hasina were upbeat about Trump. They had an impression that his election victory would help Hasina return to power, who is living in exile in Delhi.

The Awami League loyalists believe that Trump, who lauded Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “good friend” and in a condemnation of “the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians…in Bangladesh”, would lend moral support to Hasina to return to power with the Indian help.

US President-elect Trump, who will be sworn in January 2025, painted Bangladesh under Dr Yunus as if the country is “in a total state of chaos.”

Promptly, Shafiqul Alam, press secretary to the chief adviser, said that Trump was provided wrong information on the contentious religious minorities issue after the interim government took charge in early August.

Meanwhile, Michael Kugelman – a South Asia expert, particularly focused on Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan – said US-Bangladesh relations experienced a reset this year.

It began after Bangladesh’s election last January, when US President Joe Biden sent Hasina a warmly worded letter, expressing “my sincere desire” to co-operate in a wide variety of spheres, after many months of bilateral tensions in the lead up to an election that the State Department would categorize as not free or fair.

In a hurry, Hasina sank her ‘Boat’ (the party’s election symbol). And political observers explain that it would be a herculean task to salvage the capsized boat in the years to come.

Obviously, Hasina ignored Biden’s warning. She went ahead to hold a flawed parliamentary election for the third consecutive term. The reset truly took off after the mass movement against Hasina last monsoon that brought Yunus to power. The State Department quickly issued a statement saying it “stands ready to work” with Bangladesh’s interim government, says Kugelman.

When she fled, she did not leave any message to her party leaders and members, who were left behind to face the wrath of the Interim Government. In a hurry, Hasina sank her ‘Boat’ (the party’s election symbol). And political observers explain that it would be a herculean task to salvage the capsized boat in the years to come.

Dr Yunus, like the US government, had been critical of Hasina’s illiberal and anti-democratic policies, writes Kugelman, the Director of the South Asia Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Netra News, an investigative journalism portal based in Sweden.

However, Trump’s election campaign “Make America Great Again” in his recent social media broadside against Bangladesh should be viewed against the backdrop of US electoral politics, he opined.

Meanwhile, a verified Facebook of Awami League announced observing Shaheed Noor Hossain Day on 10 November, who was killed in police firing in a 1990 student movement during the military rule of Gen Hossain Mohammad Ershad’s (1982-1990). Less than a month later, dictator Gen Ershad was toppled and imprisoned for corruption.

The Awami League announced at a protest rally at Noor Hossain Square in the capital Dhaka to eliminate undemocratic forces (the interim government of Dr Yunus) and restore the democratic system.

A purported audio message (which could not be verified independently) of Hasina urged the protesters to hold the portrait of Trump. Police detained scores of people having Trump’s poster.

Law enforcement crackdown against Awami League with Trump signs has drawn flak from Trump’s supporters on Twitter (X) handle @TrumpUpdateH. It says: Bangladesh police arrests Trump supporters for celebrating Trump’s victory.

Dr Yunus’ office also in a press release has made a rebuttal of the news stories in Indian media regarding the crackdown on Trump supporters in Bangladesh.

There have been no arrests or crackdowns on the Trump supporters, said the chief adviser’s media wing on Sunday night.

The government has vowed to prevent the Awami League protest. The statement described the Awami League as a “fascist party” and added that the political outfit would not be allowed to hold any gathering anywhere in Bangladesh.

Earlier, Dr Yunus in an interview with the British newspaper Financial Times said there is ‘no place’ for Hasina’s ‘fascist’ party in Bangladesh’s politics.

The inventor of “Banking the Poor” described the political party (Awami League) of ousted authoritarian leader Hasina as exhibiting “all the characteristics of fascism”.

He reiterated that Bangladesh would not seek the exiled leader’s extradition from India before the International Crimes Tribunal’s verdict, where she has been accused of crimes against humanity.

