{"id":24719,"date":"2025-04-29T10:07:56","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T09:07:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/muktangon.blog\/en\/?p=24719"},"modified":"2025-04-29T10:07:56","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T09:07:56","slug":"diplomacy-the-scandal-at-the-bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/muktangon.blog\/en\/nurija\/24719","title":{"rendered":"DIPLOMACY: The Scandal at the Bay"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">PART 2<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">EIGHT<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In the hours that followed, <\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">headlines screamed, advisors, king&#8217;s party NCP, their street fighting brotherhoods and influencers \u2500 home and abroad \u2500 scrambled like startled crows of Dhaka.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Spaces in prisons, emptied since July by convicted Islamists and criminals, were now being filled with detainees from the opposition Awami League.<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">The grass pellets of the plain-lands suddenly began revealing deceased bodies,<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">hidden among small bushes and gardens \u2014<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">like decayed morals pouring out from a collapsing social status quo.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The air felt thick.<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Not with dust, nor with smog,<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">but with something slower, heavier.<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">A silence pressed against people&#8217;s skin.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Tension stirred underneath, slipped between tea stalls in narrow lanes, breathed across newsroom floors in Kawran Bazaar, leaned against embassy gates in Baridhara, and spilled like floating things from a vandalised fair of the new year into the restless currents of social media.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">It threaded from the heart of the Delta to places the stars barely knew.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Something quieter set in.<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Something had shifted.<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Something had begun.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Between official denials and unofficial panics, I found myself stepping out of the noise and into something else entirely. A slower current. A deeper breath to pause. The kind of pause that comes just before time changes shape\u2500softly, almost imperceptibly\u2500and no one notices until the change is visible.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In Delta, that March morning was warmer\u2500the kind where rickshaw bells ring like distant memories, and in the gloomy air of dawn, people begin to miss the sight of tea steam rising as it does in winter \u2500 like incense offered before a headless god, a haunting symbol of the ongoing wave of temple attacks across the country.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">But here, far away, the cold made a different kind of presence. I cracked open the French window of a flat the Swedes call a <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">l\u00e4genhet<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, and an emboldened icy air froze me almost instantly. My hot <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">lal cha<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> was moments away from freezing. Outside, the sky hung low like wet wool, and for a second, it felt as if time itself had pulled in its breath.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">As I reached to close it, cold air stung my fingertips;\u00a0 Some intrusions don\u2019t knock. Wondering how something so invisible could feel so sharp, I returned to my chair, and reached for the black and red Bergman cup. That\u2019s when my phone\u2500a battered device with a hairline fracture that caught the light like spiderwebs\u2500 vibrated softly. One of those vibrations that hums not with urgency, but with omen.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Someone called from a world where producer nations gaze hungrily at Asia\u2019s markets, a small land in South Asia with a heavy history braces for a quiet &#8216;War of Trade&#8217; or the &#8216;Second Cold War&#8217;.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Bangladesh has been fighting not only in global corridors, but deep within its delta, its villages and cities, its prisons. It&#8217;s been a war for the land, for economy, for power, and also for the soul of the\u00a0 nation. Groups of believers aligned with the vision of an Islamic Bangladesh move in shadow and daylight, intent on unravelling the secular fabric that once stitched this multicultural country together\u2500thread by thread, soul by soul, and drop by drop of its thousand rivers.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Another dissenter was murdered today. No investigations. No legal recourse. I&#8217;m terrorised by my <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">phone now a days. After fifty three years our nation began full scale use of a lexicon that most people learnt a new. , a friend of mine made a list of new words which goes like the following:\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Bengali\u2013English most used words<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">America, Allahu Akbar, Al Badr, Al-Shams, Agun, Al Jihad, Alhamdulillah, Al aksa, Afghanistan, Area Domination&#8230;<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">B: BAL, Body, Bullet 7.62, Block Raid, Border, Byte, Begana, Burn, Barud, Beaten to death, BGB, BSF, Bonduk.