On the line

‘Politicians from either parties of our country have never paid attention to the popular demand’

Anupam Debashis Roy about his popular videos on social media, his political views and about the Libertarian party.

http://xtra.newagebd.net/3491/politicians-from-either-parties-of-our-country-have-never-paid-attention-to-the-popular-demand/

Anupam Debashis Roy is popular over social media through his video series ‘Choromchitro’, where he critically looks at socio-political and international issues related to Bangladesh. He shared with Syed Tashfin Chowdhury why his video series is gaining millions of views over social media.

Please tell us a bit about yourself.

My name is Anupam Debashis Roy. Born in Syedpur to a mother and father from the Khulna region, I grew up in Chittagong and went to college in Dhaka. At some point during this scattered childhood, I got interested in politics because I was told to never talk about it in public. I came to the United States for my bachelors and chose to major in Political Science because I was told that anything but engineering would be a waste of time. I took up my first job in politics because someone told me that political science majors never get any jobs.

These foolhardy decisions define who I am. Right now, I am a visiting student at Columbia University in the City of New York and a research intern at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.

In my free time, I make videos explaining politics to people who are carefully excluded from the Bangladeshi political discourse under the pretense that it is too sophisticated for them. Some of those people who I do my work for like the work that I do. And that’s me!

What inspired you to make the videos that is so popular in social media today? When did you start?

I started making videos as debate lessons for school debaters of the Rajuk College Debate Club. But as the politics of our country became more and more uni-polar and the space for dissent shrank, the opposition to my debate soon became the government propaganda machine. Thus, the video series called ‘Choromchitro’ or ‘The Radical Report’ was born.

How many videos have you made till date? Were they all takes on socio-political issues with a bit of humour?

There are a total of 11 videos in the ‘Choromchitro’ series to date and all of them are related to politics, economics or philosophy because those are my academic specialisations. I add a hint of humor to prove that all the big words that politicians use can be boiled down to simple catchphrases and punch lines.

How long does it take for you to do the research for each video?

Research is a big part of my professional and academic career, which means that much of what I present in the video comes from my work in real life. Often I base my videos on research that I have already done before for academic purposes and sometimes I just synthesize other researchers’ findings. That is why the duration of the research varies. But most videos that I am proud of take at least two weeks of research.

The videos you make are criticism of recent steps taken by Bangladesh government in various sectors as well as international relations. Because you are in the USA, do you receive any backlash for these videos over email or otherwise? How do you deal with them?

Surprisingly enough, the backlash is not very harsh. Of course, there are the occasional death threats and obscene name callings. But most people really appreciate the work I do. People in Bangladesh are tired of the old political cronies on the talk shows and just want a new face with a fresh perspective. But even when there is serious backlash, I take it as a positive that lets me know that people who I actually want to reach with my work are paying close attention to what I am saying. I deal with my opponents by trying to understand their concerns. Because in the bigger picture, there are no opponents, we are all in this to make Bangladesh a better country.

Your videos have had over a million views. Do you feel that maybe someday some minister will view any of them and possibly use your suggestions in their policy-making? Does this thought ever influence the video-making process?

I never assume so. The politicians from either parties of our country have never paid attention to the popular demand because they have more important people to pay attention to, i.e. lobbyists, foreign governments and other politicians. I never make my videos for members of the political class, I make them for the common people. Too much energy in our country is spent to keep the subaltern oblivious about the political and economic events that impact them the most. All I intend to do is cut through that smog and bring the truth into the light for everyone to see.

Your Facebook profile mentions that you are a foundation member of the Libertarian Party in Alexandria, Virginia. Please share with us a bit about the Libertarian movement in the USA.

I joined the liberty movement in mid-2016 by campaigning for Gary Johnson in the Presidential election and then I interned for Rand Paul, a liberty-leaning senator from Kentucky in the Spring of 2017. I am currently working for Larry Sharpe, the Libertarian candidate for New York Governor’s race and interning with Manhattan Institute, a liberty-leaning think tank. The Liberty movement is about minimal government and maximum popular sovereignty, which translates to opposing wars, foreign interventions, irresponsible spending, and supporting balanced budgets, lower taxes and pro-entrepreneurial public policies. The libertarian movement is gaining ground at a surprising pace in the US. Most Americans are realising that the LP is a better alternative to both the Democrats and the Republicans and many politicians are realising that libertarianism is the only political ideology that is compatible with both economic prosperity and civil liberty.