The FT writes that political rivals and human rights groups have accused the Awami League of rigging at least three elections (2014, 2018 and 2024), carrying out extrajudicial killings, and politicization of state institutions during Hasina’s 15-year tenure (2009-2024).

The students who toppled Hasina from power have been demanding to ban the Awami League. The government has already banned the student’s wing Chhatra League for mobilization of armed vigilante “Helmet Bahini” during the Monsoon Revolution.

While the government is debating whether the party should be temporarily suspended from politics, required to reform, or banned entirely.

Regarding the democratization process of the country, the government is in a fix on how to justify when a free, fair, inclusive election is held to form a political government.

The 84-year-old Nobel peace prize winner speculates that the Awami League might disintegrate, but stressed that its fate would not be decided by his interim administration as it was “not a political government”.

Any decision on whether Awami League could participate in a future election would be decided by a “consensus” of political parties themselves, he told FT. “They have to decide their political space.”

On the other hand, Awami League’s cyber warriors, loyalist intellectuals, journalists and expatriate Bangladesh nationals have been arguing that after Hasina fled to India, she is still recognized as Prime Minister of Bangladesh by New Delhi.

This prompted South Block in New Delhi to explain the status of Hasina. “We have repeatedly said that she (Sheikh Hasina) is a former Prime Minister, that is where it stands,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Randhir Jaiswal told the journalists in New Delhi last week.

However, India is officially yet to accept that the people of Bangladesh have toppled the Hasina’s government. It could be understood from the striking feature of Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar’s statement in the Lok Sabha (the Lower House of the People) on August 6 (the following day Hasina fled to New Delhi) – a complete failure to mention the Awami League government’s egregious violation of human rights, and the killings of over 1,000 students and maimed nearly 30,000 people in 36 days of July and August.

Jaishankar began setting up a context for the people’s uprising saying that there had been “considerable tensions, deep divides and growing polarization in Bangladesh politics” since the January election. “This underlying foundation aggravated a student agitation that started in June this year,” he told the Lower House. “There was growing violence, including attacks on public buildings and infrastructure, as well as traffic and rail obstructions. The violence continued through the month of July.”

The minister’s statement does not hint that Hasina’s government reacted with overwhelmingly excessive force against students, and police opened fire on protesters with live rounds, writes Tanim Ahmed in an independent newspaper The Daily Star.

Since the Indian external affairs minister glosses over the former government’s brutality, it appears to paint the anti-government movement behind Hasina’s fall with a nefarious intention from its genesis — which fits into the Awami League’s narrative — that this was a movement fomented by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jamaat-e-Islami or even external forces such as the US.

In fact, BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami took advantage of what turned into a bloody anti-government campaign and publicly supported the student movement.

Back to Jaishankar’s statement, when he says, “Events took a very serious turn.” His deliberate disregard for brewing tension among Bangladeshis, Awami League’s intolerance for dissent and telltale signs of the Hasina regime turning into a classic autocrat show a rather myopic and oversimplified Indian take on what is happening in Bangladesh.

Jaishankar’s articulate and witty tête-à-tête with journalists or at discussion panels around the world convincingly demonstrates that he lacks the caliber to appreciate these nuances. One wonders, then, if he had not been properly briefed by his aides on what happened in Bangladesh.

Tanim Ahmed concludes that the Indian establishment had built relations with the Awami League instead of Bangladesh.

The South Block’s Look East policy was to keep Hasina in good humor and continued to support Awami League for expedience despite its faults, and in the process alienated the people of the country.

In a contradiction to the philosophy of Chanakya (375–283 BCE), an ancient Indian master of diplomatic strategy, the debacle created by South Block was putting all eggs in one basket of Hasina. When the eggs are spoiled, the damage control is not effectively working.

Today, with the ouster of Hasina and the Awami League, India is quite naturally seeing more than its fair share of criticism and a dip in popularity.