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">C: Covert-Operation, Cross-border, Camp, Refugees, Civilian, CBackdown, Code command, Check post, Corridor, Chicken -neck, Counter-intelligence, Kill,\u00a0 Cartridge, Cold War, Cover, Custodial Killing, Long distance, short distance,&#8230;<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">D: Disappeared, Arrest, Defence, Drone, Double Agent, Drug, Deal, Dead body, Decoit&#8230;\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">E: Endgame, Erdogan, Escalate, Education of Allah&#8230;<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">F: Fraud, Fatherless, Fascist, Fund, Found, Fear&#8230;\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">G: Gaddar, Guerilla, Genocide, Gang rape, Gang 138, Gestapo, Gaza-E -Hind, Hindal Al Sharkiya, &#8230;<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">People pronounced more often also: Hide, Hang, Human Rights, Hillary, Insurgency, Jews, Micro-credit, Player, World&#8217;s field, China, Russia, India, Myanmar, Rakhain, Rohinga, State, Seven sisters, Spokesman,\u00a0 Security, Social business, Special Powers, Terror, World order,\u00a0 Yunus, &#8230;\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">In the list there were some numbers as well: 32, 7.62, Three not three, AK-47, Long Distance Artillary, &#8230;\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">NINE.\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">My mobile screen blinked again to life with a post related to the Indian Prime Minister\u2019s social media. I tapped it absent mindedly, thinking perhaps it would be another death, or a ceremonial acknowledgment of a boy or girl, who ould say, &#8220;Iam not dead&#8221;.Or it could be a message about\u00a0 another July-lal, the term some say to identify the July protesters. Lal is read, but it also means affectionate address of parents to a child. But what I found was quieter, stranger, like a thread slipping through our current time&#8217;s loom:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">&#8220;Met USA\u2019s Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard in Washington DC. Congratulated her on her confirmation. Discussed various aspects of the India-USA friendship, of which she\u2019s always been a strong votary.&#8221;<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:283,&quot;335559991&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">And just like that, my tea turned cold.<\/span><\/b><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">There was a spell in that message\u2014perhaps not a dramatic one, no, but the slow, careful kind used by powerful states to rearrange the futures of many nations through polite handshakes and quiet nods. Tulsi Gabbard\u2014once a Hawaiian wildcard, now the sentinel of American intelligence. And across from her, the Prime Minister of India, ever the oracle of Hindu continuity. Two silhouettes meeting in the haze of history and strategy, while millions of us watched from our flickering screens.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Tulsi Gabbard, once a Congresswoman known for her unorthodox politics, had ascended to one of the most sensitive positions in the U.S. intelligence community. And here stood India\u2019s leader, not only acknowledging her rise but reaffirming the bond between two of the world\u2019s largest democracies. The words on X were formal\u2500as expected of diplomacy\u2500but they carried the weight of centuries, and the silence of shifting power.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">In the outskirts of a small city in Bangladesh, outside an ordinary residence, a street vendor shouted\u2500was it for things only found at Boishakhi fairs? Perhaps children from the adjacent houses darted past like torn promises, chasing after <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">jhumjhumi<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"none\"> or <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">muri-moa<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"none\">.<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">My mind slipped through time, already leaving that wide open house and its surroundings guarded by lines of over fifty coconut trees, with the shouting kids behind.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">And then\u2500suddenly\u2500you awaken to the present, and it becomes clear:<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">you are no longer in your land, but in a realm where algorithms speak in code,<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">and you know\u2500<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">with the quiet certainty of revelation\u2500<\/span><\/b><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">that in this new world,<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">friendships are no longer measured in affection,<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">but in leverage.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Empires, after all, do not speak. They update.<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">What struck me most wasn\u2019t the meeting itself\u2500it was how they became two symbols of the power shifting that was going to shake the world. Two nations <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u2500<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\"> one of which, just a hundred and twenty years ago, had been a colony of the power with whom the U.S. would later share a \u2018special relationship\u00a0 <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u2500<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\"> now found themselves represented by two figures long considered outliers within their own systems. Bound by shared democratic ideals, yet marked by a thousand threads of geopolitical tension, they stood at the precipice, gazing into the time to come. In<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\"> between the silence of words conveyed a <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">horizon of trembling uncertainty heavy with worry, and perhaps also lit with hope<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">.