In the near future, do you see yourself ever being active in Bangladesh’s politics?

I most certainly do. I want to work as a campaign consultant for liberty-leaning candidates for the 2019 parliament election in Bangladesh. I have worked in multiple election campaigns over the past year in the United States and I believe that I can help Bangladeshi politicians as well. I intend to work with independent candidates since I am a believer in breaking up the unipolar political trend (be it post-2008 Awami League or post-2001 BNP) and introducing further political diversity in the Bangladeshi parliament. I am also willing to work with any candidate from either party as long as they believe in libertarian values of economic prosperity, civil liberty and freedom of religion and speech. However, whether any candidate intends to follow these ideas or is willing to hire me as a consultant is yet to be seen.

A brilliant start- New Age Xtra

Tauhid Anwar Avik and Affan Sadat Safwan are representing #Bangladesh for the first time during the ongoing #Volkswagen Ameo Cup Championship in #Coimbatore, #Madras and #Delhi in #India. Syed Tashfin Chowdhury found out from both, about their individual journeys to the international tournament and their achievements

http://xtra.newagebd.net/3320/a-brilliant-start/

Cover

A brilliant start 

August 4, 2017 12:07 am

Tauhid Anwar Avik and Affan Sadat Safwan are representing Bangladesh for the first time during the ongoing Volkswagen Ameo Cup Championship in Coimbatore, Madras and Delhi in India. Out of a total of 10 races, the two Bangladeshis have fared really well during the first four races against 18 other racers. Syed Tashfin Chowdhury found out from both, about their individual journeys to the international tournament and their achievements

Bangladesh has dabbled into many different sports, besides the mainstream ones like cricket, football, volleyball, basketball and others over the past four decades. Some of these, like golf recently, have brought unpredictable success for the country. However, in the cases of most of these ‘other’ sports, the Bangladeshi athletes are usually on their own; any success they receive is through their own skills, dedication and passion.

In such a manner, Bangladeshi athletes can be deemed as more passionate despite all the odds against them.

Motor racing is a similar sport which is loved and followed by plenty of people in Bangladesh. Some of them stick to watching the racing tournaments on television, others play video games related to it while few affluent ones who have their own cars go on long drives to practice their skills.

Only few are courageous enough to take the few extra steps of actually taking part in actual motor racing. Two such brave Bangladeshis are Tauhid Anwar Avik (30) and Affan Sadat Safwan (20) who are participating in the touring tournament called the ‘Volkswagen Ameo Cup’ in India. Already four races out of 10 have been completed. After the completion of the next six, to be held at Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore, Madras Motor Race Track in Chennai and Budh International Circuit near Delhi of India, the winners will be announced.

Undoubtedly, the participation of not one, but two Bangladeshis in an international touring car championship event of such stature is the first of its kind and should be a moment to remember for the nation. They are facing tough competition from veteran racers from India and South Africa for now. But the difficult path began for these two few years earlier.

Carrying a dream

Tauhid Anwar Avik shares with New Age Xtra, ‘When I went to study in Canada, I wanted to study in Automotive Engineering. But my family did not allow me to venture into that stream. However, during my stay there, I often went to drive on the racing tracks there. I learnt a lot from the other drivers there, watched Formula One on television and also play racing simulation games like Gran Tourismo on the Playstation.’

Avik has finished his studies and is currently running his own business and hosts his own TV show regarding automotive review called i-drive. ‘But I still love cars and love to drive,’ he says.

His passion for cars and racing drove him to take part in the first ever ‘Nitol-Tata Rallycross Championship’ in 2014.

‘I learnt quite a lot from those events,’ says Avik. ‘The first tournament was a big challenge for me as I was the underdog. I had little experience and no sponsors. Fortunately, I won in the Group A category and the overall champion with the fastest time by a fraction of a second,’ he says.

‘The next year, I took part in the same tournament. This time I had sponsors. But I accidentally broke my left leg which is very important for race car driving. My sponsors were disappointed. But I stuck to the commitments and won a second time,’ says Avik.

The third Rallycross had occurred in 2016. ‘This time, I won by a huge margin which made me realise that I should try my luck out in the international tournaments,’ he says.