First published in the Stratheia Policy Journal, 11 November 2024

Saleem Samad is an award-winning independent journalist based in Bangladesh. A media rights defender with the Reporters Without Borders (@RSF_inter). Recipient of Ashoka Fellowship and Hellman-Hammett Award. He could be reached at saleemsamad@hotmail.com; Twitter (X): @saleemsamad

Awami League Believes A Victorious Trump Will Bring Back Hasina

Bangladesh Iron Lady Sheikh Hasina

SALEEM SAMAD

With very little or no chances of Sheikh Hasina returning back to power, the Awami League is now pinning hopes on Donald Trump. Sheikh Hasina's supporters have even started warning those backing the Yunus administration that they will soon face the consequences. However, Bangladesh doesn't enjoy a spot in the US priority list which could produce a sudden policy shift.

Most Awami League leaders, sympathizers, sycophants, cheerleaders, and partisan journalists who fled abroad or kept a low profile are upbeat about the US presidential election.

It would surprise many what and why an election held in another continent has to do with Bangladesh or who will be the winner – the Democrats or the Republicans!

Republicans have no stake in Bangladesh, but the Democrats, indeed, have some in the interim government and especially a very friendly relationship with Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus.

The Biden administration was able to take over some offshore oil and gas exploration in the Bay of Bengal after the Yunus administration took charge of the “Naya Sarkar” (new government).

Trump in a post shared on X wrote: “I strongly condemn the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians, and other minorities who are getting attacked and looted by mobs in Bangladesh.”

Yunus’ journey with the Democrats began when Hillary Clinton met him through his former American wife in the United States. Both Bill Clinton and Hillary were spellbound to hear the microcredit program of Yunus for the poor. He was convinced that the poor could be trusted for repayment of cash loans. Yunus affirmed the Clintons that “they [the poor] are good borrowers”.

When Clinton became Arkansas governor for the second time, banks for the poor were launched and proved successful with jobless Black communities in certain areas. Now there are hundreds of organizations in the United States, which extend microcredit to the poor, thus benefitting millions of them.

Since then, Yunus has become a ‘blue-eyed boy’ of the Democrats. He was ordained with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama. Later, he was awarded the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal.

On Friday (Nov 1), US presidential candidate Donald Trump in a post shared on X wrote: “I strongly condemn the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians, and other minorities who are getting attacked and looted by mobs in Bangladesh, which remains in a total state of chaos.”

He reiterated that the Republicans will “protect Hindu Americans against the anti-religion agenda of the radical left” and “we will also strengthen our great partnership with India and my good friend, Prime Minister Modi”.

This message squarely embarrassed the Yunus administration. Soon after a series of violent incidents, he swung into action which reduced the racial tension between the radicalized Muslims and the Hindus. The Hindu community leaders in collaboration with the civil and police administration have successfully held the largest Durga Puja festival all over the country, largely without further hindrances.

However, Trump’s statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, seems to have given fresh impetus to the Awami League Leaders and sympathizers who have openly lent their support to Trump in the world’s most talked about presidential race.

Trump in his message has raised two key crucial issues: the persecution of the Hindus in Bangladesh and an all-out praise of his “good friend Prime Minister Modi”.

If Trump enters the coveted Oval Office again, the Awami League supporters believe there is a hope that Yunus will no more be running the affairs of Bangladesh by the end of this year.

Amid this wishful thinking, the Awami League sycophants think that Modi, who is walking on a tight rope. will help the exiled Sheikh Hasina return to Bangladesh and retake her kingdom.

But it doesn’t stop there, as their wish list also says that all the leaders and protesters of the Monsoon Revolution will either flee for their safety or land in prison to be prosecuted for treason. Of course, Yunus will also face treason charges, with his old cases (which the present government has quashed) also reopened. He would certainly be awarded capital punishment and publicly hanged at the Padma Bridge.

The Awami League sycophants think that Modi, who is walking on a tight rope. will help the exiled Sheikh Hasina return to Bangladesh and retake her kingdom.