\u00a0 A new chapter was being drafted\u2500quietly, carefully, but undeniably.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cThere is a tide in the affairs of men,\u201d<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"none\"> Shakespeare&#8217;s <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">Caesar said<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"none\">, <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cwhich taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.\u201d(Julius Caesar, Act IV, Scene III )<\/span><\/i><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Perhaps this was one of those tides\u2500not with a declarations by drumbeats, but with a glance across a table and the echo of old empires something was whistling.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">By then the effect of President Trump&#8217;s presence set foot on earth. A ripple effect of what Gabbard said in Indian media across the Bay of Bengal\u2500appeared as a thunder clapp echoing in the silky route, which could be heard even in fashionable Paris. Awakening Parisians\u2019 self consciousness, the sound bites unsettled their old salt and memory. Far away in the city of wine and revolutions, Paris, the sky was brooding with a grey European melancholy, that takes away sleep of many a visitors, and she exhaled a kiss\u2500not of teenage romance, but of rupture.<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">TEN<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">On the 18th, as Tulsi Gabbard stirred the waves of the Indian Ocean. across the continents, <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">Rapha\u00ebl GLUCKSMANN<\/span><\/i><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u2500the <\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"none\">leader of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, Member, France &#8211; Place publiq\u2019s voice cracked the Parisian fog. He spoke not to one, but to the centuries. And though news told that he stood bare<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> of theatrics, I imagined\u2500a crystal flute of <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Champagne Ruinart<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, trembling in his grip, its golden fizz mirroring his indignation.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Or perhaps\u2500no, it had to be red\u2500a goblet of <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Ch\u00e2teau Margaux<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, breathing deep and slow,<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">as he whispered to the lady Liberty, <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">&#8220;They\u2019ve chosen the tyrants. Come home, ma belle.&#8221;<\/span><\/i><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In my mind, she stirred in New York\u2019s harbor, tired of the ash and slogans, her torch flickering like a Parisian caf\u00e9 candle in the mistral\u2500 the <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">strong, cold, northwesterly wind<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> that blows from southern France into the Mediterranean.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The crowd whispered. As if a wound re-opened in velvet gloves. <\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">Rapha\u00ebl Glucksmann, after climbing his modest stage, still real on the podium, became\u2500if only for a second\u2500a sommelier of revolt, and said \u201cGive her back,\u201d as if he let loose a ghost to encounter the USA. From Paris to the President Trump in the White House in Washington D.C the demand was placed, \u201cGive her back,\u2500 The Lady with the torch\u201d. Glucksmann is not a president, nor a prophet, but a voice of conviction. As if the Alliance of the two nations swirled with the sorrow of ageing like old oak. <\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">&#8220;Liberty no longer lives on your shore.&#8221; he completed his claim.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Seriously! <\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">Some of the onlookers wondered what did he mean? Yet he really meant her\u2500the \u2018Statue of Liberty\u2019 who once looked westward with hope, A gift born of French ideals and iron hands, now aching to return home, like a betrayed lover.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Parisians, quiet a good crowd, clapped in agreement, and then mourned\u2500for a friendship frayed by flirtation of the new tyranny\u2019s, for the fact that people of France realised liberty\u2019s growing silence.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cShe will be happier here,\u201d Rapha\u00ebl Glucksmann declared, as if on behalf of France he had written the note:<\/span><br \/>\n<b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Dear America,<\/span><\/b><br \/>\n<b><span data-contrast=\"none\">You\u2019ve changed. I no longer recognize your dreams.<\/span><\/b><br \/>\n<b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Let lady of liberty come home.<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Winds from the suburban plains danced around Notre Dame\u2019s scarred spires and the iron bones of the Eiffel Tower.<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">It wasn\u2019t hard to imagine the monuments of Washington standing indifferent under the same sun\u2014silent, statuesque, unmoved.<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">A French kiss passed quietly through the city,<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">not of love, <\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">but of farewell.