Sadat’s trip also began around the same time after completing his HSC examinations in 2015. He had also taken part in the Dhaka Rallycross Championship 2016, winning in the ‘novice group’ with an Isuzu Vehicross. However, Sadat was still lagging seven seconds behind Avik’s time in the same tournament.

 Blood, sweat and money

Sadat says, ‘As there are no racing tracks in Bangladesh, to train, initially I had to fly to London. I had to acquire the racing license from Motor Sports Association (MSA) UK with my father. I gained it after going through gruelling theoretical, oral and practical exams at the BrandsHatch International Circuit UK.’

In order to get the license, Sadat had to learn the racing basics. ‘Fortunately, I became the first ever Bangladeshi to achieve a racing license from the MSA UK,’ he says.

After winning the Rallycross on the home ground for the third time, Aviktried to join the racing tournaments in India. ‘The authorities there asked me to gain an international racing license in order to take part in these tournaments. I had an expired race license from the FédérationInternationale de l’Automobile (FIA), which needed to be renewed,’ he says.

Founded in 1904, with headquarters in Paris, the FIA is a non-profit making association that brings together 245 national motoring and sporting organisations from 143 countries on five continents.

Avik had to fly to Canada to have his license renewed. ‘This process is more difficult than the race in India that I faced. In the tournament, you can make mistakes. Before going for the race, I had to train for eight months. But in order to get the racing license renewed, the racer cannot make one mistake while racing 80 laps or 350 kilometres of focused driving in a Formula 3 car,’ he says.

Avik got his license and then he returned to Dhaka. Later he went to India and he had to pay a fee of BDT 25 lakhs to register into the Volkswagen Ameo Cup 2017. ‘Fortunately, I had sponsorship from J.A.N. Associates Canon, Globatt, Mr. Cookie, Car House Limited and Haida,’ he says.

Sadat did not have any sponsors for the tournament. He says, ‘My father gave me the greatest gift that anyone can give to another person.He believed in me and supported me in Motorsports.’

The two Bangladeshi racers, along with the 18 other racers, underwent fitness camps and qualifying races that prepared them for the main tournament.

Avik says, ‘The temperature is really high. So, with the racing suit on inside the car, we were sweating profusely. I had to drink a lot of water to keep myself hydrated.’

Songs of glory

During Race 1, Avik finished at fourth position. ‘I would have possibly been third if the racer who came in at the third position had not bumped my car,’ he says.

During Race 2, Avik came in at eighth. ‘In Race 3, my car stalled at the starting grid. I had to let everyone go. And then after my car started, I chased everyone down and managed to become 13th in the end.’

During Race 4, ‘I started from the 13th position and ended up at sixth’, says Avik.

Avik shares that the overall experience was rather tough for him. ‘I was facing cars which were evenly matched. Also, the other racers had mostly been training since their childhood. I was finding it difficult to level up with all of them. But it has been a great learning experience till now,’ he says.

Sadat could not finish the first race due to a collision that occurred following a fault by him. In Race 2, he came in at 14th. In Race 3, he was ninth.

‘In the fourth round, I came in at 5th,’ says Sadat.

The road ahead

‘The fifth, sixth and seventh rounds of the race will be occurring from August 18 till 20,’ says Avik. ‘I have a lot of work to do before then. I aim to shed five kilogrammes. I am also trying to a different driving technique. My ambition is to gain at least the fourth position in this tournament. If this happens, it will be a huge accomplishment for me,’ he adds.

Avik is currently in the fifth position overall and he is 10 points behind the fourth racer.

Sadat says, ‘As I came seventh in the only race I had participated of the Volkswagen Vento Cup 2016,this year I hope to achieve the Junior Championship.’

Both racers wished that there were racing tracks in Bangladesh to nurture more talents like them. ‘Young adults and teenagers are bringing their aggression out on the roads causing accidents. This can be curbed if there are racing tracks,’ says Avik.

Sadat says, ‘I would like to request the concerned authorities to build a track for athletes who are interested in Motorsports in our country.’

Bangladesh struggles to mend holes in its garment sector- Nikkei Asian Review

#Bangladesh trying to mend holes in #RMG sector...,My article in Nikkei... https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Bangladesh-struggles-to-mend-holes-in-its-garment-sector?page=1  #EU #Australia #Japan #UK #Brexit