The Awami League sympathizers living abroad and others who have been keeping a low profile have taken to social media and threatening those they feel as enemies of the Awami League and Hasina, warning them to face the consequences of supporting the Yunus administration.

What will happen if Kamal Harris wins? There is a common belief that the fate of Awami Leaguers will be sealed forever.

Meanwhile, the Bangladeshi diaspora and those living in the country as a whole are divided over the support for Kamala and Trump.

Two things have to be remembered. Usually, the US foreign policy does not change overnight, like in South Asian countries, unless the issue in question is a challenge to national security and a threat to American citizens, said Ambassador Humayun Kabir who was in Bangladesh’s mission (2007-2009) in Washington DC.

Amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza or Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other global issues, Bangladesh is not on the priority agenda to be discussed at the US State Department and policies fine-tuned, Kabir concluded his argument.

Whoever wins on the November 5 US presidential election, Washington DC will continue to hold its patience for a transition to democracy in the event of a free, fair and inclusive polls being held in Bangladesh. Until then, the impatient Awami League’s leaders and cheerleaders will have to hold their breath to return to power through a third-party intervention.

There is no possibility of Awami League launching a nationwide anti-government movement. The leaders and their sycophants are busy protecting their looted stash of cash, said political historian and writer Mohiuddin Ahmad.

The Awami League and Chhatra League are demoralized political forces and have lost steam for organizing an effective anti-government movement. They will not be able to stand in a face-off with the tens of thousands of student activists who toppled their 15 years of kleptocratic regime, remarked Ahmad.

First published in the Stratheia Policy Journal, Islamabad, Pakistan, 3 November 2024

Saleem Samad is an award-winning independent journalist based in Bangladesh. A media rights defender with the Reporters Without Borders (@RSF_inter). Recipient of Ashoka Fellowship and Hellman-Hammett Award. He could be reached at saleemsamad@hotmail.com; Twitter (X): @saleemsamad

What will President Joe Biden’s strategy be for South Asia?

President Joe Biden signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington/ Photo REUTERS

SALEEM SAMAD

Hours after President Joe Biden took oath in Washington DC, the leaders of South Asia showered tribute to the new leadership of the United States.

Months before the formal swearing-in on January 20, there were frantic exchanges of diplomatic cables from the capitals of South Asian countries to the United States capital, eager to know the 46th US president’s strategy for South Asia.

Most South Asian think-tanks were of the opinion that the policy would be different from the outgoing president, Donald Trump. The regional leaders and think-tanks have mixed feelings on Trump’s policy on South Asia, which was dubbed as “out of focus.” Most of the think-tanks on South Asian affairs were confident that Biden’s foreign policy would be far more pro-active and pragmatic.

The new US president is likely to engineer a full-scale foreign policy plan to augment cooperation with the 8-member South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), 11-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), 55 member states of the African Union, 21-member state Organization of American States (OAS), 22-member Arab League, 6-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and so on and so forth.

Michael Kugelman, deputy director for the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars in Washington, DC, believes that Biden will fully back a rapidly growing US–India partnership that enjoyed much forward movement during the Trump years -- just as it had throughout every previous administration back to the Bill Clinton era.

Incidentally, Biden is a long-time friend of India’s, who once described the US–India partnership as the defining relationship of the 21st century.

On the other hand, thousands of bipartisan Indian expats in America, who are effectively influential in American politics and administration, were able to churn hard facts into a pro-active foreign policy towards India in South Asia.

The two countries have a shared concern over combating terrorism and the challenges that the emerging Chinese hegemony pose -- these will have Biden’s full-throated support. He will also increase pressure on Pakistan to shut down the India-focused terror networks on its soil, especially with the receding US footprint in Afghanistan.

Nevertheless, Washington’s delicate relationship with Pakistan won’t be upended by abrupt moves, such as a sudden decision to cut security aid. Like Trump, however, Biden strongly supports total withdrawal from Afghanistan.

However, when he was vice president of Barack Obama’s administration, he was a vocal opponent of his policy regarding additional troop deployment to battle the Taliban and the remnants of Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.