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Rapha\u00ebl Glucksmann\u2019s words often arrive as if by accident\u2500a breeze curling into a crowded room\u2014but what they carry is the full weight of European conscience. His voice drifted into a room like a mischievous breeze\u2014light enough to stir a thousand murmurs, yet charged with enough gravitas to upend a parliament.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Born in 1979 under the generous shadow of his father, Andr\u00e9\u2014one of France\u2019s fabled \u201cNew Philosophers\u201d\u2014he inherited fierce dinner-table debates and a thirst for truth that no amount of political fog can quench. That day, he wore his moral clarity like a bespoke jacket: tailored, un<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">missable, and occasionally startling in its bluntness.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Glucksmann <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">strides the marble corridors of the European Parliament as Europe\u2019s self-appointed conscience, wielding words with the precision of a ma\u00eetre d\u2019art. One moment, he\u2019s charming colleagues with an offhand quip about mass surveillance (\u201cBig Brother watches you so closely, even your snooze button files a complaint\u201d); the next, he\u2019s lambasting autocrats in tones that could curdle Camembert at twenty paces.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">His passions have taken him from the ruined theatres of post-Soviet capitals to the neon-lit detentions of Xinjiang. There, he has raised his voice against persecution and lies with the same fervour he reserves for charging down populist scapegoats on home soil. Whether railing against Putin\u2019s iron fist or dismantling the rhetorical pyrotechnics of far-right demagogues, Glucksmann comes armed with intellect, empathy\u2500and the occasional well-timed literary flourish.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">He is also a writer, his books shimmering ballets of memoir, manifesto, and philosophical waltz. In <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Les enfants du vide<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, he conjures the emptiness of modern politics and invites readers to refill it with hope, daring them to reject the siren songs of extremism.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In the grand theatre of European politics, Rapha\u00ebl Glucksmann remains the irrepressible character who insists that democracy must not only be defended, but also enlivened\u2500and that a little wit, a touch of poetry, and an unwavering moral compass might just be the secret ingredients Europe forgot it needed.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Imagine what happened when <\/span><\/b><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Glucksmann stood on the podium to speak.<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">A hush fell over the audience as the heavy velvet curtains parted. In the centre of the bare stage stood his lone figure\u2014bathed in amber light that danced across his solemn face.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cFriends, strangers, wayfarers of a fading promise,\u201d he began, voice rippling like silk caught in stormy wind. \u201cMy plea tonight is no mere complaint\u2500it is a lament, a dirge for a turn in the tide. Give us back the Statue of Liberty.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">He paused, letting the weight of his words settle in the dim auditorium.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cI speak not of iron gates nor of distant wars alone, but of a mood that has curdled into complicity,\u201d he continues, eyes blazing with quiet fire. \u201cWhen your leaders cozy to tyrants\u2500strongmen from Moscow to Budapest to Pyongyang\u2500it is not strategy but betrayal. When the torch-bearer of freedom retreats behind walls of isolation, it is not prudence but cowardice. And when truth itself becomes a casualty\u2500when migrants are demonized, rights are eroded, and lies flourish\u2500then the monument we built together has lost its meaning.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">He lifted an imaginary torch above his head, the beam invisible but felt.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cLook to that statue, she stands as our shared creed: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. Yet here she is, leaning toward indifference. A gift from the children of France, she was meant to light the world\u2014now she flickers in a gale of disillusionment.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Drawing closer to the edge of the stage, he lowered his voice to a resonant whisper.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cKnow this: I do not condemn America\u2500I mourn for her. I warn my fellow Europeans: do not follow a colossus stumbling into darkness. <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Every giant can fall, every promise can fade. So, we ask, reclaim your torch. Rekindle the flame. <\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">For in these embers lies the only power that fear cannot extinguish.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">As he bowed, the velvet curtains fell once more, leaving behind a silence heavier than any roar\u2500a silence charged with the promise to remember, to resist, to reclaim the light.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">ELEVEN<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The international spotlight flared again in Dhaka\u2500but this time, not over trade corridors or legal frameworks. It began <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">with a camera, a headline, and an American voice speaking into a new storm on the bank of Bay of Bengal.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ndtv.com\/world-news\/us-intelligence-chief-tulsi-gabbards-islamic-caliphate-remark-on-crisis-in-bangladesh-7942220?\">U.S. DNI&#8217;s interview with <\/a><\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">NDTV World<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, offering remarks on situation of Hindu communities in Bangladesh landed like diplomatic shrapnel. \u201cThe long-time unfortunate persecution, killing, and abuse of religious minorities\u2500Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Catholics, and others\u2500have been a major area of concern for the U.S. government,\u201d she said. The words hung in the air with the weight of history. It was insinuating.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276,&quot;335559991&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">She didn\u2019t stop there. Her voice, calm but sharp, cut further: \u201cThe threat of Islamist terrorists, and their overall effort&#8230; is rooted in the same ideology and objective\u2500to rule or govern with an Islamist Caliphate.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The ground shifted in Dhaka.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559991&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The Technocratic interim government issued <a href=\"https:\/\/bdnews24.com\/bangladesh\/a126eed65855?utm_source\">a rare and fiery rebuke through the Chief Adviser\u2019s press wing. <\/a><\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">&#8220;This statement is both misleading and damaging&#8230; Groundlessly linking Bangladesh to the idea of an &#8216;Islamist caliphate&#8217; undermines the hard work of countless Bangladeshis and their partners around the world.&#8221;<\/span><\/i><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276,&quot;335559991&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">It was no ordinary statement what the press secretary wrote. <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/world\/south-asia\/tulsis-comments-on-islamic-caliphate-link-misleading-and-damaging-bangladesh\/articleshow\/119185816.cms?\">His language<\/a> was crisp, sober and deliberate that drew a line in the silt of Padma, with references to Bangladesh\u2019s inclusive Islamic tradition, its counterterrorism partnerships, and added a broader warning against \u201cpainting entire nations with broad and unjustified brushes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">But what followed was even more telling.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">T<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">he government\u2019s tirade, instead of fading into the usual diplomatic oblivion, was quickly picked up and amplified\u2500by none other than the <a href=\"https:\/\/theprint.in\/diplomacy\/french-embassy-in-dhaka-stirs-up-a-storm-with-x-post-on-minority-persecution-another-by-deleting-it\/2554581\/?\">French Embassy in Bangladesh, already playing a high-stakes diplomatic game. They <\/a><\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">retweeted<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> the government\u2019s statement\u2500with quiet emphasis. Their social media handlers, possibly high on some Parisian caffeine, enthusiastically shared the statement across social media.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">And that\u2019s when things went from absurd to surreal.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">It was a gesture that carried no additional commentary, and yet spoke volumes.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276,&quot;335559991&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The act was noticed.<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Former Indian naval officer Manoj Rawat, known for his razor-edged commentaries, fired off a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SeaSkipper\/status\/1901920261001429128?\">tweet<\/a>: <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cDeeply concerning that the French Embassy in Dhaka is endorsing criticism of Tulsi Gabbard\u2019s statement on the genocide of Hindus&#8230; Seems France prioritizes defense deals and trade over strategic partnership with India.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">What had begun as a verbal critique of extremism metastasized into a new battle of alignments, alliances, and shadows.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">At the European Parliament, Rapha\u00ebl Glucksmann\u2500ever the defender of pluralism and principled foreign policy\u2500was <a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/news\/international\/world-news\/ridiculous-intellectually-weak-how-french-embassys-social-media-post-criticising-tulsi-gabbards-remarks-on-bangladesh-sparked-a-storm\/articleshow\/119237211.cms?\">asked<\/a> about the controversy. He didn\u2019t name Gabbard, but his meaning was unmistakable. <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cWe must resist the instrumentalization of human rights as a tool of division. If we speak of minority rights, let us also speak of dignity, sovereignty, and partnership\u2500on equal terms.\u201d<\/span><\/i><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276,&quot;335559991&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">If Gabbard\u2019s remarks had opened a door to one narrative of Bangladesh\u2500as a land teetering on extremism, which to some extent has facts and issues for India to be worried about. One might expect the French to take the high road, but <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">non!<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> Their embassy swiftly retaliated. Came the French response\u2500sharp, unapologetic: <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cHow ridiculous, baseless, and intellectually weak.\u201d[5]<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> It was not just a clap-back. It was a declaration. France was no longer a passive observer in South Asia&#8217;s diplomacy\u2500it had picked a side, and wasn\u2019t afraid to say so.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The message, dripping with Gallic disdain, only served to escalate tensions.