He is expected to toe the line of Trump for a workable relationship with Pakistan that revolves around securing Islamabad’s diplomatic support in advancing a fragile peace process in Afghanistan with the jihadist Taliban.

Meanwhile, the rest of South Asia will receive strategic focus, as it did during Trump’s era. The attention will be largely framed through the lens of the US-China rivalry and, increasingly, the India–China rivalry amid Beijing’s deepening footprint across the region, fuelled by its controversial Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), says Kugelman at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre.

Washington’s radar will once again lay emphasis on democracy and human rights issues in South Asian states, an emphasis which was often overlooked by the previous administration.

Biden is likely to go relatively easy on India for strategic reasons, but Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka could find themselves subjected to sharp and frequent criticism.

Fortunately, climate change is another priority for Biden, which is a major threat to South Asia, especially Bangladesh, Maldives, India, and Sri Lanka, and this offers an opportunity for less tense US engagement in the region.

In short, the South Asian policy under President Joe Biden will be a rare case of a continuity program. It will definitely have an impact upon the incoming administration and will reset the US foreign policy, presenting both new opportunities and fresh challenges for the region.

First published in the Dhaka Tribune, 26 January 2021

Saleem Samad is an independent journalist, media rights defender, and recipient of Ashoka Fellowship and Hellman-Hammett Award. He can be reached at saleemsamad@hotmail.com; Twitter @saleemsamad

What is the ‘golden ring’ axis?

China continues to consolidate power and strengthen ties with Asian countries

SALEEM SAMAD

In a geopolitical response to the decline of the Western influence in South Asia and West Asia, China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey envisage a “golden ring” axis to expand their hegemony on South and West Asia.

The vision of the golden ring of China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey was first disclosed recently by Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan.

The effort to forge an alliance surfaced after Afghanistan refused to be drawn into the golden ring axis. Kabul does not trust their immediate neighbour Pakistan and the nation has not forgotten the ruthless Russian occupation installing a puppet regime.

Afghanistan squarely blames Pakistan’s elite security agency in Rawalpindi GHQ for aiding and abetting ruthless Taliban militia.

Kabul is equally not comfortable with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The assassinated General Qasem Soleimani of the elite Al Quds military had recruited Afghan Shia militia to fight the Kabul government, which Iran believes is a stooge of the Americans, and thus an enemy of Islam.

Contrary to US perceptions, the Kremlin realizes the importance of Pakistan for a peaceful settlement of the Afghan conflict. Unfortunately, Afghanistan seemed to have disappeared from the White House radar in the run-up to the US Presidential Elections.

The US author Robert D Kaplan wrote in his book, The Revenge of Geography: “Pressure on land can help the United States thwart China at Sea.” But post exit from Afghanistan, America will lose that advantage since its “pivot Asia” will be largely reduced to the high seas.

Well, the US has been an undisputed global power since the collapse of the Soviet Union. China has risen from Mao’s anti-capitalist policy into a strong rival to the US. The Trump administration’s aggressive foreign policy is pushing away China and pulling closer allies who were never their loyal partners in economic development.

China has strengthened its ties with countries that were ignored or bullied by America. Therefore, the emergence of a new golden ring of China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey is becoming a reality.

China has fathomless pockets to fund economic development, and forging ties with Iran, Pakistan, Russia, and Turkey to join the ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

In 2019, Iran formally joined China’s “One Belt One Road” initiative. Tehran announced that it has partnered with Beijing for the strategist Chabahar port in Iran. It will make Iran an integral part of the BRI, linking China with Europe via Turkey.

Turkey, despite being an ally of the NATO military alliance, has drifted from Washington in recent times.

Ankara’s occupation of Northern Cyprus for more than four decades, military assistance to rogue rebel General Haftar opposed to UN-backed Libyan government, intermittent military strikes against Kurds -- the bravehearts who fought the dreaded Islamic State marauder -- has angered not only the US, but also European nations.