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">It was a moment of diplomatic slapstick\u2500but also a window into the contradictions of French foreign policy in the post-2024 world. France, the land of Voltaire and libert\u00e9, had long prided itself on moral clarity. And no one carried that torch louder in recent times than <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Rapha\u00ebl Glucksmann<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, the philosopher-turned-politician who once pleaded,<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cGive us back the Statue of Liberty.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:283,&quot;335559991&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">His cry wasn\u2019t nostalgia\u2500it was a rebuke to a world where values were being traded for interests.<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Yet here was France, doing the very dance Glucksmann warned against: cozying up to a fragile regime, deflecting criticism with bravado, and papering over real human rights concerns with hashtags and handshakes.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Where Glucksmann saw diplomacy as a stage for moral courage, the embassy in Dhaka performed it like a play of expedience. Where he confronted creeping fascism with verse, they deflected legitimate scrutiny wi<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">th memes and mockery.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">And so unfolded the final irony. France seemed to lead with principle, but it was unclear whether it acted on conscience <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u2500<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> or simply followed the silent current flowing through the cable it had helped lay from Chattogram to Marseille. The line threaded through Bangladesh, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, the UAE, Djibouti, Egypt, Turkey, Italy <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u2500<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> and finally, France.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In this dense web, choices felt like hasty notes, their words rushing down wires too entangled for any true independence of meaning.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The final irony unspooled. <\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">On March 20, the web twitched.<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">The French Embassy in Dhaka sacked three Bangladeshi staffers, accused of leaking the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government\u2019s riposte to U.S. DNI Tulsi Gabbard\u2019s warnings about rising fundamentalism.<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Whispers in the city confirmed: a senior voice inside Yunus\u2019s press team \u2500 once AFP\u2019s man in Dhaka \u2500 had lent a hand. Helped smuggle a statement across embassy walls.<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">And in that diplomatic skirmish, a new truth was carved into the unfolding architecture of politics in South Asia:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Words are weapons.<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"auto\">But in the hands of states, they are also realignment, re-ordering maps.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:140,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This article delves into the intricate web of political and social upheaval in Bangladesh, set against a backdrop of international diplomacy and internal strife. Following a scandal that rocked the nation, the narrative captures the tension and chaos that ensued, highlighting the swift actions of the ruling party and the subsequent crackdown on opposition members. The story unfolds through the eyes of the narrator, who reflects on the broader implications of these events, both locally and globally.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22359,"featured_media":24721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5466],"tags":[5365,5467,5362,5354],"ppma_author":[5510],"class_list":["post-24719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-memoir","tag-counter-terrorism","tag-france","tag-geo-politics","tag-politics-2"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/muktangon.blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Graffiti-style-artwork-with-the-words-Political-Memoir-and-a-city-skyline-of-Sweden.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pghjur-6qH","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"authors":[{"term_id":5510,"user_id":22359,"is_guest":0,"slug":"nurija","display_name":"Jahanara Nuri","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a98ec5fb4234a509aa3dbe677b430a74fc7ad131d99ced4e54bf45183251c933?s=96&d=retro&r=g","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/muktangon.blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/muktangon.blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/muktangon.blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muktangon.blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22359"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muktangon.blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24719"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/muktangon.blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24719\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24723,"href":"https:\/\/muktangon.blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24719\/revisions\/24723"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muktangon.blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/muktangon.blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muktangon.blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muktangon.blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24719"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muktangon.blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=24719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}