America could have said “checkmate” when US aircraft carriers and hosts of battleships were joined by naval forces of Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia to take strategic control of the South China Sea, where China wanted its hegemony of the disputed sea.

Meanwhile, after the Galwan Valley face-off between India and China, India has readied its naval fleet in the Indian Ocean, rallying with US frigates from the Seventh Fleet, a tacit threat to China maritime for oil shipment from Iran. The manipulative geopolitical strategy in Asia may yield dividends which could be measured with a yardstick. Eventually, it needs to be understood about who will reap the maximum gain from the golden ring axis.

First published in the Dhaka Tribune, 27 July 2020

Saleem Samad is an independent journalist, media rights defender, recipient of Ashoka Fellowship, and Hellman-Hammett Award. He can be reached at saleemsamad@hotmail.com. Twitter @saleemsamad

Impeachment is over, but despair remains

SALEEM SAMAD

United States President Donald J. Trump's impeachment inquiry has divided American society into thin and thick lines, which could be ascertained from several assessments published during the pre and post-impeachment period.

In this winter, the super-power was at a sombre moment in history, but it's also a pivotal one. What the impeachment process cannot escape from is politics.

According to a survey published on the University of Monmouth website on October 1, 52 percent of respondents opposed the removal of the current leader from his post, while 44 percent supported the initiative of the Democratic Party.

Meanwhile, the Hill-HarrisX study conducted on September 26-27 showed that 47 percent of respondents endorsed the idea of Donald Trump's opponents and 42 percent condemned it.

However framed, be it legal or judicial, the Senate Republicans had an obligation to make a choice - a tough choice for some - to check Trump's abuses of power as president. Regardless of the political implications for their own re-elections, they had a constitutional duty to do what's right.

But they failed to do their jobs - and their votes to cover up Trump's lawlessness didn't just excuse interference in our elections, they serve as an endorsement for him to do it again. But as we grapple with the consequences, we must not fall into despair.

Trump did admit to asking a foreign country (Ukraine) to interfere in US elections - which was indeed a direct threat to democracy. And since the impeachment trial began, advocates have continued to impress upon Congress its constitutional duty to hold Trump accountable to the law.

Several features stand out in the impeachment quest against President Trump.

There is constitutional discourse as mythology and fetish. There is an outrage that the executive office could have been used to actually investigate political opponents through foreign agents. There is cattiness over whether the conduct of the president veered into the territory of criminality, or fell somewhat short in his incessant obstruction.

The US President in rebuttal on the actions of his opponents said that this was the 'greatest scam in the history of American politics' and later even called democrats' impeachment inquiry a coup.

Analyzing the events unfolding in the US, Graham Dodds, Department of Political Science, Concordia University, reminded that a similar situation related to the beginning of the impeachment procedure occurs in US history for the fourth time.

There's just too much at stake right now to keep fighting to protect our democracy. That means fighting to protect US citizenry's access to the ballot box and for the right to have every vote count.

It means participating in the census, a critical tool that determines whether we are fairly represented in our voting districts and how much money is invested in our children's schools and in our families' health care, Diallo Brooks is Senior Director of Outreach and Public Engagement.

It means standing against Trump's narrow-minded, discriminatory judicial nominees whose decisions are rolling back our rights at every turn. It means fighting for our future and for our children's futures, says Brooks.

"Impeachment could help Trump, by energizing his core supporters and feeding into his claims that he is constantly treated unfairly and that everyone is out to get him. On the other hand, maybe this will give Republicans a way to finally stop blindly defending Trump and to distance themselves from him," Graham Dodds said. Trump the symptom remains, his voting base not necessarily convinced or persuaded.

First published in The Asian Age, 15 February 2020

Saleem Samad, is an independent journalist, media rights defender, recipient of Ashoka Fellow (USA) and Hellman-Hammett Award. Twitter @saleemsamad, Email: saleemsamad@hotmail.com